Wie one step back and Tiger still on Top

NEWS

10/18/2006

Wie One Step Back - Woods Still on Top
By: Carmen Diode

Many of the world's elite professional golfers are on hiatus and it is difficult to stake a claim to a top spot on a real-time world rankings list when you are snow skiing in the Swiss Alps, navigating your yacht thru the pristine waters of the Mediterranean or blowing wads of cash in the casinos of Vegas. And Tournament golf is now left to the likes of Daniel Chopra, Fred Funk, Yasin Ali, and Prayad Marksaeng.

Just thank your favorite deity that Michelle Wie is still struggling to win a tournament - any tournament at this point - and making statements like "... sometimes we have to take a step back in order to move forward." Wie has taken more than a step backwards here of late - more like Bob Beamon's old long jump world record - in trying to find her first win in a professional golf tournament. Wie finished 17th in the 20-player field at last week's Samsung World Championship on the LPGA tour. She did, however, celebrate her 17th birthday - which is over-the-hill in women's gymnastics but still young for professional golf, beach volleyball, or poker - all viable options for the multi-talented Wie. Wie has also expressed some interest in boxing former World Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson who is reported to be interested in fighting a woman for his next professional boxing match.

Hiatus or not, Lorena Ochoa is playing some of the best golf in the world right now. Ochoa won for the second consecutive week by taking the Samsung World Championship LPGA title. Ochoa's win was her fifth of the year and puts her on top of the LPGA's point list and money list and positions her to be the the LPGA Player of the Year - a title won the previous five years by Anna Sorenstam. To add insult to injury, Ochoa's win came at the expense of Sorenstam on Sorenstam's home course, Bighorn. Ochoa's LPGA leading winnings now top $2.3 million, which would be good enough for the 28th spot on the world money list, 23rd on the PGA money list, and tops on the Champion's Tour. It should be noted that the Champion's Tour players are playing only one and two round tournaments these days while the LPGA still plays an un-sissy like 72 hole tournament.

Ochoa gets a spot on the CD world top ten list ahead of Jim Furyk, this week, because she has much nicer hair than he.

Rookie Troy Matteson shot a 3-under 69 to finish one shot ahead of Ben Crane and Daniel Chopra and won his first PGA tournament at the PGA's Frys.com Open. Matteson's winning score in Las Vegas was 22 under par and his win follows a tie for sixth at Greensboro and a tie for eighth the previous week. World top ten heavy-hitter Jim Furyk, the champion in 1995, 1998 and 1999 finished in a tie for 16th at 15 under. Fred Couples and Woody Austin were disqualified for stopping play on Saturday evening before play was suspended by darkness. It was uncertain whether they thought the horn had blown ending play and there is a good likelihood that both were gassed since neither was in contention.

Retief Goosen successfully defended his China Masters title with a three stroke win over Michael Campbell at the Yalong Bay Golf Club, somewhere in China. Simon Dunn of Scotland, Yasin Ali of England, and Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand finished another stroke back.

Jay Haas wasn't sure how to react after winning the rain-shortened Administaff Small Business Classic on Sunday. Haas learned he won his sixth career Champions Tour title while quaffing apple martinis in the players' locker room when tournament officials announced that the Augusta Pines course was unplayable. Haas won with a 36-hole score that was 5 shots better than Bruce Lietzke and Tom Purtzer. Haas' victory was his fourth Champions Tour victory this season and moved him atop the Charles Schwab Cup Championship points list ahead of Loren Roberts, who failed to earn points in the tournament and vowed to find a female to fight at his next tournament

The big news at this Champion’s tour event was not Haas' win or the Schwab Cup race - but instead it was Arnold Palmer's declaration that he was retiring from tournament play. An aching back and a few too many bad shots convinced Palmer to end his competitive career. Palmer played out his round on Friday but claimed that he was not keeping track of his score (haven't we all used that ploy a time or two). Palmer said he would play in some charity events "but now there are no more thoughts of tournament golf."

Tiger Woods announced that he would skip the Funai Disney classic. The decision insures that his Golf Channel consecutive win streak will remain intact for another week.

Woods likely will not play again until the season-ending Tour Championship that starts Nov. 2 at East Lake, although Woods has not yet committed to that event.

The current top ten US Ryder Cup team positions belong to:

Tiger Woods
Jim Furyk
Eric Axley
Davis Love IIIIIII
Troy Matteson
Ben Curtis
Will MacKenzie
DJ Trahan
Brett Quigley
Frank Lickliter IIIIIII

Lee Janzen and Joe Durant are on the hot seat in the 11 and 12 positions. It is premature to speculate on the Captain's wild-card picks but it would be difficult to not give serious consideration to Arnold Palmer and Mike Tyson if the picks were to be made today.

The official and current PGA world top ten rankings:

Tiger Woods (on hiatus)
Jim Furyk (going bald)
Phil Mickelson (on hiatus)
Adam Scott
Vijay Singh (missing in action)
Retief Goosen
Ernie Els (on hiatus)
Luke Donald
Geoff Ogilvy (on a gin bender)
Sergio Garcia (on hiatus)

The CD World Top Ten Golfer rankings:

Tiger Woods
Lorena Ochoa
Jim Furyk
Retief Goosen
Bob Beamon
Rookie Troy Matteson (his actual name)
Jay Haaaas
Aaannnna Sorenstam
Simon Dunn of Scotland, Yasin Ali of England, and Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand
Arnold Palmer (on hiatus)

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