Golf Central

Andrés! ...: Wait, wait a minute. I thought you were captain of the Briny Brigade.
Ah, Briny Baird is yesterday's man. Andrés Romero is a man for the future!: Well, we've been saying that for a long time now. He was our Young Gun of the Year award-winner in our 2007 Rusty Awards, you know ...
You always have to point it out everytime you're right, don't you. It's very annoying.: I wouldn't do it so much unless it happened so frequently, and if you weren't so annoying by pointing out every time I'm wrong.
Geoff Ogilvy ring a bell?: I'm going to ring your bell in a minute ...
Easy cowboy. How about that Romero win, though ...?: It's something else. The Argentinian lad's only 26, this was only his 12th PGA Tour start, and he's heading to Augusta with a full head of steam.
Wow. And we've seen what Romero can do with a head of steam ...: That's for sure. He's one of those birdie machines that is really scary when he turns it on, as we saw last year when Romero strafed Carnoustie with 10 birdies on the final round and still turned up short.
But his time he closed it out ...: Indeed he did. He did that in typical Romero fashion as well, with a rain of birdies that overwhelmed the field: 15 birdies in his last 45 holes.
And then he had to sit around for three hours waiting for somebody to try to catch him ...: That was strange. Romero posted his total of 13-under 275 and then kicked back in the clubhouse, playing games on his laptop - as you do when you're 26 - while Aussie veteran Peter Lonard finished up.
Not enough though ...: Nope. Chalk one up for the young guys here. A bogey on the 17th cost the 40-year-old Lonard here against Romero, while in Europe the silver-haired Frenchman Thomas Levet held back 19-year-old Oli Fisher.
And now the ladies have another Latin heart-throb on the PGA Tour to ogle in addition to Camilo Villegas ...: Hey, somebody's got to be better with the ladies than Briny Baird.
But Briny disappeared in the haze of a 74 ...: And thank the Gods of Golf for that ...
See you in Houston!: See you in Houston! Then on to Augusta ...!

They might seem like an unlikely double act, but Sam Torrance has joined Michael Owen as the latest investor and ambassador for Dubai property development company, First Group.

 

 

The former Ryder Cup captain joins a lengthy list of touring golfers attracted by the climate and playing facilities in Dubai and he follows the diminutive England striker as an owner of a property in the heart of Dubai Sports City, the world's first purpose-built city dedicated to sport, featuring championship golf course, The Els Club.

 

"I believe that Ernie's course there is excellent," commented our favourite son of Scotland. "It is also great to be an ambassador for such an innovative and well respected company", he grinned.

On this day in 1997, the Aussie swing machine Steve Elkington - a golf star who bizarrely has a severe allergy to grass - breathed deeply enough to waltz around the TPC Stadium Course at Sawgrass by winning The Players Championship for the second time by a wheezingly large margin ...

Dang! ...: Dang what?
Well, I was really hoping we could use a picture of Oliver Fisher on the site front ...: Me too, but you said it yourself: The rule is, only the winner's picture goes on the site front.
But Oli was nearly the winner ...: Yeah, well close only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades. Why are you so fussed over Oli Fisher?
I just like the kid that's all. And I picked him to get his first win ...: I agree. He's a likeable kid, and he's going to be a great player. But there's no rooting in the press box, pal ... can't take sides. And French veteran Thomas Levet is a worthy champion, especially after what happened to him in 2006.
Dang! Fisher was just so close ...: He sure was. It was hard to believe that he's still only 19 the way he took charge of the tournament in the final round, blitzing past the faltering veteran Lee Westwood. Fisher, the former Nick Faldo Series winner and youngest Walker Cup player ever, had his maiden European Tour win in his grasp on the 18th after firing a 67 on Sunday.
And we all saw what happened ...: Yes. Oli hit a couple of loose shots on the 18th and it cost him the tournament. All he needed was a par on the 72nd hole of regulation, but Oli put his drive in a pond and made bogey 5.
To force a playoff with Levet ...: Yep. And then Oli doinked his tee shot on the playoff hole in a bunker, his second came up short, and Levet took the title with a routine par.
And that's win No. 4 for the 39-year-old Frenchman ...: Yes, and it could have been more had Levet not suffered from vertigo in 2006. After winning here he said: "In 2006 just to be standing up was a victory."
Nice story, but pity for our Oli. How did he take it ...: Quite well actually. He said: "It was nothing negative. You have to learn to kind of lose before you win."
Top-notch cliche ... Spoken like a grizzled veteran. That's a cliche Nick Faldo would be proud of ...: Yep. Oli will be fine ...
See you in Portugal!: See you in Portugal!

Briny ...: Are you at this again?
Yep.: Why's that? ...
Well, there's nothing else to do ...: I have to agree with you there. Once again we are at mercy of the Gods of Golf and the Gods of Fickle Weather, which have determined that we must wait interminable for yet another third round to end.
I bet you Briny could do something about it ...: I thought we agreed everyone in the field was called Briny from now on. So shall we give our loyal readers the update they are longer for?
If you must ...: OK, when play was suspended on Saturday at 5.35pm Louisiana time, there were four players standing at 8-under ... well, they weren't standing actually, they were huddling out of sight against the rain.
And their names are? ...: Woody "Briny" Austin, Nicholas "Briny" Thompson, Peter "Briny" Lonard and Briny "Briny" Baird.
And after them? ...: Well, there are five guys on 7-under, 46 players still out on the course, and possibly another Monday finish possible in the forecast. And I'll be damned if I'm going to call all those players "Briny". I respect our readers too much for that.
That's grand of you. But come on, you can give me one more ...: No.
Come on, just one more ...: No!
Please???: OK ... One of the guys on 7-under made a 5-birdie charge, just like he did in the final round of the 2007 Open Championship, and that's the mad young Argentinian, Andres ...
Say it!!: "Briny" Romero.
Jeez, I'm bored ...: Me too ... Have a pickle, Briny ...