Nike Golf Athletes: Tour Wrapup 6.28.09

Here’s how Nike Golf’s athletes fared at each tour event this week:

PGA Tour: The Travelers Championship 
Bo Van Pelt   T9  -15  265
Lucas Glover T11  -14  266
Anthony Kim T11  -14  266
Justin Leonard  T34  -8  272
Bob Tway  MC
Stewart Cink  MC
Brendan Todd  MC

Nationwide Tour: Players Cup
Ron Whitaker  T5  -10  278
Jhonattan Vegas  T13  -6  282
Paul Gow  MC
Chris Nallen  MC

LPGA Tour: Wegman’s LPGA
Michelle Wie  T10  -7  281
Amanda Blumenherst  T32  -2  286
Paige Mackenzie  MC
Ashleigh Simon  MC

Champions Tour: Dick’s Sporting Goods Open
Lanny Wadkins  T50  -2  214
Craig Stadler  WD

European Tour: BMW International Open
Oliver Fisher  T30  -8  280
Richard Finch  T58  -3  285
Marc Warren  MC
Pablo Martin  MC

Stewart Cink at The Travelers: Tournament Ambassador and Defending Champion

Stewart Cink is at the Travelers Championship this week and is serving a dual role — tournament ambassador and defending champion. Back in April, Stewart made the trip to the TPC River Highlands in Cromwell CT to meet with the media and support the tournament. The extra effort of making the trip was not lost on the tournament or its sponsors, who greatly appreciated his support two months before the first shot was even struck (see PGATOUR.com’s article about his visit).

This week Stewart looks to defend his title at The Travelers, and has been tweeting about his experiences at the tournament during the week (read about how Stewart keeps his fans up to date on Twitter). We wish Stewart — and his new Nike prototype short putter — the best of luck this week at The Travelers.

PGATOUR.com has a great spotlight page where you can read much more about Stewart Cink, you can see it by clicking the link below:

Check out the PGATOUR.com spotlight on Stewart Cink >>

Nike Golf Athletes Support LIVESTRONG

LIVESTRONG-BAGSThe buzz on Twitter earlier this week was about an effort by Nike Golf to support LIVESTRONG and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. As Lance Armstrong prepares to return to the Tour de France on July 4th, Nike Golf Athletes on the PGA and LPGA tours are showing their support by putting special edition yellow shirts and tour bags into play this week. The photos and art of the bags seen above were tweeted by The Travelers Championship, Paige MacKenzie and her caddie Ray Kim, and Sandbox 8 (Rob at Sandbox 8 also did a blog post about the Nike Golf LIVESTRONG effort).

At the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship, Kris Blanks, Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover, Justin Leonard, Carl Pettersson, Brendon Todd and Bob Tway are using the special edition yellow bags. On the LPGA Tour at the Wegman’s LPGA, Amanda Blumenherst, Paige MacKenzie and Ashley Simon have the bags in play. According to David Dusek’s blog post at Golf.com, Anthony Kim and Michelle Wie will wear yellow shirts in support of LIVESTRONG.

 After play is completed at the tournaments this weekend, the bags will be signed and put up for auction, with all proceeds going to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. So keep your eye out, bid on one of these limited edition items and help support LIVESTRONG.

Check out David Dusek’s blog post about Nike Golf ‘s LIVESTRONG effort here >>

Check out Sandbox 8’s blog post about Nike Golf ‘s LIVESTRONG effort here >> 

Nike Golf Athletes in the Field 6.25-6.28

Here’s the list of Nike Golf Athletes in the field at each tour event this week:

PGA Tour: The Travelers Championship 
Kris Blanks
Stewart Cink
Lucas Glover
Anthony Kim
Justin Leonard
Brendan Todd
Bo Van Pelt

Nationwide Tour: Players Cup
Paul Gow
Chris Nallen
Jhonattan Vegas
Ron Whitaker

LPGA Tour: Wegman’s LPGA
Amanda Blumenherst
Paige Mackenzie
Ashleigh Simon
Michelle Wie

Champions Tour: Dick’s Sporting Goods Open
Craig Stadler
Bob Tway
Lanny Wadkins

European Tour: BMW International Open
Richard Finch
Oliver Fisher
Pablo Martin
Marc Warren

Rain Lingers, Lucas Glover and David Duval Shine at U.S. Open

It was a cloudy and rainy five days at the 109th United States Open Championship, but in the end two Nike Golf athletes brightened Bethpage Black with stellar play in the final round. The Monday finish saw Lucas Glover standing at the podium at day’s end with the trophy in hand, and David Duval silencing his doubters by threatening the lead several times on the back nine and ending up tied for second place.

The championship commenced on Thursday only to have play suspended for the day around 10 a.m. Yours truly arrived at the gate at just about the same time, with a majority of the patrons heading for the exits. Steady rain continued all day and into the evening (intermittent showers, yeah right), leaving the course soggy for play the following day.

Friday saw partly cloudy skies, no rain, and a full day of golf from 7:30 a.m. to sunset. Glover began his championship with a respectable round of 69, which left him five back of first round leader Mike Weir. The second round saw Lucas shooting an impressive 64 (the low second round), finishing round two on Saturday with the lead. He followed that up with an even par 70 in round three, good enough to keep him tied for the lead with Ricky Barnes at -7 going into the final round. They teed up late on Sunday night to begin round four, but with only enough daylight to complete one hole.

Glover began Monday tied for the lead, with play resuming on what was the second hole of his final round. Glover authored a steady performance considering it was the last day of a major championship. With 4 bogeys and one birdie, he fired a 73 in round four that ended up being good enough to hold on for the win, two better than second place finishers Ricky Barnes, David Duval and Phil Mickelson.

David Duval started the championship with an opening round 67, just three off the lead and tied for third place. He followed that up with back-to-back even par 70’s in rounds two and three, consisting of five birdies and five bogeys in round two and three birdies and three bogeys in round three. He started round four late on Sunday with a bogey on #1 and a par on #2 before he ran out of daylight.

Monday started on the tee at #3, where his tee shot landed and buried under the lip of the left greenside bunker, leading to a triple bogey 6. Rather than surrendering right there (as some might have expected) and settling for a possible top 10 finish, he bounced back with a birdie at #4, and after a bogey at #7 he again bounced back with a birdie at #8. Three straight birdies at 14, 15 and 16 put him at -3 and just one off the lead. After a near chip-in at #17 for a fourth straight birdie, his par putt lipped out and he had to settle for bogey, giving Glover a two shot lead with two holes to play. Duval’s birdie putt at 18 was on line but ended just right of the hole, and Duval ended up at -2 and tied for second place. The second place finish was amazing in most people’s minds, but in post-round interviews Duval stated he was happy with his performance but disappointed with the loss – an indication that he feels he should have won the tournament and that he’s close to winning again.

Seeing Lucas Glover come away with the win was not a total surprise, although I didn’t see him contending for the title at the start of the week. His T2 at the Quail Hollow Championship in early May was a sign that that he can compete with the premier players on tour, and that he’s not afraid to be in the mix on Sunday at a marquis event. I also remember seeing him at the FBR Open a few years back, slamming his putter angrily into his bag after back-to-back bogeys — I feel that kind of competitive fire is a necessary component in a major champion.

Although Glovers’ win is an inspiring story – southern gentleman turned major champion – the biggest story of the 2009 U.S. Open is David Duval’s comeback from #882 in the world rankings to a T2 finish in a major championship. I’ve gone on record as saying I thought that success was coming, but I didn’t think we would see such great play out of David at a major so soon. I did feel that we were close to witnessing him put four solid rounds together, and I still feel he’ll win a PGA Tour event this year. Duval’s performance this past week, and especially in the final round on Monday, shows that he’s very close to being back to his winning self. It’s like he jumped in a time machine and reverted to the player he was 10 years ago – although that time machine is actually five years of hard work.

You can see it in David’s eyes and in his calm, steady demeanor over every shot, the same way he handled his game 10 years ago. Back then, some called it aloof and impersonal – I called it focus. My Dad and I would debate about this, as I was (and still am) a big Duval fan. The evidence his game has returned is in his increasingly accurate iron play and precise putting, both of which have been improving all year. His birdies down the stretch in Monday’s final round on 14, 15 and 16 in the heat of battle are evidence that his confidence is on the rise also.

David Duval’s improving swing mechanics, solid putting and increasing confidence are a winning combination. All I’ll say is look out at Turnberry in July, and especially at Augusta next April.

Nike Golf Athletes: Tour Wrap-up 6.22.09

Congratulations to Lucas Glover for winning the 109th U.S. Open. Congrats also to David Duval for his T2 finish. Here’s the list of Nike Golf Athletes in the field at each tour event this week:

PGA Tour: U.S. Open
Lucas Glover  1 Champion  -4  276
David Duval   T2  -2  278
Tiger Woods T6  E  280
Stephen Ames  T10  +2  282
Anthony Kim  T16  +3  283
Francesco Molinari  T27  +6  286
Stewart Cink  T27  +6  286
Carl Pettersson  T36  +8  288
KJ Choi  T47  +12  292
Justin Leonard  MC
Bo Van Pelt  MC
Charl Schwartzel  MC
Simon Dyson  MC
Paul Casey  MC

Nationwide Tour: Fort Smith Classic 
Paul Gow  T44  -2  278
Ron Whitaker  T52  -1  279
Jhonattan Vegas  T52  -1  279
Chris Nallen  MC

European Tour: Saint-Omer Open
Alexandre Rocha  MC

Nike Golf Athletes in the Field 6.18-6.21

Here’s the list of Nike Golf Athletes in the field at each tour event this week:

PGA Tour: U.S. Open
Stephen Ames
Paul Casey
KJ Choi
Stewart Cink
David Duval
Simon Dyson
Lucas Glover
Anthony Kim
Justin Leonard
Francesco Molinari
Carl Pettersson
Charl Schwartzel
Bo Van Pelt
Tiger Woods

Nationwide Tour: Fort Smith Classic
Paul Gow
Chris Nallen
Jhonattan Vegas
Ron Whitaker 

European Tour: Saint-Omer Open
Alexandre Rocha

Back to the Black: Nike Golf Athletes at the U.S. Open

With the U.S. Open heading back to the Black Course at Bethpage State Park, all eyes are on one player to see if he can pull off a double repeat. Tiger Woods is heavily favored to win the Open this week, and not only defend last year’s Open title which he won in dramatic fashion at Torrey Pines, but also his 2002 title won right here at Bethpage Black.

Of course Tiger is not the only Nike Golf Athlete in the U.S. Open field this week — here’s the full list of Nike staffers at Bethpage:

PGA Tour: U.S. Open
Stephen Ames
Paul Casey
KJ Choi
Stewart Cink
David Duval
Simon Dyson
Lucas Glover
Anthony Kim
Justin Leonard
Francesco Molinari
Carl Pettersson
Charl Schwartzel
Bo Van Pelt
Tiger Woods

Besides Tiger, I feel that a few other of Nike Golf’s Athletes have a shot at the title. Here’s my take on five of them:

Paul Casey
Paul has played well this year, especially in marquis events. With wins at The Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and The BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour, and The Shell Houston Open on the PGA Tour, as well as a second place finish at the WGC Accenture Match Play, Paul is comfortable playing with the title on the line. Look for him to be high on the leader board on Sunday.

Stewart Cink
With a recent top 10 finish at the Memorial, Stewart’s confidence is riding high. He had a top 3 finish at this year’s Match Play, and don’t forget his top 3 at the U.S. Open at Southern Hills in 2001 — Stewart is familiar with being in the mix on Sunday at a major tournament. We’ll see if he has enough to take the title this weekend.

Anthony Kim
Anthony looks to improve on a year that started strong with a T2 at the Mercedes, but that’s been mediocre since. No one can deny Anthony’s ability to produce in the clutch – just look at last year’s wins at the Wachovia and AT&T National, and his performance in the Ryder Cup. I can see AK stepping up this week and making a statement in the spotlight of this major venue.

Justin Leonard
Justin has been playing consistently well this year.  With 3 top 5’s this year and two top 20’s in his last 3 starts, he looks to threaten the big names in the field this week. Although his driving distance may work against him on the 7400+yard layout at Bethpage, look for his accurate iron play and solid putting to keep him in the mix on the weekend.

David Duval
David’s struggles have been well documented, but I don’t think he’s far from having success again on the PGA Tour, as I said in this blog post back in May. With recent glimmers of success at tour stops like The Valero Texas Open and The Memorial, I don’t think David is far from stringing 4 solid rounds together and contending for a title. I’m not picking him to win this week, but don’t be surprised if you see him in the top 10 when play is completed on Sunday. It’s a dark horse pick, but I feel that he’s due, especially in a major tournament.

However, when all is said and done on Sunday evening, I feel the player that will be standing with the U.S. Open trophy in hand will have successfully defended his title from Bethpage in 2002 and Torrey Pines in 2008. Yep, that guy — and he’ll break par in the rain doing it.

8>9 Update: User Reviews of the SQ Dymo STR8-FIT

8>9I’ve recently been following Nike’s 8>9 Challenge on Twitter (#8>9), and in doing so I’ve become aware of a few blog posts documenting user reviews of Nike’s SQ Dymo STR8-FIT Driver compared with TaylorMade’s R9 460. Below are links to two of these reviews, and a third article that is a review of the SQ Dymo Driver and Fairway Woods.

The user reviews come from a couple of popular golf bloggers – Ryan Balengee of Waggle Room and Scot Duke of Mr. Business Golf. Both reviews contain detailed analysis of the clubs’ specs, design and aesthetics, performance, acoustics, and adjustability. Each reviewer also shares their experience of using each club both on the range (or in the golf shop in Ryan’s case) and on the course. They both also give their bottom line assessment of both clubs, and any preferences between the two, at the end of each respective review. The appeal of these user reviews is that they are by average golfers under normal playing conditions, which I think many of us can relate to a little more closely than a typical review by a major golf publication.

The third article by Kiel Christianson of World Golf is also informative and comes from an average golfer’s point of view. It should be helpful to users (like myself) who are considering adding an SQ Dymo Driver (and maybe the fairway woods too) to their bag some time this year.

You can check out all three reviews at the following links:

Ryan Balengee of Waggle Room Takes the 8>9 Challenge

Scot Duke of Mr. Business Golf Takes the 8>9 Challenge

WorldGolf.com Review of SQ Dymo Driver and Fairway Woods

Update 7.6.09: Check out these two new 8>9 reviews, one from Rob at Sandbox 8 (including a video), and a new post from Scot Duke at Mr. Business Golf:

Rob at Sandbox 8 reviews the Nike SQ Dymo STR8-FIT Driver 

Scot Duke of Mr. Business Golf reviews the Nike SQ Dymo STR8-FIT Driver

Update 7.8.09: Here’s is a new user reviews by Fueradelimites.com of the Nike SQ Dymo STR8-FIT Driver – please note this review is in Spanish:

Fueradelimites.com reviews the Nike SQ Dymo STR8-FIT Driver

Update 7.9.09: Here’s a new user review by Dave Lair at OrlandoGolfBlogger.com:

Dave Lair of OrlandoGolfBloger.com Takes the 8>9 Challenge

Nike Golf Athletes: Tour Wrapup 6.14.09

Here are the final results for Nike Golf’s Athletes at each tour event this past week:

PGA Tour: St. Jude Classic
Brendan Todd  T12  -8  272
Stephen Ames MC
David Duval MC
Justin Leonard MC
Carl Pettersson MC
Bob Tway WD

Nationwide Tour: Knoxville Open
Chris Nallen  T11  -14  274
Paul Gow  T34  -10  278
Ron Whitaker  T40  -9  279
Jhonattan Vegas MC
Richard Lee MC

LPGA Tour: McDonald’s LPGA Championship
Paige Mackenzie  T23  -1  287
Michelle Wie  T23  -1  287
Ashleigh Simon  T31  E  288
Suzann Pettersen WD