The Scottish Open is this week, along with the Women’s British Open. What a great time of year, where we golfers over the pond get to watch REAL golf for a change, links golf. Links golf is not the over-watered, over-fertilized, over-soft resort golf we have here in the USA. The ball bounces and rolls forever over there. Creativity and imagination are required to play well in real golf, unlike much of the dart board style golf we have here where we can hit 4-irons at the pin and the ball sticks within three feet…
Given how hard the ground is over there on Scottish courses, I’m not all that surprised at all that Rory McIlory could drive a par-4 green which was 436 yards. At Carnoustie last year I hit a 5-iron for my second shot on the par-4 15th hole from 255 yards. I was past pin high. Just imagine if you could tee off down the runway of an airport with a tail wind. That’s Rory’s shot. Still, the feat is very impressive. Here’s the video below:
McIlory apparently told Ian Poulter, who was in the group in front of him, that he hit 3-wood off the tee. Hehe. I still think when his swing is “on” and his timing is right, there’s no better ball striker on the planet than Rory McIlory.
Phil Mickelson won last year’s Scottish Open, prior to winning the (British) Open Championship. Phil is the only guy I can think of that can actually hit lob wedges on real links courses. Now there’s a video challenge of some sort where players see if they can flop one over a cardboard cutout of Phil:
Speaking of Phil and his short game, during a practice round a fan captured Phil hitting a backward flop shot. Unreal.
DIRECTV’s HD Mix Channel (701) will offer four views of the tournament: the network (ESPN/NBC) feed (702), Featured Group 1 (703), Featured Group 2 (704) and a Featured Hole (705). Each bonus channel can be tuned full-screen at the touch of a button and will have a team of announcers. The Mix will also be available during all weekend coverage of the tournament on the HD Sports Mix (205 and 600). While viewing any channel, viewers will also have access to an interactive menu of features through the red color key on the remote. They include: Player Scorecard with key bio info, player headshots, scores and stats, add a player to a favorites list; and Pairings and Tee Times, all the groups and tee times for the current round.
A few minutes ago the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the Huffington Post released a story regarding finance, gambling, and sports involving investor Carl Icahn, Billy Walters, and Phil Mickelson.
From USA Today
…a major insider-trading probe involving finance, gambling and sports” that involves the trading of activist investor Carl Icahn, pro golfer Phil Mickelson and Las Vegas bettor William “Billy” Walters.
According to a story published on the Journal website late Friday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission are probing whether Mickelson and Walters illegally traded on nonpublic information they allegedly obtained from Icahn about his investments in public companies. The Journal story attributed the information to “people briefed on the probe.”
The feds are said to be investigating whether the past three years Icahn illegally provided Walters — well known in Vegas for his sports-betting abilities — about potentially market-moving investments by Icahn’s company, Icahn Enterprises, the Journal story said.
From Huffington Post
Federal investigators are looking into whether Mickelson and Walters may have traded illegally on private information provided by Icahn about his investments in public corporations, the source told Reuters, confirming a report by the Wall Street Journal on Friday.
Thursday June 12
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
