Sadly Missing at PGA Championship: Jim Huber

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Jim Huber

AS YOU MIGHT RECALL, VETERAN BROADCASTER and essayist Jim Huber died suddenly in January at the age of 67. Huber spent most of his award-winning career at CNN/Sports Illustrated and Turner Sports. Jim loved golf, covering it for years with a soft-spoken grace befitting the game. He was a steady presence at TNT and PGA.com.

PGA.com’s coordinating producer John Kim has penned a tribute to Huber, who I had the pleasure of meeting at the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional.

In “Lessons from Jim: Huber’s wisdom lives on,” Kim writes, “As we start our coverage here from the season’s final major, we will all try to remember and emulate the class, style and grace that Jim defined so well for us for so many years.” Kim’s five lessons learned from his colleague are not all that surprising. You’ll recognize them. We know these things. What’s perhaps surprising is to see them all quietly exemplified by an unpretentious media personality.

Kim closes:

So as we cover this exciting tournament here at beautiful Kiawah Island, we are full of energy, excitement, pride and anticipation. But all of us here at PGA.com and the PGA of America also have a heavy heart. We will miss the insight, the talent and the dedication of Jim Huber. But even more, we miss our friend. There’s no way we’re as good this year as we were last year, but we’ll be fine and bring you the best coverage you've ever seen on the web. We learned quite a bit from our pal.

I also want to remind you about FOUR DAYS IN JULY, Jim’s fine book about Tom Watson’s near win at the 2009 Open Championship.

More Huber:
My Q&A with Jim Huber on FOUR DAYS IN JULY
The Sudden Departure of Jim Huber

2012 PGA Championship TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

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THE 2012 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP IS UNDERWAY at Kiawah Island Resort (The Ocean Course) in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. The first round is in the books. Carl Pettersson leads at 6 under after a 66. Four players, including Rory McIlroy and Gary Woodland, trail by a shot after 67s. Tiger Woods shot a 69.

Purse: $8 million
Winner’s share: $1.445 million
Defending champion: Keegan Bradley

2012 PGA Championship Leaderboard
 
Field
Tee times
Course
Interviews
Tournament overview
The Live Report
Tournament news
Past winners

TV SCHEDULE

TV coverage of the 2012 PGA Championship is on TNT and CBS.

Friday, 8/11
1-7 pm ET, TNT

Saturday, 8/12
11 am-2 pm ET, TNT
2-7 pm ET, CBS

Sunday, 8/13
11 am-2 pm ET, TNT
2-7 pm ET, CBS

(Image: Courtesy of PGATour.com)

A Favorite Threesome During PGA Week

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MANY THANKS TO JIM MARTIN, WHO SUBMITTED the above photo. That’s quite a threesome!

“I thought you’d get a kick out of the attached photo,” Jim said in an email, “your website, your book and Tiger Woods’ interview from Kiawah on Golf Channel tonight shot in my study at home here in Scottsdale.”

Jim is the Chief Digital Officer for Communication Links in Scottsdale. His firm provides marketing, public relations and digital media services to the golf industry, which includes several high-profile clients.

Jim said they just launched ILoveScottsdaleGolf.com, the golf site for the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee serves as the ambassador and spokesperson.

Kiawah Green Fees Tip: Save 49% at The Ocean Course

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Tiger Woods practicing at The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, SC. (Matt Drobnik)

WOULD YOU LIKE TO CATCH A HUGE BREAK on the $343 non-guest rate at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, where Tiger Woods is struggling in third-round play of the PGA Championship (currently in a weather delay)?

There’s a way. You just need to take advantage of a little-known policy change.

When you do, you can nearly cut in half the regular rate to play Pete Dye’s treacherous Ocean Course. If you’ve been watching the PGA Championship, then you know just how tough this so-called links can play. In brisk winds, the PGA field averaged about 78 in the second round.

Today is a different story. Rory McIlroy is charging. Vijay Singh is hanging tough. Adam Scott is also surging. It should be a very interesting weekend.

For more details on how you can test your skills on The Ocean Course—and not be nearly as light in the wallet—visit Golf Vacation Insider. They’re the guys who know all the ins and outs and golf deals at many of America’s greatest and most-exclusive golf courses.

Smiling Assassin McIlroy Impresses Woods

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By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following excerpt from Brian’s Irish Golf Desk is used with permission.

Rory romped at Kiawah. (internetsense)

TIGER WOODS TRIED TO FIND HIS happy place at the US PGA and walked away with a frown. But when Rory McIlroy remembered to play golf like a kid and smile, he walked away with another record eight-shot win and a second major title.

Dave Stockton hasn’t just helped McIlroy with his putting; he’s also a pretty good motivator and psychologist. As the Holywood player explained:

“We had a chat last week in Akron and he just said to me, ‘You know, just go out and play with a smile on your face. Enjoy it. This is what you’ve always wanted to do since you were a little boy. There’s no point in getting frustrated out there or getting upset. Just go out and enjoy it.’ That’s the attitude that I had for the last couple weeks, and it definitely helped.”

Reflecting on the poor start to his third round that ultimately left him too far back to put McIlroy under any serious pressure, Woods said: “I came out with probably the wrong attitude yesterday. And I was too relaxed, and tried to enjoy it, and that’s not how I play. I play intense and full systems go. That cost me.”

Whatever it was that forced Woods to change the game face that has brought him 14 major victories so far, it backfired big time as he shot weekend rounds of 74-72 to McIlroy’s 67-66 (a 13-shot difference) to finish tied 11th, 11 shots behind the man who’s the biggest threat to his chances of overtaking Jack Nicklaus as the game’s most prolific major winner.

“I don’t know. I don’t know,” Woods replied when asked why he tried to smile his way to major No 15. “It was a bad move on my part.”

Padraig Harrington believes that the game has now changed for Tiger and he can no longer win majors with his B game if McIlroy hits the A grade. Even Woods conceded that the young Ulsterman is a special breed.

“He’s very good,” Woods said. “We all know the talent he has. He went through a little spell this year, and I think that was good for him. We all go through those spells in our careers, and you know, he’s got all the talent in the world to do what he’s doing. And this is the way that Rory can play. When he gets it going, it’s pretty impressive to watch.”

Keeping it going is McIlroy’s next task.

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.