Tiger closing in on another legend

Tiger Woods is on the verge of taking down another giant.

When Tiger wins his next tournament - which may come Sunday in the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines - it will be his 62nd PGA Tour victory.
That would tie him with Arnold Palmer.

Not that we didn’t already understand Tiger’s place in history but tying Palmer, for fourth on the all-time victory list, would be another reminder of what we’re seeing.

It’s entirely possible, perhaps even likely, that Woods will eventually win 100 PGA Tour events. He just turned 32, after all, and we’re not sure we’ve seen him in his prime yet.

But tying and passing Arnie deserves a moment.
Only three players have won more tournaments than Palmer - Sam Snead won 82, Jack Nicklaus won 73 and Ben Hogan won 64. Hogan, at least figuratively, is looking over his shoulder.

Arnie is just waiting to say congratulations.

Tiger's appearance signals golf's return

Tiger Woods has arrived just in time.

But will Phil Mickelson be able to join him?

The PGA Tour season, which is three weeks and one national controversy old, gets Woods back this week when he plays in the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines where he’s won four times and will be the overwhelming favorite when the U.S. Open returns there in June.

Woods’ return couldn’t come at a better time. Nothing against Daniel Chopra, K.J. Choi and D.J. Trahan but none of them move the interest needle in the dead of January, even for those of us with golf on the brain.

The Tour made a big deal when it revamped its schedule last year, admitting it couldn’t compete with football in the fall, in effect surrendering to America’s favorite sport. It’s no different in January when the NFL playoffs are king. If you watched golf on television last Sunday, it was probably during commercial breaks in the playoffs.

But when Tiger plays in January, we’re instantly engaged.

Perhaps this week will put an end to the Kelly Tilghman story. Woods tried to close the door on it Monday when he said she made an “unfortunate” mistake but there was no ill intent. Tilghman is scheduled to return to The Golf Channel broadcasts this week and don’t be surprised if she makes an apology on-air.

Golfweek, by the way, intends to run a front-page letter from its new editor, Jeff Babineau, apologizing for its terrible judgment in running a noose on its cover recently.

This has been trumpeted as the week both Tiger and Mickelson return but Lefty is home fighting a respiratory problem that has bothered for him for weeks. Doctors finally ordered him to stay in bed for at least two days, forcing him to cancel his season-opening press conference today in San Diego. He hopes to play in the Wednesday pro-am if his condition improves.

It will be nice to see Tiger and Phil playing again. It means the season has officially started.

Soaking up the tug of golf on TV

This is when watching the PGA Tour is cruel.

Oh, it’s bad enough watching guys hit 6-irons 205 yards, give every putt they hit a chance to go in and wear slacks that never wrinkle.

Now we’re stuck here with our annual dose of winter (which means if we ever get to play again we’ll be hitting pitch shots off turf that feels like a wet towel) and the tour guys have found the green grass and the sunshine.

They’re in Palm Springs this week playing golf on what looks like something Hollywood created. It’s almost too green, too blue and too perfect. It’s brighter than Samuel L. Jackson’s sweaters.

You don’t need high-definition to feel the tug of golf in warm weather and in a setting even Martha Stewart couldn’t improve.

Until recently, we’ve been able to cope with the off-season. The weather has been fairly mild, allowing us to keep playing on dormant fairways, and the holidays always distract us enough so that golf isn’t all we think about.

But now, two months before we can hope the Bermuda starts turning green in our fairways again, we have to nourish our golf jones from the couch or the bar stool. There’s always the temptation of a golf trip to some place warm, sunny and overpriced but the economy is suddenly worse than John Daly’s reputation.

We should consider ourselves fortunate. Winter doesn’t last long here. It tends to come and go, like most of our putting strokes, lasting a week or two at a time. The folks up north won’t be playing golf again until the azaleas are blooming at Augusta.

Right now, we’re feeling their pain – and living vicariously through Robert Gamez and D.J. Trahan.

Daly, Gainey victims of unkind cut

It is now possible, as John Daly, Tommy ‘Two Gloves’ Gainey and some other PGA Tour players know, to make the cut in a tour event but still not get to play the weekend.

It happened at the Sony Open in Hawaii last week, the first time a new tour guideline was put into effect, costing Big John the chance to play on Saturday and Sunday, something that has become increasingly infrequent in his curious career.

Like most golf rules, this one is hard to explain but - and hopefully I get this right - here’s how the new cut rule works:

The 36-hole cut will continue to include the low 70 and ties. However, if more than 78 players make the cut, the new rule kicks in and the number of players who actually play the weekend reverts back to the number of players closest to 70. Got it?

Didn’t think so.

Here’s what happened at the Sony: A total of 87 players shot even-par 140 or better, technically making the cut. But the field was actually cut to the 69 players who posted 1-under par 139 through two rounds.

“It’s a stupid rule,” Daly told The Golf Channel.

Maybe but the idea is to keep from having so many players on the weekend that it requires play to begin on the first and 10th tees with players in threesomes. That means five-hour rounds, and no one likes those.

The 18 players who made the cut but didn’t get to play left with $9,699 in their checking accounts and 46 FedEx Cup points to their credit.

Some, no doubt, cited the names of Brad Faxon, Chris Couch and Jose Maria Olazabal, each of whom has won a tournament after making the cut on the number.

Suddenly, grinding to make the cut on Friday afternoon has taken on a whole new look. The number keeps moving.

Tilghman apologized. That should be it.

Kelly Tilghman made a mistake.
But that’s all it was - a mistake.
Tilghman said something she shouldn’t have during a Golf Channel broadcast last week and she has apologized for it.

That should be the end of it.
Tilghman has apologized directly to Tiger Woods for saying young players should "lynch him in a back alley" after broadcast partner Nick Faldo suggested young players may need to gang up on Woods to challenge his dominance of the PGA Tour.

It was an unfortunate comment, certainly. But Tilghman, who has done a commendable job as the anchor of The Golf Channel’s tour telecast, doesn’t deserve to be hammered for her mistake. That won’t stop some people from pouncing anyway.

I don’t know Tilghman well - I’ve interviewed her and chit-chatted with her through the years - but I’m convinced there was no malice intended. She is a nice person who has worked extremely hard to do a good job and she has succeeded on merit.

She and Tiger are friends and he immediately accepted her apology, having had his own issue a few years back when he used the word "spaz" in describing himself.

Tilghman is liked and respected by the people who know her. She should be.

She said something she wishes she hadn’t and she apologized. In doing so, she said just the right thing. Let’s move on.

On golfer's resolutions

Like believing I’ll ever break 70, I long ago gave up on the notion of New Year’s resolutions.

But, like every day on the first tee offers at least the chance of doing the impossible, what’s the harm in making a few golf-related resolutions while waiting for the PGA Tour guys to show up on TV from Kapalua.

Therefore, I hereby resolve in 2008 to:

• Never dress like Rory Sabbatini;

• Never dress like Christina Kim;

• Play one 18-hole round this year without a double bogey;

• Quit leaving four-footers short of the hole (yeah, right);

• Charge caddie fee to anyone who insists on taking me stroke-by-stroke through the 86 they shot at the beach, or anywhere else;

• Not to require oxygen every time I have to hit a bunker shot;

• Practice putting more often, hit balls less often;

• Try not to roll my eyes when somebody insists on telling me how far they can hit a 7-iron;

• Figure out why I still have a 3-iron in my bag;

• Try not to have a different swing thought on every swing;

• Listen to Boo Weekley every chance I get.

It’s a start, anyway.

Naked lady tees (no!) and other gifts

Golf and Christmas can be a dangerous combination.

The problem, other than convincing the family a leisurely 18 would be a wonderful way to spend Christmas afternoon, is gifts.

Not the ones you’re giving.

The ones you might get.

It’s probably too late in the game for many golfers, but in the spirit of public service, here’s a short list of dos and don’ts you may want to subltly give to your significant other, your aunt or your wife’s mom to let them know what a golfer wants and, more importantly, doesn’t want.

THE GOOD LIST

-- Anything with an Augusta National logo on it because it can only be bought on the property there and they don’t sell anything cheesey;

-- Golf balls, preferably Titlelists. It may seem like a cliche gift but golfers love finding a dozen or two under the tree. It’s like payback for all those we’ve lost under other trees;

-- Shirts that look like something Fred Couples might wear. I’d say shirts like Tiger wears but most of us don’t have the abs or the biceps to look good in some of his form-fitting stuff;

-- Tickets to the Wachovia Championship;

-- A surprise weekend trip to the Verizon Heritage at Hilton Head;

-- An HDTV, the better to see how Phil Mickelson plays shots around the green;

-- A DVD of the 1986 Masters. No matter how many times you watch it - and we all know Jack wins - it still gives you a tingle.

THE BAD LIST

-- Golf balls that aren’t white;

-- Any kind of score-keeping doo-dad;

-- Golf sandals;

-- Anything with John Daly’s logo on it;

-- Iron covers;

-- An 11-wood;

-- Sweaters with golfers on the front, the back or anywhere;

-- Naked lady tees (sorry, I couldn’t resist a ‘Caddyshack’ reference).

Merry Christmas

Sabbatini off Tiger's Christmas card list

Surely, Rory Sabbatini didn’t just pack his swagger, his family and his $170,000 last-place check from Tiger Woods and the Target World Challenge and fly away to Maui a day early without saying thank you and offering an explanation.

Surely, Sabbatini is smarter than that.

Then again …

It’s still unclear exactly why the mouth that Rory-ed became the first person in the history of Tiger’s pre-Christmas bash to withdraw – reports ranged from shin splints (hmmmm) to a desire to get to Maui early – but it looks worse than the belt buckles Sabbatini likes to wear.

In case you missed it, Sabbatini was in last place in the 16-player field with one round remaining when he bolted California for Hawaii without, if reports from the scene are accurate, telling the host how much he appreciated the chance to pay for Christmas and then some.

As Fred Couples told reporters, Sabbatini is messing with the wrong guy.

Sabbatini picked at Tiger all season – it started here at the Wachovia Championship – jabbering about this and that like a man desperate to be taken seriously. He never beat Tiger when it mattered, though Sabbatini had an otherwise outstanding season.

It’s one thing to challenge a guy. Sports are about competition and if you don’t believe you can beat a guy, you won’t.

But it’s something else to get invited to the guy’s private party, show up, eat his shrimp, drive his courtesy car, take his money and leave without finishing the tournament. Sabbatini’s agent said his guy had been bothered by shin splints and that’s why he withdrew.

“Sure he did … and Roger Clemens’ agent said he didn’t do steroids,” Couples was quoted as saying.

If Sabbatini’s shins were hurting him – everybody who believes that one raise your hand – he should have at least had the class to make sure his host understood the situation. That’s what most of us would do, I hope.

At the very least, maybe Sabbatini will donate the $170,000 he left town with to somebody who needs it more than he does.

Tiger – and the rest of us – would appreciate it.

And Rory can make other plans for mid-December next year.

There's been a Tiger Woods sighting ....

We interrupt this run-up to Christmas and run-down of the Carolina Panthers to point out that Tiger Woods is playing golf this weekend.

It's been nearly three months since we saw Woods on the golf course, back-slapping new American hero Woody Austin at the Presidents Cup. Since then, he says he hasn't done much. He hasn't been skiing yet but he's been on his boat and went to the Floyd Mayweather fight last weekend.

Tiger's been busy being a dad, hitting golf balls once in a while, and now he's back -- briefly -- to play in the Target World Challenge he hosts as a fund-raiser for his foundation.

Woods' real golf season won't start until sometime in January -- he's playing typically coy about his early-season schedule -- but the chatter has already begun about whether 2008 is the year he wins the true Grand Slam. I like his chances.

Recently, Woods raised some eyebrows when he said if he were the ruler of golf, he'd have us all playing persimmon drivers and balata balls again. He'd make shot-making and skill priorities again.

Wouldn't it be fun to see players step back in time -- just 15 years -- to see how good they would be with older equipment?

We know who'd win -- Tiger, of course.

In the meantime, it'll be fun to see him playing golf again -- modern equipment and all.

Payne opens Masters to next generation

When Augusta National chairman Billy Payne says he wants to inspire the next generation of golfers, he has a nice source of inspiration -- the Masters Tournament.

Payne and the club announced Thursday that beginning next April, accredited patrons will be allowed to bring a youngster between the ages of 8 and 16 to the Masters tournament rounds for free.

That doesn't mean if you're using someone's Masters credential for a day that you can bring your son or daughter. Only the person whose name is on the badge application can bring one child with them each day and the tournament will have a way of verifying who the badges belong to.

So, no, there won't be 25,000 kids roaming the property during the tournament.

Still, it's another nice touch by Payne, who has made so many good moves in his still-young tenure as club chairman. The intent, Payne said in a statement, is to expose youngsters to golf and the Masters. There's no better way than letting them see it in person.

Payne has been aggressive in his efforts to bring golf to more people, particularly to young people and the international audience. He sees it as a way to follow through on the vision of Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, whose spirits still guide the club.

As part of that initiative, the popular par-3 tournament played on Wednesdays before the tournament begins will be televised by ESPN, the new cable partner for the Masters. The telecast will air from 3 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday and give viewers a sense of the fun that has made the par-3 event an integral part of the Masters experience.

"These initiatives are important first steps and a great kickoff to our ongoing mission of growing the game," Payne said.

Two Gloves has firm grip on tour card

When the 2008 PGA Tour season begins next month -- you'll recognize it when you see the palm trees and Stuart Appleby at Kapalua again -- you may find yourself with a new favorite player.

Tommy 'Two Gloves' Gainey, who made his living playing mini-tour golf when he wasn't working in a South Carolina mill, made it through the tour qualifying school this week, punching his ticket to places like Pebble Beach, Phoenix and the same locker room where Tiger Woods changes his shoes.

Gainey won one of those 'Big Break' shows on The Golf Channel a while back, introducing himself to those of us who spend a little too much time watching golf.

He has a touch of Boo Weekley about him in that he's a natural. He wears two gloves when he plays -- hence the nickname -- and he can really play. Just ask the guys who've played mini-tour golf against him through the years.

Now Gainey gets to prove it to the world.

He's only played in one PGA Tour event in his life -- the Wachovia Championship last May -- and he already had a gallery following him.

Now he's the pride of Bishopville, S.C., and maybe, just maybe, a new star on the PGA Tour.

Charlotte's Tucker plotting comeback at 50

Chris Tucker has been playing golf around Charlotte for decades and had a two-year run on the PGA Tour in the early '90s that gave him a taste of what could be his.

Tucker never made it back to the PGA Tour but now has a chance to play the Champions Tour in 2008.

The opportunity doesn't come with any guarantees -- by virtue of his high finish at qualifying school, Tucker is now eligible to play Monday qualifiers for most seniors events -- but all Tucker wants is a chance.

"The Monday qualifying will be harder than the actual event if I get in," Tucker said.

Tucker jokingly calls the Champions Tour the "most closed society in the world" and it's close to that. The qualifying school he recently completed doesn't award tour spots to the top finishers. It just gives them entree into the Monday qualifying events where 50 to 60 players vie for nine spots most weeks.

Tucker, who turned 50 in November, is just over a year removed from rotator cuff surgery that some thought might end his competitive career. They were wrong.

Always a terrific ball striker, Tucker putted his way through qualifying school to earn his chance to play alongside Jay Haas, Loren Roberts and many of the other guys he played against in his brief PGA Tour career.

To get ready, Tucker played mini-tour events on Carolinas Pro Golf Tour as well as Carolinas PGA Section events.

He hopes to secure some financing to help him through his first crack at the Champions Tour and plans to be in Hawaii in mid-February when the tour season begins.

"If I can play well enough in the one-round shootout to get in the tournament, I feel like I'll have a chance to win," Tucker said. "I may be shocked but I think I can win. I know I can compete with them."

Ochoa has confidence to dominate

Lorena Ochoa is quiet, conscientious and the new undisputed queen of women's professional golf.

For all the talk about Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel and the once-inspiring Michelle Wie, Ochoa has redefined the hierarchy of women's golf with the season she completed Sunday in winning the ADT Championship.

In winning eight tournaments and a record $4.36-million, Ochoa definitely replaced Annika Sorenstam as the game's best player and the distance between her game and everyone else's may require a yardage book.

While Sorenstam will continue to chase history, her best days are behind her.

Though it's tough to imagine a season being better than this one, it's possible Ochoa's best days are still ahead.

She always had the game. Now Ochoa has the confidence to finish what she starts and that means winning tournaments in bunches.

Ochoa had a Tiger-quality year and there's no reason to think next year will be any different.

Plus, she donated $100,000 of the $1-million she won Sunday to a relief fund in her native Mexico and she has worked quietly but diligently to help those less fortunate than herself.

She's the new face of women's golf and that puts a smile on many faces.

Golf is always surprising

When you've played golf for more than 40 years and the only holes-in-ones you've encountered are three you've seen other people make, you've quit stepping to the tee on a par-3 hole and thinking this might be the swing.

But there I was at the Quail Hollow Club Thursday watching the wind take my 6-iron shot on the par-3 13th hole and drop it 15 feet left of the hole. And there we stood, my host David Clark, Buck Wearn and Greg Currie watching my ball roll to the right, closer, closer, closer to the hole.
And then it disappeared.

Part of golf's charm is the way it can surprise you. Every once in a while, a 50-foot putt will fall in or a bunker shot will come out perfectly, skip once and dive into the hole.

If you're lucky, there are times in your golf career when you can walk up to a green, thinking your ball is in the hole but you're not entirely sure, and you have the thrill of peeking into the cup and seeing it staring back at you.

As we approached the 13th green Thursday afternoon, my golf ball was nowhere to be seen.

They let me go first toward the hole.

And there was my golf ball.

On the back fringe.

Again.

Justin Timberlake reviving a golf trend?

The announcement Monday that Justin Timberlake is the new host of the PGA Tour’s annual stop in Las Vegas raised one important question - are bright red Sansabelt slacks about to be in vogue again?

The official name of the event will be the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital For Children Open - rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it? - but it’s what the move represents that sends those of us old enough to remember the 1960s and ‘70s rushing back to the glory days of celebrity golf.

There was a time - and I know I’m showing my age here - when a handful of tournaments were known by their celebrity hosts rather than banks, car manufacturers and hotel chains.

It started with Bing Crosby’s event on the Monterey Peninsula and included Bob Hope’s annual birdiefest in Palm Springs.

Glen Campbell, the Rhinestone Cowboy, had his name on a tournament. So did Jackie Gleason, Sammy Davis Jr. and Andy Williams.

It was a time when golf clothes were as wretchedly ugly as the Panthers’ offense and ‘double knit’ was what people wanted to wear - at least until they figured out they could make you sweat in places where you didn’t need to sweat.

Gradually, the names disappeared like the stars, leaving Hope’s name as the only one still affixed to a trophy.

Now Timberlake is bringing back the celebrity event. He can sing. He can dance. He can even tell secrets about Britney Spears if he wanted.

Maybe more celebrities will follow his lead.

Al Pacino could host the ‘Hoo-ah’ Classic.

Rachel Ray could host the ‘365 Ways To Make A Bogey Championship.’

Diddy could host the ‘Diddy Open.’

Tiger Woods could have his own tournament. Oh yeah, he has three - his Target World Challenge, the AT&T National in Washington and the Masters.

PGA Tour season ends -- quietly

The 2007 PGA Tour season officially ended Sunday -- almost two months after it felt like it ended at the Tour Championship in Atlanta -- with the last important order of business being finalizing the top 125 money winners.

That was the focus of the seven-event Fall Series, which produced some interesting golf but didn't exactly captivate the sporting public like the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.

The Fall Series did several things -- it reminded us that Justin Leonard still has some game left, as does Jesper Parnevik. It also made winners of George McNeill and Daniel Chopra.

Nine golfers played their way into the top 125 over the final seven weeks including Charlotte resident Johnson Wagner and Charlotte native Bill Haas. The others who secured their 2008 status were Alex Cejka, Parnevik, Mark Hensby, Cameron Beckman, Shigeki Maruyama, Mathias Gronberg and Michael Allen.

And if nine guys played their way in, it meant nine guys slipped out. Those nine -- who get a free pass to the final stage of tour qualifying school next month -- are Ben Curtis, Brett Quigley, Harrison Frazar, Bob Heintz, Doug LaBelle II, Steve Allan, Ted Purdy, Craig Kanada and Joe Durant.

Another guy who didn't make the top 125 was former Wake Forest golfer Billy Andrade, who had made the list for 18 straight years.

One boo-yah and you're gone

Please tell us there will be no ‘boo-yahs’ at the Masters.

That was the first thought that came to mind last week when news broke that ESPN will take over first- and second-round coverage of the Masters beginning next April.

Talk about an odd fit.

The Masters is all things traditional, right down to the white bread on its pimento cheese sandwiches.

ESPN is all about being cool, hip and loving itself.

Now they are married, or at least engaged for a year. The Masters believes in one-year television contracts and you can believe ESPN’s treatment of the world’s best golf tournament will be carefully crafted to fit the template.

For years, the first two rounds of the Masters have been on USA Network, but it’s getting out of the golf business.

ESPN has essentially been out of the golf biz since the PGA Tour decided to put its weekday product on The Golf Channel, a questionable decision given that ESPN reaches the non-converted as well as the devout golf fan, unlike TGC which is for those of us too close to our 6-irons.

By shifting the telecasts to ESPN, it broadens the potential audience even more, enhancing the vision of tournament chairman Billy Payne, who is doing a nice job of embracing the past, the present and the future at the Masters and Augusta National.

And, it’s better than a safe guess that Mr. Payne doesn’t want to hear any ‘boo-yahs’ when somebody holes a 15-footer for birdie at the 12th hole.

The face of ESPN’s Masters coverage will be Mike Tirico, who gets golf and won’t try to make it about himself, like too many of his ESPN colleagues tend to do.

He will host the show while the regulars from CBS Sports - David Feherty, Peter Kostis, Peter Oosteruis, et. al - will handle their usual duties.

ESPN will do right by the Masters.

The Masters wouldn’t have it any other way.

More changes at Augusta National

There have been more changes to Augusta National Golf Club, though none will have a dramatic impact on the course.

Change, of course, is perpetual at Augusta National, though most of what has been done in recents was to enhance spectator viewing during the Masters each April.

Four holes - Nos. 1, 7, 9 and 11 - underwent modifications while the club was closed during the summer.

The Masters tee at the first hole was extended 10 yards in the front to accommodate the possibility of a strong northwest wind while the back of the tee was reduced to help spectator flow. The length of the hole - 455 yards - didn’t change.

At the seventh and ninth holes, the greens were slightly altered for agronomic reasons, adding a couple of hole locations on both.

At No. 11, more trees were removed along the right side of the fairway to enhance spectator viewing.

The other significant adjustment was to create more spectator seating on the hill to the left side of the par-3 16th hole. The enhanced viewing area will allow more than 2,000 fans to watch play on the 15th, 16th and 17th holes.

Mickelson apparently enjoyed Montreal

Behind the scenes at the Presidents Cup:

During the Americans' press conference Sunday evening, Phil Mickelson was asked about his singles pairing with Vijay Singh with the questioner alluding to the anticipation surrounding the match.

"Why?" Lefty deadpanned.

It's no secret. Mickelson and Singh aren't friendly with each other and they didn't talk much on the course. Phil did manage to get in a little jab later while talking about one of Singh's par saves.

"He was like 50 yards left of the green on No. 4 and looked like he had no shot," Lefty said.

"He and I have played a lot of golf together the last month or so and, I guess you play enough golf with someone you start to play like them. He was hitting it like I usually do and getting it up and down."

Even Tiger broke up laughing.

Mickelson evidently kept up a steady stream of chatter with his teammates through the week. When Mickelson was asked to expound on a question, Woody Austin piped up, "Don't encourage it."

Phil was even playful with Tiger, more evidence their supposed cold war was history.

When players were asked where they would donate their money from the event, Lefty volunteered to speak for Tiger, who seemed amused.

"The Tiger Woods Foundation will be receiving Tiger's and I can tell you about the Tiger Foundation," he said.

"It was a $25-million commitment. It's a place where a lot of inner city youth can go and study and play golf and learn. And he's going to do one in Washington, D.C. I say this because I do know what he's doing and I think it's incredible. He has an ability to make an impact on so many people's lives and he takes advantage of that opportunity and we're all appreciative."

Asked about his own foundation, Mickelson said, "I know a little bit about that, too."

Observations from Montreal

Observations after four days of the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club:

Wonder how long Tiger Woods will go before he hits another golf ball?
He’s done with competition until his Target World Challenge in December. No reason to take the clubs on the yacht where he’s probably headed for a well-deserved cruise with his wife and baby.

They might have set a record for the number of people who can squeeze around one golf hole Sunday when Woods and Mike Weir played the first hole. It looked like everyone in Quebec was there.

The matches proved again that it matters how guys are playing when they come into these competitions. The Americans were playing better and it showed.

K.J. Choi has gone flat in recent weeks, Adam Scott has been drifting along for weeks, Trevor Immelman isn’t sharp, Geoff Ogilvy didn’t win this year and Retief Goosen has become almost invisible.

The Americans, on the other hand, arrived with Woods, Phil Mickelson, Lucas Glover, Woody Austin and Steve Stricker riding big waves of momentum.

There wasn’t a lot of chitchat between Mickelson and Vijay Singh in their singles match Sunday, but Mickelson was wearing soft spikes. If you’ve forgotten, they got into a dust-up at the Masters a couple of years ago because the Fijian thought Philly Mick was spiking up the greens with his metal spikes.

Mickelson apparently switched to soft spikes when he started working with teacher Butch Harmon, not because he was paired with Singh.

If the Americans had been walloped like the International team was, there would be plenty of criticism directed at them not just now but through the winter and in the run-up to next year’s Ryder Cup.

The same goes for the European team, which is asked about the Ryder Cup constantly. It is a perpetual subject among the European media.
But who barks at the Internationals?

Maybe they just get kidded around Isleworth and Lake Nona in Orlando, where so many of them seem to live.