Martin Kaymer Went Ham in China

You aren't exactly touching on new ground when you say Martin Kaymer has had a forgettable 2011. A win in early January had him going in the right direction, but that was about all she wrote for his year. A missed cut at Augusta, and then another at the major he was defending, Kaymer didn't really look like the man that moved all the way to number one in the world.

But one great round can change all that. On Sunday, Kaymer was five shots back of Frederik Jacobson at the HSBC Champions with 12 holes to go, and it looked over for the young German. But a holed bunker shot on the 7th landed him his first birdie of the day. And he made another on the 8th. And four in a row from No. 10-13. A par on the par-5 14th looked like a momentum killer, but Kaymer just went on to make three more birdies over his last four holes, and ended up winning the damn thing by three shots.

It was really incredible stuff from Kaymer, as you can see from his scorecard above, and got him his first ever World Golf Championship win. 

Steve Williams Now Adds 'Racist Moron' To Resume

Some things will never make sense to me. The shirts Phil Mickelson wears. Shanks. And the way Steve Williams has acted ever since Tiger Woods decided to go another way with his loop.

Maybe it wasn't the most graceful move by Tiger in a long line of bad decisions the last couple of years, but it was his decision, and caddies get fired all the time. It's a revolving door job, and you can't exactly say things had been going smoothly for the two the last three seasons.

So when Williams blew up after Adam Scott's win at Firestone, it seemed a little strange. As strange as when he said he felt like he'd wasted the last two years of his life with Tiger? No, but nearly.

And now we have this. Williams, at a dinner earlier this week in China, was asked to rehash the day he said all those things after Scott won at Firestone, and this is what he said.

"My aim was to shove it right up that black ---hole.”

What in the hell? Really? Racist? That's the card you're going to play?

There are few things you can do to lose my respect faster than to call someone out for things like the color of their skin or sexual orientation. Who in the hell cares about that stuff? Williams worked with Tiger and made a substantial amount of money for "that black ---hole," so maybe he needs to chill out on all that and move on.

Seriously. Hasn't it been four months? If this was a Facebook relationship, this would be the point that Williams started posting comments on pictures of Tiger from other people's accounts, just to be mean. He's acting like a child, and saying stupid stuff like this makes him look like an inferior person. We knew him as the camera smashing guy. We knew him as the racer. And we knew him as the victim once Tiger decided to switch gears. But all that will be trumped by this, a stupid comment that will follow him around the rest of his career.

I hope he gets canned by Scott. I really do. If I was Adam, I'd fire the guy. No use in those types of hateful words in my house, and I hope that someone teaches him a lesson.

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New adidas Golf Shirts Are Pretty Sweet

The above photos, laid out perfectly by yours truly on my fantastic carpeted living room, is the new line of adidas golf shirts, called Fashion Performance, and I gotta say, I love the look.

Colors are crazy enough to stand out on the course, but not too crazy that you look like Ian Poulter's illegitimate half-cousin, and with pants season upon us, will add some needed flair to your plain khakis.

Also, I love the adidas symbol on the shirts. Look at the close-up below. That's the tag on all the shirts. Big fan. Love the look. Down with the colors. Your thoughts?

Presidents Cup Captain's Pick Keegan Bradley Leads in China

It's nice to know that Keegan Bradley's golf game can travel. Maybe a month or two ago, this would have even helped the youngster land a spot on Fred Couples' team in Australia.

Sadly, those squads are filled out, Keegan isn't on it, but he's still trying to play his best golf possible. On Thursday at the HSBC Champions (an event Tiger Woods has never won), Bradley played brilliantly, shooting a 7-under 65 that never saw the PGA Championship winner put a square on the scorecard.

A few interesting things to take from Bradley's opening round.

First, a win here shows the kid isn't a flash in the pan. I'd love to see it because I feel it's important to back up your first major win with a victory of any kind. Zach Johnson did it a month after his Masters win in 2007 with a victory at the AT&T Classic. David Toms did it at Kingsmill less than two months after his PGA Championship victory in 2001. And unlike the Rich Beems and Shaun Micheels of the major championship world, both Johnson and Toms are real players that will never go away.

Also, I just love that he's playing good golf right now. Sure, he might be saying the right things about the Presidents Cup snub, but you know deep down that he's pissed. I would be. So would you. Bradley can smile to the cameras, but both he and I know he deserved that spot over Tiger. Playing well right now might be just as much proof to Bradley himself than it is to Couples.

Finally, if Bradley wins this thing, he might just be the PGA Tour Player of the Year, which means that Luke Donald would get completely screwed out of that award after the PGA Tour decided to include this tournament last minute. It wouldn't be fair to Donald at all, but at least Keegan would get something for his 2011 troubles (you know, besides the $3 million and five-year PGA Tour exemption).

I'm glad to see Bradley playing well again. I hope he wins. That is all.

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Presidents Cup Now Safe From Adding Kwame Brown as Captain's Pick

Yes, the news is true, Michael Jordan will not be at this year's Presidents Cup, due to ongoing labor disputes with the NBA.

That's the news, so I have to simply ask this; isn't it hilarious that Jordan decided not to be part of this team the ONE year the NBA ISN'T playing? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to ditch out when no teams are doing anything, and no contact with players is allowed, instead of doing so when there isn't any basketball?

PTI's Michael Wilbon said a few weeks back that he already had Christmas plans to do something that didn't involve the NBA because he was sure there wouldn't be any games during that time, and isn't this exactly the same approach for MJ? Make plans that don't include basketball when there isn't any basketball?!?!


Anyway, it's a sad day, and cigar sales in Australia are sure to take a hit, but that doesn't stop us from posting the strangest bro-hug in sports history from the 2010 Ryder Cup; Jordan and Thomas Bjorn! Who would have thunk it?!

(Also, worth noting, I was confused by his addition nearly a year ago. One year is a cute idea, every year seems overkill.)

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Being a Pro Golfer Can Be Different

Like when you have to go to China and do things like this. And while it might seem strange to some of us, it's probably really cool to be able to engulf yourself in a completely different culture and get opportunities like Francesco Molinari, Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Keegan Bradley had before the HSBC Champions kicks off.

Sadly, the above photo will never beat this one from 2010 of Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. That is what they call a classic.

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A Day Out at Ping Golf

On Monday, I was given the chance to head out to Ping Golf Headquarters out here in Phoenix to check out the entire facility.

Initial thought? Awesome. Thought after 24 hours of sleeping on the trip? Double awesome. The place gets it, and it's producing some incredible equipment that proves that. Walking through the factory and learning about the history of the place was just as great as getting a chance to hit all the new equipment and find out some of the great things they're working on (one I can't talk about will literally shock the golf world when it hits and I'm really excited for the feedback when it happens).

I got a good chance to tour the whole place, and have some photos of both the tour and some of me testing out the equipment. I never thought going to a factory would be better than playing at a Scottsdale golf course, but hey, even I'm wrong from time to time. Hit the jump to see my trip in photo form.