Jeff Shain, Golf Writer

Keeping Score

Fassi, Kupcho face post-grad test at Open

Though it’s been eight weeks now, Maria Fassi rarely goes more than a few days without getting a reminder of the place she and Jennifer Kupcho find themselves in women’s golf. “Honestly, it just doesn’t feel real yet,” said Fassi, the newly crowned NCAA women’s champion who makes her professional debut today at the U.S. Women’s Open.

By Jeff Shain

News & Opinion

Thompson comes of age in Women's Open

Lexi Thompson has reached the point where she has spent half of her summers playing the U.S. Women’s Open. That’s not necessarily all that unusual. Half of Juli Inkster’s summers have involved teeing it up at the U.S. Women’s Open; ditto for Laura Davies. You can even say the same for Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel. Nonetheless, this one might have been a little easier to sneak through unnoticed. Thompson is 24; she hasn’t missed a U.S. Women’s Open since her debut in 2007.

By Jeff Shain

News & Opinion

10 years ago, an unrequited major season

As the curtain gets ready to rise on next week’s PGA Championship, host Bethpage Black marks 10 years since it last stood in golf’s major-championship spotlight. That would be the 2009 U.S. Open, best remembered for … buckets and buckets of rain.

By Jeff Shain

News & Opinion

Bhatia, 17, begins shortcut to PGA Tour

Kevin Na was too focused on his own work to notice the skinny teenager attracting a small gathering two spots behind him Tuesday on Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead practice range. Akshay Bhatia is just 17, but he has built a portfolio that few junior golfers have ever achieved. He’s the only two-time boys’ winner of the Junior PGA Championship, adding three other elite junior titles last year. He was runner-up at the U.S. Junior Amateur.

By Jeff Shain

News & Opinion

Woods takes detour on road to Augusta

Back when his presence had the power to make or break a tournament, Tiger Woods liked to keep folks guessing. Doral, Pebble Beach, Phoenix, Byron Nelson, Disney, even Riviera. For those on the “maybe” list of Tiger stops, many a tournament chief spent an anxious Friday awaiting word whether Woods had made a late entry. Sometimes he did; more likely hopes went unfilled. In that sense, some things haven’t changed. Except now, Woods himself might be left guessing.

By Jeff Shain

News & Opinion

King-size order: Keep Arnie in 'The Arnie'

A few years ago, the Arnold Palmer Invitational ran a series of 15-second spots that featured Palmer adding the personal touch to various tasks to get ready for the tournament – calling players, swapping out pin flags, even some light landscaping. The sight of an 85-year-old Palmer on his stomach stalking a wayward blade of grass with tiny scissors – “Got you, you son of a gun!” – is still good for a chuckle. And the message was unquestionably on point. This is Arnie’s baby. Come be a part of it, whether you’re a player or a fan.

By Jeff Shain