The Largest Sporting Event in the World just got Larger: Tiger Warning

The PGA Championship is the largest sporting event in the world, drawing fans from countries across every continent. It is the year’s final major and is an event with storied history and tradition. Sixty-three individuals have had the opportunity to hold the Wanamaker Trophy. Past winners include: Walter Hagan, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, and former number one in the world, Tiger Woods.

Woods has had numerous issues that have kept him from returning to golf in the dominant form that he once had over the field. He played in the Masters this year and made a Saturday run to put himself in contention to win another Green Jacket. Tiger was unable to close out the tournament and the golf world was left with no Tiger for the next two majors.

The U.S. Open and British Open belonged to the country of Northern Ireland. Twenty two year old Rory Mcllory won the 2011 U.S. Open in historic fashion over the field in Washington. Fellow countryman Darren Clarke won the British Open.

Recently Tiger Woods fired his longtime caddie Steve Williams. This was a decision that came as a surprise to many, including myself. After showing years of loyalty to Woods, Williams feels disgusted by the way it happened. Yesterday Woods announced he would be returning to the golf circuit of his twitter account: “Feeling fit and ready to tee it up at Firestone next week. Excited to get back out there!”

With this return it seems that a healthy, focused Tiger will be making a run at the 2011 PGA Championship; his last win at the years final major came four years ago in 2007. Tiger’s return adds a new variable to the equation. When Wood’s was at the peak of the game he was the most intimidating player in golf. His dominance of the game and ability to win major after major was one of the most incredible feats in sports history. There is no doubt he is a contender in my mind. He is the most focused golfer in the world.

Who will lift the Wanamaker Trophy on the 18th green on the Highlands Course at the Atlanta Athletic Club? Will Rory Mcllroy win his second major of his young career? Will Phil Mickelson win his first PGA Championship since 2005? Does Martin Kaymer defend his 2010 Championship and win this year? Or, will Tiger Woods win the years final Major and mark his real return to golf?

Pressure: Down in Flames

Pressure is something everyone experiences in daily live. It might be pressure to pay the bills, study the proper amount for a test, or to meet a deadline at work. In the sports realm, pressure is something that every athlete must learn to deal with.

Every sport brings different pressure in different situations. I really enjoy golfing and have recently gotten more into the sport in the past sixth months. Last week I had the chance to play The Highlands Course at the Atlanta Athletic Club, the same course that will be used in a month for the 93rd PGA Championship.

I went out to the range that morning before we played focused and was striking the ball exceptionally well. I was controlling my irons and putting strong accurate swings on my wood and driver. I was playing loose and relaxed. It was time to translate practice into success on a very difficult course.

The course was in perfect condition to prepare for the championship. The sheer fact that the best in the world would be taking similar shots to me in a month made my knees a little weak. I cannot wait to see guys like Rory and Phil play the course in a few weeks.


My good swings on the range did not translate to a good day on the course. Five straight 3 puts to start the day tempered my mood and I was frustrated with my game for the rest of the day. Instead of a smooth violent swing on Par 4 and Par 5 tee Boxes I took a short, violent swing that left me in the second and third cut for most of the day.

The lone bright spot for the day came on the par 3’s. There are three Par 3’s on The Highlands Course and I was on every one of them putting for birdie. Once again frustration and pressure came into play as I ended up 3 putting all three for three bogeys.

Par 3 Hole Number 4 on The Highlands Course

As I came to the 18th tee box, I had just three putted my way to a bogey on 17. I went into 18 with the mindset of finishing the round on a positive note. Number 18 on The Highlands course is a par 5-dog leg left which leads up to the clubhouse. With the inconsistency of my driver I left it in the bag and opted with a 3 iron. My straightest drive of the afternoon left me in good shape. I hit a three iron again on my second shot to the middle of the fairway.

Once again playing ultra conservative I hit a five iron for my third shot. As I approached my fourth shot, I had an awkward uphill lie on the right side fringe. 178 yards in the second cut over the water.After playing the hole so conservative I decided it was time to take a chance and go for it.

Never lay up

At that point in time, I felt pressure. If I did not hit a perfect shot my ball would be in the water. My knees weakened a little bit. My partner and I were 1 stroke ahead. The smart play would have been to lay up. But laying up is not something that I do in golf. As I took a few practice swings the famous Tin Cup Scene “Down in Flames” flashed through my head.
(youtube clip)
I struck the ball on a line and hit a perfect shot. As I watched the ball come down, I realized it was short of the green as it splashed into the water.

As I walked to the drop zone I lost all concentration. I did not even take time to think about my shot. I simply walked to my bag and grabbed the only club I trust, the 7 iron. My mental mindset was gone at this point and I hit another ball into the water, this time it was a shot that should not have gone in the water. I stepped back took a deep break and realized I had lost the competition. I took an easy swing and landed the ball on the far side of the green. I ended up two putting to end the day on a solid note.

As I walked of the green I took a look around at where I was. An immaculate golf course, home the 2011 PGA Championship. I realized I had nothing to complain about. A day on the golf course is better than a day at the office. If I had to do it all over again I would have hit a 3 iron to reach the green but I am happy with the shot I took.

Down in Flames.

A Weekend in Sports to Remember: July 15-17, 2011

A great weekend of sports awaits us. Check out everything we have to look forward to .

-Friday-Sunday: British Open Second, Third and Final rounds (Live daily on ESPN)
-Friday-Sunday: Tour de France: Friday and Saturday Mountain Stages (Live daily on Versus)
-Friday-Sunday: Major League Baseball second half of the season begins
-Sunday: Women’s World Cup Final; Japan vs. USA (2:45 ET ESPN)

There are great athletes competing all over the world. One event I feel like that is being overlooked right now is the Tour de France. Check out this quote by cyclist JEAN-FRANÇOIS PESCHEUX’S:

“We needed to get to the Alps as quickly as possible, but without making the transfers too long. Finishing in Montpellier enables us to achieve this objective. On stages of this type, the heat can be punishing. If the sun is beating down, it’s going to cause some real damage because the riders will already have expended a huge amount of energy. If some riders decide to make the going tough today, it could really have an impact on some of the teammates of key riders. Let’s not forget that all of the favorites depend on those teammates… Every day, there’s a real race within a race! This stage should go the way of the sprinters, whose only chance of victory after this will come on the Champs-Élysées."

Pitching , Timely Offense and Defense Helps the Braves take Two of Three from the Reds

While the Braves offense continues to be inconsistent, there are constants that keeps them in games; including their pitching staff and defense. At this point in the season, one can make the argument that they have the best pitching staff in baseball. After exciting games on Friday and Saturday night, the decisive game three was highly anticipated. The Sunday Night Baseball crew was in Atlanta as the game was broadcast nationally over ESPN.

The Baseball Tonight set was at Turner Field Sunday.

The Braves sent their best pitcher this year to the mound, Jair Jurrjens. Jurrjens came into the game with the league's lowest ERA, that number would only improve by nights end. Jurrjens was opposed by an impressive young pitcher for the Reds Johnny Cueto. As first pitch approached, the stadium had a playoff atmosphere to it.

Jurrjens and David Ross walk from the bullpen to the dugout

before Sunday Night's game against the Reds

The Reds jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a Jay Bruce homerun in the second inning. Both pitchers settled into a groove and the pitchers duel continued on to the sixth inning. After a Jordan Schafer leadoff walk Martin Prado stepped up to the plate. I cannot think of another player for the Braves who has come up with more key situational hits to win games in 2011. Prado did it again as he blasted a two-run homerun off Cueto to give the Braves a two run lead after six innings.

Two of the past three game I have been to

Martin Prado has hit a game winning homerun.

After putting his team ahead in the bottom of the sixth inning, Prado saved the game in the top of the eighth. With two outs and the tying run at second Brandon Phillips hit a single to Prado in left field. Prado fielded the ball cleanly and threw a one hop frozen rope to home plate. Paul Janish, who had picked off at first by David Ross earlier in the game, attempted to slide under Ross's tag but was called out. The stadium was in an uproar and the Braves were only three outs from taking the series from the Reds.

Martin Prado is greeted in the dugout by his teammates

after his game saving play in the eighth inning.

After walking the first batter in the bottom of the ninth, Craig Kimbrell struck out two out of the next three batters to preserve the win for the Braves.

At only 21, Kimbrell has established himself

as the Braves closer for the future.

An impressive team performance was delivered Sunday night. Eight excellent innings by the League's best pitcher, and a timely homerun and amazing defensive play from Martin Prado. li.

We could be talking about a Cy Young in a few months for Jair; the numbers do not lie.

Cinco De Mayo: The only relevant 5 is Braves winning streak

As I finished up my last class as an Undergraduate yesterday a sense of feeling of relief and accomplishment shuddered my shoulders. Exhaustion was setting as was the fact that it was May 5, 2011, Cinco De Mayo. The Auburn community was finishing up with school and ready to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in downtown Auburn.

I decided that I would celebrate my completion of my Undergraduate degree at Auburn University at Turner Field watching the Atlanta Braves. A chance to celebrate May 5th by watching


A evening at Turner Field is the only way I wanted to spend my last day as an Undergraduate at Auburn University.


A great game all around. There was great pitching by the Brewers and Braves respectively. The most timely hit came by Braves Martin Prado. With the game tied in the Bottom of the 8th at 1-1 Martin took he game into his hands. Leading off, he worked the count to 3-1 and took a fastball and deposited it 20 rows deep into the left field seats.


Martin Prado rounds the bases after his eighth inning go ahead home run. (photo courtesy of timesfreepress.com)


Kraig Kimbrell worked a perfect one, two three ninth striking out the first two batters and inducing a groundout to end the game.

Sure I finished my Undergraduate Tenure at Auburn University which is a personal accomplishment; but the Braves have one five straight, now that is what I call an accomplishment.

The Day Sports Stood Still 4.27.11

On the night of March 27, 2011 tornadoes ripped across the southeast. The damage was catastrophic. The place that was damaged the worst was Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I realized how bad the storms were and felt called to drive from Auburn, Alabama to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to get a better idea of how bad the damage was. Check out some of my first hand pictures from a day the State of Alabama will never forget.

4.28. The Day After

Why I chose Jackson Hole, Wyoming

“The human element is the ultimate draw, the history contained is priceless…” Dave Reddick , Powder

If I ever have the oppurtunity to live out West in a ski town I would live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. There a lot of things I could say to describe my motives and desires behind moving living out west. Just to name a few: the people, the culture, the fresh powder, the cool air, the desire to ski. To get a better understanding of why I have chosen Jackson Hole, Wyoming watch the trailer for the movie "Swift. Silent. Deep."

Happy Saint Powders day from Snowbird, Utah

Saint Patrick’s day is often noted as days to kick back relax and enjoy local festivities. For the people of Alta and Snowbird, Utah Saint Patrick’s day means skiing especially when a big storm comes into the canyon.

A storm moves into the Canyon the night before Saint

Patrick's Day, bringing nine inches of fresh snow

Saint Patrick’s Day at Snowbird proved to be a great one. A storm moved into Little Cotton Canyon the night before and put some fresh snow on the ground, nine inches to be exact. The storm called for nine to twelve inches so I could not complain with nine as a happy medium. I had trouble sleeping that night because I knew the skiing was going to be the best out of our time out there.

I awoke at six am ready to find the fresh powder, then had to wait in the tram line to find it

My Dad and I were out the door by 7:15 am ready to catch the first tram up the mountain. After a grueling forty five-minute wait the tram opened to the public at 8:00am. We missed the first tram twenty people but were headed up to the top of Snowbird by 8:30am. 11,000 vertical feet is a great place to find fresh tracks, espeecially at 8:45 am.

Our first run of the day came at The Cirque which had been the best run of the week. With nine inches of snow it was even better. I love The Cirque because of its steep vertical descent and wind blown powder. After a great warmup run we headed over to Gad 2 where we found the best snow of the day.

The trees of Gad 2 are some of my favorite on the mountain

There is something magical about the Gad 2 lift on a powder day. It is one of the oldest and slowest lifts in Snowbird but the skiing is always great there. On a really good powder day usually the game-plan is to head there first.

The video above is me skiing gad 2 early that

morning; conditions were ideal.

We spent a good few hours over at Alta but it ended up that the best snow of the day was at Snowbird. That is one of the great things about these mountains, one side of the mountain might have a few more inches of snow and significantly better skiing.

We headed in after a great day of skiing.

The facts don’t lie.

Duration on the mountain: 7 hours 32 minutes and 22 seconds

Distance Skied 19.5 miles

Statistics from iphone GPS Application ‘Ski Tracks’

1,334 Miles, 25 hours and 51 minutes Later

Friday April 1, 2011 I began an incredible eight days of chasing sports around the southeastern part of the United States. My journey started in Auburn, Alabama, and ended there ten days later. I will be recapping each specific event in detail but for now I want to give a broad overview of my travels and experiences.

I left Auburn, Alabama, Friday, April 1, 2011 around 6:00pm central time and drove to Duluth, Georgia.

Miles Driven: 134

Approximate time spent driving to destination: 2 hours, 20 Minutes

The next afternoon I played The Highlands Course at The Atlanta Athletic Club with a good friend of mine, Matt Bruder. This is the course that will be host to the 93^rd PGA Championship this August.

25 MPH winds and fast greens gave me and Matt issues
on the front nine of The Highlands course.

Our play improved dramatically: Hole number 8 Matt
puts a great chip within inches of the hole.

Great drives on Number 10 left Matt and I with
manageable approach shots for Par and Birdie. 

I awoke early Sunday, April 3, 2011 to return to Auburn, Alabama, for a golf tournament some friends and I had set up.

Miles Driven: 134

Approximate time spent driving to destination: 2 hours 20 Minutes

I played well on the course that afternoon and was excited about the week ahead of me. The next leg in my journey was a two day excursion to Augusta, Georgia, for Monday and Tuesday practice rounds at The Masters. I left Auburn, Alabama, Sunday evening around 8:30pm for Augusta Georgia.

Miles Driven: 247

Approximate time spent driving to destination: 4 hours and 20 minutes

Due to the time change, I arrived in Augusta, Georgia a little after 2:00am eastern time. It was a short nights sleep as we awoke at 5:30am ready to spend the day at Augusta National.

Monday at Augusta National left many lasting memories.

Dustin Johnson works with swing coach Butch Harmon,
who also assists Tiger Woods and several other golfers.

A perfect day at Augusta National.

From Left to Right: Ben Cantrell (First Masters), Myself (Second Masters), Andrew Bruen (Third Masters)

After a great first day my two friends headed home, and I headed to Columbia, South Carolina, to prepare for day two at The Masters.

Miles Driven: 72

Approximate time spent driving to destination: 1 hour, 16 minutes

After a short night of sleep, my friend who I stayed with awoke and I at 5:15am to prepare for another day at Augusta National. There were bad storms that moved through the Southeast that evening, which made the drive from Columbia to Augusta slightly longer.

Miles Driven: 72

Approximate time spent driving to destination: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Day two at The Masters proved every bit as spectacular as the first one, but it got even better as the day went on.

Storms kept the course from opening on time Tuesday.

Great seats on the Par 3 13th provided a chance to see
rising starts such as Rory McIlroy (pictured above) and Ernie
Else (pictured below).

Another great day at Augusta National came to an end, and I had to drive back to Auburn, Alabama that evening.

Miles Driven: 247

Approximate time spent driving to destination: 4 hours, 20 minutes

Wednesday and Thursday lingered on as I had a presentation, project and test within those two days. 

Friday finally came and it was time to travel to Atlanta, Georgia, for the Atlanta Braves home opener against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Miles Driven: 107

Approximate time spent driving to destination: 1 hour and 50 minutes

A chance to see collected his 2,500 hit. In my book
he should be in the Hall of Fame.

My cousin had a chance to attend his first Major League
Baseball Game, which is always a thrilling event.

The trip back to Auburn, Alabama, from Atlanta, Georgia, was not a good one. We were in I-85 bumper-to-bumper traffic for several hours.

Miles Driven: 107 miles

Approximate time spent driving to destination: 4 hours, 15 minutes

Saturday, April 10, 2011 provided a day to rest in Auburn, Alabama, and prepare for one more travel day. I awoke Sunday morning April 11, 2011 and traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, for the Honda Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park.

Miles Driven: 107

Approximate time spent driving to destination: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Seeing the fastest cars in the world race in the world was an
adrenaline rush.

Meeting Danica Patrick was another great highlight of the day. We had a brief conversation, and I did not have the chance to give her my number. But I am sure another situation will arise, and we can meet up for coffee or dinner and discuss the racing industry.

A great ten days was coming to an end as I drove back to Auburn, Alabama.

Miles Driven: 107

Approximate time spent driving to destination: 2 hours, 15 minutes

As I reflect on the mileage I drove and the hours I spent in the car to reach my destinations, I can only think about how I am ready to get on the road again.

Total Miles Driven: 1,334
Total Hours spent in the car: 25 hours and 51 minutes

Combining My two greatest passions: Snow and The Masters

Lately I have been doing a lot of research on The Masters to prepare for the 2011 tournament at Augusta National. There are many great Masters videos on youtube right now. If you know anything about the Masters I highly encourage you to check them out, I get chill bumps from most of them.

This video combines two of my passions, snow and The Masters:

I will do some research on Jackson Hole golf courses and see if I can make this happen soon.