2010 Masters Tee Times and TV Schedules

The Masters Thursday and Friday Tee Times

The top 44 and ties and players within 10 shots of the lead after 36 holes will make the cut.

Thursday tee times
Starting time, players
7:40 a.m.: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus
7:50 a.m.: Nathan Green, Heath Slocum, Louis Oosthuizen
8:01 a.m.: Craig Stadler, John Merrick, Jerry Kelly
8:12 a.m.: Ian Woosnam, Brian Gay, Marc Leishman
8:23 a.m.: Bernhard Langer, Scott Verplank, Brad Benjamin
8:34 a.m.: John Senden, David Toms, Graeme McDowell
8:45 a.m.: Mark O'Meara, Rory Sabbatini, Nathan Smith
8:56 a.m.: Martin Kaymer, Geoff Ogilvy, Luke Donald
9:07 a.m.: Tom Watson, Tim Clark, Steve Marino
9:18 a.m.: Bill Haas, Todd Hamilton, Anders Hansen
9:29 a.m.: Dustin Johnson, Oliver Wilson, Alvaro Quiros
9:40 a.m.: Mike Weir, Lee Westwood, Matteo Manassero
9:51 a.m.: Open
10:02 a.m.: Chad Campbell, Francesco Molinari, Paul Casey
10:13 a.m.: Ernie Els, Anthony Kim, Ryo Ishikawa
10:24 a.m.: Angel Cabrera, Jim Furyk, Byeong-Hun An
10:35 a.m.: Phil Mickelson, Robert Allenby, Y.E. Yang
10:46 a.m.: Retief Goosen, Hunter Mahan, Robert Karlsson
10:57 a.m.: Ben Crane, Simon Dyson, Michael Campbell
11:08 a.m.: Larry Mize, Ryan Palmer, Chris Wood
11:19 a.m.: Sandy Lyle, Justin Leonard, Kevin Na
11:30 a.m.: Ben Crenshaw, Steve Flesch, Ben Martin
11:41 a.m.: Ryan Moore, Ross Fisher, Nick Watney
11:52 a.m.: Trevor Immelman, Soren Hansen, John Rollins
12:03 p.m.: Open
12:14 p.m.: Vijay Singh, Jason Dufner, Sean O'Hair
12:25 p.m.: Thongchai Jaidee, Ben Curtis, Soren Kjeldsen
12:36 p.m.: Camilo Villegas, Kenny Perry, Rory McIlroy
12:47 p.m.: Zach Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Chang-won Han
12:58 p.m.: Fred Couples, Sergio Garcia, Shingo Katayama
1:09 p.m.: Miguel Angel Jimenez, Edoardo Molinari, Lucas Glover
1:20 p.m.: Charl Schwartzel, Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington
1:31 p.m.: Yuta Ikeda, Ian Poulter, Steve Stricker
1:42 p.m.: Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, K.J. Choi
1:53 p.m.: Adam Scott, David Duval, Ricky Barnes

Friday tee times
Starting time, players
7:50 a.m.: Ben Crane, Simon Dyson, Michael Campbell
8:01 a.m.: Larry Mize, Ryan Palmer, Chris Wood
8:12 a.m.: Sandy Lyle, Justin Leonard, Kevin Na
8:23 a.m.: Ben Crenshaw, Steve Flesch, Ben Martin
8:34 a.m.: Ryan Moore, Ross Fisher, Nick Watney
8:45 a.m.: Trevor Immelman, Soren Hansen, John Rollins
8:56 a.m.: Vijay Singh, Jason Dufner, Sean O'Hair
9:07 a.m.: Thongchai Jaidee, Ben Curtis, Soren Kjeldsen
9:18 a.m.: Camilo Villegas, Kenny Perry, Rory McIlroy
9:29 a.m.: Zach Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Chang-won Han
9:40 p.m.: Fred Couples, Sergio Garcia, Shingo Katayama
9:51 a.m.: Open
10:02 a.m.: Miguel Angel Jimenez, Edoardo Molinari, Lucas Glover
10:13 a.m.: Charl Schwartzel, Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington
10:24 a.m.: Yuta Ikeda, Ian Poulter, Steve Stricker
10:35 a.m.: Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, K.J. Choi
10:46 a.m.: Adam Scott, David Duval, Ricky Barnes
10:57 a.m.: Nathan Green, Heath Slocum, Louis Oosthuizen
11:08 a.m.: Craig Stadler, John Merrick, Jerry Kelly
11:19 a.m.: Ian Woosnam, Brian Gay, Marc Leishman
11:30 a.m.: Bernhard Langer, Scott Verplank, Brad Benjamin
11:41 a.m.: John Senden, David Toms, Graeme McDowell
11:52 a.m.: Mark O'Meara, Rory Sabbatini, Nathan Smith
12:03 p.m.: Open
12:14 p.m.: Martin Kaymer, Geoff Ogilvy, Luke Donald
12:25 p.m.: Tom Watson, Tim Clark, Steve Marino
12:36 p.m.: Bill Haas, Todd Hamilton, Anders Hansen
12:47 p.m.: Dustin Johnson, Oliver Wilson, Alvaro Quiros
12:58 a.m.: Mike Weir, Lee Westwood, Matteo Manassero
1:09 p.m.: Chad Campbell, Francesco Molinari, Paul Casey
1:20 p.m.: Ernie Els, Anthony Kim, Ryo Ishikawa
1:31 p.m.: Angel Cabrera, Jim Furyk, Byeong-Hun An
1:42 p.m.: Phil Mickelson, Robert Allenby, Y.E. Yang
1:53 p.m.: Retief Goosen, Hunter Mahan, Robert Karlsson



The Top 10 in the Field for this years Masters according to ESPN.COM
1. Padraig Harrington The three-time major champion obviously has what it takes to make clutch putts down the stretch. He's playing well with a pair of top-10s in the past month and he has fared well at Augusta recently, with two finishes of seventh or better in the last three years.
Sure, his final-round 77 in Houston -- which included two doubles and four bogeys -- might have sent up a red flag, but Paddy has never been on top of his game prior to winning a major. Besides, would anyone else in the field look better in green?
T-5, 2008, 2002

2. Retief Goosen The Goose is back. From 2002-07, he finished in the Masters top three on four different occasions; at 41, he is now on top of his game once again, with two fourth-place results and two fifths already this season.
The two-time U.S. Open champion is renowned as one of the world's best fast-greens putters -- and yes, the surfaces at Augusta are a little quick.
2nd, 2007, 2002

3. Jim Furyk You may not remember it, since the tournament's conclusion coincided with the airing of Woods' first interviews of the year, but Furyk won for the first time since 2007 at last month's Transitions Championship.
He's never seriously contended at Augusta, but still owns a stellar record, with only one missed cut in 14 appearances and no other finishes of worse than 33rd.
4th, 2003, 1998

4. Phil Mickelson Listen to Lefty and you'll hear a man who's confident despite his results. The two-time Masters champion is a notoriously fast starter, but hasn't finished better than eighth in any of his seven tournaments so far this season.
Even so, he maintains that his game is coming together, a statement that was evidenced on the back nine in Houston on Sunday, where he rattled off six straight birdies.
Win, 2006, 2004

5. Lucas Glover The reigning U.S. Open champion hasn't competed at Augusta since 2007, but finished in a share of 20th that year. He's a much more improved, mature player now and should thrive in this atmosphere.
His game hasn't looked great lately, but remember: He wasn't very successful in his last few events prior to winning at Bethpage, either.
T-20, 2007

6. Tiger Woods While most observers believe it will be mindset and focus that could derail Woods in his bid for a fifth career green jacket, expect something more tangible to act as the biggest factor.
Since winning his last Masters title in 2005, Tiger has struggled with the flatstick here, though he's remained in the top six during each of the last four editions of the tournament. Don't be surprised if he finds a similar fate this time around, too.
Win, 2005, 2002, 2001, 1997

7. Lee Westwood There's no doubt this top-5 player has the talent to win a major someday, but you've got to question his chops while under fire; he's missed final-hole putts to reach a playoff on two separate occasions in the past two years.
Westy appears on his game entering this week, though, coming off a T-8 finish in Houston -- his second top-10 in his last three U.S. starts.T-6, 1999

8. Mike Weir The bad news for the 2003 Masters champion: If it rains, this might be too much course for him to contend. The good news: It's not supposed to rain, other than a possible quick thunderstorm on Thursday.
Weir maintains that his game is on the brink of a breakthrough and he always plays well at tough events, so this could be another big week for him.
Win, 2003

9. Ernie Els Many believe that the Big Easy -- who is the PGA Tour's only multiple winner so far this season -- should be enlisted as the favorite entering this event, but he's got plenty of demons at Augusta National.
Once believed to be a lock to someday shoulder a green jacket, Els' recent Masters results look like a McDonald's drive-thru order: MC-MC-MC.2nd, 2004, 2000

10. Jason Dufner Hey, we all know the entire leaderboard won't be comprised of superstars. Somebody has to be a dark-horse selection, so the pick here is Dufner, who is quickly earning a rep as one of the better iron players in the game.
With so much emphasis on second shots at this course, the first-timer could surprise some folks. After all, someone's gotta do it, right?

TV TIMES AND STATIONS
Wednesday, April 7
ESPN – 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET
Sirius XM radio – 2:00 PM -7:30 PM ET

Thursday, April 8
ESPN – 4:00 PM – 7:30 PM ET
Sirius XM radio – 2:00 PM – 7:30 PM ET

Friday, April 9
ESPN – 4:30-7:30 PM ET
Sirius XM radio – 2:00 PM – 7:30 PM ET

Saturday, April 10
CBS – 3:30 – 7:00 PM ET
Sirius XM radio – 2:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET

Sunday, April 11
CBS – 2:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET
Sirius XM radio – 2:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET

Tiger Woods 1st Interviews

click here to watch Tiger's interview with the golf channel




Tiger Wood's New Bracelet
www.yahoo.com
At the end of Sunday night's Golf Channel interview with Tiger Woods, interviewer Kelly Tilghman made note of the bracelet Woods wore on his left wrist. From the official transcript:

KT: I noticed you're wearing a bracelet, can we see it?
TW: Yeah.

KT: What does it mean?
TW: It's Buddhist, it's for protection and strength and I certainly need that.

KT: When did you start wearing it?
TW: Before I went into treatment.

KT: Will you be wearing it during the Masters?
TW: Absolutely.

KT: For the rest of your life?
TW: Absolutely.

The bracelet itself isn't the big deal; you can pick one of those up at the mall for five bucks (Amazon has hundreds of "Buddhist bracelets" for those who want to be like Tiger.) It's what the bracelet represents -- the idea of remembering one's "core values" -- that makes it significant.
Certainly, it's not uncommon for people embroiled in scandal to suddenly wrap themselves in religion as a way of deflecting criticism. Prisoners and politicians alike often turn to religion when their worldly deeds come crashing down around them. So it's understandable to view Woods' embracing of Buddhism, Sunday and at his Feb. 19 press conference, as a cynical ploy for sympathy.
Thing is, Woods publicly professed his connection to Buddhism long before the scandal broke. In a May 2008 Reuters interview shortly after the birth of his second child, Woods noted that he adhered to tenets of Buddhism such as meditation:
"I practice meditation -- that is something that I do, that my mum [sic] taught me over the years. We also have a thing we do every year, where we go to temple together," he said. "In the Buddhist religion you have to work for it yourself, internally, in order to achieve anything in life and set up the next life. It is all about what you do and you get out of it what you put into it. So you are going to have to work your butt off in every aspect of your life."
And as he admitted Sunday, he's got plenty of work ahead.
Also, the conspiracy-minded -- or those with too much time on their hands -- will note that Woods doesn't have a wedding ring on, and will surely scream that it's the sign of marital apocalypse. Not so, at least not based on that alone. Tiger never wears his wedding ring on the golf course, and as the photo at right shows, he apparently doesn't wear it when he's out with his family, either.

Tiger Woods Voice Mail to His Girlfriend and his Apology

Woods says he let family down
(AP)—Tiger Woods said he let his family down with “transgressions” he regrets “with all of my heart,” and that he will deal with his personal life behind closed doors.
His statement Wednesday follows a cover story in Us Weekly magazine that reports a Los Angeles cocktail waitress claims she had a 31-month affair with the world’s No. 1 golfer.
“I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves,” Woods said on his Web site. “I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.”
More From the Woods SagaListen to the alleged voicemail from Tiger Woods Read his full statement Mystery surrounds Tiger's wife, Elin
“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart,” he said.
“I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves,” Woods said. “For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.”
The cocktail waitress, Jaimee Grubbs, told the magazine she met Woods at a Las Vegas nightclub the week after the 2007 Masters—two months before Woods’ wife, Elin, gave birth to their first child. Grubbs claims to have proof in 300 text messages.
About three hours before Woods’ statement, the magazine published what it said was a voicemail—provided by Grubbs—that Woods left on her phone on Nov. 24, three days before his middle-of-the-night car crash outside his home in Florida.
Woods has been subjected to more media headlines during the last week than when he first won the Masters in 1997 and set off the first wave of Tigermania. He has spoken only three times through his Web site, although this was his longest posting.
“Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means,” Woods said. “For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives.”
And he continued to say accounts that physical violence played a role in his Friday morning car crash were “utterly false and malicious.”
“Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect,” he wrote.
His statement came one day after the Florida Highway Patrol closed its investigation into the accident—without Woods ever speaking to state troopers. He was charged with careless driving, which carries a $164 fine and four points on his driving record.
The story soon shifted from a patrol investigation to sordid allegations into his personal life.
In the voicemail released by the magazine, a man says to Grubbs:
“Hey, it’s, uh, it’s Tiger. I need you to do me a huge favor. Um, can you please, uh, take your name off your phone. My wife went through my phone. And, uh, may be calling you. If you can, please take your name off that and, um, and what do you call it just have it as a number on the voicemail, just have it as your telephone number. That’s it, OK. You gotta do this for me. Huge. Quickly. All right. Bye.”

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 Review and Cheats

These reviews are for the PS3 version of the game from gamespot.com and ign.com

I have to admit this is a good game. I rented it because I was skeptical about it cause I did not care for the previous versions. I will be purchasing this when I take the rented one back. Excellent controls and if you don't like the new putting feature, you can switch back to the old version. If you can get online, then you will love this game. You can follow the pros scores and try to beat them during the same time as they are playing. Def. worth getting!!!!

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 Review
No matter what you're looking for in a golf game, Tiger Woods 10 almost certainly has you covered.
The GoodFeatures 16 of the world's best golf courses Four difficulty levels that cater to everyone Lots of different online and offline modes Great controls, especially the new precision putting. The BadCommentary is so bad you'll almost certainly mute it Not all difficulty levels are supported online.
Mark Twain once described golf as "a good walk ruined." Perhaps he'd have been a little more forgiving of the sport if he'd had an opportunity to spend some time with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. EA Sports' latest hit-the-ball-at-the-hole simulator doesn't reinvent the genre, nor does it represent a huge leap forward over its predecessor, but there are plenty of new features and refinements on its scorecard to make it a winner for newcomers and veterans alike.
Tiger Woods 10 is a golf game that seems designed to be all things for all people. For purists, there are 16 of the world's finest courses, club tuning options, US Golf Association rules, and a Tournament Challenge mode in which you can relive memorable achievements alongside pros. There are also live tournaments that take place alongside real-world events, such as the US Open, and let you compete with pros on the same leaderboard and in similar weather. For those whose knowledge of golf is limited to having seen Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore, on the other hand, there are items of clothing that dramatically improve your attributes, an extremely forgiving default difficulty level, and wacky customization options that include a pink rabbit suit and a biker jacket. There are also laughable unlockable golfer animations and the ability to hit the ball significantly farther than any real-life pro--much like the hero of the aforementioned movie. Tiger Woods 10 is a game that anyone with even a passing interest in golf can enjoy, but it's unfortunate that its serious side and its Sandler side don't always play well together.

The game's biggest problem is that while new game-changing weather, the great new (optional) putting system, and the quality of your analog or three-click swing are factors that affect your performance on the course, all too often, it's your choice of golfer that has the biggest impact on how well you do. There are more than 30 pro and novelty golfers to choose from, but unless you're deliberately looking to handicap yourself, there's really no reason to play as anybody but Tiger Woods. There are a handful of characters with slightly better ratings for accuracy, but none that come close to matching Tiger's near-perfect ratings for all three of the remaining attributes: power, short game, and putting. None, save for the countless superhuman player-created golfers online who, after several hours of play, can make a trip to the pro shop and purchase a "max attributes" outfit.

Initially, creating and playing as a custom golfer can be very satisfying. You have the option to use digital photos uploaded to an EA Web site or your console's camera to put something vaguely resembling your face into the game; you play a few shots to determine your starting attributes; and, for a few rounds, you really have to play well to keep up with the pros. Your attributes will improve (or occasionally worsen) after every round based on your performance, and you're given opportunities to work on aspects of your game by replaying shots from your previous round in simple exercises presented by your in-game coach. That's all well and good, but your golfer improves so rapidly that by the time you reach your second or third Career mode tournament, it's relatively easy for you to win every competition thereafter--at least playing on the default difficulty.
Switching among Tiger 10's four difficulty modes doesn't impact which tees you play from or the inconsistent AI of the pro players. Rather, it determines how forgiving the controls are and which player aids you get to use. For example, on the default amateur difficulty, moving the analog stick down and then up to perform a swing determines the power of your shot but has very little impact on its direction. However, on pro difficulty, anything other than a perfectly vertical movement of the stick will result in a hook or a slice. If you ramp up the difficulty to the most challenging tour pro setting, you can no longer use power boosts, which you trigger by tapping a button during your swing; you can no longer add spin to the ball after striking it, which is done in much the same way; and, you don't get to use the putt preview, which gives you a second chance to line up shots on the green by showing you what your first attempt will look like without actually having to play it.
Given that the beginner and amateur difficulty settings are unrealistically easy (scores of 20 under par for a single round aren't uncommon) and that the tour pro difficulty is very challenging (expect scores closer to 20 over par to begin with), the pro difficulty is likely to be the sweet spot for anyone looking to realistically compete with the household name players. Unfortunately, the only time you can use pro difficulty online is when you're competing in one of the slickly implemented daily or weekly tournaments that force all players to use the same settings. Only the amateur and tour pro settings are available in the remaining multiplayer modes. While such games as best ball, four ball, and skins are great additions to the requisite stroke play and match play options, it's unfortunate and baffling that they only support two of the four difficulty settings. Regardless, online play is a lot of fun, and the Simultaneous Strokes mode in which four players take their shots at the same time and can see their opponents' efforts represented by ball-tracing colored lines is a great way to go head-to-head without having to sit and watch other players while waiting for your turn.
Even if you're not playing online, being connected to EA's servers improves the Tiger Woods 10 experience. You'll see a handful of advertisements that don't appear when you play offline, but the payoff is that you get to see news feeds of sports results and the like. You can also opt to play any course with "live" weather conditions courtesy of The Weather Channel. Weather is undoubtedly one of the most significant additions to this year's game because rain has just as big of an impact as wind, which has been a staple of golf games since day one, on how a course plays. GamerNet challenges are another benefit of playing while connected: Any time you play a particularly impressive shot, you have the option to upload it as a challenge for other players to beat during their regular play, and, of course, you can expect to be presented with plenty of them when you're playing yourself. It's possible to set up quite elaborate challenges, but for the most part, you're judged either on the length of your drive or how close you get to the hole with an approach shot. The latter are always possible to better, but the former are dependent on both your character's skills and the weather--being challenged to drive a ball almost 500 yards just isn't possible unless you're maxed out and have the wind at your back.

Other forms of player competition include a large selection of minigames and modes that use the mechanics of golf in some inventive ways. There are three modes that employ archery-style targets, including one titled Capture the Flag in which you can claim targets by hitting their bull's-eyes; you can play H.O.R.S.E., which here is known as T.I.G.E.R.; and if you're feeling extra competitive, you can challenge a friend to a game of Battle Golf, in which winning a hole entitles you to remove a club form your opponent's bag or return one to your own. In short, Tiger Woods 10 has plenty of variety, regardless of whether you're looking for a traditional golf experience, less conventional games to enjoy with friends, or both.

There's no guarantee that your custom golfer will be instantly recognizable as you, but for the most part, Tiger Woods 10 is a good-looking game. Professional players are instantly recognizable, and if you've ever visited such courses as St. Andrews and Torrey Pines, or even just seen them on television, you'll find that they are as well. Details, such as bunkers and expanses of water, look great in this year's game, and when you see waves rolling in on the rocks alongside the 18th at Pebble Beach, you'll understand why it's one of the most celebrated holes in golf. Crowds made up of emotionless doppelgangers that form to watch your tee shots and putts detract from rather than enhance the experience, but at least they're easy to ignore. The same, unfortunately, can't be said for the commentary team of Scott Van Pelt and Kelly Tilghman.
Commentary is generally something that greatly enhances the TV-style presentation of a sports game, but in Tiger Woods 10, the option to mute the commentary is definitely a welcome one. One will frequently correct the other after he or she wrongly predicts where your ball is going to land, they'll tell you that they've never seen worse putting after you miss a giant putt by only the tiniest of margins, and Van Pelt regularly states that he has no idea who's at the top of a competition leaderboard--even when you're winning by an unrealistic 20-plus strokes. Neither commentator's delivery is great, but ultimately, it's the quality of the writing and its implementation in the game that brings it down.

As golf games go, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is tough to beat. There really is something for everyone with even a passing interest in golf in this sizeable package, and although there's clearly still some room for improvement, it's well worth a look even if you already own last year's game.



Tiger Woods 2010
June 9, 2009 - Videogame golf has been a long-standing staple of our industry. Whether on PC or console, hacking away at that little white ball is a mainstay of our favorite pastime. For the last several years the only serious (read: simulation) game in town has been Tiger Woods PGA Tour from EA Sports. This year Tiger brings us some new online modes, a new challenge mode that replaces Tiger Challenge from the last few years, and some needed gameplay tweaks to help ease players into the virtual golfing experience.

There's no doubt that Tiger Woods 10 is missing one major feature addition for EA Sports to hang its marketing hat on, but that doesn't mean that golf fans won't find plenty to enjoy. There are small things like the new Tournament Challenge that lets you take on real-world tourney situations from years past and Live Online Tournaments – my personal favorite of the new features – that allow you to record scores against other living players or real pros currently on the course. Still, none of these features are mind-blowing, and none will change the way you fundamentally think about Tiger Woods Golf. If you can get by that fact, then you'll find a golf title that's easy to enjoy.

With new tournament modes to toy around with (the aforementioned Tournament Challenge and Live Tournaments to go along with the standard PGA Season) EA Sports made the wise choice of trying to up the emotion of the game of golf. You'll hear fans in the distance cheer as your opponent sinks a critical putt, Kelly Tilghman and Scott Van Pelt will spout quips about movement on the leaderboards, and you'll get visual cues as players make and miss putts elsewhere on the course.

Even with those appreciated changes, I still can't help but feel like the real emotion of the Tour is held back. Sit down and watch the final round of one of Tiger's famous comebacks or see him drill a 20-foot putt on 17 or 18 and you'll hear what the crowd in Tiger Woods Golf should sound like. Likewise, Van Pelt and Tilghman don't bring the excitement that they would during a real Sunday afternoon on the links.
The game modes themselves, however, are well designed and fun to play. My favorite is easily the Play the Pros option within the Live Tournaments. It allows you to play side-by-side against the leaderboards from any real golf tournament. If Phil "Lefty" Mickelson drains a put on 16 to pull one-ahead of you on the leaderboard, you'll see that reflected in-game. It's simple but very fun. Likewise, the new Tournament Challenge uses GamerNet technology and forces you to hit exactly the same shots as some of golf's biggest names. Like all of the new features, it's nothing spectacular or overly imaginative, but it's a fun and welcome addition nonetheless.

Live Weather is another small addition to Tiger Woods that has actually been seen in other EA Sports games like NCAA Football the last few years. The feature is supposed to add real weather updates to the course you're playing on, and while the visual representations of these acts of nature comes through just fine, the changes to gameplay aren't quite there. During a downpour you'll see things like gusting wind that knocks the ball down and fairways that soften up for decreased roll distance, but as soon as the deluge stops, I found that conditions returned to normal too quickly. I'd like to see fairways stay sopping wet with puddles splashing even after the weather returns to normal.
On the course Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is almost exactly as you remember. You can still swing with either the analog stick or the three-click mechanic. If you crank up the power enough you'll still see the over-exaggerated "power shot" montage, but this year the ball has a cheesy looking cartoon vapor trail streaming out of the back. I understand that I just hit a golf ball very hard, I don't need to see a cartoon representation.

One tiny addition that I really did appreciate is the new ability to A or X your way through the annoying camera angles that occasionally constrict your view of where the ball is going.

The most substantive change to the core gameplay mechanic is the new Precision Putting. Instead of carrying multiple putters in your bag as you've been forced to do in the past, you now have one putter for all distances. You pick a spot on the green and the putter adjusts to show you how far you need to bring it back before releasing it forward. It's a well-crafted putting mechanic and emulates real-life golf better than it has in the past.
Most of your time on the course will be spent developing your created character. You design his or her look just as you have in the past (or with Photo GameFace) and then toss him onto the course. Attribute progression is organic as you'll advance in certain areas or regress in others depending on your performance. You'll also have the opportunity to practice shots that your coach recommends after a round is completed. Progression in Tiger Woods 10 feels much better than it has in the past. You no longer assign points to improve in certain areas. Instead, all of that is determined by your play on the course.

While you're hacking away at that dastardly little white ball you'll notice that Tiger has undergone some slight visual changes, though nothing that is as important as I would have liked. Little things like water and lighting in certain situations look improved over last year's game, but I was really hoping to see greater detail in the character models. We haven't seen the game progress in this manner since it landed on Xbox 360 years ago. The same goes for animations – both celebratory and standard striking – which are identical to what I've seen before.
The audio does get a bit of a bump thanks to Scott Van Pelt. He provides quips like "Get some!" when you nail a putt and other blurbs that definitely add to the personality of the overall package. Kelly Tilghman doesn't bring a lot of spice to the equation, and she essentially has zero direct interaction with Van Pelt – something I hope changes in the future. Not only that, but the commentary doesn't reference itself enough. I'd like to see Scott mention a poor call Kelly made a few holes ago and I'd like to see both of them get more excited over the drama that they're witnessing.

Closing Comments
The question of whether to go out and drop your hard-earned 60 bucks on Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 should be decided by determining whether or not you’re a hardcore golf fan. If you’re someone who watches every second of every major tourney then you’ll enjoy the inclusion of the US Open and USGA Championship, you’ll dig the Live Tournaments, and you’ll appreciate the new putting.

On the flipside, if you’re just waking up on Monday morning to check out the results on SportsCenter and you only occasionally dust off your copy of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09, you’ll likely be disappointed by the general lack of show-stopping features and gameplay innovations.


CHEATS for the GAME

Unlockable: TW Items
Enter this code at the cheats menu to unlock the TW Golf items in the pro shop: eltigre

I WILL BE ADDING MORE AS I FIND THEM!!!!!

WGC-Accenture Match Play Brackets and Tiger's 1st Day

Here is the link to the WGC-Accenture Match Play Tournament Brackets and times.

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/features/accenture?id=3913305
from www.espn.com

For the one or two of you that will still watch this now that Tiger is out!!!
It was business as usual.
After 254 days away from the competitive scene, after nearly six months without hitting a golf ball, after enduring countless days of agony after reconstructive knee surgery, Tiger Woods returned Wednesday and it felt as though he'd never left. He knocked it stiff at the first hole for a birdie, did so again at the second for a conceded eagle and never looked back in his first-round encounter with Brendan Jones at the Accenture Match Play Championship.
A 3 and 2 victory over the overmatched Aussie seemed to be a foregone conclusion, and Woods had a relatively stress-free return to the PGA Tour at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club.
"It felt like nothing changed," said Woods, who made a rock-star-like entrance to the first tee, where fans greeted him with "Welcome back" chants. "Walking down the fairway, and it felt like business as usual. Go out there, I thought I would be more nervous on that first tee, but when it comes right down to it. … it just came back down to just playing the game again, and that felt good."
To summarize: He had not played a competitive round of golf since June 16, the day he defeated Rocco Mediate in a playoff to capture the U.S. Open, his 14th major championship and his 65th PGA Tour title.
An arthroscopic procedure two days after the Masters meant he could play no more tournaments before the Open, but unbeknownst to all but his inner circle, Woods played with two stress fractures in his left leg despite doctor's orders to shut it down.
He didn't -- and won anyway. Then had surgery to replace his anterior cruciate ligament, putting him out of action for the rest of the year and leaving the golf world to speculate on how quickly he would return to form.
"I thought it was very good," said Woods' coach, Hank Haney. "I'm always happy as long as he wins. I thought it was good. I'm always confident in Tiger, and I thought he did quite well."
If it all seems like rather ordinary stuff, perhaps that is what Woods wants at this point.
It has been quite the whirlwind of activity the past two weeks. The birth of his son, Charlie, occurred Feb. 8, and all the while he has been preparing to come back, saying it could have been even earlier had the baby situation not interceded.
Some 40,000 tickets were sold by the tournament in the wake of Woods' announcement that he would be playing this week, and his Tuesday practice round was a surreal scene, his first public golf shots in nearly nine months.
When his return to the tour finally began for real Wednesday -- after a brief delay so the Stewart Cink-Richard Sterne match could go extra holes -- hundreds of fans tried to follow in the hot desert, with grandstands filled along the way and spectators lining the ropes, shouting encouragement.
During the long walk between the first green and the second tee, Jones found himself walking with the masses, where he heard somebody remark that just nine more holes were necessary for a 10 and 8 outcome -- which would mean Woods' winning every hole.
"That annoyed me to a point," said Jones, who couldn't have been happy to see Woods float a 5-iron from 235 yards to 4 feet at the second to set up an eagle.
"I've never hit a shot like that, that high and soft," Jones said. "He hits some shots that other people can't hit."
Woods got off to that hot start, then began to show some of the rust that should have been expected. He made three bogeys over his next five holes to drop to just a 1-up lead. But a birdie at the eighth hole gave him a 2-up advantage, and Jones never got closer.
Woods won five holes and lost just two, hitting 8 of 12 fairways, including 6-for-6 when using his 3-wood. He also hit 9 of the 16 greens he played.
"His ball flight is different to pretty much everybody else's, and it was fun to see different trajectories that he hits the ball at," Jones said. "But yeah, he's Tiger; he does freakish stuff. He made two eagles on me, and he just really didn't waste any shots out there."
And in truth, Jones made it easy on Woods. His first birdie of the day didn't come until the 13th hole -- where Woods eagled -- and he continually missed fairways.
Woods will get a much tougher opponent in Thursday's second round, South Africa's Tim Clark. Although Clark has never won on the PGA Tour, he is ranked 32nd in the world and did win the Australian Open last year. Clark defeated countryman Retief Goosen 3 and 2 in the opening round.
With Woods' game in seemingly good shape, the question that will linger concerns his left knee. Although Woods trained vigorously throughout his rehabilitation and drew raves for his game among friends John Cook and Mark O'Meara at their home club at Isleworth, walking was not much of the process. He played most of his golf in Florida out of a cart.
So some soreness and recovery time can be expected as Woods works his way back.
"I'm sure that's going to be a little while," Woods said. "But I'm very pleased at how it felt all day. I thought it would be more stiff on the 15th tee when I had to hit my shot after that long wait. But I felt fine."
It was a day that was anything but ordinary, but in Woods' case, it seemed rather routine.

Tiger's scoring (Final, through 16 holes)
Eagle Birdie Par Bogey
2 3 8 3

Tiger's driving accuracy Wednesday
Fairway hits Fairways missed Fairways missed left Fairways missed right
8/12 4 1 3
Tiger around the greens Wednesday
Sand saves Scramble pct. 1 putts 2 putts 3 putts
1/3 2/3 5 8 0
• On two holes, putts were conceded
• Made putt from fringe on No. 13 for eagle, which counts as 0 putts
Tiger on the rebound Wednesday
Wins Halves Losses
Holes after wins 2 3 0
Holes after halves 1 5 2
Holes after losses 1 1 0
* Source: Compiled by Nathan Easler, ESPN Stats and Information Group

Will Michael Phelps Get Rich after these Olympics?

Phelps will get richer, at least in the short term
Companies will want to do deals, but swimming’s national appeal is limited


By extracting a record eight gold medals from the Summer Olympics, Michael Phelps has emerged as one of the most famous athletes in the world.
For days, stories of the U.S. swimmer’s successes were splashed on front pages from Asia to South America; he was the talk of network morning shows and innumerable blogs. At least 40 million in the U.S. watched Phelps nab two of his gold medals on television Aug. 12, millions more than turn on a World Series game.
Now that Phelps is the signature athlete of the Beijing Games, he faces another challenge — joining the ranks of sports’ marketing giants. Though his well-known name and affable personality will generate sizable endorsement pacts by year’s end, can the 23-year-old reach the heights of golfer Tiger Woods (more than $100 million in endorsement income in 2007, tops among U.S. athletes, according to Sports Illustrated ) or even Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (around $25 million."It is possible but unlikely for the simple reason that swimming commands our attention only once every four years, while Tiger and LeBron enjoy weekly, even daily coverage during their respective seasons," said John Davis, a professor of marketing at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business at Singapore Management University. His book "The Olympic Games Effect — How Sports Marketing Builds Strong Brands" was published this month.
"Swimming is really not the topic of our typical sports conversations once the Olympics end, so sustained visibility will be a challenge for Phelps," Davis added. In fact, once the Olympic torch is extinguished, football — both college and pro — will dominate the national conversation.
At the same time, Davis notes, Phelps' accomplishments are so stupendous he will attract a slew of suitors.
"Companies that become sports sponsors, whether of athletes, teams or events, want to associate with greatness," he said. "We love good stories, and Michael Phelps is one of the best, so he is a natural attraction for companies."
Ironically, the firms who may get the biggest boost from Phelps could be the ones who signed him up before Beijing and his eight golds. Visa capitalized quickly by releasing a "Go World" ad after Phelps captured his 10th Olympic gold medal overall, and Speedo has likely received more than a million dollars in publicity from its stunt to give Phelps $1 million if he tied Mark Spitz' 1972 mark of seven gold medals.
According to Joyce Julius & Associates, only days into Phelps' record-setting run, his corporate backers such as Speedo and Nike had already received $9 million of exposure value during primetime NBC broadcasts (shots of his swim cap and other apparel constituted the majority of the publicity). Firms who ink a deal with him in the next few weeks will not see a payoff from swimming events for years — Phelps will rarely compete on national television until the London Olympics in 2012.
How long will Phelps last as a marketing phenomenon? Davis believes he will be attractive for at least a year, as long as he avoids controversy such as his DUI arrest after the Athens Games in 2004.
"For Phelps to have staying power his agent needs to work overtime to place Michael on the various shows (Letterman, Leno, and so on) while, at the same time, not saturating the market with Phelps," he pointed out. "It is a tough balancing act."
Phelps could try to go beyond endorsements into the world of Hollywood celebrity. That's the route his predecessor Spitz — who also earned millions by promoting Schick and other products — took after capturing seven golds in Munich. But Spitz was roundly panned for his spots on TV shows and the like, and Phelps may want to avoid an acting career he is not cut out for. Aside from endorsements, the Olympian may be best off collecting enormous appearance fees (probably $50,000 and up) and getting royalties from posters showing the eight golds draped around his neck (a la Spitz in the 1970s).
During eight races in China, from butterfly to freestyle, Phelps matched the pre-Olympics hype, an extraordinary feat. Had his talents been applied to a different sport, he might have ended up as one of the top 10 most marketable athletes in the U.S. No doubt Phelps will earn $10 million or so in the next year from his heroics — a record among swimmers — but stars like Woods and other athletes will remain the top medalists in the marketing game.

World's Greatest Athletes

World's Greatest All-Around Athletes
He did it, alright. After months of speculation, swimmer Michael Phelps managed to win eight gold medals in these Olympics, leading many to proclaim him the greatest Olympian of all time. Perhaps, but where does Phelps rank today among the greatest all-around athletes in the world? Here's my top five list of the world's best all-around athletes...

1. LeBron James: At 6'9" and close to 280 pounds, LeBron James has the size of an NFL lineman with the speed of a running back. He can jump over just about anything in his path, has terrific vision and an incredible set of hands for a guy his size.

2. Tiger Woods: OK, so put him on a baseball diamond or football field and he might not stand out, but hand him a club and put him front of millions of people and watch him shine.

3. Michael Phelps: I know, all he does is swim in a straight line. But he does it better than anyone else in the world ever has.

4. Roman Sebrle: I'd never heard of Sebrle before about ten minutes ago. Not only is he leading contender to take gold in the decathlon at the Olympics, but last year he was impaled by a javelin, which he ripped out himself, and then he won gold at the Worlds just months later.

5. Michael Vick: Yes, he's locked up at the moment, but I'm willing to bet that were he in great shape, he'd still be the best all-around athlete in the NFL.

Who do you think is the world's greatest all-around athlete?

PGA Tour, U.S. Open: Here Comes Tiger!

Woods hits his stride and makes his move
By DOUG FERGUSON, AP Golf Writer
Tiger Woods hit his stride Friday at the U.S. Open.
It started with his feet on a concrete cart path and a shot that went under a tree and over a bunker to 18 feet for birdie. What followed was flawless golf and a 30 on the front nine at Torrey Pines that gave Woods a 3-under 68 and left him one shot behind Stuart Appleby going into the weekend.
Appleby holed a 45-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 70 that gave him the lead in a major for the first time since he led Woods by one shot going into the final round of the Masters last year.
Appleby was at 3-under 139 and will play in the final group with Rocco Mediate, who seems to play his best golf in the toughest conditions. Mediate reached 4 under at one point before settling for a 71.
Woods will play with Robert Karlsson (70), whom he defeated in a meaningless singles match at the Ryder Cup two years ago.
“He wants to play some golf, we want to play some golf,” Appleby said, and then he joked: “I just know I’ll be doing the best I can to actually throw a club toward his sore knee. It’ll be an accident, of course.”
The others were jostling for the lead throughout the afternoon, and Appleby finally grabbed it on his final hole. He recovered from back-to-back bogeys early on his back nine with birdies on the par 5s, the last one from below the ridge that put him atop the leaderboard and left several players more than 10 shots out of the lead and out of the tournament.
Woods was on the opposite side of the course, and despite the famous “June Gloom” layer of fog that blanketed Torrey Pines, he was easy to find. A high-charged gallery, crammed in the bleachers and behind the ropes, rose to their feet with every birdie.
“All of a sudden, they just started flying in from everywhere,” Woods said.
After his approach shot just inches from the cart path on No. 1, he never missed another fairway or another green. Woods poured in a 20-foot birdie on the second hole, then rolled one in from 25 feet up the slope on No. 4, putting him at even par for the tournament.
One hole later, his downhill putt from 18 feet broke sharply toward the ocean over the final inches and dropped into the heart of the cup, bringing another light fist pump and a red number on the board. He was under par.
He finished his round with a fairway metal that hung in the gray skies and landed on the green at the par-5 ninth, running just over the back. Woods chipped to 6 feet and made the birdie, just moments after Appleby had made his on the 18th.
“I was just hanging around, hanging around,” Woods said. “This golf course will bite you quick. You’ve just got to hang in there and stay patient.”
Woods almost always bites back at Torrey Pines, where he has won the Buick Invitational a record six times. This one is far more meaningful, and his late charge left him in great position to chase a U.S. Open title that has eluded him since 2002 at Bethpage Black, the last time it was held on a municipal golf course.
Phil Mickelson, a hometown favorite and three-time winner at Torrey Pines, could not keep up in the featured pairing with Woods.
He again played without a driver in the bag, and this time it might have hurt him. Lefty could not reach the par-5 13th, where Woods got home in two and made eagle, and he was 30 yards behind Woods on the sixth hole, putting his approach on the tongue of a bunker that led to one of six bogeys in his round of 75.
Mickelson was at 4-over 146, seven shots out of the lead in a hometown U.S. Open he called his “once in a lifetime” chance.

John Daly Playing Golf Shirtless and Shoeless

Is this that big of a deal? How many times have you been on a golf course and wanted to take your shirt off? Don't tell me if you owned your own golf course that you wouldn't take your shirt off every now and then. If you watch the entire video clip of the interview you can tell he is not crazy or anything, just being comfortable on his course.
Leave JD alone and let him be himself. I think he is a great person and has a decent game. I guarantee you that if Tiger Woods was not at the course and John Daly was you would be following him around and enjoying yourself as a spectator.
I had the opportunity to do just that at Firestone (Akron, Ohio) Tiger was also there, but I enjoyed watching JD a lot more. He interacts with you and plays just like a lot of us except a lot farther down the fairway. Don't get me wrong Tiger is great to follow around and he will interact with the fans every now and then, but if you ever get a chance to follow Daly around the golf course, do it!