Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Harrington calls out Tiger Woods: I deserve to win! Also, align yourself like the pros and how to be a Patriot on Labor Day

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With a rousing finish at the 90th PGA Championship, Padraig Harrington confirmed that he can mix it up with the best golfers in the world, not solely on the European Tour. One may claim that a single major might have been a fluke but two in a row and three wins in the last six events prove that Harrington is really on to something! Perhaps Ben Hogan's "secret" has something to do with it, mentioned Harrington's instructor, Bob Torrance.

Poor Sergio floundered once again. At the 2007 British Open, both Harrington and Garcia choked their way through the final holes with the Irishman taking control at the 17th to win. Similar circumstances occured this week as Garcia's ball found the water leaving the door open for Harrington to finish the job. The PGA Championship was obtained much the same way as in his 2008 British Open rally against Norman. The intense stare, taking advantage when he saw Sergio floundering were intentional, with Harrington telling himself that he deserved to win.



Padraig Harrington knows that he can defeat Sergio Garcia when the pressure is on but how will he do against Tiger Woods when the world's number-one returns injury free?

Ed Sherman of the Chicago Tribune believes that Harrington's performance this year is deserving of the "Player of the Year" award. Randall Mell of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Harrington, 36, has stepped forcefully into the vacuum created when Tiger Woods was sidelined for the season...and has done so with fierce closing skills under intense final-round major championship pressure."

This week Golf for Beginners discusses what seems to make Harrington unbeatable when the pressure is on. A golf tip from Jim Flick on proper alignment is also featured.

Information on Ireland's golf courses and Patriot Golf Day are also covered on this week's broadcast.

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"Shiny Tech" courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"

This podcast is supported by St. Andrews Golf Tours 800-348-4902

Photo Credit: © STLToday.com.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

No stopping Asian invasion on LPGA Tour believe Inkster, Ochoa. Also, look down go down and turn bad shots into new opportunities

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Golfers Lorena Ochoa and Juli Inkster are struggling to keep up with the influx of hard-hitting Asian women entering the LPGA Tour. Players from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea flooded the top of the Ricoh Women's British Open leaderboard this weekend with only one American, Cristie Kerr, noticeable in a high-ranking position.

There were always foreigners ensconced in the LPGA Tour. Many of the ladies play amateur golf here while attending school. So what's all the fuss about Asians sharing the spotlight?

Well, for one thing, a bogey-free round with six birdies is a tough act to follow. Even number-one seed, Lorena Ochoa, is starting to worry. "Now we can see that the Asian Tour is becoming very strong," Ochoa mentioned. "The top players are coming to the States and they can also win in the States. Before it was a different story."

Mexico's Ochoa was the "Lady of the Lake" at the Kraft Nabisco, Taiwan's Yani Tseng grabbed the LPGA Championship, Korea's Inbee Park took the U.S. Women's Open and now Ji-Yai Shin, also from Korea, easily won the British Open. Where are all of the American hopefuls?




Juli Inkster is double the age of some of the latest LPGA entrants and is feeling the heat. Although she led the Open in the first round, the American slid behind ninth place finishers, Creamer and Gulbis, on Sunday. "They're all coming," Inkster noticed. "And it's not stopping either."

With Annika Sorenstam stepping down, could Inkster be far behind? Furthermore, is this "new era" helping or hurting the LPGA Tour's television presence? With venues in jeopardy for the 2009 season, perhaps the LPGA should be looking towards Suzuki, Toyota or Honda for an influx of much needed revenue.

Dave Hollander believes that the advent of the 'Wilhelmina 7' will add much needed "exposure" to the floundering Tour. Adding an Asian golfer to the lineup could successfully incorporate these women into the fold while introducing them as a viable asset to the Tour.

Ji-Yai Shin, ranked number one on the KLPGA, originally planned her future in Japan but just received an invite to join the LPGA Tour. "I want to play here, because very big tournaments...and great players,'' she said. "Yeah, I want to play here."

In addition to a discussion on the influx of Asian golfers on the LPGA Tour, Golf for Beginners talks about our weekend round at Casperkill. A positive attitude and the ability to turn bad shots into golden opportunities were our targets as we navigated the course. Find out what we had to pull out of our bags to accomplish our goals!

Send your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com.

Subscribe to our weekly podcast through this RSS feed:http://feeds.feedburner.com/golfforbeginners or through iTunes.

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"Shiny Tech" courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"

This podcast is supported by GolfCanadasWest.com 877-323-3633

Photo Credit: © North Point Photo, Campeonato, Jamd, Scoregolf.