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One week after the last vuvuzela finished blaring in South Africa, Louis Oosthuizen shone the spotlight on his country once more by winning the 2010 British Open in St. Andrews, Scotland. And what a win it was! Although the British Open concluded on Sunday we still can’t stop talking about how Oosthuizen dominated the competition and won with such a huge margin! According to golf records it was the largest winning margin since Tiger Woods took on St. Andrews 10 years prior. However, the top prize undeniably went to the best player; Oosthuizen played the tournament flawlessly with an attitude that not even St. Andrews’s high winds could shake.

Even competitor Paul Casey could not resist commending his fellow athlete on how he handled his game throughout the tournament: “”Nobody was going to stop him…He didn’t miss a shot today. I don’t know if he missed one all week. That was four days of tremendous golf.”

To top it off, Oosthuizen’s win also fell serendipitously on Nelson Mandela’s 92nd birthday; a coincidence that no doubt made his win even more meaningful for him and his countrymen.

Let the countdown begin! Only 1 week until one of the most renowned tournaments in golf – the 2010 Masters Tournament. And this year promises not to disappoint with the confirmed return of Tiger Woods to golf. (I must say, his timing is impeccable!)

At GolfPatio.com we are so excited that we are here to bring you a rundown of the tournament schedule so you won’t miss a thing!

Monday April 5th – Gates open at 8 am and The Practice Round Begins. Don’t miss Tiger’s interview which is scheduled for 2pm EST!

Tuesday April 6th – The Practice Round continues and interviews with 11 the other players are scheduled for today. David Duval interviews at 2pm, Phil Mickelson at 2:30pm, Geoff Ogilvy at 4pm and Jack Nicklaus at 5pm.

Wednesday April 7th – The Practice Round continues and the Masters Major Achievements Award Ceremony airs at 10:30am.

Thursday April 8th – The Competitive Round commences

Friday April 9th – Saturday April 10th – The Competitive Round continues

Sunday April 11th – The Final Competitive Round

It seems that we may soon be hearing more about Tiger’s game on the green and less about his personal life. In a recent statement, Woods said he would be returning to golf for the Masters tournament in early April. Despite his unexpected hiatus from golf (since November 27) Woods is still the favorite to win the Masters tournament, already having won 10 major tournament titles and 4 previous Masters Tournaments.

It will be interesting to see the public’s reaction to Tiger’s return to golf. Despite his public apologies, dropped endorsement deals and seemingly genuine remorse, it seems the public is still divided about whether to welcome Woods back to golf or continue to punish him for his personal mistakes. Just by reading some of the online dialog surrounding this recent news story, it seems that 50% of the comments are supportive of Tiger’s return and 50% are sarcastic commentary on his personal woes.

One thing’s for sure though, love it or hate it; Tiger’s back and ready to compete for more titles. His competition better start practicing!

Rubber boots, birds bathing in puddles and grounds crew armed with a variety of green maintenance equipment were all common sights this weekend at the 100th Canadian Open in Oakville, Ontario. 

An ominous gathering of clouds appeared in the sky on Sunday morning as play was called not long after forcing most players to retreat to the clubhouse before they could even finish their third round. The relentless rain that has plagued Glen Abbey this past weekend has made this tournament the first one to end on a Monday since 1988. 

However, in true Canadian form, Mike Weir and tournament director, Steve Carman, could not help, but poke fun at the tournament’s bout of misfortune. 

Mike Weir joked about the playing conditions commenting that, “…instead of reading the grain, you got to read the current…” 

And when asked which holes were the ‘problem holes’ Carman went to list most of the holes with a wry smile saying: “You would probably be better off asking which weren’t the problem holes.”

Nevertheless, despite the waterlogged course and threatening weather reports the tournament still offered plays for the fans to cheer for. Some highlights included: Mike Weir’s first-ever on tour ace, nine straight birdies hit by Calcavecchia and an incredible 7 holes-in-one throughout the tournament! 

As I check in with tsn.ca, it seems that the weather is beginning to cooperate in Oakville and tied for the top spot are Retief Goosen, from South Africa, and, Aussie, Nathan Green. Mike Weir is 5 shots from the lead and Stephen Ames is 7 shots away.      

Let’s just hope the rain gods smile benevolently on the tournament today and allow the 100th Canadian Open to close before Tuesday!

On June 22nd an unassuming Lucas Glover accepted his trophy as the 109th Champion of the U.S. Open tournament stating humbly that, “…something was on my side this week.”

Although, Glover played seamlessly throughout the entire tournament and never lost the lead over the last 12 holes, it seems Glover was not the Champion the people were looking for. With the spotlight locked on other golfers such as Phil Mickelson and what the sports media have called a less than ‘compelling’ storyline; it seems that Glover’s win of the 109th U.S. Open was a bit of a disappointment to golf fans and, of course, his fellow competitors. A stoic Ricky Barnes, who finished tied for second with Mickelson and Duval, looked on as Glover accepted his trophy and tipped his hat to Barnes’s performance during the tournament. A disoriented and disillusioned Mickelson announced that he will likely not attend the British Open and is not certain about when he will return to golf. 

However, after sealing the tournament with a lackluster three-foot par putt on the 18th hole, Glover slowed down to bask in his win and reflect on his performance over the duration of a very delayed and somewhat dreary tournament. A true Southern gentlemen, Glover humbly commented on what everyone must have been thinking, but not saying about Glover’s name appearing next to greats such as Tiger Woods on the trophy.

“I hope I don’t downgrade it or anything with my name on there.”

Although a somewhat anti-climatic win, Glover played a clean and consistent game which was necessary under less than favourable conditions. For a tournament that was plagued by constant rain, Glover’s resilience under such circumstances is worthy of much praise and also the U.S. Open’s ultimate prize. As a NBC sports correspondent so eloquently summarized Glover’s game during his interview with the champion: “Alls well that ends well.” 

You can read more about the highlights of the U.S. Open tournament by searching for the definitive article by the Canadian Press written on June 23, 2009 titled: Glover Wins U.S. Open; Weir and Ames tied for 10th.

Once ranked number two in the world, and known for almost overtaking an ailing Tiger Woods for the top spot, Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia seems to be making quite a stir in the world of golf lately. However, if you’re thinking it’s been about his latest victory on the green, think again.

In fact, it seems to be that the slump that has befallen Garcia has been in the name of love. Yes, you read right, love.

Although he has often been portrayed unsympathetically and criticized in the press for his childish attitude; who knew Sergio Garcia was such a romantic? Apparently though, for Garcia, a bad break up is reason enough to set him off his game. Garcia, who had been dating Australian golfer Greg Norman’s daughter, got the news from Morgan that they would no longer be an item when the couple were in Miami over 2 months prior.

Since then, Garcia has been playing abominably and finishing in the 20’s for tournaments that he won just last year. To add insult to ‘injury’, last weekend at Turnberry Paul Casey (undoubtedly capitalizing on Garcia’s broken-heart induced slump) managed to surpass Garcia; banishing the Spanish golfer to fourth place. This is, no doubt, a frustrating position for a golfer that was singled out to beat Tiger Woods only a few months ago.

In a very candid press conference Garcia had this to say about his less than stellar performance:

“Myself, when I am not feeling happy on a golf course and not up for it, that is the way it is. You can’t do anything about it. I can’t do well. Obviously the break-up with Morgan didn’t help. You get over some things. Others take a little longer.”

One thing is for sure, it is definitely refreshing to see an athlete that is not squeamish about letting the press see his vulnerable side. When asked whether he finds it difficult to handle his emotional woes in the public eye, without hesitation, he replied: “No, I wasn’t sad because my relationship was public because everybody knew about it. I was sad because of my feelings. It is within me. It is in my heart. I am not thinking what other people are thinking about it. I am thinking what I am thinking about it. At the end of the day a relationship is still a relationship.”

However, coming from Spain, a land of bull fighters and Latin machismo, I am unsure as to whether his countrymen will find his delicate sensibilities as interesting as I do.

You can read the full article by John Hopkins and Jack Malvern at the times online here.