Editor's Note: In Backspin, GolfChannel.com takes a look back on the biggest stories from the past week in golf – with a spin.
ALL REAVVED UP: Chez Reavie captured his first PGA TOUR crown, winning the RBC Canadian Open by a solid three strokes. The win gets Reavie, a former U.S. Public Links champion, an invitation to the upcoming PGA Championship.
Reavie's win was surprising, but not as unexpected as Anthony Kim's defeat. Kim, who was looking for his third win of the season, was just one back to begin the final round. But a five-bogey, one-birdie 75 in the final round placed him in a tie for eighth.
ALFIE!: Helen Alfredsson shot 63 on Friday and 67 on Sunday, then outlasted a pair of other players to capture the Evian Masters outside of Paris, France. The win was Alfredsson’s sixth on the LPGA and first since 2003.
The veteran birdied her final two holes to get into a playoff with Angela Park and Na Yeon Choi. In the extra session, she birdied the third extra hole for the win. Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr all finished inside the top 10, while Annika Sorenstam shot her best round of the week on Sunday – all good news as the ladies enter the final major of their season, the Ricoh Women’s British Open.
THEY CALL ME BRUCE: Bruce Vaughan defeated John Cook on the first hole of sudden death to win the Senior Open Championship at Royal Troon. The victory was Vaughan’s first on the 50-and-over circuit.
Vaughan not only beat Cook, but held off Bernhard Langer, Greg Norman and Tom Watson – players who combined for 12 majors on the regular tour. That’s great news for Vaughan, but not necessarily for the Champions Tour, who was denied a big name winner in a big name event.
DRINK AND BE MERRY: Padraig Harrington met with the media Monday and revealed that he and company partied until 4 a.m. following his second consecutive Open Championship victory. The first choice of drink out of the claret jug? The same as it was last year: John Smith’s Smooth Bitter.
Harrington also revealed that he now has his sights set on joining the greats of the game by adding a third major title to his resume, possibly something other than the Open Championship. With 13 European Tour victories, two PGA TOUR titles, two major championship triumphs, and one Order of Merit crown, the Irishman is moving in a positive direction towards the World Golf Hall of Fame.
JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH: It was announced Monday that Michelle Wie will compete once again on the PGA TOUR in the upcoming Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, which will be contested opposite the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Apparently three good rounds on the LPGA warrant an invite to the PGA TOUR. We have to admit, we didn’t see this one coming. We figured there was no way Wie would play on the PGA TOUR this year; and no way anyone would offer her an exemption. But we were wrong. Or is it: Wie is wrong? Either way, it doesn’t seem right.
DON’T FORGET YOUR SUNGLASSES: David Duval will join Wie in Reno. It’s his first appearance in the event since 2005, when he shot 82-77 to miss the cut. This will be Duval’s 14th event of the season. He has made two cuts.
Yes, but those two cuts have come over his last three starts. Duval played solidly for three rounds of the Open Championship. A third-round 83, however, in gale force winds, ultimately relegated him to a tie for 39th. Still, he did get to play four rounds. The more he plays, it would seem, the better he will one day become – or re-become (is that a word?).
DOLLARS AND NON-SENSE: Forbes published its list of top money-making female athletes this past week. The top 4 athletes were from the world of tennis, while No. 5 was from golf – Michelle Wie.
Wie was said to earn $12 million annually – pretty much exclusively from her endorsements, which include Nike and Sony. Annika Sorenstam was No. 6 with $11 million; Lorena Ochoa No. 7 with $10 million; and Paula Creamer was No. 10 with $6 million. This is like the rookie pay scale in the NFL, where players who have achieved nothing professionally get paid extensively more than those far more accomplished.
NOW I’LL BE AN AMATEUR FOREVER: The son of former New York City major Rudy Giuliani is suing Duke University, claiming he was wrongfully kicked off the team. Giuliani says that because he was cut from the team, his chances of becoming a professional golfer were hurt.
Um, usually when you’re cut from a team it means you weren’t good enough to be on that team. Still, it’s not like he got kicked off the basketball team, and therefore it hurt his chances of being drafted. It’s golf, for Pete’s sake. You can turn pro whenever you want. Look, I just did it!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Cameron Peck defeated fellow 17-year-old Evan Beck to win the U.S. Junior Amateur title … 13-year-old Alexis Thompson captured the Girls’ Junior Amateur crown … Mikael Lundberg won his second Russian Open title on the European Tour.
Peck crushed Beck, 10 and 8, the largest margin of victory since the event moved to a 36-hole final four years ago … Thompson was the second-youngest winner in the history of the tournament … Nice win by Lundberg, but even more impressive were the bikini-clad caddies.
Related Links:
Full Coverage – RBC Canadian Open
Full Coverage – Evian Masters
Full Coverage – Senior Open Championship
More Headlines
ALL REAVVED UP: Chez Reavie captured his first PGA TOUR crown, winning the RBC Canadian Open by a solid three strokes. The win gets Reavie, a former U.S. Public Links champion, an invitation to the upcoming PGA Championship.
Reavie's win was surprising, but not as unexpected as Anthony Kim's defeat. Kim, who was looking for his third win of the season, was just one back to begin the final round. But a five-bogey, one-birdie 75 in the final round placed him in a tie for eighth.ALFIE!: Helen Alfredsson shot 63 on Friday and 67 on Sunday, then outlasted a pair of other players to capture the Evian Masters outside of Paris, France. The win was Alfredsson’s sixth on the LPGA and first since 2003.
The veteran birdied her final two holes to get into a playoff with Angela Park and Na Yeon Choi. In the extra session, she birdied the third extra hole for the win. Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr all finished inside the top 10, while Annika Sorenstam shot her best round of the week on Sunday – all good news as the ladies enter the final major of their season, the Ricoh Women’s British Open.THEY CALL ME BRUCE: Bruce Vaughan defeated John Cook on the first hole of sudden death to win the Senior Open Championship at Royal Troon. The victory was Vaughan’s first on the 50-and-over circuit.
Vaughan not only beat Cook, but held off Bernhard Langer, Greg Norman and Tom Watson – players who combined for 12 majors on the regular tour. That’s great news for Vaughan, but not necessarily for the Champions Tour, who was denied a big name winner in a big name event.DRINK AND BE MERRY: Padraig Harrington met with the media Monday and revealed that he and company partied until 4 a.m. following his second consecutive Open Championship victory. The first choice of drink out of the claret jug? The same as it was last year: John Smith’s Smooth Bitter.
Harrington also revealed that he now has his sights set on joining the greats of the game by adding a third major title to his resume, possibly something other than the Open Championship. With 13 European Tour victories, two PGA TOUR titles, two major championship triumphs, and one Order of Merit crown, the Irishman is moving in a positive direction towards the World Golf Hall of Fame.JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH: It was announced Monday that Michelle Wie will compete once again on the PGA TOUR in the upcoming Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, which will be contested opposite the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Apparently three good rounds on the LPGA warrant an invite to the PGA TOUR. We have to admit, we didn’t see this one coming. We figured there was no way Wie would play on the PGA TOUR this year; and no way anyone would offer her an exemption. But we were wrong. Or is it: Wie is wrong? Either way, it doesn’t seem right.DON’T FORGET YOUR SUNGLASSES: David Duval will join Wie in Reno. It’s his first appearance in the event since 2005, when he shot 82-77 to miss the cut. This will be Duval’s 14th event of the season. He has made two cuts.
Yes, but those two cuts have come over his last three starts. Duval played solidly for three rounds of the Open Championship. A third-round 83, however, in gale force winds, ultimately relegated him to a tie for 39th. Still, he did get to play four rounds. The more he plays, it would seem, the better he will one day become – or re-become (is that a word?).DOLLARS AND NON-SENSE: Forbes published its list of top money-making female athletes this past week. The top 4 athletes were from the world of tennis, while No. 5 was from golf – Michelle Wie.
Wie was said to earn $12 million annually – pretty much exclusively from her endorsements, which include Nike and Sony. Annika Sorenstam was No. 6 with $11 million; Lorena Ochoa No. 7 with $10 million; and Paula Creamer was No. 10 with $6 million. This is like the rookie pay scale in the NFL, where players who have achieved nothing professionally get paid extensively more than those far more accomplished.NOW I’LL BE AN AMATEUR FOREVER: The son of former New York City major Rudy Giuliani is suing Duke University, claiming he was wrongfully kicked off the team. Giuliani says that because he was cut from the team, his chances of becoming a professional golfer were hurt.
Um, usually when you’re cut from a team it means you weren’t good enough to be on that team. Still, it’s not like he got kicked off the basketball team, and therefore it hurt his chances of being drafted. It’s golf, for Pete’s sake. You can turn pro whenever you want. Look, I just did it!IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Cameron Peck defeated fellow 17-year-old Evan Beck to win the U.S. Junior Amateur title … 13-year-old Alexis Thompson captured the Girls’ Junior Amateur crown … Mikael Lundberg won his second Russian Open title on the European Tour.
Peck crushed Beck, 10 and 8, the largest margin of victory since the event moved to a 36-hole final four years ago … Thompson was the second-youngest winner in the history of the tournament … Nice win by Lundberg, but even more impressive were the bikini-clad caddies.Related Links:
Contributions from writers and editors on the Golf Channel Digital team.
Latest News
- Bradley leads by 1 | At a glance | Scores
- Venturi dies at 82 | Twitter reaction | Photos
- Arnie, Jack recall Venturi | Nelson connection
- Singh among Byron Nelson MDF casualties
- Chella Choi leads; Nordqvist fires 61 | Scores
- G-Mac bests Colsaerts in Volvo quarters | Results
- You Oughta Know: HP Byron Nelson Championship
- Colsaerts' drive results in bathroom drop | Video
- Only one Irish team to compete at World Cup
- Howell hoping for U.S. Open berth via OWGR
- USGA to announce anchoring news Tuesday
- Open qualifying: Men's local | Women's sectional
- Instruction: Improve your thought process
