Greg Norman - Bunker Tip

If you're anything like me, you avoid bunkers at all cost.  I'd much rather a 25 yard shot from the rough as opposed to a 5 yard shot from a bunker.  It's something I'm hoping to work on throughout the year ahead, and here's a great tip from Greg Norman which I'll be practicing this week.

What to Watch on TV

Sometimes it's nice to sit back, put your feet up and watch some golf on TV, and this evening would be the perfect time to consider exactly that. Have a look at these sneak peak video previews of a few golf shows airing tonight on Golf Channel...

Big Break Greenbrier - Tuesdays 9 PM ET
Voting is now open for Big Break Greenbrier Fan Favorite: www.golfchannel.com/fanfavorite


Chasing the Dream - Tuesdays 10 PM ET

McIlroy May Lighten Load in 2013

After my post last week 'McIlroy Wins PGA Player of the Year', we thought we'd check in and see how he's handling the additional spot light attention...

Following a surprising missed cut at this week's UBS Hong Kong Open, world No. 1, Rory McIlroy hinted that a lighter schedule may be in the cards for him in 2013.

"I've probably played an extra couple tournaments too much and I have learned from the last few years," the Ulsterman explained to reporters. "That's why I'm cutting back my schedule even further from next year."

Including next week's season finale in Dubai, McIlroy will have played in 24 events this year in addition to two exhibition events - the Turkish Airlines World Golf Final and the Duel at Jinsha Lake with Tiger Woods. Last year, he played in 22 events as well as four exhibitions.

"I now look back over the last couple years and wonder why did I stretch myself so much," he added.

Having wrapped up the Race to Dubai title with a third-place finish at last week's Barclays Singapore Open, McIlroy explained that a dip in on-course performance may have been inevitable.

"When you achieve something that you want to achieve so bad, like the Race to Dubai, there is a letdown considering there are still two events remaining," he told media members.

As the 2012 season winds down - one in which he won a major, ascended to the top of the OWGR and captured the money titles on both the PGA and European Tours - McIlroy notes that this year may have taken a larger toll than he anticipated.

"I'm not sure if the energy in trying to sew up the Race to Dubai and competing in the FedEx Cup has taken more out of me than maybe I thought," McIlroy commented. "Because while I am feeling OK physically, mentally I feel really tired."

McIlroy Wins PGA Player of the Year

In what seems likely to be his first of several year-end awards, Rory McIlroy was named the PGA of America Player of the Year and Vardon Trophy winner on Monday.

The 23-year-old Northern Irishman won his first Player of the Year award by finishing with 100 points, while Tiger Woods, a three-time winner in 2012, was runner-up with 66 points.

McIlroy’s adjusted scoring average was 68.87, based on the 60-round minimum. Woods, however, was ineligible for the award after withdrawing during the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship on March 11. The incomplete round resulted in a .10 penalty, bumping his adjusted scoring average from 68.90 to 69.

Woods is the all-time leader in season-ending awards, having won 10 PGA Player of the Year awards and eight Vardon Trophies since 1997.

Other season-ending awards still be announced include the Arnold Palmer (leading money winner) and Byron Nelson (lowest adjusted scoring average) awards.

Youngest Player Ever Qualifies for 2013 Masters

Chinese teen sensation Tianlang Guan made history Sunday by capturing the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship and an invitation to the Masters in the process.

Guan, 14, fired a 1-under 71 Sunday at Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi, Thailand, to finish the event at 15-under 273 and hang on for a one-stroke victory. The youngest player in this week's field, Guan completed a wire-to-wire victory and will become the youngest competitor in the history of The Masters.

Guan will be 14 years, five months and 17 days when he tees it up at Augusta National next April. The previous record was established by Matteo Manassero in 2010, when the 16-year-old earned an invitation after winning the British Amateur Championship in 2009.

"I'm excited. I'm really happy to become the youngest player at the Masters and look forward to going there," Guan said after the round. "I don't know what's going to happen there, but I know I just want to do well."

Guan began the day with a two-stroke lead and saw his advantage balloon to five during Sunday's final round. Once Pan Cheng-tsung of Chinese Taipei, the No. 2 amateur in Asia, closed with a 7-under 65, Guan's lead was trimmed to one shot as he played the final hole. After his chip rolled five feet past the hole, Guan calmly holed his par putt for the historic win.

Both Guan and Cheng-tsung will also receive a spot in International Final Qualifying for the 2013 British Open.

Australian teen Oliver Goss, who entered the final round in second place, finished in third at 12-under, three shots behind Guan. Two-time defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, Asia's top-ranked amateur, closed with a 4-under 68 to finish fourth at 10 under.

Yao Ming Tries His Hand at Golf

Ahhhh retirement ... nothing but piña coladas and working on your handicap. While we're not exactly sure how good former NBA superstar Yao Ming is at sipping tropical drinks, (we suspect he uses an unusually long straw) his golf game could use a little work.

Yao was playing at the World Celebrity Pro-Am in Haikou, China along with actors and celebrities like Ryan Reynolds, Michael Phelps, and Minka Kelly. Chinese actor Wang Zhiwen won the celebrity side of the event while Matt Kuchar took top honors in the professional portion.

'Our Longest Drive' Premieres Tonight on Golf Channel

Four Golfing Buddies – One Deceased – Set Out from Chicago to the Arctic Circle for One Last Round of Golf in Series that Explores Friendship, Loss and Discovery

Six-Part Series Premieres Tuesday, Oct. 16, at 10:30 p.m. ET

“It was a living metaphor for where we were in our lives. It was traveling fifty-five-hundred miles to where the road ends … to a place where you can play golf in the endless light at midnight of the longest day. So, we had to do it.” – Vic Zast

“I think they went on this trip because they fear death. I think it was an opportunity for them to think about immortality. About, you know, can we have the longest-ever life? Mike represents what they’re facing. Mike represents what’s ahead for them. The guy in the box is going to be all of us one of these days.” – Cheri Allen, Mike’s ex-wife

“What’s funny is that it would be impossible to make this trip with Mike if he was still alive. But you know what’s ironic? Having Mike with us – the dead guy in the box – seems to be teaching us something about what it means to be alive.” – Jim Thompson

Series Website: Our Longest Drive Series Website

ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct, 2012) – With his ashes in tow, three Chicago golfing buddies take a journey of self-discovery to the Arctic Circle to play one last round of golf in honor of their deceased friend in a new, six-part Golf Channel series titled Our Longest Drive, premiering Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Filmed along a journey of more than 5,500 miles in an RV – traversing seven U.S. states, two Canadian provinces and two Canadian territories – Our Longest Drive follows Vic, Dan, Jim and Mike (whose ashes are along for the ride in a cherry wood box) on an adventure of a lifetime. All past retirement age, each with health issues and no previous experience traveling in an RV, it becomes apparent that these men are not ideally suited for the trek ahead. In fact, not 45 minutes into their trip, Vic needs a bathroom break and refuses to use the RV’s toilet. Nonetheless, each man shares a love of golf and for each other, and embraces a common goal to honor Mike with this journey.

Vic Zast is the ringleader of their small group, who has played golf together for more than 20 years at Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette, Ill. Vic is an entrepreneur who is accustomed to fancy living and it’s no secret that he loves the attention – he spikes his hair with mousse and downs a tray full of heart medications with a beer chaser. He calls golf an “intoxication” and pitched the trip to his friends so they could honor Mike and play golf with him one more time. “It was much more than just a trip or an adventure. It was a way for us to connect with the game we love and with each other,” Vic said.

Jim and Dan thought Vic had a screw loose. “The guy can’t change a light bulb, and yet he wants to drive fifty-five-hundred miles to the Arctic Circle,” Dan said.

Dan Johnson is the worry-wart who obsesses over every detail, especially safety. When the group reaches the Arctic Circle and decides to have a cookout, Dan inexplicably worries about starting a forest fire in the treeless, barren tundra surrounding them. From the very start, his preoccupation is a fear of everything.

Jim Thompson is the introvert. An ex-ad man and diplomat to the core, Jim initially questions Vic about the purpose of the trip but, ultimately, discovers that purpose takes on many forms. He faces his own personal challenges along the way and, with the help of his friends, comes to grips with one of his biggest fears. “It’s not exactly your all-adventure team going to the Arctic Circle, but there we were anyway,” said Jim.

Viewers also learn about Mike Allen – the “dead guy” as they call him – as friends and relatives share remembrances about the way Mike lived his life and how he failed to cope with divorce, depression and diabetes. According to Vic, all Mike had left before he died were his friends and Saturday morning golf. The wooden box that contains his ashes – which is seen in nearly every scene – seems to become another character in the series.

Our Longest Drive joins Big Break Greenbrier (9 p.m. ET) and Chasing the Dream (10 p.m. ET), bolstering Golf Channel’s Tuesday primetime lineup of original series this fall.