Saturday

Navistar LPGA Classic-Day 2

Lexi Thompson shot a 3 under par 69 today to maintain the lead in the Navistar LPGA Tour event at Capitol Hill. She is being chased by Mi Jung Hur of South Korea and Mindy Kim of the United States, two golfers Johnny B has never heard of. Stacy Lewis sits 4 shots back in 11th place, having a chance to sweep the events in Alabama this year after winning the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic earlier this year.

In the post round interview, Lexi Thompson seemed as though she was not impressed with her round today, transcript of the interview can be seen HERE. Of course, how many very good and great golfers are ever satisfied with their rounds?

As for Johnny B, well, the cheers are being directed towards Stacy Lewis. I first saw her playing on the range at the 2007 US Women's Open at Pine Needles and have followed here playing career thus far with interest. Here's hoping she adds another trophy to the case.

Coverage starts, live, tomorrow at 2pm on Golf Channel.


PGA TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
In other news, the men are at East Lake, just a short drive up the road from the current Johnny B homestead. The course looks fantastic as always and it is hoped that the opportunity to play there comes sooner, rather than later. And, in spite of his philandering ways, the cheers are going to Tiger. He needs more wins and money less than I need more golf ball display cases, but lets face it, we're witnessing history with him and it's never bad to see him make a little more.

Friday

Navistar LPGA Classic

This week the LPGA Tour is in Johnny B's current state of Alabama, playing on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail site at Capitol Hill's Senator course. Man, that's a long winded name for a golf course. This course is advertised as a links style course due to it's lack of tree lining and pot bunkers. However, one thing it is missing that links courses most certainly have is the option for the player to roll the ball onto most of the greens. But the nice ladies on the LPGA Tour don't mind that and probably don't even think about the style of the course.

Thursday saw Lexie Thompson shoot a 63 to take the lead in the tournament she won last year. She is certainly an exceptional talent in golf. However, one has to wonder if, perhaps, people are being pushed to do things at such young ages. It was just ten years ago that the golf world looked on in shock at young Ty Tryon attempted to qualify for the PGA Tour. Now, it is not that uncommon for kids not old enough to vote having full playing status on a major golf tour. There was even a ten year old who qualified for the US Women's Amateur this year. Best of luck to them all in the future.

Strangely, as much as the RTJ Trail prides itself on having numerous very difficult courses, this course, along with Magnolia Grove (Crossings) in Mobile, seems to be among the easier on tour yeilding scores deep into double digits under par. Of course, it should be noted that the Tour event is played at 6,607 yards, substantially forward of the 7,724 yard back tee yardage.

We'll just all have to wait and see how play turns out today and then leads into the weekend. However, if historical trends are any indication, it is likely that the finish will come right down to the eighteenth green, and while the eventual winner won't like that, we, the fans, certainly will. TV coverage will be on Golf Channel.

Monday

Anchorage, Alaska Golf Summary

So during a recent trip to Alaska, the writers here played six courses, five 18 hole courses and one 9 hole course. Those six are added to another played a few years ago means that seven of the ten courses in close proximity Anchorage (close being defined by normal distances, not Alaska Distance; to some in Alaska, Fairbanks is "just up the road" from Anchorage...yet it's 6 1/2 hours and 360 miles away) Of these seven, all six of the 18 hole courses in the area are included. These courses are generally of fair quality.

Ranked from top to bottom, in this writers opinion, the courses played are:

Those numbers are certainly respectable for a city of nearly 300,000 residents, plus more in the metro area. In fact, they may be just as good as most comparable metro areas in the United States, especially if only considering public courses. After all, what is the level of quality of golf in places like Los Angeles, Chicago, or New York when all the private clubs are thrown out? No, truth be told, the residents of this part of Alaska have a great selection of courses to play. Anchorage is not exactly a golf travel destination like Myrtle Beach or Pinehurst by any means, but the courses are of fairly high quality for locals and visitors.

All the reviews for courses played are linked above.

This area has some very unique features with which it must struggle. On top of the inhospitable winter weather, the courses also must deal with the fact that they get virtually no play from non-local golfers. And the courses certainly have no national members such as courses in places like Park City, Utah that have similar weather conditions. But overall, the Anchorage metro area has a solid selection of golf courses and those courses are good enough to hold the interest of golfers.