The PGA Tour, like it's never been before

If the PGA Tour's adoption of the interesting but hard to calculate FedEx Cup playoffs a few years ago seemed borderline revolutionary, the tour's next step may be more dramatic.

Q-school? Going away, at least as we've known it.

Starting in January? Too late. Think October.

Surrendering the fall to football? Not anymore.

Good ideas?

Yes and no.

It's tough to summarize in a couple of sentences what the PGA Tour intends to do starting next year but here goes:

Under a new model, the PGA Tour season will still end with the Tour Championship at the end of the FedEx Cup playoffs in late September, points having been accumulated as they have in recent years. Somebody will still pocket $10 million for winning the playoffs plus their Tour Championship booty.

That will end the 2013 PGA Tour season. Players who finish 126 to 200 on the tour money list will move into a three-event 'mini playoff' with the top 75 players from the 2013 Nationwide Tour. They will play for 50 PGA Tour cards over those three events.

That will be decided concurrently with the FedEx Cup playoffs. When the Tour Championship is over, the 2014 season will begin although it will still be October, 2012.

See what I mean about complicated?

What are now the fall series events will stay in the same basic spots on the calendar but be the start of a new tour season, awarding FedEx Cup points (but perhaps only half as many as other regular events). The idea is to keep sponsors of fall events happy. You'll sense a theme here.

Qualifying school will be turned into a path to the Nationwide Tour. Forget someone like John Huh showing up at Q-school, earning his card then winning a PGA Tour event in February. It won't work like that anymore.

Why is this happening?

One reason is Nationwide's tour sponsorship ends after this year and commissioner Tim Finchem and his associates are desperately seeking a new name for their second-tier tour. The new model is intended, among other things, to raise the profile of what is now the Nationwide Tour.

"I like it," said Johnson Wagner, who played his way onto the PGA Tour via the Nationwide Tour. "I don't think six rounds at Q-school is the best test.

"It's unfortunate for the select few who would make it all the way to the tour without having any Nationwide status but it's good for the guys who have played the tour for a while and maybe a had a down period. A three-tournament set is better."

There are, as you might expect, many details to be finalized.

What to do with a guy who wins two Nationwide events and finishes first on the money list? Does he go into the mini playoffs with no advantage over a guy who finished 70th on the Nationwide Tour? How will players be seeded?

What about the guy who is 126th on the PGA Tour? Does he have any advantage for coming, perhaps literally within one stroke of keeping his tour card?

What about the admission when the FedEx Cup playoffs were created that golf can't compete with football in the fall? Now it wants to start its season in the middle of football season?

Again, why all of this?

"Any time you make a change, human nature is , why are we changing?" Finchem said in his announcement Tuesday. "You know, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. There's another way to look at things that when things are going pretty well, that's the time to get better. That's the philosophy we have embraced."

As we know, change isn't always easy nor pretty.

In this case, it didn't seem necessary. But here it comes.

Bruce Springsteen: He's still alive out there

   Thirty-one years ago in the Greensboro Coliseum, I saw Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band play live for the first time, which put me slightly -- but not terribly -- behind the coolness curve. He had me, as the cliche goes, at "Hello, Greensboro."

   Thirty-one years later -- Monday night -- I saw Bruce and the band again in the Greensboro Coliseum and, to borrow a Springsteen-like sentiment, my faith has again been rewarded. I didn't want it to end.

   If it had to end, having him close the show with 'Thunder Road,' 'Land of Hope and Dreams' (a new Springsteen anthem), 'Born To Run,' 'Dancing In The Dark,' 'Rosalita' and 'Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out' was the way to send us out the door after nearly two hours and 45 minutes of new music, old favorites and a coming to grips with the reality that Clarence Clemons isn't coming back but the magic of the E Street Band isn't going away.

  Springsteen is 62 years old but seems at least 20 years younger. He doesn't play the marathon shows he did in his youth and he only slid across the front of the stage one time Monday night, splashing water on his jeans to make sure he made it last. But the magic of Bruce and the band is in the feeling as much as the music and that remains.

   He's touring in support of a new CD, 'Wrecking Ball,' a collection of songs about the recession-induced problems that have wobbled our country. The new songs are strong and angry and pointed, an odd mixture of rock, folk, Irish and gospel sounds that somehow works together. Played live, the new music -- particularly 'Jack Of All Trades' and 'Rocky Ground' -- soars in spots.

 The thing about a Springsteen show is the joy it brings, not just to the audience but to Bruce and the band. The Coliseum was full and most of the audience was like me, well into mid-life with mortgages, soft bellies and gray creeping in. A Springsteen show is a gathering, one where I saw friends was Washington, Charlotte and Columbia before the lights went down.

Springsteen's concert joy is contagious. He said in an interview a few years ago that he'd come to realize that being on stage with his band is what he's meant to do. When you think he can't give you more, he always does. It's why I have friends who've seen him more than 100 times and why, having seen him close to 15 times myself, I'm hoping he'll add a Charlotte show this fall when he and the band return from a summer in Europe. 

This tour is different because the Big Man is gone, his role on the sax replaced brilliantly by his nephew Jake Clemons, the band's new star. During 'My City of Ruins,' Springsteen alluded to the loss of Clemson and Danny Federici a few years earlier. "If you're here...and we're here...they're here," Springsteen said as chill bumps filled the big arena. I know there were chill bumps on my arms, anyway.

When he closed the show with 'Tenth Avenue,' his song about meeting Clarence, the band went quiet when Springsteen said, "This is the important part" and sang the line about a change being made uptown when the Big Man joined the band.

For more than a minute, the music stopped as Springsteen held the microphone in the air and listened to the cheers. They were for Clarence but they were also for another night like Monday night.

Photo: Bruce Springsteen performs with the E Street Band during the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas on Thursday, March 15, 2012.(AP Photo/Jack Plunkett) 

Furman Bisher, a master himself

The news Sunday evening that Furman Bisher had died came as a shock, which is a bit surprising given Bisher was 93 years old when his heart stopped.

But Furman -- it seems impersonal to call him Bisher -- seemed as if he might go on forever.

He had plans to cover his 63rd Masters next month, where he's been as much as part of the place as Amen Corner and pimento cheese sandwiches. He wasn't there at the start but he came along soon after, bringing his own style, voice and presence.

In our business of writing about the games people play, Furman was a giant. He could be gruff but he had earned that right over 70 years in the writing business. More often, though, he was a softie, Southern to the soul. To sit with him, in a press box or at lunch during a golf tournament, was often the best part of a day.

From Ty Cobb to Tiger Woods, Bisher saw the greats and shared what he saw with his readers. He had a way of pulling readers in and keeping them close.

He was born in Denton, not far from Lexington and attended North Carolina. While a student there, Bisher covered his first golf tournament, the 1938 Greater Greensboro Open. Writing about Byron Nelson, Bisher referred to him as 'Lord Byron,' a nickname that came to define one of the game's most elegant men.

Bisher worked at the long-departed Charlotte News for several years before heading to Atlanta where he wrote for 59 years for the Journal-Constitution. In the fall of 2009, Bisher pounded out another column on his Royal typewriter, handed it in and announced he had retired. Sudden and simple and on his 91-year old terms.

He kept coming back to the Masters, where he was honored with a parking place that chairman Billy Payne said was closer to the clubhouse than his own. It was a gesture that spoke to who Furman was and what he meant, at Augusta and beyond.

Furman had planned to watch golf on television Sunday afternoon but fate had other plans.

I'd love to hear what he had to say to St. Peter.

A season starts -- with a birdie

   Having covered my last college basketball game for the season, my last NASCAR race until May and having endured all the winter we didn't have during my three-day stay in Portland, Ore., last week, golf season has arrived.
 
   At least my personal golf season.

   I understand there are few things more nap-inducing than hearing someone go on about what they did or didn't do on the golf course but one of the original rules of the game commands that 'A player may only  offer personal commentary on his (or her) round of golf if said player is willing to listen in equal measure to another player's story.'

   That's why beer and dry roasted peanuts were invented.

  It's not as if Saturday was the first time I'd played golf this year but it had been a while and it was the first time in a while that it hadn't required layered clothing. To acquire a golfer's tan, one must be in the sunshine which explains why my legs were the color of out of bounds stakes, a condition I hope soon passes.

   Warm enough to send a trickle of sweat down your cheek, it was a beautiful early spring day. The bermuda grass fairways were already turning green even before the first full weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament was complete, another suggestion the global warming believers are on to something. Pretty soon, they'll have mowers on them again, tractors having gone dormant with the bermuda for months.

   One of the cruel realities of springtime golf here is that just when everyone wants to enjoy the game and the weather again, they aerate the greens. That means for a couple of weeks-- or longer if they're slow to heal -- we're forced to putt on nature's shag carpet, pock-marked by a million little holes and frosted by a coating of sand. Like a teenager at the beach.

   There is a good side to putting on aerated greens. It takes the pressure off. It can't be your fault you missed again from four feet. Look what you were putting through. It's like putting through a potato field.

   And still, I hit my opening tee past the three teenagers in my group, each of whom has college golf in their future. Then I floated my wedge shot inside their three approach shots.

   After they had missed their birdie putts, I knocked in my four-footer for three. Not a bad way to start.

   I'd go on but that would require beer and peanuts -- and listening to how you played. We'll get to that later.



 

Clemson's Glover finally ready to go

After a couple of false starts, Lucas Glover is ready to get his 2012 season underway this week at the Transitions Championship in Tampa. Glover hasn't played on tour this year after spraining his knee windboarding in Hawaii prior to the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions. He planned to play in Puerto Rico last week but wasn't certain he could handle five or six days of walking so he opted for one more week of rehab. Now, Glover is ready to go. "One hundred percent with the knee," Glover said Monday on his way to Tampa. "I'm in good gym shape. I've just got to see what kind of golf shape I'm in now. "I've been practicing the last five or six weeks as much as I could, but the walking thing was the only thing that held me back...I feel like the knee is 100 percent but I've got to put my body through the week." Glover will be in Charlotte to defend his Wells Fargo Championship title in early May, by which time he hopes to have a handful of tournaments behind him. After the Transitions, he plans to play the Shell Houston Open, the Masters and the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head. "I haven't had to make a putt that matters for anything since the first week of November so I'll be anxious and interested to see how I handle it," Glover said. "I haven't forgotten how to play or forgotten how to compete but it's just one of those things where it might take some time to get in the right frame of mind." Glover is among the early commitments to the Wells Fargo Championship, joining a list that includes Webb Simpson, Bubba Watson, Hunter Mahan, Bill Haas, Johnson Wagner and Nick Watney among others. Tickets are available at www.wellsfargochampionship.com

Rory McIlroy gets what he deserves

Rory McIlroy made official with his victory in the Honda Classic what we already knew -- he's the best golfer in the world.

When McIlroy ended Luke Donald's impressive 40-week run as the official No. 1, it was the culmination of a relentless climb by the former Wells Fargo Championship winner. Like a sunrise over the ocean, you could see it coming for a while.

The question is how long might McIlroy remain the man?

He's going to be there a while.

But Tiger Woods will have something to say about it.

When Woods shot a closing 62 to finish second to McIlroy at the Honda Classic, his best final round on the PGA Tour, it was the strongest evidence yet that his talk about "being close" is genuine. Pebble Beach suddenly seemed a long time ago.

It's McIlroy, though, who has assumed the place Woods occupied for more than a decade.

There's a purity to McIlroy, both in how he plays and how he carries himself. There's still a hint of boyishness about McIlroy and a grace that seems to come naturally. Watching him hit shots, it appears effortless. He doesn't fight the game the way so many players seem to do.

McIlroy's spectacular 62 at Quail Hollow almost two years ago was a thing of beauty. It was also a welcome to the future moment.

Even when McIlroy failed on Sunday at the Masters last year, shooting a final-round 80 that made him seem momentarily both young and fragile, he responded with his record-setting victory at the U.S. Open two months later.

If there were questions about either his talent or his toughness, they were answered in 72 holes at Congressional.

Not unlike Woods in his prime, McIlroy changes the expectation level.

Remember how much fun that was?

We got a reminder on Sunday and, if we're lucky, a hint of things to come from both of them.

The Monkees, Jimi Hendrix and Charlotte

  I wish I remembered more about July 11, 1967 in the original Charlotte Coliseum than I do but I remember enough.

   I remember going to see The Monkees in concert that night, the first concert of my nearly 11 year old life, and I remember the thrill of seeing Michael, Peter, Mickey and Davy -- live and in person as the signs used to say -- and hearing the screaming noise of the kids amazed by what and who they were seeing and occasionally, hearing..

   Most of us didn't realize we were witnessing a small piece of rock and roll history, catching one of the seven Monkees shows in which Jimi Hendrix, Mr. Purple Haze himself, was the opening act. Had I known then what I know now (how many times have we all said that) I would have appreciated the opening act more than I did but, to be honest, I wasn't there to hear Hendrix.

   I, of course, think of his after hearing of Davy Jones' death Wednesday. I liked the Monkees and I still do. They were playing a reunion show outside Washington, D.C., when I was at the U.S. Open last summer and I considered going. I didn't and now I wish I had.

   Two things I remember about Hendrix that night:

   The first is walking around the Coliseum (it's now Bojangles Arena) where the stage doors are located as my mom told me that the Monkees would probably look a little different in person than on television. It was at that moment -- maybe 20 feet away -- Jimi Hendrix stepped out of a limousine.

   Not realizing at the time that Hendrix was part of the show, I momentarily wondered if Mickey Dolenz really did look that different.

   The other memory is the sound of Hendrix' guitar when he threw it to the ground and stomped off stage, obviously irritated that a bunch of kids weren't interested in hearing him play (though he'd been invited by Dolenz to join the tour). We were all waiting to 'Take The Last Train To Clarksville.'

   That's what the Monkees played when they took the stage. I'm guessing they didn't play more than 30 or 45 minutes. Their catalog wasn't particularly deep at the time but for a kid who loved watching them on television, seeing them in person was a thrill.

   I still listen to The Monkees once in a while.When 'Daydream Believer' or 'Valeri' comes on the 60s station on my satellite radio, I quietly sing along.

   I have 'Look Out, Here Comes Tomorrow' and 'Pleasant Valley Sunday' on a couple of playlists for when I'm exercising.

   (Just so you know, I've moved on to a degree. I'm heading to see another Springsteen show in Greensboro in a couple of weeks).

   My friend Ron Smith still has his ticket stub from that July night in 1967 and he posted it on his Facebook page this week. I wish I'd been smart enough to keep my ticket.

   It's gone and now, so is Davy Jones and Jimi Hendrix, too. But the memories live on, happily.

  

A garage sale, First Tee style

  Looking to pick up some golf equipment and make a contribution to The First Tee of Charlotte?

   You can do both Saturday at a garage sale being held at the First Tee facility adjacent to the Charles Sifford Golf Course at Revolution Park. The sale runs from 8:30 a.m. until noon and all sales must be made in cash.

   There will be sets of clubs, individual clubs and other golf equipment.

Haney: "Maybe (Tiger) will learn something"

The Golf Channel premieres new seasons of 'The Haney Project' and 'Feherty' starting at 9 p.m., Monday, stacking Hank Haney and David Feherty back to back on a weekly basis.


Haney will work with four celebrities this time -- chef Mario Batali, actress/model Angie Everhart, singer Adam Levine and retired boxer Sugar Ray Leonard -- while Feherty's interview-based show expands to one hour with Michelle Wie and Sergio Garcia among the early guests.

On a conference call, Haney said he expects former client Tiger Woods might learn something if he reads Haney's upcoming book, 'The Big Miss,' about his time with the former world No. 1.

"(Tiger) said he wasn't going to read it but he reads everything," Haney said on the call. "So if he does read it, maybe he'll learn something...

"I think it would be insightful. Hopefully it is. I know that it's fair and honest...There's going to be quite a few things that I think people look and say, wow, I didn't know that or that's surprising or interesting."

Feherty said he's hopeful Woods will sit for an interview on his show.

"I would not rule out Tiger Woods," Feherty said. "He hasn't said no."

What would Feherty ask Woods?

"I'm tired of the whole TMZ notion that people are entitled to private details of people in the public vew of their lives," Feherty said. "It just doesn't interest me.

"I'm more interested, to be honest with you, does he feel like a human being in that at any time has he been so anxious about whether or not he's going to regain any kind of form...Is it possible for him to reach that level again? Not just him, anybody else for that matter. Have we seen the 500-year flood?"

FedEx Cup Playoffs extended through 2017

   The FedEx Cup playoffs aren't going anywhere.

   The PGA Tour announced today that it has reached an agreement with FedEx to extend the season-ending series of events for five years, taking it through 2017. The initial agreement was scheduled to end after this year but there had been indications that FedEx and the tour were making progress on an extension.

   FedEx will continue to sponsor the $35-million 'playoffs' with the winner taking home a $10-million bonus. Since its inception five years ago, the four-event season-ending playoffs have given the PGA Tour a higher profile conclusion to its season as playing fields gradually diminish until 30 players are left for the Tour Championship.

   The FedEx Cup champions have been Tiger Woods (twice), Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and Bill Haas.

Want to caddie for Natalie Gulbis?

   Now that you've seen Natalie Gulbis on the golf course and as a body paint model in the new Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition -- it's okay to admit you checked her out online if you're not a magazine subscriber -- here's your chance to caddie for her.

   Yep, caddie one round for Natalie Gulbis in an LPGA tour event this year.

   It's a silent auction item up for bid Saturday night as part of fund-raising dinner being put on by the Palisades Episcopal School. Talk about good timing.

   "It's been really fun for us," said Karin Hughes, head of the five-year old school.

   Thanks for a sports marketing connection, Hughes and the school got the go-ahead from Gulbis to auction off one round as her caddie. It didn't hurt that the school announced the auction item at the same time Gulbis was making her Swimsuit Edition debut.

   If you'd rather caddie for Davis Love III, that's available at the auction, too. It's still golf but, well, different.

   Not willing to take your chances on winning the silent auction?

   Hughes said the Gulbis item can be bought in advance by anyone willing to pay $8,000 up front. If you're interested in the details, visit www.pescharlotte.org.

Photos: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images (top) and Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images (bottom).

On Phil the Thrill, Rory's return and spitting

   Observations on the PGA Tour season as the West Coast swing concludes and it's bracket-buster time in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship:

  -- The season could hardly have started better. There was the Kyle Stanley saga (both good and bad), Mickelson against Woods at Pebble Beach, Phil and Keegan Bradley making 72nd hole birdies at Riviera to force a playoff and Bill Haas beating them both.

   Local favorite Johnson Wagner and his mustache earned player of the month honors in January, splitting his $50,000 award between The First Tee and the Levine Children's Hospital.

   Mickelson has been exceptional, reminding us of both the fun of watching him play golf and his star power. He generates an energy among fans and television viewers that only one other player can and, so far, Tiger hasn't been able to win.

   -- Woods will win soon. Maybe not the Match Play or Honda but it's going to happen. There's a reason he's still the betting favorite at the Masters, though Phil should be primed for Augusta.

  -- Keegan Bradley's pre-shot routine makes me nervous. He fidgets too much and he needs to stop with the spitting before every shot. It's like watching Jim Furyk line up a putt, something I try not to do.

  -- Rory McIlroy returns to the PGA Tour this week at the Match Play. That's excellent news.

  -- Watching Dustin Johnson play is both mesmerizing and maddening. It's almost comical how far he can hit the ball and how easy he makes it appear. Next time someone says golfers aren't athletes, tell them to watch DJ.

   But tell them not to model their wedge game on Johnson's. If and when he gets it dialed in from 120 yards and in, no one may beat him. Until then, he'll continue to be alternately brilliant and very average.

  -- Sergio Garcia's 64 Sunday at Riviera was another reminder that he can still get it done. He's 32 now and without a major championship. Garcia often seems to be his own worst enemy but I still think he wins a big one at some point.

Natalie Gulbis gets her body paint on

I post this out of, uh, duty just to let golf fans and anyone else who might stumble this way know that LPGA star Natalie Gulbis is on display in this year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, now available at a computer or magazine rack near you.

Based on my quick study of Gulbis' 10-photo online portfolio, there's not a golf club to be seen but that apparently isn't the reason she's in the swimsuit edition.

In fact, she's not even wearing a bikini. Gulbis is wearing body paint that looks like a bikini. Having painted a room or two myself, I couldn't help wondering if they put that blue tape on Gulbis before they began painting her, uh, pretend bikini.

The good news for golfers is Gulbis is included in the magazine as part of an athletes in body paint section, which should answer once and for all the eternal question are golfers athletes.

Check out the 10-photo slideshow on SI.com

Bubba, General Lee to go racing -- kind of

   Bubba Watson is getting his NASCAR on.

   Watson will serve as honorary race official and drive his recently purchased 'General Lee' in a parade lap prior to the Subway Fresh Fit 500 race at Phoenix International Raceway on March 4.

   In January, Watson bought the orange Dodge Charger made famous by cousins Bo and Luke Duke in 'The Dukes of Hazzard' and he recently drove his new toy to the Waste Management Phoenix Open where he was competing. Needless to say, Watson's car attracted plenty of attention.

   Watson, known for his unconventional style and enormous length off the tee, lives half the year in Scottsdale, Az., He and his wife, Angie, spend the other half of the year in Lexington, N.C.

   "There are a lot of similarities between the individual challenges and the level of concentration needed to succeed in both golf and NASCAR," Watson said in a statement.

   Watson isn't known for backing off on the golf course. He may be the same way behind the wheel of the General Lee.

Phil does it; Tiger doesn't

Waiting for the old Tiger Woods to show up - we're still waiting, by the way - the old Phil Mickelson returned Sunday at Pebble Beach in California.

It was supposed to be the Sunday when golf got Tiger all the way back, all fist pumps and red shirts on the edge of Carmel Bay. Instead, Woods added to his recent habit of playing three strong days and finishing with a whimper, and it was Mickelson who showed us what we've been missing.

It's nice to have Mickelson, 41, back, smiling and slashing, making those early-season questions about whether sunset was approaching seem as silly as they were. Obviously, Mickelson hasn't been winning as often as he did in years past, but Sunday was his 40th victory and serves as more than a hint that he has more days like it in his future.

For all the attention that has been devoted to Woods' attempt to recapture his former glory, there had been a growing suspicion that Mickelson might have lost, if not his edge, at least a measure of his intensity. But with his wife, Amy, on site and paired with Woods in the final round, Mickelson was back. He's always played golf in neon, and he did it again at Pebble Beach, turning a gray day bright.

The Masters, two months away, got a little more interesting with what Mickelson did at Pebble Beach. As for Woods, the final round was a huge disappointment. He went backward on a day when he always seemed to go the other way.

If his new swing looked OK, his body language again looked like a man fighting to contain his frustration. He missed fairways, he missed greens and he missed putts. More than anything, Woods missed an opportunity.

He'll have more, but he'll also have the scar tissue of another disappointing finish. Still, Woods is trending the right way, especially when you consider where his game has - or hasn't - been the past year or two.

For a guy who shut more doors than Master Lock, Woods is learning to do it again. It's the hardest part of tournament golf. His inability to close out his past two Sunday rounds should only remind us of how good he was because days like this Sunday never happened.

Sunday's final round at Pebble Beach was a reminder of how special Woods and Mickelson have been over the past 15 years or so. Like (Harry) Vardon and (Ted) Ray, (Ben) Hogan and (Sam) Snead and (Jack) Nicklaus and (Arnold) Palmer, they're this generation's defining pair. They arrived together on the first tee Sunday looking to recapture what they've had.

Mickelson did it. For Tiger, the quest continues.

Tiger: Ban belly putters -- and he's right

   I'm getting the sense that the future of belly putters and long putters may not be as secure as the clubs tucked into the navels of Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Bill Haas and others.

   Tiger Woods became the latest to chime on the subject of whether the longer than standard putters should be banned today when he said during his pre-tournament press conference at Pebble Beach that he thinks the clubs should be outlawed and he's spoken to Peter Dawson, head man at the Royal & Ancient, about it more than once.

   Woods solution is sensible -- create a rule that requires the putter be no longer than the shortest club in your bag. That solves the dilemma created by players anchoring putters against their bodies.

  "I believe (putting) is the art of controlling the body and club and swinging the pendelum. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to that," Woods said in his press conference.

   The subject is under review. USGA executive director Mike Davis said so last week at the organization's annual meeting. He didn't say there would be a change in the rules coming (few things move at such a glacial pace as changes in golf's rules) but he opened the door on it. There have also been published reports suggesting the Royal & Ancient is looking into whether anchoring putters against the body helps players in the wind and rain.

   Without diminishing what Simpson or Bradley or Fred Couples have done with the unconventional blade, I fall in line with Woods and others who think the game is better without belly or long putters. And I'm a guy who can three-putt from three feet -- and have.

   I've heard the dissenters point to Billy Casper and others who anchored their hands against their thighs when they putted. Change that, too, then. In no other stroke does a player anchor the club against their body. Putting shouldn't be different.

   I've also heard the argument that if belly putters were that great, everyone would use them. Obviously, everybody doesn't use them but more and more players are. Ernie Els swore he'd never use one but now he has one in his bag. Even Phil Mickelson gave it a try.

   The game changes. The ball goes forever now. Shafts, space-age materials in driver heads and computer fitting are in danger of tilting the game too far toward science and too far from skill. It may be too late to pull back on that one.

   But belly putters and long putters. It's not too late -- yet.

Kyle Stanley, from ridiculous to sublime

   The Waste Management Phoenix Open isn't necessarily the place you expect a Hallmark Channel movie to come to life.

   But that's what Kyle Stanley's victory felt like Sunday, one week removed from his gut-wrenching loss at San Diego. It had all the elements -- failure, disappointment, tears, redemption and more tears -- all in the space of eight days and a few hundred miles.

   Golf, perhaps more than any other sport given its solitary nature, has a way of getting personal and Stanley's story touches both ends of the emotional spectrum. His loss at San Diego was brutal. It was sudden and cruel, leaving him no place to hide.

   He handled it with grace and, a week later, answered any questions about how tough he might be. Most people around the game thought Stanley would come back but few, if any, expected it to happen one week later.
 
   "It's a pretty cool story," Ben Crane said afterward.

   The coolest one this season.
   

Want to buy Phil Mickelson's house?

Always wanted to live like Phil Mickelson?

Now, you can live where Mickelson lives -- if you have an extra $7.09 million you can drop on a house in Rancho Santa Fe near San Diego.

According to Market Watch, Phil and Amy Mickelson have put their five-bedroom house up for sale but, as you might expect, it's no ordinary home. It's perched on nearly five acres and it's actually three houses.

The main house, reports say, is 9,500 square feet with five bedrooms. There are also two guest houses as well as a pool and a private putting green.

There's no indication where the Mickelson are going if the house sells. They're doing just fine, though, as Mickelson's recent offer to rebuild Torrey Pines' North Course for free suggests. There have also been encouraging reports after Mickelson's daughter, Sophia, recently dealt with a health scare.

Kyle Stanley looking ahead, not behind

Kyle Stanley is doing his best to move on.


The former Clemson All-American's spectacular playoff loss to Brandt Snedeker Sunday at the Farmers Insurance Open -- Stanley triple-bogeyed the 72nd hole to fall into a playoff he lost on the second hole -- was the most jarring moment of this young professional golf season.

In command of the tournament almost throughout, building what was briefly a seven-stroke lead in the final round, Stanley's collapse brought tears to his eyes Sunday when he tried to explain what happened moments after Snedeker accepted the trophy.

By Tuesday in a pre-tournament press conference prior to the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Stanley was focusing on the positives.

"I'm just overwhelmed by how much support I've gotten from people. It's been great," Stanley said.

Sunday night wasn't great, said Stanley, who finished Clemson in 2009.

He spent it with friends and family members who were in San Diego with him. He ate dinner and got some sleep but Stanley kept seeing his 80-yard third shot spin off the 18th green and into a water hazard, putting into motion his nightmarish finish. Had the ball stayed on the green -- he intentionally played a lower-lofted wedge on his third shot to minimize backspin -- Stanley would have his first PGA Tour win and a spot in the Masters.

Instead, he's another victim of the game.

"It's a crazy game," Stanley said. "It can love you. It can hate you."

A native of Gig Harbor, Wa., Stanley said among the messages he received after the tournament was one from Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few. Though Stanley attended Clemson, he has been a lifelong Gonzaga hoops fan, watching every game he can.

Stanley has never met Few but appreciated his message.

"He just told me to keep my head up and that I played tough and that down the road I'm going to be stronger for it," Stanley said.

Tour players Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker were among those who reached out to Stanley Sunday and Monday.

"I think it's just all across the board, just words of encouragement, keep your head up, don't forget how well you played," Stanley said. "I know I may not have believed it on Sunday night or even Monday morning but everybody just keeps telling me I'll be a lot stronger for it and I agree...that I will."

What's the easier way to lose, Tiger's way or Stanley's way?

   What's the toughet way to lose, slow bleeding like Tiger Woods and his scatter-shot driver Sunday in Abu Dhabi or Kyle Stanley's head-shaking collapse at Torrey Pines?

   There's no good answer.

   For Woods, getting beat by Robert Rock had to make the long flight back to the States even longer, no matter how cushy Air Tiger might be. Woods was right there, ready to win a full-field event for the first time in more than two years and suddenly he couldn't find a fairway with OnStar. He hit two fairways on Sunday and six greens -- an equation for frustration.

   If you're keeping track at home, that's three times in the last five that Woods hasn't won after holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead.

   What does that mean?

   It means he still has to prove he can win again. The Chevron World  Challenge is one thing. Beating Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and, yes, Robert Rock is something else. Overall, the takeaway should be positive for Tiger. He plays to win and he failed there but he showed a game that continues to look better. It let him down on Sunday but for three days, it had him where he needed to be.

   Now we wait until next week at Pebble Beach to see what's next.

   As for Stanley, his collapse was colossal. That's the cruel nature of golf -- one awful hole can ruin an otherwise great day or, in his case, a great week. It was one of those awkward moments where no one is quite sure what to say or how to react.

   Taking six from 77 yards away never entered anyone's mind. It might happen to regular golfers but it seemed inconceivable it could happen to a player as in control of his game as Stanley had been.

   Is it a career-killer?

   Probably not but it's going to stay with him every time he's in contention until he conquers the winning thing. Plenty of great players struggled to close the deal early in their careers. Tom Watson could give a lecture on the subject.

   Stanley, meanwhile, is just speechless.

Tiger starts fresh -- again

   Tiger Woods has pronounced himself healthy again and his 2012 season begins Thursday in Abu Dhabi, an uncommon starting point for him but a testament to the power of appearance fees and playing against a field that includes Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer, among others.

  It's time to find out how good Tiger can still be.
 
  Two years ago, there was the messy aftermath of his personal issues.

   Last year, there were health issues.

  This year, Woods seems fully ready to go, bolstered by a strong finish in 2011 and seemingly comfortable with his new Sean Foley-installed swing.

   He hasn't won an official PGA Tour event in 28 months. He's been stuck on 14 professional major championship victories since the 2008 U.S. Open. He hasn't won the Masters since 2005.

   Woods is 36 years old now, still in what should be the prime of his golf life, but he's an old 36 given the injuries and the stress that have been a part of his life for so long. However, he seems energized again, excited about playing golf on good legs with a swing he trusts and a renewed confidence.

   There's still time for him to chase down Nicklaus's major championship record but the past three years have made it more difficult. We've seen him at his best so infrequently over the past two years that it's like we've gotten accustomed to the sport without him.

   He's back now. Is he as good as ever? Can he be?

   That's what 2012 should tell Tiger and the rest of us.

 

Former 49er has a Ball at Wild Dunes

   Former Charlotte 49ers basketball player Bob Ball was running late for his tee time at Wild Dunes Resort last week and, in the process of hurrying to the first tee at the Links Course, ripped the pocket of his pants on his car door and fell in the parking lot.

   His day got better from there.

   Ball, who played guard for the 49ers in the mid-70s, started his day by holing a 4-rescue from 192 yards for a double eagle on the par-5 first hole at the Links Course.

   He wasn't finished.

   Ball also aced the 129-yard, par-3 16th hole, pulling off the beyond-rare ace/double eagle combo in the same round. According to the Charleston Post and Courier newspaper, a spokesman for doubleeagleclub.org said the feat has been documented only four times, including once by the late basketball coach John Wooden who did it in 1939.

 

Johnson Wagner is PGA Tour's hottest player

   Johnson Wagner is taking this week off from the PGA Tour, choosing long ago to use this week to kick back with his family here in Charlotte.

   Perhaps the rest of the PGA Tour players should send him a thank you note with the postscript 'Take as much time as you need."

   Wagner is the hottest player on the tour right now. It started with a tie for ninth at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions, was followed by his victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii and capped by his tie for second Sunday in the Humana Challenge.

  No wonder a group of fans from Calgary were sporting mustaches as they gave Wagner his first tour groupies in Palm Springs, Cal.

   Wagner now finds himself ranked 68th in the world, up 24 spots from last week thanks to his runner-up finish and it brings the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship into his scheduling equation.

   If Wagner can climb into the top 65 in the world he'll miss his turn as defending champion at the Mayakoba Classic to play in the Match Play event in Tucson, Az. The field is open to the top 64 in the world rankings but Phil Mickelson has already announced he won't be playing because of a family vacation that week.

   Wagner will take this week off then play in Phoenix and Los Angeles. If he's close to qualifying for the Match Play Championship, Wagner may also add the Pebble Beach event to his schedule.

   The mustache, Wagner's version of Rickie Fowler's clothes or Charley Hoffman's hair, isn't going anywhere, at least not for a while.

   "I'm looking forward to Phoenix," Wagner told reporters Sunday night. "I'm sure I'm going to get my fair share of criticism."

   He'll be smiling all the way to the bank.

What do the pros really think about Quail Hollow?

   When Golf World magazine released its player-rankings of the courses used on the PGA Tour, Quail Hollow Club was ranked 14th of the 52 courses included.

   The poll was based on anonymous responses from 81 PGA Tour players who were asked talk about what they like and don't like about various courses. Compiled by Geoff Shackelford and Craig Dolch, Quail Hollow's mini-review read this way:

   "The 'pretty' and 'solid' host to nine tour events that landed the 2017 PGA Championship 'fits your eye and is 'overrated but the best overall tournament on tour.' Another player agreed that Quail Hollow's 'hype' is 'influenced by service, conditioning and aesthetics' and 'it's not as great as the CBS drones say.'

   "The reasoning? 'So-so course on great land.' Another feels a change is in order. 'Should be a 9, actually a 6. Bring in Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw or Gil Hanse and in six months it'll be a 9.' Players raved about the 'top-notch conditioning' but said the greens are 'too severe in spots.'

   "Said one: 'Not sure who to blame for that but I'm guessing (Tom) Fazio,' architect of changes to George Cobb's 1961 original layout. 'Jim Nantz is always saying they could host the U.S. Open the next day...not even close,' said a player who cited the 'goofy eighth hole' and the 'stupid' 17th green where 'the best players in the world are trying to miss it to the right and get it up and down.'

   "And 2017 is already in their sights: 'Can't believe the PGA is going there in August.'"

   No great surprises there. The eighth and 17th holes aren't popular with many players, members included, and both are likely to look different by the time the PGA Championship is played there.

   But when you consider the list of Wells Fargo Championship winners -- from Vijay Singh to Tiger Woods to Rory McIlroy -- the pedigree of champions speaks to the quality of the course.

   Every course takes its shots, even top-ranked Augusta National which drew tons of praise but was also criticized for its fairway bunkers being too deep and, according to one player's description, "the course is too gimmicky."

  

Augusta No. 1; Harbour Town No. 2 on Tour top-10 list

   PGA Tour players prefer old-style golf courses and have a special fondness for Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, based on the results of a confidential poll of 81 tour players by Golf World magazine.
 
   The voting was based strictly on course architecture, not the overall tournament experience. It's no great surprise that Augusta National was No. 1 on the list. Harbour Town's second-place ranking reaffirms all the good things players have said about the Pete Dye design through the years.

   As for Quail Hollow Club, site of the Wells Fargo Championship? It didn't make the top 10 list.

  The top 10 PGA Tour courses based on course design according to the players' vote:

1.  Augusta National Golf Club
2.  Harbour Town Golf Links
3.  Riviera Country Club
4.  Pebble Beach Golf Links
5.  Colonial Country Club.
6.  Muirfield Village Golf Club
7.  Shaugnessy Golf & Country Club
8.  Aronimink Golf Club
9.  Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead)
10.Congressional Country Club (Blue)

Nagy ready to roll on Nationwide tour

   It wasn't a day for golf at the Club at Longview but Corey Nagy has plenty of those in his future.

   Nagy was part of the announcement of the Nationwide Tour's Chiquita Classic relocating to Charlotte, a move that comes in conjunction with Chiquita's corporate headquarter move from Cincinnati to Charlotte.

   For Nagy, it means a home game in his rookie season on the Nationwide Tour. He'll open his Nationwide season in Bogota, Colombia -- that's right, Bogota, Colombia -- then hit Panama and Chile before heading back home. It's a long way to go to start a season but it speaks to the growing global nature of the game even on the Nationwide Tour.

   Nagy's fired up. He talks excitedbly about getting out on tour and starting the next phase of his professional life. He's headed to Florida later this week for a product event with Ian Poulter then it's back here to continue polishing his game.

   Recently, a national golf publication cited 10 players to watch on the 2012 Nationwide Tour and Nagy was No. 8 on the list.

   The Chiquita tournament is special to Nagy. He Monday qualified into the field last year, shooting 63 to earn his spot. His parents made the drive from Charlotte to watch him play and, in the third round, Nagy made a hole-in-one.

   No wonder he was genuinely excited about the new event in Charlotte. Nagy -- and his long-time group of Charlotte fans -- have plenty about which to be excited.

Simpson climbs to No. 7 in the world, up 200 spots in one year

   One year ago, Webb Simpson was the 207th-ranked golfer in the world.

   After his tie for third in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions Monday, Simpson jumped from 10th to seventh in the world rankings. That makes him the second-highest ranked American behind Tournament of Champions winner Steve Stricker, who climbed to fifth.

    It's a remarkable jump of 200 spots for Simpson, who picked up at Kapalua where he left off last year. In fact, Simpson has been in contention so often since last August that's it's surprising when he isn't on the leader board.

   The top five in the world at the moment are Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Martin Kaymer and Stricker.

An Ideal Twosome: Johnny Miller and Nick Faldo

   It's possible that the most dramatic part of the PGA Tour's season-opening event -- the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua -- won't happen on the impossibly attractive golf course that looks like something Disney drew up.

   The Golf Channel is putting Nick Faldo and Johnny Miller together in the booth for four rounds -- primetime viewing for those of around here -- with the hopes that they'll be, well, themselves.

   Considering only 28 players are in the field -- that's if Lucas Glover can play after dinging his knee in a paddle-boarding accident this week -- there's plenty of opportunity for chit-chat between Faldo and Miller, who should play off each other beautifully.

   Miller shoots from the lip, a trait that has made him excellent at what he does. He makes you listen and he makes you think. He may not always be right but, as the best ones are, he's rarely in doubt.

   Faldo became a new person when he went into television work, revealing his playful and amusing side that had been locked away under his golf armor for decades. He's softer than Miller but enlightening. He won't be afraid to mix it up with Miller which is why they're being put in the same booth.

   They aren't wrecking balls like too many sports radio mouths are these days. But Miller and Faldo can spark a discussion. The ones they have with each other should be entertaining.

Five memories from the 2011 golf season

   Before we turn out the lights on 2011, here are five things from the golf year that I will remember:

   1. Rory McIlroy's season
 
   Perhaps my most vivid memory of the year is seeing McIlroy walking from the scoring cabin behind the 18th green at Augusta National following his final-round meltdown, making his way through hundreds of fans who stood and cheered for him despite his overwhelming disappointment.

    As McIlroy walked under the big tree behind the Augusta National clubhouse, the cheers grew louder with some patrons leaning over the veranda railing to acknowledge him. Inside the locker room, McIlroy patiently answered questions from media members, holding his shoes in a bag as he waited to leave.

   He was the essence of grace at a moment when he undoubtedly wanted to hide.

   Two months later, McIlroy won the U.S. Open at Congressional with a performance that made Sunday at Augusta seem like a bad dream.

  2. Webb Simpson's emergence

    When Simpson was forced to penalize himself one stroke for his ball being moved by the wind late in the final round of the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, it was a bitter twist of fate, costing him an outright victory and sending him into a playoff he lost to Bubba Watson.

   But by the end of the season, it was just another chapter in a tremendous story that had Simpson elevating himself to the top 10 in the world rankings. Winless on the PGA Tour when 2011 began, Simpson ended the year with two trophies, a share of the Presidents Cup and a place at the table in the discussion about who is America's best golfer.

   With his belly putter and a relentless competitive streak, Simpson looks built for the long haul. What started in 2011 may not end for many years.

   3. Sunday at Augusta

   It's rare that Sunday at the Masters doesn't deliver drama but the 2011 version was a classic.

   It had Tiger Woods torching the front side and racing up the leader board, threatening to pull off a jaw-dropping comeback victory. It had Adam Scott and Jason Day battling for the lead. It had McIlroy playing out from beside a white cabin along the 10th fairway and four-putting the 12th green.

   Finally, it had Charl Schwartzel birdieing the last four holes to win, something no one had ever done before.

  4. Splash down

   With more than $11 million on the line, Bill Haas stepped into the edge of a mirror-smooth pond to the left the 17th green at East Lake Golf Club and hit what may have been the shot of the year, a watery blast that saved a par in the playoff against Hunter Mahan at the Tour Championship.

   One hole later, Haas won the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup at the same time, a double dip he didn't realize he'd won until he was presented both trophies.

   5. The Clemson connection

   The Wells Fargo Championship came down to a pair of former Tiger All-Americans -- Lucas Glover and Jonathan Byrd -- going sudden death at Quail Hollow.

   Byrd, wearing pink pants, made a magnificent birdie at the treacherous 18th hole in the final round to force a playoff with Glover, whose thick beard had some fans wearing 'Fear the Beard' t-shirts.

   When Glover won the playoff, he hugged his mother during the trophy presentation and smiled a smile no beard could hide.

Champions Tour headed back to Hickory

   It looks like the popular Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn will return again next year.
  
   When the 2012 Champions Tour schedule was released, it included the tournament which has had to scrap for sponsorship at various times during its history. There are still some sponsorship issues to be resolved for next year's event but the fact the tour included the Rock Barn stop on its schedule suggests it's in good shape.
 
  An announcement about the tournament's future and sponsorship may come in January.

   It will fall at an ideal time -- Oct. 12-14 -- in Hickory and will follow the SAS Championship in Cary, giving the seniors a chance to spend two weeks in North Carolina.

Tiger, the way it used to be

I recognize that Tiger Woods.


And it's good to see him again.

When Woods won the Chevron World Championship Sunday with a closing birdie to beat Zach Johnson by a stroke, it ended a two-year winless drought and gave us the most definitive evidence that the guy we once marveled at as he rewrote history is on his way back.

He may never be all that he was -- nobody's ever been as good as Woods was for a time -- but if he can be Tiger again that's good enough.

When Johnson missed his birdie putt on the 72nd hole Sunday, Woods had an eight-footer to win. He may not have always made every one of those but it seemed like he did. That's part of what made him special -- the expectation that he was going to do whatever it took because he did it so often.

He did it again Sunday, making a birdie to win and giving us a fist pump that had been waiting to get out. It seems funny to say but it felt fresh.

There was a time when it was a regular occurrence, bordering on the routine. Not anymore. That's what made Sunday special.

Sure, it was a small field in what amounts to a made-for-television event but it still mattered. A year ago, Woods stood at the same place and lost to Graeme McDowell. This time, he won.

It wasn't perfect but it was good enough and that's perhaps the secret to winning tournaments -- being good enough.

I've heard the question several times recently about whether Tiger can still move the needle the way he once did. Maybe not.

But had Johnson or Rickie Fowler or Steve Stricker won the Chevron, it would have hardly been noticed. Because Tiger won, it's news. The needle moved.

Among the many things we haven't seen from Tiger in a long while is a full and healthy season. It seems as if we might get one in 2012, a season in which his knee and his Achilles are in good shape, his Sean Foley-sculpted golf swing is comfortable and his head is clear.

If he has all that, then all us, Tiger included, can find out if he can still chase down Jack Nicklaus.

That would be something to see.

Nationwide Tour event adds to Charlotte golf collection

   With the expected announcement later this month that Chiquita will sponsor a Nationwide Tour event at the Club at Longview beginning next fall, the professional golf calendar continues to improve around Charlotte.

   The Nationwide Tour is stuffed with outstanding players, many of whose names are familiar to golf fans. It's where good young players go to work their way onto the PGA Tour and where older players try to earn their way back.
 
   The Club at Longview is strong enough to host a Nationwide event and it should bring along some well-deserved attention to a very good golf course.

  In addition to the annual Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club, the recent announcement that Raintree Country Club will host an event for the LPGA's developmental tour, the continued growth of the talent-rich eGolf Professional Tour based here and regular first-stage PGA Tour qualifying events at the Club at Irish Creek, it's a very good time for pro golf in the Charlotte area.

Will U.S. carry good vibes into the 2012 Ryder Cup?

Observations from watching the Presidents Cup:

-- What is it about the Presidents Cup that seems so easy for the American team as compared to the Ryder Cup, which sometimes resembles a collective nervous breakdown?

That's the mystery captain Davis Love III will try to solve between now and the Ryder Cup matches next fall at Medinah outside Chicago. Whatever captain Fred Couples has done the last two times worked beautifully but Jack Nicklaus had similar success.

It helps when putts fall. Just ask Tiger.

-- Webb Simpson's breakout year got even better at the Presidents Cup where he won three early points, teaming with Bubba Watson. Simpson looked totally comfortable at Royal Melbourne, seeming to thrive in match play.

He's likely to be a fixture on U.S. teams for the next decade so it's encouraging to see him play so well. Wonder if Love has already penciled in Simpson and Bubba together at Medinah?

-- It was a nice touch to see Tiger Woods get the winning point in the Sunday singles, given all the controversy surrounding Couples' early decision to add him to the team.

Tiger didn't get a lot of help from his partners Steve Stricker and Dustin Johnson in the foursomes and four-balls but you can see his game coming back. He made six birdies Sunday -- more than anyone in singles -- and looked like a guy who was happy to be there. That was good to see.

-- Team MVP honors belong to Jim Furyk, who turned his lost season around and posted a 5-0 mark in the Presidents Cup. He's never been flashy -- and watching Furyk and Phil Mickelson reading putts together can be patience-testing -- but Furyk has been one of the best players of his generation. Last week at Royal Melbourne just reconfirmed that.

-- Royal Melbourne was beautiful proof that golf courses don't have to be 8,000 yards long with knee-deep rough to challenge the game's best players.

It was filled with short par-4s and medium-length par-3s and stood up to the best players in the world. The greens are magnificent, a perfect blend of speed, firmness and contour, demanding imagination, nerve and touch. The bunkering is spectacular and, as others have suggested, why can't more courses here groom their bunkers like those at Royal Melbourne where shots carom off bunker slopes and gather at the bottom?

-- With a good blend of young players and veterans, the U.S. should be strong when Love captains the Ryder Cup team next year. A couple of names may change but the bulk of the Presidents Cup roster will probably be at Medinah next fall. That should put a smile on Love's face.
------

Photo: Bill Haas of the U.S. team and teammate Webb Simpson of Charlotte pose with the Presidents Cup trophy Sunday.  David Cannon - Getty

Nagy one big step away from PGA Tour

To have any chance of earning a PGA Tour card for 2012, Corey Nagy understood Friday what he needed to do.


Nagy, the former Charlotte 49ers star, needed to save par on the last hole of his second-stage qualifying tournament in Brooksville, Fla., from a spot where he seemed certain to make a bogey. Nagy was riding the cut line and he wasn't positive a par save would get him to the qualifying school finals in California later this month but he knew a bogey would assure him of playing more mini-tour golf in 2012.

From the thickest rough on the course and to a hole cut in a diffcult spot, Nagy saved par by nearly holing his chip shot, allowing him to slide into a tie for 18th (only the top 21 and ties advanced) and into a new chapter in his career.

If Nagy plays well enough in the six-round qualifying school finals at PGA West in Palm Springs, Cal., he'll earn his PGA Tour privileges for next year. The worst case scenario is Nagy will have at least conditional status on the Nationwide Tour.

"It's pretty awesome," said Nagy, who moved from a tie for 31st to 18th on the last day of the second-stage qualifier at Southern Hills Plantation Club. "I wasn't sure at that moment if it would be enough but I knew I'd done what I could do.

"You know when you start that if you don't play well, you basically don't have a job next year so I definitely felt the pressure."

In preparation for the second stage, Nagy played a practice round at Quail Hollow Club with Webb Simpson and Johnson Wagner, both winners on the PGA Tour this year.

"They encouraged me," Nagy said. "They told me I was good enough and told me to stay patient."

Charlotte's Fernando Mecheffe also advanced to the final stage of qualifying school though Brian Bigley, who played in the Wells Fargo Championship in May, missed advancing by one stroke as did former North Carolina golf coach John Inman.

Couples talks about Jordan missing Presidents Cup

  Obviously, Michael Jordan has more pressing business than serving as an assistant to U.S. captain Fred Couples at the Presidents Cup matches this week in Australia, a duty he served two years ago when the matches were in San Francisco.

   Here's a portion of Bob Verdi's interview with Couples on pgatour.com today with the captain talking about Jordan's involvement with the team:

  Do you miss Michael Jordan?

"I know Phil does. They had some nice card games in San Francisco. Gin. But all the guys miss him. And the caddies. He fit in so well at Harding Park. The guys loved having him there. He even gave a little pep talk to the team. And you saw how he helped out. Almost adopted Sean O'Hair."

He's got important business back in the States.

"Yeah, he's a majority owner of an NBA team in Charlotte and they're having a lockout. He called me three weeks ago and said he just couldn't make it. I wasn't surprised, because he's got to be part of the negotiations so they can get that thing straightened out. He did send all the caddies and us captains and co-captains a pair of Air Jordans, though. And I'm sure we'll hear from him while we're over here."

Did Michael say anything else?

"Actually, he did. When he called, he asked me if I could do one thing for him. I'm thinking, 'What the heck can I do for Michael Jordan?' Well, he asked for the U.S. Team golf bag we had made up for him with his name on it. Which was pretty cool, when you think about it. I think it shows how much he enjoyed being part of our team in San Francisco. I got a little criticism for naming him, too, but again, how can you not want Michael Jordan around? We had the two greatest athletes in the world in our room at Harding Park. Michael and Tiger. And there's something wrong with that?"

Mickelson gets what he deserves -- a spot in the Hall of Fame

Phil Mickelson didn't need to be elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame for his place in the game's history to be secure but the news today that he'll be inducted next May made it official.

As a matter of full disclosure, I voted for Mickelson this year, the first time he was on the ballot. We can quibble about whether guys still in the prime of their careers should be put into a Hall of Fame -- I personally think 50 should be the starting point for eligibility -- but, regardless, Mickelson was automatic.

   Somehow, his wife Amy and caddie Jim 'Bones' Mackay belong in there, too, and I'm sure Phil will include them in his induction speech.

   Mickelson is the best kind of professional golfer, at once mesmerizing, thrilling, charismatic, worrisome and unique. He's got a touch of Arnold Palmer about him and, next to his short game, his greatest strength may be his smile.

   It goes a long way in explaining his rock star status. Fans adore Mickelson. They respected Tiger but they've loved Phil.

   I've been fortunate to watch Mickelson from close range through the years and following him through galleries between greens and tees, especially when he's been in contention in major championships, makes you wonder if that's how Elvis must've felt at times.

   There was a time when we wondered if Mickelson could win a major championship. His damn the torpedos style was great for television but not necessarily great for avoiding trouble. It's easy to tick off the moments when he flamed out but it's easier to look at his collection of green jackets and trophies and appreciate that we've been watching one of the all-time greats for the past two decades.

   Another generation had Nicklaus and Palmer. We've had Mickelson and Woods, pretty good stuff.

   It was trendy to be cynical about Mickelson earlier in his career. His smile came too easily. He said all the right things.

   That cynicism, like questions about his ability to win majors, disappeared long ago. People shared his disappointment after the debacle at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. They felt his pain when Amy and his mother were diagnosed with breast cancer.

   Mickleson has been different in so many good ways. As David Feherty has said, there's a mad scientist quality to Mickelson that makes him all the more intriguing.

    Golfers like Mickelson don't come along often, nor do people like him. It's our good fortune he came along when he did.

Steve Williams, golf's new drama king

   We're approaching the second anniversary of the great fire hydrant moment that changed Tiger Woods forever and you'd think things would have settled down by now.

 

   Instead, the swirl continues, the latest chapter coming over the weekend when Steve Williams, Woods' former caddie, offered his crass observation about wanting to shove a victory, well, you know what he said.

  For a guy who should have learned his lesson with the way he mishandled Adam Scott's first victory with him on the bag, Stevie redoubled his error by taking another public shot at Tiger. It was off the record, Williams said. No, it wasn't. Not when you say something like that in front of group of players, caddies and  media members.

   What it was was regrettable and, potentially, career-crashing. 

   For whatever reason, Williams attracted an outpouring of goodwill when, after being dismissed by Woods, Scott won the WGC Bridgestone Invitational with Stevie toting his clubs. In an unfortunate lapse of judgment on both sides, Williams was interviewed on television before the man who actually won the tournament.

   Williams took a little too much joy in the moment, it seemed.

  Now this. 

   He and Tiger talked in Australia this week, Williams apologized and they made peace, at least publicly. The sting will linger, though.

  Through the years covering Woods, I tended to give Williams the benefit of the doubt with his sometimes aggressive manner. He was asked to be more than a caddie. He was also a bodyguard, in the midst of a media and popularity storm. He had to be the bad cop when the moment demanded it.

   Too often, he seemed to take the role one club too far.

   Now he's embarrassed himself and put a stain on himself that won't soon disappear. 

   Will Adam Scott fire him, tired of the drama that has come with having Williams on the bag? If he were going to, he'd have probably done it already.

   Should he fire him?

  That's Scott's call but I can't imagine Williams has any more strikes left.

  He shouldn't. 

Jordan will sit out Presidents Cup

   The Presidents Cup matches later this month in Australia will have to go on without Michael Jordan.

   Jordan had been one of captain Fred Couples' assistants but due to the NBA lockout and his duties as owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, Jordan has been replaced by John Cook. The business of basketball has intruded.

   "With the NBA labor situation unsettled, as the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, I feel it is necessary that I remain in the country," Jordan said in a statement.

   Given Jordan's fondness for golf and his regular participation in previous Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups, there's no question he'll miss being at Royal Melbourne with Couples and the boys. Who wouldn't?

   The American team will miss Michael and his cigars, too. He is, after all, still Michael Jordan.

   And it is basketball season. Or, hopefully, it soon will be.

Locals Goggin, Kokrak lock up 2012 PGA Tour spots

   The Charlotte connection on the 2012 PGA Tour grew larger over the weekend with Mathew Goggin and Jason Kokrak officially securing their spots on the big tour through their strong play on the Nationwide Tour.

   Both Charlotte residents had locked up spots on the PGA Tour through their season-long performance and it became official with the conclusion of the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island, S.C.

   Goggin was the Nationwide Tour's dominant player through the first half of the year and finished third on the money list with $378,492 including two victories.

   Kokrak also had two victories and finished fourth on the money list with $338,092 in earnings.

   They will join locals Webb Simpson, Johnson Wagner, Brendon de Jonge and Robert Karlsson on the PGA Tour next year.

Simpson is just getting started

   Luke Donald showed why he's the No.1 golfer in the world Sunday and it cost Webb Simpson the PGA Tour money title and, almost certainly, the tour's player of the year award.

   Simpson can feel disappointed about coming so close to two goals that meant so much but the disappointment will be temporary. It's probably already gone, in fact.

   Nothing can change the fact that Simpson has had a spectacular year, leaping into the game's top orbit with his play. With nine holes remaining in the season's final event, Simpson was in position to win the money title and, by extention, perhaps the player of the year. But Donald made six straight birdies and demonstrated why he's clearly the No. 1 player in the game.

   If you've got to get beat, that's the way to get beat, with the best in the world shooting 64 on Sunday with the pressure on to beat you.

   For Donald, it's understandable that he felt "over the moon" after his performance Sunday.

   For Simpson, the satisfaction comes in all that he's done and the way he forced Donald to do the unlikely to beat him. Simpson isn't a one-season wonder. He's likely to be around for the long run and by the time the Masters rolls around in April, he'll be on the list of contenders.

    It could have ended better for Simpson but this isn't as much about how it ended as it is about what's begun for him.

    He's just getting started.

2012 PGA Tour schedule looks familiar

   The 2012 PGA Tour schedule was released Wednesday with no dramatic changes but with a handful of significant tweaks to a lineup that will have a familiar feel.

   From a local perspective, the important dates are as follow:

   -- The Masters is April 2-8 at Augusta National;
 
   -- The RBC Heritage is April 9-15 at Harbour Town Golf Links and back to its traditional date the week following the Masters;

    -- The Wells Fargo Championship is April 30-May 6 at Quail Hollow Club;

    -- The PGA Championship is Aug. 6-12 at Kiawah Island's Ocean Course;

    -- And, the Wyndham Championship is Aug. 13-19 at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro.

   Among the changes next year will be an adjustment to the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua which will end on Monday, Jan. 9 rather than on Sunday. The shift allows NBC to promote the event during its NFL playoff coverage and for the final round to air on The Golf Channel prior to kickoff of the BCS Championship game the same evening.

   The Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia is moving to Fourth of July week and the final event of the fall series -- the Children's Miracle Network Classic -- will be played later, ending Nov. 11.

   With the Ryder Cup matches set in 2012, the FedEx Cup playoffs will be adjusted with an open week preceding the Tour Championship, which is scheduled Sept. 17-23 in Atlanta. The Ryder Cup matches will be played Sept. 24-30 in Chicago.

Player of the year: Simpson or Donald?

   The player of the year battle on the PGA Tour has now come down to two -- Webb Simpson and Luke Donald.

   Right now, the momentum and maybe a shade more votes, are on Simpson's side after he went to the McGladrey Classic to jump Donald on the money list and did it, almost winning his third event in six starts in the process.

   Had Simpson won the Sunday playoff over Ben Crane at Sea Island, he'd be the player of the year favorite going to the season finale at the Disney World this week. As it is, he and Donald will have what amounts to a duel for the season-long money title and POY votes.

   The challenge falls to Donald now, who trails Simpson by $363,029 on the official money list. Donald's goal is to win both the PGA Tour and European Tour money titles this season, something that's never been done and the fact he's so close to doing it speaks to how good he's been. He's the leader in the worldwide player of the year category, for sure.

   To beat Simpson for the money title -- a distinction that carries a bit of everlasting fame with it -- Donald can finish no worse than a two-way tie for second at the Children's Miracle Network event. Since he lives in the top 10 -- Donald has one win, two seconds, two thirds and 13 top-10s on tour this year -- he'll probably be tougher to escape than Mickey Mouse over the next week.

   For Simpson, this has already been a career-changing season. In the ever-popular best American player debate, the discussion may start with Simpson at the moment. It will be fascinating to see how he plays for captain Fred Couples at the Presidents Cup in Australia next month, his first international team play as a pro.

   When Donald committed last Friday to play Disney to chase the money title, Simpson followed suit. He is embracing the challenge and the moment, a hint of his confidence level.

   Both players have had brilliant seasons already. And they're not done yet.
   

Simpson taking a swing at winning tour money title

   A few quick observations:

  -- Rickie Fowler got his first professional win on Sunday in South Korea and while it didn't come on the PGA Tour, it was an important win just the same. Fowler needed to win someplace and beating a good field that included Rory McIlroy was a substantial step for him.
  
   As the season wore on, Fowler began to be overshadowed by other players, including Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson. If Fowler can win early on the PGA Tour in 2012, it would be huge for him and the tour.

  -- Speaking of Simpson, he's playing in the McGladrey Classic this week at Sea Island in hopes of making the $60,000 or so he needs to pass Luke Donald to capture the money title on the PGA Tour this year.

    Simpson was at the Panthers' game Sunday in his jeans and t-shirt and a white cap he wore backward, looking totally comfortable which he should be given the breakout season he's had. Winning the money title would put a nice cap on a career-changing season.

  -- What to make of Tiger Woods' week at the Frys.com event?

   I'm not quite sure. He played well in stretches, hit some funky shots at times and didn't dramatically change anything we know about him and his game at the moment.

   Just making the cut at a Fall Series event isn't what Tiger's about. He was never in contention and we're not going to see him again until he goes to Australia next month. For a guy who says he needs to play to get his edge back, I wish he'd play another tournament or two here. It's not going to happen, however.

    For a guy who's such a controversial addition to the Presidents Cup team, Woods will have all eyes on him when he tees it up at Royal Melbourne for Captain Couples.

   -- There's not a better time to play golf around here than this time of year. The greens are quick, the fairways are running and there's still enough rough to be a bother. It's tough to get frustrated even if you're chopping it around.

Win gets Haas final Presidents Cup spot

   Bill Haas won more than the FedEx Cup and the Tour Championship Sunday.

   The former Wake Forest All-American was named as the final wild-card pick to the U.S. team today by captain Fred Couples, who confirmed his previous announcement by also adding Tiger Woods as a captain's pick.

   International team captain Greg Norman added Australians Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddeley to his team, which will host the Americans in early November at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

   Couples said he made it clear to Haas prior to the Tour Championship that he needed to win to make the team, on which Jay Haas is an assistant captain along with Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan.
 
   "Jay and I talked about this scenario and Michael went over this (a few) months ago. The way for us to do this was to let the guys play. In this instance, Bill Haas knew he had to win. I didn't bother him during the tournament. I think he's smart enough to know what had to happen," Couples said on a conference call.

  Couples said he narrowed his final choice to Haas, PGA champion Keegan Bradley and Brandt Snedeker.
  
   Should Steve Stricker be unable to participate in the Presidents Cup due to herniated disk that has been bothering him, Couples said Bradley will be his replacement.

Will it be Haas or Bradley or...?

   Observations on one of the better golf weekends of the year:

  -- If I were Fred Couples (wow, there's a thought), I"m not sure whether I'd pick Bill Haas or Keegan Bradley with my final captain's pick for the Presidents Cup team.

   Those two seem to be the finalists for Captain Freddie and both have made their cases. Bradley has two wins, including the PGA and Haas just won the FedEx Cup and the Tour Championship, knowing it was probably the only way he could convince Couples to add him to the team.

   The popular sentiment seems to be in Bradley's corner because of his two wins this year and the way Haas struggled to close tournaments, even Sunday when he won on the third extra hole. The good thing for Haas is his victory should have eliminated any notion of favoritism that could have slipped into the debate if he's the guy Couples chooses. Jay Haas said he will stay out of the way and let Couples make his own decision, though it's obvious what it would mean to have a father and son together on the team.

   My guess is Couples will take Haas when he makes the announcement Tuesday.

  -- It seems the Solheim Cup did itself a disservice in requiring the U.S. team to surrender a full point because of Cristie Kerr's injury that prevented her from playing in the singles on Sunday. It played a major role in the American's inability to hold onto the cup.

   It seems fairer to do like the Ryder Cup and agree to a draw if one player is unable to play.

   Still, the finish was compelling, seeing the European team rally as it did to win the cup. Team competitions like the Solheim Cup show us the players in a different light and it's fun to see them showing their emotions as they do. I'm still not a big fan of flags painted on cheeks but I love seeing what it means to the players.

   Seeing Michelle Wie react to the late birdie putt she made, watching Suzanne Petterssen close like a champ and sensing the disappointment in Laura Davies when she bogeyed the finishing hole is the kind of emotion that seems to show only in international team events. It's beautiful to watch.

  -- By adding Joe LaCava as his new caddie, Tiger Woods has one of the best in the business working with him.

   LaCava is a pro's pro and should be perfect working with Tiger. Exactly how the move went down -- did Dustin Johnson know LaCava was among the caddies Woods was considering? -- remains unclear but the new partnership should be a critical next step for Woods as he attempts to recapture his lost magic.

Forest Creek to host 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur

   The 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur championship has been awarded to Forest Creek Golf Club near Pinehurst, an impressive designation for the private club.

   Forest Creek has two Tom Fazio-designed golf courses that have earned plenty of praise since the original South Course layout opened in 1996. The North Course was added in 2005.

   The Mid-Am championship will be played Oct. 5-10, 2013.

  “We are honored and grateful that the USGA has entrusted our golf club with the distinct honor of hosting one of its prestigious national championships,” Forest Creek Golf Club president Terry Brown said in a statement.

  “We proudly consider Forest Creek to be one of the country’s most outstanding communities to live in, and our golf club is committed to amateur golf with a vision of giving back to the game.

   "We have two highly rated golf courses that I am confident will stand up to the high quality and challenges expected by the Mid-Amateur Committee as well as the players. We very much look forward to October 2013.”

It's $10 million, but it's only money

   To most of us, the prospect of winning $10 million is the stuff of dreams.

   It's why you buy that lottery ticket -- I've never bought one which may explain why I've never won -- and daydream about what you'd do with all that money if it somehow wound up in your back account via direct deposit.

   For the 30 players at the Tour Championship, which begins Thursday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, there's the certainty that one of them will walk away with the $10-million prize for winning the FedEx Cup. That will be on top of whatever money they win in the tournament itself, which gives $1.44 million to the winner, which ain't bad for four days' work.

   All 30 of them will happily take the money and tuck it into something that will probably make them more money, like a very nice vacation home or investments or something people with $10 million put their money into.

   But it's only money.

   "I'm not really thinking about the money," Luke Donald said, adding his focus is on winning and being the PGA Tour player of the year.

   "Where I am in my career, I've been fortunate. I don't know where I am on the (career) money list, $25 million or something. It's not like I can't afford to buy things. I have two nice houses. I don't spend a lot on materialistic stuff but the money, it would be nice to kind of keep it away. I haven't really thought if I won it what I would spend the money on."

   Geoff Ogivly put it this way:
 
   "The money is obviously really nice but it's like beating your friend for $2 on the putting green. It's better to beat him for $2 than it is just to beat him for the fun of it, you know what I mean? There would be something to coming down the last nine holes, this is for $10 million and doing it. Irrelevant of what ends up in your bank account, it just sounds better, don't you think?"

   It's something most of us can only dream about.
   

Is The Next Great American Player Just 16 Years Old?

   Checking out the golf scene between Cam Newton passes:

  -- Lexi Thompson's victory on the LPGA Tour was a beautiful bonus for a tour that needs all the newsmakers it can get.

    At 16, she became the tour's youngest-ever winner by two years and added more weight to the notion that she'll be the next great American player. She's almost that already.

   There is the pesky problem of not being eligible to play the LPGA Tour full-time because of its age guidelines but I'm guessing tour officials will find a way to work through the issue so that Thompson can get her tour card, given as how she's already better than almost everyone not named Yani Tseng.

   Her win has led to the inevitable comparisons with Michelle Wie, whose performance has not matched her stardom. From a distance, they seem very different. I've never sensed Wie had the burning desire to be the game's best player, something that Thompson seems to have.

   That's not a knock on Wie, only a recognition her world reaches far beyond golf, which explains why she's going the distance at Stanford. It may have impacted her professional career but I'm guessing she's thrilled by her college experience. There's plenty of time for her to play professional golf.

  -- Webb Simpson takes the FedEx Cup lead into the Tour Championship this weekend at East Lake, chasing a $10-million prize and putting a bigger stamp on his arrival as one of the game's best young guns.

   The way Simpson has been playing over the past couple of months, it's hard to argue against him being the player to beat. He's been in contention seemingly every week but finishing it off at East Lake will be a huge challenge.

   Dustin Johnson starts in second place but Luke Donald, the world No. 1, is lurking just behind. Donald is always there and this seems like a moment when he could cap a huge season.

   For Simpson, a good start seems critical.

  -- Fred Couples has one spot remaining on his Presidents Cup team and he will likely choose from Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler, Brandt Snedeker or Bill Haas.

   The popular choice is Bradley given his victory in the PGA Championship last month, though he followed it with a pair of missed cuts. Haas didn't help himself by coming apart at the end of the BMW Championship and Fowler hasn't done enough recently to warrant the pick.

   Snedeker has a good case but I'm betting it's Bradley who gets the call from Captain Couples. If it were me, I'd probably call Snedeker.

 

Phil Goes Belly; Who's Next?

   Two immediate thoughts about Phil Mickelson using the belly putter in the Deutsche Bank pro-am and, perhaps, beyond:

   1. It was initially surprising, maybe because I hadn't really thought about it, but given a moment to think about it, how can it hurt?

   2. After 35 putts the last time I played -- and having already gone to cross-handed with the previously mentioned results -- maybe I should try it.

   In Mickelson's case, everyone knows he can miss it from anywhere and, too often, has. The case can be made that he's missed enough shortish ones through the years to have cost him a major or two, including the Open Championship in July.

   With seemingly everyone using or at least trying belly putters, it's natural for Phil and his mad scientist side to give it go. He's seen what it's done for his buddy Keegan Bradley and others so it was natural for Phil to try it.

   It could be the final piece of the Mickelson puzzle, the one thing that gets him from age 41 to the Champions Tour or thereabouts. Or maybe it's just a flirtation, somethign to convince him he's still more comfortable with the conventional style.

   If Phil goes to the belly putter full time, it add more fire to the question of whether they should be legal or not. My hunch is they'll stay legal but I can see the case otherwise.
 
   As for me, I'll wait on the belly putter. Everyone needs a last resort.