Dufner wins and spikes the ball (or not)

20 May 2012 21:21:39 Z

Jason Dufner is not sleepwalking to stardom, though his demeanor might suggest otherwise. If he weren't an Auburn man, one might conclude that he is an adherent of the old Bear Bryant line, that when you get to the end zone, act like you've been there before.

He's now gotten to the end zone twice in three starts, the second coming when he holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the HP Byron Nelson Championship on Sunday to beat a 'Bama man, Dicky Pride, by a shot.

Photo by Getty Images.

"Jason won by one, but we've got the national title, big man," Pride said, showing more emotion for finishing second than Dufner did for winning, perhaps for good reason. Pride, 41, had been 354th in the World Ranking and has now earned a return to the PGA Tour full-time.

"All my buddies on the Nationwide Tour?" he said. "Guys, I love you, but I'm staying out here."

Meanwhile, Dufner, 35 and following a nondescript start to his career, is now, in fact, sprinting to stardom, this victory carrying him into the top 10 in the World Ranking and evoking a hint of a smile in the aftermath. His two PGA Tour victories have come in the last month, in between which he got married. Presumably, though not undoubtedly, he smiled in the wedding photo.

Morgan Pressel in position to capture first victory since 2008

20 May 2012 21:21:39 Z

GLADSTONE, N.J. -- Winning the Sybase Match Play Championship would be quite an early birthday present for Morgan Pressel, who turns 24 next Wednesday. Given the recent arc of her career, though, just making it...

Morgan Pressel in position to capture first victory since 2008

20 May 2012 21:21:39 Z

GLADSTONE, N.J. -- Winning the Sybase Match Play Championship would be quite an early birthday present for Morgan Pressel, who turns 24 next Wednesday. Given the recent arc of her career, though, just making it to Sunday morning's semifinals is a well-earned gift in itself.

Pressel's best finish in 2012 was a T-20 at the Kia Classic. She is looking for her first victory since 2008. After a rousing comeback victory over No. 2 seed Na Yeon Choi Saturday morning, Pressel defeated Anna Nordqvist 5 and 4 Saturday afternoon. For Pressel, who will face 24-year-old Azahara Munoz of Spain on Sunday, this week has been a big step forward. (Candie Kung and Vicky Hurst will square off in the other semifinal.)

"No matter what happens, this is the best I've played in a long time," Pressel said. "I finally feel comfortable with my game again to a point where I haven't been in a while. I'm going to give it everything I have tomorrow. But I just have a lot of confidence going into the heart of the season."

Pressel has been working recently with instructor Ron Stockton, previously her short-game coach, on all parts of her game. She is trying to recapture some of the magic that made her the youngest winner (18 years, 10 months, 9 days) of an LPGA major championship at the 2007 Kraft Nabsico.

"Certainly people put expectations on me -- the media, the fans, my sponsors, everybody wants me to play well," Pressel said. "Having won the Kraft so young, I'm never going to say it was a bad thing. I mean, I'm a major champion, the youngest in LPGA history. I probably more than anybody else put extra pressure on myself to really be a world-beater, and I don't think I was quite ready for that and don't think I was quite mature enough for that."

-- Bill Fields

Tseng falls in Match Play as upset theme continues

20 May 2012 21:21:39 Z

GLADSTONE, N.J. -- It's match play. Upsets happen. And they have at the LPGA's Sybase Match Play Championship at Hamilton Farm GC.   The week's underdog theme continued unbridled Saturday morning in the third round...

Weekend Tip: 3 Ways to Jumpstart Your Swing

20 May 2012 21:21:39 Z

After watching the perils of Kevin Na last week, and all the pontificating about the trouble he's been having starting his swing, it occurred to me that this is actually a problem common to a...

The LPGA Tour: Indeed, it's different out here

20 May 2012 21:21:39 Z

GLADSTONE, N.J. - Can you picture a PGA Tour pro teeing it up with a group of amateurs on a Friday morning of a tournament week? No? Well that's because that would never happen. It's...

Occupy PGA to protest Senior PGA, demands compensation

20 May 2012 21:21:39 Z

A group of citizens from Benton Harbor, Mich., that calls itself Occupy the PGA plans to protest at the Senior PGA Championship at the Golf Club at Harbor Shores next week and has sent a letter to the PGA of America demanding 25 percent of the tournament profits as "partial compensation for stolen land and water" and to help close budget deficits in the city.

The protest organizer, Rev. Edward Pinkney, said that his group does not plan to interrupt play. "We don't want to cause a tremendous disturbance," he said Friday, "we just want to make them sit down with us."

Pinkney said he expects only 300 to 400 protesters to show up on Wednesday, but on Saturday, "we're expecting thousands and thousands of people to show. The main thing we want to accomplish is that we want them to come to the table and sit down with us -- the PGA, along with Harbor Shores, Whirlpool and KitchenAid."

KitchenAid, which has headquarters in Benton Harbor, is the presenting sponsor. Whirlpool is KitchenAid's parent company.

"Benton Harbor is $5 million in the red," Pinkney said. "Our goal is that we can knock off some of that $5 million if they decide to come and help the city."

The letter Pinkney sent to the PGA of America last week was in care of David Charles, senior director of championships for the organization. It demanded "cancellation of the tournament in Benton Harbor. Failing that, we hereby make the following demands on the 2012 Senior PGA:

-- "Transfer 25% of the 2012 Senior PGA profits to the citizens of Benton Harbor as partial rightful compensation for stolen land and water and for the purpose of meeting budget deficits and building affordable housing for the people of Benton Harbor.

-- "We call on each of [the players competing in the tournament] to hear the grievances of the people of Benton Harbor and either withdraw from the tournament or show their support for the demonstration planned for May 23-27, Occupy the PGA.

-- "Acknowledge in an announcement at the Senior PGA event that the people of Benton Harbor have been exploited in numerous ways...including the theft of public park land for private profit and the complete undermining of democratic structures by the installation of an Emergency Financial Manager [in Benton Harbor]."

Julius Mason, senior director communications for the PGA of America, provided this statement regarding the planned protest:

"The PGA of America is excited about it collaboration with a broad section of Benton Harbor in bringing the 73rd Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid to this community, and its positive impact on its citizens. The residents of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph have welcomed the Senior PGA Championship as an opportunity to showcase the area's vibrant history, culture and economic transformation on a national stage."

As for security, "The safety and security of our players and spectators is our No. 1 priority at each of our events. The 73rd Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid is no exception."

Professional golf tournaments tend to provide economic boosts to communities and help fund charities in them, as Mason noted in an email exhange.

"Golf is a big job provider in the State of Michigan where more than 50,000 people make golf their career," he wrote. "So too does the Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid which created more than 250 temporary jobs for people in this community. We're pleased with our work with the Consortium for Community Development to identify and train qualified individuals for positions requiring certain skills. We hope to see this lead to some of these individuals securing future full-time positions in a related field following the Championship.

"Golf and charity are intertwined at every level and our PGA Foundation, in conjunction with [the] Championship, will deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars of support for local charities including the Boys and Girls Club of Benton Harbor. The PGA of America will also collaborate with The First Tee of Benton Harbor on-site during the Championship.

"Golf is very proud of its positive environmental impact as well managed open green space that provides jobs, tourism, tax revenue, recreational benefits and uses national resources efficiently. The 530-acre Harbor Shores development, a former brownfield and Super Fund site, is a prime example of how golf can improve a community's land assets."

Pinkney said the Occupy the PGA movement already has proven successful. "They've been giving away tickets," he said, claiming responsibility. "Regardless what happens, we've already basically won this battle. Now they have to realize how serious we are and we're also going to be planning for 2014."

The Senior PGA Championship is scheduled to return to the Golf Club at Harbor Shores in 2014. The course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and was partially built on a portion of Jean Klock Park that the city sold to the Harbor Shores developers. Three of the holes are on park land that Harbor Shores leases from the city.

UPDATE: Jeff Noel, corporate vice president communications and public affairs for Whirlpool and the president of Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment, said in an email that Pinkney has never requested a meeting. "I am always happy to meet with any local community leader...Unfortunately, despite our seeing each other occasionally in the community, Reverend Pinckney has never requested a meeting with me or our organizations," Noel wrote. "If he did, I would welcome the chance to discuss the benefits of the Sr. PGA Tournament as well as ways in which the Harbor Shores development and the not for profit organizations associated with the project have helped raise over $7.5 million to build 3 new facilities for the Benton Harbor Boys and Girls Clubs and First Tee and have provided the private matching funds to help build and or renovate over 600 affordable homes in the community."

Noel also noted that two Harbor Habitat for Humanity homes "are currently under construction near the golf course thanks to volunteers, funding and land donated by Whirlpool Corporation and Harbor Shores."

-- John Strege

Trending: Rhein Gibson's 55, and nine other 'unbeatable' sports records

20 May 2012 21:21:39 Z

(Rhein Gibson center, flanked by his playing partners Eric Fox, left, and Ryan Munson, right. Photo via GolfOklahoma.org)

Let us all take a moment to congratulate Rhein Gibson for the remarkable 16-under 55 he shot over the weekend at River Oaks GC in Edmond, Oklah. As amazing as it was, it's still only tied for the lowest round of golf ever recorded -- Homero Blancas fired a 55 at the 1962 Premier Invitational, in Longview, Tex. While both rounds are equally remarkable, the Guinness Book of World Records does not recognize Blancas' round because it was shot on a course deemed "too short" (the course, which actually no longer exists, was a 9-hole layout with two different tee boxes on each hole to create the full 18 and was only slightly longer than 5,000 yards). So Gibson's 55 stands alone as the pinnacle of golf records; one that I am going to go on record as saying is unbeatable.

Unbeatable the way Joe Dimaggio's 56-game hitting streak is unbeatable; or Wilt's 100 point game (or his 55 rebound game); or Byron Nelson's 11-straight consecutive tour wins. But these records are all of the sports-bar trivia variety, the kind that even the most novice of fan would be able to answer. Luckily, sports is filled with enough bizarre facts to keep the Elias Sports Bureau in business, so I've collected nine more of the most random unbeatable records to never grace the pages of Guinness. With Gibson's 55, this is a top 10 list for you to throw around the water cooler.

Ambush update: The Ponce is going across The Pond

20 May 2012 21:21:39 Z

The Ponce was, and always will be, the first Ambush. It was 16 guys colliding with the courses of Sea Island, boyish camaraderie, enjoying the comforts of the Lodge, shoulder-season specials and a few bottles...

Fitness Friday: Like Bud Cauley, you can generate more clubhead speed

20 May 2012 21:21:39 Z

Every week my colleague Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. This week he shows you how to increase your clubhead speed, no matter whether you're small in...