Lucas Glover is the winner of the U.S. Open. The U.S. Open was already unusual this year as play extended into Monday because of rain delays. Lucas Glover built a small lead Monday as others around him struggled.
With his challengers faltering ahead of him, he suddenly had a two-stroke advantage. After a par on the 17th, which had bedeviled Phil Mickelson and David Duval moments earlier, he walked to the par-four 18th leading by two. Eliminating any possibility of a Jean Van de Velde moment, he played safely, hitting a six-iron off the tee, then two-putting for par and a two-stroke win.
It was Lucas Glover's first major championship win. The final leaderboard can be found here. You can read more about Glover's win here, here and here. Lucas Glover's official profile can be found here.
The AP reports that Phil Mickelson is returning to the PGA Tour after stepping out to be with his wife, Amy Mickelson, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. He will also be back in time for the U.S. Open. The Mickelson's say recent tests have given hope that Amy Mickelson will be able to fight the breast cancer. Hopefully, she will be able to make a full recover.
The AP reports that three-time major champion Phil Mickelson has temporarily left the PGA Tour after learning his wife has Amy Mickelson has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She is one of the most visible wives on the PGA Tour. It is not known how long Phil Mickelson will be out.
The key to designing the perfect golf ball is all in the dimples. Today's golf balls have between 250 and 400 dimples. Reuters reports that a Japanese rubber company has found a way to create the perfect golf ball with the optimal dimple pattern using complex computer software. The company doesn't yet have the solution but they believe they will eventually find it.
Media Life reports that Travel + Leisure Golf magazine will be folding. They say the ad pages for the publication plunged 14% in 2008 and 54% in the fourth quarter of last year.
"While the award-winning editorial product has enjoyed a loyal and passionate following, the current advertising climate has severely impacted the magazine's bottom line to where the short-term and mid-term prospects for the magazine are not viable," president and CEO Ed Kelly said in a statement.
The combination of the Internet and a recession is making print magazine closures a common thing but it's still sad when a good magazine is lost. The publication's website can be found here.
Tiger Woods will make his return to golf in next week's Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson, Arizona. Tiger has been out for several months following reconstructive surgery to repair cartilage damageon his left knee. Tiger has been practicing since December. See also ESPN, New York Times and MSNBC.
The BBC reports that ear specialists are warning golfers that modern golf clubs with thin-faced titanium drivers can hurt a player's hearing. They recommend ear plugs.
Players who use a new generation of thin-faced titanium drivers to propel the ball further should consider wearing ear plugs, experts advise.
Ear specialists suspect the "sonic boom" the metal club head makes when it strikes the ball damaged the hearing of a 55-year-old golfer they treated.
The article talks about the case of a 55-year-old golfers who suffered some hearing loss because of the loud noises made when he hit the ball with his King Cobra LD titanium club. Some doctors tested several thin-faced titanium clubs and found they were all worse then regular clubs. One club - the Ping G10 - creates a sound recorded at over 130 decibels when the club strikes the ball.
CNN's Jeanne Moos takes a look at President-elect Barack Obama's golf game. There is a lot of pressure on the presidents when they are playing golf because they are scrutinized so closely by the press. But if they can't handle a little pressure on their golf game then they probably aren't ready to be the President. Obama's golfing and Hawaii trip has been a boon to the Hawaii tourism industry.
Donald Trump Sues Town For Blocking Golf Course Improvements
The L.A. Timesreports that Donald Trump is suing the town of Rancho Palos Verdes, California for not allowing him to make improvements on his golf course.
In a lawsuit filed this week, Trump accused the city of fraud and civil rights violations, contending that the city was refusing to allow improvements needed to maintain the "Trump image," including a clubhouse terrace and a row of ficus trees he was forced to cut down earlier.
"I've been looking forward for a long time to do this," Trump said of the lawsuit Friday in a phone interview from New York. "The town does everything possible to stymie everything I do."
But city leaders and some residents said the lawsuit was just another attempt by the real estate mogul to bully the community and avoid playing by the rules. They call it the culmination of his history of run-ins with officials from the upscale, picturesque city of nearly 46,000 set amid the coves and beaches of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
The city's mayor, Larry Clark, dismissed the charges and said the lawsuit may cause residents' already simmering ill will toward the developer to explode.
Trump believes the town should be grateful to him for building the golf course instead of trying to block his additions. The L.A. Times did find one person who agreed with Trump. The town resident said about Trump's golf course, "It is a world-class addition to our community." The website for the golf course can be found here. Other articles about the dispute between Trump and the town can be found here, here and here.
GM announced last week that it will not be renewing a sponsorship contract with golf star Tiger Woods. It is yet more fall out from the worsening economic situation. Woods says he wants to spend more time with his family but it has to hurt to lose a lucrative contract. GM probably didn't really want to see Tiger go. He's likely to wind up endorsing another big company instead of GM down the road.
Reuters reports that pop star Justin Timberlake has landed an endorsement deal with Callaway Golf. Timberlake will be playing with Callaway Golf equipment as part of the deal.
Timberlake, who Callaway says sports a six handicap, is an avid golfer, according to the company, having just announced the opening of his own eco-friendly golf course in Memphis.
"There's nothing like hitting the ball perfectly" said Timberlake in a statement. "I'm hooked on that feeling."
Reuters also mentioned a Timberlake golf course and there's more details on the eco-friendly Memphis golf course here and here. In the announcement, Callaway Golf lists ten things you might not know about Justin Timberlake.
The $20 million "Race to Dubai" golf season hs launched. The race starts at a waterlogged course at the Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China. CNN's Justin Armsden reports in the video below that the players are mindful of the global economic woes. Times Online says Race to Dubai has drawn a lot of players to the European Tour.
Golf Course Designed by Jack Nicklaus in Neiman's Christmas Book
One of the items in this year's 2008 Christmas Book from Neiman Marcus is a golf course custom designed by Jack Nicklaus. The entry says Jack Nicklaus will study topography, aerial photos, and landscape maps for the site, then send his team to survey the property. It says Nicklaus will create a formal design plan and color renderings for up to three holes and a practice area. Your construction crew will do the building with supervision from Jack's world-class design team. When your course is ready Jack Nicklaus will even stop by to play the first round with you, personally. He'll sign his club and ball for your collection and throw in a custom set of Nicklaus clubs, including a personalized bag.
It sounds amazing and traffic but the price tag is out of this world too at a cool $1 million. The $1 million does not include construction and site preparation costs.
You can see more of the goodies in this year's Neiman Marcus book here on ShoppingBlog.com.
Speed golf is a new twist on golfing that combines running and golf.
A standard 18-hole golf course is used. In the video below, the AP says the goal is still to shoot the lowest score but you also want to do it in the shortest amount of time. Speed golf is clearly much better exercise and much faster than regular golf. It would be easier if you didn't have to carry your bag of clubs around. It sounds like a golfing marathon or golf fitness as the Golf Nut calls it. You can read some rules here on speedgolfinternational.com. You can read a Wikipedia entry here.
Media Life 
The L.A. Times 
