No (Davis) Love for the Masters?

Davis Love III has one more week -- this week -- to qualify to play in the Masters.

All he has to do is win the Shell Houston Open.

In other words, it looks like Love's streak of 70 consecutive starts in major championships will end unless he can duplicate his 1995 magic when he won in New Orleans the week before the Masters to qualify at the last minute.

Love isn't the only familiar name who is outside the Masters looking in.

Chris DiMarco, who has three career top-10s at Augusta National and pushed Tiger Woods to extra holes in 2005, is already out. His game has disappeared and DiMarco isn't playing in Houston this week, meaning there's no chance he'll be at the Masters.

Lucas Glover also needs to win this week not just to get in the Masters but to jump start a lousy season. Glover, who many expected would be a part of this Ryder Cup team, has had a flat start this year. At Bay Hill, Glover said he needed one good round when the putts started falling to change his attitude and get things going. He shot 66 there but nothing changed.

Tom Lehman and Chad Campbell are also going to miss the Masters if they don't win this week.

On the other side, there's Peter Lonard, who didn't realize when he made a 5-foot par putt on the 72nd hole at New Orleans Sunday that it got him in the Masters. The putt gave Lonard just enough world ranking points to crack the top 50, which comes with a Masters invitation if you're in that exclusive club as of March 30.

Charlotte golf history gathers

A sizeable portion of Charlotte’s golf history was gathered Tuesday at Cedarwood Country Club, where organizers of the new City Amateur championship held a kickoff event that brought together 18 former city champions.

Bill Williamson, winner of the first City Am 50 years ago, was there along with former winners David Strawn, Skip Dunaway, Johnny Elam, Joe Jaspers, Xan Law, Don Littlejohn and others.

Photos were taken, stories were told and the original trophy – now 50 years old – was named for former Observer columnist and golf writer Ron Green Sr.

Though entries won’t be accepted until June 1, there appears to be great interest in the reborn event, which will be played at Cedarwood, Carmel Country Club and Charlotte Country Club Aug. 15-17.

Qualifiers will be held at Pine Island, Skybrook and Charlotte Golf Links.
For tournament information, visit www.charlottecityam.com.

Spring's most unwelcome golf holes

I was driving past Providence Country Club Monday afternoon when I noticed the single most undeniable sign that the spring golf season has arrived.

They were aerating the greens.

The putting surface had disappeared under a layer of little plugs pulled from the ground. Then, after the plugs had been moved away, the once slick, green surface was covered by enough sand to make you wonder if it’s a penalty to ground your putter on the green.

The weather forecast for later this week is as sweet as Stephen Curry’s jump shot and all around the area greens are being aerated. Bummer.

That means for the two weeks after the aeration is complete the greens will be slower than lines at the DMV and just about as pretty.

It’s a necessary evil – like going to the dentist – but there’s never a good time to have the greens punched.

It doesn’t mean golfers will quit playing. Some will take a break or find someplace where the aeration calendar is set differently, but eventually the lure overwhelms us all and we go back out there, thinking the greens won’t be too bad.

We’ll be wrong, of course, but golfers – despite our tendency to think the golf gods have it in for us – keep a curious optimism. How else you explain the guy who’s just chopped his drive 125 yards waiting for the green to clear 240 yards away before hitting his next shot?

One good thing about playing on recently aerated greens – it’s easier to explain away your three-putts.

Woods with 12 straight? Here's how...

I’ve long contended that the most unbreakable record in sports is Byron Nelson’s streak of 11 consecutive PGA Tour victories set in 1945. It may not last the summer.

Was there any real doubt Sunday afternoon as Tiger stood over the 24-foot birdie putt to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational that he was going to make it? Arnie himself was standing behind the green and told the person he was standing with that Tiger was going do what Tiger seems to always do.

Johnny Miller hinted at it on television when he pointed out that Tiger had not made a putt longer than 18 feet all week and – boom – there it was. What we’re seeing is the essence of greatness. I didn’t think we’d ever see another run that came close to Tiger’s roll in 2000 and 2001 but this one may soon be as good. Tiger says he’s a better player now than then.

Want to argue with him? He’s won five tour events in a row and seven straight worldwide. Run the numbers out and he’s won nine of his last 10 tour starts. Not bad.

So where does he go from here? He’s the obvious favorite at the World Golf Championship at Doral this week, where he only wins when he tees it up. That’s No. 6.

Two weeks off and it’s the Masters. He hasn’t won there since 2005. Make it No. 7. Then two weeks off and he’s here for the Wachovia Championship. Who’s going to beat him? That’s No. 8. It gets dicey at No. 9.

You get the sense that Tiger doesn’t love The Players Championship, certainly not the way commissioner Tim Finchem wants him to love it. He’s won there, so it’s checked off his to-do list, but if you’re looking for a likely place he won’t win, the Stadium Course jumps out. But, the way he’s playing and to play this idea out, let’s give him No. 9.

Then it’s off to the Memorial where he can win No. 10 in front of Jack Nicklaus. Where does he get the record-tying No. 11? The U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. Count it.

I know it strains the imagination – even by Tiger standards – to think he could win 11 straight but he’s nearly halfway there. And if he got that far, what about No. 12? His tournament – the AT&T Classic – in Washington on Fourth of July weekend. Still think it can’t happen?

Another sad chapter to John Daly story

The John Daly story, which has become a series of increasingly sad chapters seemingly headed for an even sadder ending, took another twist Wednesday morning at Bay Hill when Big John missed his pro-am tee time for the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Unless there are extenuating circumstances that excuse Daly’s absence from the first tee – that seems unlikely given his track record – he’s disqualified this week and in an even deeper mess than he’d already found himself for various misdeed including reports of a drunken weekend in Tampa just days ago.

Daly’s self-destructive tendencies appear to be in full flower – again.

That’s too bad.

But it’s not surprising.

And it’s become almost impossible to feel sorry for the guy.

Butch Harmon, who took on Daly as a student late last year, essentially fired Daly this week and ripped him in the process.

Harmon told Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press that Daly needs to “show me golf is the most important thing in his life … and the most important thing in his life is getting drunk.”

There were already reports that Daly was a mess at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic earlier this year and now there are reports – and video evidence – of Daly getting hammered at a hospitality tent adjacent to Innisbrook last week after he missed the cut in the PODS Championship there.

On Friday, Daly ducked into the Hooters Owl Nest tent during a rain delay and emerged later with Tampa Bay Bucs coach Jon Gruden as his caddie. After missing the cut – something Daly does well these days if he makes it through 36 holes – he showed up Saturday at the Hooters tent again and spent his day drinking.

There is even a video showing Daly being Daly.

On a professional level, Daly is sure to get whacked pretty hard by the PGA Tour, though commissioner Tim Finchem declined to discuss specifics Wednesday until he’s had an opportunity to talk with Daly. A sledgehammer – and an extended vacation from the tour – would work nicely.

Daly is an embarrassment to himself and the PGA Tour.

On a personal level, he needs help. That’s been obvious for years.

What used to be endearing – there was a time when Daly’s flaws made him a blue-collar hero – has become ugly.

It’s hard to believe his story has a happy ending.

Palmer still picture-perfect in players' eyes

The fact that most of the best golfers in the world are at Bay Hill this week for the Arnold Palmer Invitational is, more than anything, a testament to the enduring affection they have for the host.

He roams the premises at Bay Hill, signs autographs and handles the tricky business of being a legend beautifully.

This little moment underscores what Palmer still means to the game and the people who play it:

After playing in a Monday pro-am he’d previously committed to, Sean O’Hair – who was just hours removed from winning the PODS Championship – asked if he could have his photo taken with Palmer.

Naturally, Palmer obliged.

“I think Mr. Palmer is … he brought the sport to what it is with the popularity of it, with what he achieved,” O’Hair said. “Basically, he was like Superman in golf. I kind of look at him like that.

“When I talked to him (Monday), I couldn’t tell you one thing he said. I can’t. But I just was in such awe of his presence. And you look into his eyes and it’s like, I don’t know, he’s just still got it in his eyes.

“You think of what he’s experienced and how cool it would be to experience the things he’s done. It’s amazing. I just kind of wanted a picture so I could show my grandkids one day.”

Isenhour birdies hawk

If police and eyewitness reports are true, Salisbury native Tripp Isenhour recently took out a hawk from a distance of about 75 yards with a well-placed golf shot when the bird refused to obey what amounted to a ‘Hush, y’all’ warning while he was taping a television show.

Know what the show is called?
‘Shoot Like A Pro.’

Truth again goes 1-up on fiction.
The incident happened in mid-December at Grand Cypress Golf Course in Orlando and Isenhour apparently got irked because the red-shouldered hawk kept forcing him to re-shoot scenes because it was doing whatever hawks do when they make noise. Eyewitnesses say Isenhour started firing golf balls at the bird 300 yards away but it wasn’t until the bird came closer, supposedly 75 yards, that Isenhour dropped it.

Now the law has charged the 39-year old with cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird. If he’s found guilty, Isenhour could face 14 months in jail and $1,500 in fines.

Even worse, PETA will be on his case. As it should.
And I can’t imagine much worse than having PETA on your case.

If you’re not familiar with Isenhour, it’s probably because you’re not from Salisbury or Georgia Tech where he was an All-American in 1990. Isenhour was good enough to win twice on the Nationwide Tour in 2006 and earn himself a spot on the PGA Tour last year.

But he made just 14 cuts in 32 starts and wound up back on the Nationwide Tour this year.

Now he’s in a mess of trouble. If Isenhour did what he’s alleged to have done, the obvious question is why.

There’s no excuse.
But he probably knows that.
Now.

Slow play a problem at all levels

Near the end of his most recent newsletter, Tiger Woods raised the subject of slow play, suggesting that something serious be done about it on the PGA Tour.

Woods allowed that it’s a difficult subject and when a group falls behind the time clock, it’s probably not fair to penalize everyone when it’s typically one player’s fault.

Tiger conveniently left it to our imagination whether he was pointing a finger at J.B. Holmes, who not only nearly beat Woods in the first round of the recent Match Play Championship but nearly drove us all batty watching his fidgety and maddeningly prolonged pre-shot routine.

If that wasn’t Tiger’s intention, it should have been.

And he’s right, slow play continues to be a problem. Unfortunately, that’s nothing new. What would be new would be a more serious crackdown that resulted in quicker, more hard-hitting penalties than the various warnings and bad time citations now handed out on tour.

There’s nothing much more fun than hanging around a tee waiting 10 minutes for the group in front to clear out. Or, if you’re a spectator, watching a group of guys wait for the group in front to clear out.

One of the reasons cited in a recent New York Times story about the declining numbers of active golfers is the amount of time it takes to play 18 holes. Golf should never be a five-hour game but that’s what it’s become in too many places.

Adam Scott, who keeps getting mentioned as the game’s next great player, chimed in over the weekend, endorsing Woods’ suggestion for more severe penalties for clock chewers. Maybe if top players make enough noise, something more will happen.

Sadly, pace of play has become a problem at all levels. There’s no reason for double-digit handicappers to be pacing off yardage from sprinkler heads. They’re not good enough for it to matter, consistently.

The simple solution would be to have 100, 150 and 200-yard markers in the middle of fairways and on carth paths. That’s enough.

Speaking of cart paths, the worst words in golf today are ‘Carts On Path.’ That guarantees you’ll need a meal or a massage or both to get through 18 holes because it will take so long.

By the way, have you ever seen a course offer reduce rates for carts when they have to stay on the paths? Seems only fair.

Anyway, the point is Tiger has a point about slow play. Do I have the solution?

Not right now.

I need some time to work on it.

Is slow play a problem where you play? What should be done about it? Let us know in the comments section below.

Els on schedule for 8 Tour events

Sorting through the golf scene:

• Ernie Els is booked to play eight PGA Tour events starting this week at the Honda Classic through The Players Championship in mid-May (unfortunately, the Wachovia Championship is not on his schedule this year). It will be interesting to see if Els can finally win another tour event here. He’s in the second year of what he called a three-year plan to overtake Tiger Woods at No. 1. How’s that working out so far? Els hasn’t won a PGA Tour event since 2004 and he’s had a handful of serious meltdowns in events around the world. There are serious questions about whether he can still get it done like he once could. He may be asking those questions himself.
  

• The LPGA couldn’t have asked for a better start than having Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer win its first two events this year. It would be fun to see Sorenstam seriously challenge Lorena Ochoa for the No. 1 spot in the world again. If she can get back to No. 1, it would be as impressive as anything Sorenstam has done.
  

• With Fred Couples and Greg Norman as Presidents Cup captains in 2009, the event gave itself a nice PR boost. Now years past his prime, Couples remains a remarkably popular figure with fans – equally so with the players he’ll be leading – and Norman is an enormous personality who can’t help but attract attention. The Couples captaincy isn’t nearly as surprising as Norman agreeing to sign on to anything that has Tim Finchem’s hand involved. The Shark’s disagreements with the PGA Tour commissioner, which came to a boil after Finchem shot down Norman’s world tour idea then created the World Golf Championships, were thought to be too fractured for him to play the Presidents Cup game. But Norman made the right call when he accepted the invitation. Everybody wins.
  

Golf as it was meant to be

Tiger Woods had it right this week when he said match play golf is “an animal that’s all about the moment.”

That’s why it’s so compelling. Match-play golf changes shot to shot, hole to hole, unlike stroke-play golf which changes more slowly.

And, true to the nature of the maddening game, match-play golf can be terribly unfair.
Ask Phil Mickelson.

He made seven birdies and no bogeys in his second-round match against Stuart Appleby Thursday at the Accenture Match Play Championship - and he lost.

Appleby made nine birdies, giving Mickelson the weekend off despite the fact he’s won one tournament and lost another in a playoff in the past three weeks.

Match-play is cruel. Ask J.B. Holmes, who had Tiger all but beaten until Superman started putting into a bathtub again.

Americans have focused more on stroke play and playing against par than they do in Great Britain, where match-play is the favored form of golf. Designer Donald Ross, for example, didn’t put a par on the holes he designed because it seemed unimportant, especially in match play.

Match-play is why the Ryder Cup is so intriguing. Each hole, each match takes on its own life.

It’s fun. Isn’t that the point?

Dana Rader, Golfing with the Stars

Dana Rader and Alice Cooper?

Together?

It happened earlier this month when Rader was invited to be one of three instructor/coaches in the Michael Douglas And Friends celebrity tournament at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.
Rader replaced Butch Harmon as one of the three instructors/coaches in the event, joining Dean Reinmuth and Jim McLean.

It was a great compliment to Rader to be asked to particpate in the event, which will be shown on NBC June 10-11.

She spent the weekend in Los Angeles, taking limo rides to the course, doing voiceover hole descriptions for the telecast and giving a chipping lesson that will be shown during the broadcast.
Rader coached a four-play team that included Cooper, actors Martin Sheen and Kyle MacLaclin and young actress Emily Osment.

And Rader got some serious up-close time with a number of celebrities.

“One day I was sitting there having lunch with Morgan Freeman, Alice Cooper and Kenny G and I just kinda looked around and thought what am I doing here?” Rader said.

She was having a blast.

Rader attended a private cocktail party in a 22,000-square foot Hollywood Hills house owned by a major movie producer. She spent time with Michael Douglas and his wife, Catherine Zeta Jones, crossed paths with Heather Locklear and more, than a week later, is still bubbling about her experience.

Osment, the 15-year old co-star of Disney Channel’s ‘Hannah Montana’ show, impressed Rader with her game.

Cooper is “the nicest guy,” Rader said.

And Sheen, well, his game needs a little work, she said.

“But,” Rader added, “he’s so funny.”

So he has that going for him, which is nice.

Thanks to those who revived City Amateur

We owe the guys who brought the City Amateur golf tournament back to life a big thank you.

They remember the days when the City Am was the biggest tournament in Charlotte and how it annually drew the best players and gave us a sense of who might be the best amateur player here.

Though the tournament continued to be played until last year when it was mercifully not held, its soul had died years ago. It was played on the wrong golf courses, lost the interest of the best private-club players because of the sites and the fact it took more than five hours (on a good day) to play 18 holes drained the fun from it.

But with Braxton McLennan and Xan Law leading the way, the new City Am – Aug. 15-17 at Cedarwood, Carmel and Charlotte Country Clubs this year – will be better than ever.

The committee, which includes former champions David Strawn, Robbie Kirby and others, has put together an ideal format. It requires players to qualify and the field won’t be cluttered with flighted play. It’s every man for himself, straight up, with the field being cut after every round.

They’ve handled the little things that will make it feel like a big deal. Contestants will wear player badges. The $125 entry fee covers qualifying and the whole tournament if you qualify, including caddie fee at Charlotte if you’re among the 24 to make the final round.

Pace of play will be a primary consideration, the rules already state cell phones and blackberries will not be allowed and it will be run with a sense of style, not merely done to make money and run people around golf courses they don’t want to play.

The goal is to identify the best amateur in Charlotte and most of the best are expected to play, including Charlotte 49er Corey Nagy.

Reviving the City Am has been long overdue.

To the guys who’ve recreated it, thank you.

Well done.

Hurry if you want in at Quail Hollow

The announcement earlier this week that the Wachovia Championship is nearing a complete sellout didn’t come as any great surprise, except to the people who realized they waited too long to get tickets for this year’s event.

It has become routine for the Wachovia Championship to sell out, something it has done in its first five years and is days away from making official for a sixth time.

But it’s not routine, not in many other places where golf does very well but doesn’t sell out tournaments nearly three months before they’re played.

Outside of the major championships, there aren’t many PGA Tour events that sell out. Yes, the Wachovia Championship limits the number of tickets - to about 30,000 daily - but that’s a lot of people on a golf course.

Phoenix drew about 600,000 for the week this year but they’re playing a different game there, setting up bars and parties on site and turning the par-3 16th hole into a stadium. They let everyone in who wants to buy a ticket.

That’s not what the Wachovia Championship is after.

The tournament at Quail Hollow has hit all the right notes - it’s played on a beautiful, fan-friendly golf course, the ticket prices are reasonable, it comes at a perfect time of the year, the best players almost always play here and the tournament has become one of those places that people want to be.

As of Thursday, the only remaining tickets are a few Thursday tickets and practice packs for Monday through Wednesday (at this website).

What’s most impressive this year is that the tournament has made no announcements about which players are expected at Quail Hollow in early May.

It helps that Tiger Woods is the defending champion though he hasn’t officially announced he’s returning. He’ll be here, though.

It’s likely that Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Vijay Singh and most of the other stars will be at Quail Hollow, too, though the tournament hasn’t made any public announcements.

And, still, the tickets are almost gone.

Again.

It’s a nice problem to have.

Gap between Tiger, world widest ever?

Surveying the golf world while waiting for the fairways to dry out:

• Forget whatever the numbers are with the World Golf Rankings. Has the gap between Tiger Woods and everyone else ever been wider? I don't think so. And the gap isn't shrinking.
  

• The PGA Tour is reportedly considering changing to a 54-hole cut rather than a 36-hole cut in light of the controversy that continues over the new rule that makes it possible for players to technically make the cut after two rounds but not play the weekend. The cut rule, which seems certain to be adjusted in some way in the near future, has been a hot topic on tour and has been under official discussion in Los Angeles this week. Instead of low 70 and ties, the cut rule may go to the low 65 and ties, to shrink weekend fields.
  

• The people who've seen the new Charlotte Country Club are raving about it. The layout has been reworked in spots, it's been muscled up and a number of trees were removed, changing the look of the property. The U.S. Women's Amateur will be played there in two years and, it's a reasonable assumption, more significant events could be headed there in the future.

• Speaking of big events, Quail Hollow continues to quietly work toward landing a future PGA Championship and/or Ryder Cup. Don't be surprised if it happens.

• Sergio Garcia returns to the PGA Tour this week. I'm not as down on Sergio as many people are but he needs a big win over here soon. The sooner the better.

• The Charlotte 49ers, ranked second in the Golf World college rankings, begin their spring season Sunday in Florida with great expectations. Can they win the national championship? Definitely. They've already beaten the teams they'll have to beat to win the NCAA tournament. The 49ers are solid through their lineup and, right now anyway, have the great intangible on their side -- confidence. If they can keep the feeling they have now, they'll be a factor.

• I still think Annika Sorenstam has a few victories left in her. She won't be No. 1 again but, if she stays healthy this year, she'll win again.

U.S. Open to introduce Chambers Bay

Never heard of Chambers Bay Golf Course?

You’re about to.

Chambers Bay, built on land reclaimed from an old gravel quarry beside the Puget Sound, has been awarded the 2015 U.S. Open and the 2010 U.S. Amateur, proving the national championship of American golf isn’t forever tied to the same small cluster of old-line clubs.

Two things jump out about the Chambers Bay announcement, made officially today at the USGA meeting in Houston:

The USGA likes holding the Open on municipal courses, which Chambers Bay is, and it’s willing to take its biggest event to a new course, considering Chambers Bay just opened last summer.

The Open now has three truly public courses on its list of sites, starting with Torrey Pines this year, a return to Bethpage next year and Chambers Bay in 2015. Pebble Beach and Pinehurst are also open to the public, though they’re classified as resort courses.

When the Open goes to Chambers Bay, it will be the first one played in the Pacific Northwest. It also means four of the next eight Opens are on the West Coast (including the 2012 Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco).

Tiger's message: Be very afraid

I had planned to write about someone other than Tiger Woods today.

The idea was to write about how good it was to see Adam Scott pick up a win immediately this year on the European Tour and how Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson were already rattling their sabers this young season.

But Els couldn't close the deal in Dubai Sunday and the Lefthander lost a playoff to J.B. Holmes in Scottsdale, Ariz., and it was Tiger - again - delivering like only he can.

How good can he get?

When Tiger made the turn Sunday in the Dubai Desert Classic, he was four strokes behind someone named Louis Oosthuizen. Two hours later, Tiger had closed with five birdies on the last seven holes to win and he'd landed another uppercut to the psyche of everyone attempting to play the same game he plays.

Tiger has won his past five starts and that may be just the beginning.

Here's how much Tiger has re-framed the discussion already this year: A month ago, the talk was about how this year sets up for Tiger to make a run at the Grand Slam. Now, it's beginning to sound like it will be a surprise if Tiger doesn't win the Slam.

That's stretching a point but Tiger makes us stretch the parameters of what's expected of him. He's taking a couple of weeks off before returning for the World Golf Championship match play event.

The way Tiger's playing these days, even Nick O'Hern - twice a Tiger tamer - may not want a piece of him in the match play tournament. Why would he?

Nicklaus not done at Augusta

Jack Nicklaus has all the green jackets he needs -- six of them -- but he's not completely finished playing golf at Augusta National during Masters week.

During a national conference call Thursday, Nicklaus said he will play in the Wednesday afternoon Par-3 tournament this year and intends to play for many more years, in part to accommodate his grandchildren who want to caddie for him.

Nicklaus also edged closer to accepting the role of honorary starter on Thursday morning, joining Arnold Palmer, who did it for the first time last April.

"I think that first of all I have to be asked to do that," Nicklaus said of the starter's role. "And I think that I've been told that I would be welcome whenever I wanted to. And I think that Arnold Palmer should have his day for a while. Hopefully, I'll have time to have mine at a later date."

Nicklaus often bypassed the Par-3 tournament during his prime, admitting part of it had to do with being superstitious, knowing no one has ever won the Par-3 event and the Masters in the same year.

He's at a different place in his life and career now and is sure to be featured when ESPN televises two hours of the popular event in April.

Nicklaus said once he agreed to let Jack II's son, Charlie, caddie for him in the Par-3, he started a family trend. Asked how long he will continue to play the event with a 20th grandchild due next month, Nicklaus said, "I'll tell you in the next 20 years."

Ian Poulter naked? Why?

Do we really need to see Ian Poulter naked?

The funny thing is Poulter is known primarily for the custom-made clothes he wears that have given him an identity beyond the scoreboard. I like his clothes, by the way, but wouldn’t wear them myself, having passed the expiration date on wearing tight-fitting trousers and anything lilac.

But it’s Poulter without clothes and his, shall we say, naked assertion recently that he’s the man to challenge Tiger Woods that has him in the news on the eve of the Dubai Desert Classic.

First, the photo.

Poulter and his spiked blond hair apparently found it amusing to pose for a European magazine cover with nothing but a strategically placed pink golf bag. It’s eye-catching, that’s for sure.
Then there’s what Poulter said in the March edition of Golf World (not the American version of the magazine).

“The problem is I know I haven’t played to my full potential yet. And when that happens, it will just be me and Tiger,” Poulter said.

Asked to pick a winner of the Masters in April, Poulter said, “Put Tiger down for that one.”

Asked to pick a winner of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in June, he said, “You can put me down for that one.”

So much for Tiger winning the Grand Slam.

If you’re confident enough to pose naked behind a golf bag, you’re confident enough to say you think you’re good enough to handle Tiger. I’m not going to bash a guy for being brash. Those of us in the media love when coaches or athletes say something provocative. Golf, you may have noticed, is a little short on trash talk.

And I like what Poulter brings to the game. He’s a guy who stands out in an individual sport that seems to run short of individuals.

The problem with what Poulter said is that he hasn’t won a tournament on the PGA Tour and now he’s on the way to being Tiger’s equal. He’s finished in the top three just twice in 70 career starts.

Poulter admits he hasn’t performed particularly well but says he’s found inspiration from reading a biography on Muhammad Ali (saying it’s the first book he’s ever read cover to cover, but that’s another issue).

He has given us another reason to pay attention to what happens in Dubai this week.

Safe to say, Ian Poulter is comfortable in his own skin.

Amazingly, Tiger still getting better

When Tiger Woods said over the weekend that his golf game is getting better - even better than it was in his still-hard-to-believe run through 2000 and 2001 - it wasn’t idle chatter.

Tiger doesn’t do idle chatter.

It was, no doubt, thunder in the ears of everyone else who makes their living on the PGA Tour, reminding them that they’re getting no closer to chasing down Tiger and, perhaps, the gap is widening again.

Woods, who is off to Dubai this week after winning the U.S. Open Preview/Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines on Sunday, probably is getting better.

It’s what he does.

He ‘owns’ his golf swing, a concept he’s talked about often in the past. That means he knows how it works and in the rare moments when he hits a ragged shot, he can immediately fix it. He’s always been confident but to watch him and listen to him now it’s obvious that he’s in a great place with his game.

Having tied Arnold Palmer on the all-time PGA Tour victory list with No. 62 on Sunday, he’ll probably pass Arnie next month at Bay Hill where Arnie plays the role of host. There’s a nice symmetry to that.

And the talk of a Grand Slam is growing, fueled by the fact Tiger said he thinks it’s within reach this year. There was a time when the suggestion would have been outrageous.

Not anymore.

Woods chooses his causes carefully

In Anaheim, Cal., on Monday, Tiger Woods unveiled a statue of himself and his late father, Earl, at the Tiger Woods Learning Center.

It was Earl, Tiger has said, who inspired him not only to play golf the way he does but to find a way to help others benefit from his success. The learning center, where Woods has put his heart as well as his name, is where Tiger has chosen to focus his efforts.

It has been so successful, having hosted more than 16,000 kids in two years, that another is under way in Washington, D.C. It is not about golf – though there is a golf element – but it is about learning and responsibility and opportunity.

Two days later, Woods was in the media center in San Diego explaining how he had forgiven his friend Kelly Tilghman for her dreadful choice of words three weeks ago, her “lynch him in a back alley" comment having sparked another storm of national discourse on race.

Intent – or the lack of intent – weighed heavily into Tiger’s reaction, as it should have. He understood Tilghman made a regrettable remark while also understanding there was no malice or ill intent. We all make mistakes, Woods said.

The issue, as we all know, was fueled by Golfweek’s monumentally misguided decision to run a noose on its cover, a classic example of the media being caught in the swirl of a story it continues to churn.

While others including the Rev. Al Sharpton and Jim Brown have chimed in and Tilghman served a appropriate two-week unpaid suspension, Woods has been criticized for not making a bigger issue of the incident.

“I know there are people who want me to be a champion of all causes and I just can’t do that,” Woods said.

He has chosen his causes and has worked in his way to make other lives better. He is not oblivious to history or prejudice or social activism. He is not as political as some would like him to be but Woods is a man of deep convictions.

And not just on the golf course.