From Jordan Spieth receiving the first-ever honorary key to his hometown, Dallas, Texas, to Dawie van der Walt’s emotional win at the Nelson Mandela Championship.
From Jordan Spieth receiving the first-ever honorary key to his hometown, Dallas, Texas, to Dawie van der Walt’s emotional win at the Nelson Mandela Championship.
“It’s great to have her around, forget about having her on the bag this week. Just a very positive person, a lot of good energy, that’s what I love about her, and it’s great to be able to go through this with her.” – Garcia, on having his girlfriend caddie for him this week in Thailand.
''It’s making you kind of part of history, winning the Nelson Mandela at this time when it’s sad for everyone and everyone’s mourning and tomorrow’s the big day. It obviously means a lot and can be something that I can keep close to my heart forever.’' – Van der Walt, after winning the Nelson Mandela Championship, giving the tournament a South African victory in a week when the country bids farewell to its former president.
“Any time you’re head-to-head with the best player that I’ve ever seen is fun. I know I’m probably going to fall down and fail more than I’ll probably succeed in those situations, and I have, but I finally got one on him. I’m certainly going to savor it. My guess is that it’s not going to faze (Woods) in the slightest, because he seems to always rally and get back up.” – Johnson, reflecting on his playoff win over Tiger Woods at the World Challenge.
“I’m very proud, obviously to be a Texan … more specially to represent the city of Dallas. It’s home for me, always has been and always will be.” – Spieth, upon being awarded the first-ever honorary key to the city of Dallas.
“I am excited to work with my new team at IMG as I embark on my professional career. My family and I spoke with many candidates, and IMG emerged as the clear choice to represent me, in large part because of their global reach. I am comfortable knowing that IMG will commit the appropriate resources to help my career excel while I focus on golf.” – Ko, in a press release, announcing she has signed with IMG Golf for management and marketing representation. The 16-year-old turned professional in October, is a two-time LPGA winner and is No. 4 in the world rankings.
“I will be asking for starts but this is the last time. I think that if I can have a 20 event schedule then it’s up to me to get my status. As a player you need to perform and if I don’t do that in 2014 I will do something else.” – Duval, in a series of tweets, claiming that it will be the last year that he will ask for sponsor exemptions, and that he would do something else if he can’t find a way to qualify for tournaments on his own.
“The lion’s share of the money is going to big prizes, cash prizes for athletes and all the promotion around it, so it’s really pathetic, actually. Every single taxpayer in this country ultimately is bearing the burden of having to pay the taxes for this wildly inefficient organization that’s giving so little to charity.” – Charity Navigator president Ken Berger, in an ESPN “Outside the Lines” report, challenging the nonprofit status of the PGA Tour, which is headed by Tim Finchem (pictured), with a bill pending in the U.S. Senate.
“It would be amazing if I could make it through a whole season without an injury. I would love to play the right schedule for me and see what I could do.” – Snedeker, looking forward to 2014 after a year in which he battled injuries and multiple trips to the disabled list.
“Take Rory. It’s absurd to say he has gear issues. It’s so easy to re-create the same specs and feel from one set to the next. Something else is going on (with him).” – Norman, on Rory McIlroy’s struggles with equipment this year. McIlroy finally broke through for his first win of 2013 in late November at the Australian Open.
“I never feared anything or anyone on the course, and I wasn’t afraid to fail. So I think I’d do pretty well against Snead, Hogan, Tiger (Woods) and Phil (Mickelson) – whoever. Tiger’s a tough guy, but I was a tough guy on the course, too. I probably would have beat him.” – Norman, giving himself the edge against some of the game’s best players, including the man currently atop the world rankings.