Tiger's New Practice Facility

"Pretty soon, I'll be moving into my new home in Jupiter, Fla. I'm excited about that and even more excited about my new practice facility. It's phenomenal. Working with my team, I designed the short-game facility and oversaw its construction. It features four greens, six bunkers with different depths and kinds of sand, a video center and a putting studio. If no wind is blowing, the longest club I can hit is a 7-iron. It's also set up so I can hit shots out of my second-story studio."--Tigerwoods.com


 Here are pictures he posted via Facebook:

The Gang is All Here

For the first time in more than half a decade, the top 50 players from the Official Golf World Rankings are in the field this week at the World Golf Championships at Doral’s Blue Monster. If you are wondering who they are, well, here they are:

Rank	Player	Rank	Player
1	Martin Kaymer,  Deu	26	Robert Allenby,  Aus
2	Lee Westwood,  Eng	27	Geoff Ogilvy,  Aus
3	Luke Donald,  Eng	28	Justin Rose,  Eng
4	Graeme McDowell,  Nir	29	Y.E. Yang,  Kor
5	Tiger Woods,  USA	30	Adam Scott,  Aus
6	Phil Mickelson,  USA	31	Nick Watney,  USA
7	Paul Casey,  Eng	32	Rickie Fowler,  USA
8	Rory McIlroy,  Nir	33	Kim Kyung-Tae,  Kor
9	Steve Stricker,  USA	34	Zach Johnson,  USA
10	Matt Kuchar,  USA	35	Peter Hanson,  Swe
11	Jim Furyk,  USA	36	Anthony Kim,  USA
12	Ernie Els,  Zaf	37	Padraig Harrington,  Irl
13	Ian Poulter,  Eng	38	Ben Crane,  USA
14	Dustin Johnson,  USA	39	Jason Day,  Aus
15	Bubba Watson,  USA	40	Ryan Moore,  USA
16	Retief Goosen,  Zaf	41	Ross Fisher,  Eng
17	Francesco Molinari,  Ita	42	Ryo Ishikawa,  Jpn
18	Robert Karlsson,  Swe	43	Martin Laird,  Sco
19	Hunter Mahan,  USA	44	Bill Haas,  USA
20	Miguel A Jimenez,  Esp	45	K.J. Choi,  Kor
21	Alvaro Quiros,  Esp	46	Yuta Ikeda,  Jpn
22	Tim Clark,  Zaf	47	Camilo Villegas,  Col
23	Louis Oosthuizen,  Zaf	48	Bo Van Pelt,  USA
24	Charl Schwartzel,  Zaf	49	Hiroyuki Fujita,  Jpn
25	Edoardo Molinari,  Ita	50	Mark Wilson,  USA

"You're growns up, dig that”—Trent, Swingers

Rory Sabbatini turned pro in 1998, but it was the years between 2005 and 2007 that seemed to transform him into persona non grata in the public eye. In 2005, Sabbatini, disgusted with Ben Crane’s painfully slow play, left Crane in the 17^th fairway while he went on to the 18^th tee at the Booz Allen Classic. Two years later he said that judging by what he saw of Tiger Woods in the final round of the Wachovia Classic Tiger was more “beatable than ever.” Tiger went on to win the event and seven other times that year; including the PGA Championship. Later on that year Sabbatini had a fan removed from the Bridgestone Invitational for heckling him and finally, he withdrew from Tiger’s Target World Challenge. It seemed just like that a villain was born.

The Villain

For all intent and purposes, on the outside at least; it looked like Sabbatini was ok, perhaps even reveled in this perceived persona. We now know that nothing could be further from the truth. Sabbatini’s press conference after winning this year’s Honda Classic reminds us that we as golf fans, despite the unprecedented proximity we get to players; know very little about the players that walk the fairways from week to week.

When asked about his professional persona, Sabbatini responded with a blunt "No, I don't enjoy it." He then qualified his answer by saying, "I'm a passionate golfer, I really am. I love the game of golf and I've had my moments. I'm not proud of everything I've done out here, but I'm trying to learn. I'm trying to be a role model for my children and I know as my wife has said to me, I wouldn't want my son doing some of the things that I've done in the past. So I definitely have to take into account that my son is old enough now that he understands everything that I do, and really try and be a role model for him.”

Amy and Bodhi

It seems that some recent challenges have played a role in transforming the old Rory we thought we knew. This week we learned that 2010 was a difficult one for the Sabbatini family. This past September, Rory’s wife, Amy, was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit immediately after the birth of their son, Bodhi--complications during childbirth.  When the last putt dropped, Amy and Bodhi were both on the 18^th green to share in the glory as they poignantly hugged.  Afterwards, Rory revealed what his wife whispered to him. “She just said that she was very proud of me.”  He then shared that, “my wife is my No. 1 cheerleader, and she's as passionate about my game as I am. She's always been my biggest supporter and I love her for that, and you know, it's something that we share in the enjoyment of wins. We share in the difficulties of struggling. So there's definitely a great bond there.”  Such comments seem so far removed from the man we thought was a villain just a few years ago.

We also learned something else this week.  When Sabbatini was asked why he was wearing the wide-brim “old school” Greg Norman hat, he revealed that he had to have a “chunk” of skin removed from his face—cancer. As a result, he has since taken sponsorship with a skin care company. Sabbatini summed it all by saying that "It's been a tough road. So it definitely is kind of a turning of a new leaf, so it really does feel good.  It does feel like a fresh start in a sense."

The public might want to take a moment of pause and see Rory Sabbatini in a new light as he’s walking down the fairway. He’s a new Rory and he’s all “growns up”.

Last Man Standing--Rory Sabbatini Wins The Honda Classic

2011 Honda Classic Winner--Rory Sabbatini

Y.E. Yang did his best to make the 2011 Honda Classic interesting down the stretch, but champions take care of business when they have to and that’s why Rory Sabbatini is this year’s winner. Sabbatini cruised thru the front nine in even par, while Yang chipped away with his own one under par 34. Then Yang sunk birdies on the 13^th and 15^th, while Sabbatini made bogey on the 14^th and suddenly there was a tournament with Yang just one back.

It was on the 16^th that Rory reminded us that champions hit big shots at big moments—sinking a sixteen foot putt for birdie that opened up his lead to two shots with two holes to play. The birdie would provide Sabbatini with the margin of victory he needed as Yang birdied the 18^th and fell just one shot short.

1	Rory Sabbatini	-9	71	64	66	70	271
2	Y.E. Yang	-8	68	71	67	66	272
3	Jerry Kelly	-7	71	67	68	67	273
4	Ricky Barnes	-4	70	68	71	67	276
5	Tommy Gainey	-3	71	67	71	68	277

Fantasy Picks: Final Round

T6	Graeme McDowell	-2
T29	Fredrik Jacobson	4
T29	Lee Westwood	4
T55	Brian Gay	9