EMAIL

We all know we have the distinct pleasure of watching Tiger Woods once again tee it up this Thursday morning.  We know he's going to be playing in the Buick Open, a tournament he's won many times before, but given the current fact that he loves spending time with his new and growing family, he doesn't exactly need the money and he probably wants to be fresh for the PGA Championships coming up shortly, we have to ask ourselves why?

Reasons To Play

Luckily, we found a pretty insightful little article about just why he might be stepping up to the teebox once again, despite all those reasons to stay away, most importantly the fact that his sponsorship with Buick has already ended.  So, why IS Tiger Woods playing in this year's Buick Open?

Tiger's Game Needs Work

The very first reason they believe, and we're completely inclined to agree, might not be what you think.  Tiger Woods knows, more than anyone out there, that his game needs some serious work.  That's right, without some very intense T.L.C. Tiger might not be showing an impressive display at all at the PGA Championships, and what better a place to practice than a course you love at a tournament you've won before can't hurt.  Nevertheless, they came up with 10 reasons Tiger is playing this week, here are the top 5:

1. One tournament's disappointment is another tournament's joy.
2. Bob Seger
3. The Eagle's Nest
4. The Numbers
5. Woods shares the Buick Open scoring record of 61 with Mayfair.

Could Be Any Number of Things

That's right, low numbers, a desire to break the scoring record, gearing up for the next tournament, or just straight up loyalty to a company that Tiger had an amazing business relationship with.  No matter what the reason, and I'm still believing it's to work on a struggling game, it'll be good to see him back in action.

Why IS Tiger Playing?

Why do YOU think he's playing?  Sound off...

 EMAIL

In the end, it didn't matter that there were 36 holes to play on Sunday, it didn't matter that there was a weather delay or that there were a great deal of players making very serious runs at the lead.  None of that mattered, all that mattered was that Steve Stricker knew he was going to outlast them all and hold on tight for the victory.  That's exactly what he wanted to do, and that's exactly what he did do.

Solid Final Round Play Secures Victory

After a course-record-tying second round on Saturday, Stricker came back on Sunday to start the day with his third-round with a 68, only to take a brief break and come back with a final round 64 to seal off the victory and notch his sixth career victory on the PGA Tour.  Six total, but already the second this year, and with that victory came not only a pretty substantial check, a huge dose of momentum going into the British Open in 4 days, but also 500 Fed Ex Cup points to move him into second place, right behind Tiger Woods.  Impressive.

Stricker Sounds Off...

When asked about his round, his performance already this season, and how he felt about all the players making serious runs at his lead yesterday, here's what Stricker had to say:

"I've just given myself a lot of chances to win, Some didn't go my way, and some have...Some of those scores, those guys had started on the back...And we kind of felt all week that you could maybe shoot a little lower on the back side. We just were trying to be patient, knowing that those guys were playing the back first and were going to have to come to the front and finish on some tougher holes."

Momentum Booster, or Momentum Killer?

At any rate, it will be interesting, as usual, to see how this play translates into play at the British Open at Turnberry.  They say the best way to win a major is to win a minor tournament right behind it, while others believe that sometimes a victory can be the biggest momentum killer.  Who is right, and who is wrong we'll have to wait until Thursday to find out.

Congrats Steve Stricker . Well played.

(Image via Cohen/Getty Images)

 EMAIL

What IS it these past two weeks with the PGA Tour and the absolute destruction of course and tournament records?!  First we see Kenny Perry set a brand new Travelers Championship record by shooting a 4-round 258, and now, only one full day into the AT&T National Tourney at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD, the course record has been bested by a stroke and the tournament record by a full three strokes by young Anthony Kim.  Impressive?!  We certainly are inclined to say so.

Kim Sets Records

That's right, Anthony Kim blasted his way through his first round today to set a brand new tournament record.  Previously, the tournament record at the AT&T National had stood at 65, and with Kim's 62 he took care of it quite handily.  Also, the record at Congressional had previously stood at 63, which was an honor shared by Tom Pernice Jr. and Peter Londard...Kim took care of that as well, and what's more exciting, set a brand new career record for himself, as his previous career best round was a 63, which he notched in the first round of the 2007 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Can Kim Defend?

I suppose the fact that he's the defending champion here at this tournament is adding a bit of fuel to his competitive fire.  Here's what Kim had to say following his record breaking round:

"I love coming back to this course...I have a lot of good feelings here. the course fits my eye....I am getting to the point where I feel like I can win anytime I tee it up."

He must love the course, considering the fact that he hit "71 percent of his fairways, 71.4 percent of his greens in regulation and had a putting average of just over 1.5 putts per hole."  Despite the fact that Kim set records and is playing out of his head right now, he still only has a slim two-stroke lead and there are golfers on the course with half their round left to play that are only three strokes off.  Can he hold onto the Round 1 lead?  Time will tell.

It's Heating Up...Tune In!

Tune in!

 EMAIL

If you glance at your clock and calendar, you will most likely notice that today is Saturday.  Ordinarily by the end of the day today, we'd know exactly who was going to be heading into Sunday with a lead, with work to do, or completely out of the running for the final round.  This time around, however, we're going to be absolutely struggling to finish up every golfer's second round of play before the forecasted clouds empty their contents all over the course.  Yikes.

Strange U.S. Open Already

This has clearly been a U.S. Open of exception.  If you would have asked for predictions 3 weeks ago, I'm fairly sure no one would have predicted the weather, the delays, and most of all, the amazing play of some of golf's most unknown names, and the extremely poor play of golf's biggest.  That's right, we're looking at a strange U.S. Open with Ricky Barnes setting a brand new 36-hole record at the U.S. Open at -8, while Tiger Woods struggled to bring his score down to the +3 he's sitting on right now.  Considering the fact that the projected cut line is currently hovering around +4 and Tiger still has 7 holes to play, things could be even more shocking if he failed to make the cut.  After all, what's the U.S. Open when the defending champion fails to make it to Round 3?!

Many of Golf's Finest In Trouble

If the cut line does stay where it's projected, some of golf's notable names will be noticeably absent come Round 3...those that could fail to make the cut include:  David Toms, Rory Sabbatini, Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington, Zach Johnson and Paul Casey.  No matter what, Round 2 has to actually come to a close first.  Word from the course is that the rain is continuing to blast down and only looks to get heavier and heavier.  Will Round 2 actually finish up?  We'll see.  The good news, out of all this bad, is that Phil Mickelson is continuing to play exceptionally well considering the circumstances.  He's currently tied for 11th place and sitting 7 strokes off the lead at -1.  Well played Phil, we're all still cheering for you!

Who Will Make It?

Whatever the case may be, tune in, it's getting good and it's getting exciting, but not in the way you're used to for the U.S. Open.  Now it's exciting to see who's fighting just to stay alive for the 3rd round!

(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

 EMAIL

If you're not extremely excited about watching the golf that's going to be taking place this weekend at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, let's face it, something is most likely wrong with you.  We're once again going to be missing two of the biggest names in golf, as both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are going to be absent, both for their own reasons, but nevertheless, there are a lot of great golfers lined up to battle it out over the next 4 days.

Round 1 Kicks Off

That battle, as it were, has already begun and there is already some impressive and exciting golf being played.  Considering the fact that the winner of this tournament takes home an impressive $1.1 million dollars as well as 500 Fed Ex Cup points, there is a lot on the line for a lot of these golfers.  Currently, at time of writing, there's a 7 way tie atop the leaderboard at -2.  Impressive considering they're only on the 4th hole of the entire 18.

Phil Will Be Missed

To say Phil's absence at this tournament is being felt is a drastic understatement.  Last year, his dramatic finale at the Colonial marked one of the most exciting and inspiring finishes of the entire year on the PGA Tour.  Not having him around to defend that title is upsetting and unfortunate.  As the article we just read mentioned, there is still a lot of great talent to be found, as this year the tournament will feature:

"...eight former champions, 17 major championship winners and 11 winners from 2009, including multiple winner and current FedExCup points leader Zach Johnson."

Don't Even Blink

Bottom line:  Keep your eyes glued to the television this whole weekend as this tournament has taught us to never even think about blinking.  Right when you think you know how things are going to turn out, everything can change.

(Photo by Marc Feldman/Getty Images)

 EMAIL

It might not be the most star-studded and power-packed event, but nevertheless the Valero Texas Open has officially kicked off and by the looks of things, there is some impressive golf being played as we speak.  Noticeably absent from this weekends tournament, which is taking place at The Resort Course at La Cantera Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas, is Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Sergio and all of the other usual big players that dominate the limelight when they show up at events.

Cejka Still Rattled?

One player that is NOT absent, is the man who made a run at The Players Championship last week only to fall apart on the final day of play, Alex Cejka.  So far his performance has been indicating that he might be a bit more rattled than he previously expressed in interviews.  When asked how he played at The Players, and how it's going to affect him now, here's what he had to say:

"I think I played better than 79...I got really unlucky. It was maybe not 69, but 73, but you know, that's the way golf sometimes is...You gotta go back on the horse again," Cejka said. "You take a lot of positive things with you from the week. You gotta keep knocking on the door a couple times and eventually it's going to open."

Goydos Dominating At -7

He's going to have to knock a lot harder than he is right now if he wants to take home top honors at the Valero Texas Open, as of time of writing he's sitting at 3-over-par on the 17th hole.  One man who is not struggling is Paul Goydos who is sitting happily inside the clubhouse at -7 after dominating the course with a 63.  Impressive considering he only hit seven of fourteen fairways and 13 of 18 greens.  Looks like the 24 putts on the round saved his round and set up his score the lead.

Tune In, Round 1 Still Raging On

Tune in, the star power might be lacking but the golf is as hot as ever.

(Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)