Where Ya Been?

Hi everyone, sorry for the delay in writing. I've been in Costa Rica, doing some golf reporting and getting a feel for the travel scene down there. The blog of the trip, 100s of pictures, and a map of the journey will be available on thegolfnewsnet.com this evening, hopefully. In the midst of a very busy trip that did not offer much down time, I did manage to catch some things that were happening in the golf world. I wanted to touch on a few of them here before I get to updating a website that looks sorely out of date!

The 136th Open Championship - Padraig Harrington won the British Open. I've been a longtime supporter of the guy and I'm thrilled that he got a major championship - especially the one he probably longed for the most. He nearly gave it away, but he said he never once thought he had lost it. Apparently, neither did Sergio Garcia. Garcia held the 54 hole lead by three. When I woke up at 6am Costa Rican time (1pm GMT), it seemed like all would be in hand because the course hadn't roared and only Nathan Green seemed to be threatening from WAY back.

Steve Stricker had opportunities to catch Sergio, but his putter and iron play seemed to fail him in the short time I caught before my flights. I had no clue Harrington would charge like he did, although I did have a hunch that Garcia might falter. His unwillingness to pull driver out enough times were what cost him the championship. It's sad because he has worked so hard to improve his game.

HSBC Women's World Match Play - I caught very little of this, but it was not too huge of a surprise that Seon Hwa Lee picked up the final win over Ai Miyazato. Miyazato has shown for quite some time that she was on the verge of winning. Lee is a little further along here, though, and her victory cements her as a legitimate lower first-tier player. Great work there.

Michelle Wie - NO! Enough about that.

...and finally - Gary Player says he knows for certain that at least one player is doping on the PGA Tour. Dick Pound, WADA chief, has come to his side to call for drug testing on the PGA Tour. He's a little late to the party given the announcement of coming drug testing for the PGA Tour, but he is right. The Tour needs to implement a testing policy that will assure the golf public that Player's unnamed doper will be cleaned up and maybe even ousted.