Paul Azinger had many matches with the great Ballesteros. More than most, he knew Seve as a man and a competitor. Their relationship and matches deserve a chapter all their own.

After the infamous "War on the Shore", Azinger referred to Ballesteros as the "king of gamesmanship" to which Ballesteros later described the American team as "11 nice guys and Paul Azinger".

But later that season Azinger approached the Spaniard in Jamaica, where they finished third and sixth in the Johnnie Walker Championship, and said: "We need to talk". Ballesteros agreed, and as Azinger describes it:

"Anyway, we talk about all that in Jamaica and Seve says 'This is OK'. I tell him 'Seve, you're a good man, I have the utmost respect for you and you're a magnificent player. I want to get this behind us'.

"He said he respected me too and also said 'we treat this like old toilet water - we flush this'.

"We shook hands and were great ever since. When I got sick at the end of '93 (Azinger was diagnosed with lymphoma just after his US PGA win) he was one of the first people to call.

"Our relationship was fully repaired even though the media wanted to act like it wasn't. In '95 after I came back we did the Shell Wonderful World of Golf at St Andrews and got on great.

"Seve was one of those great gifted athletes with the hands of a magician - just pure magic - and he was the greatest encourager in the game of golf."

Spectacular Bunker Play

My favourite story comes from Ben Crenshaw's experience while practicing for the US Open. As Crenshaw, two-time winner of the Masters) said, simply: "Seve played shots I didn’t even see in my dreams."

"But he was to get a close-up view of one of those shots at the 1994 US Open when he and Jack Nicklaus were practising from a greenside bunker and Seve issued a one-dollar challenge for closest to the hole — then showed the pair that he had a three-iron in his hand. They accepted with alacrity; Nicklaus playing first to less than two feet and Crenshaw following inches closer to the hole. Crouching low, the ball well outside his left foot and the clubface pointing skywards, Seve swung gently. The ball dropped short of the hole and ran slowly up to hang on the lip. "Again?" he enquired innocently. There were no takers."(from: www.opengolf.com)

Seve Ballesteros died Saturday, May 7, 2011 aged 54 at his home in Pedrena, Spain.

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2. Isabelle Beisiegel Makes History

Isabelle Beisiegel of Montreal, PQ became the first woman in golfing history to qualify for membership status on any men's professional tour. She earned her Non-Exempt playing priveleges at the CanTour Qualifying School held at Parksville, BC's Morningstar golf club in mid-June of 2011.

Beisiegel shot a 4-under 68 Thursday and a 3-over 75 Friday, to record a four-round total 296, an 8-over score and enough to earn a Non-Exempt Card.

Beisiegel, in the third to last group Friday, shot a 3-over 75, which gave her a four-round total of 8-over 296 and the last non-exempt card.

Riley Wheeldon of Comox, BC was the low Canadian recording two birdies on his final four holes which gave him a 3-over 291 total, a tie for fourth with Brandon Harkins of the US and a fully Exempt card for 2011.

Other Canadians to earn status on the Canadian Tour this week include Kingston, Ont.’s Brad Revell, who had a 292 total, and Lloydminster, Sask.’s Clint Schiller (294).

Two types of status were available at Parksville: Exempt and Non-Exempt. The players who earned CanTour Status were:

Exempt

1. Andrew Kelly
2. Phil Telliard
3. Jason Scrivener
4. Riley Wheeldon (from Comox, BC)
5. Brandon Harkins

Non-Exempt Status:

1. Brad Revell( from Kingston, ON)
2. Ho Jae Choi
3. Clint Schiller (from Lloydminster, SK)
4. Isabelle Beisiegel(from Montreal, PQ)
5. Chris Killmer

Beisiegel's exemption highlighted a remarkable comeback. Gaining her card wasn't about promoting women's rights, but about retaining the opportunity to be the best golfer she could be and to perform in a sport that has been a life-long passion. In 2005, after playing poorly during an LPGA event in Portland, OR she was diagnosed with Grave's disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis, both autoimmune ailments which threatened her livelihood. For two years she was forced to ease up on golfing and work to pay for her five-figured medical treatments. The comeback to this card in Parksville, BC is a monumental testament to her courage and determination.

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In the April 2011 Newsletter (Issue#30) I described the Zenio putter application for Smartphones and PDA. I lamented the fact that iPhones and iPod Touches were excluded from the supported platforms list. Zenio's system was a little pricey ($850.00) but did a good job measuring putter face angle, swing type, consistency and helped with your tempo.

Well, now Ping is joining the App business with its new iPing putter application. This works only for iPhones and iPod Touches(4th Gen) and performs essentially the same role as the Zenio system. The beauty part: iPing is Free.

iPing calculates and tracks:

• your stroke type (Straight, Slight Arc, Strong Arc)
• impact angle (putter face relative to target line at impact)
• swing tempo (showing length of stroke and difference between forward and back stroke)
• compares stokes for consistency and can compare your stroke with pros swings and other iPing users.

To use the App, you must buy a cradle ($29.99 at Golftown in Canada). The cradle attacheds you iPhone to the putter shaft. To work, iPing draws on the Gyro and Accelerometer within the iPhone to measure swing characteristics and records results in the IPhone/iPod memory. Be careful though, the iPhone and IPod Touch are different in size; each requires a different cradle, so make sure you get the appropriate cradle for whichever Apple product you are using.

For more information follow these links:

• YouTube Video Introducing the iPing Putter App
• iTunes App info
• Review of iPing App in mygolfspy.com

Great tool. Yet another reason to buy an iPhone. Putters now have mobile technology on their side. When we practice we can have data to back us up. Confidence backed up by facts. iPing, therefore I am. So be it.

Better yet, great golf club manufacturers are supporting even their non-Tour players with the technology to support their practice with their equipment. Life is great.

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Tiger Fires Steve Williams

Tiger Woods announced that it's official: he and Steve Williams are no longer a team. It's been known since the Players in May, that Williams has been on the bag of Adam Scott, a match that is not a bad rebound for Steve and Adam. On to bigger and better things for Steve Williams. Tiger is unsure of his future playing schedule and it is only fair to Steve that he let his faithful partner of the last decade (12 years, 63 wins, 13 majors and untold millions) have his freedom to find a new way to earn a living while Woods heals up. At first blush, the split seemed amicable, but as the story unfolded, there is a little bitterness there.

As usual, Tiger's notice was a terse, bloodless few lines. Short shrift; intended to slip the radar and burrow beneath the headlines. Steve Williams' interviews showed that his side of the story lags back to Tiger's scandal and (in his opinion) Woods' disrespectful treatment of him in its aftermath.

Williams, when approached by papparazi in the wake of the Scandal, remained silent and fiercely loyal to Woods. As the scandal persisted, the number of alleged partners expanded and reporters hovered around Williams for detais. 'Surely, Williams must have known about the sexual escapades', went the theme of the questions. 'How could you not have known?'. Tiger's silence kept the burden of suspicion on his caddy. Williams felt slighted, offended. As Williams said in an interview with Brian Wacker of PGATOUR.com, "I dont't begrudge Tiger. He feels he needs to make a change. But the timing for me is something I'm very disappointed in. Given what's happened the last 18 months, yu can't find a more loyal person than I've been."( see article)

In a July interview with the New Zealand Herald, Williams stated,

"When Tiger went through the Tiger scandal, as it's known, I was obviously very disappointed in him, as everyone was. Obviously I lost a tremendous amount of respect for him ... and I told him that he had to earn back my respect. Whatever respect he may have earned back, he's just lost."

"Realistically I could look back, and I've wasted the last two years of my life because he's played infrequently, he's been injured and played poorly," he added. "I was prepared to hang in there through thick and thin, so I find the timing extraordinary."

"I'm a very big stickler for loyalty and I stuck with Tiger through his difficult period when a lot of people thought I should have left his side," he told Television New Zealand. "That was the most difficult period that I've ever been through in my life. I'm pretty hardheaded and took it probably a lot better than my wife and family did, but there's no way that I should have been put through that." (quoted in Los Angeles Times, Sports, July 26, 2011.)

On August 7, 2011 Adam Scott won the WGC at Firestone with Steve on the bag. Steve's controversial interview following the victory made a not-so-subtle dig at Tiger when he said this was the "..best win I've ever had."

Good for Steve! Finally, someone speaks out at Tiger's behavior! Add Steve Williams to the long list of those Tiger has let down.

Tiger Leaves IMG

The post-Scandal Tiger suffered a loss of sponsors in addition to reduced respect and moral standing. Business suffered as AT&T and Gillette dumped, Tiger. Though Tiger still eared $70 million in 2010 according to Forbes Magazine, the loss was still 30-40 million. Not good. Bad enough that Mark Steinberg, Tiger's agent and representative from International Management Group (IMG) was let go. Revenues generated by Tiger's interests were insufficient to warrant the salary and benefits paid to Steinberg (who was head of IMG's Golf Division) . Financial results were described by Bob Harig ( of ESPN). Mark Steinberg would have earned more at IMG than Tiger's commissions would have generated for IMG. So Steinberg left (on friendly terms).

Tiger has lost both golf course projects (with Tatweer in Dubai and The Cliffs at High Carolina); both delayed due to the downturn in economic conditons but Dubai is dead as of a $50 million cancellation fee paid to Tiger in early 2011. He even lost the cover photo of his own PGAA Tour Golf with EA Sports which must have been a blow to his image and his ego. Having not played in the last 15 months, sponsors need golf victories to maintain interest.

So, the move to Excel could mean a reset to the Far East, Southeast Asia. Kowa, annual sales $3.39million in 2010 (US $) is a worldwide conglomerate dealing in pharmaceuticals, electronics, textiles, industrial chemicals, insurance services and real estate. Headquartered in Nagoya, Japan it opens the door for Tiger to exploit a world region where golf is growing, economics are good and the population base is astronimical. New sponsorship opportunities will doubtless abound in India, China and Indonesia with Olympic expansion and new worlds to conquer. Tiger's brave new world awaits -- if and when he regains his winning ways.

Tag Heuer Leaves Tiger

Back in December 19, 2009 Tag Heuer, the Swiss watchmaker, was one of the first companies to drop Woods from its advertising as a result of the sex scandal. "We recognize Tiger Woods as a great sportsman, but we have to take account of the sensitivity of some consumers in relation to recent events," said Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Christophe Babain in an interview with Swiss newspaper Le Matin. ( as reported in New York Post).

The company maintained its relationship with Tiger and supported his Foundation, but used other celebrities to portray its corporate image (e.g. Leonardo di Caprio). When his contract expired, end of July 2011, Tag Heuer did not renew the deal, formally ending its deal with Tiger. Thus ended a 10-year partnership with the hope that, "..Tiger will eventually regain full trust with the public." expressed by CEO Jean-Christophe Babin. Tag Heuer will continue to sell a watch designed by Woods, from which sales will be used to support the Tiger Woods Foundation.

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Hot players? What about hot agents? Chubby Chandler, founder of International Sports Management (ISM) is riding a streak that is the envy of the sports management world. Sports agency is about picking world class talent and picking it early and often. In golf, you have to win regularly and win majors to achieve stardom; talent levels just to maintain tour status have to be off-the-chart good in a sport infamous for inconsistency. Chandler's eye for talent and successis truly outstanding. The current stable of stars speaks for itself:

ISM's Golfing Line-up includes:

• Ernie Els
• Charl Schwartzel
• Louis Oosthuizen
• Trevor Immelman
• Rory McIlroy
• Darren Clarke
• Lee Westwood
• Jeev Milka Singh
• Christina Kim

A former rugby player and touring pro on the European Tour, Chandler played pro golf for 15 years (one victory) before launching his sports agency. Darren Clarke, then a budding young pro, became Chandler's first client. Like Mark McCormack and Arnold Palmer in the U.S., Chandler and Clarke's contract consisted of a handshake. That year was 1989. Since then Chubby's brood has grown to 40 golfers, 25 football players, and 10 cricketeers (ISM website

The Company

ISM now has offices in India, South Africa, Florida. The employee count stands at 30. In Apirl, 2011, ISM purchased a marketing agency in New Jersey (now known as ISM USA. This will allow Chandler et al to expand their services and opportunities to manage American athletes and events. Look for McIlroy, Clarke, Schwartzel, Oosthuiaen, Westwood and Immelman to play more in the lucrative US market.

More Related links:

1. "…Chubby Chandler is the hottest agent abroad" (Golf.com)
2. Golf's biggest players: Who are the super agents running the game?
3. International Sports Management

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Other News bits of interest:

• Olympics Golf Course Chosen:Finally (over a month later than planned), the Royal and Ancient announced that the Olympic Organizing committee for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 has chosen the Riserva Uno GC site as the venue for Golf events. Golf is back as an Olympic sport for the first time since 1904 in London. Located in the Barra reigion, very close to Rio itself, players and organizers are starting to get nervous. The course must be ready in 2015 to host a sheduled pre-Olympic event and no architect has yet been selected to perform the final re-design duties. A multitude of teams lead by such golf mega-stars as: Nick Faldo; Jack Nicklause/Annika Sorenstam; Greg Norman/Lorena Ochoa). (From articles posted in The Washington Post and Inside The Games)

• AJ Eathorne: There is a nice Golf Digest article featuring AJ Eathorne, a Canadian, former LPGA pro and current caddy to Brittany Lincicome. It tells her story: how early Tour success as a player turned into a tough way to meet expenses and earn a living; how she got into caddying on the Men's Tour and now back to the LPGA. I've met AJ on Twitter. She's a really nice lady. If you want to learn more, check out the Golf Digest story. Aj's earned the attention.

• New Tours for the PGA: The PGA Tour is hoping to spread its spheres of influence as golf goes Olympic and is branded as a world sport. Over the last year and a half, officials have met with golf organizing bodies in South America, Latin America and the Caribbean. Looks like more content for the Golf Channel, soon. As reported from The Windsor Star.

• Headcovers Deluxe: Now and again, I yearn for a bit of style on the golf course. For myself, I mean. Something to shake up my look; in the bag or otherwise. Digging around the web, as I do, I found something that really nails headcovers. This site is a resource with an endless variety of headcovers. It's fun just to browse. Check it out, I guarantee you'll be surprised at some of the designs. I liked the Snoopy putter covers, myself.HeadcoversOnline.com..

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