Babes of the 2011 Masters

While golf fans prepare for the 75th Masters tournament taking place at Augusta National Golf Club, we are anticipating more than a handful of desperate housewives and wannabe spouses flooding the sidelines.

Since when is golf an aphrodisiac?

It must be the large purse that players get if they win that attracts the women.

They all want their hands on that purse, along with the million dollars inside.

While their hubbies are gruelingly practicing every day in vigorous downpour and uncontrollable winds, these women are relaxing in hot tubs or getting their hair done at the best salons, without a care in the world.

No wonder they look so calm during the tournament.

Here are the top 20 wives and girlfriends of the Masters, as well as those who will be missed.

Enjoy.

20 Caroline Harrington

20. Caroline Harrington

Married in 1997, Caroline and her husband Padraig have known each other since their teenage years in Dublin, Ireland.

Other than being the wife of a famous golfer, Caroline bears a striking resemblance to actress Jade Krakowski of 30 Rock.

19.Kate Rose

The former world-class gymnast is often seen walking a balance beam on the course and doing occasional backflips.

Also a good wife, Rose adjusted her regimen to help her husband Justin's back and propel him into the upper echelon of golf.

18. Carminita Immelman

18. Carminita Immelman

Carminita wins the award for best moment of 2008.

She waited excitedly at the 18th hole for her husband, Trevor, holding their one-year-old son, Jacob.

Jacob couldn’t wait to jump into his Father’s arms and celebrate his win at the 2008 Masters.

While it was obviously precious, the cameramen couldn't help but focus on Carminita.

17. Tabitha Furyk

Her husband, Jim, has made a stellar career for himself with an awkward and unconventional swing.

In the same regard, he has attracted one of the sexiest women on the tour with his gawky, unorthodox appearance.

Well done, Jim.

16. Kristy McLachlin

While Parker may not be highly ranked himself, the Hawaiian golfer has the highest ranked wife according to the Sports Illustrated poll of "hottest significant others."

She topped all others with 23% of the vote.

15. Amy Cambell

Golfer Chad Campbell's wife is also known for being an avid singer and songwriter with an electrifying smile.

Hopefully she serenades her husband before he heads to work to perfect that money-making swing.

14. Anna Cladakis

It's so typical that John Daly would be dating a Hooters girl.

However, as Promotional Director, Anna is more than just a cute waitress with voluptuous features.

She is known for having changed Daly from a morbidly obese alcoholic who fights gambling problems to an in-control golfer on his way back to the top.

There is someone out there for everybody.

13. Emma Stenson

Her husband, Henrik, is statistically the fourth best Swedish golfer ever.

By the looks of it, he's got the number one ranked Swedish wife.

12. Lis Estes

When she participated in a charity PGA event for the wives, her husband, golfer Bob Estes, was her caddy.

Not only did she ignore his advice, but she missed the green on every hole.

She did look cute doing it though.

11. Jocelyn Hefner

The distant cousin of Hugh Hefner is married to golfer Paul Casey.

The opportunities for surprise parties are endless when the Playboy mansion is only a call away.

10. Sonya Toms

Since Sonya Toms began dating her husband David long before he made it to the big stage, there is still hope for nerdy golfers everywhere.

In 2004, Sports Illustrated took a poll asking golfers who the hottest wife or girlfriend was.

Sonya Toms came in 5th, with 8 billion players voting.

9. Holly Sweeney

One can just hear Chris Farley saying, "HOLY SCHNIKES!"

While her name might be a running joke, her looks aren't.

She is married to the young, talented golfer Rory McIlroy.

8. Meagan Franks

After her husband, golfer Martin Laird, won the 2011 Bay Hall Invitational, Franks looked like a kid in a candy store.

She was holding a plethora of roses, wearing a Rolex watch and smiling as if she knew she never had to work another day in her life.

Oh wait, she doesn't have to.

7. Amy Mickelson

Perhaps the most well-known woman on the tour, Amy Mickelson embraces her role as queen.

The former Phoenix Suns cheerleader was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 and, after John Daly began the pink short trend to support her, all the golfers followed suit.

One of the more classy ladies of golf.

6. Elin Nordegren We'll Miss You

She is Swedish, a former model and the ex-nanny of golfer Jesper Parnevik's kids.

Tiger Woods' ex-wife seems to be doing just fine without him, considering she negotiated a $5 million payout if he was unfaithful.

Karma always wins.

5. Allison Micheletti

German golfer Martin Kaymer sure has plenty to come home to every night as his trophy wife Allison continues to overshadow his tournaments.

Whether he wins or loses, Kaymer earns a trophy every night.

4. Lisa Pavin

Following the publishing of her provocative pose on the cover of Avid Golfer Magazine and multiple altercations with the media, it was clear that Corey Pavin's wife is no conventional Ryder Cup wife.

Lisa takes "captainness" to a new level, making sure everybody knows that she is her husband's no. 1 supporter.

As an infant, she left for the United States during the fall of Saigon in 1974 with her family.

Growing up in Iowa, a city not known for its Asian-American population, she lost her mother at age 11.

She helped her dad to raise the family.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

3. Ana Ivanovic

Talk about a power couple, Adam Scott's girlfriend is quite the tennis player.

But she may begin to garner more attention as a first lady of golf.

They both practice the clenched fist celebration every night before they go to sleep.

2. Suzanne Stonebarger

While he calls himself more of a beer guy than a wine connoisseur, it is clear that his wife, Suzanne, is like a fine wine, only getting better with age.

Fun Fact: Ricky's father Bruce Barnes was a punter for the New England Patriots.

That must be where he acquired his athletic ability.

1. Alli MacKenzie

The former FHM model doesn't shy away from the camera... at all.

Her husband, golfer Will MacKenzie, likes to join her in a photo shoot occasionally.

Why go on tour when you've already hit a hole in one?

Source- Bleacherreport.com

Tiger Woods: Why He's Still the Favorite to Win the 2011 Masters

No, he’s not playing his best right now, although he isn’t playing quite as poorly as some pundits would have you believe.

Facts are facts: Tiger Woods hasn’t won a tournament of any kind since November of 2009 and hasn’t won a major since the U.S. Open in 2008.

This is Augusta National, and Tiger always plays well here. His first Masters as a professional came in 1997. He has won the tournament four times.

But just for fun, let’s not count those wins.

Not including his four championships, Woods has an average finish of just better than ninth at Augusta.

In 2010, the Masters was the first tournament Woods played in since his Thanksgiving 2009 car accident. In a matter of hours, Woods went from the world’s best golfer and maybe the world’s most identifiable athlete (certainly America’s) to a popular punchline.

Although Tiger hadn’t played competitively in more than four months, he managed to finish tied for fourth. He has played more in the last year—his game is sharper now.

No, he is not performing up to his high standards, but we’ve seen this before.

Gary Player won the Masters in 1978 at 42 years old. He hadn’t won a major or anything else on tour since 1974. Jack Nicklaus was 46 in 1986 when he won the Masters. He hadn’t won a major since 1980 and had only won two tournaments in the subsequent years.

Will we see this scene again in 2011?
David Cannon/Getty Images

But to find the greatest parallel, we need to look back only one year.

Phil Mickelson won the 2010 Masters despite not playing particularly strong that season. The Masters was the only tournament Mickelson won in 2010. That was the first season since 2003 where Mickelson failed to win multiple tournaments. Although he had won eight tournaments, he hadn’t won a major since the 2006 Masters.

The other significant parallel is the off-course problems of both Mickelson and Woods.

No, the problems aren’t the same. Mickelson’s wife and mother were diagnosed with breast cancer while Woods had his extra-marital affairs become public knowledge. Mickelson is definitely the more sympathetic character, but golf was not the first thing on his mind—just like it’s not the first thing on Woods’ mind.

Player, Nicklaus, Mickelson and Woods all have won thing in common: They have all enjoyed great success at Augusta. It brings out something special in all of them. It’s something that can’t be explained with statistics, but it’s there.

People who play well at Augusta once frequently do so for their entire careers. Through 2010, 74 Masters have been played. Sixteen players have won at least two Green Jackets, and those 16 players account for 45 of the 74 championships.

During last weekend’s Shell Houston Open, NBC color man Johnny Miller labeled Mickelson the favorite to win the Masters. Mickelson is certainly on a short list—he looked great in winning his first tournament since the 2010 Masters.

Tiger Woods winning his first major, the 1997 Masters
Stephen Munday/Getty Images

For the first time since right before the 1997 Masters, Mickelson is ranked ahead of Woods in the world rankings. Does anyone remember what happened there?

Also, remember that this is not the first time that we have seen Woods struggle to win majors. After winning in 1997, Woods wouldn't win another major until the 1999 PGA Championship, a period of 10 majors. After faltering at the 2000 Masters, Woods won the next four majors, completing the "Tiger Slam."

After winning the 2002 U.S. Open, Woods did not win a major until the 2005 Masters—again, a period of 10 majors. The 2005 Masters was the first of two majors that Woods would win in 2005—he won two majors again in 2006.

Now, here we are, and 10 majors have been played since Tiger's last major victory. Granted, he has only played in eight, as he missed the final two majors of 2008 with a knee injury. Augusta is a tough course, but it is a place where struggling great players can find their game and win—it has happened before.

We will never see the era of 2000-2002 again. In those years, if Tiger was in the tournament, the only fair bet was him against the entire field. There are too many young, talented players now that weren't around then.

That doesn't mean that Tiger is not a good bet. He is indeed the best bet, and will be for quite some time.

Source-bleacherreport.com

Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club to host TOYOTA EAST AFRICA ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

The annual Toyota East Africa golf tournament will be played on Friday at the Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club where a big field of 200 golfers has been drawn to battle it out for an array of prizes.

Toyota, the hole-in-one sponsors at the recently concluded Barclays Kenya Open Golf Championship at Muthaiga, have invited most of the country’s business executives and its clients for the contest.

“Our sponsorship at the Kenya Open was directed at the professional golfers and although no one was lucky enough to win the Toyota Prado at Muthaiga, hopefully, we will see that happening in the future,” Toyota East Africa chief executive officer, Hylton Bannon, said.

“At Windsor, our focus is on the amateur golfers, drawn from our dealers, our clients and our staff.”

Bannon will tee off in the company of Anita Culazzo, Craig Hosken and Jawad Jaffer while Toyota, Dennis Awori, will be in the team of Isaac Awuondo, Chris Tiffin and Transport minister Amos Kimunya.

Others in the field will include Peter Serem, a seasoned golfer, Nick Nesbitt, Laban Omangi and Chris Angell. The field also has Windsor’s John Cokayne, Humphrey Maina, Rufus Kiai and John Gatharia.

Meanwhile, the annual Rotary Club of Muthaiga charity golf tournament will be played at the Royal Nairobi Golf Club.

Funds raised in this year’s event will be channeled towards community projects spread across the country.

The 18-hole tournament will feature 40 teams, consisting of four players per team.

Among the projects to be supported from the event’s funds are community service projects in public health and sanitation, healthcare, school literacy projects, vocational training, environmental rehabilitation and disaster relief initiatives.
Source-Daily Nation

Nyali Country Club to host Africa Zone Six Golf Championship 2011

The Kenya Golf Union (KGU) has finally chosen Nyali Golf and Country Club Mombasa as the venue for this year’s Africa Zone Six Golf Championship scheduled for April 11 to 15.

KGU chairman, Parshu Hirani, over the weekend concluded an agreement with the club as well as Nyali International Beach Hotel, which will accommodate all the 12 teams participating in the championship being staged in Kenya for the third time.

“We had an opportunity to inspect the course and later had a meeting with the club chairman Vishnu Dhutia, his captain George Nesbitt as well as the hotel’s Chief Operations Officer Aftab Rupshi and they all promised to co-operate,’’ said Hirani.

The championship had initially been scheduled to take place at Leisure Golf Club in the South Coast, but the course was found to be in poor condition, hence the KGU decided to check on both Nyali and Vipingo Ridge.

“We settled for Nyali because of the arrangement the club has with Nyali International.Besides, Nyali offered to host the event with less than what the other venues had put on the table, in any case the course at Nyali is in an excellent condition,’’ he said.

All the 12 teams are expected at Nyali from April 11 for the flag raising ceremony the following day while the first round singles in the event being played on the Ryder Cup format is set for April 13, with the four-ball-better-ball and foursomes to take place on April 14.

Marketing in Turbulent Times

Rather than simply weathering the current storm, direct marketers and copywriters can succeed in these rough conditions by marketing themselves more aggressively and intelligently


When times get tough, as they are today, many companies begin cutting back. Sometimes they let employees go and stop there. Other times, they eliminate their marketing. Don't do it. 

Here's advice from two prominent public relations figures. "[Cutting back is] a bad move," says Stacy Cornay , owner of Communication Concepts Public Relations & Advertising, a communications development and strategy firm in Boulder, Colo. "The public has to be reminded about who you are and what you're selling. Instead of cutting back on marketing, be more aggressive."

John Shors , a former public relations executive in Boulder and author of the critically acclaimed novel "Beneath a Marble Sky" concurs and wrote the following: "When companies cease touting themselves via the media, opportunities are created for their competitors to step into the spotlight."

Staying in front of your customers and prospects is vital-even in a recession.

I started my business in 1989, when times were also tough. The reason I went out on my own was because people were getting laid off at all the agencies I approached. I was caught in the Colorado recession and repeatedly heard, "Sorry, we're not hiring ... but if you start a business as a freelancer, we'll retain your services."
So I took this as a "sign from above." It was my opportunity to grab the bull by the horns and start my own business. The Write Direction was born on Jan. 1, 1989.

Despite lean economic times, I was able to break ground ... make an impact ... find clients ... establish a successful business. It happened because of a concerted effort to market myself and keep marketing.

Don't give up the ship. You can do the same without breaking the bank. Pick up the phone, write a trade article [editor's note: feel free to pitch me ideas! -EB], fax the press about an accomplishment, send out an e-mail. The ideas are endless, but your efforts don't need to be. The important aspect is to simply make those consistent, smart efforts to market yourself-and these efforts will be rewarded, sooner or later.

Opportunity, Not Grim Reaper, Knocking on Your Door
During uncertain times, when people are not spending, marketers should consider this phase as an opportunity rather than a curse. Invest further in your marketing instead of waiting for a change in market conditions. This tactic is supported by the following findings revealed by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, reported in a commissioned study, Advertising in a Recession, by Bernard Ryan Jr.


1. The Buchen Advertising study tracked sales after the 1949, '54, '58 and '61 recessions. It found that sales and profits dropped off at companies that cut back on advertising. The findings also revealed that sales lagged after the recession for those companies that cut back during the recession.

2. The 1970 and 1979 studies by ABP/Meldrum & Fewsmith substantiated the Buchen study. It reported that higher sales and net income were achieved by those companies that maintained their advertising than those that cut it altogether.

3. Following the 1981-82 recession, McGraw-Hill Research's Laboratory of Advertising Performance reported that "business-to-business firms that maintained or increased their advertising expenditures during the 1981-82 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth both during the recession and for the following three years than those which eliminated or decreased advertising."
It might even be tempting to "ride it out"-to do absolutely nothing until things turn around. But this passive approach yields passive results. Nothing will happen while you're waiting, and when things do turn around, the business will go to the people who've been doing something all along. "The people who will get the lion's share of the business-both now and in the future-are the ones who work to build relationships," says Michael Beck, head "zookeeper" at ClientMonkey.com, a marketing strategies website dedicated to getting more clients. 

I'm not forgetting your fears. I understand that it's frightening to dip into your budget to keep on spending when the economy is slow. But to stay ahead of your competition, it should be a priority for your company. Fortunately, it can be done without spending $2 million for a Super Bowl commercial.

Develop a Savvy Plan of Attack
When you're on a shoestring budget, there are several creative ways to market yourself effectively. Here are four ways to help you get started. 

1. Send out an e-mail. 
One of e-mail's competitive advantages is its "... ability to help you protect your most valuable asset in a down economy: loyal customers," says John Rizzi, president and CEO of e-Dialog, a provider of e-mail marketing and database technologies for permission-based e-mail marketers.

Today, e-mail has reached almost universal penetration, with 97 percent of consumers and 94 percent of marketers using the channel (according to a study published by Forrester Research, Email Marketing Comes of Age). So contact those people you have relationships with or who have opted in to your e-mail list. It doesn't have to be a sales pitch-and it's probably better if it's not. Simply provide some helpful information that is relevant to them, such as a monthly or quarterly newsletter.

2. Join professional organizations. 
However, don't just pay your membership dues and walk away. Many people join organizations, then sit back and wait for business to come their way. Clients don't automatically knock on your door just because you've become a member of the local Chamber of Commerce.

I found when I volunteered to serve on a committee (i.e., public relations, entertainment, programming, event planning, etc.), or sat on the board of directors, that fellow colleagues discovered more about who I was, what my business was about and what my capabilities were. Then, many times, they referred me to others just based on their knowledge of me, not necessarily because they had worked with me on a writing project. Joining and actively participating in such organizations is a great opportunity to increase your network of contacts while being given the chance to share your expertise.

3. Offer to speak in public. 
"The best way to market yourself is to give yourself to the market. Expose yourself to your prospects," writes marketing professional Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The New York Times best-sellers "The Sales Bible" and "The Little Black Book of Connections."

Call your local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, business associations, etc. Many of these groups hold monthly membership meetings where professionals come in and speaks on a specific topic of interest. When I lived in Boulder, I presented at what the Chamber of Commerce called "Brown Bags," speaking on such topics as "AIDA: A Formula for Successful Copywriting" and "Surefire Steps for Writing Effective Print Promotions." Earlier this year, I presented a workshop about "Marketing in Turbulent Times" to the Kauai North Shore Business Council and later, presented tips from this topic to the Rotary Club of Kauai.

Sharing what you know increases your credibility regarding your area of expertise. Even better, appearing at meetings like these puts you among a circle of businesspeople who may eventually need your services. 

4. Invite clients, colleagues and prospects to your speaking engagement. 
Here's a great opportunity to build client relationships and encourage enhanced relationships with prospects without using a hard-sell approach. By hearing you speak, they get the chance to learn more about you without feeling the pressure of a sales pitch. While you're sharing your professional knowledge in a relaxed, nonthreatening environment-without the fear of losing a sale-they're observing your expertise, confidence and poise.

5. Write articles for business or trade publications. 
This helps increase your exposure, as getting published sends your name out to a broader audience while conveying your knowledge about a specific subject. It also enhances your professional reputation. Many publications will include your photo and phone number so readers may contact you. Then, after your article has been published, send copies to your clients, colleagues and prospects!

Maintain a Presence
The list of cost-effective ways to market yourself goes on and on. From sending out press releases to local and trade publications to teaching a class or workshop about your area of expertise. As you try out all these ideas, you will come up with many on your own. Don't be afraid to test your own, as long as they don't work against your other attempts or risk annoying potential contacts and clients.
Most important of all? Don't let people forget who you are ... where you are ... how you can be reached. Do what you can to maintain a presence. Stay in touch with your customers, be it via phone, "snail" or e-mail. Ask them what they want and need during this time. Remember, if potential customers are out there looking for your product or service and your name is visible, while your competition's is not, your marketing efforts will invite them to call you.

Past president of the Rocky Mountain Direct Marketing Association, Debra Jason is a seasoned copywriter with more than 20 years of experience in the field of direct marketing. She started her business, The Write Direction, in Boulder, Colo., in 1989. Now based out of Kauai, Hawaii, she continues to specialize in writing web and direct marketing communications. She may be reached by phone at (888) 449-0815, e-mail: debra@writedirection.com.