ERNIE ELS SWITCHES SWING COACHES

This is a little late, but prior to the Masters, Ernie switched from David Leadbetter to Butch Harmon. Ernie's phone call to David (Ernie calls him "Lead")was pretty emotional. He has been Ernie's coach for 18 years and they are very good friends. But the Golfer says he just needed something different and he thinks Butch can provide it for him.

Els says he thinks he needs a different feel and different words coming at him. (Whatever that means). Butch is former military and speaks bluntly. Ernie thinks maybe he could use that kind of approach. Apparently Lead is quite laid back. But Ernie says he also wants to find out more about how Butch is teaching.

Asked what he was looking to change,the Big Easy pointed to improving his posture, shortening his backswing and getting the upper and lower parts of his body more in rhythm.

"My hips were really turning too much and my shoulder, everything was kind of collapsing at the top," he said. "I'm quite a flexible guy, but swinging that long, I get out of sync with my lower body and upper, so I needed to stabilize that and shorten my backswing a little bit, and really get the club out in front of me."

Let's keep an eye on Ernie. Hope it works for him.

P.S. By the way, I just verified Leadbetter's fees of $10,000/day. This is for a one-time experience.

The David Leadbetter Experience | $10,000 | 888-633-5323

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THE TIGER HAS KNEE SURGERY 4/15/2008

The Tuesday after his Master's runner up finish, Tiger Woods was in Park Center, Utah undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery for cartilage repair. He will be out for six weeks.

Although he never mentioned it to anyone, he has been suffering pain since the middle of 2007. The only evidence anyone has seen of it was at the PGA Championship last September. On Sunday he stumbled behind the 8th green after making a putt and stepping back for a fist pump. He hobbled a bit and then seemed to be back in form.

Hank Haney worked with him prior to the Masters and went to Augusta with him. But Hank says he knew the knee was bothering him a lot. But Tiger didn't say a word to him about it. However, he says Tiger never mentions things like that. He doesn't want to sound like he's making excuses. Hank didn't know about the surgery until Tiger called him and told him.

He likely will not be back until June for the U.S. Open. This means he will not be able to defend at Wachovia. He will also miss the Players. That tournament he has never missed since turning pro. There is a possibility he will be able to make the Memorial two weeks before the U.S. Open. That one's a wait and see.

Here's a quote: "I made the decision to deal with the pain and schedule the surgery for after the Masters," Woods said. "The upside is that I have been through this process before and know how to handle it. I look forward to working through the rehabilitation process and getting back to action as quickly as I can."

Actually, I noticed he was having a little trouble coming up out of bunkers at the Masters. The thought occurred to me that he was moving like an old man in those situations. But basically he has been winning tournaments since last August with a bum knee.

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TREVOR IMMELMAN HANGS ON TO WIN THE MASTERS BY 3 SHOTS

What a weekend! At the 2008 Masters Trevor Immelman, Brent Snedeker and Paul Casey put on a show that we will probably not soon forget. No one could have scripted this one.

But where was the Tiger? Did he ever roar? Just one short purr on Sunday. But nothing materialized. That was the extent of his move. This weekend we saw a Tiger we have rarely if ever seen.

For the entire tournament, the Course seemed to oppose him at every turn. But still, in spite of the wrath of the golf gods, he stubbornly refused to die and finished alone in second place.

Immelman and company didn't seem to be intimidated that this was the Masters.And that they were playing the toughest course on tour. They played the game brilliantly. But Sunday came ...

And one by one the field melted away except for Trevor and Tiger.

Well, there won't be a Grand Slam this year unless Trevor can manage it. But once Tiger steps up from this setback, he is still possible and actually probable to catch Jack in 2009.

Good golfing ahead. Stuff is happening ...

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