With 2012 nearly upon us, it’s time to bid adieu to 2011 – a topsy-turvy year in golf that managed to entertain, start to finish, with or without Tiger Woods on stage. Here are one blogger’s picks for the year’s best – and best forgotten – people, moments and assorted objects.
Putter of the Year: Long (by a grip handle over Belly)
Putt of the Year: Keegan Bradley, PGA Championship, 17th hole of the final round
Quote of the Year: “As long as it’s legal, I’ll keep cheating like the rest of them.” – Ernie Els on using a belly putter
Prize of the Year: Cured Spanish ham
Headline of the Year: Saltman wins body eight in ham for hole-in-one
Ham of the Year
Ham of the Year: Ben Crane
Player of the Year, Men: Luke Donald
Player of the Year, Any Gender: Yani Tseng
Youngster of the Year: Lexi Thompson
Streak of the Year: Donald’s 449 holes without a three-putt
Meaningful Meaningless Win of the Year: Tiger Woods, Chevron World Challenge
Performance for the Ages of the Year: Rory McIlroy’s eight-shot victory at the U.S. Open
Cutthroat of the Year: McIlroy, who dumped his girlfriend and his agent in 2011
Gag-Inducing Celebrity Couple Nickname of the Year: Wozzilroy (McIrloy and his new squeeze, tennis star Caroline Wozniacki)
Resurrected Career of the Year: Tie -- Sergio Garcia and Thomas Bjorn
Celebrator of the Year: Open champion Darren Clarke
Beverage of the Year
Beverage of the Year: Guinness Stout
#$!*& of the Year: Steve Williams
Innocent Bystander of the Year: Adam Scott
Captain of the Year: Fred Couples (Presidents Cup)
City of the Year: Jupiter, Fla. (aka the “new Orlando”)
Amateur of the Year: Patrick Cantlay
Lowlife of the Year: John Daly (who has officially retired this dubious honor)
Tags: Adam Scott, Darren Clarke, Ernie Els, Fred Couples, John Daly, Keegan Bradley, Lexi Thompson, Long Putter, Luke Donald, Presidents Cup, Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Steve Williams, Thomas Bjorn, Tiger Woods, Yani Tseng
In case you missed the Australian Open – which you probably did, considering it took place a gazillion time zones away from the U.S. – Tiger Woods came thisclose to winning his first tournament since 2009.
Tiger Woods tantalized Down Under.
He didn’t, finishing third thanks to a Saturday 75 that cost him the lead. For most of the event, though, Woods had the Aussie crowds and international golf media buzzing. His drives were straighter than usual, the irons old-Tiger crisp, the putter showing more than occasional flashes of sizzle.
Following his third-round flop, Woods charged back with a final-round 67, falling two shy of Greg Chalmers’ winning score of -13. The display left most everyone impressed, if not quite ready to declare Tiger “back” just yet.
Left high and dry by too many Tiger teases the past couple years, some wags noted that he finished behind two journeyman types (Chalmers and runner-up John Senden). More importantly, though, look at the guys right behind him: Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Jason Day and Nick Watney. They’ve played some decent golf lately, haven’t they?
Bottom line: another non-win for Woods – still the only golfer for whom a third-place finish against a world-class field is regarded as a disappointment. But it bodes well for his – and America’s – chances in this week’s Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne.
We’ll be staying up for that one.
Golf Claps
The Presidents Cup: As if the controversies surrounding Fred Couples using a captain’s pick on Woods and Steve Williams’ foolhardy remarks about Tiger weren’t enough to spark interest… The matches got a further boost from Woods’ performance and that of International team members Scott, Ogilvy, Day et al. The Ryder Cup still reigns supreme when it comes to biennial team competitions, but the Presidents Cup continues to catch up quickly.
Oh, and we can’t wait to see Royal Melbourne, one of golf’s most revered sites. Architecture geeks rejoice!
Silent Treatment
John Daly: After intentionally drowning a half-dozen balls before walking off the course midway through his first round, Daly proved yet again that he’s a complete waste of a sponsor’s exemption. The man needs help.
Ever heard of kids putting up posters in their rooms of their favorite athletes? Athletes they look up to and aspire to be like one day. It's pretty ironic when players like Ray Lewis, who cant go to Disney World after they win the super bowl because of previous murder investigations, make the bedroom shrine. Or does it make the poster even cooler? Well Fathead hopes you think so. Now you can have a life size version of the boozin', chain smokin', gamblin', "I do what I want" John Daly, right on your wall. It's very life-like because it would go great in your bar, and he's even wearing some cool pants from Loudmouth golf.
For $99 Fathead.com incudes John Daly and 9 Daly-related smaller posters. Pretty awesome.
Looks like John Daly just can't seem to catch a break anytime in the last, well, decade. As you know, he most recently made his not-so-triumphant return to the PGA Tour. Unfortunately for Daly, his golf wasn't up to the hype about his return and he failed to make a very decent sized splash in the playing field. Not long after that, you might remember a few days back, John Daly actually was involved in an RV accident that involved not only himself and his RV, but also a tunnel and another man's car. While we still don't know how THAT will end, we do know the man he allegedly hit is suing him for damages and possibly even injuries.
Daly Loses Libel Lawsuit
Well, if you're a John Daly fan, the hits just keep on coming as things went from bad to much, much worse. In case you were not aware, Daly has recently been involved in a libel lawsuit against the The Florida Times-Union for comments he believed were untrue and defamatory in nature back in 2005. The lawsuit was actually dismissed in March of this year, Duval County Circuit Judge Hugh Carithers ruling that the statements made by columnist Mike Freeman were either true, or constitutionally protected as his opinion.
$272,000 In Damages
Now, we find out what John Daly has to pay to settle the legal fees and losses by the Florida Times-Union throughout the trial. Cue bad news:
"Judge Hugh Carithers ordered Daly to pay $263,088 in attorney's fees, plus costs of $8,675.99 and 8 percent interest rate per year until it is paid."
Turn It Around Daly
That's right, Daly is responsible for $272,000 in damages. Yikes. Hopefully things can turn around for Daly, he's been having an extremely rough patch as of late. We're still rooting for his golf career, so stay tuned to see how things turn out.
[Via golftoimpress.com]
"After being banned from the tour for six months, John Daly waits to make a shot during a qualifying round in Germantown, Tenn., for the U.S. Open on Monday, June 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Lance Murphey)"
He weighed in at 218 pounds and shot 1 over for 36 holes to miss 1 of the 13 available qualifying spots. Not bad though, considering the overall progress. (weight + score + playing in the US + not taking a mug shot = improvement)
P.S. As you can see from our Spy Chick of the Month postings, we at spygolfer.com love pictures. And we just can’t seem to get enough of them when it comes to big John. Each one is its own piece of golf art, and we look forward to many more.
Big JD is playing: SpeedLine Classic Driver, SpeedLine Tour Prototype Wood (both with ust proforce axiv shafts), new tour prototype Adams pro black mbs blades, random tour prototype adams hybrids, vokey wedges, and a black Scotty Cameron putter.
(Click read more to see more pics)
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Reports indicate that surgeons have worked to tie a gastric tourniquet on JD’s gullet, and that he is now working with Rick Smith on his swing. I’ve always been a big John Daly fan. He possesses that Everyman quality that makes his life a morality play in motion. If he re-adopts his stylish mullet, I’m sure he could return to his old self and go low.
Pic from Daly's infamous Hooters episode of 2008
A Florida judge tossed out John Daly's lawsuit against sports columnist Mike Freeman and the Florida Times-Union for a column the Times-Union published earlier in 2005. Daly originally sued for defamation, based on some of the comments made by Freeman in his article entitled "Daly Fails the Scoundrel Sniff Test."
Also, Freeman questioned "How does Daly not fail the scoundrel sniff test with fans despite possessing definite Thug Life qualifications. Look at the Daly blog. Domestic violence accusations? Yup. Substance abuse issues? Unfortunately, three different kids from three different moms, making him the Shawn Kemp of golf? Yes. A former wife indicted for laundering illegal drug profits? Roger that."
Pretty funny comments to be made about a pro golfer, we think. How often do you get to see the term "Thug Life" and "golfer" in the same article? We say thanks to John for keeping it interesting in a sport that is full of boring, straight laced "perfect" people.
