Golf News May 30th, 2008
The eagles have landed Reifers atop leaderboard
Kyle Reifers credited a conservative approach for grabbing the first-round lead in the Bank of America Open. It resulted in quite a flashy scorecard.
Reifers made three eagles Thursday in his 9-under-par 63 -- one stroke shy of the course record at The Glen Club -- to take a two-shot lead over Kris Blanks, Darron Stiles, David Lutterus and Keith Nolan entering the second round today. Reifers is only the 14th player in the 19-year history of the Nationwide Tour to make three eagles in a round.
All three came on par-5s after he reached the green in two shots. He sank a 25-foot putt at the fifth hole, a 20-footer at the 14th and a 10-footer at the 18th. But he didn't look at those holes as the key to his round.
Nick Taylor's 6-under 66 puts Huskies in 6th
Nick Taylor shot a scorching 6-under 66 to help Washington move up to sixth place Thursday after the second round of the NCAA Division I men's golf championships at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind.
Taylor reached a career low with the best 18-hole effort of the 156-player tournament. He starts today's round in third place at 3-under 141, two shots behind leader Billy Horschel of Florida (5-under 139) and one shot behind Clemson's Kyle Stanley (4-under 140).
Stanley, who is from Gig Harbor, shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday.
Callaway Golf to close Gloversville plant
Callaway Golf Co. notified state officials today that it will close its Gloversville, N.Y., plant this summer, putting 120 people out of work.
Callaway (NYSE: ELY), headquartered in Carlsbad, produced golf balls at its 70,000-square-foot facility in Gloversville. But a company spokeswoman said Callaway will close the plant on July 31 and take advantage of lower manufacturing and shipping costs in China.
"We have an obligation to our shareholders and employees to run as efficiently as possible," said Michele Szynal, a Callaway spokeswoman. "This obviously makes financial sense for us."
The majority of the company's golf ball products are made in a Chicopee, Mass., plant, according to the company's annual report. Szynal said most of the production at Gloversville will be shifted to China, with some work going to Chicopee.
Matthew Goggin, who hasn’t won on PGA tour, leads Memorial by 1 stroke
DUBLIN, Ohio - Matthew Goggin’s big mouth gave him plenty of motivation to play well the next three days.
He worries that once Memorial Tournament host Jack Nicklaus hears of Goggin’s drunken initiation at Muirfield Village Golf Club at the hands of Nicklaus’ son Gary in 1999, he might not be invited back.
Goggin, a 33-year-old Australian seeking his first victory on the PGA Tour, came in among the final six groups with a 7-under round of 65 Thursday to take the first-round Memorial lead. He holds a 1-shot edge on two-time champion Kenny Perry and Jerry Kelly and is up 2 strokes on Brett Quigley and Rod Pampling.
Garcia is back as a major player on PGA Tour
Since winning the prestigious Players Championship, Sergio Garcia said he doesn't feel any different about his game or his chances at majors. But the perception around him has certainly changed.
There's no denying it, Sergio is a major force on the PGA Tour again.
Garcia is back on the course at this week's Memorial Tournament - Jack Nicklaus' event - in Dublin, Ohio, after a couple of weeks of being celebrated in his native Spain. His fans knew his victory over Paul Goydos in a playoff at TPC Sawgrass was a big one.
And while Garcia acknowledges the win was impressive, he doesn't see that it changes anything.
"No, not at all," Garcia, 28, said on a conference call. "At the end of the day, I know what I'm capable of doing and, to me, that's the most important thing."
Garcia did say that his win gave him a "boost of confidence" that will probably help this week and going forward with the remaining three majors.
Perry pushing closer to Ryder Cup team after hot start at Memorial
DUBLIN, Ohio -- Paul Azinger's biggest impact on this year's Ryder Cup might already have occurred. The U.S. captain believes his push to change the points-earning criteria will result in a team made up of the hottest players, an element lacking in recent blowout defeats at the hands of the European squad.
Kenny Perry is helping to prove Azinger's point.
Perry -- an Elizabethtown, Ky., native who dearly wants to make the team that will play in his home state against Europe this September -- has come from out of nowhere to within a victory of putting himself among the eight automatic qualifiers.
Of course, with three more months of qualifying to go, much can happen. But that is exactly the point for Azinger, who likes the volatility of the points race, believing it will produce the team playing the best.
Perry agreed.
