Royal Green

Best Ball 33 Answer

2008-01-14T11:59:00.000-06:00

"There's something about being over here that just gives me golfing fever." - Rory Sabbatini

Best Ball 33

2008-01-14T11:37:00.000-06:00

Short retirement. I'm back for the new season. Here's what Rory Sabbatini had to say about Maui:

SRHIH'G GATHSRMDC LKANS KHMDC AEHI RHIH

SRLS UNGS CMEHG TH CAJOMDC OHEHI.

This blog is retiring...

2007-09-18T14:52:00.000-05:00

...but the archives will remain.

Best Ball 32

2007-07-23T15:35:00.000-05:00

"To try to win a tournament on that hole, there's just trouble everywhere you look at it." - Padraig Harrington

Best Ball 32

2007-07-23T10:51:00.000-05:00

It's about time we fans had another major with a finish like this (minus the ridiculous VDV montage). I thought I was going to be mad at Sergio if he lost, but given the way it played out and with as deserving a champion as Padraig Harrington, the 2007 Open just about made up for the less-than-optimal Masters and U.S. Open this year. I loved it.

And here's what the champion thinks of Carnoustie's 18th:

VN VDU VN SGI M VNODIMCTIV NI VAMV ANET, VATDT'L

POLV VDNORET THTDUSATDT UNO ENNQ MV GV.

Best Ball 31 Answer

2007-07-16T16:25:00.001-05:00

"My head say I think you should retire... but my heart was keeping telling me that you would be better to continue playing and compete." - Seve Ballesteros

Best Ball 31

2007-07-16T16:14:00.000-05:00

Seve Ballesteros announcing his decision to retire:

EC NALK BLC S PNSHT CWO BNWOFK IAPSIA... DOP EC

NALIP MLB TAAGSHY PAFFSHY EA PNLP CWO MWOFK DA

DAPPAI PW UWHPSHOA GFLCSHY LHK UWEGAPA.

Puzzler Answers

2007-07-10T08:28:00.000-05:00

1. Stewart Cink
2. Stuart Appleby
3. Jeev Milka Singh
4. Payne Stewart
5. Stephen Ames
6. Billy Andrade
7. Arjun Atwal
8. Rich Beem
9. Glen Day
10. Nick Faldo

Puzzler

2007-07-09T16:24:00.000-05:00

I felt like doing something different this week, so here are some clues to various golfers:

1. Hearty Irish soup + Luke Donald's hobby + a small washbasin
2. Hearty Irish soup + Luke Donald's hobby + a red delicious + a buzzing insect
3. Ask's butler - s + dairy drink + a + warble
4. Ache + hearty Irish soup + Luke Donald's hobby
5. Stair unit + chicken + goals
6. Debt + y + in addition + pest control spray
7. Pirate growl + sixth month + Cockneyized cap + room separator
8. Wealth + column of light
9. Scottish valley + 24 hours
10. Small cut + tumble + uncooked bread

Scramble 20 Answer

2007-07-02T10:01:00.000-05:00

"I did feel like a guppy out there, gasping for breath. That's normal" - Cristie Kerr

Scramble 20

2007-07-02T09:29:00.000-05:00

2007 U.S. Women's Open champion Cristie Kerr on walking up to 18 on Sunday:

█

Best Ball 30 Answer

2007-06-26T10:04:00.000-05:00

"I think that's quite simply the sign of a champion to have pretty much a disastrous first day and still nearly win the thing." - Niclas Fasth on Bernhard Langer

Best Ball 30

2007-06-26T09:32:00.000-05:00

Niclas Fasth on Bernhard Langer at the BMW International Open:

L IRLBM IRWI'E DNLIA ELSOKC IRA ELYB UG W

JRWSOLUB IU RWFA OHAIIC SNJR W PLEWEIHUNE

GLHEI PWC WBP EILKK BAWHKC QLB IRA IRLBY.

Best Ball 29 Answer

2007-06-18T15:51:00.000-05:00

"Nobody is a golf professional by chance. I think he will have to work hard to be here." - Angel Cabrera

Best Ball 29

2007-06-18T15:14:00.000-05:00

Here's what Angel Cabrera had to say about the possibility of his son following in his footsteps:

UFSFKJ MA C EFNO RLFOPAAMFUCN SJ VDCUVP.

M BDMUY DP TMNN DCIP BF TFLY DCLK BF SP DPLP.

"Alice"'s Mel Wins U.S. Open?

2007-06-18T14:23:00.000-05:00

Okay, okay, I'm pathetic at keeping this thing going, but at least I finally sat down and got everything archived by puzzle type and by golfer.

In other commentary, I just have to point out the resemblance between Angel Cabrera and Vic Tayback who played Mel on TV's "Alice." Check out their pics here and here.

Best Ball 28 answers

2007-04-05T17:43:00.000-05:00

Camellia, Pampas, Juniper, Magnolia, Tea Olive, Holly, Nandina, Redbud, Firethorn, Azalea

Best Ball 28

2007-04-05T17:27:00.000-05:00

Here's a coded list of 10 of the holes at Augusta National:

RWHTCCJW

BWHBWL

SDVJBTK

HWIVGCJW

OTW GCJZT

PGCCF

VWVAJVW

KTACDA

YJKTOPGKV

WQWCTW

Best Ball 27 Answer

2007-03-29T10:20:00.001-05:00

"Some guys are better than you. Some guys are better than all of us. One guy is. If he has a criteria he wants to do, fine." - Rocco Mediate

Best Ball 27

2007-03-29T10:03:00.000-05:00

Rocco Mediate is opinionated enough he deserves to have this week's puzzle quote. The tricky part was deciding just what part of his soapbox speech to quote.

MRHS UDNM YTS ESAAST AWYF NRD. MRHS UDNM YTS ESAAST

AWYF YBB RP DM. RFS UDN GM. GP WS WYM Y ITGASTGY WS

OYFAM AR LR, PGFS.

Lost Balls 3 Answer

2007-03-22T16:39:00.000-05:00

"More media interest. It's ten people instead of eight." - Henrik Stenson

Lost Balls 3

2007-03-22T15:37:00.000-05:00

Now that tax season has slowed down, I'm back. This word search will reveal what Henrik Stenson had to say about how his life has changed since winning the Match Play in February. Simply transfer the unused letters into the blanks below.

"_ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . /

_ _ ' _ / _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ . "

Ames	Glover	Oberholser
Appleby	Goosen	Ogilvy
Bickerton	Goydos	Olazabal
Bjorn	Haig	Oosthuizen
Broadhurst	Harrington	Otto
Calcavecchia	Henry	Pernice
Campbell	Jaidee	Poulter
Casey	Johnson	Scott
Curtis	Meesawat	Singh
Donald	Mickelson	Tanihara
Els	Montgomerie	Toms
Garcia	O'Hern	Wilson

Best Ball 26 Answer

2007-01-30T08:33:00.000-06:00

"I gave the guy a baby gift, I was hoping he would pay it back somehow." - Charles Howell III

Best Ball 26

2007-01-30T08:11:00.000-06:00

Charles Howell III:

C HERQ UIQ HST E OEOT HNAU, C LEB IMWNKH IQ

LMSJY WET NU OEPD BMXQIML.

Yeah, Tiger. Share the love. Let someone else win every now and then.

Best Ball 25 Answer

2007-01-22T16:38:00.000-06:00

"If there's no hairdresser that he goes to, then I'm going to the same one he's going to." - Charley Hoffman

Best Ball 25

2007-01-22T16:28:00.000-06:00

Charley Hoffman on looking like Craig T. Nelson:

TM ASINI'K DE SPTNRNIKKIN ASPA SI OEIK AE,

ASID T'F OETDO AE ASI KPFI EDI SI'K OETDO AE.

Best Ball 24 Answer

2007-01-14T10:23:00.000-06:00

"I hope my teachers are nice to me. I hope they are not mad." - Tadd Fujikawa

Best Ball 24

2007-01-14T10:14:00.000-06:00

Poor kid's gotta go back to school and catch up on homework after the Sony Open. (That'd be Tadd Fujikawa I'm talking about here.)

T OAMU SE NUIGOUHR IHU PTGU NA SU.

T OAMU NOUE IHU PAN SIL.

Cerebral golf

2007-01-06T15:19:00.000-06:00

Geoff Ogilvy is always thinking, so he is a fount of interesting quotes. I liked the following from his most recent press interview:

"When you don't think you have a problem, you get to the point where you realize you have a problem and then you get to the point where you know you have to fix the problem and then you get to the point where you know how to fix the problem. There's a process, there's no like, that's it, I'm going to be great.
When I'm 21, listen, everyone is wrong and I'm right. And at 25, you're like, well, I'm actually wrong or I don't know how to be right. And then at 30, I'm working this out.
And everyone goes through that process. Some guys work it out when they are younger and some guys don't ever work it out. So I just think it's growing up. And that's not just golf, that's life."

And then there are those that put a little less thought into their golf as evidenced by this segment of Rory Sabbatini's last press interview:

"You know, golf is a strange game. You get what you get and that's about it. You can only put your best foot forward and hope it's good enough. You know, sometimes that happens. It goes in cycles like that, so you just -- I don't think you can spend too much time analyzing it. I think you can try to learn from it and try to improve on it."

New Year

2007-01-03T14:34:00.000-06:00

Well, it's a new year, so maybe I'll turn over a new leaf and keep up with this site better - but no promises. Anyways, here's a word search containing all of the players in the field this week in Kapalua.

Ames	Herron	Pettersson
Appleby	Holmes	Rollins
Axley	Immelman	Sabbatini
Baddeley	Love	Scott
Campbell	MacKenzie	Senden
Choi	Maggert	Singh
Couch	Matteson	Toms
Curtis	Oberholser	Trahan
Donald	Ogilvy	Triplett
Durant	Pampling	Wetterich
Furyk	Pavin	Wilson
Henry

2006 OWGR Review

2006-11-09T14:44:00.000-06:00

Most Improved: Robert Karlsson was ranked 195th at this point last year and is now 34th. That is essentially a jump from being a Tier 71 player to a Tier 5 player. I hadn't even heard of him before this year, but he made his mark in 2006. Random note from looking at Tier 5: It would have been quite interesting if Karlsson's given name were Peter.

Honorable Mention: Joe Durant (102 - 32)

Most Consistent: Davis Love III is not only in the same tier he was one year ago. He is also in the exact same place he was in the OWGR at that time. Posting a win once every couple of years will do that for you.

Honorable Mention: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

Biggest Slide: John Daly only received OWGR points for 4 events in 2006 and slid from 28th to 144th. So much for that Ryder Cup campaign.

Dishonorable Mention: Mark Hensby (35 - 139), Justin Leonard (29 - 105)

2006	2005
Tier I	Tier I
Tiger Woods	Tiger Woods
Tier II	Tier II
Jim Furyk	Vijay Singh
Phil Mickelson	Phil Mickelson
Adam Scott	Retief Goosen
Vijay Singh	Ernie Els
Retief Goosen	Sergio Garcia
Luke Donald	Jim Furyk
Ernie Els	Adam Scott
Sergio Garcia	Chris DiMarco
Geoff Ogilvy	Kenny Perry
Padraig Harrington	Angel Cabrera
Henrik Stenson	David Toms
Trevor Immelman	Luke Donald
David Howell	Padraig Harrington
Paul Casey	Colin Montgomerie
David Toms	Michael Campbell
Davis Love III	Davis Love III
Colin Montgomerie	Paul McGinley
Jose Maria Olazabal	David Howell
Chris DiMarco	Darren Clarke
Angel Cabrera	Tim Clark
Tim Clark	Thomas Bjorn
Stewart Cink	Fred Couples
Michael Campbell	Bart Bryant
Chad Campbell	Stewart Cink
Stuart Appleby	Scott Verplank
Rod Pampling
Tier III	Tier III
K. J. Choi	Jose Maria Olazabal
Darren Clarke	John Daly
Tier IV	Tier IV
Nick O'Hern	Justin Leonard
Ian Poulter	Stuart Appleby
Joe Durant	Miguel Angel Jimenez
	Chad Campbell
	Henrik Stenson
Tier V	Tier V
Carl Petersson	Ben Crane
Robert Karlsson	Mark Hensby

Desperate time - Desperate measures

2006-10-19T16:23:00.000-05:00

Golf lesson of the week: Make sure you don't let your golf clubs settle too close to your trunk latch.

Last month my trunk got stuck shut because some plastic from my golf bag wedged in the trunk latch. Worsening the issue was the fact that my purse was trapped in the trunk. It is amazing what the mind can come up with to rescue something valuable. One of my crazier, although not too serious, thoughts was, Maybe if I pay someone to run their car into the back of mine the trunk lid will be jarred open. However, my craziest imagined scenario went something like this:

[Find a police car and speed past it, so I get pulled over.]
Officer: May I see your driver's license and proof of insurance.
Me: Gladly, officer. Here is my insurance, but you'll have to break into my trunk to get my ID.

Fortunately, I am still of sound mind, so the option that won out was taking it to the dealer to pull out the back seat. Unfortunately, all the struggling to turn the key in the trunk ruined the key. That led to some discordance between my key and the ignition. Fortunately, I have the original key, so all the problems are now solved.

RWWGR Tiers

2006-10-17T08:40:00.000-05:00

Tier I

Annika Sorenstam

Tier II

Lorena Ochoa

Tier III

Karrie Webb ↓

Cristie Kerr

Tier IV

Juli Inkster

Paula Creamer

Ai Miyazato

Jeong Jang

Shiho Ohyama

Michelle Wie

Pat Hurst

Mi Hyun Kim

Tier V

Yuri Fudoh ↓

OWGR Tiers

2006-10-16T14:40:00.000-05:00

Tier I

Tiger Woods

Tier II

Jim Furyk

Phil Mickelson

Tier III

Adam Scott

Vijay Singh

Retief Goosen ↑

Ernie Els

Tier IV

Luke Donald ↑

Geoff Ogilvy ↑

Sergio Garcia ↑

Henrik Stenson*

Tier V

Padraig Harrington*

RWWGR Tiers

2006-10-11T08:32:00.000-05:00

Tier I

Annika Sorenstam

Tier II

Lorena Ochoa

Karrie Webb

Tier III

Cristie Kerr

Tier IV

Juli Inkster

Paula Creamer

Jeong Jang

Ai Miyazato

Shiho Ohyama

Michelle Wie

Pat Hurst ↑

Mi Hyun Kim*

Yuri Fudoh*

Tier V

Se-Ri Pak*

Hee-Won Han*

Seon-Hwa Lee*

Natalie Gulbis*

Jee Young Lee*

* = New adds

OWGR Tiers

2006-10-09T20:51:00.000-05:00

Tier I

Tiger Woods

Tier II

Jim Furyk

Phil Mickelson

Tier III

Adam Scott

Vijay Singh

Ernie Els

Tier IV

Retief Goosen ↓

Tier V

Luke Donald ↓↓

Sergio Garcia ↓

Geoff Ogilvy

RWWGR Tiers

2006-10-03T11:23:00.000-05:00

Tier I

Annika Sorenstam

Tier II

Lorena Ochoa

Karrie Webb

Tier III

Cristie Kerr

Tier IV

Juli Inkster ↓

Paula Creamer

Ai Miyazato ↑

Jeong Jang ↑

Michelle Wie ↑

Shiho Ohyama*

Tier V

Pat Hurst

* = New adds

Bragging Interlude

2006-10-02T11:10:00.000-05:00

Just a brief note to brag about one of my fantasy golf teams. At this point in the 4th quarter of PGATour.com's Salary Cap Cup I am 16th in the standings. I doubt the good fortune will continue until the end of the season, but "Hooray!" while it lasts. :)

Great Scott!

2006-10-02T08:53:00.000-05:00

The tiers are back up because they give me a perspective to talk about things.

Despite only one win so far this year - and that in Singapore - Adam Scott has stealthily climbed to number 4 in the world rankings. Of course, big names like Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, and Retief Goosen have helped out a bit with their unimpressive play of late. With Phil Mickelson shutting down for the season, Scott can gain on him, but it is doubtful he could pass him at this point. It is unlikely that Scott will play more that 3 or 4 more events himself.

Jim Furyk is back ahead of Mickelson and should finish the year at number 2 playing a few more events before the season ends. It is also likely that Luke Donald will finish the year as the top European, but we'll see how that plays out.

OWGR Tiers

2006-10-02T08:46:00.000-05:00

Tier I

Tiger Woods

Tier II

Jim Furyk

Phil Mickelson

Tier III

Adam Scott

Vijay Singh

Ernie Els

Retief Goosen

Luke Donald

Tier IV

Sergio Garcia ↓

Tier V

Geoff Ogilvy ↓↓

Shamble 15 Answers

2006-09-27T15:42:00.000-05:00

Byron Nelson - Remarkable, kind, genuine, dignified, gracious, fantastic, admirable, generous...

(bonus word) ...gentleman.

Shamble 15 - Byron Nelson Special Edition

2006-09-27T15:28:00.000-05:00

A single quote cannot do the memory of Byron Nelson justice, so I have compiled a list of adjectives used to describe him. When they are unscrambled, the letters in parentheses (_) reveal a noun used to describe Lord Byron.

AEKLMRAERB
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (_) _
DIKN
_ _ (_) _
EGIUENN
(_) _ _ _ _ _ _
FGINDEIDI
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ (_) _
CGIRSUAO
_ _ (_) _ _ _ _ _
INSACFTAT
_ _ (_) _ _ _ (_) _ _
BDEILMRAA
_ _ (_) _ _ _ _ _ _
NORSUEGE
_ (_) _ _ _ _ _ _

Bonus word: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Best Ball 23 Answer

2006-09-26T15:55:00.000-05:00

"He's just a big heap of energy swirling around in the room." - Robert Karlsson on Sergio Garcia

Best Ball 23

2006-09-26T12:55:00.000-05:00

The Ryder Cup has given me hope on finding good quotes again. They were available in spades last week. I've turned a couple of my favorites into puzzles this week. Today's puzzle features Robert Karlsson on Sergio Garcia. The quote is short but I don't have time to make it anything fancier than a cryptogram today.

FN'R ASRE X HBI FNXT GC NONUIL RDBUVBOI

XUGSOP BO EFN UGGW.

Ryder Cup Review

2006-09-25T09:30:00.000-05:00

And now it's time for an analysis of where I went wrong in my Ryder Cup preview.

1. Tiger Woods vs. Sergio Garcia - ~~Woods~~ Garcia - Garcia continues his role as clown prince of the Ryder Cup.
2. Jim Furyk vs. Luke Donald - ~~Furyk~~ Donald - Breaking news! Luke Donald has broken Sergio's reign as the top European player in the Official World Golf Rankings.
3. Phil Mickelson vs. Henrik Stenson - ~~Mickelson~~ Stenson - It seems most people agree that Mickelson's performance was the biggest disappointment of the event.
4. David Toms vs. David Howell - Howell - Being a Howell fan proved to be correct.
5. Chris DiMarco vs. Colin Montgomerie - Montgomerie - If you combine Monty's singles record with Garcia's teamplay record, you would just about have the perfect Ryder Cup man.
6. Chad Campbell vs. Padraig Harrington - ~~Harrington~~ Campbell - Well, I thought this choice was obvious, but Harrington was Europe's biggest disappointment with only 1/2 of a point. Campbell only fared slightly better with two halves.
7. Stewart Cink vs. Jose Maria Olazabal - Cink - Ollie collected 1/2 of a point more than Cink, but I'm still saying I was right here for two reasons. Olazabal's points were largely influenced by Garcia. Cink's win in Sunday's singles was quite impressive.
8. Scott Verplank vs. Darren Clarke - ~~Verplank~~ Clarke - I repent of doubting Clarke. Verplank also did well when he had the chance to play, but the inspiration surrounding Clarke wins out.
9. Zach Johnson vs. Paul Casey - Casey - I look forward to seeing if Casey's match play prowess of late translates back to stroke play as the regular season continues. 10. Vaughn Taylor vs. Robert Karlsson - Karlsson - Karlsson had the dubious privilege of playing against Tiger on Sunday marring his rookie Ryder Cup record.
11. J. J. Henry vs. Lee Westwood - ~~Henry~~ Westwood - I was right that Henry would do well, but I was wrong to doubt Westwood.
12. Brett Wetterich vs. Paul McGinley - McGinley - Well, McGinley didn't do that great, but he did do better than Wetterich

Ryder Cup on Paper

2006-09-17T20:57:00.000-05:00

I've run a little analysis of the Ryder Cup by comparing the players in order of their official world golf rank.

1. Tiger Woods vs. Sergio Garcia - Woods - Ryder Cup records may favor Garcia, but I think Woods is getting a little better handle on the concept of a team event. And last week's match play aside, who's gonna bet against his current form.
2. Jim Furyk vs. Luke Donald - Furyk - Donald is good, but Furyk is better. 'Nuff said.
3. Phil Mickelson vs. Henrik Stenson - Mickelson - Tough call here, but I'm going with Mickelson's experience despite Stenson's recent win.
4. David Toms vs. David Howell - Howell - Both have been hit and miss, but not allowing myself to pick draws and I'm a Howell fan.
5. Chris DiMarco vs. Colin Montgomerie - Montgomerie - Boy, oh boy, what a choice! Grinder Dimarco or Ryder Cup royalty.
6. Chad Campbell vs. Padraig Harrington - Harrington - Finally an easy choice!
7. Stewart Cink vs. Jose Maria Olazabal - Cink - Cink is sharpening his game right on schedule.
8. Scott Verplank vs. Darren Clarke - Verplank - Clarke's got something to fight for, but the pressure is on and Verplank is a grinder.
9. Zach Johnson vs. Paul Casey - Casey - Properly hating means knowing your opponent wants to win just as much you do and now is the time to be competitive. Casey is ready to keep that Cup.
10. Vaughn Taylor vs. Robert Karlsson - Karlsson - Karlsson has been in quite good form of late.
11. J. J. Henry vs. Lee Westwood - Henry - I'm with the doubters on the Westwood pick.
12. Brett Wetterich vs. Paul McGinley - McGinley - An Irishman in Ireland.

In summary, Americans 6, Europeans 6. As for the fourball and foursomes, I'm guessing the Euros have a slight edge, say 7½ - 8½. That makes my final call Europe keeps the Cup in a closely fought showdown ending 14½ - 13½. So there, I agree with everyone that says that we're the underdogs this year, but I don't think it is as drastic as it looks at first glance.

Where did I disappear to?

2006-09-13T14:11:00.000-05:00

(A) La-la Land
(B) An LPGA tournament
(C) Out of town
(D) All of the above

You're right! It's "(D) All of the above." Since this is a golf blog not a personal life blog, I'll leave out the details of (A) and (C) and highlight the golf tournament.

The John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic presented by SemGroup, soon to be known as the SemGroup Championship presented by John Q. Hammons, brought the LPGA back to Tulsa last week. As usual, I did my part to get involved. It was my second year to work in the scoring trailer, and here are some notes:

Like any winner probably would, Cristie Kerr read over her scorecard about 5 times to make sure it was right before turning it in.
There at the end I was doing triple duty as a scorecard collector/caddie bib collector/marshall. At least I got practice on caddie services before next year's PGA Championship. But really, people, the tournament was shorthanded this year. Get out there! Volunteer! Working behind the scenes like that can be a great experience!
Finally, I know the tournament had to be moved away from the PGA Championship, but whose bright idea it was to reschedule the tournament to April 30 - May 6? It always storms the first week of May in Tulsa. Just when we've endeared the players to our little stop on tour we invite them just in time to have a party in the Renaissance Hotel's tornado shelter. Brilliant!

Best Ball 22 Answers

2006-08-30T16:06:00.000-05:00

Clubhouse (Tiger, 2006 Bridgestone; Gary Hallberg, Indian Wells)
Trash Can (Phil Mickelson, 2006 U.S. Open; Angel Cabrera, 2000 U.S. Open)
Scoring Trailer (Unnamed LPGA player while I was inside the trailer, 2005 John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic)
Hospitality Tent (Several, of course, most recent of note: Phil Mickelson, 2006, U.S. Open)
Gorse Bush (Ernie Els, 2004 British Open)
Port-a-John (Tiger Woods, 1994 Byron Nelson)
Boulder (Tiger Woods, 1999 Phoenix Open)
Glass Bottle (Harry Bradshaw, 1949 British Open [left ball in bottle before striking])
Spectator's Lap (Multiple, i.e. Shaun Micheel, 2003 PGA Championship)
Scoreboard (Multiple, i.e. Annika Sorenstam, 2003 U.S. Women's Open)

Best Ball 22

2006-08-30T15:49:00.000-05:00

After the drama of Tiger Woods' last hole last Friday at Firestone, I decided a crypto-set of notable obstructions would be interesting. Each of the following have come up in tournament play:

SFTDRWTEA

VICER SCO

ESWIUOK VICUFAI

RWENUVCFUVB VAOV

KWIEA DTER

NWIV-C-LWRO

DWTFMAI

KFCEE DWVVFA

ENASVCVWI'E FCN

ESWIADWCIM

Taking the Plunge

2006-08-30T15:37:00.000-05:00

After years as a golf fan, I'm finally taking steps toward actually playing the game. I've got my grandpa's old clubs; I've got a friend who has decided to start playing, too; I don't have any more excuses. Tonight the golf addiction reaches a whole new level as I go to my first lesson.

Scramble-Up 19 Answer

2006-08-25T15:59:00.000-05:00

"Being able to watch him, I'm not only a professional golfer but I'm also a fan." - Jason Gore on playing with Tiger Woods

Scramble-Up 19

2006-08-25T15:52:00.000-05:00

Jason Gore on playing with Tiger Woods:

█

Cryptogram 18 Answer

2006-08-22T11:39:00.000-05:00

"I have a better understanding of my mechanics and my putting stroke now, and overall I think I've made a bunch of strides since the last time I played here." - Tiger Woods

Cryptogram 18

2006-08-22T11:18:00.000-05:00

Sunday was a bit of a yawn, but Tiger Woods has got even more experience on his side than he did back in 2000. We'd better settle in for some more of that excessive dominance.

S EDAI D VIOOIC HRPICLODRPSRW NY KG KIFEDRSFL DRP KG

THOOSRW LOCNQI RNU, DRP NAICDXX S OESRQ S'AI KDPI D

VHRFE NY LOCSPIL LSRFI OEI XDLO OSKI S TXDGIP EICI.

Scramble-Up 18 Answer

2006-08-15T16:48:00.000-05:00

"The excitement of trying to be excited about winning and not scared of losing." - David Howell

Scramble-Up 18

2006-08-15T16:41:00.000-05:00

David Howell reminiscing about the 2004 Ryder Cup:

█

Mini-Crostic 17 Answers

2006-08-11T17:02:00.000-05:00

A. (Nathan) Green, B. (Fred) Couples, C. Points, D. Fashion, E. Royal, F. Tripp, G. Purify, H. (Royal) Troon, I. Lion, J. Son
"In golf, as in no other sport, your principal opponent is yourself." - Herbert Warren Wind

Mini-Crostic 17

2006-08-11T16:17:00.000-05:00

Today's quote is in honor of what would have been golf writer Herbert Warren Wind's 90th birthday:

A.	2006 Rookie of the year Australian candidate(L)	_	_	_	_	_
		3	21	51	41	2
B.	"Boom Boom"(L)	_	_	_	_	_	_	_
		31	39	25	33	5	16	45
C.	Ryder Cup standings numerical values	_	_	_	_	_	_
		27	47	9	11	22	8
D.	Adam Scott's "interest"	_	_	_	_	_	_	_
		53	7	18	15	29	36	40
E.	_____ & Ancient	_	_	_	_	_
		17	24	46	34	52
F.	_____ Isenhour	_	_	_	_	_
		14	28	44	37	19
G.	Distill	_	_	_	_	_	_
		38	48	26	1	6	23
H.	Site of Todd Hamilton's Open win	_	_	_	_	_
		43	49	4	13	10
I.	John Daly's nickname	_	_	_	_
		35	32	20	42
I.	Bill to Jay or Kevin to Craig	_	_	_
		50	12	30

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Cryptogram 17 Answer

2006-08-08T15:26:00.000-05:00

"Started out my career just hoping to get my card... and lo and behold, I got on a nice little run there." - Tiger Woods

Cryptogram 17

2006-08-08T14:39:00.000-05:00

Here's what Tiger Woods had to say after his 50th win:

AHEBHST FNH IR OEBSSB LNAH DFWCMU HF USH IR OEBT...

EMT GF EMT XSDFGT, C UFH FM E MCOS GCHHGS BNM HDSBS.

Scramble-Up 17 Answer

2006-08-04T17:46:00.000-05:00

"I usually just end up babbling to myself. This golf course will do that to you." - Juli Inkster

Scramble-Up 17

2006-08-04T17:36:00.000-05:00

Juli Inkster sounds like me here:

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Cryptogram 16 Answer

2006-08-01T21:00:00.000-05:00

"My best move in The Open Championship was probably '85 when I tackled the streaker there." - Peter Jacobsen

Cryptogram 16

2006-08-01T20:44:00.000-05:00

Well, there don't seem to be many interesting quotes this week, but you can always count on Peter Jacobsen for something:

PO WBCE PLHB NG ESB LABR TSYPANLGCSNA FYC ADLWYWUO

'85 FSBG N EYTVUBK ESB CEDBYVBD ESBDB.

Crypto-Set 2 Answers

2006-07-29T10:19:00.000-05:00

(Tom or Bubba) Watson, (Mike) Weir, (Tiger) Woods, (Michelle) Wie, (Shani) Waugh, (Thaworn) Wiratchant, (Tim) Wilkinson(NW), (Lee) Westwood, (Karrie) Webb, (Ian) Woosnam

Crypto-Set 2

2006-07-29T09:54:00.000-05:00

There have been so many "W" golfers on top of leaderboards around the world this week that I decided a cryptopuzzle of "W" golfers is in order.

MNUACT

MRES

MCCOA

MER

MNPFX

MESNUIXNTU

MEJLETACT

MRAUMCCO

MRYY

MCCATNH

Scramble-Up 16 Answer

2006-07-25T18:59:00.000-05:00

"It's going to be an awful lot of fun for me to go back home and see Mom and share this with her." - Tiger Woods

Scramble-Up 16

2006-07-25T15:12:00.000-05:00

Obligatory Tiger Woods quote:

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Cryptogram 15 Answer

2006-07-21T15:06:00.000-05:00

"The thing about playing with Sergio and Freddie is that they get a good looking crowd. It was very enjoyable. I like playing with Freddie and Sergio." - Paul Casey

Cryptogram 15

2006-07-21T14:30:00.000-05:00

I couldn't pass up this quote from Paul Casey after yesterday's round:

CLR CLKOI DSTBC UNDHKOI YKCL VREIKT DOA

WERAAKR KV CLDC CLRH IRC D ITTA NTTMKOI GETYA.

KC YDV PREH ROXTHDSNR. K NKMR UNDHKOI YKCL

WERAAKR DOA VREIKT.

Anagram Set 14 Answers

2006-07-18T15:08:00.000-05:00

Carnoustie, St. Andrews, Troon, Muirfield, Prestwick, Musselburgh, Turnberry, Portrush, Lytham, Birkdale
Bonus: Ian Poulter

Anagram Set 14 - British Open

2006-07-18T14:55:00.000-05:00

Today's anagram set features 10 Open Championship sites. Unscramble the letters marked by parentheses() to reveal my pick for the 2006 Open Champion. I can't really explain the pick because it's neither a sentimental favourite* nor a statistical favourite. I just asked myself, "Who might win this week?" and this is the first name that popped into my head.

ACEINORSTU
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (_)
ADENRSSTW
_ _ / _ _ _ (_) _ _ _
ONROT
_ _ (_) _ _
DEFIILMRU
_ _ _ _ _ (_) _ _ _
KSTWPRICE
(_) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
BEGHLMRSSUU
_ (_) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
BUNTEYRRR
_ _ _ (_) _ _ _ _ _
HOPRRSTU
_ _ _ (_) _ _ _ _
AHLMTY
_ _ _ _ (_) _
ABDEIKLR
_ _ _ _ _ _ (_) _

BONUS: _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ _

*British spelling in honour of the host country.

Word Search 2 Answer

2006-07-14T10:36:00.000-05:00

"I'm the only one that affects my game." - Fuzzy Zoeller, when asked how recent Lasik surgery had affected his game

Word Search 2

2006-07-14T10:23:00.000-05:00

I'm continuing to mix it up a bit with different puzzles. A quote from Fuzzy Zoeller this week forms a path through the above puzzle. The starting word is highlighted.

_ ' _ / _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ / _ _ _ _ .

Scramble-Up 15 Answer

2006-07-11T17:38:00.000-05:00

"It would be great. I'd probably cry or, I don't know, do a back flip if I could." - Brittany Lincicome

Scramble-Up 15

2006-07-11T17:28:00.000-05:00

Brittany Lincicome on Saturday thinking about the possibility of winning the Match Play:

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Mini-Crostic 16 Answers

2006-07-07T22:14:00.000-05:00

A. (Tom) Kite, B. Honda, C. (Daniel) Chopra, D. Reno Tahoe, E. (Kenneth) Ferrie, F. Stitch, G. Hutch, H. Stem, I. Test
"The carrot at the end of the stick here is the Champions Tour." - Fred Funk

Mini-Crostic 16

2006-07-07T21:22:00.000-05:00

Fred Funk's explanation for twilight career revivals:

A.	First $9 million career golfer(L)	_	_	_	_
		27	42	1	14
B.	Palm Beach tournament sponsor	_	_	_	_	_
		21	8	44	17	10
C.	Indian-Swedish golfer(L)	_	_	_	_	_	_
		26	35	18	41	6	39
D.	Vaughn Taylor's favorite event?(2 wds.)	_	_	_	_	_	_	_	_	_
		49	22	16	43	11	5	28	47	36
E.	2005 Smirfit European Open champ(L)	_	_	_	_	_	_
		19	15	30	7	25	3
F.	Sharp pain in the side	_	_	_	_	_	_
		23	46	32	34	4	38
G.	Rabbit cage	_	_	_	_	_
		13	48	20	37	2
H.	Shaft	_	_	_	_
		33	9	29	40
I.	Trial	_	_	_	_
		12	31	45	24

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Scramble Square 1 Answer

2006-07-03T15:29:00.000-05:00

"I guess I was playing with my heart. This is what I wanted to do, and it happened." - Annika Sorenstam

Scramble Square 1

2006-07-03T15:08:00.000-05:00

I decided to give a new type of puzzle a try today. Arrange the blocks into the grid provided to reveal a quote from Annika Sorenstam after Sunday's final round.

... ... ...

... ... ...

... ... ...

Cryptogram 15 Answer

2006-06-29T22:38:00.000-05:00

"It's going to be difficult, but you learn as you go and everybody has got to play, so I don't see any problem." _ Zach Johnson

Cryptogram 15

2006-06-29T22:20:00.000-05:00

It just dawned on me that I won't have computer access tomorrow, so here's a quick cryptogram. All the players on the Players Advisory Council seem very enthusiastic about the new FedEx Cup plan. Zach Johnson's closing thoughts on next year:

NR'U TDNAT RD HS PNMMNOCXR, HCR IDC XSEWA EU IDC TD EAP

SLSWIHDPI BEU TDR RD YXEI, UD N PDA'R USS EAI YWDHXSG.

Cryptogram 14 Answer

2006-06-27T14:17:00.000-05:00

"Everything was easy. After the first hole it was kind of a freak of nature I think." - Ben Curtis

Cryptogram 14

2006-06-27T11:57:00.000-05:00

Ben Curtis: Uh-oh, I'm not the only player under 30 with a major anymore. Maybe it's time for me to win something again. Okay, so that's not a real quote, but here's what he did have to say after his opening round of 62:

DODNASLUFK JER DERA. ETSDN SLD TUNRS LGCD US JER PUFI GT E

TNDEP GT FESMND U SLUFP.

Mini-Crostic 15 Answer

2006-06-23T20:57:00.000-05:00

A. (Rocco) Mediate, B. (Peter) Kostis, C. Hank Haney, D. Mute, E. Thirty, F. Desist, G. (Francis) Ouimet, H. Stat, I. Book
"It's not the birdies you make (in these type of courses), it's the mistakes that you don't make." - Colin Montgomerie

Mini-Crostic 15

2006-06-23T14:46:00.000-05:00

One last word from the U.S. Open from one of Colin Montgomery's early round interviews:

A.	2000 Buick Open champion(L)	_	_	_	_	_	_	_
		30	29	45	11	40	6	36
B.	McCord's golf school partner(L)	_	_	_	_	_	_
		35	46	16	27	1	26
C.	O'Meara's swing coach(F,L)	_	_	_	_	_	_	_	_	_
		8	21	47	22	39	34	4	15	42
D.	Speechless	_	_	_	_
		20	44	25	9
E.	Bobby Jones Grand Slam, Nineteen _____	_	_	_	_	_	_
		33	28	24	12	41	17
F.	Abstain	_	_	_	_	_	_
		13	52	37	31	3	48
G.	First amateur U.S. Open champ(L)	_	_	_	_	_	_
		5	19	14	49	23	38
H.	Scoring average or GIR	_	_	_	_
		32	7	50	2
I.	Harvey Penick's Little Red ____	_	_	_	_
		10	18	43	51

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Scramble-Up 14 Answer

2006-06-20T13:16:00.000-05:00

"If you get yourself in the right mindset, anyone can do it out here when it's tough." - Geoff Ogilvy

Scramble-Up 14

2006-06-20T12:56:00.000-05:00

First off, I am absolutely thrilled that Geoff Ogilvy is now a major champion although I certainly wasn't looking for anything as ugly as the way everyone else handled that 18th hole. I hadn't been that on the edge of my seat since Phil's 2004 Masters. That's how much I was rooting for Geoff this year. (Okay, I'll admit he was my second choice after David Howell tanked on Friday, but still.) I have a good quote from Monty that sums up this Open quite well, but it will have to wait until Friday's Mini-Crostic as the winner gets the honors.

Here's what Geoff Ogilvy had to say half way through the U.S. Open:

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Crypto-Set 1 Answers

2006-06-15T22:45:00.000-05:00

Hazeltine, Merion, Oakland Hills, Colonial, Inverness, Southern Hills, Shinnecock, Olympic Club, Baltusrol, Pebble Beach

Crypto-Set 1

2006-06-15T22:38:00.000-05:00

U.S. OPEN SITES

U E V T M G R I T

C T A R Y I

Y E H M E I N / U R M M F

L Y M Y I R E M

R I O T A I T F F

F Y Z G U T A I / U R M M F

F U R I I T L Y L H

Y M D C S R L / L M Z P

P E M G Z F A Y M

S T P P M T / P T E L U

Digital & Mental Reconstruction

2006-05-18T12:36:00.000-05:00

I am presently working on rearranging this site a bit, and need a break from posting for a while to sort through some stuff. The goal is to be back by the U.S. Open.