Allow me to get this party started......
Jan. 28, 2008
By Dave Shedloski, PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent
Aaron Baddeley overhauled his golf swing and won the 2007 FBR Open last February, and then he beat Daniel Chopra in a playoff in December to capture the Australian Masters. In between he nearly won the U.S. Open.
Feldman/PGA TOURAaron Baddeley celebrates his dramatic victory at the 2007 FBR Open.If you think this is progress, well ... you're right.
Baddeley, 26, returns to the Arizona desert -- which also happens to be home -- this week to defend his title at TPC Scottsdale, and he looks like a formidable obstacle for the other 131 players who will tee it up in one of the most popular events on the PGA TOUR.
"I'm really looking forward to it," Baddeley, who tied for 13th at the Buick Invitational, said of his second turn defending a TOUR crown. "Being able to defend the title in front of the hometown crowd is really exciting for me. Even before I won it, this was one of the tournaments I looked forward to the most."
The $6 million FBR Open, which begins Thursday at TPC Scottsdale, celebrates its 73rd year with a strong field headlined by Baddeley and former champion and No. 2 player in the world Phil Mickelson. Despite a late withdrawal from Sony Open in Hawaii winner K.J. Choi, the field boasts 101 of the top 125 money winners from 2007.
Mickelson, the tournament's all-time money winner with more than $1.8 million, also is eager to get back to TPC Scottsdale, which remains a manageable 7,216 yards, par 71. Mickelson, who attended Arizona State University, has won twice at the FBR Open and has eight top-10 finishes (but missed the cut last year). He started slow at last week's Buick Invitational as he battled a lingering respiratory illness, but Lefty thinks he might have some momentum after shooting a 1-under-par 71 and improving from 11th to sixth in the final round at the wind-blown South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
"I'm a week behind on my game just because I haven't been able to practice," Mickelson said Sunday at Torrey Pines, "but as the week wore on, I started to play better, I started to feel better, and these two rounds under par on the weekend give me a little bit of momentum heading into next week."
Baddeley, who undertook changes in his game with the help of "stack-and-tilt" proponents Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett, said that the goal every year is to win a tournament and get back to the Mercedes-Benz Championship. But he'd like to return next time with a bit more of a resume.
"For me this year I'd like to win two PGA TOUR events," he said. "After winning one the last couple of years, I think it's going to have to be a two-win season."
FEDEXCUP POINTERS:
? Presidents Cup player and South African standout Trevor Immelman makes his 2008 PGA TOUR debut at this week's FBR Open. Immelman, ranked 20th in the world, underwent surgery in December to remove a benign calcified fibrosis tumor from his diaphragm.
? Another South African is on the sidelines with Retief Goosen, who was unable to defend his title at the Qatar Masters after suffering a setback from LASIK surgery. He's not the first to have that problem; Kevin Na's eyesight hasn't improved much since he had the procedure done in December. Goosen, 39, complained of blurry vision in his left eye and was to have more work done on it last week in London.
TOUR Insider's Power Rankings
FBR Open
Rank Player 2007 finish
1. Aaron Baddeley Win
2. Phil Mickelson MC
3. Jeff Quinney 3rd
4. Rocco Mediate MC
5. Vijay Singh 7th
? Former PGA champion David Toms, recently placed on the ballot for the World Golf Hall of Fame, makes his 2008 debut this week and will be making his 13th appearance in the FBR Open, where he has three top 10s and six top-20 finishes -- which all have come in his last six starts.
? Fred Funk's entry into the FBR Open not only makes five straight events on the PGA TOUR with at least one member of the Champions Tour, but it also makes five straight tournaments for Funk, who contended at the Sony Open in Hawaii and then won the following week at the MasterCard Championship on the senior circuit. He'll come into Arizona with added heat after his closing 81 at the Turtle Bay Championship dropped him from fourth to joint 32nd.
? Vijay Singh is not off to a scintillating start on the TOUR as he continues to refine swing changes, but the FBR Open might be a place to get untracked. He's won at TPC Scottsdale twice and owns three other top-10 finishes, including seventh last year.
? Nine former champions are in the field in addition to Baddeley and Mickelson. They are: Tommy Armour III, Paul Azinger, Mark Calcavecchia, Chris DiMarco, J.B. Holmes, Jonathan Kaye, Tom Lehman, Rocco Mediate, and Jesper Parnevik.
? Plenty of University of Arizona and Arizona State University representation this week. Chez Reavie might deserve a second look after his tie for fifth at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Reavie is using a set of Titleist's new ZM Forged irons and 907 D4 driver, which are not yet on the market.
? With the Super Bowl being staged just down the road, it might be important to know that Calcavecchia has proven to be a splendid player on Super Bowl Sunday, winning three times -- all at the FBR Open. Three other players have won twice on the day of the big game dating back to the first edition in 1967: Singh, Johnny Miller and Bob Gilder.
Jan. 28, 2008
By Dave Shedloski, PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent
Aaron Baddeley overhauled his golf swing and won the 2007 FBR Open last February, and then he beat Daniel Chopra in a playoff in December to capture the Australian Masters. In between he nearly won the U.S. Open.
Feldman/PGA TOURAaron Baddeley celebrates his dramatic victory at the 2007 FBR Open.If you think this is progress, well ... you're right.
Baddeley, 26, returns to the Arizona desert -- which also happens to be home -- this week to defend his title at TPC Scottsdale, and he looks like a formidable obstacle for the other 131 players who will tee it up in one of the most popular events on the PGA TOUR.
"I'm really looking forward to it," Baddeley, who tied for 13th at the Buick Invitational, said of his second turn defending a TOUR crown. "Being able to defend the title in front of the hometown crowd is really exciting for me. Even before I won it, this was one of the tournaments I looked forward to the most."
The $6 million FBR Open, which begins Thursday at TPC Scottsdale, celebrates its 73rd year with a strong field headlined by Baddeley and former champion and No. 2 player in the world Phil Mickelson. Despite a late withdrawal from Sony Open in Hawaii winner K.J. Choi, the field boasts 101 of the top 125 money winners from 2007.
Mickelson, the tournament's all-time money winner with more than $1.8 million, also is eager to get back to TPC Scottsdale, which remains a manageable 7,216 yards, par 71. Mickelson, who attended Arizona State University, has won twice at the FBR Open and has eight top-10 finishes (but missed the cut last year). He started slow at last week's Buick Invitational as he battled a lingering respiratory illness, but Lefty thinks he might have some momentum after shooting a 1-under-par 71 and improving from 11th to sixth in the final round at the wind-blown South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
"I'm a week behind on my game just because I haven't been able to practice," Mickelson said Sunday at Torrey Pines, "but as the week wore on, I started to play better, I started to feel better, and these two rounds under par on the weekend give me a little bit of momentum heading into next week."
Baddeley, who undertook changes in his game with the help of "stack-and-tilt" proponents Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett, said that the goal every year is to win a tournament and get back to the Mercedes-Benz Championship. But he'd like to return next time with a bit more of a resume.
"For me this year I'd like to win two PGA TOUR events," he said. "After winning one the last couple of years, I think it's going to have to be a two-win season."
FEDEXCUP POINTERS:
? Presidents Cup player and South African standout Trevor Immelman makes his 2008 PGA TOUR debut at this week's FBR Open. Immelman, ranked 20th in the world, underwent surgery in December to remove a benign calcified fibrosis tumor from his diaphragm.
? Another South African is on the sidelines with Retief Goosen, who was unable to defend his title at the Qatar Masters after suffering a setback from LASIK surgery. He's not the first to have that problem; Kevin Na's eyesight hasn't improved much since he had the procedure done in December. Goosen, 39, complained of blurry vision in his left eye and was to have more work done on it last week in London.
TOUR Insider's Power Rankings
FBR Open
Rank Player 2007 finish
1. Aaron Baddeley Win
2. Phil Mickelson MC
3. Jeff Quinney 3rd
4. Rocco Mediate MC
5. Vijay Singh 7th
? Former PGA champion David Toms, recently placed on the ballot for the World Golf Hall of Fame, makes his 2008 debut this week and will be making his 13th appearance in the FBR Open, where he has three top 10s and six top-20 finishes -- which all have come in his last six starts.
? Fred Funk's entry into the FBR Open not only makes five straight events on the PGA TOUR with at least one member of the Champions Tour, but it also makes five straight tournaments for Funk, who contended at the Sony Open in Hawaii and then won the following week at the MasterCard Championship on the senior circuit. He'll come into Arizona with added heat after his closing 81 at the Turtle Bay Championship dropped him from fourth to joint 32nd.
? Vijay Singh is not off to a scintillating start on the TOUR as he continues to refine swing changes, but the FBR Open might be a place to get untracked. He's won at TPC Scottsdale twice and owns three other top-10 finishes, including seventh last year.
? Nine former champions are in the field in addition to Baddeley and Mickelson. They are: Tommy Armour III, Paul Azinger, Mark Calcavecchia, Chris DiMarco, J.B. Holmes, Jonathan Kaye, Tom Lehman, Rocco Mediate, and Jesper Parnevik.
? Plenty of University of Arizona and Arizona State University representation this week. Chez Reavie might deserve a second look after his tie for fifth at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Reavie is using a set of Titleist's new ZM Forged irons and 907 D4 driver, which are not yet on the market.
? With the Super Bowl being staged just down the road, it might be important to know that Calcavecchia has proven to be a splendid player on Super Bowl Sunday, winning three times -- all at the FBR Open. Three other players have won twice on the day of the big game dating back to the first edition in 1967: Singh, Johnny Miller and Bob Gilder.
