Royal Green: January 2006

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

More Puzzles!

I'm having so much fun putting together these golf puzzles that I've decided to go to four per week. I'll continue to look both backward and forward at current tournaments on Mondays ('cause I've gotta have an outlet). Tuesday through Friday I'll put out puzzles starting with a Scramble-Up later today.

Trading Spaces

Hey! Wouldn't that make for an interesting Trading Spaces episode: Tiger and Vijay. But in reality they're trading sides of the globe. Woods heads to Dubai this week to face Els and Goosen while Singh returns to America from the Middle East to face Mickelson and Garcia.

Also in Dubai this week are Colin Montgomerie and David Howell. The former finished fourth in the event last year. The latter looks to stay on top of the 2006 European Order of Merit. The FBR Open also features Kenny Perry and 2006 winners David Toms and Chris DiMarco.

Golfer to watch this week: Kenny Perry could really use a strong showing.

Monday, January 30, 2006

If Only It Were Easier Being Green...

Well, with Mr. Woods winning again, I have no choice but to reinvoke the Tiger Rule and pare down my Tiers list to the top 16 players. Let's pull out our speculum to take a closer look at the arrangement of the players near the top of the Official World Golf Rankings:

Even if Vijay were playing up to par and had won the Qatar Masters, Tiger's win would still have forced invocation of the Tiger Rule.
I know there's not really anything separating Vijay's game from the golfers listed in Tier III (Retief, Phil, Ernie, Sergio), but he's still a point and a half up on Retief in the OWGR and I need a starting gap somewhere so that's why he's in Tier II alone.
Rabbit trail: What's up with using par as a measurement and saying performing above par is good? It sure leaves potential for confusing golf commentary.
I'm not 100% sure of this, but if I'm reading the OWGR charts right, had Sergio Garcia not 3-putted 18 yesterday, he would be number 5 in the world right now.
There aren't any real highlights in Tier IV (Furyk, DiMarco, Toms) or Tier V (Scott, Montgomerie, Perry, M. Campbell, Cabrera, Howell, Donald), so I'll skip right down to:
Missed the cut: Henrik Stenson did win this week, but with Tiger's dominance, Henrik started far enough behind that he's once again out of the top tiers even though he's now inside the top 20 in the world.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Further underway

As the year gets further underway, a few more of the big names show up. Ten of the top thirty are in the Buick Invitational, and another eight are playing in Qatar. With Tiger sloughing drag points from the 2004 Buick and facing a slightly stronger field (points-wise) than Vijay, we have potential for that gap to widen again. However, with Tiger facing rust (if such a thing exists in his world) and Vijay facing a slightly weaker field (competition-wise), we also have potential for that gap to narrow. The narrow gap between Ernie and Sergio is at risk this week as well. With Phil playing while Retief takes the week off, there's a chance for Phil to regain his number 3 world ranking.

Along with Tiger, Phil, and Sergio at the Buick, Chad Campbell looks to continue his strong play while Davis Love III looks to find his form. Luke Donald and Jose Maria Olazabal open their 2006 PGA Tour seasons; and Stuart Appleby, Tim Clark, and Fred Couples round out the top players in the field.

Over at the Qatar Masters, Vijay and Ernie head a field also including David Howell, Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley, Nick O'Hern, Thomas Björn, and Henrik Stenson. That's even better variety at the top than last week. A Fijian, a South African, an Englishman, a Northern Irishman, an Irishman, an Aussie, a Dane, and a Swede congregating in the Middle East.

Golfer to watch this week: Newest member of the top 30 Henrik Stenson. Since everyone seems to be suddenly highlighting Stenson after his performance last week, I feel the urge to point out that I made notice of his potential for 2006 back in November.

Monday, January 23, 2006

DiMarco Soars in Abu Dhabi

Notable moves near the top of the world rankings include:

Chris DiMarco - A return to the winners circle pushes DiMarco back into the top 10.
Chad Campbell - Off to a roaring start, with a second and a win in his first two events of the season. He continues his early leapfrog up the charts to World No. 17 and fourth in the U.S. Ryder Cup team standings.
Scott Verplank - A good showing at the Bob Hope allowed Verplank to move up 5 spots in the OWGR to number 25, but the more noticeable jump is in the Ryder Cup standings where he jumped 17 spots to 9th in an early bid to return to the U.S. squad.
Henrik Stenson - Stenson's second place at home brings him back to his highest point to date in the world rankings (28). Ironically enough, he managed that despite feeling a bit flatulent as he reported dealing with a stomach bug last week.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

CrossQuote 1 Answers

(A)Ryan Moore,(B)Tom Kite,(C)[Hal]Sutton,(D)[Rory]Sabbatini,(E)the hill,(F)Titleist,(G)Nike,(H)Elk[Steve Elkington]

"I like tournaments like this. It breaks the monotony." Robert Damron

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

CrossQuote 1

Here's a soundbite from Robert Damron on the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. (F/L indicates First/Last name):

A.	Q-School skipping 2006 rookie(F,L)	_	_	_	_	_	_	_	_	_
		9	43	11	38	12	37	7	28	35
B.	1997 U.S. Ryder Cup captain(F,L)	_	_	_	_	_	_	_
		40	39	36	4	18	26	50
C.	2004 U.S. Ryder Cup captain(L)	_	_	_	_	_	_
		24	8	53	21	41	14
D.	Known for camo pant Thursdays(L)	_	_	_	_	_	_	_	_	_
		32	44	51	27	30	15	46	10	25
E.	Champions Tour members are "over ____" (2 wds.)	_	_	_	_	_	_	_
		48	22	13	34	52	49	2
F.	Most popular ball on Tour	_	_	_	_	_	_	_	_
		33	23	47	45	5	1	16	6
G.	Tiger's ball	_	_	_	_
		42	3	31	20
H.	1995 PGA Champion, for short	_	_	_
		29	17	19

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10D

11A

12A

13E

14C

15D

16F

█

17H

18B

19H

█

20G

█

21C

22E

23F

24C

█

25D

26B

█

27D

28A

29H

30D

31G

32D

█

33F

34E

35A

█

36B

37A

38A

39B

40B

41C

42G

43A

█

44D

█

45F

46D

47F

48E

49E

50B

█

51D

52E

53C

A Tardy Prognostication

Yesterday, I got my most insane day of 2006 over with early in the year. It figures it's the same week the PGA's tournament starts on a Wednesday.

Fewer than half of the top 33 golfers are competing this week -- 8 at the PGA's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, 7 at the "European" Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.

In California, Mickelson tries to regain points since his recent slide to 5th in the world rankings. Tim Clark makes his 2006 debut this week providing us with a chance to catch his standings in the hair bet. Fred Couples looks for Ryder Cup points and a chance to remain in Tier II. Stewart Cink, Scott Verplank, Chad Campbell, Justin Leonard, and Ben Crane round out the players looking for a chance to move up a tier.

Over in the UAE, Vijay Singh headlines a great international field including Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie, Chris DiMarco, David Howell, Thomas Björn, and John Daly. Just look at that! In a golf tournament in the tiny country of the United Arab Emirates, the top 6 competitors are a Fijian, a Spaniard, a Scot, an American, an Englishman, and a Dane! Isn't golf wonderful?!

Golfer to watch this week: Bob Hope defending champ Justin Leonard.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Welcome, Chad Campbell

Chad Campbell enters the top tiers with an excellent showing to kick off this Ryder Cup year. As Vijay creeps closer to Tiger, the top tiers are narrowed to 33 golfers. Henrik Stenson, Sean O'Hair, K.J. Choi, and Robert Allenby fall off, in part due to inactivity (Stenson and Allenby) and a missed cut (O'Hair). Despite a top 10 showing, Stewart Cink moved down a tier, due to necessary reduction in Tier II.

Worth noting is the fact that, if the Tiger Rule were still in effect, Jim Furyk would finally fit in the same tier as Els, Mickelson, Goosen, and Garcia.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Anagram Set 3 Answers

"Clambake, Mark O'Meara, Bubba Watson, Amateurs, Jason Gore, Davis Love, Villegas, California
Bonus: Sam Snead

Anagram Set 3

AABCEKLM
_ _ _ (_) _ _ _ _
EKMMORRAAA
_ _ _ _ / _ _ (_) _ _ _
BNOBSTUWAAB
_ _ _ _ (_) / _ _ _ _ _ _
MRTUAAES
_ _ (_) _ _ _ _ _
GJNOORSAE
_ _ (_) _ _ / _ _ _ _
DEILVVAOS
(_) _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _
ILSVAEGL
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ (_)
CFIILNORAA
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ (_) _ _

Bonus answer: _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _
Bonus hint: Winner of the first two Bing Crosby Pro-Ams

Anagram Set 2 Answers

Bird's Nest, Mickelson, Phoenix, Scottsdale, DiMarco, Bill Murray, John Daly, Stadium (Course)
Bonus: Thunderbird

Anagram Set 2

Unscramble the following names. Then rearrange the letters in parentheses to find the bonus answer.

DEINRSSBT
_ _ (_) _ _ / _ _ _ (_)
CEILKMNSO
_ (_) _ _ _ _ _ _ (_)
EHNOIPX
_ _ _ (_) _ _ _
AECLOSSTTD
_ _ _ _ _ _ (_) _ _ _
MORIACD
(_) _ _ _ _ _ _
BLALRRIMYU
(_) _ _ _ / _ _ (_) _ _ _
HAJLNOYD
_ _ (_) _ / _ _ _ _
MSUAITD
_ _ _ _ _ (_) _

Bonus answer: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Bonus hint: Shape of the FBR Trophy

Anagram Set 1 Answers

Michelle Wie, Sony Open, Vijay Singh, Shiv Kapur, Bart Bryant, Waialae, Ryan Moore, Ernie Els

Bonus: More awesomer

Golf Anagram Set 1

Unscramble the following names. Then rearrange the letters in parentheses to find the bonus answer.

ELEECHLIIMW
(_)_ _ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _(_)
OEYPOSNN
_(_)_ _ / (_)_ _ _
ASHINIJYGV
_ _ _(_)_ / _ _ _ _ _
IRAPSUHVK
_ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _(_)
YBTTRRABAN
_ _ _ _ / _(_)_ _ _ _
EWIAAAL
(_)_ _ _ _ _ _
OONERARMY
_ _ _ _ / (_)_ _ _(_)
REENSELI
_ _ _ _(_) / _ _(_)

Bonus answer: _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Bonus hint: Stuart Appleby's feelings on his third consecutive Mercedes Championship win

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Sony Open

Ten of the top 36 golfers are playing this week. Vijay Singh looks to continue to narrow that gap between him and Tiger Woods. Adam Scott starts off his year this week, and Jim Furyk looks for another strong Hawaiian showing. Kenny Perry, David Toms, Stuart Appleby, Bart Bryant, and Stewart Cink are the other Tier II players in Honolulu. K.J. Choi and Sean O'Hair represent Tier IV as O'Hair looks to redeem himself after a poor showing in Kapalua.

Golfer to watch the week: Low man in Tier II, Stewart Cink.

This month in history

A friend sent me the following bit of golf trivia:

The earliest known women's golf tournament took place on New Year's Day in Musselburgh, just outside Edinburgh, in 1811. The winner's prize at this open was a 'creel' and a 'skull' (a small fishing basket).

Monday, January 09, 2006

Tiger Rule Suspended

Well, in winning this week, Stuart Appleby managed to pull off a three-peat the same week USC couldn't.

I am suspending the Tiger Rule for the time being. Vijay will be losing some points from last years Sony win, so there is a risk that that gap will widen again, but I'm going to take the chance anyways. By doing so, the list now stands at 36, one person longer than its previous record, but my other option was to whittle the list down to only show the top ten players in the world. This choice was bound to show up sooner or later.

Furyk, Scott, Montgomerie, DiMarco, Cabrera, Howell, Perry, Donald, and Toms move up to Tier II along with returning entrants Campbell, Harrington, Clarke, Love, Clark, Appleby, McGinley, Bryant, Bjorn, Couples, Olazabal, Cink, and Verplank and new entrant O'Hern.

John Daly reenters at Tier III while Leonard, Stenson, and Crane reenter at Tier IV. Choi and O'Hair debut in Tier IV, and Allenby debuts in Tier V.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Scramble-Up 12 Answer

"I never pray to God to make a putt. I pray to God to help me react good if I miss a putt." - Chi Chi Rodriguez

Scramble-Up 12

In keeping with the theme Aaron Baddeley lent to the week, here's a quote I really like from Chi Chi Rodriguez:

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Scramble-Up 11 Answer

"I think Phil, almost more than Tiger, has got more Masters in him, maybe." - Ernie Els

When I first read this, I was thinking Ernie meant more total and the line just seemed absurd; then I realized it makes more sense that he's saying in the future not total. In either case, it seems a bit of stretch. I can't say I agree.

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