Posts tagged TrevorImmelman at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Since learning that 2008 will continue on without golf's daddy, one thing has become extremely apparent -- someone could really become someone over these next few months.

Since Tiger Woods broke on the scene in 1997, winning the Masters by more strokes than Blue in Old School, we have had exactly one young guy attempt to make a name for himself in major championships. That, sadly, was Sergio Garcia at the 1999 PGA Championship, battling Woods to the end at only 19-years-young.

At that point, golf was buzzing. We had a young, brash European (!) who not only could challenge our best golfer, but someone who would be on the posters facing Tiger at the Ryder Cup. Exciting, meet interesting.

Sadly, Garcia forgot how to putt about seven years ago and has never really found it, flashing in the pan every now again, like the '07 British Open, but always getting to the end of the puzzle and finding out your dog ate the last piece.

Now, Garcia is a 28-year-old veteran, with a grizzled beard, some negative incidents and is not the face of youth on the PGA Tour anymore.

It's the day before the tournament and time for more FanHouse Media Guide.

• Todd Hamilton -- CUT -- Hamilton had a great 2004 (won twice, once was the British Open). All other years besides 2004? Not as great. In five attempts at the U.S. Open Hamilton has never made the weekend.

• Soren Hansen -- DNP -- Hansen has never battled the U.S. Open, but he has won twice on the European Tour and carded a top-10 in the 2002 British Open.

• Padraig Harrington -- 5 -- For a stretch in the early part of this decade, it seemed like Harrington (pictured) was in the hunt at every major championship (this, of course, is what I call a "journalistic exaggeration"). The reigning British Open champion has four top-10s at this event and tied for fourth at last week's St. Jude Championship.

• David Hearn -- CUT -- In 13 tournaments on the Nationwide Tour, Hearn has only made six cuts. The Canadian native did play a full year on the PGA Tour in 2005 and has had a lot of success at the Canadian Open.

• Jimmy Henderson (a) -- DNP -- A 65 in the second round of sectional qualifying allowed the amateur a spot in the field. Golf clap.

• Justin Hicks -- CUT -- HIcks has played in six tournaments on the Nationwide Tour in 2008, scrounging up only $8,464. With gas at $4 a gallon, that's only 2,116 gallons of gas. Note to Justin -- golf clubs do fit in the back of a Prius.

• J.B. Holmes -- t-48 -- One of the longest hitters on tour, Holmes is one of those guys that tend to do well on a stretched out U.S. Open course because unlike short hitters, he's used to playing out of the rough (I'll allow five seconds for you to snicker). He's only missed two cuts this year and showed everyone he isn't scared of some of the big guys, with a playoff win over Phil Mickelson in Phoenix.

• Charles Howell III -- t-18 -- Chucky Three Sticks has made the cut in six straight U.S. Opens, but has only cracked the top-30 once. Also, the 4,943 golfer in the Open that played at Oklahoma State.

• Ryuji Imada -- t-12 -- Feast or famine for Imada at this tournament. The Japanese native has two top-15 finishes and two missed cuts at the U.S. Open, but has been coming more into his own this season, even winning for the first time on the PGA Tour.

• Trevor Immelman -- t-21 -- Not to get all crazy on you, but I'm a big believer that the Grand Slam is "well within reach."

Before today, the Stanford St. Jude Championship was running away with the "most boring golf tournament of the year" award before three solid golfers landed in a playoff.

Justin Leonard, Trevor Immelman and Robert Allenby all finished at four-under par for the week, with Leonard winning on the second playoff hole with a 19-footer for birdie.

Leonard notched his 12th PGA Tour victory and more importantly for him, might have done what he needed to make his third Ryder Cup team.

"I don't know how much of a lock I am, but I feel pretty good about making it. I'm looking forward to being on that team, and I'm looking forward to us winning again soon," Leonard said.

Allenby fired a five-under 65 to make the playoff, a round that included a tap-in birdie on the 18th hole. Immelman was in a position with a win to battle Tiger Woods for early season Player of the Year, but his birdie putt on the playoff hole rolled the lip.

Some of the big names that will be favorites at the U.S. Open had solid weeks, including Sergio Garcia (t-4th place), Padraig Harrington (t-4) and Vijay Singh (t-11).

Ok, this is it, all golf information from this point forward will be based around the following; Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods' knee and the chances Tiger Woods wins the U.S. Open. Sorry for wavering from that in the first place.

In an appearance that is guaranteed to turn Immelmania into a household word (OK, not really), Masters winner Trevor Immelman appeared on Late Show with David Letterman last night:

Immelman said he trademarked the word "Immelmania," that President Bush congratulated him on "winning Wimbledon," and that he had to console Tiger Woods afterward.

Immelman's appearance was a good one, but I still prefer the No. 1 item from Zach Johnson's list last year.

Brandt Snedeker had a wonderful three-day run at The Masters punctuated by a punch in the face, Augusta style, yesterday. Heading into the final round, Snedeker was two shots off the lead and had just as good a chance to win the whole thing as eventual first-time champion, Trevor Immelman.

Instead, he went out in 39 strokes, took 38 more on the way in, and signed for his 77 with the realization that he may never again have such an opportunity. Which is probably why Snedeker broke down during his post-round press conference. Can't really blame the guy, either. But if you're Sky Sports' Tony Wrighton, I guess you can laugh at him.



And that's why he didn't win. Classy.

Of course, Wrighton makes a good point, and the Brits have been racking up major victories like crazy recently. I mean, Nick Faldo won The Masters in 1996, and before him there was ... well, nobody. And then there's Tony Jacklin, 1970 U.S. Open winner; Nick Faldo (again), 1992 Open champ; and we're still waiting for an Englishman to win the PGA.

So laugh it up, friend. Sure, Snedeker may never have the honor of slipping on a green jacket, but he'll always have those beautiful golden locks. Well, until he starts to lose his hair, anyway.

Okay, so maybe Sunday at The Masters wasn't all that exciting. It was windy, the course was playing like the U.S. Open, and just about everybody with a remote chance to make a run at third-round leader (and eventual champion) Trevor Immelman played over-par golf.

Worst of all -- for CBS, anyway -- is that Tiger Woods was never really in danger of making a run. He started the day six strokes off the lead, and eventually lost by three shots because Immelman had a "Greg Norman" moment on the 16th.

Despite the missing "The Masters starts on the back nine on Sunday" drama, CBS' Jim Nantz did his best to beat viewers over the head with over-the-top sentimentality, and the silly Little Bill "Hello, Friends" salutations were enough to make you reconsider ESPN's decision to have Chris Berman sit this one out.

Unsurprisingly, CBS tried to manufacture some Woodsian drama yesterday, presumably because that's what most of us expected (from Woods and CBS):

Predictably, CBS focused largely on Tiger Woods on Sunday. Don't touch that remote, Ian Baker-Finch suggested, with Woods on the 12th green Sunday, because "Tiger, ominously lurking, is just five strokes behind." Like TV's treatment of Michael Jordan, Woods can always be the story.

Obviously, it didn't happen, but ESPN did great numbers with its Par-3 Contest-Thursday-Friday coverage, and according to USA Today, "CBS' third-round Masters coverage drew a 6.1 overnight rating, translating to 6.1% of households in 56 urban TV markets - equal with last year."

Pretty impressive considering that Tiger last won a green jacket in 2005. The takeaway, I suppose, is this: Woods doesn't have to win it to boost ratings, he just has to "lurk." Duly noted.

When Tiger Woods made the turn at even par, 5-under for the tournament, I wondered if 8-under would be enough to challenge the seemingly unshakable Trevor Immelman, 11-under at the time.

Turns out, 8-under would've put Eldrick in a playoff with Immelman, who had all four wheels come off at the par-3 16th. Looking a lot like Greg Norman in 1996, Immelman dumped his tee shot into the pond fronting the green and made double-bogey. What looked like an insurmountable six-shot lead was suddenly reduced to three when Woods, after missing just about every putt he looked at all week, drained an eight-footer on the18th.

Immelman limped through 17, saving par on a nice up-and-down from the bunker. He then striped his tee shot on the 18th -- and let out a visible sigh, as if to say, "I think I've endured the worst of it" -- only to reach his ball and find it sitting in divot. No worries, however; Immelman mustered the focus for one more shot, stiffing his approach to some 10 feet. Two putts later, you got your 2008 Masters champion.

An hour ago, I was all set to write that the old sports saying about winning everywhere but on the scoreboard didn't apply this week given Immelman's dominant performance. I suppose it still applies, even if the 72nd Masters champ was only dominant through 69 holes. It turned out to be more than enough.

And with that, folks, we have our first "Tiger roar" of the day. After an uninspired opening nine to start Sunday's round, and a bogey on No. 10, Tiger Woods, following a ho-hum second shot to the 505-yard, par-4 11, rolled in an 80-footer for birdie. Looked pretty effortless, actually.

For somebody who, in the words of David Feherty, has all the money in the world but can't buy a putt this week, that was impressive. No. 11 is one of the toughest holes on the course and the start of Amen Corner, and if Woods can get through this three-hole stretch at 2-under, it could be on.

Behind him, Brandt Snedeker (or, as Brandel Chamblee's son calls him, "Brandon Sneakers") is unofficially out of it (he went out in 39 and is currently just one up on Woods), and Immelman has been inconsistent after blowing a relatively easy birdie chance on No. 7.

There's a possibility Woods is 7-under as he walks to the 16th tee, and 17th is passably birdiable. Will 8-under be enough, though? I"m still not convinced.

Tiger Woods is some two hours into Sunday's round, and as he heads to the back nine, he finds himself six shots off the lead. Eldrick stumbled his way to even par on the first nine holes, and at 5-under, he's still looking up at Trevor Immelman and Brandt Snedeker, today's final pair.

After a rocky start to his Sunday round, Immelman recovered nicely, although he yipped a great birdie chance on No. 7. Still, with Snedeker at 2-over today, Immelman just needs to par out, and put pressure on the handful of players with a sliver of a chance to make a run.

As for Woods, his week can be summarized in two words: unlucky and frustrating. Of course, this applies to virtually everybody in the field, but most fans don't care why Stephen Ames finished the weekend at 8-over.

That said, when you're talking about the world No. 1 there's always a chance. Or that's the perception, anyway. I guess, but all nine more holes of even par guarantees is that the Grand Slam talk will be over after the first major.

On the other hand, if Woods is going to make a move, it'll probably take a 4-under effort coming in. Given the conditions and the way he's played this week, I don't see it happening.

Plus, Immelman, who hasn't even thought about cracking a smile all week, is currently the best golfer on the course.

Either it's a unfortunate coincidence or Trevor Immelman and Brandt Snedeker are a little tight this afternoon. They're the final pairing on Sunday at The Masters, and both players came out and promptly bogeyed the first hole.

Immelman missed the fairway with his tee shot -- the only fifth fairway he's missed this week -- punched out, and then two-putted once he finally reached the green. Snedeker missed the green from 202 yards out after finding the fairway, and couldn't get up and down to save par.

Now Immelman is at 10-under, two shots ahead of Snedeker and Steve Flesch, and five in front of Tiger Woods (who just parred No. 2). So what does the inauspicious start mean for the rest of the day? No idea, but two things worth noting: the wind is gusting up to 30 m.p.h. and Bobby Clampett just announced that Nos. 10, 11, 12 and 13 are playing the toughest on the course.

If somebody can come in at 5- or 6- or 7-under in front of the last few groups, they could have a pretty good chance to win a shiny new green jacket.

My way-too-early-favorite-to-really-be-considered-a-favorite? Stewart Cink, who's playing with Woods, has birdied the first two holes, and is now at 6-under.