Watch More Videos from:

at

Watch More Videos from:

at

Martin Kaymer may want to send Padriag Harrington a thank you note if he goes on to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

While the rest of the golfing world was talking about Harrington’s DQ on Friday, world number three Martin Kaymer was flying under the radar, laying siege to an Abu Dhabi

course that’s become his personal playground in recent years.

His bogey-free 7-under 65 on Friday moved him to 12-under on the week, three-shots clear of Charl Schwartzel. The round had a quiet brilliance to it that’s become Kaymer’s MO in recent years.

While players like Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood continue to make headlines on and off the course, Kaymer continues to fly under the deck and let his game do the talking. If you need a prime example, look no further than last year’s PGA Championship, a tournament that was known more for Dustin Johnson‘s blunder than Kaymer’s victory.

It’s a role he seems to embrace. But that could all change if he wins this week. Assuming he captures his third title in Abu Dhabi, Kaymer would bypass Tiger Woods as the second ranked player in the world. It’s an accomplishment that doesn’t seem to impress Kaymer all that much.

"Every tournament I play this year, at least in the beginning, it will be like this," Kaymer told the Telegraph after Friday’s round. "If you finish here or there you get to No. 2. And of course if you get to No. 2 you want to get No. 1. But it is not my main goal this year."

Kaymer’s main goal this season appears to be implementing a new-look swing that has him swinging on a flatter plane in an effort to promote draw spin on the ball.

Even though the swing is close, Kaymer still said it was a work in progress. If this is what it looks like in the early stages, it’s scary to imagine how good Kaymer could be when he trusts the swing completely.

Read More Golf News from:

On Tuesday night, I drove through Palm Desert to meet some friends at a popular bar near the courses hosting the Bob Hope. I arrived, took my seat and greeted two PGA Tour rookies occupying the table. One was a name everyone has heard of, a kid that is expecting great things in 2011. He’s tall, confident and enjoying the pro life.

The other wasn’t nearly as boisterous. It was 24-year-old Keegan Bradley, a rookie this season after finishing seventh on the Nationwide Tour money list a season ago. His first start was at the Sony Open where he missed the cut, and as the tour pros were sipping water, passing the time before their Wednesday morning tee times, Bradley was talking about what he might do with his time off during some of the big events.

Thing is, if Bradley keeps playing like this, he won’t have to worry. Through three rounds at the Bob Hope, the St. John’s graduate is 15-under, three shots back of the leaders and in a great position to pick up one of the most comforting things a rookie can possess early in the season; a fat check in January.

A lot of the young golfers these days let you know how great they are, but it was nice to see a kid like Bradley not do this. An east coast kid, Bradley rolled his eyes in disgust when I asked him about the Patriots losing to the Jets. He shot hoops and played pool with the rest of us before he had to retire to his life of four-star hotels and perfectly manicured golf courses.

It’s funny, on Tuesday Bradley was talking about an early trip to Vegas if he didn’t get in the Waste Management Open. Now, three days later, he is thinking about a whole other Vegas, as he chasing Jhonattan Vegas for the next two rounds.

Keegan seems like the type of kid you like rooting for, and during the weekend, that’ll be my job. We aren’t supposed to cheer in the press box, but on your couch, watching golf, it’s a little different. It’s hard not to like the humble guys that let their golf clubs do the talking. So far, Bradley’s sticks are doing a very nice job of that. 

Read More Golf News from:

Watch More Videos from:

at

See, this is why golf rules. Most of the world’s best players are over in Abu Dhabi, opening the door wide for unknowns to take center stage at the Bob Hope Classic. And who better to step into the spotlight than a guy who sounds like a big-band singer?

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage … Jhonny Vegas!

Yes, his last name is Vegas, and yes, that’s how you spell his first name. (Actually, it’s "Jhonattan.") He grew up in Venezuela, he learned golf by playing with broomsticks and rocks, and nobody knew who the heck he was prior to Thursday’s round. His press conference was a series of questions verifying hastily-read bio information.

And when you don’t know what to ask, there’s always this:

Q. What does it feel like to be in the lead of a PGA TOUR event?

JHONATTAN VEGAS: It’s fun.

Vegas took the various iterations of "help us out here, we don’t know who the heck you are" in stride, and he’s clearly thrilled to be in the mix here. But the media and fans aren’t the only ones who don’t know Jhonny Vegas yet. When asked whether he knew anything about his Day 3 playing partner, co-leader Boo Weekley replied, "I ain’t got a clue … That’s y’all’s job. My job is just to play golf."

It’s a long way to go to Sunday night, but if Jhonny Vegas can keep it together till then, everybody’s going to know his name. And he ought to start wearing shiny suits and skinny ties to the course every single day. Only right for a guy named Vegas.

Read More Golf News from:

Padraig Harrington can’t win for losing. Since his incredible run from 2007-08 when Harrington picked up three majors in six tries, things just haven’t been so easy for the Irishman. But Paddy announced in 2011 that he was changing up his swing (again) and that this time it would be better (again), and after his first round at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, it seemed the changes might actually take.

Harrington posted an opening 65, leaving him a shot back of Charl Schwartzel at the high profiled event, but for the second time in 2011, a viewer called a penalty on a golfer that had long signed his scorecard and Padraig was disqualified.

The penalty? Rule 23A under the Rules of Golf, a very similar infraction to what Camilo Villegas went through at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions when he was asked to leave early in Hawaii. Padraig, as you can see in the above video, went to mark his ball on the 7th hole, and as he was pulling the mark back, the ball moved ever so slightly, just enough to warrant a two-stroke penalty. Padraig didn’t notice it (as most anyone wouldn’t with such a small movement of the ball), and since he had signed his scorecard without acknowledging the penalty, he was promptly disqualified. 

This is becoming a serious problem in golf, and with the addition of high definition and full coverage of every shot on every hole, something needs to be changed. It isn’t fair to the golfers, it isn’t fair to the fans and it isn’t fair to the game that someone can be kicked out of a tournament because they are breaking rules they don’t even know occurred by someone thousands of miles away. Sure, it is a rules infraction, and a penalty should be handed out, but being disqualified seems drastic and unfair.

I’m worried that golfers will start to be too guarded. They will take even more time making sure they aren’t doing anything wrong with the cameras on them, and it will slow the game down even more (if that’s possible) and make it less enjoyable.

It’s a no-win here, yet it continues to happen. Come on USGA and R&A. Unlike the Ten Commandments, your rules come with an eraser. Figure out a fair way to change this, and do it before it ruins golf. 

video via Geoff Shackelford

Read More Golf News from:

On Thursday, Davis Love III was officially announced as the U.S. captain for the 2012 Ryder Cup team, complementing the announcement of Jose Maria Olazabal as the European captain. While both announcements were expected, both are equally welcome. Love and Olazabal are straight class, both worthy of their selection. They’ll do their teams proud.

Ah, but will they lead their teams to victory? Honor is nice, but what about glory?

Olazabal is the more emotional golfer, but don’t mistake Love’s calm for a lack of passion. You don’t get to 20 PGA Tour wins without a fire in the ol’ belly. 

The question, really, is which man can get his team to play at the best of their ability in the most trying of circumstances. A gut take: Olazabal will be more fiery-coach inspiring, while Love will be of the don’t-disappoint-Dad school of motivation. Which approach works better with overpaid millionaires? Both styles have won the Ryder. 

Early on, Olazabal would seem to have the edge in both team talent and inspiration. But it’s a long way to the fall of 2012, and much can change. Love has more than a year to figure out how to light a fire under his team, and evidence suggests he’ll do exactly that.

Snap judgment time. Who’s your pick?

Read More Golf News from:

It has always been known as the fifth major in the United States, but don’t expect Europeans to be claiming The Players Championship that important anytime soon. Lee Westwood, currently the No. 1-ranked player in the world, announced on Thursday that he won’t be playing the event this year because it conflicts with his schedule, something no player would do if they deemed the TPC Sawgrass event important.

Westwood, who is one of many top European players that will focus more of their 2011 schedule across the pond instead of in the U.S., said that he has his schedule made up and it just won’t include this event. Here is what Westwood told Paul Mahoney on Thursday at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship: 

"I’d play if I could, but my schedule is based around the majors. And it’s set now," Westwood said Thursday. "I don’t want to go into The Players not having played for four weeks after the Masters. And I don’t want to stay in the States to practice for three weeks so I’ll play a couple of tournaments on the European Tour instead."

A lot of Americans might be up in arms about this decision, but I agree with Westwood. Say what you want about the Players, but here are some of the winners the event has produced over the last 10 years: Craig Perks, Fred Funk and Stephen Ames. While a devil’s advocate could toss Shaun Micheel and Ben Curtis right back at me, the point is, it is considered elite because we are made to believe it’s elite. The money is incredible, the course is famous and the event normally has huge names. That said, is it really that great of a tournament, or is it an event that has become so tricked up that if you’re on the wrong side of a weekday draw, you might not have a chance at all?

If I was Westwood, and the choice was between going home for three weeks or staying in the states for three weeks with no important events to occupy my time, I’d fly home and set up some stuff there. The PGA Tour isn’t going to like it, but it is ultimately Westwood’s decision, and I agree with him.

Just this week people were wondering why Phil Mickelson was playing a European Tour event instead of the Bob Hope. Couldn’t the same be said about Westwood if he picked this event and it caused him to alter his schedule and miss out on certain big events around his homeland? Sure seems like it. 

Read More Golf News from:

You could throw darts at the leaderboard of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and you’d hit a big name on every toss. But at the moment, nobody’s riding higher than Charl Schwartzel. (Leave off the "-es" for "extra strokes.")

Schwartzel, who’s apparently teeing off a beach or something there in the photo at right, leads the star-studded field after one round with an 8-under. He’s one ahead of Padraig Harrington, who’s testing out a new swing that clearly hasn’t exploded in his face just yet. Graeme McDowell is at 6-under, Lee Westwood is at 3-under, and Phil Mickelson is at 1-under, for those of you keeping track at home.

Schwartzel carded nine birdies against just one bogey, with eight of those lil’ fellers coming in the first 12 holes. The South African, a protege of Ernie Els, has a long way to go in the desert, but so far, he’s got one of the toughest fields in golf in his rear-view mirror.

Read More Golf News from: