Golf Central

Weird, isn't it? Frost in Arizona ...: Well, what's so weird about that? It's a desert climate, and deserts get cold in the winter time.
Yeah, but you don't exactly expect frost delays when you're waiting in line for your Southwest-style burrito ...: Fair enough. But frost we have, of the non-David variety. So what's the problem, other than the fact it's a bit chilly?
Well, I sort of want to get this golf stuff over with ...: What, so you can watch the Super Bowl?
No, I just met a couple chicks out there today by the 16th ...: Who are you, Camilo Villegas? Let me have your hotel room key, you're not going anywhere until your work is done.
OK, it just would be nice if we could just get a whole round in for once, if you know what I mean ...: Enough innuendoes, mate. Sure, it's frustrating we don't really know who's winning. JB Holmes and Doug LaBelle II are in the lead in the clubhouse at 9-under, but there are plenty who can still win.
Including the aforementioned Camilo Villegas ...: I was just going to mention him before you did. He's tied for the lead at 9-under, so he's off to a smoking start by his standards ...
If he can just keep it up ...: I don't know if I can work with you anymore, man. Just grow up. As we said yesterday, Camilo is pretty much a 3-under steady kinda guy. When he starts going 4, 5-under, that's when he's dangerous ...
It could be a long day for Camilo ...: Yeah. Not only was he out there until dark Friday, he needs to get up before 7am to finish his second round, then be back on the course at 2.41pm to start his third round.
That's assuming he doesn't make any birdies over night, if you know what I mean ...:
Those don't count ... If KJ Choi doesn't get to count them, they don't count for Camilo either.

On this day in 1949, Ben Hogan was driving to his new home in Texas from the Arizona Open in Phoenix with his wife Valerie when their car was hit head-on by a Greyhound bus in heavy fog on the West Texas Highway (US 90).

Hogan was driving over a two-lane bridge outside Van Horn, Texas - nearly 150 miles east of El Paso, when the bus swerved out of its lane to overtake a truck. Hogan threw himself over his wife to protect her but by all rights should have been killed in the hellacious smash. Valerie ended up with just cuts and bruises, but Hogan had a broken clavicle, fractured ribs, a complex pelvic fracture and smashed bones in his left ankle and nearly died on the way to hospital.

It is also believed that in his heroic move to save his wife's life, Hogan saved his own, as the steering wheel was propelled straight through the driver's seat. The rest, as we know, is history ...

"It's awesome!" That's what Anthony Kim, one of the brightest young stars on the PGA Tour had to say about his upcoming visit in March to Korea for the inaugural Ballantine's Championship, when the European Tour spreads its tentacles further across the world.

The 22-year-old Southern Californian, Korean-American by birth and brought up on the not-so-pleasant streets of Los Angeles' Koreatown, can't wait for his crack at the Pinx Golf Club on South Korea's Jeju Island - three weeks before the Masters.

"It will be an awesome experience," Kim said, relishing the chance to compete in the country of his parents' birth. He'll be joining PGA Tour regular KJ Choi at the Ballantine's by Padraig Harrington and Colin Montgomerie, so it should be a chance for Kim to see what he's made of (so to speak).

Recently, two-time major winner Mark O'Meara, Tiger's good buddy, tipped the 22-year-old Kim for greatness, and we believe O'Meara. And as any Southern Californian will tell you, kids from Koreatown are tough. Here's what our old buddy John Strege, who followed Tiger Woods as a youngster in Orange County, California, wrote about Kim's background in a US Golf World feature last August. Enjoy.

So what's your problem then? The holy grail of most amateur and club golfers - the hole-in-one - remains out of reach of almost everyone who has swung a club in anger. The odds against for tour professionals of an ace are estimated at 3000-1; for a low-handicapper that goes down to 5000-1; and for a high-handicapper the odds are 12000-1.

But what if your handicaps are literally your handicaps? We're not mathematicians here at IGWT, we're journalists, dammit, but someone brainy please let us know the odds against Leo Fiyalko's feat in January in Florida. Fiyalko had a couple of things against him when he scored his first lifetime ace at the Cove Cay Country Club in Clearwater, Florida: 1) he's 92 years old; and 2) he's legally blind.

Nice shot, Leo! For the record, Leo (who has been golfing for 60 years and once played off 7) blasted a perfect 5-iron on the 110-yard 5th hole at Cove Cay, which ended up in the hole. Leo, having been diagnosed with macular degeneration and is legally blind because he only has peripheral vision in his right eye, can't watch TV without turning to one side.

But what a shot he missed. Apparently, so too did the members of Leo's Twilighters Club golfing group at Cove Cay, none of whom actually saw Leo's shot go in. But the evidence was in the hole: Leo's golf ball. Leo's an honest man: "I never saw it," he said. We love the truth at IGWT, it's right in the name on the tin. If you maths wizards want to let us know what the odds are for Leo's feat, please let us know in the box below ... Hit 'em straight, and here's what our friends at the St Petersburg Times in Florida have to say about the story ...

I think I'm getting my bearings a bit here, but something still seems funny ...: What's that? Tiger Woods is still on top of the leaderboard ...
Yeah I know, it's just that people actually gained on him instead of falling back ...: Weird, isn't it? Well, you never know what Saturday will bring. I'd expect Tiger to stretch his lead out.
Why's that?: Well, he's paired with an relatively untested Irishman, Damien McGrane, who is ranked No. 318 in the world, and No. 1 Tiger loves nothing more than to teach a few lessons on his way to an insurmountable lead.
True. But even Tiger struggled out there today ...: So he did. A 71 for Tiger right now is like 125 for most of us hackers. But it was windy. Did you see his quotes in the interview tent?
Yeah. He said "We had a myraid of distractions out there and you had to be committed ...": That's what he said. I find that odd.
Why?: Because if anyone knows anything about distractions and commitment it should be Tiger.
I was more surprised about the use of the word "myriad". It's not a typical golfer word ...: Tiger's not a typical golfer. Remember, the big fella did go to Stanford ...
OK, who else do you think has a chance to catch up?: Not McGrane ... sorry, Damien. But we saw what happened to Kevin Streelman last Saturday. I'm gonna go with the usual suspects ... Henrik Stenson is only two back and is probably playing the most "non-Tiger" consistent great golf in the world. And then Sergio's only three behind and Ernie Els and Lee Westwood are only four behind.
So anything can happen then, right?: Yeah. But probably Tiger is going to win. Anything else?
I don't have anything else ...: OK, see, "anything" just happened twice. Now get some rest. Long weekend ahead ...