Calm before storm includes coffee, crepes

It feels quiet at Quail Hollow this morning but, honestly, how could it not?

Michael Jordan isn’t here, Tiger doesn’t tee off until after 1 p.m.. Neither does Phil.

Robert Garrigus is playing well. So, see what I mean?

So I figured it was a good time to prowl through the Quail Hollow clubhouse. The locker room was virtually deserted, the morning wave of players on the course and the afternoon guys still not here.

It’s a beautiful locker room but it looks a little cluttered this week because seemingly every player has stashed his big travel (the one he puts his clubs in) on top of the lockers. There must be close to a hundred of them on top of the lockers.

In the main hallway inside the clubhouse, there’s a 5-foot-high wooden butler serving as decoration. The butler is holding a silver tray and a snifter of brandy to go with a hand-written sign that says ‘Pub’ and points the way.

Every so often, the butler starts shaking, an amusing little touch.

The members call him ‘X’ and if you know Charlotte golf, you get the inside joke.

Outside, there’s a new Starbucks and a stand selling crepes. You don’t get that at Greensboro.

The crepe stand was suggested by John Sergi, who handles the food service at the Wachovia and he convinced Christian Jouault to give it a go here this week. It works at the U.S. Open in tennis and at other events.

And as the word gets out, it’s going to work at the Wachovia, especially with cooler weather coming.

You can get breakfast crepes with ham and eggs. I can personally vouch for the chicken, spinach, cheese and mushroom crepe. It’s outstanding.

And if you have a sweet tooth, you can get a strawberry and chocolate crepe with whipped cream.

OK, enough of that. It’s time for golf again.

Rare treat over too quickly for most

That was pretty cool.

Seeing Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan playing together Wednesday at Quail Hollow was indeed a rare treat.

It didn't exactly feel like a golf tournament, more like a parade in a really pretty park.

Jordan, a big stogie in his mouth, played to the crowd, chatting all the way around. He smiled, he laughed, he kidded Woods and playing partner Skipper Beck.

He did everything but sign autographs.

Woods played along, though he's not naturally extroverted. He did his best to get some golf work in, practicing pitch shots and putts to imaginery hole locations for the Wachovia Championship, which is he's here, after all.

And Beck was outstanding. He pretended to go to his knees after hitting his opening tee shot and some club members had arranged to have an oxygen tank waiting for Beck at the first tee, just for fun.

He played well, too, prompting Tiger to call him "the greatest 14-handicap ever."

Fans began arriving at Quail Hollow at 4:30 a..m, riding the first shuttle bus into the property, a bus normally just for volunteer workers.

They lined every hole two and three deep. They did their best to chat with Woods and Jordan when they came near the ropes.

Woods and Jordan had a wager working but neither would specify the stakes. Woods won.

There was a great photo op on the 18th green when Woods, Michael Jordan and Bobcats owner Bob Johnson posed together.

Beck may have said it best after the round over.

"It all happened too fast," he said.

Yes, it did.

Update from the Tiger-Michael pairing

They were out early, riding shuttle buses into Quail Hollow or walking from well outside the perimeter of the golf course where Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan were playing in the Wachovia Championship Wednesday morning.

Thousands, not hundreds, of people picked a perfect spring morning to get out and watch Woods and Jordan and Charlotte car dealer Skipper Beck play golf.

If they weren’t talking about the sudden release of Panthers wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson - a hot topic in the gallery - they were oohing and ahhing and trying to get in the best spot to see Jordan and Woods spending time together.

The golf wasn’t bad. Woods shot 1-under par on the front nine though he never actually finished the ninth hole. Jordan was a few more over par and Beck was hanging in there.

By the time the group reached the 10th tee, they had played the front nine so fast they had to wait for Trevor Immelman’s group to tee off. Woods chatted with Immelman while Jordan stood near the amateur tees while a clatch of photographers encircled him. Jordan chatted, smiled, swung his driver back and forth.

The 10th hole is nearly 600 yards long and was lined two and three deep from tee to green watching the Woods-Jordan group. Two hours earlier when Adam Scott teed off followed by Phil Mickelson, there were no more than 50 fans around the same tee.

Sergio Garcia and Peyton Manning were on the course, too, a pretty good one-two punch of star power. But even the sun was having trouble matching the glow coming off the Woods-Jordan group.

Answering last-minute Wachovia questions

Now that Wachovia week has arrived, let’s run through a checklist of things to keep an eye on this week:

When will Tiger arrive?

Good question. I’m guessing he will show up at Quail Hollow sometime Tuesday afternoon to squeeze in a quick nine holes. That’s what he did the last time he played here in 2005. He likes to play early on Tuesdays but that may not be how it works this week.

What will Phil do next?

This is Week Two in the now-official Mickelson-Butch Harmon era and the first week was a good one. He tied for third at the Byron Nelson and nearly ran down the leaders on Sunday.
Obviously, Mickelson is working on some technical adjustments but the sense is he comes to Charlotte bubbling with optimism. He’s been close here before and likely will be this year.

Beyond the obvious, which players bear watching?

You may not know much – or anything – about Ken Duke but his name has been popping up on leader boards recently. Jerry Kelly nearly won at Hilton Head three weeks ago and shot 64 on Sunday at the Nelson for another top-five finish. He keeps talking about his fresh mental approach and there must be something to it.

What kind of shape is Quail Hollow in?

It’s close to perfect. The splash of rain last week and warmer temperatures did wonders. The rough has come up, the fairways are excellent and the greens are as quick as ever.
The hope is the rain will stay away this week so the course will play firm and fast.

What kind of national media attention does the Wachovia Championship get?

Plenty. The New York Times and Boston Globe are expected to staff the tournament as are Sports Illustrated, Golf World and Golf Week.

Any first-time players worth checking out this year?

Here’s a threesome – Darren Clarke, Jose Maria Olazabal and Henrik Stenson.
Clarke has become one of the game’s most popular figures, Olazabal has a short game that’s magic and Stenson is perhaps the game’s next great player.

Have another question you'd like us to answer? Post it in the Comments section and we'll try to get to it.

Fascination with Mickelson grows

It was no surprise this week when Phil Mickelson announced that he has entrusted his swing to instructor Butch Harmon, confirming what had been suspected for a while, especially since the two have been spotted together on a couple of practice ranges this year.

Is it a direct fallout of what happened to Mickelson in the U.S. Open last year?

That had to be part of Mickelson’s reasoning, given his difficulty in corraling his often wayward driver. Harmon said this week he will focus on making Mickelson more accurate off the tee and it’s the logical next step.

Even in today’s bomb and gouge world, accuracy off the tee is still critical. Hit it crooked often enough and pretty soon you’re going to hit it in spots you can’t get out of.

Mickelson knows that.

Did Mickelson do the right thing telling his friend Rick Smith he wanted to use another set of eyes on his game?

Time will tell. There is no better teacher in the game than Harmon. That doesn’t mean Smith isn’t good enough, it just means that Harmon’s record with Greg Norman, Tiger Woods and others justifies Mickelson’s curiosity in working with him.

In comments to The Golf Channel this week, Harmon made a point of saying that Mickelson will not be his No. 1 pupil. That designation still belongs to Adam Scott, though Mickelson isn’t likely to have to wait in line very often.

Harmon also said changes in Mickelson’s swing will be evident this week when he plays at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. They’ll be on display up-close here at the Wachovia Championship next week.

There’s always been a fascination with watching Mickelson play golf. Now more than ever.

Patty Moore adds to trophy collection

While waiting on the Wachovia Championship:

• Patty Moore of Charlotte keeps adding to her trophy collection. Moore won the Carolinas Women’s Senior Amateur championship Wednesday at the Country Club of Spartanburg, successfully defending her title in the process. Moore holds four senior titles in the Carolinas right now and has been one of the area’s top amateurs for many years. Charlotte players - Moore, Melissa Sage and Anne Washington - finished 1,2,3, respectively in Spartanburg.
• Quail Hollow survived the recent cold and blustery conditions without any serious problems. Bermuda grass areas turned brown again but if expected warm weather returns next week, those should green up substantially before tournament week.If there’s a concern, it’s getting the rough to be thick and consistent enough. Otherwise, the finishing touches are being added and everything looks as sharp as ever.
• Some people are jumping to the conclusion that Annika Sorenstam’s career is nearing its end now that she has significant back problems. No doubt, Sorenstam has other interests beyond her playing career now, particularly her new teaching center in Orlando. And back problems have wrecked as many careers as nervous putting strokes but I wouldn’t write off Sorenstam too quickly. She may never be as dominant as she once was but my guess is we haven’t seen the last of her. It’s the big moments that will likely inspire her but the grind of getting tournament ready, all the hours we don’t see when players are practicing, eventually take their toll.
• Adding Curtis Strange and Hubert Green to the World Golf Hall of Fame was the right call in both cases. Strange was the best player in the world for a time and Green remains an underappreciated talent. When it came to toughness, few could match them.

Heritage winner Weekley is one for the ages

If the PGA Tour has been looking for a new star, it has one in Boo Weekley.

He’s as country as George Jones and wonderfully unpolished.

Weekley may not look the part but he plays the game. His ability to hit low, driving shots through the wicked winds that swept across Harbour Town were critical to his victory Monday in the Verizon Heritage. He could keep his shots below the treetops, limiting the wind’s impact.

When it came time to win the tournament, Weekley sacrificed rock-solid golf for great theatre.

He chipped in for par on each of the last two holes, turning potential disaster into a dynamic finish.

Weekley is as good old boy as they come and he’s proud of it. He doesn’t mind talking about his pre-PGA Tour days when he worked for Monsanto and his job was to be lowered into enormous chemical tanks so that he could spray them out.

Until he found a synthetic fabric that worked for him, Weekley played golf in nylon rain pants because cotton tends to chafe him. Think Tiger would admit something like that?

Weekley also used to play professional golf in unlaced sneakers but he’s finally found some golf shoes that don’t make his feet hurt.

In March, Weekley had a chance to win the Honda Classic but missed a short putt on the 72nd hole then lost in a playoff the next day. This Monday was better than that Monday.

“I reckon my stars lined up right in the sky,” Weekley said.

With the victory, Weekley officially qualified for the 2008 Masters, the first player to do so under the tournament’s revived policy of inviting PGA Tour winners. Weekley said he’ll be sure to be there.

He can bring his tartan jacket, too.

Heritage halted while wind howls

I’m trying to find a word for how it looks and feels on the 18th hole at Harbour Town this Sunday afternoon.

Deserted comes to mind, but that’s because play has been suspended – perhaps for the day – because the wind has become so bad that golf has become more impossible than usual and the spectators/partygoers have congregated elsewhere so their drinks don’t slosh out of their glasses.

Ferocious is another word. The Calibogue Sound, normally a placid body of water speckled with boats on Heritage Sunday afternoons, looks like it’s boiling.

Or, to quote George Costanza, "the sea was angry that day, my friend."

David Feherty, the brilliant CBS commentator, is standing on the 18th green hitting four-foot putts while the wind howls. What should be a relatively straight putt is blowing 12 to 15 inches to the left going to the hole.

Behind him, workers are frantically trying to pull down pieces of the hospitality chalets before they blow away.

A large pine branch already has snapped just off the ninth fairway and fallen into a marshal, who is reportedly fine, though he was taken to a local hospital just to be sure.

Wind is an integral part of golf, but when it’s blowing so hard the sand is blasting out of bunkers and it’s difficult to stand up, maybe it’s time to take a break. That’s what they’ve done here today.

It’s not an entirely lost afternoon.

After hanging around the putting green for a while, Davis Love III developed a new plan.

"It’s a good day to go watch the (NASCAR) race," he said.

Els' favorite non-major? Heritage

Ernie Els admitted Thursday afternoon that, major championships aside, the Verizon Heritage is his favorite golf tournament in which to play.

His favorite used to be The International but it died a sudden death earlier this year, the official cause being lack-of-Tiger-itis, taking its famous milk shakes with it.

The Heritage is the perfect event at the perfect time, a laid-back, beach break the week after the Masters, a decompression chamber lined by live oaks and sea gulls. Els gets a house on the beach, rides bikes with the family and takes daily breaks from what feels like a vacation to play golf – like the rest of us do on vacation.

Here are 10 things to love about the Verizon Heritage:

1. The 18th hole at Harbour Town where you can stand and stare across the Calibogue Sound at Daufuskie Island and wish you never had to leave.
2. Spectators walking around drinking champagne from crystal flutes.
3. The golf doesn’t interrupt the perpetual cocktail party.
4. The lighthouse.
5. The yachts in the marina beside the lighthouse.
6. Dinner at Stripes.
7. The wind – if it doesn’t blow, you turn into Thanksgiving dinner for the no-see-ums.
8. Gators. Real live yard ornaments.
9. The Quarterdeck at sunset.
10. Ernie Els is here.

Have something to add to the list that you love about the Heritage? Click on the "Comments" link below.

Zach Johnson still smiling, playing Heritage

After blowing in and out of New York City in 24 hours, dropping in on Letterman and Regis, getting some face time with Senator Barack Obama and Halle Berry, talking and talking some more about winning the Masters on Sunday, Zach Johnson could have politely called the folks at the Verizon Heritage and told them sorry, but he was just too burned out to play this week.

But he didn’t.

“I love everything about this place,” Johnson said Wednesday morning, meeting the golf media for the first time since sitting at Augusta in his green jacket Sunday night.

It’s a stretch to think Johnson will win here this week though conventional thinking would suggest his carefully managed game with wedge play that was good enough to win at Augusta makes this a perfect place for him.

The carryover effect from outplaying Tiger on Sunday and absorbing all the good things that come with winning the Masters are bound to catch up with Johnson at some point, perhaps somewhere around the turn on Thursday.

Johnson’s victory was refreshing. He just laughed when he learned that Tiger Woods – not him – wound up on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week. That much hasn’t changed, though Woods is shown breaking his 4-iron around a tree, a shot that pretty much summed up the Masters.

Among the many good things about playing the Heritage – the course, the scent of saltwater in the air, the restaurants – perhaps the best is how relaxed it feels. After The Masters, where everything is magnified and pressurized, the Heritage feels like a beach weekend.

You see Ernie Els riding bikes with his family and kids wandering all over the place. Guys who played at Augusta share horror stories on the putting green and the guys who didn’t play listen in.

It’s where you’ll see Zach Johnson this week. He’s the one smiling.

Johnson breaks the mold

Someone asked Vaughn Taylor behind Augusta National’s 18th green late Sunday afternoon if Tiger Woods was no longer Superman because he had briefly led the Masters in the final round but failed to win.
"Maybe he’s Superman’s brother," Taylor said.
Zach Johnson won the Masters because, like most tournament winners, he played better than everyone else over the course of 72 holes. He played the par-5s 11 under despite never trying to reach one of them in two, which breaks the mold of how to win the Masters.
He also made three birdies on the back nine, writing his own chapter to the Sunday afternoon stories that live around Augusta National.
Johnson is a better player than people know because he had only won once on the PGA Tour before Sunday. Now everyone knows how good he is.
But while Johnson was being back-slapped and fit for his size-40 regular green jacket, Woods was standing just off the 18th green explaining why he hadn’t won.
He didn’t win because he wasn’t as sharp as he usually is in major championship.
In Tiger’s CSI report, he pointed to two critical mistakes – finishing both the first and third rounds with bogeys at the 17th and 18th holes. Four shots. The difference in winning and losing this week.
Woods never had the spark, the swagger, the look that this was his tournament. His game was shaggy around the edges at times, and he paid for it. It’s a testament to his talent that he had a chance to win with two holes remaining.
When he eagled the par-5 13th, Woods’ body language changed. He walked faster. He looked like a man who knew where he was going. But he never got there.
This Masters may be remembered more for its cold temperatures and brutal scoring conditions than for Johnson’s victory. This is my 27th Masters, and I can’t recall anything similar to the week we just witnessed.
It didn’t crackle until Sunday afternoon but, despite the lack of spectacular scoring, it is a tournament that will be remembered for years. Years from now, people will say, "Remember the year when it was so cold and no one broke par?"
It will be remembered.
And so will Zach Johnson.

Can't stop thinking about Woods

I know what you’re thinking – Tiger’s going to win another Masters.
It’s what Tiger’s thinking.
It’s what almost everyone, maybe even Stuart Appleby, Justin Rose and Padraig Harrington, is thinking.
It’s what I’m thinking.
But this Masters is different than any Masters since Ban-Lon went out of style.
It’s cold. It’s windy. It’s beyond tough.
It’s fair but only in a cruel sense because no one, not even the talented Mr. Woods, can tame Augusta National when it’s presented this way.
They’re playing last man standing in the final round of this Masters.
That’s why Woods is the obvious pick with 18 holes remaining. He hasn’t played his best golf – he’s hit a few too many loose shots and guessed wrong a few times with the wind – but there’s no one tougher with a golf club in their hand.
Hand Tiger a 7-iron and he could stare down Godzilla.
Stuart Appleby is a nice fellow and would be the first guy to ever win the Masters with surfer dude hair. But his major championship record is filled with unforgettable performances and it makes you wonder if he can get it done playing alongside Tiger.
Asked if he’d ever beaten Tiger at anything in their play time around Orlando, Appleby said, “No, no and no.”
And that’s all we need to know about that.
Justin Rose, still as baby-faced as the day he was born, is growing into a world-class player but the sense is he doesn’t have what this Sunday will demand.
Who does, other than Woods?
Padraig Harrington. He’s tougher than a $2 steak and it showed when he dunked a shot into the pond at the 15th, swallowed a double bogey then birdied the inexplicably diabolical 17th hole to get right back in the tournament.
Sunday at the Masters is what people dream about.
Right now, the same thought is running through almost everyone’s mind.

This year's Masters gives new meaning to cool

At most Masters – when that global warming thing was still alive in Augusta – spectator fashion has always had its place in the tournament universe.

Someone said this week that you tend to behave a little better once you arrive at Augusta National and it carries over to clothing – fans tend to dress a little better than at most tournaments.

Burberry is popular. Polo, too. And the Masters is the one tournament where it’s OK to wear clothing with the tournament logo on it. There’s an unwritten rule that you don’t , say, wear U.S. Open at Oakmont clothing while you’re at the Open at Oakmont. It’s a small thing – and a silly one – but that’s the way it is.

But all rules are off when it’s 42 degrees and the wind is blowing at the Masters.

Walking around Augusta National at lunch time Saturday, the only thing that mattered was staying warm, even if it meant hiding your Tommy Bahama logo.

I saw a woman wearing paisley pants (never a good move), an overcoat and she had tied a gray sweatshirt on top of a wide-brimmed hat, the arms of the sweatshirt tied under her chin. It was, even on a chilly day, a little much.

I saw another woman wrapped in what was either a blanket, a curtain or a table cloth.

Some fans wore leather coats. Others wore racing jackets – I saw a heavy, letter jacket-style orange and yellow Reese’s racing team model and a Cheerio’s racing model.

The golfers weren’t the only people wearing gloves. Toboggans sold out in 15 minutes in the big merchandise tent, someone said.

The Masters is always a cool place to be. But cool took on a while different meaning Saturday.

-Ron Green Jr.

Stars still not shining at Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. - I’m sitting here in the media room at Augusta National watching a clip of the day’s events and almost all of them are ugly.

There’s Tiger hitting it in the water at 12. And again at 13.

There’s Paul Goydos hitting a bunker shot across the green and into the pond at 11.

There’s Stuart Appleby picking his ball out of the hole at No. 12 and throwing it in the pond. Guess they didn’t want to show Chris DiMarco doing the same thing.

At least they had the good manners not to show anything Camilo Villegas did, but considering time is always a factor with television, it would be tough to show a guy shooting 85 and putting it like Joe Bob from Gaffney on a three-day weekend at Myrtle Beach.

It’s safe to say this Masters has yet to find its, uh, rhythm or personality or something. It smelled like Christmas Friday morning. It was cold, fans were bundled up in sweatshirts and gloves and there was the scent of woodsmoke in the air. Made you want to throw the football but that would get you escorted off the premises quicker than having a ringing cell phone.

It is, shall we say, a challenge to get excited about Tim Clark and Brett Wetterich sharing the lead midway through this Masters unless your name is Mrs. Clark or Wetterich. That’s not to say they wouldn’t make fine champions but, frankly, they’re not exactly Phil and Tiger.

Then again, Phil and Tiger haven’t been Phil and Tiger yet. They’ve been all over the property so far but so has almost everyone else.

The weather forecast calls for chilly temperatures, windy conditions and a 70 percent chance Ian Poulter will wear something really outrageous in today’s third round.

That’s about the only sure thing right now.

1960 Masters comes to life in CBS broadcast

AUGUSTA, Ga. - If you’re already building your Sunday afternoon plans around watching the Masters – and even if you’re not – you need to throw in a bonus hour before the tournament comes on the air.

Make sure to watch ‘Jim Nantz Remembers Augusta: The 1960 Masters.’ It airs at 1:30 p.m. on CBS and it’s a pure pleasure to watch.

Nantz, whose affection for Augusta National and the Masters runs deep, has taken the actual telecast of the final round, had it colorized and watches it with Arnold Palmer, who birdied the last two holes in the final round to win his second green jacket.

Until Nantz pulled out the old films (the broadcast was filmed by a camera placed in front of a large television), no one had seen the broadcast since it aired, including Frank Chirkinian, who directed the telecast.

It’s a great trip back into Masters and golf history. Television could only show four holes and there were only six cameras on the course. You see Palmer play the last four holes and his magnetism is obvious.

But there’s more than Palmer. There’s Ben Hogan hitting his second shot into the 18th green. There’s Billy Casper and Dow Finsterwald and Ken Venturi. After Palmer has holed the winning putt, there’s still more golf – and you’ll love the little surprise there.

Bobby Jones presides over the green jacket ceremony and it allows us a glimpse of the man who with Clifford Roberts – seated beside Jones in the presentation – created Augusta National and the Masters.
It’s a terrific hour.

- Ron Green Jr.

Not much drama at Masters yet

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Okay, everyone who thinks Justin Rose or Brett Wetterich is going to win this Masters raise your mouse.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Now that we have that out of the way, we can get on with our evaluation of the first round of the Masters, which didn’t so much tremble with excitement as it ground along like an overcrowded member-guest tournament.

I admit that I, like most others, have wanted to see how the buffed-up Augusta National would play in firm, fast conditions. Now that we’ve seen it – think pars, lots of pars, lots of bogeys and, at least in the case of Ernie Els and Darren Clarke, too much of everything – I’m not sure how much I like it.

It’s not a U.S. Open exactly because there’s no rough, the prices are wonderful and the worst day at the Masters is still way better than the best day at the U.S. Open.

But there should be more than two eagles on Thursday at the Masters. Augusta National is often compared to church but it shouldn’t sound like one.

I’m just guessing but the second round will probably produce more drama than Thursday. They’ll put more of the pins in generous spots and encourage birdies more than bogeys. Somebody will get it going and shoot something reasonably low.

Phil Mickelson said 68 is his magic number, figuring if he’s at even par starting the weekend he’ll be in the chase. He’s right. Of course, shooting 68 is a pretty good trick, even for a guy who can do the things Lefty can do.

Tiger left ticked off at himself late Thursday because he bogeyed the last two holes. He’s still the de facto leader because he’s Tiger.

The biggest surprise Thursday?
That nothing spectacular happened.

The biggest disappointment?
Ernie Els shooting 78 and wasting another Masters. Els got beat by Craig Stadler, Fuzzy Zoeller, Ben Crenshaw, Mark O’Meara and Raymond Floyd – five Champions Tour players.

It’s just one day. Let’s hope the best is yet to come.

Arnie fires a beautiful opening shot

The sun was creeping over the trees behind the first tee at 7:45 Thursday morning when Augusta National chairman Billy Payne took the microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen, now on the tee at Augusta National where he belongs to thrill and delight millions of his fans, Mr. Arnold Palmer,” Payne said in the crisp morning air.

And there was Palmer, 77 and silver-haired now, with his driver in his hand. He still has a dashing style, tinted Thursday morning by the robin’s egg blue sweater he wore with navy slacks.

Several thousand fans were crowded around the first tee and down the fairway to witness the moment Palmer grudgingly accepted. While warming up on the range, Palmer had told his caddie, David Chapman, he was hitting it so solidly he should be playing.

That’s why he was so reluctant to play the role of honorary starter than he finally accepted. He still believes – or at least he wants to believe.

As he began to settle over his tee shot, Palmer looked down the first fairway, backlit by the rising sun.

“It sure is pretty, isn’it it?” he said.

Beautiful, in more ways than one.

Palmer gave it one of his classic lashes, tearing at the ball and twisting into his follow through, watching a solid strike sail off into the distance, gently bending from right to left.

He stared it down, smiling at the shot and soaking in the cheers again.

Right where he belongs.

The place to be at the Masters: Under the oak

Of all the landmarks at Augusta National, none may hold any more allure than the giant live oak directly behind the clubhouse because during tournament week it’s where the world of golf meets.

Here’s what it was like under the tree at lunchtime Wednesday:

There’s Tom Watson standing in the sunshine that comes and goes, talking to a group of reporters who are firing random questions at him. Does he hit the ball longer today than he did 30 years ago? A little longer off the tee, Watson says. Maybe a hair shorter with his irons. It’s impossible not to notice the oversized Polo logo on Watson’s shirt, the better for fans and TV cameras to catch it

There’s Chubby Chandler, agent to many of the Euorpean stars.

There’s Tom Fazio, the official Augusta National course re-designer.

There’s Mike Davis, the man who sets up the course for the U.S. Open each year.

There are thousands of little stringy things falling out of the oak tree, leaving little yellow pollen marks on the shoulders and backs of the people standing under the tree.

There’s the sound of lunch being served, the tinkle of knives and forks, the buzz of conversation, the smell of burgers in the air.

There are business meetings being held in groups of two and three. One agent told me he schedules about three meetings during Masters week then lets the others come together naturally. A tournament contract was just hammered out 10 feet from where Watson is talking.

There’s Tiger Woods walking out of the clubhouse, dressed in black, and there’s his agent, Mark Steinberg, slapping hands with the star as they walk off toward the putting green.

There’s a great view from underneath the tree across and down hill that leads toward Amen Corner.

There’s no place better the day before the Masters begins.

14 honored for service to the Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Here is another way the Masters is different from other sporting events:

Rather than view the media as a nuisance, the tournament honors it.

On Wednesday morning, new chairman Billy Payne unveiled a project near and dear to him – the Masters Major Achievement Award.

It was given to 14 media members who have covered at least 40 Masters in their careers. A group, the 14 men have covered nearly 650 Masters, which means they’ve eaten a lot of pimento cheese sandwiches.

Among the honorees was retired (except for Masters and Wachovia week) Observer columnist Ron Green Sr., who is covering his 53rd consecutive Masters, meaning he has spent approximately one year of his life walking the hills of Augusta National, watching everyone from Hogan to Nicklaus to Woods.

The other honorees were Horace Billings, Furman Bisher, John Derr (his 62 Masters are the most), Dan Jenkins, Kaye Kessler, Dave Kindred, Hubert Mizell, Dave Moffitt, Edwin Pope, Nick Seitz, Art Spander and Al Wester.

The honorees were given an oak plaque made from a tree that stood for decades on the second hole at Augusta National. The plaque features a carving of the famous clubhouse and a larger version will remain in the media center just off the first fairway.

It was a generous and genuine gesture by the club.

Wouldn't be the same without Arnie

AUGUSTA, Ga. - So Arnie’s going back to the first tee at the Masters. It’s not exactly the way he wants it – hitting the opening tee shot as the tournament’s honorary starter – but it’s great that he’s doing it.

It took Arnie a while to agree to become the tournament’s honorary starter because, though he’s 77 years old, he doesn’t like admitting he’s getting old. That doesn’t make him unique.

What makes him special is everything else. Palmer wants to believe he can still play golf the way he did, ripping at the ball with a beautiful slash that managed to carry the world with him. He watches Phil and Tiger and Ernie and sees them hitting these majestic tee shots and, for a moment, thinks he can still do it. He can’t, of course, but he wants to think he can.
Sounds like all of us of a certain age.

Jack Nicklaus may have won the most Masters but Arnie won the most hearts.

To see him in the interview room Tuesday afternoon – looking sharp in his green jacket and a silver-striped tie that matched his hair color – was to see a man still in love with being Arnold Palmer. That’s the way it should be. He loves the attention and, while that could be off-putting in a lot of people, it’s the essence of Arnie.

He was funny fielding questions from the media about why now and about Gary Player tying his record of 50 Masters appearances. He dropped in the occasional coarse word, flashed that smile and it didn’t seem like it was 50 years ago that he was on the verge of owning golf.

It’s going to be cold Thursday morning when Arnie hits that tee shot. But not nearly as cold as it would be without him there.

And take the cute ringtone with you ...

Among the many things the Masters gets right is its policy on cell phones.

No way. No how. No time.

Perfect.

If you’re important enough to need a cell phone at the Masters, you’re too important to be on the golf course.

Golf tournaments have tried to eliminate cell phones from going off in the pockets of fans but it hasn’t worked. Or, at best, it’s worked for most people but not all people.

The Masters has solved that by getting its message across – get caught with a cell phone and we’ll see you, your cell phone and your ticket later. Well, not exactly. More like never again, especially your ticket.

Gone. For good.

If you’re fortunate, you’ll get your phone back.

The only wiggle room is for media members (yeah, I know, the media always gets special treatment). We’re allowed to bring cell phones onto the property with the strict understanding that they will not be used outside the confines of the media center.

Entering the course for the first time this week, two different security officials reinforced the phone policy to me. The second stood directly in front of me and, in a polite tone, reminded me of the policy like he was reading me my rights.

I’m fine with it. In fact, I love it.

I only wish the Masters could do something about people driving and using cell phones.

• In answer to an e-mail question as to where we stay at the Masters, the Observer group (including Ron Green Sr. and Scott Fowler) shares a house with writers from the Raleigh News and Observer and the Greensboro News and Record. It’s a terrific set-up, allowing us to cook dinner at home in the evening instead of fighting the restaurant crowds. And, compared to the price of hotel rooms, which often require 7-night minimums, it’s reasonably priced.

The Magic of Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Any other time, the drive south from Charlotte on I-77 toward Columbia would be a dull chore, made more entertaining only by the magic of satellite radio on the opening day of major league baseball season.

But swinging west at Columbia onto I-26 meant going to Augusta and that meant another Masters and the road there felt like a magic carpet ride.
It’s when you notice the leaves have popped on the trees and the magenta azaleas blooming off the road. The yellow film of pollen, spring’s dirty secret, becomes part of the decorations, not a health hazard.

It is a unique thrill to turn off the clutter along Washington Road and onto Magnolia Lane, driving beneath the 65 trees that frame the most famous entryway in golf. It is not how anyone but the players and a few select guests arrive during Masters week.

However, turning onto Washington Road with its burger joints, car-repair shops and urban ministries has its own pull on Masters week. It’s there, with the $20 parking spots and pedestrian pathways, that the tournament starts to become real.

It’s where you see the fortunate ones with a ticket heading out late in the afternoon with a splash of sun on their nose, a new cap on their heads and the pleasantly weary smile of a good day on their faces. Most of them carry a clear plastic bag stuffed with shirts and calendars and programs, the memorabilia of their visit to Augusta.

It’s a journey that, remarkably, never loses its charm, no matter how you get there.

Waiting for the azaleas to bloom

Banging a few bunker shots while waiting for the Masters to start:

• The PGA Tour isn’t in the habit of making public the penalties it hands players for throwing a club or being too profane during an event but it wouldn’t hurt to let it be known what, if any, penalty Sergio Garcia gets for spitting in the cup at Doral last week, just to make the point that such behavior isn’t tolerated. Garcia didn’t help himself by snapping at reporters Sunday when he was asked again about the incident. He can be charming but he can also be churlish. He should have been contrite in this case.
• The LPGA’s first major championship is this week and it could use a star-powered shootout. The early season has flown under the national radar, but that could change this weekend if Annika Sorenstam, Paula Creamer and a couple of other familiar faces are in the chase.
  
• The Masters is likely to reinstitute the rule that awards PGA Tour winners with a spot in the tournament but it will be too late for Mark Wilson and Charley Hoffman, both of whom have wins this year but didn’t qualify for Augusta. With the shortened tour schedule, it’s easier to include an Augusta invite with a winner’s check. Bringing it back will be a good move.
• You can get an extra hour of Masters coverage each tournament day this year by using the Masters Extra on the official website, www.masters.org. It will provide one hour of play-by-play coverage in advance of television coverage each day. That means you can go on-line at 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday and see what’s happening (2:30 on Saturday, 1:30 on Sunday).
• Did you hear about the day Paige James had at Charlotte Country Club Tuesday? She aced the par-3 third hole - her first hole-in-one - then she topped that by holing a 5-wood second shot for a double eagle at the par-5 (for women) 13th hole. In the space of an hour, she had a nice career.
• Have you caught Fed Ex Cup fever yet? Didn’t think so.
• For those of you into horticulture, early word out of Augusta is the dogwoods and azaleas are blooming around the clubhouse and ready to pop on the course. It will, no doubt, be as beautiful as ever.

Tiger says he's ready for Augusta

In two words late Sunday afternoon, Tiger Woods answered the most important question about the Masters, which is one week away.

Asked immediately after his victory in the latest World Golf Championship event Sunday by NBC’s Jimmy Roberts how he feels about the state of his game with the Masters at hand, Woods said, “Very pleased.”

Note to new Augusta National chairman Billy Payne – make sure Tiger’s green jacket is pressed for the ceremony April 8. He’ll be needing it.

As if there were any doubt about Woods’ role as favorite at Augusta, it was reinforced, wrapped in swooshes and sent via Buick courier to the land of azaleas and pimento cheese sandwiches after his performance at Doral.

While Phil Mickelson was left to wonder how much the Florida breezes at Bay Hill and Doral had dulled the sharp edge on his game, Woods went about the lucrative business of winning his 13th World Golf Championship event and his 56th PGA Tour event.

The worst that can be said of Woods’ performance was that it lacked drama until the final hole when the possibility of his blowing a three-stroke lead to Brett Wetterich on the 72nd hole whipped through some minds for an instant. That was never actually going to happen because, well, Tiger never lets that happen.

It probably didn’t do much for NBC’s ratings, which likely took a serious hit going against the NCAA tournament and a Bristol race where the car of tomorrow showed up yesterday and produced a race with about as much drama as Tiger’s Sunday at Doral.

Speaking of slipping television ratings and NASCAR, our racing friends need to find some stars. There’s Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Dale Jr. and Jimmie Johnson. Everybody else is Clint Bowyer.

The same has been said about the PGA Tour. But Sergio Garcia tried to spice things up Saturday when after missing yet another short putt he leaned over and spit into the cup. Sergio tried to brush it off, saying, in essence, he didn’t leave a big loogie in the hole.

What Sergio should have done was admit how childish it was. He sorta, kinda apologized but not really. I’m sure Commissioner Finchem will have something productive to do with the money he pulls out of Sergio’s Doral paycheck.

Maybe there’s a lesson to be learned. On the PGA Tour, like most other places, spit happens.

PGA season short on sizzle so far

Two years ago at Doral, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson staged a mesmerizing battle that Johnny Miller recently said is remembered “like a major championship.”

That may be a slight exaggeration but Miller’s point is correct – it was a tournament that made us pay attention. I was covering a North Carolina basketball game in Chapel Hill that Sunday afternoon and during time outs, several writers (myself included, often leading the pack) would slip out of our seats and duck into a room with a television to check in on the golf.

Yes, there was a television in the Smith Center tuned to the golf during a Tar Heel game.

We could use a golf tournament like that right now.

The Masters is two weeks away and it never fails to deliver, even when it doesn’t go down to the last hole.

But this PGA Tour season, which has played from Hawaii, through the West Coast swing and now through Florida, has been short on sizzle.

The best tournament finish may have been at the Honda Classic when Boo Weekly, Jose Coceres, Camilo Villegas and Mark Wilson played off. Unfortunately, it went too late and had to finish on Monday but it had plenty of drama and, almost unexpectedly, some good characters.

Too many times this season tournaments have been defined by mistakes. Guys keep missing putts when they matter.

That’s not to say good things haven’t happened. Charles Howell III has returned. Paul Goydos winning was a great story. Henrik Stenson announced himself on the world stage. Phil’s fine. Vijay’s fine. Tiger’s fine despite that 43 on Sunday.

This week is a World Golf Championship event, which means the best players are all there. That’s a good start but, to be honest, the whole WGC thing has been a little less than we imagined. You can’t manufacture gravitas. Pro golf is still about the majors (and The Players Championship).

But the WGC idea remains a good one – getting the best together. That’s what we have this week.

It’s time for a week that makes us say wow.

And Paul Casey is my pick as the guy to do it.

Put them together and it's 92

Among the certainties in life are death, taxes and the golf gods are eventually going to get you.
Sometimes it’s just for a moment, like the time you piped a tee shot and were bragging about hitting a sand wedge into the green at a 455-yard par-4 only to hit a hosel rocket second shot that led to a seven and a sudden fear of wedge shots.

Sometimes it lasts longer. Asks Justin Leonard, the latest famous player to fall into the abyss. His T-75 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Sunday was his best finish of the year. In fact, it was the only tournament he’s finished in seven starts this year.

It can happen to anyone.

J.B. Holmes.

Even Tiger Woods.

In front of the television cameras came on at Bay Hill Sunday, Holmes posted a smooth 49 on the front nine, piling up big numbers like Donald Trump’s accountant. Earlier in the week, Holmes had reached a 580-yard par-5 in two, though it was playing into the wind.

But Sunday, Holmes was a broken man, making three doubles and a triple before he made the turn. He came back with 34 on the back nine but the gods had made their point.
Not even Tiger is untouchable.

He was one shot out of the lead with 10 holes to play Sunday and we all know how that story usually ends.

Except Sunday.

Tiger finished with 43 on the back nine. He made a double bogey on the par-3 17th then tripled the last hole in front of a crowd that probably wasn’t sure how to act. Wonder when was the last time Tiger lost a sleeve of Nikes in nine holes?

Take J.B. Holmes’ front nine and Tiger’s finish and it’s 92. Living proof the gods eventually get us all.

Arnold Palmer may be back at Augusta

Maybe Arnold Palmer hasn’t played his last golf at Augusta during Masters week.

Palmer acknowledged Wednesday morning that he is considering – and stressed the considering part – becoming the tournament’s honorary starter as early as this year.

It sounded like Palmer may be on the first tee at Augusta National at 8:15 Thursday morning of tournament week.

He should.

And if he wants to play the first hole, great. It’s not unprecedented for the honorary starters to play nine but Arnie may not want to do that.

Palmer, 77, has been reluctant to take the role because he feels it’s for legends who can no longer play competitively. He has grudgingly conceded his game is failing him and it’s no secret he has always loved the stage.

There’s no better stage than Augusta National in April and no warmer way to welcome the start of the Masters than with the King striking the first shot. The Masters hasn’t had an honorary starter since Sam Snead conked a spectator in the head hitting the shot in 2002.

Arnie was playing in the pro-am Wednesday at his beloved Bay Hill in the tournament now named for him – the Arnold Palmer Invitational – and said he’s “embarrassed” at how he plays now. It only matters to him.

He has toughened up Bay Hill again, growing thick rough, dropping the par two strokes to 70 and attracting one of the best fields of this season with eight of the top 10 players in the world on site.

As for this week’s winner, there’s an obvious choice. Tiger Woods has won the event four times. This week will make it five.

Back into the sunshine

This is how golf season begins:
After leaving the ACC basketball tournament and St. Pete Times Forum for the last time -- where the basketball was terrific but the weather stayed outside -- you get in your Florida white rental car, drive an hour northeast of Tampa and arrive at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

Sunshine. Puffy white clouds. A soft breeze and 82 degrees.

There's Joey Sindelar, the 2004 Wachovia Championship winner, walking along talking to someone on his cellphone. Sindelar, it seems, is always talking to someone and he's usually smiling.

There's new Charlottean Johnson Wagner sitting on a rock wall beside the putting green talking to Mac Barnhardt and Jimmy Johnson, his agents at Crown Sports Management. Wagner has made seven cuts in eight starts and has the look of a guy who's going to hang around a while.

There's Kym Hougham, tournament director in Charlotte, leaning on a rail behind the practice range, watching Tom Lehman and Tripp Isenhour and Todd Hamilton hit shots into the sunshine.

There's Roger Clemens -- yes, that Roger Clemens -- who just finished playing in the Monday pro-am. Okay, I didn't actually see Roger Clemens but I was assured he was there as the pairing sheet said and the small group of autograph seekers waiting outside the clubhouse seemed to attest.

There's the interview schedule that says Arnie will be in the media room Wednesday at 10 a.m. Tiger's here. Phil's here. Ernie's here. But this is still Arnie's place.

It's a good place to be on Monday afternoon. -- Ron Green Jr.

Golf show to debut on WFNZ

Golf returns to the local radio menu Saturday morning with the debut of a new, two-hour show on WFNZ, 610-AM.

The station had a Saturday morning golf show for several years but is starting fresh with the new program that will air from 10 a.m. until noon on Saturdays.

Hosted by Taylor Zarzour, the e-Golf Show will focus on professional golf, concentrating on the happenings on the PGA, LPGA and Champions tours.
The weekly show will include segments with tour player John Cook and an interview with the previous week’s PGA Tour champion conducted by Greensboro’s John Maginnes, who also works for the PGA Tour Network.
There will be a feature each week on an area golf course with analysis of trends and happenings in professional golf.

"It’s going to be an up-to-the-minute information show on every tour, particularly the PGA Tour," said Zarzour, who has hosted various sports talk shows through the Southeast and is the play-by-play announcer for North Carolina women’s basketball.

-Ron Green Jr.

WFNZ golf show premiers Saturday

Golf returns to the local radio menu Saturday morning with the debut of a two-hour show on WFNZ, 610 AM.

The station had a Saturday morning golf show for several years but is starting fresh with the new program that will air from 10 a.m. until noon on Saturdays.

Hosted by Taylor Zarzour, the e-Golf Show will focus on professional golf, concentrating on the happenings on the PGA, LPGA and Champions tours.

The weekly show will include segments with tour player John Cook and an interview with the previous week’s PGA Tour champion conducted by Greensboro’s John Maginnes, who also works for the PGA Tour Network.

There will be a feature each week on an area golf course along with analysis of trends and happenings in professional golf.

“It’s going to be an up-to-the-minute information show on every tour, particularly the PGA Tour,” said Zarzour, who has hosted various sports talk shows through the Southeast and is the play-by-play announcer for North Carolina women’s basketball.

Sorenstam has succeeded with talent, grace

The 2007 LPGA season officially began weeks ago but it really starts this weekend in Mexico where Annika Sorenstam returns to competition after a four-month break.

For all the justified chatter about Paula Creamer, Lorena Ochoa, Natalie Gulbis, Morgan Pressel and -- on those few weeks when she gets to play -- Michelle Wie, the LPGA tour still has Sorenstam at its center.

She is 36 now and has talked about starting a family. She's heavily involved in building a teaching academy in Florida and her interests reach far beyond the golf course now.

While we've all watched in wonder as Tiger Woods has redirected golf history on the men's side, Sorenstam has done a similar thing on the women's side. She has been a dominating presence, the player to beat every time she's teed it up for the better part of a decade.

Sorenstam is likely past her prime now but not far past it. Like most great players, she's driven by the major championships, knowing they will define her legacy. She made no secret of her desire to win the Grand Slam and, though it hasn't happened and probably won't, Sorenstam didn't just dream it, she chased it with a passion.

We're fortunate because Sorenstam will pass this way twice this year. She's hosting a new tournament north of Charleston at the end of May then she'll return to Pine Needles to chase another U.S. Women's Open title like the one she won there in 1996 when we were just understanding how special she would be.

Not only has Sorenstam done it with remarkable talent, she's done it with grace.

And, it's time to pick another PGA Tour winner. Or, to be more accurate, to try to pick another winner, since I've struck out so far this year.

It's ACC tournament weekend in Tampa where the PODS Championship is being played but I'm going with a guy who has no ACC ties -- Vijay Singh.

Former Tar Heel proves good guys can finish first

You have to like a guy who has his priorities in order.

There was a time during the back nine of the final round of the Honda Classic Sunday at what appeared to be the nearly impossible PGA National golf course where Mark Wilson - the eventual champion - wanted to know how things stood.

Not in the golf tournament, but in the Duke-North Carolina basketball game being played in Chapel Hill.

Wilson played college golf at North Carolina (he’s a 1997 grad) but didn’t come out of Chapel Hill with quite the fanfare of Davis Love III. Basically, Wilson came out with a degree in math and a willingness to stick with professional golf as long as it took him to succeed.

He went through Q-school three times, most recently last fall, but Wilson changed his life Monday morning by winning a four-man playoff while most people were on their way to the office.

Wilson has been a good player - finishing between 128th and 167th on the tour money list the past four years - but not an exceptional one. Now he’s exempt for two years with an immediate goal of trying to play his way into the Masters.

If you’re still not sure what to make of Wilson, consider this:

On Friday, Wilson and Camillo Villegas (who was in the playoff) were paired together and, on the par-3 fifth hole, Wilson’s caddie told Villegas what club Wilson had hit off the tee.

It’s a violation of rules that forbid providing advice to other players. Wilson - whose caddie knew better but just blurted out the club when he overheard Villegas and his caddie talking - assessed himself a two-stroke penalty.

It makes you glad he won.

Tracking Tiger and some new grooves

It’s time to sort through the clutter of an emerging golf season and look at a handful of things, such as:

- The announcement on Tuesday that the PGA Tour will return to the Washington, D.C., area on July Fourth weekend with the Tiger Woods Foundation as the centerpiece of a new event looks like a win-win for the tour.

It fills the sudden hole left on the tour schedule by the sudden disappearance of The International and it gets the soft-spiked circus back in the nation’s capital.

Perhaps more importantly, it’s another thread tying Tiger and the tour together. Some have speculated recently that Woods might choose to play his own global schedule rather than conform to the 15-event minimum required by the tour. That’s not going to happen. Woods is going to play the overwhelming majority of his golf on the PGA Tour with a likely July stop in D.C. on his future schedule.

- The USGA announced this week new guidelines on the shape of grooves on irons that will go into effect in 2010. It has the usual complicated and mind-numbing language about technical components, but the basic idea is to make it harder for players to spin the ball out of the rough with their wedges.

An extensive study revealed what we already knew - it’s less important than ever for good players to hit it in the fairway. There was a time when there was a direct correlation in winning PGA Tour events and hitting fairways in regulation. Not anymore.

Combined with urethane-covered balls (like the Titleist ProV1), good players can spin the ball exceptionally well from the rough. For average players who hit Surlyn-covered balls (which account for two-thirds of all golf ball sales), the change will have limited impact.

The new rule will be in effect for many competitions in 2009, but don’t worry if you just bought a new wedge or set of irons. They’ll be grandfathered in for several more years.

- The PGA Tour begins its Florida swing this week at the Honda Classic, a turn in the schedule that’s more than geographic. Coming to the East Coast begins the serious run-up to the Masters.

What did the West Coast swing tell us? That Tiger is still Tiger and Phil is still Phil. We learned that Jeff Quinney is one good Sunday away from winning, that Charles Howell III is back and match play is as quirky as ever.

The pick this week at the Honda is Nick O’Hern and not just because he beat Tiger last week. He’s going to win sometime and now is as good a time as any.

- If you have any golf questions or comments, send them my way through the link here or to my e-mail at rgreenjr@charlotteobserver.com.

Golf's new world order

It’s not as if Americans invented golf or the country club. We just contributed motorized golf carts, six-hour rounds and John Daly.
So it shouldn’t be a surprise to see that the PGA Tour, once as red, white and blue as the golf shoes I owned in the mid-1970s, has gone global.

The latest evidence came Sunday when Sweden’s Henrik Stenson beat Australian Geoff Ogilvy in the finals of the Accenture World Match Play Championship while the last American standing – Chad Campbell – was losing the unnecessary third-place match to South African Trevor Immelman.

Americans still occupy the top three spots in the world golf rankings – Tiger’s No. 1 followed by Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson – but the rest of the list is filled with players from around the world.

Last week in Tucson, the 64-player field – taken from the latest rankings –included just 23 American-born players.

In 2000, the PGA Tour had just 19 foreign-born players. This year, there are 24 Australians on the tour, 76 international players.
Does this mean the American-made golfer is withering away?
Not necessarily.

What it means is golf is truly global and, given the money, the facilities and the opportunity to accumulate vast amounts of world ranking points, the best international players have decided to play the PGA Tour.

Stenson is just the latest to pose with a trophy. Now No. 5 in the world, moving Ernie Els down to No. 6, Stenson will play at least 15 events here this year (including a likely visit to the Wachovia Championship).

It wasn’t many years ago that we had to wait until the major championships to see the best players from outside the United States. We’d scratch our heads at the unfamiliar names on the British Open leader board, not because they weren’t quality players but because we weren’t familiar with them.

All that has changed now.

Many of the best young players in the game – Luke Donald, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, Trevor Immelman – are not American-born.
It’s not a trend. It’s golf’s new world order.

- Ron Green Jr.

Put brackets around this week on PGA tour

Peter O'Malley is why match play golf is so captivating.

He's not the only reason but a good one.

O'Malley is the guy you'd never heard of in 2002 when, as the 64th seed in the Accenture Match Play Championship, he bumped off No. 1 seed Tiger Woods in the first round of the closest thing the PGA Tour has to a March Madness style tournament.

The Match Play starts again today -- without O'Malley but with Woods chasing an eighth consecutive PGA Tour victory. J.J. Henry gets the first chance today to be golf's ultimate bracket buster, facing Tiger in the first round.

The short list of the best things about golf includes, among other things:

• Sunday afternoon at Augusta;

• The par-4 eighth hole at Pebble Beach;

• Carts on the fairway;

• And, match play.

The Scots, who created the cursed game, believe it's the way golf should be played and they're right about most things golf-related (and wrong about haggis).

In one sense, the Match Play is easier to win than other tournaments because a player only has to beat six other players, not a field of 144. The danger, though, is running into another player's hot round. Tiger could shoot 66 today but if J.J. Henry shoots 65 and wins 1-up, the streak goes poof.

Here's a real leap of faith -- I'll take Tiger this week but it won't be easy for him. If he handles Henry today, he gets the winner of the Robert Allenby-Tim Clark match tomorrow.

Best match today?

It's probably Sergio Garcia against Darren Clarke, the winner advancing to meet the Stuart Appleby-Charles Howell III winner.

There's only one name missing from the field of 64.

George Mason.

Mr. Howell finally gets off the island

It has been easy - and justifiable - to write off the lost generation of twentysomethings on the American golf scene.

They’ve had the misfortune of being born at the wrong time - the age of Tiger Woods - but, beyond that, they haven’t distinguished themselves. Make a list of the best players under 30 and it’s populated by names like Adam Scott, Luke Donald, Geoff Ogilvy and Sergio Garcia, none of whom are American-made.

Charles Howell III may be coming to the rescue, finally.

Even before Howell showed up several years ago wearing shiny white pants with a green stripe down the side in his Masters debut in his hometown of Augusta, Ga., he has been ticketed for superstardom.

Still just 27, Howell has been good, sometimes very, very good, but not as good as expected. The past couple of years, Howell - who once stood out in his edgy clothing - began to fade into the crowd, a victim of overanalysis, a dodgy touch on his short shots and, of course, great expectations.

But winning the Nissan Open Sunday in a playoff over Phil Mickelson, Howell showed us something. He showed us he could make putts when he needed them. He showed us he could hang in against one of the two best players in the world. He showed us the scar tissue built up by nine runner-up finishes since his only other victory hadn’t paralyzed him.

By his own admission, Howell has been guilty of being too technical with his swing. Golf is ultimately about feel and management more than mechanics and Howell seems to be moving in that direction.

Many of us expected Howell to be the best player of his generation and it can still happen. With two second-place finishes and a 24-carat victory at Riviera, Howell has made a huge leap back into relevance.

It’s harder than any of us know to win on the PGA Tour and Howell has the scars to prove it. But now Howell has another trophy - the scars belong to Mickelson this time - and reason to think there will be many more.

A generation thanks him.

Riviera the PGA Tour's star this weekend

This is one of those weeks on the PGA Tour when the course - in this case Riveria Country Club - is as much a part of the event as the stars sprinkled across the leader board.

Forget that Tiger Woods skipped Los Angeles this week and all the conspiracy theories that he’s plotting his schedule to maximize his shot at breaking Byron Nelson’s 11 in a row streak.

It isn’t about Tiger this week. It’s about Riviera, one of the coolest places the PGA Tour goes.

I’ve been to Riviera twice during the Nissan Open and loved the look and feel of the place. It smells of eucalyptus and, with its big clubhouse sitting atop a hill overlooking the course, Riveria has the feel of someplace important. And it is, if for no other reason than Hogan won there.

Along one side of the course, houses are stretched along a bluff overlooking the property. Locals can tell you which famous person lives in which one. The last time I was there someone pointed out what they said was Mel Brooks’ house. I nodded a quick thanks in Brooks’ direction for ‘Young Frankenstein’ and ‘Blazing Saddles,’ still the funniest movie ever made.

As a golf course, Riviera proves you don’t need water hazards to make it difficult. Like Pinehurst No. 2 and Shinnecock Hills, there are essentially no water hazards in play.

The par-4 second hole is a monster and the 312-yard par-4 10th is one of the great short par-4s anywhere. It dares players to drive the green that’s cut diagonally between two bunkers and is about as wide as Heidi Klum’s waist.

Then there’s the famous 18th, playing uphill toward the clubhouse. Television - even high definition ones - can’t do justice to the daunting challenge of hammering a tee shot up and over the hill on the closing hole.

It’s too bad the tour doesn’t play more courses like Riviera. It gets to special places like Harbour Town, Quail Hollow, Westchester and Cog Hill but over the course of a year, plenty of tournaments are played on layouts that aren’t particularly memorable.

This is a week to appreciate the place as much as the players.

Mickelson's generous gesture should be lauded

If you need another reason to like Phil Mickelson, here’s one:

After learning about the difficulties encountered by former NFL player Conrad Dobler and his family, Mickelson – who’s never met any of the Doblers – has offered to pay the college tuition for Holli Dobler, a sophomore at Miami of Ohio.

Mickelson didn’t do it for the attention. He politely declined to talk specifics recently when Golf World’s Bob Verdi asked him about his actions. It’s not about doing something for publicity. It was about doing something nice for someone in need – and Mickelson has done it more often than we know.

Dobler’s story is this: The former NFL tough guy’s wife fell out of a hammock nearly six years ago and has been paralyzed since. With six children and no retirement money coming from the NFL, Dobler’s finances have been stretched to the extreme.

Mickelson heard about it, took care of Holli Dobler’s tuition and the families will finally meet at The Memorial Tournament in Columbus, Ohio in May.

It was an extraordinarily generous gesture by Mickelson.

And since we’re on the subject of Mickelson, he’s the choice to keep his roll going this week at the Nissan Open in Los Angeles.

I almost got it right last week at Pebble Beach where I picked a left-hander – just the wrong one.

Maybe I’ll get the right Lefty this week.

Mickelson shines at Pebble Beach

Thank you Phil Mickelson.

We missed you.

By winning at Pebble Beach Sunday afternoon, then getting the customary armful of kids on the 18th green, Mickelson finally took the focus away from Winged Foot last summer and brought it back to how good he can be.

The PGA Tour desperately needs Mickelson to win regularly. He is already a first-ballot Hall of Famer and, regardless of what the world rankings say, Mickelson is the player best suited to challenge Tiger Woods as ruler of the golf universe.

That’s not to say Mickelson is going to bump Tiger from his throne. Not happening.
But it would help if someone were there to push Woods and Mickelson is perfect for the job. Lefty is beloved, even if it’s never been entirely clear why he generates so much affection.
Like Tiger, Mickelson is capable of jaw-dropping displays, both good and not so good. Like Tiger, he makes you want to watch him.

Before this season began, Mickelson talked about dealing with the aftermath of his Winged Foot wipeout, of his new slimmed down, muscled-up body and his new emphasis on driving the ball in the short grass.

Nothing happened for a while but it all came together at Pebble Beach. Mickelson has won 30 times on tour, an extraordinary career already.

Mickelson returned last week at Pebble Beach. It’s nice to have him around again.

Instead of Bill Murray, we get Sidney Lowe

Consider this fair warning -- if you were planning on sinking into your favorite golf-watching chair Saturday with something cold and wet to keep you company -- you're going to be disappointed unless you're excited about watching the N.C. State-Georgia Tech basketball game instead of the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

The golf tournament is being bumped off WBTV (Ch. 2 on your local cable outlet) by the Wolfpack and the Yellow Jackets on Saturday.

Trading Phil Mickelson, Bill Murray and Pebble Beach for Engin Atsur and Paul Hewitt is a bad deal.

As much as I like golf -- hint: I might know Pierre Fulke if he walked into the room -- there are some tournaments we don't need to see. But Pebble Beach is one that absolutely needs to be seen.

Before you light up the switchboard at WBTV this weekend, it's worth knowing two things -- the final round will be seen as scheduled on Sunday and the local station can't switch the golf to another cable station.

Shelly Hill, director of marketing and programming at WBTV, said the station is bound by contract to air certain ACC games that were chosen before the PGA Tour broadcasts were set. When the station realized the overlap (this isn't a new thing), it contacted CBS officials so the network might move the golf to another station in the viewing area. That's all WBTV can do, said Hill, who understands the frustration of golf fans.

CBS didn't choose to offer the golf on another outlet so, if you really want to see Bill Murray and George Lopez and Andy Garcia and all the real golfers -- not to mention all those panoramic shots of Pebble Beach that never get old -- you're going to have to catch the highlights on The Golf Channel.

The good news is the golf won't be bumped off any more this season.

And, who knows, maybe the State-Tech game will be better than you think.

No Tiger? No More International

The end of modified Stableford scoring as we’ve come to know it came officially Thursday morning in Denver when The International was removed from the 2007 PGA Tour schedule.

Officially, the cause of death was the lack of a title sponsor.

Unofficially, it was the lack of Tiger Woods.

For 21 years, The International was played at Castle Pines, a glorious-looking layout framed by the Rocky Mountains. They counted points, not strokes, in the tournament, giving it a quirky charm between the inevitable lightning delays that interrupted play.

But with a Fourth of July weekend date, no title sponsor and no likelihood Woods would come back after last playing the event in 1999, tournament founder Jack Vickers decided he’d had enough and called the whole thing off.

Golf tournaments are expensive to run, approaching $8 million annually. That’s why a title sponsor is imperative.

If Woods were a regular at The International, this wouldn’t have happened. Potential title sponsors may have been forced to wait in line to make their case to tournament officials.

Asked by an Associated Press reporter if Woods’ presence would have changed things, Vickers said, “I’d have to say, yeah, if he shows, everything changes. But I also know in fairness to him, he can’t be everywhere. He can’t be everything to everybody.”

Vickers went on to say his tournament could have lived without Tiger from time to time. Three appearances in six years would have been OK, Vickers said.

But there were no promises.

And now there’s no International.

Of Bill Murray, Pebble Beach And The Other Lefty

It's tough to say what's best about the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am -- watching celebs like Ray Romano, Tom Brady and Bill Murray chop their way around the golf course or marveling again at the majesty of Pebble Beach.

Either way, this is one of the most entertaining weeks on the PGA Tour schedule and not just because of what Murray may or may not do. Even when the weather is predicted to be lousy on the Monterey Peninsula -- as it is this week -- it's still fun to kick back and watch.

If you've never been to Pebble Beach, it's hard to describe how spectacular it is. The cliffs, the water, the seals, the greens fee -- they all make you gasp.

So who's week is it at Pebble Beach?

I like a left-hander -- and not Phil Mickelson, who is off to the worst start in his 14-year pro career and hasn't had a top-10 finish since Winged Foot last June.

The pick is Mike Weir, who hasn't done anything particularly exciting this year but seems to come alive when he pulls onto 17-Mile Drive. He has six top-10s in his last seven starts in this event, including four straight top-4 finishes.

Got a better idea? Post it in the comments below.

You can't buy a game

Salvation from your slice is available again for only $400 or so.

Heard that one before?

Thought so.

Another round of golf club wizardry is hitting the market, this time in the curious shape of square-headed drivers that look like something your 3-year-old might play with in the yard.

They’re all the rage, or will be once winter leaves and most of us start playing golf again.

Their magic is in (pardon my use of a scientific term here but it’s necessary even if I’m not quite sure what it means) the moment of inertia, which sounds like something you should talk to your doctor about.

With more technology than most space flights have, golf club makers have found a way to make your mis-hits go straighter. They promise.

That’s important because a round of golf isn’t defined by the quality of your good shots. It’s the quality of your misses that matters most.

There’s a better way, however, than plunking down four bills on a new driver.

Spend it on lessons from a good teaching pro.

New technology doesn’t fix bad swings. I have the used equipment to prove it.

Teachers – and practice – do.

Could Tiger chase record at Quail Hollow?

It’s possible – and there’s a John Daly-sized difference in what’s possible and what’s probable – that Tiger Woods could come to the Wachovia Championship in May attempting to win a PGA Tour-record 12th straight tournament.

Dealing in hypotheticals is dicey, but so is hitting a 4-iron over water, so let’s take a swipe at it.

Tiger has won seven straight PGA Tour events, four shy of tying Byron Nelson’s seemingly unassailable record of 11 in a row. Now the question is where he’ll play and if he’ll keep winning.

For Tiger to go for No. 12 at Quail Hollow, it would probably have to happen this way, with the mind-bending assumption that he keeps on winning:

• He would have to skip the Nissan Open in Los Angeles, an event he’s played every year since 1996. But he played coy last weekend when asked if he would play Riviera this year, raising doubts about his appearance there.
  

• If he passes on L.A., Tiger goes for No. 8 at the Accenture World Match Play Championship.
  

• Then he goes for No. 9 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in his backyard.

• No. 10 would be at Doral.

• If it reached that point, it would send Tiger to the Masters trying to tie Nelson’s record – and everyone likes Tiger’s chances at Augusta.
  

• If Woods got to 11 in a row (without playing L.A.), the question is whether he’d go for No. 12 at the EDS Byron Nelson Invitational in Dallas or wait until the next week and chase history at Quail Hollow where he’s likely to play. Tiger has been loyal to Nelson’s tournament through the years – because of Mr. Nelson. He’s not fond of either of the two courses used at the Nelson but, if he were in such a history-making situation, would Woods skip the event honoring the man whose streak he’s attempting to break? It would be tough to do, especially in the first playing event since Nelson's death last fall. But it could happen.
  

Imagine the Wachovia if Tiger were chasing No. 12.

And if you’re wondering, tickets (www.wachoviachampionship.com) are almost gone already.

Finding A Desert Rose

With Tiger Woods halfway around the world, picking up a reported $3-million appearance fee while playing a little golf and checking on his first course design in Dubai this week, the PGA Tour has motored its way to Phoenix where it will play the FBR Open between the parties on the edge of the Sonoran desert.

There is no PGA Tour stop quite like Phoenix, where the weekend crowds exceed 100,000 daily (and some of them are there to actually watch golf instead of flirt with each other). It's golf as a party game.

The secret to playing the TPC at Scottsdale -- aside from avoiding the hospitality tents until after your round is over -- is making birdies as fast as they're pouring beers. It's the golf version of the 100-yard (or is it meters) dash -- who can make the most birdies and how fast can they make them.

Starting this week, I'm going to pick (guess is more like it) a winner for each Tour event. It's not so tricky when Tiger's playing but on weeks like this, it's tougher than a 40-yard bunker shot to a tucked pin.

I'm taking Charles Howell III this week. He's more than due to win again and with two top-10s already, he's playing well. Plus, he's leading the FedEx Cup points standings (be still my beating heart).

So make mine a Charlie Triple Sticks this weekend.

If you have a pick, a thought or a question, let me know.

The Same Old Song

The American Ryder Cup team shouldn't have been surprised when the Irish crowd briefly interrupted the closing ceremonies Sunday afternoon for a rousing rendition of 'Ole, Ole,' the European fight song.
They'd been hearing it all day.
The Americans didn't just lose the Ryder Cup. They got walloped -- again.
Why does this keep happening?
It happened this time because the Europeans just played better. They always had the momentum, holed seemingly every crucial putt and played with their typical passion.
Match-play golf is built on momentum and the Americans never had any.
This Ryder Cup belonged to the Europeans from the start. Some of it had to do with talent. On the first morning, Ian Woosnam benched three players ranked in the top 14 in the world. That's how deep the Europeans were.
The Americans' best chances -- the Tiger Woods-Jim Furyk and Chris DiMarco-Phil Mickelson pairings -- weren't particularly productive. Woods and Furyk did okay but Mickelsonn and DiMarco were a bust.
The rookies didn't hurt the U.S. team. Throw them in with the two captain's picks and they produced more points than the top six players in the American lineup.
So, after consecutive wipe-outs, where do the U.S. go next?
That's what everyone is trying to figure out. It's expected that Paul Azinger will be the next captain and he's not afraid to speak his mind.
But Tom Lehman can't be faulted for his preparation. The players spoke glowingly of Lehman's captaincy. They just didn't play well enough.
They came to Ireland looking for the Ryder Cup. They left looking for answers -- again.

Without Hope What Is There?

It would be easy to bury the American Ryder Cup team right now and a lot of people probably are.
They're down 10-6 entering the Sunday singles and they've looked dull. Not disinterested, just dull.
Too many putts have burned the edges, too many chances have been wasted, too many things haven't happened.
Golf, like any other sport, is often built on momentum. It's huge in the Ryder Cup and the Americans have never, not for a second, had it.
Their only hope is to grab it Sunday and never let go -- and that may not be enough.
It's easy to point to the American failures so far. Phil Mickelson has done nothing. Chris DiMarco has done nothing. Four matches for Phil, three for DiMarco, no wins.
Tiger hasn't been too much better. He was flat Friday and lousy Saturday morning but he and Jim Furyk kept alive the Americans' slender hopes by winning the last point on Saturday.
Has Tom Lehman made all the right moves?
No.
He should have played J.J. Henry more than he did the first two days and he should have put Phil Mickelson on the bench Saturday afternoon when it was obvious the left-hander didn't have it. Maybe he should have played Vaughn Taylor earlier, too.
Ian Woosnam looks brilliant because everything is working. That's what happens when more putts fall than for the Americans.
I expect the Americans to make a game of it Sunday. That doesn't mean they're going to win -- the Europeans are too good and too deep -- but the U.S. may give them a scare.
David Toms is a good match against Colin Montgomerie.
Sergio Garcia may be too much for Stewart Cink but Sergio's record on Sunday's playing by himself isn't too good these days.
The Jim Furyk-Paul Casey match could swing the early matches. Two terrific players going head to head.
Tiger beats Robert Karlsson then it gets tricky. But if the Americans can get up big on most of the early matches, something unexpected could happen.
When Woosnam was asked Saturday night if he was worried things could go all wrong for his team on Sunday, Woosie said, "Yes."
They probably won't. Four points is huge when the Americans need 8 1/2 to win the cup.
But it could happen.

A false start

The United States Ryder Cup team -- and everyone distantly related to it -- has a uniform for everything they do here in Ireland.

Wonder if they have a "been there, done that" T-shirt?

One day in, the Americans find themselves in a familiar spot -- trailing 5-3 after watching Sergio Garcia play like Tiger Woods and Colin Montgomerie make another putt that matters.

The Americans weren't bad and they're certainly not finished with 20 more matches to go but they need to play better than they did Friday if they want to spend Saturday night anticipating rather than dreading Sunday.

The simple solution is to make more putts. That's what captain Tom Lehman saw as the problem and there's something to that.

But it's deeper than that.

The Americans need to play better period.

That's possible, maybe even likely. Tiger Woods went 1-1 with Jim Furyk Friday and neither had their best stuff. The chances of both of them being dull on Saturday is slim.

The bigger question is whether the Chris DiMarco-Phil Mickelson team can find its mojo. Mickelson looks almost disengaged. He's not the same crisp player he was three months ago and he needs to be for the U.S. to win.

Here are some other impressions after the first day:

• Sergio Garcia is amazing in the Ryder Cup. If he played and putted every week as well as he does in the Ryder Cup, Tiger would have a challenger at No. 1.
• The Europeans showed their depth by getting at least one-half point from every player. That's the difference in the Euros and the Americans. Lehman still hasn't put Scott Verplank and Vaughn Taylor out. Verplank goes out Saturday morning but if things go bad in the four-balls, Taylor may not play before Sunday's singles.
• J.J. Henry was a stud. He can make some birdies, the guys like him and it may have been a mistake for Lehman to sit him down Friday afternoon. If the Americans are going to find an unlikely hero, it may be him.
• The Americans won the team uniform battle on Friday. Nice call on the black pants, gray shirts and gray-and-white argyle sweaters.
• Sweetest moment of the day belonged to Darren Clarke at the first tee when the crowd roared for him and the guys he was playing with -- Lee Westwood, Mickelson and DiMarco -- each gave him a hug.
• Two key matches for the Americans in Saturday's four-balls: Woods and Furyk must beat Clarke and Westwood, and Mickelson and DiMarco must beat Garcia and Olazabal. Otherwise, you're counting on Zach Johnson and Scott Verplank to beat Henrik Stenson and Padraig Harrington. Ummm....

Tiger does his part early

Considering his day began with a fat, pulled 3-wood into the water on the par-4 first hole, Tiger Woods' morning improved nicely as he and Jim Furyk, the new American dream team, were the only American winners in four-ball play, edging Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington 1-up.

If the Americans are going to win the Ryder Cup back, Woods needs to contribute at least four points, which is more than half his career point total. Trailing 2 1/2 - 1 1/2 after the morning wasn't a disaster but it seemed too familiar, given the Americans' recent poor starts.

The featured match with Woods wasn't spectacular, perhaps because it took nearly 5 1/2 hours to complete. Woods made the difference with consecutive birdies early in the back nine to put his team ahead. Then they held off the Europeans, neither of whom looked particularly sharp.

The sharpest American in the morning was rookie J.J. Henry, who made five birdies and has been the best U.S. player in practice this week. Had Henry and Cink won their match rather than halve it after being 3-down, it could have been the emotional spark the Americans needed.

The Phil Mickelson-Chris DiMarco pairing didn't have its Presidents Cup magic as they lost. Mickelson looked flat, making just one birdie, suggesting we may not see the Phil we see at the Masters.

In the afternoon, captain Tom Lehman made a couple of curious decisions. He sat Henry, who was the morning's top player, and he also kept Scott Verplank on the bench. Verplank was a captain's pick largely for his alternate-shot talents, where he's straight off the tee and a terrific clutch putter. It raises the question if Verplank's back is bothering him or if Lehman thought the long conditions, exacerbated by afternoon showers, worked against Verplank.

The best part of the morning was Darren Clarke. Everyone knows his sad story now, and he was greeted on the first tee by a roaring ovation. He then smacked his opening tee shot down the middle and birdied the first hole like something from a storybook.

When Clarke closed out Mickelson and DiMarco with a birdie at the last, there were tears in his eyes. As a reward, captain Ian Woosnam gave Clarke the afternoon off.

On Your Mark, Get Set...

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman got another thing right.
He kept the Tiger Woods-Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson-Chris DiMarco pairings together for the first set of matches in the Ryder Cup. That doesn't mean they're going to win but it means Lehman didn't ignore the chemistry lessons learned last fall at the Presidents Cup.
Play to your strengths. That's what both sides are doing.
When Ian Woosnam stuck Padraig Harrington and Colin Montgomerie out first, he figured they'd line up against Woods and Furyk and he was right. He's hoping they can give the Europeans the same dynamite they provided two years ago when they beat Woods and Mickelson in the first match on the first day, setting the tone for the weekend.
What's different this time is Woods is at the top of his game. Two years ago, he was still working through his swing change with Hank Haney and was paired with Mickelson, who had just changed equipment companies and seemed like a man who didn't want to be there.
Woods is comfortable with Furyk, who cracks jokes under his breath at times, amusing Woods.
For both sides, a victory in the first match would be a huge boost, though it's only the first step in a long march.
The Americans have a strategy though Lehman wouldn't reveal it Thursday. It likely centers on getting off to a solid start, rather than playing themselves into a hole as they've typically done early.
In pairing Brett Wetterich with David Toms, Lehman opted to go for power on a long, wet course and temper it with Toms' calming influence. Most expected Toms to play with Chad Campbell but Lehman likes what Wetterich brings and had the pairing in mind after the team visited Ireland last month.
Woosnam chose to pair Jose Maria Olazabal with Sergio Garcia, putting the Spaniards together in hopes of recapturing some of the Ryder Cup magic Olazabal had with Seve Ballesteros. He may be on to something.
Match play golf is a different animal. You can play very well and lose or you can scrape it around and still scrape out a win. Two years ago, Woods and Mickelson shot a better-ball 31 on the first nine against Montgomerie and Harrington and were 1-down at the turn.
That's the way it goes.
There is encouraging news on the weather front here. The rain is expected to end overnight and the forecast for the weekend is good. Temperatures in the upper 60s, 15 to 20 mile per hour winds and only a slight chance of rain.
They're likely to play lift, clean and cheat because it's so muddy but it may be the only fair way to play given how muddy the course is.
The best news is it's finally time to play.

Hear Tiger Roar

The price of being Tiger Woods is waking up one morning and finding a provocative story and photos of your beautiful wife plastered across a publication, suggesting more is available if you want to comb through some porn websites.
It didn't matter that later in the day, the people in charge at The Dubliner magazine issued an apology, weakly explaining that the story -- which fired oversized darts at all the wives of the American players -- was intended to be a satire of tabloids. They had no doubt been contacted by some of Mr. Woods' legal representatives -- as they should have -- and they were doing damage control far too late.
It's true that Elin Nordegren Woods has modeled bikinis in her past. There are plenty of photos in cyberspace of her and Woods acknowledged that when he spoke out about the Dubliner story Wednesday morning.
Woods sounded noble in the way he defended his wife. He made an uncomfortable moment an impressive one.
He said what he wanted and he moved on.
This Ryder Cup is about golf, after all, even if a small hurricane is trying to ruin everything for Ireland.
It isn't just blowing over here. It's howling like N.C. State fans after a win over North Carolina. There are moments when walking straight ahead becomes a 50-50 proposition. And it's been raining buckets with no guarantee either the wind or rain will subside before the Celtic drummers take the stage for Thursday's opening ceremonies.
One day, two storms.
Just wait until the golf begins.