Golf Central

Well, the sentimental favourite faded back a bit, didn't he ...: A bit, really. ... Robert Gamez has still shot rounds of 66-65-67-71 for a 19-under total. ...
Except ...: Well, except that it's just that Justin Leonard has shot four better, that's all. The little Texan has made 24 birdies so far, which is what you need to do in a birdie-fest.
I see. Well, with all the low scoring this week it still might be anybody's game, then ...: Anybody within 6 shots, probably, which still puts about 11 guys in the mix. After all, David Duval won this thing with a 59 in the final round in '99, so anything's possible.
And bye bye celebrities, too ...: Yes! And for once the hard-bitten pros can play without any hackers on their wings. It should make for a good day out in the desert.
Do you think Leonard can hold on? ...: Well, he's a veteran who's going through a bit of a career renaissance right now. So, yes. ... but then again, so is Gamez. Mind you, after all Gamez has been through the last 18 years, I'm pretty sure he'd be happy with second place and a big fat paycheck and keeping his card.
Yeah. Losing your card a couple times does that to you doesn't it? ...: It must. Gamez won in his very first PGA Tour start, and what a roller-coaster ride it has been for him since.
So where are you off to in such a hurry? ...: I'm going to go see a Scottish band that no one has ever heard of called the Pearlfishers. Let me know how the golf goes, OK?
Opting for obscure Scottish bands instead of this scintillating golf are you? ...: Well, we've got people spanning the globe right now to give our readers the very best in golf coverage. I imagine there will be hundreds of birdies between here and Abu Dhabi til then, and one of the reasons the Pearlfishers are so obscure is that they play a gig like every 10 years or so ...
So the Pearlfishers are are not the Vijay Singh of music? ...: Let's put it this way, but I might be the only guy there. It would strain my brain too far at this point to come up with an apt analogy, but definitely not. Vijay. Robert Gamez is closer ...
See you down the road then ...: Down the road ...

Martin Kaymer sounds like a kid who can't wait for Christmas ...: And why shouldn't he? The way he's playing, his first European Tour victory is right around the corner.
It's not often you hear a golfer say "I can't wait for tomorrow" ...: No, but then again, most of them aren't as unbelievably talented as Kaymer ... nor do they have what looks like an unassailable six-shot lead going into the final round.
I don't want to jinx the boy, but ...: Yeah, I know, I know. This is golf and anything can happen. But we've been tipping the 23-year-old from Dusseldorf for great things all year, and barring a catastrophe of immense magnitude, he can only give the tournament away.
In which case, he'll be wishing he hadn't said "I can't wait for tomorrow" ...: Indeed. But I really don't think Kaymer is going to blow it. Engand's Anthony Wall, Sweden's Henrik Stenson, and Ryder Cup veteran Lee Westwood are well behind him, and only Stenson is the kind of player that can make enough birdies to overtake Kaymer. It would take a career round from Stenson and a total collapse from Kaymer.
Speaking of birdies, how many is that for Kaymer through three rounds now? ...: His scorecard is literally riddled with red numbers. He's made 17 birdies and an eagle so far, with only 2 bogeys, through 54 holes. Unbelievable golf for a kid his age.
How do you say "birdie" in German? ...: Well, the German golfers just say "birdie" like everyone else. But a bird, in German, is vogel. That's why, in the 1940s, the German plane the Stuka was called a kanonen vogel: bird with cannons.
Why does that matter? ...: Oh, well, we mentioned Kaymer's nationality the other day and someone (probably German) posted on this site that we should not make fun of nationalities, despite the fact that we praised Kaymer's golf to the highest. They said "we will have red face".
Did you mention the war? ...: Not directly, but some English guy did in the pub before we wrote the wrap-up. ... So that was still on our mind and we were joking about how the English are always "mentioning the war", but that the Germans do not ... anyway, sometimes in this funny world we call the internet people take things the wrong way.
That explains it then. How do you say "idiot" in German?...: Idiot, I think.
How do you say "deleted comment" in German?...: Not sure, but I think it's Kommentar löschen ...

On this day in 1974, Johnny Miller strolled to his third straight win to start the PGA Tour season, winning the Dean Martin Tucson Open by three shots over Ben Crenshaw.

In doing so, Miller became the first player (and only) to win the PGA Tour's first three events of the year. Only 26, the floppy-fringed blonde Mormon from San Francisco was on his way to one of the greatest seasons in modern PGA Tour history, one that has not been rivalled until Tiger Woods came along ...

Don't tell him we told you, because we don't want to jinx the big fellow ... but our favourite Swede Henrik Stenson could be on the verge of one of those wacky golfing feats that we love so much at IGWT.

Not long ago we told you about how big Henrik had flown some 45,000 miles in search of the bucks and golfing trophies. Air Warrior Supreme. Then, we told you about Henrik's hush-hush scouting mission to daily-fee Torrey Pines, where he paid his own greens fees and teed it up with the plebs. Municipal Golf Warrior Supreme.

Now, Henrik is in Abu Dhabi, gunning it out in the star-studded field at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. So far, so good: Stenson, one of the early starters, fired a 5-under 67 Thursday and was one shot off the lead after the first round. Big deal you say? Think about it: If Stenson can win in Abu Dhabi, he would be the first man to complete the trifecta of victories in all the major championships of the United Arab Emirates (Stenson won the Qatar Masters in 2006 and last year added the prestigious Dubai Desert Classic trophy to his collection).

Some people collect the colourful stamps from the UAE: Henrik Stenson collects golf trophies. And more power to him, because we love nicknames at IGWT ... Go Henrik of Arabia!

On this day in 1955, the actor Kevin Costner was born in Lynwood, California, and while he's a decent-standard golfer himself, he did a pretty darn good job of playing a pro golfer in the 1996 film Tin Cup - which (depending on which list you look at) is usually ranked in the Top 5 golf films of all time.

Tin Cup stars Costner as Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy, and follows his tale as a dusty old driving range pro in Texas, who meets a girl (Rene Russo) who talks him into chasing his old dreams of the Tour, and going for it at the US Open. The film is notable for its reasonably decent depiction of both dusty driving-range life and tour pro life, and while many may dispute its plot lines, it's pretty fair entertainment. Hey, if you're looking for Citizen Kane, you're on the wrong website, pal ...