Free Drawing for ‘THE OPEN: Golf’s Oldest Major’

THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP IS returning to St. Andrews this year, which also happens to be the 150th anniversary of golf’s oldest major. I have a special treat for you: a free drawing for a 304-page photographic history of the ancient golf championship.

Titled THE OPEN: Golf’s Oldest Major and published by Rizzoli, the book features black and white and color photographs from Getty Images. The rather sparse text is by Donald Steel, with a foreword by Arnold Palmer and afterword by Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A. This hardcover measures 12.3 x 9.4 x 1.4 inches and weighs 4.8 pounds. It’s hefty and gorgeous, a prized coffee table or sports den book for any armchair golf historian. (I love my review copy. I am not giving it up. The publisher is making another copy available for the drawing.)

Here are a couple of excerpts from the publisher’s news release:

THE OPEN: Golf’s Oldest Major revisits the history of the fourteen legendary links courses along the spectacular British coastline on which The Open has been played, with a chapter dedicated to each course highlighting the famous moments of victory, defeat, partnership, competition, and tradition that have come to define them.

The book brings together the classic images of the sport’s icons—from early stars such as Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones, and masters like Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus, to the exceptional talents of today, Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington.

OK, I must add three names not mentioned in the above publisher copy: Harry Vardon, Peter Thomson and Tom Watson. Because those three remarkable champions won the Claret Jug 16 times. (Vardon, 6; Thomson, 5; and Watson, 5.)

WANT TO GET IN ON THIS?

How to enter this free drawing: Just email your name and mailing address to armchairgolfer@gmail.com. I’ll blind draw the winner in a couple of weeks during the championship. Good luck!

−The Armchair Golfer

Golf Digest’s 75 Best Rivalries

GOLF DIGEST HAS PUBLISHED “Best Rivalries in Golf,” the magazine’s top 75 ranking of the game’s most intense and enduring grudge matches. I can’t argue with Nicklaus vs. Palmer at No. 1 on the list. There was a nine-year stretch from 1958 to 1966 during which Arnold and Jack captured seven Masters. Actually, Nicklaus appears in at least five of the rivalries. Besides Arnie, Jack’s other listed rivals include Tom Watson, Tiger Woods, Lee Trevino and Tom Weiskopf.

Sam Snead vs. Ben Hogan is a solid pick, as is Bobby Jones vs. Walter Hagen. I’m not buying Mickelson vs. Woods at No. 4. Tiger has had no true rival to this point. (Tiger vs. Field?) That’s bound to change. And perhaps soon.

The rankings are an interesting walk through golf history and include non-player rivalries that have impacted the game. Courses, issues, architects, countries, grasses, continents, swing coaches, college programs, magazines, baseball players, equipment and even years (1953 vs. 2000) are pitted against each other.

Take a look here.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: Keith Allison/Flickr)

San Diego’s Homegrown Pro Golfers

“Gene the Machine” Littler.

WHEN I RECENTLY WROTE about LPGA great Mickey Wright, it occurred to me there are several past and present professional golfers who have hailed from San Diego. They include three current Hall of Famers, and at least one more, Phil Mickelson, who is a lock.

With the PGA Tour at the Farmers Insurance Open in nearby La Jolla, it’s an opportune time to recognize the many pros who grew up, live, or once resided in San Diego.

Mickey Wright (Hall of Famer)
With 82 LPGA victories, including 13 majors, Mickey Wright is arguably the best female golfer of all time. Only Kathy Whitworth has more lifetime wins. Wright will accept the 2010 Bob Jones Award at Pinehurst next week.

Billy Casper (Hall of Famer)
Billy Casper notched 51 wins on the PGA Tour, including three majors. He beat Arnold Palmer in a playoff to claim the 1966 U.S. Open. I had an unplanned visit with Billy last September.

Phil Mickelson
Lefty’s 37 tour wins and three majors are Hall-of-Fame numbers. I’ve had one close encounter with Phil. We nearly bumped into each other in St. Louis during the 2008 BMW Championship. He was exiting a hotel elevator with his large Callaway golf bag slung over his shoulder. After nearly colliding, we exchanged greetings.

Gene Littler (Hall of Famer)
Nicknamed “Gene the Machine,” Littler collected 29 PGA Tour wins, including one major, the 1961 U.S. Open. When I saw Gene last year, I mentioned that we both attended San Diego State. He said, “Yeah, but I didn’t graduate.” Things worked out OK for him nonetheless.

Craig Stadler
Craig “Walrus” Stadler was born in San Diego and attended La Jolla High School. His 29 PGA Tour titles, including a Green Jacket, should get him into the Hall someday.

Scott Simpson
A San Diego native, Scott Simpson attended USC and was a two-time medalist in the NCAA Championship. He had seven wins on the PGA Tour, including the 1987 U.S. Open. Both Simpson and Casper won their U.S. Opens at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Phil Rodgers
Born in San Diego, Phil Rodgers was the 1958 NCAA champion while playing for University of Houston. Rodgers won five events on the PGA Tour and lost to Bob Charles in a 36-hole playoff in the 1963 British Open. In later years, Rogers was known as a short-game guru. His most famous pupil was Jack Nicklaus.

Pat Perez
Pat Perez is a PGA Tour veteran and winner of the 2009 Bob Hope Classic. He graduated from Torrey Pines High School.

Chris Riley
Born in San Diego, Chris Riley has one PGA Tour win and a victory on the Nationwide Tour. He played on the 2004 U.S. Ryder Cup Team and is a pal of Tiger Woods.

Jill McGill
A San Diego resident, Jill McGill is an LPGA veteran who has one tour win and is a former Women’s U.S. Amateur champion.

Dennis Paulson and Lenny Clements
Both San Diego State products, Paulson and Clements played on the PGA Tour.

−The Armchair Golfer

Yes Sir! Jack Turns 70

THERE HAVE BEEN MANY tributes this week to Jack Nicklaus, who turned 70 on Thursday. Jack was the guy when I took up the game and tuned in to televised golf in those ancient days before cable and the Golf Channel.

Jack won his first major, the 1962 U.S. Open in a playoff with Arnold Palmer, at the precocious age of 22. He won his 18th and last major, the 1986 Masters, at the over-the-hill (or so they said) age of 46.

I found the above 10-minute highlight package of that sixth Green Jacket. It was pure joy reliving those amazing images from nearly 24 years ago.

Tingles: Verne Lundquist’s call at the 17th green, one of the great moments and great calls in golf. (It begins at the 7:30 mark in the video.) It was wonderfully simple:

“Maybe. Yes sir!”

Happy birthday, Jack.

−The Armchair Golfer

It’s a Sony for Ryan Palmer

2010 Sony Open Recap
Winner: Ryan Palmer
Score: 15 under, 265 (65, 66, 68, 66)
Quote: “Fortunately, I got the good break.”
Fact: Finished 150th on 2009 money list. Now exempt through 2012.
Thought: Was Ryan Palmer channeling Arnold Palmer?

YOU CAN PLAY GREAT and still not win on the PGA Tour. You often need a timely break to win a title, and 33-year-old Ryan Palmer got one on the 72nd hole that led to a birdie and a one-stroke victory over Robert Allenby at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

I only saw parts of the coverage, but I did see the finish. Palmer and Allenby came to the final hole tied at 14 under, a dogleg-left par-5 that’s easily reachable in two shots. Both men were looking for a birdie or better. Palmer got his when a 50-foot chip shot slammed into the pin and stopped inches from the cup. Allenby missed his 10-foot birdie putt, Palmer tapped in, and that was that.

“It was a good chip,” Palmer told the Associated Press. “The grain was running against me. I was either going to hit it fat or do what I did. Fortunately, I got the good break.”

It was the third PGA Tour win for Palmer, who is not related to Arnold Palmer, although he said he gets asked about it all the time. Palmer will play in the Masters for the first time in five years and is now exempt through 2012, after finishing 150th on the money list last season.

“What I got out of this is beyond words,” he said.

For runner-up Allenby, it was a heartbreaker. The Aussie had been playing very well of late, with two wins at the close of 2009. A win at Waialae Country Club would have been Allenby’s first PGA Tour title since the Marconi Pennsylvania Classic in 2001.

“I needed to make a birdie at the last,” admitted Allenby, who is using a new claw-style putting grip that served him well for much of the week in Honolulu.

Steve Stricker (65) and Retief Goosen (62) also gave chase before coming up two and three shots short, respectively. The PGA Tour now moves to the U.S. mainland for the West Coast Swing.

Tour Notes

• PGA Tour: Next up is the Bob Hope Classic in the Palm Springs area.
• European Tour: Charl Schwartzel won for the second week in a row at the Joburg Open.
• Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson won the Champions Skins Game.
• Doug Barron, suspended for a drug violation, will play on a mini tour.

−The Armchair Golfer