Image of the Week

golf.com

Once again, we head back to the golf course for the week's most notable image. This time around we are here to recognize Stuart Appleby's greatness in posting a score of 59 to claim victory at the 2010 Greenbrier Classic. Appleby, fist pumping above, became just the fifth man in PGA Tour history to break 60 shots in a single round. His card included nine birdies (Nine!) and an eagle, while being completely devoid of ugly squares.

Appleby was an unlikely source for such greatness. His last PGA Tour victory came in 2006. Since then, he had fallen to 159th in the official World Golf Rankings. The fabulous final round at the Greenbrier propelled him to 94th in the world entering this weekend's Bridgestone Invitational.

Image of the Week

This week's image depicts golf legend Tom Watson saying farewell to St. Andrews, the most storied course in all of golf. Most casual fans have focused on Miguel Jimenez' incredible bank shot Louis Oosthuizen's seemingly out-of-nowhere domination, but the true story line lies in Watson's final moments on the Old Course. The native of Missouri has been on tour for nearly forty years, creating scores of memories for golf fans to treasure, such as his near British Open victory at age 59.

The image of Watson kissing the Swilcan Bridge will be replayed for as long as golfers flock to Britain for the prestigious tournament. His farewell will go down alongside the likes of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, who both gave touching goodbyes from the ancient stone structure. While Watson may have missed the cut this year, likely the final time he competes at St. Andrews, he tapped in for birdie on the final hole, a sendoff befitting of a five-time British Open champion.

Image of the Week

PGAtour.com

Much chatter has been raised over the past few months about Tiger Woods' personal life. Certain that the nation is tired of hearing rants and rumors about Tiger's "addiction" and whereabouts, the guru will skip the discussion on Woods' morals, almost.

The guru does not condone the actions of Tiger Woods in regards to his sex life.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, we can begin to discuss what you have come here to read. This week's image depicts Woods receiving one of his four green jackets, given annually to the winner of the Masters. One of golf's four major tournaments, the Masters is considered by many the most prestigious golf tournament in the world. To receive a green jacket is the dream possessed by all young, aspiring golfers, similar to the Stanley Cup in hockey or the Super Bowl in football.

Being the world-class golfer that Tiger is, he has had the green jacket bestowed upon him four times, tying him with Arnold Palmer of Latrobe, Pennsylvania for the second most victories. Only Jack Nicklaus has won more, earning his sixth at age 46. Tiger won for the first time in 1997 to become the youngest winner ever at age 21. In that year, he also set records for the lowest score (270, -18) and largest winning margin (a whopping 12 strokes).

It is clear that Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time. (His 14 major victories rank behind only Nicklaus' 18.) Yet, there is speculation that Tiger will not be on top of his game this week. Doubters say that he is out of "tournament shape" and that his off-course actions will be too distracting for him to play well. While this may be true, the guru believes that Tiger would not be playing if he did not believe he could win. During Monday's press conference, his first media session since his widely publicized national apology, Woods was quoted as saying he is "going to go out there and try to win this thing." With his track record at the Masters, he is fully capable of doing so.

Prediction: Tiger shows the world why he is in the discussion as the greatest of all time. He will win the Masters because he owns Augusta National, and that's one thing Elin can't take from him in divorce court.