Sergio Garcia Playing Impressive Golf Despite Off-Course Drama

Sergio Garcia Playing Impressive Golf Despite Off-Course Drama











Adam Fonseca May 23, 2013 10:57 PM




COMMENTARY | Regardless of your opinion on Sergio Garcia the person these days, Sergio Garcia the professional golfer is playing at an incredibly high level.

Garcia managed an even par 72 in the opening round of this week's 2013 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, the European Tour's flagship event. While not overly impressive at the surface, Garcia's round was impressive considering the pressure he has experienced due to his recent, well, extracurricular activities.

Garcia's play throughout the season has been even more impressive. He
is currently ranked in the top 15 on the Official World Golf Ranking; his highest ranking in years. As a member of both the PGA and European Tours, Garcia's statistics and performance place him squarely in the upper echelon of all players on either side of the pond.



On the PGA Tour side, for example, Garcia is ranked no. 39 on the FedEx Cup points list and no. 22 on the tour's money list. According to the Tour's website, he has made the cut in each of the eight events he has played and has finished in the top 25 seven times. He has managed four top 10 finishes during that stretch, including a third place finish at the WGC - Cadillac Championship. Thanks to a scoring average of 70.26, Garcia has already pocketed more than $1.3 million in tournament winnings on tour.

The story remains the same when looking at Garcia's performance on the European Tour this year. Garcia is currently ranked third in the Race to Dubai rankings, having earned more than 770,000 euros. He has played six tournaments on that tour - which includes the WGC - Cadillac Championship, WGC - Accenture Match Play and The Masters - and has not placed lower than seventeenth in any appearance. His scoring average on the Euro Tour (69.65) is almost a full shot better than his PGA Tour average.

The trend continues when you look at Garcia's performance stats. His driving distance average is over 287 yards on both the PGA and Euro Tours (287.7 yards and 292.44 yards, respectively). His driving accuracy is right around 60 percent on both tours (60.43 percent and 59.82 percent) while his Greens in Regulation percentage remain above average (67.90 percent and 77.08 percent).

What is Garcia's most impressive individual statistic this season? He boasts an astonishing .989 strokes gained while putting ratio on the PGA Tour, which is second only to his friend Tiger Woods.

All things considered, Sergio Garcia is having one hell of a season on the golf course. While he finds himself in the middle of the pack after his first round at this week's BMW PGA Championship - and six shots behind leader James Kingston at 6-under par - he is very much on pace to make the tournament cut and play on the weekend.

For Garcia's sake, it may be best to keep his nose to the grind for the time being and focus on playing some of the best golf of his career. He may also want to steer clear of any press conferences or microphones for a bit, as well.



Adam Fonseca has been writing about golf since 2005. His work can be found on numerous digital outlets including the Back9Network and SB Nation. He currently lives in Chicago with his wife. Follow Adam on Twitter @chicagoduffer.

Atricles Course: http://golfatn.blogspot.com/

2013 Has Been a Roller Coaster Year for Luke Donald

2013 Has Been a Roller Coaster Year for Luke Donald











Adam Fonseca May 24, 2013 1:29 PM

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Luke Donald remains optimistic about his game.




COMMENTARY | Luke Donald will miss the tournament cut at the 2013 BMA PGA Championship following a two-round total of 150 (6-over par) at Wentworth. In doing so, the former World Number One wrote another chapter in what has become a rollercoaster career.

In May 2011, PGA Tour and European Tour journeyman Luke Donald became the world's highest-ranked golfer after winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. He held
on to that top spot for 40 weeks, the longest span by any golfer not named Tiger Woods in the last 15 years, before Rory McIlroy took his place atop the throne in March 2012.



Donald would regain his crown exactly one year later after successfully defending his title at the 2012 BMW PGA Championship. He held that ranking for an additional 10 weeks before once again bumped by McIlroy. Donald has yet to rebound.

Currently ranked No. 6 in the Official World Golf Rankings, Donald's performance has been inconsistent since his BMW victory in May 2012.

That is not to suggest Donald hasn't played well over the past year. On the European Tour, Donald has since managed third place finishes at the 2012 BMW Masters and 2012 DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. On the PGA Tour schedule, Donald again earned top-3 finishes at the 2012 Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the FedEx Cup TOUR Championship last September. He even scraped together a quiet tie for fourth place at the 2012 British Open.

His performance in 2013 shows similar results. Prior to the 2013 RBC Heritage in April - where he recorded yet another third place finish - Donald's finishes ranged everywhere from a tie for fourth place at the 2013 Tampa Bay Championship to a missed cut at the Euro Tour's Maybank Malaysian Open in March. This week's missed cut at Wentworth will be his second of the year overall.

What has been the cause of this uncharacteristic trend of inconsistency for the Englishman? According to Donald's remarks following Friday's second round, his golf game has become somewhat unreliable.

"When I missed fairways, I missed the green and then I wasn't getting up and down," he explained. "My problems were just kind of compounding."

"Not one part of my game is really firing at the moment," Donald admitted.

His playing statistics on either tour confirm that assessment. While his scoring average on the PGA Tour is still under par (70.006), his average on the Euro Tour has grown to 72.6, or no. 172 overall. In terms of driving accuracy, Donald hits only 52 percent of fairways on the Euro Tour (no. 198) and 63 percent in the States (no. 55). Greens in Regulation percentage is another weakness for Donald this season, hitting only 67 percent (no. 121) on the Euro Tour and 61 percent (no. 170) on the PGA Tour.

Still, Donald believes his game is salvageable.

"It's not like I am a million miles away," Donald said. "It's about doing the things Luke Donald usually does well: being tidy around the greens and making the putts when I need to.

"I've got to start there and work my way back. Sometimes it's just a little something small from my coach that will get me back on track. I'm not too worried."Adam Fonseca has covered professional golf since 2005. His work can be found on numerous digital outlets including the Back9Network and SB Nation. He currently lives in Chicago with his wife. Follow Adam on Twitter @chicagoduffer.

Atricles Course: http://golfatn.blogspot.com/

Course Source: Snow Mountain at Las Vegas Paiute Resort

Course Source: Snow Mountain at Las Vegas Paiute Resort










Derek Harper, The Sports Xchange May 24, 2013 2:40 PMThe SportsXchange


COURSE SOURCE

IN THE PUBLIC EYE: Paiute Golf Resort - Snow Mountain Course; Las Vegas, Nev.

THE LAYOUT: The Pete Dye-designed Snow Mountain Course was opened in 1995 as the first of three tracks at the sprawling Paiute complex 25 miles northwest of the Las Vegas Strip. The Paiute Tribe owns and operates the resort - recognized as the first master-planned, multi-course facility built on Native American land.

What is unmistakable upon arriving at the complex is that it is a local favorite. The staff knows many of the golfers by first name, and the driving range is chock full of regulars swinging away while sharing stories.

Each of the three courses has its own distinct flavor, and Snow Mountain is generally considered the most playable for all levels of golfers. However, it also offers four sets of tee boxes that can stretch the experience out to a long as 7,146 yards from the tips with a 73.0 rating and 126 slope.

Some of the features of the par-72 Snow Mountain course are wide fairways with no holes that run parallel, although water comes into play on seven holes and there is a slew of risk-reward opportunities peppered throughout.

The course plays a fairly benign 6,035 yards (68.8/111) from the whites, but the "championship" tees provide a solid test at 6,645 yards with a 70.9 rating and 118 slope.

The rye grass fairways were in excellent shape during the spring and make excellent use of the natural rolling terrain. The greens feature plenty of slope that require good distance control, although they don't roll anywhere near as fast as some of the treacherous greens you can find around Vegas.

GENERAL MANAGER: Chad Gunier


LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: The first tip is to travel wisely. The Paiute Resort is roughly a $90 cab ride from the Strip - in each direction. Barring access to a car, the day gets pricey in a hurry unless you have a full foursome to split the bill. Once you arrive at the complex, however, it's well worth the effort.

A large clubhouse housing the pro shop, restaurant and other amenities is elevated and looks out across the vast property and the three courses.

If you're playing Snow Mountain, step back at least to the championship tees to bring in all the splendid design elements Dye incorporated.

From the opening drive off the 347-yard par-4 first hole, it's clear that while the course isn't particularly long, there is risk-reward almost everywhere. Play it safe and you'll have far longer approach shots into most every hole. Take the more aggressive lines that Dye taunts you with, and you better be able to carry bunkers and wasteland or shape your ball with control.

The first hole doglegs to the left and takes you away from the clubhouse. With no parallel fairways, you immediately get lost in the tranquility of the Paiute property.

How well you play the first time around the Snow Mountain course can directly hinge on how much wind is sweeping across the desert, as there is plenty of water, sand and wasteland to balloon a scorecard.

The par-5 third hole is a prime example. At 539 yards from the championship tees, it's two massive pokes - including a significant carry over water that runs up to the front right of the green. While downhill, a smarter approach is to lay up along the left side for a full wedge into the green. It's a beautifully designed hole that teases to the remainder of the course.

No. 7 is a drivable par-4. While it's 309 yards, you can slice off significant yardage with a decent hit over the dogleg right. Clear the bunkers and the slope runs downhill to the putting surface.

Water comes back into play with a pond protecting the green on the 399-yard par-4 ninth hole heading back to the clubhouse.

The Snow Mountain experience really gets going on the 10th tee box, where you look out to a large pond that runs along the left side of the 10th hole and provides your first look at the demanding 18th hole running back along the same water feature.

Dye presents golfers with yet another risk-reward on the 381-yard 10th. A solid strike out over the water and over the bunker requires a carry of about 220 yards - but anything left is in the hazard. Safer drives to the right leave a higher probability of an uneven lie and a dicey longer approach into a green that has very little room to go deep.

Where Snow Mountain understandably earns most of its acclaim is with a trio of picturesque closing holes.

My personal favorite is the par-3 16th looking out to Castle Rock and Gass Peak. At 182 yards slightly downhill, it requires a full carry over water, with little bailout room.

The 17th is a solid 509-yard par-5 that begins your trek back to the clubhouse.

No. 18 is one of the better finishing holes in Vegas. It runs 425 yards from the championship tees, with water all down the left-hand side and the green turning around the corner a bit at the end.

A well-placed drive down the right that avoids two nastily-placed bunkers still leaves a mid-iron approach shot for most, with a massive slope on the right and water on the left protecting the green. Anything left requires a carry to the putting surface. A closing par is an excellent score on the course's No. 2 handicap hole.

OTHER COURSES IN THE AREA: There are dozens of quality golf courses in the Vegas area, but Paiute is tucked away in the northwest section and we recommend playing two of its courses if you're looking to squeeze in 36 holes for the day.

We were paired with a Vegas local who plays the Paiute tracks regularly. A 12-handicap, he likes Snow Maintain because "Wolf eats me up." Opened in 2001, Wolf is one of the longest courses in Vegas at a total of 7,604 yards. Regularly the top-ranked of the three courses, Wolf features an island green on No. 15.

WHERE TO STAY: Paiute doesn't feature lodging, so the vast majority of out of town visitors are making their way up from the Strip.

On the web: http://www.lvpaiutegolf.com/

Atricles Course: http://golfatn.blogspot.com/