Alan Shipnuck's Mailbag: Deutsche Bank edition

I'm off to Chicago this week for the BMW, so I can get a firsthand look at the new Cog Hill and hopefully pick up a new driver… unless Stevie wins the footrace.

"Regarding Tiger's club-throwing incident on Friday, do you think he's tired (as he said) or tired of missing putts (as Brandel Chamblee said)? I tend to agree with Brandel -- how in the world can Tiger be tired? He's the fittest guy out there."

The fatigue isn't physical, it's mental. Tiger has to put up with so much during a tournament week -- endless media prying, swarming fans, obsequious Tour staffers. Then he grinds harder than anyone on every shot. Tiger has always played a light schedule to allow himself to recharge before every event, but Deutsche Bank was his 9th tournament in 13 weeks -– he hasn't gone that hard since he was a bachelor in his early 20's. Dude is simply a bit fried.

"Let's say Tiger finishes in the top 5 the next two events and overtakes Steve in the coveted FedEx Cup points race. If he wins the Cup without winning a 'post-season' event, what does that say about the Cup, and is he POTY?"

Tiger is the player of the year until he isn't. He's won the most tournaments and money, he's got the lowest scoring average. He certainly doesn't have to take the Cup to be POY. Five quality victories is all the resume  he needs. Turning your question around, if Stricker has two more good finishes (but no wins) and wins the Cup, he could very well steal the POY voting. He'd have the second-most wins on Tour and the second-best scoring average, and he would have closed the deal in the, er, playoffs. Don't forget, the players do the voting, and they bring all their jealousies and double standards to the ballot. Stricker would probably be rewarded for a career-year while Woods would lose votes for merely an average campaign by his impossible standards.

"Ship! Come on, can you comment on what's going on with Vijay's game and what you see him doing in the future?"

Sucking and fishing, respectively.

"The only thing funnier than the LPGA caddies helping to line up their players is the fact that not a single one of them ever tells the player 'Hey, you look a big closed -- let's open up and aim a little more left ...' So are they afraid to say something (knowing a live TV camera may be watching their every move), or does every single one of these players line up perfectly? And if it's the latter, then why even do it at all? Just once I want to hear one of those caddies say 'You're 25 yards right of where you want to be -- we've been working on this for weeks and you are still making the same mistake!' "

Yeah, this is part of the absurdity. I, too, have never seen a caddie call his player off for misalignment. I'm gonna ask a couple of LPGA players for some anecdotes and report back. But I really feel the USGA should ban this kind of caddie help and leave my 64-degree wedge alone.

"Not sure if it was a weak attempt at humor or what, but you are way off base saying that Todd Hamilton was the worst person in his profession for a week. After all, he had to qualify for the event in the first place and then he made the cut. Someone had to finish last among the 77 that made the Barclay's cut. That does not make Todd the "worst" professional golfer (or touring pro) for the week. Your comment was either misinformed or a cheap shot or a stupid attempt at humor. Where do you rank this week among sportswriters?" —Andrew Langan

About 77th.

"What are your feelings about Suzann Pettersen? I love her -- plays with fire, looks nice, and just has a really powerful game. It seems like she should be a bigger star than she is." -- Mailbag loyalist John from Austin

I'm a big Pettersen fan, too. It will be interesting to see she if she can build on last weekend's commanding victory at the Canadian Women's Open. A couple of years ago I asked her mom how Suzann had spent the off-season. "Skiing and partying," was the answer. Suzann has definitely become more dedicated to her craft. The issues with her are mostly mental, as she had blown a handful of tournaments since her last LPGA win, way back in '07. I think slamming the door in Canada will free her up, and I wouldn't be surprised if she won a couple more times this fall to grab her first money title and POY.

"Shipnuck -- the Mailbag disappears for, what, 2 or 3 years, mysteriously reappears deep into the golf season and you have the audacity to bust chops because either the quantity or quality of queries doesn't meet your standards? A season for the Mailbag should have the same arc as a season on the Tour, and late-in-the-season party crashers have to take what they can get...."

So true. I can assure you that next year the Mailbag will define the season from Hawaii to Atlanta. Think of this fall's entry as a little test run and a chance to earn my privileges, sort of like Tiger turning pro after taking the U.S. Amateur.

Photo: Jeff McIntosh/AP

Vijay Singh looking for putting help at Hazeltine

CHASKA, Minn. -- After needing 33 putts to complete his third round, scribes in the media tent at Hazeltine National were taking bets on whether Vijay Singh would emerge from the clubhouse Sunday with his traditional-length putter or switch back to the belly putter he has used at various times this season.

Around 10:30 this morning, Singh strolled to the practice green with the same putter he used in the first three rounds of the 2009 PGA Championship, a standard-length Never Compromise Milled Series 1.

"I'm think I'm just dodging the problem," he told TNT's Jim Huber. "If I can just face it and deal with it, it will make me a better putter, and that's why I'm sticking with the short putter."

Singh said that he had a few good ideas that he hoped would fix his putting woes. He didn't elaborate on TV, but he did putt for about 15 minutes this morning while looking at the hole instead of looking at the ball at address.

At one point, Singh holed a 50-foot putt across the practice green without having looked at the ball during his swing. It brought a few cheers from the crowd, and Singh looked at his caddie with a smirk as if to say, "Do you believe this?"

In 2005, GOLF Magazine, Top 100 Teacher Eric Alpenfels of Pinehurst Golf Advantage, and Dr. Bob Christina, dean emeritus of the School of Health and Human Performance at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, studied the effects of looking at the hole instead of the ball during the stroke.

That study found that golfers who practiced with this method and looked at the hole while putting ended up 24% closer on putts from 28-43 feet than golfers who looked at the ball. (You can read the whole article here.)

Boldly, Singh put the unorthodox putting style into play on Sunday. A gutsy move considering it was the fourth round of a major championship. But after missing numerous short putts on Saturday and falling from contention, what did he have to lose?

(Photo by David Dusek)

The Duck escapes at Hazeltine

CHASKA, MINN. -- Masters champ Angel Cabrera glowered and smoldered while shooting 76 this afternoon, but he hit the coolest shot of the first round. Stuck in the rough and trees to the left of the fairway on the 405-yard sixth hole, the Duck manufactured a belt-high hook that boomeranged out of the shade and skipped along the edge of a guarding pond before running up the green and stopping a few paces short of a back-left pin. The crowd at the sixth green, which included patio and deck spectators from adjoining houses, gave Cabrera a well-deserved ovation as he walked onto the green.

Two-time PGA champ Vijay Singh submitted his own candidate for Shot of the Day. Singh's approach shot on the lakeside 16th hole cleared a tree, landed behind the flagstick and then spun back five or six feet before settling on the edge of the hole. A few minutes later, tour veteran Bob Estes topped Singh by holing out from afar for an eagle 2 on the 6th hole (his 15th).

But Cabrera's shot gets bonus points for degree of difficulty and disregard of consequences. The burly Argentine was in no mood for an English-language chat after his round, so we don't know what club he used for his brilliant escape. But Singh, who vaulted into a tie for third at three under on the strength of his blow-in birdie, provided reporters the essential data: "Nine-iron."

Actually, Singh was not as reticent as usual. "I hit a 5-wood off the tee," he said, "and with the first cut I didn't know if I was going to get a jumper or not. But it came out perfect. Told my caddie, ‘Wow, that's good,' and it landed absolutely perfect and the crowd just went crazy."

Estes, the 1989 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year and a three-time T-6 PGA Championship finisher in the '90s, was still on the course when we shut down the Shot-of-the-Afternoon Interview Stage.

Vijay Singh buys posh Manhattan apartment

Will Vijay Singh be honing his game at Chelsea Piers now that he and his wife, Ardena Seth, just bought a $5.675 million penthouse condominium in Manhattan? Not likely. But at least he has a nice place to stay the week of the Barclays.

According to the realdeal.com, the Singhs got a deal on the apartment since it was listed for $6.9 million in June. Located on West 59th Street in Lincoln Square, the apartment is 3,369-square-feet, with four bedrooms and a wood-burning stove.

Vijay Singh drops Stanford logos at AT&T National

Vijay Singh has been spotted at this week's AT&T National without the logos of Stanford Financial, according to CNBC's Darren Rovell.

Singh had been wearing the logos on his shirt and visor as recently as last week at the Travelers Championship despite the accusations that Allen Stanford ran an $8 billion ponzi scheme. Stanford has pleaded not guilty to a 21-count indictment.

Last week, Singh made headlines when he offered to help pay Stanford's bond, but federal rules would not allow it since Singh is not a U.S. citizen.

Vijay Singh still wears alleged ponzi scheme logo

You can’t say Vijay Singh isn’t loyal. Despite Stanford Financial’s alleged $8 billion ponzi scam, Singh is still wearing Stanford’s logo on his hat, shirt and golf bag. And he might not even be getting paid for it. Thanks to sharp-eyed Michael Gray of The New York Post  for this one.

One report said he hadn't been paid so far this year by the company -- and if Stanford is indeed indicted and later found to have run a Ponzi scheme, then Singh will likely be looking for another sponsor.

Singh finished the Masters Tournament tied for 30th place.

Vijay Singh in Stanford gear at the Masters on Thursday.
(AP)

Video: Vijay Singh skips in a hole-in-one on 16 Tuesday

On the Tuesday before the Masters,  it is traditional for players to try to skip a tee shot across the pond and on to the green on the 170-yard par-3 16th hole. Yesterday, in the cold and wind, Vijay Singh, winner of the 2000 Masters, skipped a ball right into the hole. You have to see it to believe it.

Vijay Singh withdraws from Transitions Championship with knee pain

Vijay Singh has pulled out of this week's Transitions Championship due to swelling in his right knee. Singh had arthroscopic surgery in January to repair torn cartilage.

"I've had a fine relationship with Vijay Singh over the years, and I knew how much he wanted to play in our tournament," said Gerald Goodman, tournament director of the Transitions Championship, in his blog. " He called me (Monday) from his doctor's office in Jacksonville and said his knee had become swollen over the weekend in Miami. He was so apologetic that he couldn't play."

The defending FedEx Cup champion has struggled since he returned from the operation. He missed the cut at Pebble Beach and at Riviera, lost in the second round of the Match Play, and finished T53 at Doral.

What to Watch for: Saturday at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

It has become a strange rite of the 2009 season, but I will be watching to see if Phil Mickelson will miss his second cut in three events. (At Pebble, the cut falls on Saturday). After two rounds, Mickelson stands at one-under 143, tied for 61st and 11 shots behind the midway leader Retief Goosen. The projected cut is at two-under 142 going into Saturday. After finishing Friday's round at Poppy Hills, Mickelson joked that other than his driving, iron play and putting, his game is spot on.

On the par-5 12th hole Friday -- his third of the round -- I watched him pump a drive into the trees and out of bounds on the right. Forced to re-tee, Mickelson split the fairway and salvaged a bogey, but he was well on his way to another uneven round.

Mickelson's bunker play was superb -- he counted four saves in four attempts -- but that's almost the point: right now he's in too many bunkers and too few spots on the fairways and greens.

I'll also be watching to see if Vijay Singh (at three-over) can salvage the cut in his first event after knee surgery, but I don't think he'll make it.

And finally, there is Goosen. This guy was once the member of the so-called "Big Five" with Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Mickelson and Singh. He's 40 years old now, but he recently dropped 16 pounds and can putt with anybody. With a two-shot lead over rookie Dustin Johnson, it'll be fun to see if the Goose can hang on.

 

What to Watch For: Thursday at Pebble Beach

By Damon Hack
Senior writer, Sports Illustrated

After recuperating from knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus, a remarkable golfer will make his much-awaited return Thursday at the AT&T. Tiger Woods? Nope, Vijay Singh.

I will be watching to see how a 45-year-old golfer like Singh bounces back after undergoing arthroscopic surgery a month ago. No golfer has been more prolific in his 40s than Singh, but he has become more injury-prone in recent years. Does he have enough left to give Phil Mickelson a run for the title of second-best golfer of the era? Both Singh and Mickelson have 34 PGA Tour wins apiece and three major titles. When all is said and done, it will be fun to see which golfer is deemed by history to be Tiger's greatest rival.

Speaking of returns, I’m looking forward to watching Mickelson make his season debut beneath the raindrops at the AT&T. What’s that you say? Phil’s already played twice this year? That's strange, I haven’t noticed him.

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