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David “Ogie” Ogron is the worlds fastest golfer. (In the video above you can see him setting a Guinness World Record and wowing hundreds of Asian people.) Ogie is currently on a quest to hit over a million golf balls in order to raise awareness for the Children’s Miracle Network. He hopes to make a documentary about his mission and he’s attempting to finance it the way any 21st century man would. He’s using Craigslist.

Amazing Worlds Fastest Golfer looking for Investors for Film Doc

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Reply to: david@miraclegolftour.org
Date: 2008-01-26, 8:41PM EST

…Ogie has one of the most amazing stories that will ever be brought to the camera. His life of living in a shed for 2 years training for these remarkable feat’s was the hardest thing that anyone could have gone through. Ogie’s perseverance to save children and bring that message never give up, is priceless. Who ever decides to work with Ogie will be very happy because Ogie bring’s joy and happiness to everyone he meets, especially the children that have this deadly decease.

I give the posting a “C+” for grammar, but it gets an “A” for enthusiasm. Personally, I think Ogie should go after the people who put up the money for “The Legend of Bagger Vance.” Those guys will finance anything.

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It wasn’t as noteworthy as Vince Young’s practice field haymaker, but there was another NFL training camp fight this week. This skirmish involved Dolphins linebacker Robert McCune and lineman Rex Hadnot, but fortunately for Hadnot, McCune is not as accurate as Young. The linebacker took a few wild swings at Hadnot but couldn’t connect on any.

Some more links for your Saturday afternoon viewing pleasure…

–The Brazilian soccer team has some issues. [Epic Carnival]

–Erik Bedard needs to drink more. [Baltimore Sun]

–What would happen if some famous athletes were Jason Bourne? [Pacman Jonesin’]

–K.J. Choi is an optimistic, but generous man. [Charlotte Observer]

–Sports fashion trends that disappeared. [Doberman On The Diamond]

–Nothing helps make good ice like 112,000 pounds of dehumidifiers. [Toronto Star]

–Tiki Barber has a lot of work to do on his second career. [Awful Announcing]

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–Michelle Wie’s next tournament could be a little bit awkward. [Sports By Brooks]

–Photographers have begun protesting the NFL’s new rule that requires them to be walking advertisements. [Editor and Publisher]

–The San Jose Sharks have a new logo…sort of. [San Jose Mercury News]

–Ernie Simms owns 10 dogs. Does that mean there is a Vick-like cause for concern? Probably not. [Epic Carnival]

–The Steelers are in for a tough training camp. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

–Watch out for cheerleaders from Texas. [100% Injury Rate]

–Priest Holmes is ready to play football again. [Kansas City Star]

–Everything you need to know about Dimitri Young. [A Price Above Bip Roberts]

–Mike Silver is leaving Sports Illustrated. [The Big Lead]

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–Michael Vick is already corrupting America’s youth. [Doberman on the Diamond]

–Snoop Dog is coming for Les Miles. [100% Injury Rate]

–Major League Baseball wants to put their logo on everything. [Deuce of Davenport]

–The NFL doesn’t mind making fun of the Raiders. [San Jose Mercury News via L.A. Times]

–First there was Anna Kournikova. Then Maria Sharapova came along and added winning the equation. One day the same thing could happen with Danica Patrick and this girl. [New York Times]

–Everything you need to know about what’s going on at the British Open. [Sons of Sam Malone]

–Be careful of what you put on your french fries at minor league baseball games. [The Big Picture]

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You know that crazy guy at your golf course who is always trying to sell some cockamamie fix-your-swing invention he built in his garage—well, now he has someplace to take it. A new show on the Golf Channel called “Fore Inventors Only” is looking for the best new golf invention. The show even features Butch Harmon’s much lesser known brother, Bill Harmon, as one of its four panelists. Here’s a look at just a few of the inventions that made it past day two of the competition.

Bunker Buddy—A folding, collapsible, sand rake that golfers can wear on their belt or attach to their golf bag. It’s an excellent tool for the man with perfect golf etiquette. Now you’ll never have to leave your shoeprint in a bunker ever again, even if there’s no rake at the hole.

Golf Shoes With Integrated Bristles—These special shoes allow you to brush off debris from the club face. Now you can kick your club in frustration and clean it at the same time.

The Trunk Chair—A small seat that attaches to the trunk of a car. It can prevent the acute ass pain that results from having to sit on the edge of a trunk while you change your golf shoes.

Shaft Skinz—For the Ian Poulter fan who wishes golf was a more flamboyant sport, these shrink wraps can give your clubs some added personality. They’re the perfect gift for the man who likes covering everything he owns with leopard print.

Clean and Drop—This three in one towel dries and cleans balls and clubs. It’s perfect for the golfer who loves taking off his clothes and diving into a lake to retrieve his ball.

The winner of the competition will receive a fully developed infomercial, $50,000 worth of commercial and promotional air time on the Golf Channel, and shelfspace at Golfsmith for one year. Winning the competition will also allow one lucky contestant to officially go from “mentally unstable golf nut” to “successful businessman.”

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If you’ve never been able to experience what it’s like to have an airline lose your luggage, I can assure you it’s not fun. However, it’s especially not fun when they lose your golf clubs just days before one of the most important tournaments of the year. For Masters champ Zach Johnson and numerous other PGA golfers, their missing golf clubs meant Janice from United Airlines was the key to their British Open performances.

Fortunately for Johnson (and Justin Leonard, Pat Perez, and Lucas Glover), their clubs eventually made their way to Scotland. Joe Durant also got his clubs, but his clothes still haven’t made it to Carnoustie Golf Links.

This big boys haven’t had such an easy time either. On the flight to Scotland Tiger Woods’ private jet ran out of Diet Coke and he was forced to drink Coke Zero.

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Jerry Rice had nearly 1300 catches and 190 touchdowns playing football for the 49ers. Nevertheless, prior to Sunday’s celebrity softball game in San Francisco he was introduced as “from ‘Dancing With The Stars.’ ” It’s good to know that Rice’s reality TV prowess has finally made him a celebrity.

Some other linkage…

–In case there was still a doubt in anyone’s mind, Jim Leyland wants everybody to know the All-Star Game is completely arbitrary. [Cleveland Plain Dealer]

–Roger Goodell narrowly escaped having another difficult situation on his hands. [The Sports Frog]

–J.J. Redick is going to have to learn how to play defense. [Orlando Sentinel]

–Golf Ball theft is all the rage. [Our Book of Scrap]

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(Sometimes the rules and strategy involved in a game can prevent us from seeing an athlete’s true skills in action. For example, the presence of teammates can prevent repeated one-on-one confrontations, and the flow of a game can prevent an athlete from repeatedly attempting a difficult challenge. My question is, if there were no rules, no games, no standings, no teammates, and no trophies to worry about, what kind of things would an athlete be able to do. In no particular order, here are 10 things in sports I’d like to see.)

#7–Tiger Woods shooting for a hole in one

It’s the most glamorous thing a person can accomplish on the golf course. The feat is so great that even in miniature golf it’s rewarded with free arcade tokens and a coupon book. But exactly how difficult is it to make a hole in one?

While it’s clearly not an easy task, it is one of the few athletic achievements that has been accomplished by elderly women. Is it all luck or is there a significant amount of skill involved? Would professional golfers make them much more often if they always went for the flagstick instead of playing it safe? To answer these questions I want to see Tiger Woods repeatedly gunning for a hole in one.

In my hypothetical fantasy Woods tees off on a 150 yard par 3 of average difficulty. He gets 500 swings and he can spread them out over two or three days to fight off fatigue. Will he make any? Will he make more than one? More than two? More than five? More than 10? In order to have controls to which Woods can be compared both Phil Mickelson and one of the elderly hole in one ladies—let’s say this one—will also hit 500 balls.

The result of this little competition would reveal two things. First, it will finally give a good estimate on what the odds are of the best golfer in the world making a hole in one from 150 yards out. That is something we all want to know. Second, it will show how much skill is involved in making a hole in one. If Woods demolishes them then it will prove that it is mostly skill. If “elderly hole in one lady” beats Woods, it will prove a lot of luck is involved. If Mickelson beats Woods it will prove that it’s all luck.

Also see…

#10—Albert Pujols vs John Parrish….100 times
#9—1 on 1 NBA draft workouts
#8—LaDainian Tomlinson vs. Brian Urlacher
#6—A real test for Vladimir Guerrero’s arm
#5—NFL-style workouts by non-NFL athletes
#4—A real NBA shooting contest
#3—A college basketball game with no three point line
#2—A 3 on 3 hockey game
#1—Albert Pujols vs. Johan Santana…100 times

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Erick Lindgren is one of the world’s most well known poker players, but after what he did last week he may become one its most well known golfers. It all began when Lindgren was sharing a few drinks with his friend and fellow poker pro Gavin Smith. At some point the following bet was proposed.

“Did Erick Lindgren want to play 72 holes of golf after a night out on the town? All he had to do was shoot under 100 for all four rounds at one of the toughest courses in Vegas, carry his own bag, and do it all between sunrise and sunset – in 108 degree heat.”

Just to recap, the prop bet required Lindgren to play four sub-100 rounds from the pro tees while carrying his own bag in 100+ degree heat.

Smith originally made the bet for either $50,000 or $100,000, but word of the wager soon spread and numerous other poker pros took a piece of the action. The group of pros included Phil Ivey, who went in for $200,000. By the time Lindgren arrived for his 6 a.m. tee time more than $300,000 was at stake.

Lindgren breezed through the first two rounds, and though he struggled in the third, he managed to shoot a 92. In the fourth and final round Lindgren finally hit a wall. He collapsed in the middle of the 13th fairway, an apparent victim of heatstroke. After a short rest Lindgren somehow recovered and won the bet by finishing the round with a 94. When all was said and done Lindgren’s winnings totaled $340,000.

So how does it feel to win $340,000 in a bet? Well, according to Lindgren not so good. Despite the money Lindgren says he felt so bad afterwards he regretted taking the bet. He reportedly shed 10 pounds on the golf course and the next day he still wasn’t sure if he would ever feel right again.

Lindgren’s agent (who used to represent PGA golfers) says what Lindgren did was the most amazing thing he had ever seen on a golf course. My vote still goes to Jean Van De Velde, but one thing is for sure—Michelle Wie couldn’t have won the bet, and not because of the heat or her endurance, but because she probably wouldn’t have been able to break 100 in her first round.

Above is some video of Lindgren’s day—it ends with the standard “You’re the Best” musical montage. If you want more, below is part two of the video.

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–Former Mariner Edgar Martinez will be inducted into the Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame. Martinez, who will join Dikembe Mutombo and Kyle Petty as this year’s inductees, is being honored for his work with muscular dystrophy.

–Jarvis Moss is not a member of the Bengals. In fact, he’s one of the good guys in the NFL.

–Here is an outstanding story from the New York Times about the long journey of heralded New Mexico State recruit Herb Pope. You can now add his coach leaving to the list of things he has to overcome.

–The scoop on Phil Mickelson’s magical healer.

–Santa Clara and San Francisco are beginning to duke it out over the 49ers.

–Woody Paige takes a look at what it would have been like if A-Rod had signed with the Rockies.

–Hat day is just one of many new things Mike Tomlin has brought to the Steelers

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