A long journey for Angela Stanford.
Veteran LPGA golfer Angela Stanford wins her first Major Title at the Evian Championship in Evian- Les- Bains, France. Now in her forties, Stanford had almost given up on winning a major and was ecstatically surprised to come from behind to take home the win. The closest she has come before was in 2003 at the US Open when she lost in a playoff. Her win in France makes it her 6thLPGA title, the 5thone happened more than six years ago.
The unsettled history of the U.S. Open’s next venue; Shinnecock Hills.
Despite being a historic golfing institution as one of the oldest golf clubs in the U.S. (1891) as well as having hosted numerous U.S. Open tournaments and other notable tournaments of the past, little is known about the true history of the land, the logo and the name behind this majestic place… Shinnecock.
The gorgeous Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, in Southampton, New York, sits on land that the Shinnecock Indian Nation have laid claim to in a serious and credible lawsuit filed in 2005. The nation is seeking the return of 3,500 acres in Southhampton, New York, near the nation’s existing reservation as well as billions of dollars in reparations due to what they claim to be an illegally annulled agreement that deprived them of their tribal lands in 1859. The agreement, originally created in 1703, granted them the rights to all and more of the now stripped lands, making up what is now much of the South Hamptons. In 1859, European settlers and developers annulled the agreement in pursuit of this attractive land, that is notably popular today amongst New York’s elite vacationers. Currently, the Shinnecock Nation have tiny holdings in the area of only 750 acres. The Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is located right in the middle of the original land agreement territory, on grounds that are considered by the nation as ‘sacred’ still.
The current lawsuit may take years but one significant victory occurred for the tribe in 2010 whereby the tribe itself was finally and officially recognized by the U.S. government. This recognition is already helping the morale and resurgence of the area’s first people as it grants them more autonomy and rights. Despite not knowing what this means for their future, or for that of the area, including the golf club, it is in my opinion that healing, justice and reparation is critical in these situations. Generally, as it often happens, ‘great things’ come from honorable actions. Perhaps the membership of this exceptionally fine club, as well as the broader professional golfing community that it serves, can become involved in a positive and productive way too. Please share your comments and ideas on how you think this can be achieved.
I love the feeling, for spectators and players alike, of the build up to the Masters. Golf fans worldwide appreciate that no matter what they do this weekend, they will have a lot of enjoyment in watching 4 days of the best golf, by the best players, at one of the best courses in the world. In fact, I am certain that millions feel this way.
Have you a personal favorite player that you hope to see take home the coveted green jacket? Is it someone that has done so before or will it be a ‘first time’ winner?
There are certainly a large group of favored contenders to keep an eye on and an equally solid field of accomplished players who could come from the sidelines and do what Willet did last year.
First off, one can presume that Jordan Spieth will be back to claim something that slipped away from him so unfortunately last year. With a solid record of T2- First- and another T2 over the last 3 years at Augusta, it would be impossible not to include him as a contender.
Secondly, there is Dustin Johnson, who is currently holding the rank as world number one and is playing the best golf of his life. One cannot ignore him as a viable threat out there.
Then there are Matsuyama and Justin Thomas. Matsuyama has the entire Asian continent rooting for him to become the first Asian born player to wear the green jacket. He has had several top 7 finishes at Augusta before and is playing exceptionally well this season. He definitely has the talent to win. Thomas too has kicked off the season with an outstanding winning streak and is seemingly more confident than ever.
What about Rory? Desperate to complete his grand slam, playing solid golf, with the maturity, perseverance and experience required for getting the job done.
And let’s not forget to mention the young Spaniard, Jon Rahm!
We at Go Pac Golf will take it all in with pure joy. Good luck to the players and their families. May the best player win.
Golf and Ethics
Even the world of golf has not been spared by this year’s Presidential race politics as a big question has arisen as to whether or not the USGA should reconsider its hosting of the LPGA’s 2017 U.S. Women’s Open at Trump National in Bedminster, N.J.?
We at Go Pac Golf feel strongly that playing such a huge tournament at Trump National should absolutely be reconsidered and, in that belief, we are not alone.
Earlier this week, 3 US senators wrote a letter to the USGA to do so and urged the committee to make a principled change on the matter.
“The decision that the USGA makes is more consequential than simply the geographic location of a golf tournament,” the letter read. “In declining future association with a brand that degrades women, the USGA and LPGA have an opportunity to make clear to the world, and most especially young Americans, that our nation will not tolerate nor do business with any company that condones or excuses action that constitutes sexual assault.”
‘Golfweek’ interviewed 12 LPGA players and only one player was steadfast that the tournament should be moved. The general consensus amongst the few that were questioned was that the tournament should stay where it is (this late in the game) and that politics should not interfere.
As an avid female golfer myself, I personally would experience a kind of ethical dilemma if I were to indirectly endorse a Trump golf course by playing in a huge tournament there. No, I would not forego a berth in the US Open but might rather take the opportunity to say something about my concerns and hopefully initiate a move towards making something good out of it.
We’d love to hear from all of you about what you think about the choice that the USGA now faces.
Go Pac Golf couldn’t be prouder of our Canadian super star!!!!! With nerves of steel, Brooke Henderson, 18, defeated Lydia Ko, 19, in a playoff for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship title, This has the earmarks of the start of an epic rivalry.
The Abu Dhabi HSBC is just the latest in a series of wins for the 27-year-old Rickie Fowler. His notable breakthrough win at the Player’s as well as at the Scottish Open and Deustche Bank Championships has him sitting in 4th place in the current worldwide rankings. This is a remarkable move to the top in the last 9 months for this talented, handsome and seemingly kindhearted young athlete. He is really giving his millions of fans something to cheer for.
Will this win in Abu Dhabi be the springboard he needs to pull through to win a major this year? Having finished in the top 10 in half a dozen majors already, it is altogether possible that it will be. His focus does not waver when the pressure is on. Even at a young age, early in his golfing career, Rickie was setting course records in Southern California State tournaments and winning regional titles. In college at Oklahoma State, he was the first freshman to win the NCAA Player of the year award. This guy is made to win and seems to thrive in the spotlight. He is unique to the professional golf scene and leads the way for other aspiring young athletes. Go Rickie Go!
Rory McIlroy got the better of a battling Andy Sullivan over the back nine of the DP World Tour Championship Sunday to win the European Tour’s season-ending tournament as well as the Race to Dubai.Despite his injury this year, Mcllroy had a great finish to the season. With 2 months of before his return to tournament golf in January, he can feel good about the season despite having not won a major.
Source: McIlroy wins European Tour finale, Race to Dubai | Golf Channel
Adam Scott reiterated on Wednesday that he’s no certainty to play at the Rio Olympics next year if he qualifies. Follow us on Facebook.
Source: Adam Scott critical of Olympics format; still not a priority | Golf Channel
Golf in the Olympics
Golf will be an Olympic sport again in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics for the first time since 1904. It has been well over a century since a Canadian named George Lyon took home the gold medal in Olympic Golf. Players are already juggling their professional schedules to have an opportunity to represent their respective countries in the Olympics. However controversial this is, it will certainly be exciting for spectators worldwide. So what is the issue? Why have we waited over a hundred years for this?
First of all, the Olympics have always been a showcase of the world’s top athletes but it was never for athletes already competing in professional arenas. It was the big opportunity to compete on a world stage for athletes that don’t already have the world stage every weekend of their careers.
One of the most famous examples of how strict the Olympic standards were on this issue involved an American athlete, Jim Thorpe. In the 1912 Olympics, Thorpe had his gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon stripped because he had once accepted small amounts of money for playing semi-pro baseball during his college summers. His achievements were nullified due to the money received, even though it was in the context of different sport.
USGA Executive Director David Fay, who was behind the effort to return golf to the Olympics, believes that it would be good for the game of golf particularly in countries where it is still growing in popularity.
“Golf in the Olympics could grow the game worldwide, particularly in places where it’s not that big. Take countries like Croatia or Russia. In order to jump-start interest and support of the sport in these countries, you need money. The best way to get that is through two sources —- your government or the national Olympic committee. For these countries, there’s no substitute for it being an Olympic medal sport”.
I don’t agree that having another tournament, one that would likely be dominated by the usual names, can contribute to fostering the interest of Russian and Croatian golfers. What would be more likely to inspire the interest of such ‘non traditional’ golf nations is if their best amateur players had an opportunity to play and do well on a world stage and this would have to be against other amateur players. So why not include the golf in the Olympics but have it be a fair playing field for the world’s top amateurs? A gold medal would have a lot of significance to someone on that playing field and to their respective countries. Do Jordan Spieth and Bubba Watson really need Olympic medals to go with their Green Jackets and other accolades that they will surely win their respective professional careers? However, the International Olympic Committee has made it clear that they don’t want golf unless the top pros will be there and in order to guarantee this, they made The top 15 world-ranked players automatically eligible for the Games with a maximum of four per country.
And what do the PGA organizers think? They have made it known that they aren’t totally behind the idea of golf as an Olympic sport for the single reason that it will take away from their already busy summer events. Several tournaments that fall in and around the weeks leading up to the Olympics will see fewer top players as these players prepare for their Olympic duties.
And most importantly, what do the players think? Well, perhaps Bubba’s response says it all “How would you not want to be an Olympic athlete?” Watson, 36, said. Well, until now, one could have said, “maybe he should have taken up another sport”.
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