National Golf News

Tiger Woods Fires Caddie Stevie 0 8

(ORLANDO, Fla.) July 20, 2011 — Tiger Woods fired long-time caddie Steve Williams, an Orlando TV station reported.Williams recently caddied for Adam Scott as Woods’ injury layoff from golf continued. Williams had been on Woods’ bag since 1999, according to WESH-TV.

Other Woods developments …

A celebrity gossip site reports that one of Woods’ mistresses, Rachel Uchitel, recently returned a $10 million payment to the golfer, and plans to tell her story to the news media. The Uchitel story.

Last week, People magazine reported that Woods’ ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, is dating financier Jamie Dingman.

That’ might have been fairly straightforward news, at least until the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Dingman may have had a fling with Uchitel, possibly at the same time Uchitel was sleeping with Woods, who at the time was still married to Nordegren.

A source close to Nordegren told the Chicago newspaper she’s afraid she’s stumbled onto another “Tiger.”

Now, if only Tiger would return to the PGA Tour.

Talk about ratings.

— Dan Vukelich

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Ewart Wins Euro Ladies Tour Qualifier 0 5

(MURCIA, SPAIN) Jan. 20, 2011 — Former Lobo golfer Jodi Ewart won the Q School event to gain full status on the 2012 Ladies European Tour. She had already won full status on LPGA Tour.

Ewart claimed first place in the Euro qualifier on Thursday in Murcia, Spain, finishing five rounds on the La Manga North and South courses at 11-under, edging Swiss amateur Anais Maggetti by two shots. Ewart, 24, held the top spot for the final four rounds.

“I mean, fourth on the LPGA and now winning the LET; it’s a pretty good off-season if you ask me,” the Yorkshire, England, native said. “It feels good and I’m really looking forward to this year.”

Ewart heads home to Florida before beginning her inaugural LPGA Tour season Feb. 9, at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open in Victoria, Australia.

The interview below was shot by us as she finished her Lobo golf career.

— Dan Vukelich

PING CEO: Change the Golf Ball, Save the Courses 0 4

(PHOENIX) Jan. 3, 2012 –The chairman and CEO of Ping says three different balls should be approved by rule-makers — one longer, one the same as and one shorter than balls currently approved for play.

Shorter balls could then be mandated as a condition of play on classic courses hosting PGA Tour events — keeping them competitive. Longer balls could be allowed for amateur play. Ball distance could even be factored into handicaps — like course slope ratings, says PING head John Solheim.

The proposal is a radical departure from the principle underlying the Rules of Golf that a single ball with a single distance limit be played by players at all levels, even though many golf authorities believe the length of the modern golf ball is the single biggest factor in making some of the great courses of the 19th and 20th centuries obsolete for professional play.

In a letter to the USGA and the R&A, Solheim proposed  a “Ball Distance Rating System” to categorize balls into three distance categories. “This concept addresses the unique talents of the top 0.1 percent of the world’s golfers without hurting the other 99.9 percent,” Solheim said.

A “silver dot” rating could apply to balls that conform to the current distance limits, a “gold dot” rating to balls that are longer (perhaps 30 yards longer), and a “bronze dot” rating for balls that are shorter than today’s ball limit (again, maybe 30 yards shorter),” Solheim said.

“More BDR levels could be added, if needed, to address future increases in driving distance by Tour professionals,” he said.

“Most courses hosting professional tour events were built with, or have added, sufficient length to challenge the world’s best golfers. Perhaps a small number of tournaments, those played at some of the game’s classic courses, would find it exciting to put the original design elements of the layout back in play by requiring shorter rated golf balls,” he said.

Higher handicappers could play a longer ball to make them competitive against longer courses, Solheim said.

Click here for John Solheim’s complete statement.