The Ike Championship: Sudden Death at Somerset Hills

via MGAgolfer

A classic playoff battle on an enchanting golden age golf course. It doesn't get much better than that, and so went the MGA's 56th Ike Championship.

The event took place over two days at Somerset Hills Country Club in the pastoral countryside of Northern New Jersey. The course, built on the site of a former racetrack by A.W.Tillinghast in 1917, features a layout that contrasts open expanses with rolling woodlands, and has often been described as charming. As a spectator it's a delightful stroll, but after 41 holes yesterday, nutmegger Tommy McDonagh was clearly glad to see the 493-yard ninth in his rear view mirror. You see, the Norwalk, CT native has been playing an awful lot of golf lately; just prior to his battle at Somerset Hills McDonagh had played in the grueling Connecticut Amateur Championship… and won it!

The Ike Championship had been on my calendar for months, and I'd been looking forward to getting back to Somerset Hills having fallen in love with the place several years ago when I was there for a fund raiser. In the end, life got in the way and I wasn't able to swing it... but fortunately, the Metropolitian Golf Association has a stellar social media team and they did an amazing job with ultra-timely updates on Facebook, and Twitter, daily photos and videos, and even an exciting live chat animated by the with the always engaging Billy Condon. It was the next best thing to being there.

Lacoste Golf: Yani Tseng, Cristie Kerr & The Crocodile

 Lacoste Golf has a Facebook Page

The best women golfers in the world wear Lacoste.

W#1 Yani Tseng, just won a record breaking fourth major yesterday in a Short Sleeve 5 Button Stretch Pique Polo. It was a bright Begonia Pink and,  of course, emblazoned with a tiny green crocodile.

The familiar reptile was also present on Cristie Kerr's polo... a black version of the same classically designed shirt... as the defending champion, and W#2 golfer, Cristie shared in a three way tie for third at Locust Hill Country Club yesterday.

The brand... with its lovable logo... is one of the most recognized in the world and certainly has a historical connection with women's golf that's unique and extraordinary.

#Winning Golf Tweet of the Week - June 26, 2011

Rickie Fowler, Ben Crane, and Ryan Moore are coming to the Canadian Open in Vancouver. We are one Quiros away from my dream team #getexcitedless than a minute ago via TweetDeck Favorite Retweet ReplyKaylee Price
kayleeprice

Tweeted by: @Kaylee Price

Why it's #winning: 1) Promotes the Canadian Open 2) Demonstrates fan engagement, 3) Displays enthusiasm for professional golfers 4) Effectively uses the hashtag #getexcited.

Look for the Winning Tweet of the Week here every Sunday!

Ryo Ishikawa Poised to Pounce at the Mizuno Open

撮影：岩井康博  / Photo: Yasuhiro Iwa

Upon his return to Japan last week... after a T30 finish at the US Open...  Ryo Ishikawa spoke with characteristic humility, admitting, "I came to painfully realize just how big of a gap there is between me and the rest of the world"

The Japanese golf star... like golfers, golf journalist and golf fans everywhere... was reacting to Rory McIlroy's huge win Congressional Country Club. "He's close to me in age so it's been incredibly motivating, Ishikawa explained, "I hope I can get to that level myself one day." And at nineteen, I think it's safe to say that Ryo Ishikawa has time on his side.

Ryo is the youngest of the what Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee calls the three R's: Ryo, Rory and Rickie, an ultra-hip, uber-talented triad of young gun golf stars with aliterative forenames.

Tomorrow at the Mizuno Open, the young Mr. Ishikawa will be going into the final round, "poised to pounce", after shooting Saturday's lowest round of the day. Two shots behind the South Korean co-leaders, Kim Kyung-Tae and Bae Sang-Moon, Ryo finds himself in a tie for second with yet another South Korean, Cho Min-Gyu.

The DM I received this morning from my Ryo-afcionado friend Noriko, included a link to the photo above. "I think you love this photo" she wrote tweeted, Ryo got two eagles today."

Simply the Best - Rory McIlroy Gets a Donkey Tee

Less than a week ago Rory McIlroy was just another young gun.  An ultra-talented players who might someday win a major... or two.  But that all changed when he won the 2011 US Open... breaking several records and impressing even those who hadn't quite warmed up to him.

And now there's a Donkey Tee in his honor.

Women's Day at the Travelers Championship

Connecticut weather can be capricious.

Today for example, the heavy clouds bought several down-pours, punctuated by periods where the sky seemed to be clearing...only to go dark again and produce yet another deluge.

In the end play was suspended before noon, allowing only six players to complete their rounds.

Meanwhile,  the third annual Travelers Championship Women's Day was sold out, and it went on with little regard to the wet weather, offering a full day of activities including speeches and presentations, networking opportunities,  a golf clinic and a cooking demonstration.

Play is set to resume tomorrow morning at 7:00 and continue until the sun sets... assuming the CT weather stops being a brat.  Happily, the weekend forecast is looking good.

2011 Wegmans LPGA Championship - Cristie Kerr's Pragmatic Optimism

Getty Images via LPGA.com

Pragmatic Optimism.

I know, it sounds like an oxymoron. However, I'd guess it's actually a good way to approach competitive golf. Right? I mean, of course you don't want to let negative thoughts to compromise your confidence, but neither do you want to let overconfidence prevent you from "playing smart".

Cristie Kerr was a picture of that perfect balance yesterday when she sat down for her pre-tournament interview earlier today in Rochester on the eve of the 2011 Wegmans LPGA Championship.

She spoke about what it's like to defend a 12-shot victory stating, “I’m not 12 shots ahead of the field starting out this week". There's your pragmatism. But she also discussed the current state of her game which... on the heels of her third straight runner-up finish... is excellent, she's optimistic that it's her time for a win.

The No.1 U.S. golf also talks about a number of other subjects... including her new irons, her recent round at Augusta National and her meeting with fellow "Major dominator" and Audemars Piguet Golf Ambassador, Rory McIlroy earlier this week in Cape Cod. The video is almost 15 minutes long but it's well worth watching for the unique perspective.

Now... for the GolfWeek Major Challenge! You have only a few more hours to make your picks, so get over to their site and do it.

Travelers Championship = An Awesome Week in CT

The umbrella green at dusk via @TravelersChamp

The 111th US Open is now part of golf history, memorable for the myriad records broken by Rory McIlroy... and for the young Ulsterman's uplifting story. Rory's rapid redemption... after his final round letdown at the Masters... gave hope to golfers everywhere.

Those who participated in the event... particularly those who worked for months (and years) behind the scenes... are probably feeling a sense of relief.  I'd imagine there's also a touch of melancholy...like the one that always follows the holiday season.  For many down at Congressional Country Club, today probably feels kind of like the day you take down the Christmas tree. Here in Connecticut however, our golf event is just getting underway.

The 59th installment of the Travelers Championship began today with the an opening ceremony on the first hole of TPC River Highlands. Later in the day 28 PGA TOUR professionals played with amateurs in the the Aetna Tournament Players Pro-Am.  One of them was Scott Stallings the affable PGA Tour rookie who blogs about his life as a touring pro at Chief Executive Golfer.  I wrote about Scott and his enchanting wife Jennifer (who also blogs!) back when the season was starting.  A couple of hours ago Scott tweeted from the "hardest hole on the @PGATour".  Welcome to CT Scott and Jennifer.

Rory McIlroy: The Huge Win & Inevitable Girlfriend Tweets

“@thetylervaughn: currently, second most googled thing is "rory mcilroy girlfriend"...I hope this kid has a good team around him.” #awesomeless than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhone Favorite Retweet ReplySeath Lauer
SeathLauer23

Rory Mcilroy - Holywood Legend With Major Dreams

Angus Murray via GOLF.com

He hails from Holywood.

Holywood, Northern Ireland, where Rory McIlroy's "legend" status is already sealed... and this weekend it looks like one of his Major dreams may well come true.

2011 US Open - Ryo Ishikawa, Bubblegum Flatbiller

June 14, 2011 - Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images North America

High Heel Golf Blogger Inspires Rickie Fowler's Ace

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Jennifer Harris w/Rickie Fowler via HighHeelGolfer.com

You've probably seen the video of Rickie Fowler's utterly implausible Red Bull ace... the one he hit blind off an elevated tee at Washington D.C.'s Historic Georgetown Waterfront.   If you haven't, you'll want to have a look.  It's quite impressive. To say the least.

The miraculous hole-in-one was hit as part of  "Red Bull Capital Drive" a multi-channel social media campaign that involved Twitter and Foursquare.  Fans were asked to follow "alerts" to find a special flag somewhere in the city.  If they found it they got a golf ball that Rickie would hit... on 106-yard hole with a narrow fairway, and a makeshift island green in the middle of a fountain.  The winner would be the one whose ball ended up closest to the pin.

Breakthrough Weekend for Not-So-Young Guns

Robert Rock, photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images || Harrison Frazar, photo:AP

Robert Rock's first career win was nine years coming, while Harrison Frazar clinched his maiden professional victory after 355 starts.

At 34 and 39 respectively, this weekend's winners... on the European Tour and the US PGA Tour respectively... clearly aren't what we've come to know as "Young Guns".

The word "finally"... followed in at least one case by an exclamation point... figured prominently in coverage of both tours today, and as exciting as it is to watch implausibly young players push boundries and break records, it's another kind of awesome to witness a long awaited breakthrough win.  This week golf got two.

Cristie Kerr Donates & Defends at State Farm Classic

Dr. Tom Robbins, SCI director, Cristie Kerr Sara Howe, breast cancer survivor

Cristie Kerr climbed the leader board at Panther Creek Country Club today with a 67 that put her into a tie for ninth as she enters the weekend looking to defend her title at the LPGA State Farm Classic ...and to secure a win after two runner-up finishes.

In addition to her work on the golf course, the 14 time LPGA Tour winner has been quite busy off the course raising money for her Birdies for Breast Cancer charity.  Several days ago she presented a $5,000 check to the Simmons Cancer Institute at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

Ishikawa Incident Illustrates Cultural Dichotomy

Photo: AFP/File, Yoshikazu Tsuno

Ryo Ishikawa, one of our favorite golfers, recently had an issue with his driving. It didn't happen on the golf course, and it has nothing to do with distance, in fact, at the 2011 Masters the Japanese superstar was ranked fifth in driving distance.

What happened to Ryo, was the kind of thing that happens to many 19-year-olds: He got into trouble for an infraction that took place behind the wheel.

Spanish Golf Blogger Finds ProAm Partner in Bathtub

Ladies Tenerife Match Play - June 10-12

On a sunny Spanish island several hundred miles off the coast of North Africa the stage is set for Tenerife Ladies Matchplay.

A new format for the Ladies European Tour, the event will be played at the Golf Las Américas course in Tenerife and it'll allow players get some matchplay practice in before the upcoming Solheim Cup. The competition will take place Friday through Sunday and I expect we'll getting some great coverage online, as several of Spain's best golf bloggers will in attendance... as will various social media standouts from the business side of golf.

Golf Girl Celebrates 40th Anniversary With Makeover

Original album cover illustration by Anne-Marie Anderson

I'd been playing golf for almost a year... and writing about the game here at Golf Girl's Diary for several months... when a fellow golf blogger told me about Golf Girl: the song.

Actually, he sent me a link that led to a grainy YouTube video featuring a live recording of what turned out to be an enchantingly whimsical song by a band called Caravan.  At the time I was unfamiliar with the band... and unaware of the Canterbury Scene an early 70s era progressive rock movement out of Canterbury, England that Caravan was a major part of.

Style-wise the era was characterized by psychedelia, lots of long hair and extreme bell bottoms (you'll see that in the video after the jump) but the thing that really amazed me were the song's silly/sweet lyrics... and the fact that Pat, the Golf Girl who inspired the song, shares my name. 

Ryo Ishikawa Works to Resolve Short Game Struggles

 Photo: YURIKO NAKAO Credit: REUTERS

Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan earlier today, Ryo Ishikawa responded sagely to questions about his recent on-course struggles.

The Japanese superstar... who is not yet twenty... has missed the cut in his last two tournaments and carded an uncharacteristic 12-over 83 in the first round of the Japan Golf Tour Championship. His fans were clearly concerned. So too, I presume, was anyone connected to golf in Japan... in almost any capacity.

Of Rock Canyons & Velvet Fairways - Mesquite Golf

The Covered Wagon at Conestoga Golf Club - Photo: Golf Girl Media

In a lot of ways, Mesquite is quintessentially American.

The town is located about an hour north of Las Vegas, across an expanse of largely uninhabited desert, that makes it seem far more isolated than it actually is.  A jagged silhouette of sandstone peaks is constantly on the horizon, and approaching Mesquite, one can begin to make out the finer details of the etched pink cliffs and rugged rock canyons.

An hint of old west ambiance reigns in Mesquite too.  It's a friendly and casual place, and driving up to the Casablanca Resort and Casino we were impressed by the way a relaxing small town flavor prevailed at this upscale resort with its big city attractions.

Over the next several days we'd get to know the town... and a number of it's resorts... as well as several of the area's many golf courses where we discovered that the region's red rock canyons hid dozens and dozens of implausibly green fairways.  It was on some of those fairways that the Mesquite Amateur took place... and we were fortunate enough to be able to experience it: the camaraderie and competition of the golf, as well as the conviviality of the evening events.  I'll be writing about it all over the next several days... and I look forward to reliving some awesome memories.

Golf Travel - A Memorable Week in Mesquite

Mesquite Golf Collage - Golf Girl Media

After an awesome week of golf in the sublime paysage of the Virgin River Valley, I have quite a bit to write about.

For the moment I'm catching up with a mountain of email and re-acclimating myself to the the lush, leafy Connecticut landscape. However, during coming week I'll be posting numerous stories on my amazing adventure:  the spectacular desert courses, the delightful resorts and restaurants, and the unique Mesquite golf culture, a culture that has inspired a highly competitive amateur golf championship... that's also friendly and inclusive: The Mesquite Amateur.

I look forward to telling you all about it.