My girlfriend and I as well as many other fans of Waggleroom had a great time last season with the Yahoo Fantasy Golf and we are wondering if your going to do it again ?

The 2012 Season starts on January 6th in Hawaii, so there isn't a lot of time left to get it going.

Thanks in advance if you do start one and no biggie if you do not as we will find another or just play the regular yahoo one.
.

I've been pretty straight out here at Quail Hollow but it is rumored that Tiger has thrown his name in the hat for next weeks Players Tournament ? One of my clients here attending Quail Hollow has been a doctor for over 30 years and he is questioning Tigers supposed sprained MCL and Achilles Tendon. He told be that it takes a minimum of 8-12 weeks to heal properly and that does not include ready to play 72 holes of golf on foot , nor even 18 holes. Not trying to stir the pot here, just repeating what I was told.  Makes ya wonder.

 

Meanwhile, we have an outstanding tournament so far this week.

Ok gang here you go. My second annual pick-3 Masters Contest. The rules are quite simple, just pick three players that you think will finish in the top-8 spots on the leaderboard come Sunday. If all three of your players chosen finish in the top-8, then you will win a dozen golf balls of your choice, plus a couple of bonus items. In the event of a tie, the lowest combined scores of your three players for the 4 day tournament will win. If we still have a tie, I will draw a name from the winners at random.

If nobody chooses 3 players in the top-8, I will award a consolation prize for whomever picks 2 out of 3. If there is a tie with that, the above rules will apply. I will announce the winner on Tuesday when I return from Augusta, but I am sure you can all figure it out beforehand based on the postings.

Last year I awarded one winning prize in one Major and one consolation prize in another.

You can only enter once, by simply posting your choices in this Fan Post

GOOD LUCK GANG and Enjoy the Masters.

jumpn/progolf

Earlier today I was packing my bags to get ready to head on over to Ireland and I had NPR  radio on in the backround. They news over in Japan is a lot worse than I even imagined. I'm sure you have all seen the pictures and videos on CNN, FOX and your local news stations. I decided to pick up the phone and call a business contact I have over there in Tokyo to get his take on the situation. In a sentence he said, "As bad as it gets" meaning he lost a close friend over on the north side of the island.

There are curently are over 500,000 people homeless living in shelters with no power, no heat and food & water are getting very low. Add to that the fact it's winter.  Even if they have access to money, the grocery stores are already bare. The sad part of all of this is that none of this hardshipwas the fault of those that are struggling.

So I'm thinking how could the 10 or so of us regular, Commenters, Fan Post Writers and Golfers make a difference in the lives of people who need our help now. This is what I came up with. Just a suggestion mind you.

If you planned on playing 18 holes of golf in the next week or two, give it up for that one day and take the $50.00 or so you would normally spend and march on down to your local Red Cross Center and make a donation. If just ten of us did that, they would get $500.00.  I was curious what $500.00 would buy for the people in Japan, so I called the Red Cross and they told me the following.

 Fifty or so 40 LB Bags of Rice, Fifty or so 25 LB Bags of Dry Noodles and about one thousand 9oz bottles of clean water.

 In the past,  if you ever had a time in your life that you were down on your luck and a friend or relative stepped up to the plate and helped you out, think about what a difference it made in your life. 

Now it's your turn to make a difference in someone elses life. Please do what you can to help as, "One Less Round of Golf For You, Could Add One More Day OF Life To Someone Else"

Thanks in Advance, Jumpn

This article is courtesy of Randall Mell of The Golf Channel.

PHOENIX – LPGA pros will be looking to make birdies and eagles for a larger cause while closing hard in bids to win this weekend at the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup.

RR Donnelley announced Thursday that it will donate $500 for every eagle and $100 for every birdie made on the 15th through 18th holes this weekend to UNICEF’s Japan relief effort.

The tournament’s designating the four closing holes at Wildfire Golf Club at JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa as “Japan’s Relief Zone.” The 15th hole is a reachable par 5 at 485 yards.

 

Again this was a Golf Channel article and I am not the author of the above. I hope it was ok to post it by giving credit as to its author.

 

 

For only the second time since 2005, all top 50 players in the OWGR will be in the field this week at Doral Resort and Spa in Miami Florida. Billy Casper won the very first event here in 1962 back when it was called the Doral Country Club Invitational. Since that time many a household name has been to the winners circle in Miami. Three time winners include, Andy Beane, Raymond Floyd and Greg Norman.  Two time winners include, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Doug Sanders, Ernie Els and Tiger Woods.  Other recent winners are Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Geoff Oglvy.

Sixty five of the world’s top 69 are entered this week and there is no cut. With the first 1/3 of the 2011 golf season coming to an end at Arnies tournament in two weeks it’s anybody’s guess as to who is in top form (in anyone) heading into the Masters.

So far 2011 has been the year of Parity and from what I have heard from tour insiders and fans from around the world it’s a welcoming change a thrill to watch. This week there are many players shuffling for position in the OWGR and there is a lot at stake.

This week the question is, will the ole reliable players we have come to know so well finally shine through or will one of the young up and comers step up to the plate and show us all that they have what it takes to bring down the Blue Monster along with the rest of the field.

With this week’s weather in Miami calling for superb conditions, and the past 3 tournaments in Miami having averaged 18 under par, we have all the makings of a “Shoot-out at the OK Doral”

 

On a side note:  One of my partners  had a little mishap this past weekend while skiing and won’t be able to attend Doral this week, so I have postponed my trip to Galway, Ireland and will be in attendance.

Welcome to Miami Bienvenido ami ami {:o)

I was just over at the Golf Channel Website checking out the weekly "Fantasy Island Picks" section and guess who has been added to their list of weekly golf winner predicters ?  Wagglerooms own Ryan Ballengee. Here are his predictions for this week. 

Group A:
Paul Casey
Group B:
Geoff Ogilby

Group C:
Bill Haas

He added, The Englishman is playing well, has a win in Bahrain in 2011 and has consecutive runner-up finishes in this event. Seems like the perfect storm of conditions for him to go deep again this year.

Until proven otherwise, Geoff Ogilvy is the gold standard in this tournament. He's twice a winner and nearly invincible in the format.

Not sure what my life would be like if I didn't say to myself, 'Bill Haas is in contention again this week.' Taking a bit of a flier, though, since Haas has never played in this event.

You can also see his smiling face posted next to his pics and comments, Congrats Ryan.

I noticed that the Yahoo Fantasy Golf Totals are wrong for everyone including myself.  The total points for the year for me so far is 973 as shown on the MY TEAM page which is correnct. However the total points on the waggleroom fantasy leaderboard only has me down for 841 points which is incorrect. I should be in second or third place and not 5th.

 

The same holds true for everyone else's totals being short.

 

Help us out here ????????

With all the errors that the Golf Channel makes on a weekly basis, you would think that they could at least have some control over their personal appearances.

THIS WEEKS GAFF:::: Tim Rosaforte.  Did any of you notice the following ???

Apparently Rosie had a mid-life crisis and decided to grow himself a goatee. Although rather grey, it became noticeable during the Thursday and Friday, Golf Central telecast. Apparently not noticable enough for Rosaforte though.  Forward to Saturdays telecast and "wholly porn producer look". It would appear that Rosaforte didn't care for the grey look, so on goes the 'Just For Men' hair color. Or as I viewed it, "Just For Men on Steroids"  It was so bad that it looked like someone had used a chocolate brown magic marker and drew it on his face.  Apparently Rosie felt the same way.  Fast forward to Sunday nights telecast and the goatee has suddenly disappeared faster than Tour Player spotting Rich Lerner walking toward them with a microphone.

One of the best laughs I had all weekend.  jumpn

GOOD GRIEF, NOT AGAIN !

Villegas was chipping up the slope to the 15th green when the ball twice rolled back toward him. The second time, Villegas walked over and casually swatted away some loose pieces of grass in front of the divot as the ball was still moving down the slope.

That is a violation of Rule 23-1 that says, “When a ball is in motion, a loose impediment that might influence the movement of the ball must not be removed.” The penalty is two shots. Villegas opened with a 72, and he was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

In my opinion the viewers should not be allowed to call in rules infractions.  jumpn

Just in case anyone is interested, here's the 2011 PGA Tour Schedule

Continue reading this post »

 Lee Westwood has opened a three-stroke lead after shooting a 64 in the second round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

The top-ranked player did not drop a shot at the Gary Player Country Club on Friday, making eight birdies to go 12 under, three ahead of fellow Englishman Ross Fisher.

Edoardo Molinari, Miguel Angel Jimenez  and overnight leader Padraig Harrington are six off the lead in a tie for third.

Westwood was one stroke off the course record 63, shared by Ernie Els, Henrik Stenson and Nick Watney. He’s in prime position for his second win of 2010 and a $1.25 million payday.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaah  Baby.  Go Lee

Bubba Watson’s father has lost his battle with cancer. Gerry Watson, who taught his son to play golf growing up in their hometown of Bagdad, Fla., had been battling throat cancer. A former Green Beret, he was a giant influence on his son’s life. He died in Pensacola, Fla., where he had made his new home.

Watson and his wife, Angie, are headed to Pensacola to be with family, according to Watson's management team.

All of us here at Waggle Room, G&S and YPC, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. have the Watson Family in our thoughts.

Well, here it comes, targeting the East Coast of New England - especially the Cape Cod area and just 35 miles southeast of Norton, Ma. Norton is where TPC Boston lives - the home of this week's tournament.

Right now, all the radar trackers have the hurricane either making a direct hit or brushing the coast line of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine before then pushing forward to Nova Scotia, Canada.

It's bad news for the Deutsche Bank Championship, as landfall for Earl is on schedule to happen early Friday and drop some 5-7 inches of rain and who-knows-what-type of wind damage, with predictions now ranging from 55-130 MPH winds.

I'm heading up there later today as I have a summer home that sits right at sea level, a mere 165 feet from the Atlantic during high tide cycle. I need to tighten things up a bit prior to Friday.  In 1991, the Perfect Storm left me with four feet of water in my living room from the storm surge.

Let's all hope that the weathermen are wrong as usual, but at the moment it's not looking too promising.

 

14-3. Artificial Devices, Unusual Equipment and Unusual Use of Equipment
The United States Golf Association (USGA) reserves the right, at any time, to change the Rules relating to artificial devices, unusual equipment and the unusual use of equipment, and make or change the interpretations relating to these Rules.

A player in doubt as to whether use of an item would constitute a breach of Rule 14-3 should consult the USGA.

A manufacturer should submit to the USGA a sample of an item to be manufactured for a ruling as to whether its use during a stipulated round would cause a player to be in breach of Rule 14-3. The sample becomes the property of the USGA for reference purposes. If a manufacturer fails to submit a sample or, having submitted a sample, fails to await a ruling before manufacturing and/or marketing the item, the manufacturer assumes the risk of a ruling that use of the item would be contrary to the Rules.

Except as provided in the Rules, during a stipulated round the player must not use any artificial device or unusual equipment, or use any equipment in an unusual manner:

 

• a. That might assist him in making a stroke or in his play; or
• b. For the purpose of gauging or measuring distance or conditions that might affect his play; or
• c. That might assist him in gripping the club, except that:
  • (i) plain gloves may be worn;
  • (ii) resin, powder and drying or moisturizing agents may be used; and
  • (iii) a towel or handkerchief may be wrapped around the grip.

Was she assisted in any way making a stroke with her weight ?   NOPE

Was she gauging or measuring distance with her weight ?  NOPE

Was she getting an assist in gripping the club ?  NOPE

So I ask.  Why the DQ ?

OK gang, here is your chance to enter again for a opportunity to win a dozen golf balls of your choice. There was no winner in last month's Open Championship contest, but I did award a "consolation" prize to member Wendy_UK.

She has been sent a half dozen new SRIXON yellow balls and a few other golf related goodies.

This week's rules are real simple.

• Choose your top 5 players
• Two of those players MUST finish in the top 5
• In the event of a tie, I will give the award to the one that either has 3 players that finished top 5 or I will put the names of the people entered in a Judge Smails hat and randomly pick a winner.
• If nobody picks 2 players that finish in the top 5 I will award a consolation prize to whomever has just one player in the top-5 that finishes the highest ranked for the week.
• If there is a tie with the consolation prize will i will randomly draw for the winner amongst all those that qualify.
• Entries must be submitted on this Fan Post no later than 2:00 AM EST Thursday.

Good Luck to Everyone!!!     

Love, jumpn/progolf

Ok, So nobody won the US OPEN contest so I thought I'd offer up another one for the Open Championship.

It's real simple, Pick your TOP-5 hopeful players for this weeks Open Championship.

To win you will need to pick the "WINNER" and one other player to finish in the top-5. It doesn't matter if the second players comes in 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th but you must have your winning player actually win the tournament.

In the event of a tie I will put the people involved names in a hat and draw for the winner.

The "PRIZE" will be a dozen golf balls of your choice and some other added golf items as well, such as tee's, golf towel etc etc.

To be eligible, you must post your winner and 4 other players in this FAN POST no later than tomorrow evening, Wednesday, at 12:00 AM EST.

Well we arrived at Pebble Beach late last night and all is well so far except for the weather. Darn chilly here at 52 degrees at 7:00 AM. The rest of the week looks to be much of the same with day time temperatures topping out at 62 with a lot of clouds and somewhat mild winds which should make for some low scoring depending on the speed of the greens.   Brrrrrrrrr,  I was down at the range earlier this morning watching many players working out. With so much talent here this week it's hard to choose a winner. Personaly, I'm pulling for Phil as he has so much to gain with a win. His first US OPEN win, taking over as #1 in the world and an opportunity to capture a year long Grande Slam if he wins all four Majors, a task only accomplished by the late great, Bobby Jones.

My choices are:

Winner: Phil Mickelson

Contender: Davis Love III

Dark Horse: Dustin Johnson

Euro tour pick: Miguel Angel Jimenez

Down the Middle chance: David Toms

Well as I was strolling through the clubhouse here at the "Wentworth By The Sea CC" www.wentworthbytheseacc.com in Rye / NewCastle New Hampshire, I noticed this Tournament Announcement. 

RYE – Local golfing great Jane Blalock set the field for the 2010 Handa Cup, and LPGA Hall-of-Famer Pat Bradley got a sneak peek at the host course yesterday.

Blalock, who grew up in Portsmouth, announced the details of the international competition to be played Labor Day weekend at Wentworth By the Sea Country Club.

This year's Handa Cup, part of the Legends Tour on the Senior LPGA circuit, will also include major winners Beth Daniel, Nancy Lopez, Meg Mallon and Patty Sheehan. Lopez and LPGA great Helen Alfredsson of Sweden will make their debut appearances for the 12-member U.S. and World Teams, respectively, as the U.S. Team looks to stay unbeaten in the Solheim Cup-style event.

"The teams are so strong this year," said Blalock, Legends Tour CEO. "The U.S. probably has the longer hitters, but this is more of a shotmaker's course that may eliminate that advantage. This should be another tight match."

In addition to unveiling the U.S. and World Team rosters, Blalock announced a one-year partnership with Hannaford Supermarkets and Kraft Foods. With such financial backing, organizers are hopeful the Handa Cup will become an annual event.

"That's a discussion I'm sure we'll be having with Jane," said Beth Newlands, president of Hannaford Supermarkets. "We're proud to participate in bringing the Handa Cup to New Hampshire. The Legends Tour is world-class in showcasing the most talented women golfers of all time and in contributing to communities through its charitable initiatives."

Four nights ago we were invited for dinner at the Old Ferry Landing restaurant in Portsmouth, NH owned by Jane Blalock. Beautifull outside deck on the harbor and yummy seafood. http://www.portsmouthnh.com/dining/ferrylanding1.html  We did get a chance to sit and chat with Jane for a bit and she is one classy lady. jumpn/progolf

Yes we have all seen news and sports anchors make plenty of mistakes, but the always beautifull and Golf Channels newest Babe, Win McMurry presented the public with a whopper of a gaff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORhdgW_mw30&feature=related 

The Golf Channel turned into the Spice Channel Sunday when a reporter for the cable network made an X-rated blunder about Tiger Woods bulging disk.

Reporter Win McMurry got Woods' sore neck confused with the part of his anatomy more closely associated with his infamous marital woes.

"[Woods] says he's been playing with a bad neck for about a month and thinks it could be a bulging dick," said McMurry.

The blond broadcaster quickly corrected herself, letting the audience know she was talking about a "disk in his upper back," not the four-letter body part better known to a bevy of porn stars and party girls.

The faux pas aired shortly after Woods withdrew from the last round of The Players Championship golf tournament complaining of pain.

"What was she thinking" ?   I'm almost afraid to ask.  You never know what will happen on Live TV.

jumpn/progolf

"From Inside the Ropes"

I just received this piece of news down here in Ponte Vedra, Beach Florida, at TPC Sawgrass

Tiger Woods says the Titleist irons for sale on eBay were not the ones he used to win four consecutive majors through the 2001 Masters. Woods said Tuesday that while those might be his clubs, they weren’t the ones he used in winning the U.S. Open, British Open, PGA Championship and Masters.  

This news is from a long time friend who is friends with someone from the Associated Press. Maybe it's old news by now, but I figured I'd post it in here anyway as I don't see it mentioned as yet.

jumpn/progolf

My friends over at Rolex sent me this update about an hour ago. It's now official that the LPGA has a new #1. Remove Ochoa from the list, due to retirement and everyone else moves up one spot, including, In Kyung Kim  who would grab the # 10 spot.

1	Jiyai Shin	+1
2	Lorena Ochoa	-1
3	Ai Miyazato	+2
4	Yani Tseng	-1
5	Suzann Pettersen	-1
6	Cristie Kerr
7	Anna Nordqvist
8	Michelle Wie	+1
9	Karrie Webb	-1
10	Na Yeon Choi	+2

Anna Nordqvist won the inaugural Mojo 6 Jamaica LPGA Invitational on Friday, beating Amanda Blumenherst 1-up in the six-hole championship. Nordqvist , who won the LPGA Championship and season ending LPGA Tour Championship last year, earned $350,000 in the unofficial event at Cinnamon Hill.

Nordqvist opened with a 2 up victory over Christina Kim, and beat Cristie Kerr on the first extra hole in the semifinals.

Looks like Anna is going to have a pretty good season as she has been consistent so far. The same holds true for Suzann Pettersen. Both are very talented ladies and deserve a lot more press in ths USA than they currently receive.

So I'm sitting here this morning at the Partridge Inn, Augusta, Ga. with one of my business partners and as usual we have seven laptops going at once, (waggleroom on one of course).  He is scrolling through a plethora of golf news websites and notices that "The Golf Channel" has no mention about todays "Player Press Conference". Not only that but there is barely a mention about the Masters at all other than TW groveling. No thoughts or interviews with other players about the conditions of the course or how individual players feel about their chances this week.

How bad is it when the only tv station we have out there that is suppose to be dedicated to our beloved sport of golf is to busy focusing on one person rather than the tournament itself ? Pathetic if you ask me.  The "Golf Channel" should be ashamed of themselves and once again proves to us "Golf Fans" that they could care less about our sport and only care about themselves. What a Shame !!!

O My , could this be true ???????  anyone ?

I recieved a call from a old audio / video journalist friend of mine today that has informed me on good authority that the questions asked to TW by both ESPN and TGC were both given to tiger well in advance of the interviews.  AND this tidbit also......The supposed "one on one" interview between Kelly and Tiger was perhaps nothing of the sort.  He tells me it was media trickery. He says the first clue is that TGC almost ALWAYS has a sit down side by side with the people that they are interviewing. Secondly when they don't do a sit down, the person they interview is always face forward with the interviewer in the same camera shot.  ( hmmm Take notice none of the above mentioned happened )  My friend seems to think that Kelly was asking the questions alone on a different day and Tiger answered them on a different day as well. The media then panned tiger in on the same shot as kelly asking the questions. Notice they never showed the two together face forward or shaking hands afterwards ect ect. I'm not saying this is true and it's possibly a conspiracy theory, but since I heard of this revelation, I watched the video several times and it quite possibly could be accurate. One more thing.....They never called it a "LIVE INTERVIEW"  hmmmm

As golf is directly connected to how I make my living, I have always found it interesting about what gets said ON Camera vs Off Camera. Jim Furyk who is a neighbor of mine in Ponte Vedra and is said to be good pals with Tiger had this to say in an ON CAMERA interview. "“We’re going to have to be patient,” Furyk said. “There will be times when a guy double bogeys the last hole or has a bad round, and the first question is about Tiger. Guys are not going to want to answer that question. It’s what we’re going to be dealing with at least for the next month. Hopefully, it will pass.”"  One difference Furyk sees is that most players and golf executives are happy that Woods is playing again. Even so, he expects the players to be tested as never before, not so much by the challenge of Augusta National, but the endless questions. As I've been saying for a long time now, the media needs to stop shoving tiger down our throats every chance it gets. Good, Bad, or Indifferent. !!!

A business associate of mine e-mailed me this "Lovely Photo" of Blair O'Neal & Co. attending a Super Bowl Party at the Playboy Mansion. This photo certainly paints a different side of Blair for sure. Now I do stay at a lot of hotels during the course of the golf season, but never in my life have I ever had a Bell Hop or Valet that even closely resembled her. Perhaps if the "Sawgrass Marriot" hired a few girls like her it may help them get out of their recent chapter 11 bankruptys filing.  OOOOOOOOOOO LA LA

http://theradreport.com/playboy_party_blair_oneal

I just got a call from a friend over at Isleworth that has been told by a reliable source the above headline. No added details have been provided. I have known this friend for over 25 years and I doubt very much that he would waste his time calling me if it wasn't true. If it is I am sure it will be well broadcast sometime this evening. Most likely during the Honda Golf Tournament.

I just received a direct connect message from a fellow business partner of ours here in Scottsdale, AZ that tells me, "SHOCK JOCK" Howard Stern will be hosting a Beauty Pageant on his show sometime in March. Who are the contestants you ask ? Well none other than "TIGERS MISTRESSES". Eleven of the dozen or more questionable  ladies will have signed up for the "Beauty ? Pageant" so far and the winner will be awarded One Hundred Thousand dollars $$ in first place prize money. The prize money and co-sponsor of the contest is the Ashley Madison Agency,  a dating service for the "Not So Happily Married" folks. This Infidelity promoting company has been featured on The View, Ellen, Dr. Phil, Good Morning America and Larry King Live. No word as yet on who the judges may be.

This was on our local news last night and I found this article about it today after arriving to the office. Ryan , I hope this is ok to reprint as I'm not quite clear on the rules regarding that in waggleroom. Anyway, credit for article goes to Michael Caldwell of www.tailofthetiger.com Here you will find a picture of "The Golf Balls" http://www.tailofthetiger.com/tail_of_the_tiger_golf_balls_mistresses.html

Tiger Woods and the world of golf have been rocked by a scandal of Herculean proportions.

With the possible exception of Michael Jordan, no other athlete has so dominated a major professional sport as much as Tiger Woods. Athletes of this caliber, with vast commercial appeal, are precious resources and should not be disposed of hastily. And yet this is precisely what some of Tiger's largest sponsors have done – apparently without consideration of what it will cost them over the long term.

What Tiger Woods did was, to millions, unacceptable. But assuming Tiger doesn't forget how to play golf by the time he returns to the sport, I suspect that the massive Tiger Effect is unlikely to diminish any time soon.

It is only a matter of time before Tiger does return to golf and does so with a vengeance! You really think an athlete of his caliber is not going to come back with a big point to prove?

Tiger could easily be even more popular in his return to golf than he was before he left it. True, nobody will ever think he's some clean-cut, paragon of perfection again. But "Any publicity is good publicity." And commercially speaking, that is paramount.

Unlike other contemporary professional athletes, Tiger Woods hasn't physically hurt or abused anybody. Tiger just had a wandering eye. And that is something that many people can relate to personally.

It is time to put this all in perspective.

Tail of the Tiger Golf Balls are designed to lift the spirits of golfers around the world who are saddened by this loss on many levels – from those who make a living at the game to companies that sell products, to the fans who just love to watch a master practice his craft.

So relax and have some fun with Tail of the Tiger golf balls.

"Tiger loves to play with them...now you can too!"

I ordered a box for my office today as I figured they would be a collectable some day. If nothing else a good conversation piece.

again Ryan I hope this repost from the origional is ok. Let me know. Thanks, progolf