Puerto Rico Open / PGA TOUR / March 20-23, 2008
 

Here's the first round LBG Leaderboard:

Brian Gay* -- 69 / -3 / T15
Greg Kraft -- 69 / -3 / T15
John Riegger -- 71 / -1 / T39
Jay Williamson -- 71 / -1 / T39
Neal Lancaster -- 73 / +1 / T79
Robin Freeman -- 75 / +3 / T110

* Brian's round was one of only three that were bogey-free.

The Leaderboard grows...........
 

Lynn,

It looks as though the LBG leaderboard is adding members as the months go by here. IMO getting noticed on "the big stage" is the best route to increasing the prominence of TGM as taught by LBG. As demands on your time increase, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

You are going to be one busy 900 year old.........

UPP in chilly and maybe about to snow again Ohio

LBG Leaderboard / Through 36
 

Thanks, Uppndownn. Lots of different things happening. Lots more to do. Lots more to come. Yessirree . . . It will be interesting!

Meanwhile, in Puerto Rico, Greg Kraft went low with a 6-under par 66 and is now T4 at -9 and only 3 shots back. Greg's round was one of three 66s, the low score of the day. From the PGATOUR.com:

Veteran Greg Kraft moved into contention with a 6-under 66 and stands at 9-under 135 through 36 holes. Kraft is making his 379th career start on the PGA TOUR. He won the 1993 Deposit Guaranty Classic when it was an unofficial event by making a birdie at the 72nd hole to beat Morris Hatalsky and Tad Rhyan by one stroke. He also captured the 2005 Northeast Pennsylvania Classic on the Nationwide Tour.

After 36, here's the LBG Leaderboard:

Greg Kraft -- 69-66 / -9 / T4
Brian Gay -- 69-70 / -5 / T14
John Riegger -- 71-70 / -3 / T34
Jay Williamson -- 71-71 / -2 / T48
Neal Lancaster -- 73-70 / -1 / T60
Robin Freeman -- 75-74 / +5 / MC

With 81 players (80 professionals) making the cut, the field will be subjected to a 54-hole cut on Saturday, with the nearest number of players to 70 making it to the final day.


:)

Greg Kraft is sitting at T2, one stroke behind the leader Bo Van Pelt. He shot a cool -3 today.

Bring it on home Greg!

Saw Kraft talk to the GC and said at the end that its good to know that he is finally in his career, working on all the right things. Way to go Yoda.

Krafty's Kickin' In Puerto Rico
 

Just logging on after spending the day at The Golf Club at Cuscowilla in Eatonton, Georgia, with LBG Gallery star Collin Neeman. Collin has just turned 21 and is headed for The Gateway minitour wars in West Palm Beach, Florida, next week.

After 54, here's the good news from the Puerto Rico Open:

Greg Kraft -- 69-66-69 / -12 / T2
Jay Williamson -- 71-71-69 / -5 / T23
Neal Lancaster -- 73-70-69 / -4 / T31
John Riegger -- 71-70-72 / -3 / T41
Brian Gay -- 69-70-75 / -2 / T50

From the PGATour.com:

Kraft put together his third straight sub-70 round to start a tournament, something he hadn't accomplished since the Tucson Open in 2002. That's also the tournament where Kraft says he contracted Valley fever, which attacked his lungs and set his career back for several seasons.

"I'm tickled pink where I'm at," Kraft said. "You never know what'll happen."

:rambo:

Get'in Close
 

Coming down to the wire and looking good for Greg.

Nice to see him at the top of the leaderboard.

Hum dee dum dee dum...
 

http://www.mantles.com/

Doo dee doo tee doo dee dum...

http://www.silverqueen.com/SUPPLIES/supplies.asp

Dwee dop diddle dwee bop shaboo...

http://www.trophycentral.com/trophycases.html

Hmm... gonna hafta start chargin' 15 cents extree for this service....

Greg Kraft - PGA TOUR Champion
 

From the PGA website -

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Greg Kraft shot a 70 to outlast Bo Van Pelt on the final holes, finishing 14 under for a one-shot victory at the inaugural Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular on Sunday.

Jerry Kelly (70), at No. 63 the highest-ranked golfer here, and Van Pelt (72) were second at Trump International Golf Club. Briny Baird (72) and Kevin Stadler (67) were another shot behind.

Kraft won the Deposit Guarantee Classic in Mississippi 15 years ago. Since it took place the same weekend as the Masters, however, it didn't count as an "official" win on the PGA TOUR.

The world's best may have again been elsewhere for Kraft's latest success, playing in the World Golf Championships-CA Championships in Florida, but this time his success is bona fide.

Kraft earned $630,000 -- more than he's made on the PGA TOUR combined since 2003 -- and has secured playing privileges through 2010. He had played only two other TOUR events this season, his best finish before now a tie for 19th at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico, which also came the week of a WGC tournament.

Last May Yoda posted this regarding Gregs improvement.
Greg and I began our work together in mid-April at the Nationwide's Athens Regional Foundation Classic in Bogart, Georgia. We continued it the following week at the Henrico County Open in Richmond, Virginia. I broke into a broad smile -- actually a LOL! -- when I read his text message to me a couple of days after our first session:

"Got my straight line baseline with my right forearm flying wedge."

Way to go Greg and cheers to a great comeback. :martini:

Congrats Lynn and Greg!

No surprise to me after seeing such a determined student on the range at last years Henrico County Open. I've still got those dowels too....

Greg Kraft Wins the Puerto Rico Open
 

Just in from an Easter Sunday afternoon family gathering. While I was watching the 1991 fantasy movie Hook with two grandkids on my lap, Greg Kraft was in Puerto Rico winning his first official PGA TOUR event.

379 starts (only three active players without a victory have more).

Finally, at age 43, a win.

Tell me dreams can't come true!

Congratulations, Greg . . . Nobody's worked harder or deserves it more.

:clap:

:toothy1:

<iframe width="648" scrolling="no" height="358" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" name="t1" id="t1" src="http://www.pgatour.com/photos/2008/r483/03/23/round4/include.html"></iframe>

Well done Greg and Lynn.

Another good news story for TGM

The Graduate
 

I remember, Ed!

The tournament was staged last April in Richmond, Virginia, and as usual, I had traveled light to the event. On my way to the course, I stopped at the local Home Depot and picked up my basic training aids -- five dowels. You were there in the late afternoon after Wednesday's Pro-Am and also after Thursday's first round, as I used them to hammer out the basic concepts with Greg.

You were there on Friday, too, walking with his wife, Paula, and me, as we followed him in the second round. After the front nine, I hustled for my airplane and gave the dowels to you. Shoulda kept'em . . . they're a souvenir set now!

But don't expect Greg back for this year's tournament. No sir, no more Nationwide Tour events for Krafty. He's back where he belongs:

He's back on the PGA TOUR.

:salut:

Final Results -- 2008 Puerto Rico Open
 

Greg Kraft -- $630,000 69-66-69-70=274 / -14 / #1

Neal Lancaster -- $22,275 73-70-69-72=284 / -4 / T28
Jay Williamson -- $8,522 71-71-69-76=287 / -1 / T50
Brian Gay -- $7,910 69-70-75-74=288 / E / T54
John Riegger -- $6,860 71-70-72-79=292 / +4 / 72

This is great stuff,
CONGRATULATIONS GREG :salut:
and LYNN:notworthy

Congratulations Greg, fantastic playing!

Back in the Saddle Again!!
 

Congrats Greg. Sweet win. Another great Team LBG performance! Confidence they have, win they will. You can just feel the smile on the little green guy.

Awesome!
Congrats again this week to the student and the teacher!

Great shot on 17 to the green. Can you talk about his swing, Lynn?

A Day In Tampa With Greg Kraft
 

In addition to working at the various tournament sites, Greg and I spent a full day at his home club (TPC of Tampa Bay) before last summer's local U.S. Open qualifier (which he won).

We continued to build on the major concepts of TGM, especially the On Line accumulation and release of power. We also spent a good bit of time in the short game area applying the three hinge actions to a wide variety of shots.

Here are a few photos from that day.

Well done team. Patience is not a virtue. It is a necessity:)

Let's see now, over the past year:
John Riegger wins a Nationwide event and is back on the PGA Tour. Jay Williamson almost wins a PGA event and is back on the PGA Tour. Brian Gay wins a PGA event. Greg Kraft wins a PGA event. I'm sensing a trend. I think I may need to get my butt back down to The Swamp before there aren't any openings on the lesson tee!
Congratulations to the players and "coach".

One On the Way
 

Thanks, dcg! And, regarding your Swamp visit, we better get with it: Q-School is just six months away! :laughing9

Don't forget that Jay Williamson also won a Nationwide event (Ft. Smith) and was well on his way back before his great showing at The Travelers Championship! That makes a total of five PGA TOUR event championships -- two PGA TOUR and three Nationwide Tour -- won by LBG students in less than a year.

And now, with Brian, Greg, Jay and John enjoying PGA TOUR Exempt Status, leave the porch light on for one more:

Scott Dunlap.

As chronicled in these threads, Scott won the first Nationwide event of this year, the Panama Movistar Championship, and is now #4 on the Money List. http://www.lynnblakegolf.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=5364 The Top 25 at year-end automatically get their PGA TOUR cards, and Scott has won $115,512 to date. http://www.pgatour.com/h/stats/info/?109

Last year, $196,896 made it, so with 26 events to go, things are lookin' good!

:golfcart2:

Puerto Rico Open -- 19th Hole
 

Check out the summary story of Greg Kraft's victory here:

http://www.pgatour.com/2008/tourname....ap/index.html

:)

Great work, Greg and Lynn.

Congratulations!:golf:

Master Kraft
 

Still riding that LBG wave...and that wave is picking up momentum!

Fan Mail Moments
 

Thanks for all the support, guys (you, too, Stephanie!). It really means a lot to me.

And nobody is more fan-friendly than Greg, so he would get a big kick out of your congrats as well. But don't expect to hear from him, because as far as I know, he has never been on the site. :(

He did text me his appreciation from Puerto Rico, and that will have to do!

:salut:

ut oh....
 

Lynn,
Congrats to you and Ted et. al at LBG for your great work with Gregg Kraft (and Scotty). I'm with Dcg though...I need to get back to the Swamp SOON or there will be NO times available on the lesson tee!
Tom

Just received my copy of Golfweek and the author of the article about this tournament said Greg Kraft was making swing changes with Dr. Jim Suttie. Huh?

No big thang...
 

If memory serves me, Greg had been working with Suttie prior to meeting Lynn. I seem to remember a post here that he was referred to Lynn by another player at one of the tournaments, and that is how their working relationship began. That doesn't mean he stopped working with Jim Suttie. It is not all that unusual for tour players to employ more than one pair of eyes concurrently. I know I shop at both Lowes and Home Depot.

Kinda' like Phil working with Rick Smith and Butch and now Els working with Leadbetter and Butch. That's what I was thinking when I read the article---perhaps the author didn't know about his work with Yodus Maximus.

Victory Party
 

As detailed in prior posts, my work with Greg was in the spring and summer of last year, both on tour and at his home club in Tampa. Before that, he had spent considerable time working with Butch Harmon (#1, Golf Digest America's 50 Greatest Teachers) and Robert Baker (Golf Magazine Top 100 Instructors / unranked list). And before that, with Jim Suttie (#18, Golf Digest America's 50 Greatest Teachers). Given Greg's 22 years as a professional and 379 starts on the PGA TOUR, this list may be incomplete.

From the article's statement -- there were no details -- it appears that Greg and Jim got together again sometime "late last season". Fine by me. Greg and I had -- and still have as far as I know -- a professional relationship, not a marriage.

In educational endeavors, the teacher informs and the student applies. Each of us is the product of the many teachers we have had thoughout our lifetime. This is true whether those teachers are formal (academic) or informal (interpersonal), direct (by their words) or indirect (by their example). And always, some teachers will have a bigger influence and impact (not always positive) on one's life than others.

In this specific instance, Greg gets 100 percent of the credit for the winning application in Puerto Rico.

Looks like we teachers have to share.

:occasion:

And you feel comfortable stating this for the LBG community to see? Bless your soul!

Duh?
 

Well, that one zoomed right over my head...