Golf Spelled Backwards

Miguel Angel Jimenez's bank shot off the Road Hole wall and back onto the green during the 2010 British Open will be replayed forever - as the announcer, who apparently isn't aware of previous such shots - says. But it's not the first time that shot has been pulled off during the Open Championship. And you don't even have to be particularly good to do it yourself. You just have to be lucky. Here's a clip of a St. Andrews tourist doing the same thing:

Catching up on something that happened last week: On the second nine of his opening round in the Alberta Open in Calgary, Jamie Kureluk wrote these numbers on his scorecard: 3-2-4-2-3-3-3-2-3 If you're scoring at home, that's a 25. A twenty-five over nine holes. Birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, birdie, eagle. The Alberta Open is the flagship tournament of the Alberta Golf Association, and Kureluk is an assistant pro at Cottonwood Golf and Country Club in De Winton, outside Calgary. Kureluk has lived the mini-tour life, and has wins on the Pepsi Tour and Dakotas Tour. And, not surprisingly, he won this Alberta Open. His 18-hole score in that first round was 61. Kureluk followed with a 70 to win by three strokes. The tournament was shortened to 36 holes by snow. Note that the third-place finisher, Kris Wasylowich, a past champion in the Alberta Open, himself shot a 57 a few years ago. The PGA Tour record for nine holes is 26, set by Corey Pavin at...

Jason Bohn is a winner again on the PGA Tour. Five years since his only previous win, at the 2005 B.C. Open, Bohn won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Sunday. But even if Bohn had never won on the PGA Tour, he'd still have a couple footnotes in the sport's pop history. The better-known of the two incidents in Bohn's past is his $1 million hole-in-one. In 1992, as a 19-year-old on the University of Alabama golf team, Bohn paid $1 to enter a million-dollar hole-in-one contest. And he made the ace. He has received a $50,000 annual payment ever since, the last of which is due in 2012. By taking the prize, Bohn forfeited his amateur eligibility and turned pro. What a way to quit your college golf team. And best for golf fans, Bohn's ace was caught on tape. As was his arms-flailing-while-running-around-like-crazy reaction. Along with the phone call to his grandmother to tell her he'd just won a million bucks. Bohn bounced around mini-tours while honing his game ...

From the ho office ...

An article in Us Magazine (which really ought to be called Them Magazine ) claims the count of those now claiming affairs with Tiger Woods is up to nine. And the articles says there are rumors that a "British broadcaster ... also ... bedded Woods." Sweet mother of God. Let's pray it's not Peter Alliss.

Make that Sir Nick Faldo. Faldo was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Tuesday. Does this mean that Johnny Miller will now insist on being called "maestro"? Queen Elizabeth is not the first woman to approach Faldo with a sword. I mean, have you read about his relationship troubles? (Thank you, I'll be here all week.) Faldo was wistful upon the conclusion of the ceremony, telling the BBC: "I played my first round of golf on my 14th birthday. When I found out in the summer (about the knighthood), my first thought was of riding my bike through the woods to the golf course when I was just starting out." Aside from being called "Sir," what does being a knight get Faldo? Well, he'll learn the truth behind the DaVinci Code ; he gets free fish and chips for life; and he's allowed to drunk dial the Queen at 2 a.m. Faldo is the second golfer to receive the knighthood in England, the first being Henr...

MacGregor Golf has been around as a golf equipment manufacturer for more than 110 years. But that long company history is at an end - retail giant Golfsmith has purchased the MacGregor name and will keep the MacGregor brand alive as a "house brand." Golfsmith, based in Austin, Texas, has several "house brands," clubs it makes and sells under the brand names of formerly independent companies. Among those are Lynx and Snake Eyes; MacGregor will be the newest. MacGregor, which was based in Albany, Ga., claims that more majors (59) were won with MacGregor clubs than with clubs made by any other company. Many of those majors were accounted for by Jack Nicklaus, who was long associated with MacGregor. In fact, Nicklaus was the owner of MacGregor for many years, before selling in the 1980s. More recently, MacGregor was associated with Greg Norman, making The Greg Norman Collection apparel line. Norman acquired partial ownership of MacGregor several years ago, but whe...

Slingin' Sammy Baugh has finally gone to meet his maker. At the age of 94, Baugh passed away at a hospital in Rotan, Texas, on Wednesday night. Baugh was a Texas legend and an NFL legend, a quarterback who was way ahead of his time playing for the Washington Redskins from 1937 to 1952. That followed a stellar collegiate career at Texas Christian. There's no doubt in my mind that Baugh was one of the 10 greatest players in the history of the NFL. Consider this excerpt from the Associated Press obit: While he was noted for his passing, Baugh was one of the best all-around players of his day. One season he led the league in passing, defensive interceptions and punting. In one game, he threw four touchdown passes and intercepted four passes. He threw six touchdowns in a game — twice — and kicked an 85-yard punt. But this is a golf blog. Why am I writing about a football player? Well, did you know that there's a golf course in Texas named after Baugh? Sammy Baugh Golf...

As things like this go, this one isn't half bad.

That's not a headline you see every day, eh? But then, the story of Garth Stirrat isn't your everyday story. Stirrat had served for six years as the CEO of the New Zealand Professional Golf Association (NZPGA), until resigning earlier this year. Within the past couple weeks he started a new job as the head of the New Zealand Hotel Council. Now he's resigned from that position as well. Why? Because of some earlier "positions" he held. Using the alias "Steve Parnell," Stirrat took part in some pornographic photo shoots and was a performer in a pornographic video shot in 2003. Steve Parnell? Dude, if you're gonna go porno, at least show some creativity with your alias. Even George Constanza came up with "Buck Naked." From New Zealand's Sunday News : "I don't know what to say," said Southern North Island area manager Zayne Boone, who appointed Stirrat. "Obviously we need to make sure that the way in which we c...