championship – The Rogers News

Liveblogging the Australian Open Final

This “liveblog” will be updated periodically as I watch Roger Federer vie for his 14th Grand Slam against world #1 Rafael Nadal.

8:20 am – Final score: Rafael Nadal defeats Roger Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2. That’s it for me. Have a good day and enjoy the Super Bowl

8:17 am – It’s funny that the first moments after winning or losing a major tennis championship are spent tidying one’s gear into one’s bag. That just wouldn’t happen in baseball, football, or hockey. Can you imagine, upon winning the World Series, the team taking the time to tidy their bats, make sure their helmets were in their cubbies, etc. No way!

8:15 am – Federer forehand long – Nadal wins! Game. Set. Match. Championship.

8:13 am – Props to Federer on saving two match points. Gut wrenching stuff.

8:08 am – Rafa looks like he was good money. The Nadal family box is entertaining. They are young in spirit, smartly dressed, and consistently standing. Federer’s box on the other hand is always seated and pensive.

8:07 am – Either way NIKE wins, right?

7:57 am – Roger’s nervers get the best of him – loses serve. Nadal leads the final set 3-1. Uh oh! This could be over in a matter of minutes.

7:56 am – I am endlessly impressed by one-handed backhands. It must require a great deal of skill and practice to hit with power and control.

7:52 am – No commercials in the final set! Like watching the Masters.

7:41 am – All square. I could have woken up now and it kinda would have been the same.

7:26 am – Federer holds. If this goes to a 5th set, Nadal might have it. His adrenaline will overpower Federer’s remaining strength.

7:11 am – Just an afterthought: Growing up I watched Pete Sampras duel with Andre Agassi. I never thought I would see the kind of tennis they seemed to be able to play. But, now that Nadal has stepped up his game beyond just clay courts, these guys captivate me almost as much as Peet and Andre. I have to say though… Sampras would never double-fault to lose a critical set in a major.

7:08 am – Nadal breaks back. Not sure How I feel about this. Concurrently reading assignments for Judicial Opinion Drafting.

7:05 am – Oh, Federer. If only you could have broken last set we could wrap this match up before breakfast.

6:56 am – Rafa takes the third set in a tiebreaker, 7-3. Federer looks tight. I want a donut.

6:48 am – “Tiebreak to decide the third [set].” ESPN keeps cutting to Roger’s girlfriend. She looks worried. Looks like she just thanked the heavens that Roger held.

6:42 am – It’s getting light outside. I’m wondering if it’s too early to do my laundry.

6:35 am – Both Federer and Nadal look fatigued right now – Federer because he hasn’t capitalized on any of the break point chances and Nadal because he keeps almost losing his serve.

6:30 am – Great service by Nadal. I no longer have to pull for him as the underdog. I’m getting what I wanted – a close match worth waking up for.

6:15 am – Okay, I’m getting up for real and watching this. It looks good. Third set on serve with one set each.

4:45 am – Wake up see, see that tennis is on, fall back asleep.

4:00 am – Alarm goes off and I that Federer was broken in his first service game – the first game of the match. I watch him break back against Nadal.

THE PLAYERS Champion: Sergio Garcia

Sergio Garcia won THE PLAYERS Championship by paring the first playoff hole against Paul Goydos. Sergio won by playing accurate golf from tee to green and putting better than he has in three years. Confidence is a fickle attribute to acquire, retain, and, if lost, reacquire. This afternoon, Sergio took a major step towards recapturing the confidence of youth we saw when he almost caught Tiger Woods during the 1999 PGA Championship.

After shamelessly plugging his TaylorMade golf ball and driver during his champion’s speech, Sergio graciously thanked Tiger for not playing this year’s THE PLAYERS. (Tiger is out until the Memorial or later because of knee surgery.)

It was unfortunate that Paul Goydos tanked his tee shot on the first hole of the playoff. He played well all week and validated the commentary regarding the fairness of the new TPC of Sawgrass setup. It is truly winnable by all types of playing styles. Goydos was gracious in defeat as well, complimenting Garcia (and Jeff Quinney) on their under-par rounds.

With this title will come added pressure for Sergio. Although he fought off the media scrutiny of his putting and lack of wins with today’s victory, the pressure will be greater in weeks to come. If he can keep his long game in shape and continues to putt well, he definitely has a chance to win a Major. Payback for last years British Open debacle? We’ll see in July.

Masters’ Leftovers

John Feinstein lets us know that “Golf Will Survive without a Major from Woods.”

Trevor Immelman does the Top 10 on The Late Show with David Letterman:

Geoff Shackelford excerpts from Golf World and The Times highlighting that the general consensus is that Augusta National “has become all about playing defensively and minimizing damage.”

My two cents — The Masters is boring now. There’s no movement. There are far too few opportunities on the back nine to perpetuate the foregone fact and now legend that “it all comes down to the back nine on Sunday at the Masters.”

Jay Coffin brags of his round at Augusta National on Monday after the Masters.

Patricia of Golf Girl’s Diary shares Brandt Snedeker’s snicker’s cocktail.

Golf Digest’s Bill Fields wraps up pretty much everything else having to do with this years’ Masters.

Geoff Shackelford excerpts Steve Elling’s “There’s more scoring in soccer.”

Seems like if the Masters wants to remain the April darling that it always was, something needs to change — fast. It’s nice to see the little guys win every so often, but not every year at the Masters. And certainly not without a heroic battle on the back nine of Augusta National.

THE PLAYERS is the Next Major

Some will have you believe that the next scheduled Major for the 2008 PGA Tour season is the U.S. Opon at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California. It’s not.

THE PLAYERS Championship is the perennial “fifth-major.” I’m using this post to make it official, as it clearly should be.

The Purse — It has the largest purse of the season at $9,000,000 with $1,700,000 going to the winner. The field is stronger than in any other tournament all year.

The Field — It has the strongest and purest field. The Masters is notorious for it’s small field. Qualifiers and unwilling travelers dilute the fields at the U.S. and British Opens. Same for the PGA Championship with PGA teaching pros taking up spots.

Fan Factor — Besides having a huge purse and top-notch field, the TPC Sawgrass is the single most exciting tournament to watch either live or on TV. The course is designed for spectators. And the par-three 17th hole with the island green followed by the 18th with water up the left is an impressive finishing stretch. There is risk-reward around every dogleg on the TPC Sawgrass.

What does this mean? Tiger Woods has another major, which puts him at 14. More importantly this adds three to Jack Nicklaus’ total of 18. He’s got 21 now. Get a move on Tiger. Numerous other golfers now have a major. Congratulations, guys!

The U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship have nothing on THE PLAYERS — except maybe that they’re official majors. I’m changing that, though. By Yugflog standards, there are five majors now.

Caddie Cash-In

The winner of the FedEx Cup receives a $10 million annuity. The winner of the Tour Championship receives $1.3 million. Tiger is poised to win both of these today. That means his single-day take home is $11.3 million. That’s a lot of bacon, especially when you consider that he can’t touch the $10 million annuity until the miracle of compound interest has turned it into something like $30 or 40 million.

A caddie may get 10% of a players winnings on a “normal” week. There may be a bonus when his player wins. So, a conservative estimate of what Tiger Woods’ caddie, Steve Williams will potentially earn today is $1.13 million. That’s good pay for carrying a bag for four hours.