New PGN Staff Writer: Les Bailey

Hi! My name is Les Bailey, and I am going to be one of your new Staff  Writers here on Pro Golf Now. I am currently writing blogs at the FanSided Network over on the Nascar site called Stock Car Spin.

I am an avid sports fan with interests in almost everything that can be called a contest. My favorite sports are by far Golf and Stock Car Racing and no doubt Football. Being from Texas, you have to know I am a solid Dallas Cowboy fan. In fact, I am old enough to remember when The Dallas Cowboys were the Dallas Texans, before becoming the Kansas City Chiefs. I love Major League Baseball and watch some Basketball.

As an introductory blog, I thought it would be kinda neat to tie some golf in with  Nascar to find some common ground. For instance, do you know who the best golfer within the Nascar ranks would be? Dale Jarrett. Yeah, I know Dale Jarrett is retired, but he is still part of the family as a broadcaster with the ABC/ESPN team. Dale won the Daytona 500 three times in 1993, 1996, and 2000. He won a Winston Cup Championship(Now called Sprint Cup) in 1999. Dale at one time carried a scratch handicap out on the links.

Other NASCAR drivers that play golf are Elliott Sadler, Kurt Busch, Mark Kenseth, Michael Waltrip, Kevin Lepage, Rick Crawford, Derrike Cope, Boris Said, Bobby Labonte and Rusty Wallace. it’s also been reported that Denny Hamlin, driver of the Federal Express Toyota, and employed by former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs has been seen carrying Bubba’s bag in some practice rounds. I wonder if Bubba has talked Denny into letting him take the #11 out for a spin?

Five time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson along with his major sponsor Lowes,  hosted his sixth annual Toolbox for Education Golf Tournament this week in San Diego. The golf tournament and auction has raised more than $500,000 each year and is on track to do so again this year. Funds raised goes towards Jimmie Johnson Foundation Lowe’s Toolbox for Education champions grants awarded to K through 12 school in the area where Chandra and Jimmie grew up and currently reside.

The most interesting connection is the status of both  Super Stars for each of these sports. Both careers somewhat derailed (not for the same reasons) about the same time, and both careers are showing signs of recovery. I’m talking about of course, one Eldrick(Tiger)Woods, and son of seven time Winston Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt, and Nascar’s most popular driver for nine consecutive years, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Let’s go back in time. Fathers Day 2008. Dale Earnhardt Jr.(known in Nascar circles as Dale Jr. or just Junior) went to Victory Lane at the Michigan International Speedway that afternoon, and later in the evening, we saw an obviously hurting Tiger Woods limp around the course at Torrey Pines, almost falling down when hitting his driver as well as using it for a crutch at times. He made a miraculous putt on the 18th hole, securing a Monday playoff with Rocco Mediate, in which he again limped around Torrey Pines to post the 14th, and last of his Major Victories. This would also be Dale Jr’s last victory in Sprint Cup for four years.

Tiger would have surgery on his left knee, and work his way through rehabilitation. Dale Jr. slid of f the track at a road course during a practice session and got 2nd and 3rd degree burns. I think this accident and the death of Dale Sr. at the Daytona 500 in 2001 would further take it’s toll on his psychic.

Tiger had marital problems, changed his  swing, changed swing  coaches and basically struggled to return to the form he enjoyed earlier in the decade. Dale Jr. left his father’s racing company(Dale Earnhardt Inc) due to differences with his step mother, changed crew chief’s several times and eventually went to work for Hendricks Motor Sports. Tiger fired long time caddy Stevie Williams after a dust up over Williams caddying for another golfer during his recovery.

Finally Tiger has started to show some life. He would win at Arnold Palmer’s tournament in Orlando, missed a cut in North Carolina,   had a terrible Masters, and a win again at Jack’s Tournament in Ohio. He and showed up at the US Open last weekend full of confidence, with his sights set on winning his first major since 2008.

Dale Jr. would run really well at Pocono, the week before Fathers Day, but elected  to come in for gas and wind up with an 8th place finish.  His consistency has been good all season, but he still hadn’t won a race.

Both competetitors now came into Fathers Day weekend 2012 looking to end their string of bad luck. Tiger had good rounds on both Thursday and Friday, but looked to be struggling on the monster at Olympic where he couldn’t control his distance well enough to get a good look at a putt, but went into Saturday with a share of the lead.

While Dale Jr. ended his 143 race winless streak at Michigan, Tiger would shoot himself out of contention on Saturday and somewhat disappeared from contention. Although he has won a couple of tournaments along the way, his real prize is the 15th major, moving him ever closer to the record he most covets in the world. Jack Nicklaus’ 18 Majors. Dale Jr. is on schedule for the one thing he covets, his first Sprint Cup Championship.

I sure hope you enjoy my stories about Golf from a fan’s perspective. Please feel free to comment on the content that I provide, and be sure to call me up if I make a mistake. If you too are also into Nascar, be sure to mosey over to Stock Car Spin and check out my stories there after you’re done here.

 Be sure to follow me on Twitter @Spin_47