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Ron Kroichick

Casey Martin a long shot, but at least has a shot for U.S. Open

Last updated Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - 4:45pm

SAN FRANCISCO -- Fourteen years after he maneuvered along the Olympic Club's sloping fairways, we can safely say this about Casey Martin's crusade to use a golf cart in competition: It did not send the game spiraling into disarray. Not even close.

Golf, Olympics, PGA, Sports Read more Comments

McIlroy-Fowler rivalry may be toast of next generation

Ron Kroichick San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Friday, May 11, 2012 - 3:05pm

SAN FRANCISCO -- Golf's best-case scenario: Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler grapple again this weekend at the Players Championship, or next month in the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club.

Golf, PGA Golf, Sports Read more Comments

Olympic Club adds intriguing bunker to U.S. Open homestretch

Ron Kroichick San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Monday, April 30, 2012 - 3:21pm

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Olympic Club's homestretch just became a little more interesting.

Golf, Sports Read more Comments

Bubba Watson brings personality to Masters champion role

Ron Kroichick San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Thursday, April 12, 2012 - 5:23pm

SAN FRANCISCO -- It's Bubba's world, and we're all just living in it.

Golf, Masters, PGA Golf, Sports Read more Comments

Kroichick: For pure entertainment, give me the Masters

Ron Kroichick San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - 6:25pm

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- It's an eternal and mostly fruitless debate: Masters or U.S. Open?

Golf, PGA, Masters, Rory McIlroy, Sports, Tiger Woods Read more Comments

Michigan amateur scores one for the fifty-somethings

Ron Kroichick San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - 9:48pm

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Randal Lewis launched his Masters week by playing a practice round with Tom Watson. The pairing made sense -- two players defying Father Time -- so Lewis wrote to Watson and requested the round, and the eight-time major champion happily obliged.

Golf, PGA, Masters, Sports Read more Comments

Kroichick: Ernie Els in danger of missing Masters, U.S. Open

Ron Kroichick San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 5:48pm

SAN FRANCISCO -- Barring a dramatic surge in the next two weeks, or an unexpected special exemption, Ernie Els will not tee off in the Masters on April 5. This has generated spirited debate in golf circles the past few days, ever since Els folded on the final two holes of Sunday's PGA Tour event outside St. Petersburg, Fla.

Golf, PGA, Sports Read more Comments

Kroichick: Viewing golf events through a U.S. Open lens

Ron Kroichick San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Saturday, March 17, 2012 - 5:47pm

SAN FRANCISCO -- Sportswriters in San Francisco, site of this year's U.S. Open, have adopted a new mantra. Call it provincial, but get used to a Pavlovian response any time something notable happens in golf the next few months: How does it affect the Open?

Steve Stricker wins the season-opening tournament in Maui -- hey, his game fits the Olympic Club. Rory McIlroy rises to No. 1 in the world -- maybe he'll become the first player to win consecutive Opens since Curtis Strange in 1988-89.

And now Tiger Woods hobbles off the course at Doral -- how will this impact his chances in San Francisco in June?

Golf, PGA, Sports Read more Comments

Kroichick: 2012 could be a classic year for golf

Ron Kroichick San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - 8:04pm

In 100 days or so, the U.S. Open begins at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. In a month, the Masters begins at ... well, the same place as always.

Can we possibly ratchet up the anticipation any higher?

Sunday's final round of the Honda Classic did more than coronate sweet-swinging Rory McIlroy as the new No. 1 player in the world. It did more than serve as a loud reminder that Tiger Woods still owns a special gear.

Golf, PGA, Sports, Tiger Woods Read more Comments

Juli Inkster aims for late-summer return to LPGA tour

Ron Kroichick San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Saturday, March 3, 2012 - 5:09pm

No back pain. No hand injuries. No balky knees. In nearly 30 years as a professional golfer, Juli Inkster sidestepped all the aggravating injuries that so often sideline players in her game.

It couldn't last forever. And it didn't.

Inkster, 51, suddenly finds herself in a strange frontier. The LPGA season started without her last month and will roll into summer without her. Inkster had surgery to repair nerve and tendon damage in her right elbow Jan. 27, leaving her out of the mix until July or August.

Golf, LPGA, Sports Read more Comments

Kroichick: At 36, Tiger Woods still has time to set records straight

Ron Kroichick The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, February 8, 2012 - 7:46pm

SAN FRANCISCO -- Tiger Woods, in many ways, launches the third chapter of his career Thursday in Northern California.

Woods transformed golf in Chapter 1, steaming into historic territory. He seemed destined to chase down Sam Snead's career record for PGA Tour victories (82) and, more important, Jack Nicklaus' standard for professional majors (18).

Golf, PGA, Sports Read more Comments

Kroichick: PGA Tour needs meaningful offseason

Ron Kroichick San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Saturday, February 4, 2012 - 5:32pm

SAN FRANCISCO -- Just imagine all the anticipation, all the steady buildup, all the time for Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and other top players to recharge their batteries in the offseason.

One PGA Tour season ends Sunday. The next one begins Thursday, four days later.

Really?

Golf, PGA, Sports Read more Comments

Bill Murray returns to Pebble Beach a champion

Ron Kroichick San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Friday, January 27, 2012 - 9:53pm

Bill Murray, champion golfer.

Those words carry good-natured clout, even a year later.

"I know it wasn't just an accident," Murray said in a telephone interview Tuesday, "but I wish I had dropped breadcrumbs every step of the way, on the whole journey, so I can find my way back."

Golf, PGA, Sports Read more Comments

Kroichick: Whatever Tiger's future, golf is now more compelling

Ron Kroichick San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Tuesday, December 6, 2011 - 7:17pm

The loyalists will say this means Tiger Woods is sure to resume his dominance. The haters will bemoan golf writers who, they insist, are fixated on a flawed man and past-his-prime player.

The realists fall somewhere in between.

Golf, PGA, Sports Read more Comments

Kroichick: Baseball's Hall of Fame ballot lacks a sure thing

Ron Kroichick San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Thursday, December 1, 2011 - 6:41pm

Next year, baseball's Hall of Fame ballot (for the class of 2013) shapes up as a fascinating referendum on an entire era. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mike Piazza and Sammy Sosa will appear on the ballot for the first time, each dragging along hefty steroid suspicions.

This year's ballot (for the class of '12), announced Wednesday, brings no similar drama.

Thirteen candidates make their inaugural appearance, and there's no need to ponder the impact of performance-enhancing drugs. That's because none of the newcomers -- not one -- merits serious consideration.

The official press release from the Hall of Fame trumpets American League batting champions Bernie Williams and Bill Mueller. Williams hit .297 in his career and played center field on four World Series-winning teams with the Yankees.

MLB, Hall of Fame, Pro Baseball, Sports, Baseball Read more Comments