Many times over a legend’s career the question is raised: “Are they in a slump”? This question has arisen this golf season with Tiger Woods, especially after the British Open, where although he lingered near the top of the leaderboard, he just never made a run of the lead. So is Tiger starting to drop off?

So often in professoional sports we want to quickly celebrate a legend’s victories, but we often just as quickly bury them in their defeats. Tiger Woods isn’t dropping off. He has 3 victories this year, two second place finishes, and is numbers one on the money list and the World Rankings. By the way, both of his second place finishes came in majors. He did have plently of opportunities to win both of those majors, but he didn’t. Tiger Woods isn’t a god and he’s not the best golfer of all time, yet. Let’s not forget that right at the time of the British Open last year, we watched in awe as Tiger put in a string of 7 consecutive victories.

Michael Jordan missed game winning shots, Babe Ruth struck out, and inevitbaly Tiger Woods is going to lose many majors. Although Tiger Woods seems to be rather quiet this year, he could have that breakout round at any moment that propells him through the season and brings us to a place of awe once again. Maybe we should be quick to offer a little encouragement, then be quick to offer a little criticism.

To most people the Canadian Open doesn’ matter. It’s just a schdule filler after the British Open. Don’t tell Jim Furyk that? Furyk’s hole in one on the par 3 4th helped him shoot a 7-under 64 to win by one stroke over Vijay Singh. Furyk captured the $900,000 purse, which significantly helps him gain some ground on Tiger on the money list. Furyk shot consistently throughout the tournament with 69, 66, 69, and 64.

Elsewhere, Tom Watson won the Senior British Open finishing at even par. The Senior British Open merited scores closer to most British Opens compared to last weeks PGA British Open where scores were a little lower than usual. This was Watson’s third open victory in the last five years.

Lastly, Natalie Gulbis edged Jang Jeong on the first playoff hole to win the LPGA Evian Masters, carding a 4-under par. Things were a little better for Michelle Wie today as she finished today with a 76 and tied for 69th with a 16-over 304. I say better because she had shot a 12+ par 84 yesterday after breaking par at the beginning of the tournament.

Even with the Canadian Open and British Senior Open going on this weekend, bigger news today might be Michelle Wie’s meltdown once again. Now at 17, Michelle Wie had stormed onto the Professional Golf circuit fairing well in most of the LPGA events last year, usually finished in the top 20. However, Wie has had a much harder year. She has withdrew from a couple of tournaments this year, citing a wrist injury. This weekend has been no better for Wie. Today Wie shot a 12+ par 84 in the third round of the Evian Masters. Wie was coming off a day when she had shot under par for the first time all year, but Saturday proved to be a disaster for her. To read more about her performace go to ESPN’s Golf page.

Elsewhere today, at the Canadian Open Vijay Singh has come from behind to take the overall lead at -12. Defending champ Jim Furyk is 3 strokes back. A win for either of these two could significantly help them catch up to Tiger on the money list. Vijay is currently 3rd and Jim is 7th. Click here for the full money list.

In the Senior British Open at Murifield, Nick Faldo has now dropped back several strokes and is now 7 strokes off the lead. Of note is Tom Watson who is one stroke off the lead. Steward Ginn is the leader at -3.

Last week we talked about improper storage of your golf clubs. Well this week i wanted to discuss proper storage of your golf clubs. Your golf clubs should be stored in an easily accesible location. They should also be stored in place where you can see them often. Now, I personally keep mine right above my bed. They are situated perfectly so that when I sit up every morning, I’m staring directly at the head of my Big Bertha Driver. Now I know you’re probably asking, “Spencer why in the wide world of golf is it necessary to do that”? Well that’s a great question.

I have my golf clubs strategically placed for a number of important reasons. First of all, when I wake up in the morning to the sight of my clubs, I’m taken to a place of awe and remembrance of the greatness of the game of golf. Secondly, it reminds me that whatever I’m suppose to be doing that day, well golf is just more important. Lastly, by getting a good look at my clubs every morning, I’m able to get a good idea of whether I need to clean them or not. It’s always important to keep your clubs clean. Dirt and grime often attaches itself to the club face, which if not cleaned, can negatively affect a golf shot.

Let me remind you, that this is just the place that I keep my clubs. Hopefully you can keep your clubs properly stored in a place that works as well for you as it does for me. However, I don’t suggest you putting your clubs in between you and your spouse in the bed every night. Your spouse may get jealous, plus people may think you’re crazy.

As we make the turn to the weekend, there are a couple golf tournaments that have begun to take note of. Usually, immediately following a major such as the British Open, you won’t see the heavy hitters playing in tournaments. This gives othe guys the opportunity to shine, like Hunter Mahan. Yeah I’ve never heard of him either. Yet Mahan opened the Canadian Open today with 9- under 62.

Another tournament to note of and to keep an eye on this weekend is the Senior British Open, which opened today at Muirfield. After winning 2 PGA British Open titles at Muirfield, it’s only fitting that Nick Faldo would be leading after the first day. Faldo shot a 3- under 68 to have a share of the lead. This weekend’s Senior British Open marks Faldo’s debut on the Senior Tour. Faldo is coming off last week’s PGA British Open where he didn’t make the cut, shooting a 79 and 73.

Is anybody else tired of hearing the word “steroids”? Furthermore, is anybody else tired of hearing Dick Pound sound off about how every sport needs to wake up and confront their drug problems? Well if you aren’t tired of Dick Pound yet, maybe you will after you read this. Dick Pound is the head of WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency. Whenever there’s been steroids in the news, Dick Pound has been standing right beside it. He’s been at the forefront of the steroids debate in the Olympics, Tour de France, MLB, and now evidently golf!

In response to Gary Player coming out last week and saying that he knew of at least one golfer for sure who had used steroids, ESPN came out with an article yesterday in which Pound praised Player’s comments and stated that the golf world needs to “wake up”. In essence, Dick Pound is saying that there is a problem of steroid use in golf and that the golf world has been sleeping away while golfers continue to use steroids. I’m personally insulted. There is a point where someone is trying to do good things, but there is whole other point where someone is doing good things for their own sake. Dick Pound is trying to do good things for his own sake and I’ve finally had enough. Who is he to say that because one golfer has been noted as having used steroids, that golf has been ignorant to a drug use problem. I agree that steroids in sports needs to be abolished, but I don’t agree with how Dick Pound has proceeded to make statements that he doesn’t even know if they’re true or not. Maybe next he’ll start weeding out all those World Series Poker players! I always had a hunch that they were using steroids.

It’s 3:34 a.m. and I have to be up for work in 3 hours. I could’ve waited until I got home from work tomorrow, but with this fresh on my mind what’s another few minutes.

Tonight I had a random occurence and experience, that I won’t go into, that unexpectedly has humbled me and taught me about the reality of life being much bigger than ourselves. One of the aspects that draws me to golf more than other sports that I enjoy is this notion that the game of golf is so much bigger than one individual. One day you can go out on a course and play the best you’ve ever played. The next day you can go out under the same conditions and play the worst you ever have. Because of this aspect to golf, I think there should be a sense of awe when approaching the game.

Now I know some may be calling me a heretic by claiming that golf has god-like properties. I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that in my years of experiencing and particpating in golf, it has helped lead me to realizing that life is so much bigger than ourselves.

I realized this most vividly when I had the awesome privilege of going to the practice round of the Masters a couple years ago. It was like heaven. The sun reflected off the clubhouse just right to make it look like a heavenly mansion. The dogwoods were so perfect and detailed. And the men I followed around that day were like immortals themselves, controlling the ball with such grace and power. Now to many, this is really cheesy and sounds fake and superficial. Yet there was something out of this world that I experienced that day.

So also tonight, I’ve been brought to a place of humility, seeing that all of life points to something much bigger than ourselves, namely God. How grateful I am that I get to be a part of a game that would help teach me that. It’s 3:55a.m. now and I’m going to bed.

As much as I don’t want any golfer to bear the stigma of the “Best Golfer Never to Have Won a Major”, yet I couldn’t help but find myself on Sunday pulling for those who had so valiantly come from behind to overtake Sergio Garcia. For years the kid has been in the shadows of Tiger, always one step behind. For once, he had Tiger and everyone else on their heels. Yet that inward longing for a dramatic British Open, lured me into pulling for those chasing furiously after Sergio. What are the odds that Padraig Harrington, would finally overtake Sergio and be in the driver’s seat to win on the last hole at the British Open, only to hit not one, but two shots into Barry Burn. This left the door open for Sergio to win his first major, only to have Sergio miss a 10 foot par putt for the win. In the 4 hole overtime, Harrington gathered himself enough to barely come away with the 2007 British Open title.

What a finish? In a matter of moments, the 2007 British Open went from being just another PGA tournament, to being one of the greatest finishes in history. Weather that was expected to change conditions never showed up, seldom heard golfers put in record like numbers on Saturday and Sunday, and Sergio once again was denied a major title. The rest of the season has quite a calling in following up this year’s British Open. Yet I do hope that Sergio gets that major championship soon.

Round 3 of the British Open is now in the books with there being no change at the top of the leaderboard. Sergio Garcia has a commanding lead over most of the field and he would be even more seperated from everyone else if it hadn’t been for an British Open Course record at Carnoustie. As it stands, Sergio Garcia goes into the final round tomorrow with a 3 shot lead at -9.

One of the bigger surprises today might have been the fact that the rain that was expected, never showed up. This allowed leader Garcia and others to continue to shoot under par. Many are asking where the heck did Steve Stricker come from? That name may ring a bell, but his name has rarely bee mentioned in the last couple years. Stricker was an up and coming player a few years ago until he lost his PGA card in 2004, when he finished at the bottom of the PGA money list. Stricker has comeback well from his setback. Although Stricker has never won a major, he has had many top 20 PGA finishes. For more on Stricker, check out his profile at the PGA Tour website. Yesterday Stricker started out great at -3 under on the front nine but then struggled on the back 9. Today was not the case. He began and finished well today with a 7-under-par 64, which was one stroke short of tying the British Open record.

K.J. Choi had the best opportunity going into the day to catch Garcia, but finished the day +1. Someone to watch out for tomorrow is Chris DiMarco, who has shot a -1 and -5 the last 2 days. He is tied with several others, including Choi, at +3. Tiger had a respectable day shooting a -2, but it wasn’t enough to make any ground on Sergio.

Round 2 of the British Open ended today with much of the same from round 1. Although Sergio Garcia didn’t score as well as yesterday, shooting even par, he remains atop the leaderboard by two strokes. Round 2 was a frustrating day for many including Tiger Woods. For years Garcia has been the one having to catch up furiously with Tiger, now Tiger finds himself having to catch up furiously with Sergio.

There were several golfers who had the opportunity to catch up or even surpass Sergio today, but who didn’t end as well as they started. Stewart Cink and K.J. Choi had both been playing well enough to catch up with Sergio. Cink finished 2+ on the back 9 and Choi finished with 2 pars and a bogey.

With the cut being announced at 4+, the weekend will be missing many key players including Phil Mickelson, Colin Montgomerie, and Geoff Ogilvy. It will be interesting to see how Phil bounces back after finished the Scottish Open poorly last weekend and then failing to make the cut this weekend. With rain in the forecast tomorrow, I expect those at the top of the leaderboard to be hovering around even par.