by Gary Williams | Apr 8, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf… Tiger Woods being here and playing for his 24th straight Masters cuts made, eclipsing the mark he is currently shares with Gary Player and Fred Couples is enough to ask of someone who hasn’t completed an official event since February of 2023. The 40th anniversary of Ben Crenshaw’s 1984 Masters victory will be celebrated this week. It’s the most I’ll ever be invested in a golf tournament. I watched the Masters wearing my spikes in my parents’ family room. Yes, I most certainly did. Phil Mickelson is arguably the… Read more
by Gary Williams | Apr 1, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf… The news this past weekend that Tiger Woods made a trip to Augusta National is not surprising. Reportedly he played with a fellow former U.S. Amateur champion and Justin Thomas. I can only hope that Augusta National chairman, Fred Ridley, and Tiger busted JT’s chops for not winning the Theodore Havemeyer trophy. Tiger’s recon trips have been legendary through the decades. His first look at Bethpage before the 2002 U.S. Open, 2004 at Shinnecock, 2007 at Oakmont when he played with Bob Ford who shared that Tiger literally didn’t… Read more
by Gary Williams | Mar 25, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf… Jesper Svensson won the Porsche Singapore Classic in a playoff over Kiradech Aphibarnrat. Svensson shot a final round 63 to secure his first win on the DP World Tour. After winning on the Nordic Golf League in 2020 and then the B-NL Challenge Tour, Svensson began his ascent on leaderboards on the DP World Tour. Based on the reaction from some established players in Europe the Swede has a high ceiling. Californian Asterisk Talley won the girls division and Giovanni Daniele Binaghi from Italy won the boys division… Read more
by Gary Williams | Mar 18, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf… This was an outstanding week for NBC/Golf Channel’s team. The Live From crew and their aggregate of writers and reporters filled early week hours. The decision to bring Gary Koch and Roger Maltbie back was nostalgic and they were what they’ve always been, excellent. That should be duplicated at the U.S. Open. The combination of Mike Tirico and Dan Hicks made the broadcast feel weightier. The limited commercials and enhanced graphic packages raised the TV product and Kevin Kisner and Brad Faxon meshed. All together it was very well… Read more
by Gary Williams | Mar 10, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf… The best story in professional golf this week occurred in South Africa. Matteo Manaserro, from Italy, was a prodigy, achieving historic benchmarks at a tender age. He was the youngest winner on the European Tour, at the time, the youngest player to make the cut at the Masters and appeared destined to be in the rarest air in professional golf. And then he wasn’t. Matteo was reduced to cobbling weeks together on the Alps Tour in 2020 and the Challenge Tour in 2022, playing in front of no one. … Read more
by Gary Williams | Mar 4, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf… 4.5 trillion to 1 were the odds that Amelia Garvey bucked at the NXXT Women’s Championship at Royal St. Cloud in Florida when she recorded a hole in one, an albatross, an eagle and a birdie in a single round of competitive golf. Garvey, from New Zealand, has played on the Epson tour for the last two years opened her insane round with an eagle and then proceeded to ace the par 3 6th hole. She punctuated the historic day by holing out her second on the par 5… Read more
by Gary Williams | Feb 25, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf… Every winner on the PGA Tour is a great story. To cross the line on the deepest tour in the world is a massive accomplishment but the absence of stars winning on tour coupled with the number of terrific players now playing on LIV is a problem as they embark on the “for profit” arm of their business. Leveraging departures for a two-tier system and more money against the backdrop of a force not required to adhere to market principles is a far more palatable strategy if the stars… Read more
by Gary Williams | Feb 19, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf… Tiger Woods has made six official starts since his 2021 car accident, and he’s finished 72 holes just twice. That small dose of competition includes a missed cut and three WD’s. Tiger’s goal of playing once a month seemed ambitious to many when he made that declaration last December at the Hero World Challenge and even though his inability to even finish 36 holes was attributed to the flu, it just appears that his progression toward something significant becomes increasingly more tenuous. For me to believe that Tiger can… Read more
by Gary Williams | Feb 12, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf… Tiger Woods 2024. It will begin this week at his event and his own goal is an event a month. IF that is achieved, with relatively good health, its plausible that he could climb his way into legit contention. That means Sunday late with critical shots struck within 4 of the lead with nine holes to go. IF that happens anywhere, and, if it happens at a major, no one is prepared to truly process it. The 2019 Masters was an ascension to the summit that was worthy of… Read more
by Gary Williams | Feb 5, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf… Tom Brady’s stone-cold top of his tee shot at Pebble Beach is so comprehensive in its relatability and impact on him and everyone else. Brady grew up in Northern California and dreamed of playing Pebble Beach when golf became more than a curiosity. He started playing in the pro-am when he rose to stardom over 20 years ago. He hates being bad at anything and his competitiveness is legendary, and he can be a poor sport. The tee shot on the first at Pebble Beach will eat at him… Read more
