Bobby Jones used clubs that were later outlawed

  While the discussion continues about whether the R&A and USGA will ban the anchoring of long putters in the future – there seems to be a growing sense that they’ll be outlawed in 2016 – such a change wouldn’t require asterisks by major winners who used belly putters.

   Peter Dawson, the R&A boss, pointed out in his Monday press conference that Bobby Jones won some of his major championships using concave-faced clubs that were later deemed to be illegal.

   There’s no asterisk next to Jones’ achievements.

   It would and should be the same for any players who win majors with anchored putters now if the rules are changed in the future.

   According to Martin Dempster’s story in the Scotsman this week, 16 of the 156 players in the Open Championship used belly putters while 27 players used long putters.

   No wonder the issue is getting a serious look for golf’s ruling bodies.

Is decision near on belly and long putters?

  Is a decision looming on the legality of the long and belly putters?

  It sounds like it.

  During his post-Open Championship press conference Monday, R&A chief executive Peter Dawson explained that his organization and the USGA are giving the subject a long, serious look. Not coincidentally, the question was raised again after belly putter-wielding Ernie Els won the Open after long-putter whiz Adam Scott kicked it away over the final holes.

   You had to wonder what the R&A suits were thinking watching Scott, Els and others putt with sticks that don't fit the traditional version of what a putter should be.

   Perhaps the belly putter is slightly more tolerable to the game's ruling elders than the broomstick-style that has helped Scott so much but the notion of seeing a new generation of youngsters growing up with putters stuck in their bellies or sternums must be disconcerting to the traditionalists.

   If you ask me, you shouldn't be able to anchor a club to your body during a stroke whether you're doing it like Scott does it, like Els does it, like Bernhard Langer used to do it and like any other putting-afflicted soul does battle on the greens. It doesn't mean I'm right, only that I think golfers should be required to make a stroke, not use a pendulum.

   That's not to discredit in any way the major championship victories of Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson or Ernie Els. If belly putting or long putting is so great, everyone would do it. They don't. 

   It's not a cure-all. But it's a growing trend and while the argument can be made it's already too far down the line to draw it back now, it bears examination.

   "Anchoring is what we're looking at, method of stroke, and it's all about putting around a fixed pivot point, whether that fixed pivot point is in your belly or under your chin or on your chest," Dawson told reporters Monday. "I don't distinguish between the two. It's a matter of stroke issue."

  Don't expect an immediate announcement but perhaps something later this year.

  And if you've abandoned the short putter for a belly or long putter, keep a short putter around just in case. 

Sims shoots 59 in eGolf event

 Michael Sims of Bermuda cracked perhaps golf's most dramatic barrier Thursday, shooting a 12-under par 59 in the second round of the Southern Open at the Country Club of Salisbury.

   Sims, who played four years on the Web.com (formerly Nationwide) tour, became the first player to break 60 in competition on the Charlotte-based eGolf Professional Tour.

   He birdied his first eight holes Thursday on his way to an 8-under par 27 on the front side of the Donald Ross-designed course. Sims made four putts of 10 feet or longer among his eight opening birdies.

   "What's cool is that the 27 on the front nine is my lowest (score) by two," Sims said. "I shot 29 on this tour a few years ago."

  A birdie at the 10th pushed Sims to 9-under par. After four consecutive pars, Sims birdied the par-5 15th, holed a 22-foot birdie putt at the 16th and had a tap-in birdie at the 17th. He parred the finishing hole to post 59.

   Sims said he had forgotten the par was 71 and thought he had shot 60 when he missed a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 18

   "I hit that birdie putt and left it a few inches short and thought, 'You have to be kidding me,'" Sims said. "When the other guys in the group congratulated me, I remembered that it was par-71. Pretty surreal feeling."

   Sims, who shot 71 in the first round, will enter the final round of the Southern Open Friday trailing 36-hole leader Drew Weaver by one stroke.

-- Ron Green Jr.

A Charlotte version of the Tavistock Cup?

   Jeff Conyers has an idea.
   He wants to create a Charlotte version of the Tavistock Cup, the early-spring shootout among touring pros representing their respective golf clubs in the Orlando, Fla., area.
   It would be different here. It wouldn't involve tour players unless, say, Johnson Wagner wanted to play for Quail Hollow or Robert Karlsson got involved for Longview, but the idea is to bring together teams representing 15 golf clubs in the Charlotte area.
   Each team would have a foursome, perhaps two foursomes, and there would be a one-day tournament for what would be called the Shepherd's Cup.
   In addition to the golf aspect, the event would be a fund-raiser for the Shepherd's Center, a non-profit organization that provides for seniors, helping empower them in a variety of ways.
   The organization hosts a one-day captain's choice event at Olde Sycamore to raise funds for the group. Last year, 14 foursomes participated.
   Watching The Tavistock Cup, which originally pitted the pros from Isleworth against those at Lake Nona in Orlando, got Conyers thinking about creating something like that here.
   It's a good idea.
   There are interclub matches among various clubs during the year but this would, ideally, bring all the clubs together one time. It would also allow for other foursomes to participate.
   Conyers said he's already received the support of some club pros in the area and he's attempting to reach out to every local club to assess the interest level.
  If you're interested, contact Jeff Conyers at 704-321-0490 or via email at jeff@InsureEd.com. 

Bunker shots: Phil, Webb and Half Moon Bay

   Splashing out a few bunker shots:
   -- Did you ever think you'd see Phil Mickelson post seven straight over-par rounds on the PGA Tour?
   That's where his game is now as he heads across the Atlantic to play the Scottish Open this week before the Open Championship next week. He shot 79 in his one full round at The Memorial, wasn't a factor at the U.S. Open and flamed out in two days at the Greenbrier.
   He said his game isn't that far off but the results suggest otherwise.
   -- Peter Williamson, who won the North and South Amateur at Pinehurst over the weekend, doesn't have the big amateur profile of some other players but he's getting there.
   Williamson was a three-time Ivy League champion at Dartmouth, was medalist in the expanded 54-hole qualifier at Pinehurst and never trailed in his finals victory over Clemson's Thomas Bradshaw.
  -- It was surprising to see Webb Simpson come unglued on the back nine Sunday. With nine holes to go, it looked like Simpson was on his way to a second victory then he shot a fat 40 coming in, falling quickly out of contention in a tournament where he was the only leader with a victory on his resume.
   Talking to reporters afterward, Simpson, who had gone 59 consecutive holes without a bogey, said, "It's just the nature of the game. You go from not making any mistakes all week to making them all on the back nine."
   He'll learn from it and be fine, I expect.
   Simpson doesn't plan to play again until the WGC event at Firestone next month while he and wife, Dowd, await the birth of their second child later this month.
  -- While on the West Coast last month, I got a chance to play the spectacularly attractive Half Moon Bay Ocean Course.
   It's one of the prettiest golf courses I've ever been on and, if you're in the San Francisco area, it's worth the short drive south to Half Moon Bay. The views, from almost every hole, are tremendous and they did a nice job designing wide fairways and accessible greens to keep resort play moving.
   Even if you don't play well, the experience is enough to make you smile.
  

Dottie Pepper finally gets her chance

   Meg Mallon got it right by making Dottie Pepper one of her assistant captains for the 2013 Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club.
   And, hopefully, it will lead to Pepper getting the chance to captain the U.S. Solheim Cup team somewhere down the road.
   It would probably have happened by now had Pepper, who played at Furman, not been caught calling the American team "choking dogs" when she thought her microphone was off during the 2007 matches. She's always been brutally honest and fiesty and it came back to bite her, even if she thought her comments wouldn't be heard by anyone without a television headset on.
   "I had kind of made good with it a long time ago that, hey, I screwed up. The guy on the switch screwed up. We all screwed up. And that if that was the way it was going to be, that was the way it was going to be. I couldn't change that," Pepper said in a press conference announcing her appointment.
   Some people felt the comment killed Pepper's chance of ever being part of a Solheim Cup team but, fortunately, it didn't.
   If you remember Pepper, you recall how her emotion practically glowed in the international competition. She was criticized for her exuberance but that's her nature.
   She'll be a terrific addition to Mallon's team. They compliment each other, Mallon calling herself a broad brush person while Pepper is good with logistics. It's also a necessary step in setting Pepper up to captain the team down the road, maybe in 2015.
    Wouldn't that be fun?

Andy Griffith leaves us memories and reruns

   When my eight-year old nephew saw an image of Andy Griffith on the computer screen today, he stopped and said, "Hey, Andy Griffith."
   What other 86-year old entertainer would an eight-year old recognize?
   It speaks in a small way to who Andy Griffith was, not just to my boomer generation, but to seemingly every generation that will be celebrating the Fourth of July on Wednesday. He was Andy Taylor, the great American sheriff and moralist.
   Andy Taylor was a television creation but what made him enduring is how much we wanted him to be real. Andy Griffith was real and, though most of us knew him only through the characters he played, I hope he was something like the sheriff who didn't carry a gun.
   When the news came that Andy -- if you're born in North Carolina, you're born on a first-name basis with Mr. Griffith -- had passed away in Manteo, I felt it. Maybe you did, too.
   He had that kind of effect on many of us.
    'The Andy Griffith Show' went off the air more than 50 years ago but it has lived on through syndication, the rare television show that can be shared by three generations. It was about Barney Fife and Opie, Ernest T. Bass and Aunt Bea, Helen Crump and Thelma Lou.
    At its heart, though, it was about Andy.
   Andy Griffith did many things in his career but he is best remembered for being the sheriff of an imaginary town where most of the trouble was caused by Barney. Andy Taylor wasn't perfect but he set a nearly perfect example for Opie and the rest of us. It was simple but it felt right.
   Think about this: How rare is it to come across an 'Andy Griffith' episode you don't remember?
   Barney's side car?
   Aunt Bea's pickles?
   The goat that ate dynamite?
   Seen it, seen it, seen it.
   Miss Crump, I think I luv you...
   You can probably hear it.
   Andy Griffith gave us that and more.
   To borrow a line from perhaps the best episode of 'The Andy Griffith Show,' a lot of hearts feel empty today.
   But don't our memories seem nice and full.

   

Linville: Playing mountain music

   There is an everlasting charm to Linville.
   If you've been there, whether to take the edge off the summer heat, spend a night at the Eseeola Lodge or just driving through to look at the October leaves, you probably know what I'm talking about. It's just a small mountain town at the foot of Grandfather Mountain, the kind of place you could drive through without noticing but if you've been there, chances are you brought a piece of it home with you.
   Linville was missing its traditional summer softness this past weekend, the thermometer nudging 90. A Charlotte resident, who's had a summer home in Linville for 25 years, said Thursday was the first time he'd turned the air-conditioner on in the evening in all those years.
   Still, there was a freshness in the unseasonably warm mountain air. The flowers, whether in a professionally landscaped garden or growing wild on a hillside, were spectacular. If I were a gardener -- I have the withered skeletons of potted plants to prove I'm not -- I could list the various types of flowers that were in bloom. Instead, think of the best colors in Crayola's 64-crayon box and most of them were on display either in window boxes, little gardens or just off the side of the road.
   The wedding party ducking into the Eseeola Lodge Saturday afternoon couldn't have found a Hollywood set better as a backdrop for their big occasion. The little stream out front. The mountains on both sides. The scent of summer in the air.
    When people ask me my favorite golf courses in North Carolina, I always include Linville Golf Club. I've been fortunate enough to play there a handful of times and spent Saturday afternoon there with Appalachian State football coach Jerry Moore, Harris Prevost and my dad. It's the kind of course you'd like to play every day and those are more rare than you might imagine.
   Moore is one of the region's great natural resources and he fits the North Carolina mountains like a good sweater. Prevost is the Tiger Woods of finding golf balls. He once found 100 on the 11th hole at Grandfather Golf and Country Club, a testament to high handicappers, his tenacity and his refusal to ever pay for a Titleist. He was one shy of a finding a dozen Saturday -- and that doesn't count the two times he fished my Titleist 1 out of two different creeks.
   My dad still tells the story of playing at Linville decades ago and seeing two guys in his group hit it inside five feet on the first hole. Beat that, one said to him. So he did. He holed his second shot for an eagle.
   Late Saturday afternoon, we drove through Banner Elk, climbed a curvy road up the hill at the Elk River Club and found ourselves looking across the mountains from the deck of Max Muhleman's house. Muhleman is the man who convinced George Shinn and David Stern that NBA basketball could work in Charlotte and then did the same with Jerry Richardson and Paul Tagliabue bringing the NFL to Charlotte.
   Besides earning Muhleman the everlasting appreciation of Charlotte sport fans, it earned him a commanding view across the golf course below and the mountainside in the distance. He deserves a statue outside one of our arenas but the view from his deck will do.
   That evening, a big moon hung over Grandfather Mountain in the distance, its light a summer night's blanket.
   On Sunday morning, the skirl of bagpipes could be heard coming from a church.
   Another day, another chorus of mountain music.

First Tee looking for new executive director

   The First Tee of Charlotte is looking for a new executive director with the announcement that Jennifer MacCurrach is leaving June 30 to return to Austin, Tex., where she will run the First Tee program there.
   MacCurrach came to Charlotte from Austin, where she will return.
   A search for a new executive is under way.
   In the meantime, Ian Bollinger will continue as director of instruction and Kaitlyn Jarman will continue as marketing and events manager for the program.

Big changes underway at Quail Hollow

  Quail Hollow Club is in the midst of another facelift.
   Several significant changes are underway that will alter the way the course plays next May when the Wells Fargo Championship returns. More changes are likely in the coming years in advance of the 2017 PGA Championship.
   Two holes -- Nos. 4 and 8 -- are undergoing major changes while the 11th, 12th and 13th holes are being tweaked.
   To accommodate a new short game practice area, the tee on the par-4 fourth hole is being shifted approximately 50 yards to the left and the hole will be lengthened to 508 yards from the championship tee. From the new tees, the hole will play straightaway, eliminating the gentle right to left movement of its former design.
   The move allows the club to expand its practice tees and create a new short-game area with three greens. The existing short-game area, located to the right of the practice range, will be converted into a tournament parking area.
   Among the features of the new short game area will be a sod-faced bunker, reminiscent of those on the famous links courses in Scotland and Ireland.
   The short par-4 eighth hole is also being revamped with a new green being built to the left of the existing green, which was among the most controversial on the course. The tees will be shifted slightly and the hole will play between 325 and 340 yards with an opening at the front of the green to allow long hitters to attempt to fit their tee shots between two bunkers.
   Bushes behind the 10th green and adjacent to the 13th tee have been removed and the tee on the 13th hole will be lowered and shifted to the right, changing the angle of approach to the heavily contoured green. Also, the back tee at the par-4 11th hole will be moved back in order to bring a fairway bunker back into play.
   The 12th green, which has been openly criticized by Phil Mickelson among others, is also being rebuilt to soften the severe contour.
   In addition, several cart paths behind the clubhouse and around the putting green are being removed. They will be replaced by a single path that will allow for better spectator movement.
  The project is expected to be completed by Aug. 15.
  Quail Hollow will convert to bermuda greens in advance of the 2017 PGA Championship and club president Johnny Harris said it's possible the transition could be made as early as next summer. The club is interviewing candidates for the superintendent position formerly held by Jeff Kent.
   "We knew we had to do some things," Harris said. "The changes will make it harder for the tournament players but not for our members. We don't have an Alister Mackenzie or Donald Ross heritage to worry about as far as making changes. If the board thinks it's the right thing to do, we're going to do it."

Lang gives Duke program long overdue LPGA win

   One of the most inexplicable streaks in golf ended Sunday when Brittany Lang won the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic in Ontario.
  Lang became the first former Duke women's golfer to win on the LPGA tour.
  Talk about overdue.
  But golf, as anyone who's ever played knows, has its own way of doing things. Ask Jenny Chuasiriporn, the Duke golfer who lost the 1999 U.S. Women's Open to the legendary Se Ri Pak in a playoff. Chuasiriporn was a good player, not a great one, but for one charmed week she made herself a piece of history.
  It was Chuisiriporn's one shining professional moment but it was a great one.
  She was at the front end of what has become a golf dynasty, headed by Dan Brooks, who has the gift for spotting talent and cultivating it. Brooks and the Blue Devils have won five national championships, being similar in golf to what Mike Krzyzewski and his program have been to men's basketball.
   But LPGA victories had been an elusive target.
   From Amanda Blumenherst to Anna Grzebien, from Liz Janagelo to Virada Nirapathpongporn and from Beth Bauer to Candy Hanneman, Duke has produced outstanding players. The latest is Lindy Duncan, the reigning national player of the year.
   But for one reason or another, the LPGA victories hadn't come.
   Lang,a All-American at Duke in 2004 and 2005, has been close several times and is regarded as one of the tour's top players. But she needed a victory because that's what the best play for.
   When she got it Sunday, Lang got it for herself and for a program that didn't need LPGA Tour victories to validate its success but more than deserved it.
   "I can't believe it took me seven years to get a win out here," Lang said after her victory.
   Hard to believe it took the Blue Devils that long to break through. Perhaps, it's the first of many more.

Simpson to skip British Open as due date nears

  For Webb Simpson, the U.S. Open just keeps going.
  He got home early Monday morning, spent a day in Charlotte, let his father-in-law take the U.S. Open trophy to his office, did some interviews and, while spending time with his young son, James, tried to absorb what he had accomplished.
   The reaction has overwhelmed Simpson.
  "It's been great," Simpson told reporters at the Travelers Championship. "I've gotten so many texts or messages on Twitter. I got some emails from older guys who I've looked up to my whole life that I didn't expect. So that kind of just congratulatory reception from them has been great. And I've got a couple of emails from older golfers that I'm probably going to print out and frame and guys that I've respected so much in so many areas of life. They've just given me invaluable advice through these emails that I didn't expect.
  "Tom Watson wrote me a great email. Greg Norman left me a message on the phone and some other guys, Hale Irwin, who I've never even met before. Just guys that are legends of the game that have told me some things that I would have paid for."
   Simpson also talked with Arnold Palmer, whose name was on his Wake Forest golf scholarship. Palmer sent Simpson a note and they were together on Golf Channel's 'Morning Drive' show.
   Simpson is playing the Travelers Championship this week outside Hartford, Ct., honoring a commitment he made before he changed his golf life with his victory at The Olympic Club last Sunday. It's where Simpson played his second professional event in 2008 after writing a letter asking for a sponsor exemption in the field and he hasn't forgotten the tournament's willingness to give him a spot.
   With his wife, Dowd, due to give birth in late July to their second child, Simpson has decided he won't play the British Open next month.
   "I'm a guy who loves my family, and we're probably only going to have a couple more babies, so I have the rest of my life to play in the British Open. I don't want to miss the birth of the second child. So it's an easy decision," he said in his press conference.
  "After winning it's certainly a little harder not to go because I'd love to go and try to win another major, but in the grand scheme of things and grand scheme of life it's a decision that I know I'll always be happy that I made. Because the first experience watching my first son being born was one of the greatest experiences I think a person can have. And I don't want to miss it again."
   

Playing Olympic: One man's struggle

So you're wondering how hard The Olympic Club really was if Webb Simpson won the U.S. Open at 1-over par?

Well, let me tell you.

Tougher than the ice road truckers. It would scare the swamp people.

Because there wasn't a Monday playoff, I was among the media people whose name was pulled in a lottery, giving me the chance to tee it up at Olympic.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. And, to fully appreciate the challenge of playing a U.S. Open, our group decided to play Olympic just as it was played in Sunday's final round. That means the same tees, the same hole locations, the same trapdoors to step through.

I won't bore you with my scorecard. No one wants to hear someone else's hole by hole account of their round of golf unless they're getting paid caddie fee.

Let's start this way: Tiger played the famously difficult first six holes in 6-over par on Sunday. He beat me. By four.

But I did make a beautiful par at the tough, uphill par-4 second which seemed to be missing a fairway.

That was one highlight. We'll get to the other one momentarily.

A couple of things became clear while playing Olympic. It's the most visually intimidating driving course I've ever played. When the players talked about having to shape shots off the tee (sometimes hearing that can make my eyes glaze over), they meant it.

Imagine hitting a tee shot down a hotel hallway and having to turn it around a corner -- with ball-swallowing cypress trees on both sides. And if you miss the trees and the fairway, the rough is thicker than good clam chowder.

Trust me.

A playing parter missed the par-3 15th green by four inches -- four inches -- and we'd given up his ball for lost until someone almost stepped on it as he was preparing to drop another ball.

The greens were also smaller than they appeared. I've had dinner at tables bigger than the 18th green.

 Speaking of the 18th green, that was part of my other highlight. Nice 4-iron off the tee. Nice choke-down 8-iron up the hill and the same birdie putt Graeme McDowell had to force a playoff. His never had a chance. Mine hit the back of the hole and refused to fall in but it was an easy four.

One other thing worth noting: The burger dogs at the turn are as good as advertised. They're essentially cheeseburgers shaped to fit a hot dog bun but that's like calling the Mona Lisa a painting of a lady. The club doesn't own the halfway house. It's operated by an outside vendor who's been making the burger dogs for years, clogging arteries for decades.

They're fresh cooked when you order them and they're as good as hitting every fairway.

So what did I, who carries a 6.7 handicap index at Cedarwood Country Club, shoot?

It's not important.

The handicap computer will kick out that 96 anyway.

Photo: Lee Westwood uses binoculars to look for his ball in a tree on the fifth hole during the fourth round of the U.S. Open Championship golf tournament Sunday, June 17, 2012, at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.

The U.S. Open: Winners and losers

   Taking a last look at what happened -- and didn't happen -- at the U.S. Open at The Olympic Club:
   The Good
   -- Webb Simpson didn't lead the field in greens hit in regulation (58.3 percent), fairways in regulation (55.3) or birdies (13). But he made putts when he needed them and that wins U.S. Opens.
    Simpson's string of six straight one-putt greens midway through the final round proved to be the point of separation.
   -- Beau Hossler became a star. He didn't finish as low amateur -- Jordan Speith got that medal -- but Hossler became a crowd favorite with his play and his demeanor. He seemed unaffected by virtually everything. He's headed to Texas in another year. A guy named 'Hoss' playing for the Longhorns. Perfect.
  -- American golf seems just fine.
   It wasn't long ago this fall's Ryder Cup matches had practically been conceded to the Europeans. Six straight majors had been won by players from the other side of the Atlantic, Tiger was down, Phil was struggling and it was easy to hear European fans practicing their 'Ole, Ole' cheers for Medinah.
   Now the Americans have won three straight majors -- Keegan Bradley, Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson -- while Matt Kuchar won The Players Championship. No wonder U.S. captain Davis Love III was smiling Sunday afternoon.
   -- Lee Westwood's attitude.
     He's tortured in majors like few others have been. His chances at Olympic died when his tee shot at the fifth hole lodged in a Monterey cypress, which eat golf balls the way kids eat candy. He looked like a bird watcher when he grabbed binoculars and tried to identify his ball in the tree.
   Still, he handled it beautifully. Climbing the huge staircase from the 18th green to the clubhouse Sunday after another disappointment, Westwood turned to his manager, Chubby Chandler, who was struggling up the steps behind him and said, "Pretend I'm wearing a short skirt."
   -- The Olympic Club: It was hard but players had no major complaints. There's already talk the U.S. Open may come back in another 10 years or so.
   The Bad
   -- Jim Furyk's finish. He missed the last five fairways in the final round, leading to a pair of bogeys that doomed his chances for a second Open.
   Pro golfers are creatures of habit and Furyk admitted he was flustered when he reached the par-5 16th hole and found the tee had been moved up 95 yards from where it had played earlier in the tournament. He wasn't prepared for that and said he couldn't get comfortable with the shot he wanted to hit. He wound up snap-hooking his tee shot into trouble, the beginning of his end.
   -- Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy: Numbers One and Two, respectively, flamed out on Thursday and couldn't save themselves on Friday.
   Donald seemed to try too hard and suddenly there are questions about McIlroy's focus. While both were huge disappointments, there's no reason for panic in either camp.
  -- Tiger's weekend: Perhaps the best that can be said is he scored better than Phil Mickelson on the weekend. When he needed it most, Woods couldn't hit fairways and couldn't make putts. He became just another guy trying to win and failing.
   -- The Bird Man: The clown wearing a Union Jack hat and crowing like a bird who disrupted the trophy presentation Sunday evening was last seen being escorted away on a golf cart wearing a bracelet of handcuffs.
   Credit to Webb Simpson for his quick reaction -- "Enjoy the jail cell, pal," -- and to USGA executive director Mike Davis who went middle linebacker on the guy.

Webb Simpson and the US Open trophy come home

   Webb Simpson, his wife Dowd and their new U.S. Open trophy took the red-eye home from San Francisco Sunday evening, jetting cross-country into a North Carolina morning new in so many ways.
   Simpson's gritty, impressive victory at The Olympic Club recast him as a professional golfer. There are good players. There are winners. And there are major champions.
   It was just the fifth major championship Simpson had played and while he believed he had the game to win a major, Simpson admitted he wasn't sure it would happen so soon.
   And here it is.
   Simpson joked that he had even more admiration for Tiger Woods, being able to win 14 times in golf's biggest tests. Simpson didn't want any more of the U.S. Open or Olympic.
   "I really didn't want a playoff," he said.
   It wasn't necessary when Graeme McDowell's last chance birdie putt missed on the 72nd hole.
   Simpson and Dowd watched the end on television in the locker room. When they weren't watching golf, they were watching videos on their phone of their son, James, who is just learning to walk.
   This was their first trip without their one-year old son and perhaps their last together until after Dowd gives birth to their second child, due Aug. 3.
    Two weeks ago, Simpson spent four days in Pinehurst, playing golf with his buddies, taking the nervous edge off his pre-Open preparations. He had missed consecutive cuts after his disappointment of not winning the Wells Fargo Championship at home, fixed a flaw in his swing and felt good flying west.
   Simpson felt even better flying home.

Can a 17-year old win the U.S. Open?

   Of all the potential story lines in the final round of the U.S. Open, none is more intriguing than the possibility -- with admittedly long odds -- of 17-year old amateur Beau Hossler going home with the trophy.
   "I still have the goal to be low amateur, but my goal now is to win the tournament," Hossler said Saturday afternoon with the bullet-proof mentality of a teenager.
   Why not?
   He starts the final round four strokes off the lead but with all the trapdoors scattered around The Olympic Club, it wouldn't take much for the leaders to move backward. If Hossler is the guy who moves forward, well, hello world.
   The U.S. Open is supposed to scare people. It hasn't scared Hossler. He looks like he's playing a friendly round with his mates from Rancho Santa Margherita High.
   You want emotion? He's not real big on that but his game says plenty.
   He's already booked to attend Texas but he has to finish high school first.
   It won't be a shock if shoots something close to 80 in the final round. It's a huge day and the golf course will be wicked.
   But maybe he'll shoot something under par. He thinks he can. That's the first step. 

McDowell: I don't fear success. I fear failure

   Rarely do you hear athletes talk about their fears.
   What's Tiger Woods afraid of? Who knows?
   But Graeme McDowell, who is 18 holes away from winning two U.S. Opens 90 miles and two years apart, made no secret Saturday night that he was wrestling with some demons before he teed off in the third round at The Olympic Club. McDowell was two off the lead before the round started and had the jitters, not unlike the feeling he had two years ago on Saturday at Pebble Beach.
   The difference this time is he's in the lead going into Sunday, not playing from behind as he did at Pebble Beach where Dustin Johnson soon chopped away his chances.
    "I've gone through these emotions all the time," McDowell said. "It's basic stuff. It's basically fear. Fear of going out there and messing it all up. The two fears we all have are fear of success and fear of failure. I don't fear success. I fear failure."
   McDowell said he expects to feel more relaxed Sunday than he did Saturday.
  "I'll just try to go out and do my job," he said. "If it's good enough, great. If it's not, perhaps I'll
drink a cold beer and get over it."
   Sounds like a plan.

The U.S. Open: What have we learned?

   What have we learned halfway through this U.S. Open?
   Here's the good:
  -- Tiger Woods is back. He may not win but he's ready to win another major -- finally. You can see it in the look and the confidence in his swing.
     Now all he has to do is finish it.
    -- Graeme McDowell is a great interview and a pretty good player. When McDowell's playing career is over, which may be a while, he has a future in television.
    Asked what he expects the winning score to be, McDowell said, "Levelish."
    He's probably right.
   -- The qualifying process gives the U.S. Open stories like 17-year old amateur Beau Hossler, 14-year old Andy Zhang and 40-year old Casey Martin. The Masters is great, by far my favorite event, but it doesn't have characters like the U.S. Open does.
   -- Plodders prevail.
     Check them out: McDowell. Jim Furyk. David Toms. Matt Kuchar. Jason Dufner. Hunter Mahan. All in the top 10.
   The bad:
    -- Luke Donald. Even he admits it.
    -- Rory McIlroy. He's going through a phase...I hope.
    -- Bubba Watson. Not built to win U.S. Opens.
    -- Traffic on the Bay Bridge. Okay, it has nothing to do with the Open but they've had a couple of really rough days getting back and forth to Oakland so I thought I'd at least mention it.
   

The Open: Love it tough but not impossible

   Why is it some people love to watch the pros make bogeys and double bogeys in the U.S. Open?
   They enjoy it, almost wallowing in the big numbers that accumulate on Open scorecards like another gnome in a hoarder's den.
   I don't get it.
   Well, I suppose I do get it. People like to see golf's one percent suffer once in a while.
   We all know how hard golf is. I don't need to watch Luke Donald shooting 79 to remind me again. This is the U.S. Open, one of the most important tournaments in the world, and I'm okay if guys make some birdies. I'm not advocating 16-under par like Rory McIlroy shot last year at Congressional but I'm okay if 5, 6 or 7-under wins the Open.
   I get the 'total examination' idea of the U.S. Open. The winner should prove he can drive in the fairway, hit greens, chip and, of course, putt. But I prefer to see the leaders move forward, not gradually fall away like the last leaves of autumn.
    Determining a champion should include a guy being able to make something happen, not to be the best at avoiding calamity.
    Mike Davis and Tom O'Toole, the two guys in charge of setting up U.S. Open courses, get that idea, too. It's their job to find the balance, leaning toward tougher is better, but not squeezing all the fun out of the championship.
   O'Toole says "it might not be particularly spectator oriented" but that's the nature of the challenge.
   "I think that if fans had to see this 52 weeks of the year, it probably wouldn't be good," Davis said. "But to see it once a year, at least the feedback we've gotten...is that it's something that fans want to see a tough test one week of the year."
   The trick, Davis said, is making it difficult but keeping it exciting. The Olympic Club can allow both.
   The first six holes are wicked, the middle portion of the course is like a dull headache and the closing holes allow for birdies. The par-5 17th is reachable in two and the 18th is a short par-4, creating at least the possibilty for fireworks rather than a dumpster fire at the end.
   It's the U.S. Open. It's supposed to be hard, not impossible.
  

The best in the world? Are you sure?

   Of all the surprising things that happened in the first round of the U.S. Open at The Olympic Club including Ian Poulter's canary yellow shoes, nothing was as unexpected as the utter collapse of Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy.
   It was so complete that it made playing partner Lee Westwood's 73 practically glisten.
   I'll admit to being one of those who thought Donald was the man to beat this week. He was playing well, keeps the ball in play, has a brilliant short game and it seems time for him to win a major championship.
   What does Donald do? He goes out and shoots 79.
   Thanks, Luke.
   Nine pars. Nine bogeys.
   That won't win you any money in a nassau with your buddies. I know it's the U.S. Open but he's the No. 1 player in the world and he had 36 putts. Was he putting with a snow shovel?
    The good news is Donald tied 14-year old Andy Zhang.
    Then there was McIlroy, who posted a smooth 77.
    At least he made a birdie. One. Former Charlotte 49er Jeff Curl birdied three of his last eight holes.
    Westwood may have kept himself in the tournament, grinding out a 73 that started with a double bogey.
    The top three players in the world, Numeros Uno, Two and Three, were a combined 19-over par Thursday. Just for that, they should be forced to wear Poulter's yellow shoes on Friday.
   

Walking with Tiger, Phil and Bubba

   After walking the first nine holes with the Phil Mickelson-Tiger Woods-Bubba Watson pairing today, a few quick observations:
   -- There wasn't much conversation among the three because they rarely walked to the same places. Tiger kept walking down the middle of the fairway. Phil and Bubba kept going to the rough.
  -- Woods looked like the old Tiger, in control. The other two looked like they were driving a car with a stuck accelerator.
  -- The galleries were enormous, as you would expect, but because they were making bogeys rather than birdies, there weren't many explosive cheers. That's the U.S. Open for you.
  -- After Mickelson bounced a tee shot off a man in the gallery on the 14th hole, he tossed another ball to the guy as a souvenir. A man standing nearby said, "Next time, hit me."
   Another spectator said, "Go stand in the fairway, then." Mickelson just smirked.
  -- Olympic is very difficult. When Woods ripped a beautiful 3-wood tee shot on the par-5 17th hole then watched it roll across the fairway and into the rough -- something that happens a lot at Olympic -- he handed his club back to caddie Joe LaCava and just shrugged.

Former 49er Curl feeling good again

   Jeff Curl, the former Charlotte 49ers golf star, is playing in his first U.S. Open this week and it comes at the same place -- the Olympic Club -- that his father, former tour player, Rod Curl, played in his first Open 46 years ago.
  "That's pretty cool," Curl said during a practice round prior to his first major championship appearance.
   The course has changed significantly since his father played it but the elder Curl is in San Francisco, sharing the experience with his son.
   Jeff Curl finished at Charlotte in 2000 and finally feels his golf career coming together. A full-time member of the Nationwide Tour, Curl is coming off an eighth-place finish last week and he's healthy for the first time in years.
   He's had two shoulder surgeries, a torn ligament in his ankle and he cracked five bones in his back last November when he was "goofing around."
   After living in Charlotte for five years, Curl recently married and moved to Birmingham, Ala.
   "Marriage changed my life," he said. "I've settled down a little bit."
  This will be Curl's third PGA Tour start and he isn't intimidated. He's played with and against many of the players in the field and spent the weekend playing practice rounds with Ernie Els and Steve Marino among others.
   "I always tell people that when I'm healthy, I feel I'm as good as anyone," Curl said. "But the times I've been healthy have been few and far between. I really started feeling great about a month ago.
   "Obviously, this is the U.S. Open but my game is built on ball-striking. I won't surprise me if I shoot 82 or if I finish in the top 20. I feel good about my game."

Rory: My bobblehead is better looking than me

 Defending U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy has the distinction of throwing out the first pitch prior to the San Francisco Giants' game Tuesday night against the Houston Astros. It's not something he practiced in advance.
  "I've been throwing a few golf balls on the course, threw a few medicine balls around ... at the gym.
  "I don't know whether to play it conservatively and just lob it into his hand or go for the fast one."
   McIlroy's appearance included fans receiving a bobblehead doll with McIlroy's likeness.
  "I think it's maybe better looking than me which is a good thing."

Charlotte CC to host City Am finale

  Catching up on things before heading to the U.S. Open at Olympic Club:
  -- The course rotation for the 53rd Charlotte City Amateur championship is set and registration for the prestigious event is nearing a close.

    The tournament, Aug. 17-19, will be played at Cedarwood Country Club, Carmel Country Club and Charlotte Country Club. The field will be cut after each round.

   Registration closes June 22. If you're interested in playing, visit www.charlottecityam.com.

   -- Gastonia's Harold Varner III, whose college career just ended, will defend his title in the North Carolina Amateur championship beginning Thursday at Treyburn Country Club in Durham.

   Varner, who helped East Carolina to an NCAA tournament appearance as a senior, became the first African-American winner of the event. Top challengers are expected to be another ECU golfer, Adam Stephenson, 2011 runner-up Richard Fountain, Paul Simson and 2012 Carolinas Mid-Am champion Paul Simson.

  -- If you didn't visit the media tent at the RBC Heritage over the years, you probably didn't know Arnie Burdick, who oversaw the place for years. He was a retired newspaperman from upstate New York who settled on Hilton Head Island and became as much a part of the annual PGA Tour stop there as the famous tartan blazer awarded to the champion.

   Burdick passed away last week at age 92 after a brief illness. He was still at his post in April when the tournament rolled around again, serving mostly as a greeter and making sure everyone had what they needed. We lost a good one.

   -- If you want to be part of the 2014 men's and women's U.S. Opens at Pinehurst and you don't have the game to qualify, here's your chance: The tournaments are looking for approximately 7,000 volunteers to work over the two-week period.

   Volunteers don't have to work every day. There are four and five-day shifts available. If you're interested, visit http://2014volunteers.usga.org.

Tiger, the way it used to be

What did you do Sunday afternoon when Tiger Woods holed it from San Quentin behind the 16th green at Muirfield Village for a birdie David Cooperfield couldn't explain?

Did you shout (I did)?

Did you high-five your dog?

Did you shake your head, call your wife and tell her watch this?

You did something because Tiger Woods, the one we saw again Sunday winning the Memorial, does things that make us react. He does things on the golf course that we remember.

In his prime, when he was painting the game like no one has before him, Woods astonished us. No one else has done that, at least not as consistently and spectacularly as Woods did for a decade or more. He gave us remember where you were moments.

The 215-yard 7-iron up the hill at No. 6 at Pebble Beach in the 2000 U.S. Open. The 6-iron from a fairway bunker over the water at the Canadian Open. The chip shot at No. 16 at Augusta National the last time he won the Masters.

Most great players have one of those moments. Tiger has them in an eight-piece place setting.

For the last two-plus years, all the talk has justifiably been about whether we'd get the Tiger Woods we knew back or if time and turmoil had taken him away forever. His win at Arnold Palmer's tournament in March validated his contention he could still win and, after a dreary stretch that included a second straight missed cut at the Wells Fargo Championship, Woods showed us Sunday what we once took for granted.

With Jack Nicklaus watching, he tied the Golden Bear for second on the all-time list with 73 PGA Tour victories. It was a nice bit of symmetry and it rekindled the thought that Tiger may still chase down Jack's record of 18 major championship victories.

He still needs four to tie, five to go where no one ever has. It's a huge ask, a Hall of Fame career still be built to get it done but Sunday reminded us why we used to think Tiger would make it happen. I'm guilty of saying and writing he would win 20 or more majors. If you didn't say it, you thought it because of how dominant he was.

It's different now but suddenly the U.S. Open at Olympic Club in two weeks has a familiar feel. A week ago, it was about Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald and now it's about Tiger going for No. 15.

It's nice to know the thrill isn't gone.

Will Tiger-Phil be like Nicklaus -Watson?

   It was nice to see Jack Nicklaus get misty-eyed Wednesday when introducing Tom Watson as the special honoree at this year's Memorial Tournament.
   Watson, in return, got a little choked up in his acceptance speech.
   And it got me wondering if Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will feel similarly about each other when their playing careers wind down.
   Probably not.
   But time changes people.
   Maybe it will change Tiger.
   The Nicklaus-Watson rivalry didn't have the personality of the Nicklaus-Arnold Palmer rivalry because Palmer was the most popular player the game has ever had. He still is.
   Nicklaus came along, usurped Arnie's throne and went about building the greatest record in the game's history. Part of what makes Nicklaus's record so spectacular is the players he beat -- and sometimes didn't beat. He got Palmer at the end of his career but he got Johnny Miller, Lee Trevino, Tom Weiskopf and Watson in their primes.
   Watson got the best of Nicklaus four times in major championships, most famously in the British Open at Turnberry and the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach where Watson chipped in at the 17th hole to win. Watson counter-punched against Nicklaus as well as anyone ever did.
   They became friends and Nicklaus referred to them as competitors rather than rivals. Both of them have aged gracefully and remained relevant in the game. Nicklaus has embraced Watson, Trevino and Palmer, among others.
   The Tiger-Phil rivalry hasn't had the defining major championship moments like Nicklaus and Watson had against each other. They've gone head to head at times in regular tour events and they had their unfortunate day together at the Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills.
   But when you think about Tiger versus Phil, what comes to mind? Personalities, for sure. Different styles, no doubt. But they've not had their Turnberry moment.
   It's easy to see Mickelson reminiscing about the glory days years from now, eyes twinkling at the memories. It's not so easy to see Woods that way.
   He may feel some of it but he's rarely been one to show his emotions, other than crying on Steve Williams' shoulder when he won the British Open after his father's death.
   Like it or not, both Woods and Mickelson have helped define the other and will for years to come.

Growing greens: Welcome to the future

   We're in the midst of a revolution around Charlotte.
   Bentgrass greens are going away.
   Permanently.
   You know what happens to bent greens in the summer around here. They're soft and mushy and slow because superintendents have to devote their lives to keeping them alive from June through early September.
   And when bent greens should be their best -- spring and fall -- they're getting aerated.
   This summer, several Charlotte-area courses including The Peninsula Club, River Run, Verdict Ridge and River Hills among them, are converting from bentgrass to the more popular and heat-tolerant bermuda grass. It takes about two months to make the switch and you're playing again.
   The Golf Club at Ballantyne and Springfield Golf Club in Fort Mill, S.C., were among the first to do it a couple of years ago. Soon, virtually every course in the Charlotte area -- public and private -- will have bermuda greens. Quail Hollow Club has already announced it'll change to bermuda prior to the 2017 PGA Championship.
   I'm writing a bigger story about what's involved and why it's so popular. It's not a trend. The USGA Green Section representative for this area says we'll hardly see any bentgrass around here in 10 years.
   Welcome to the future.

Coore, Crenshaw designing Pinehurst No. 9

   Officials at Pinehurst Resort were so pleased by the restoration work done by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore on course No. 2, they've asked them to design the resort's ninth golf course.
   It's not likely to be built for at least two years but the project is already underway with routing plans being finalized.
   "We're not anywhere close to building it but (owner) Bob Dedman (Jr.) wanted Bill to go ahead with the routing," Don Padgett II, president of Pinehurst said.
   "We wanted Bill to have the land he wanted and he carved out what he'd need for 18 holes."
   A portion of the new course will be built on property where The Pit golf course is located. Pinehurst bought The Pit last year after it closed due to financial difficulties. Resort officials decided not to reopen The Pit but will use a piece of the land near Aberdeen for its new layout.
   Pinehurst is preparing to host the men's and women's U.S. Opens in consecutive weeks in 2014, the first time the Opens have been played back to back at the same site.
   "I don't think we'll kick this off before now and the Open," Padgett said, "and it will probably take two years to build."

LPGA makes a point about slow play

   More than belly putters and bad pants, slow play is the bane of professional golf.
   It fits with the shanks and 'carts on path' as the worst things in the game.
   So when the LPGA took the shocking step of penalizing Morgan Pressel in the Sybase Match Play Championship Sunday it sent a message across the tour that, at least for one day, the tour is intent on doing something to speed the pace of play. Good for the LPGA Tour. Others talk about it but that's all they do.
   It long ago became apparent that fining PGA Tour players doesn't change the pace of play. It's going to take adding shots to players' scores -- and doing it regularly -- to have an impact. Some of the players will fight the idea but others would endorse it. Wouldn't it be nice if the PGA Tour could change its slogan to 'These Guys Are Fast?"
   The problem with what the LPGA did was the timing of it.
   With all the stroke-play tournaments, it seems strange that the tour chose Sunday when there were only four players on the course to drop a bomb on Pressel, who doesn't have the rep for being slow. The penalty had a huge impact, costing her a hole she thought she'd won, turning a what would have been a 3-up advantage through 12 holes to a 1-up advantage that eventually went away.
   Pressel suggested she was penalized for opponent Azahara Munoz's slow play, though Pressel admittedly took a long time on the 12th hole, trying to figure out which club to hit in the gusting wind.
   Slow-play penalties should be part of the game and they should be administered fairly.
   The LPGA made a point Sunday.
   Let's hope it's not a one-time, one-tour thing.
   
  

Golf's top 10 achievements: What's No. 1?

With the HP Byron Nelson Championship being played this week, it naturally brings to mind Lord Byron's remarkable 1945 season in which he won 11 consecutive tournaments and 18 for the year.

And it got me thinking - is Nelson's run of 11 straight victories (the second of which came at Myers Park Country Club in a playoff with Sam Snead) the greatest achievement in golf history?

It's the most unreachable record, for certain. Tiger Woods won seven in a row once and six in a row another time while Ben Hogan won six in a row once. Otherwise, no one has gotten half as far as Nelson went.

Here's my list of the 10 greatest achievements in golf history:

10. Tiger's cut streak

Woods made the cut in a remarkable 142 consecutive PGA Tour events, breaking Nelson's record of 113. Granted, Woods played in multiple no-cut events that counted in the streak (Nelson's streak also included some no-cut events) but it remains a 7 year stretch of sustained excellence.

It's worth noting that the last event in the streak was the 2005 Wachovia Championship at Quail Hollow Club.

9. Mr. 59

When Al Geiberger shot 59 at Colonial Country Club in the second round of the Danny Thomas Memphis Open, he broke golf's four-minute mile.

There was nothing flukey about it. Geiberger did it on a hot day on a 7,000-yard golf course using a persimmon-headed driver.

Five other PGA Tour players have posted 59 since but Geiberger is golf's Roger Bannister.

8. Arnie at Cherry Hills

You know the story by now. After the morning round of the U.S. Open's then-traditional Saturday finish, Arnold Palmer was seven strokes behind leader Mike Souchak.

At lunch, Palmer asked his sports writer friend Bob Drum what would happen if he shot 65 in the afternoon.

Nothing, Drum told him.

"It would give me 280," Palmer told Drum. "Doesn't 280 always win the Open?"

"Only when Hogan shoots it," Drum said.

Palmer went out, drove the green on the 346-yard par-4 first hole, made a birdie at shot 65 to win his only U.S. Open when Ben Hogan finished bogey, triple-bogey.

7. Jack in '86

Like Palmer in '60, Nicklaus seemed too far behind when the final round of the 1986 Masters began and was a virtual afterthought until he birdied the ninth hole.

And the 10th and the 11th.

A bogey at 12, another birdie at 13, an eagle at 15, a near-ace at 16 and the 'yes, sir!' birdie at 17.

30 on the back. 65 on Sunday. A sixth green jacket.

The coolest day ever at Augusta.

6. Tiger conquers Augusta

Woods' victory in the 1997 Masters reached beyond golf. It was a socially important achievement, the first man of color to win the Masters.

I remember being in the crowd near the first tee when he teed off in the final round, his victory essentially secure with a nine-shot lead, and seeing Lee Elder, the first African-American to play in the Masters. I remember seeing African-American staff members coming out of the clubhouse to watch.

Woods won by 12 strokes at 18-under par, both tournament records. Golf changed.

5. Francis Ouimet wins the U.S. Open

When the 20-year old Ouimet, an amateur, beat Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in an 18-hole playoff to win the 1913 U.S. Open near his home at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., it was a massive upset.

Ouimet's success - Vardon and Ray were considered the two best players in the world -- brought golf into the consciousness of the American public and the game's popularity soon boomed.

4. Hogan's great season

In 1953, four years after a nearly fateful auto accident, Ben Hogan played in just seven tournaments.

He won five of them.

Three of his victories were major championships - the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open - by a combined 15 strokes.

Because qualifying for the PGA Championship overlapped with the British Open, Hogan couldn't play in the year's fourth major championship but he became the first player to win three professional majors in the same year.

3. The Tiger Slam

Jack Nicklaus may still be considered golf's greatest champion but no one has played golf better than Tiger Woods in 2000 and 2001.

Just look at his victory in the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. At 12-under par, he became the first player in the 106-year history of the U.S. Open to finish double-digits under par and he won by a remarkable 15 strokes despite a third-round triple bogey.

He went on to win the Open Championship at St. Andrews, beat Bob May in a playoff for the PGA at Valhalla and finished it off at the 2001 Masters. Only the calendar kept it from being the true grand slam of golf.

2. Nelson's streak

Think about it - he won 11 consecutive tournaments.

You'd think somewhere along the line, he'd hit it someplace bad and make a triple-bogey that cost him. Or the putts wouldn't fall or someone got silly hot. Nothing stopped Nelson.

The rap against it, if there is one, is it was a war year (1945) and the fields weren't as deep as they might have been. But Ben Hogan and Sam Snead won were playing and, between them, won 11 events in '45.

The streak started in Miami then ran through Charlotte, Greensboro and Durham then on down the line.

1. Bobby Jones grand slam

It's the achievement against which all others in golf are judged.

What Jones accomplished in 1930 - winning the U.S. and British Amateurs and the U.S. and British Opens - has never been equaled, though Woods came very close.

He played under enormous expectations - he even placed a bet with British oddsmakers on himself at 50-1 that paid off $80,000 - that he could win golf's four majors in the same year.

Jones retired after the achievement to start Augusta National and what became the Masters. Not a bad second act.

How slow can you go?

Kevin.

Na.

Is.

Maddeningly.

Slow.

DMV slow.

And somehow I wound up pulling for him at The Players Championship.

That's not to say I wasn't happy to see smiling Matt Kuchar finally bag a big one. It was time for Kuchar to knock down a big title and his story -- wife, kids, parents all right there -- was perfectly sweet for Mother's Day.

And I really like the part where Kuchar said it took him all of five swipes for the swing change that altered his career to kick in. Five swings. Kevin Na has more waggles before a shot.

Sort of puts a dent in that "needing millions of reps" theory that's going around.

As for Na, watching him deal publicly with his demons -- every golfer has them -- was both awkward and humanizing. In a game that's strangling on slow play, among other things, Na officially became the face of slow play on the tour this weekend.

He was already the leader in the clubhouse on tour but at the TPC Stadium Course the viewing public got a full serving of Na's idiosyncrasies when he's over the ball. Watching Na fidget is like being unable to reach that spot on your back that really itches.

To his credit, Na has admitted his issues and talked about how he struggles with hitting a shot. If you play golf, you know the screaming that can go on inside your head before a swing. Na looks like he has a Metallica concert going on in his noggin.

Na said he's not intentionally slow and he spends part of each round apologizing for being so, uh, methodical. It's embarassing and to have his game break down Sunday when he pushed himself to play faster with the chance to win one of the biggest championships in the game was a reminder of what the game can do to even the best players.

Golf is best played in a rhythm, not fast but quicker rather than slower. Most slow golfers don't realize they're slow. But they're the ones who treat every shot like it's a tax audit. There's no reason a casual round of golf should take more than four hours to play. I repeat, no reason.

Na doesn't want sympathy. He wants to play at a reasonable pace and says he's trying. It didn't work Sunday when he was quicker than he was on Saturday.

What Na didn't deserve was getting heckled by the jerks who thought they were being funny by barking at him to hit it. I'm just guessing here but at least some of the hecklers are the same guys who yell "get in the hole" immediately after a shot is struck and wear those tacky trousers John Daly gets paid to wear. Have another beer.

The PGA Tour talks a good game about dealing with slow play but until it starts adding strokes to scores -- and doing it regularly -- it's not going to change.

Na says he's trying to change and he seems sincere. Good for him.

But don't expect it to happen in a hurry.

Chamblee slams Tiger, Woods fires back

   Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, never one to hold back his opinion, took a big swing at Tiger Woods Wednesday in a teleconference preceding The Players Championship and Woods swung back.
   On a call with Nick Faldo and Johnny Miller, Chamblee said Woods' extended struggles which included a missed cut at the Wells Fargo Championship last week in Charlotte, could be solved by a return to his former instructor Butch Harmon rather than his continuing to work with Sean Foley.
   "Simply, he needs to fire Sean, call Butch. I think that would get it done right there. Fire Sean, call Butch," Chamblee said.
  "And I know he'll never do that because he's letting his ego get in the way of common sense. He wants to prove to people he's right. He would rather prove to people he's right than be right.
   "He's going to ride this thing as long as he can and it's just sad to see."
  It's not the first time Chamblee has leveled criticism at Woods and his work with Foley but this time it earned a reaction from Tiger.
   "Well, I can understand that everyone has an opinion, and he's entitled to his. But he's no longer playing anymore, so, so be it," Woods said when asked specifically about Chamblee's comments at The Players Championship.
   Harmon now works with, among others, Phil Mickelson, long considered Woods' top rival. It's unlikely Harmon would consider working with Woods again given his allegiance to Mickelson, even if Woods were to approach him. Harmon pointed out to Mickelson some of the little things Woods had used to disrupt or distract Mickelson in their competitive rounds together and since then, Woods has not beaten Mickelson head to head.
   Woods said the process of changing his swing under Foley's tutelage is similar to what he went through when he hired Harmon in 1997 after his record-setting Masters victory and again when he hired Hank Haney nearly a decade ago. Woods said his progress has been slowed this time by injuries but he remains committed to Foley's direction.
  Chamblee believes Woods is making a great mistake.
   "The frustration that we've seen from Tiger Woods, I've never seen one
person try to incorporate the swing thoughts of the golf machine (theory), and that's essentially maybe a little
bit sort of an annexed version of the golf machine, is what he's trying to incorporate. I've never seen
one person try to incorporate those thoughts into their golf swing without getting frustrated, without
getting confused, without getting lost, because it's science.
   "He's literally lost the art of the game, and I think Butch could help him, one, have more fun; two, he would find the art in the game; three, he would find the rhythm in the game; and four, he would be back to playing the type of golf that we know he can play."
    If you saw Woods at Quail Hollow, you saw a very different player from the one who won here in 2007. Chamblee isn't the only one who wonders if we'll ever see that player again.

Wells Fargo Championship delivers again

   It's easy to take for granted how good in every way the Wells Fargo Championship is.
   That's part of its beauty.
   All the little things, the details from getting people in and out to having a frozen yogurt machine for players and their families, add up to creating an event that's as special as the feeling it gives off.
   The tournament did it again this year.
   If you were on the 18th hole at Quail Hollow Sunday afternoon when the championship was being decided, you saw a spectacular scene. The golf course was as good as it has ever been and the gallery around the finishing hole as large as I can remember seeing.
   Having Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy in a playoff with D.A. Points gave it just the right amount of star power at the end. Being the scene of Fowler's first PGA Tour victory adds another impressive chapter to a 10-year champions' story that's as good as you'll find. Woods. Singh. Furyk. McIlroy. And now Fowler.
   It's 10 years old. Hard to believe. But it keeps getting better.

Day 2: Lessons learned, questions ahead

  Five things we learned at the Wells Fargo Championship Friday:
  1. It's possible for Tiger Woods' golf ball to disappear in front hundreds of spectators
  2. Phil Mickelson couldn't will a birdie putt into the hole.
  3. Rory McIlroy has hit just 10 fairways in two rounds but has kept leaders in sight.
  4. The guys who played Friday afternoon got, by far, the toughest playing conditions.
  5. Stewart Cink's swing changes may be kicking in at just the right time.

  Five things to watch Saturday:  1. Who will make the big move early and play themselves into contention?
  2. How tough will Quail Hollow play after surrendering so many low scores?
  3. Will thunderstorms get in the way of third-round action?
  4. Wonder what Tiger Woods is doing today?
  5. How many spectators will be watching golf and how many will be socializing today at Quail?
 

Round One: What we learned, what's next

   Five things we learned from the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship:
   1. Membership has its advantages as Quail Hollow member Webb Simpson showed.
   2. Tiger Woods is still chasing his swing and consistency
   3. When No. 17 plays only 167 yards with little wind, it's not so scary.
   4. Golf has a heart -- struggling Stewart Cink shot 65
   5. J.B. Holmes still has it as his 368-yard drive at No. 7 proved.

  
   Five questions entering Friday's second round:
   1. Will the scoring be as low or will the greens firm up and be more difficult?
   2. Can Woods, Mickelson or Westwood post a low number to get in contention?
   3. Is Patrick Reed a one-day wonder or will he stay in the mix?
   4. What will it take to make the 36-hole cut?
   5. Is this Rickie Fowler's breakthrough week on the PGA Tour?

An evening with Butch Harmon

   Were there a Mt. Rushmore of golf instructors, Butch Harmon would be there.

   Greg Norman. Tiger Woods. Ernie Els. Phil Mickelson.

   He's worked with them all and made each of them better.

   Harmon is 69 and still active, working the range with his clients at Quail Hollow this week. He still loves the people and the process, chasing perfection in an imperfect game.

   He invited a group of writers to dinner Wednesday night where he shared a glass or two of wine and a collection of stories that sounded like a first-person history of golf. The session was off the record, Harmon offering his unfiltered thoughts on people he's known and worked with.

   It could have lasted all night. Harmon, who is on the record saying Hank Haney's tell-all book about his time working with Tiger Woods violated an unspoken player-coach code, has a rare understanding of the game and what it does to the people who play it.

   The stories are funny. The insights telling.

   Harmon has a four-hour video -- 'Butch Harmon About Golf' -- that shares his teaching principles and, perhaps more importantly, includes his former students talking about their time with Harmon and what he did for them. It includes Woods, who sat down two years ago to talk about his relationship with Harmon, which included the Tiger Slam.

   The video, Harmon said, is his last big project. He can see retirement approaching and he wanted to share what's learned and the people he's known through the video.

    It doesn't come with dinner but it's the next best thing.

Phil talks Masters, Hall of Fame and more

    Phil Mickelson walked, well, actually he stumbled up a step, into his pre-tournament press conference Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Championship and seeing the media waiting for him, tossed a little dart.

   "You guys didn't see my video?" Mickelson asked, an obvious jab at Tiger Woods' decision to bypass a pre-tournament media session this week in favor of answering questions from fans on his website.

   Mickelson then spent 15 minutes talking about the state of his game, the triple-bogey he made on No. 4 in the final round of the Masters, his impending Hall of Fame induction and other matters. He was engaged, enthusiastic and fully Phil.

   Asked if he's ever been guilty of playing not to lose, he smiled and said, "If anything, I might go a little bit overboard the other way, which we can all attest."

   On his Masters disappointment: "On the weekend I felt I played about as well as I ever have. I didn't make a single bogey other than the mishap on 4...If (the tee shot) is a yard short or a yard  long, I probably make par because what shot do I practice there? I practice the chip from the drop area...because it's straight uphill."

  On entering the Hall of Fame: "I'm very appreciative of being inducted this year. I wouldn't be opposed to moving the age to 50 because with fitness being a bigger part of the tour, guys' careers are going longer."

   On his future: "I feel like these next five years could be the best of my career."

Quail looks great, will look different next year

With a weather forecast that looks more like July than early May, Quail Hollow may play as firm and fast as ever in this Wells Fargo Championship.

 The course is in excellent shape, as good as it has been, and with the heat, sun and breeze, the greens will only firm up, adding to the difficulty of putting the heavily contoured surfaces. With the fairways running, it brings the rough more into play and there's enough thick stuff to make a difference to players who spray their tee shots.

Most interesting may be how they set up the par-3 17th hole with the switch to the left-side tees this year. It brings a front left hole location into play -- just 15 feet from the water -- but if the wind is behind the players, tour officials may opt for a more forgiving location.

Players like the change at 17 away from the brutally difficult right tee. One player was overheard saying it went from one the worst par-3s on tour to one of the best just by moving the tee markers. It's an overdue change at Quail Hollow and it won't be the last change.

After this year's event, the par-4 eighth hole will be revamped, creating a new green left of where the existing green is. There won't be many tears shed by players when the existing hole goes.

Also, the par-4 fourth hole will get a new tee, significantly left of where the tee is now and there are plans to soften the controversial 12th green.

Wells Fargo first-round tee times

Thursday tee times at the Wells Fargo Championship:

 First tee 

7:00 a.m.: Pat Perez, Dickie Pride, Josh Teater

7:10: Steve Flesch, Rickie Fowler, Ken Duke

 7:20: Chez Reavie, Chad Campbell, Jeff Maggert

7:30: Bill Lunde, Bo Van Pelt, John Senden

7:40: Stuart Appleby, Retief Goosen, Robert Allenby

 7:50: Jonathan Byrd, Trevor Immelman, Charles Howell III

 8:00: Ben Curtis, Johnson Wagner, Zach Johnson

8:10: John Huh, Kevin Na, Robert Garrigus

8:20: Joe Ogilvie, Tom Pernice Jr., Kris Blank

8:30: Nathan Green, Ryuji Imada, Kevin Chappell

 8:40: Martin Flores, Steve Wheatcroft, William McGirt

 8:50: Jamie Lovemark, Charlie Beljan, Patrick Reed

9:00: Jonas Blixt, Jason Kokrak, Nick Flanagan

10th Tee

7:00: David Duval, Tommy Gainey, David Mathis

7:10: Chris DiMarco, Charlie Wi, Blake Adams

7:20: Chris Stroud, Kevin Stadler, J.J. Killeen

7:30: Rory Sabbatini, Aaron Baddeley, D.A. Points

7:40: Tim Clark, Derek Lamely, Stephen Ames

7:50: Scott Stallings, Brendan Steele, Gary Woodland

8:00: Bill Haas, Phil Mickelson, Keegan Bradley

8:10: Kyle Stanley, Lucas Glover, Lee Westwood

8:20: Brian Davis, Jimmy Walker, Tom Gillis

8:30: Billy Mayfair, Brendon de Jonge, Sang-Moon Bae

8:40: Seung-Yul Noh, Colt Knost, Garth Mulroy

8:50: Danny Lee, Miguel Angel Carbello, Gary Christian

9:00: Brian Harman, Kevin Kisner, Frank Adams

1st Tee 

12:25 p.m.: Chris Couch, James Driscoll, Hank Kuehne

12:35: J.B. Holmes, Robert Karlsson, Hunter Haas

12:45: J.J. Henry, Cameron Tringale, Michael Thompson

12:55: Chris Kirk, Jhonattan Vegas, Arjun Atwal

 1:05: Matt Bettencourt, Camilo Villegas, Cameron Beckman

1:15: George McNeill, Henrik Stenson, Mike Weir

1:25: Tiger Woods, Webb Simpson, Geoff Ogilvy

1:35: Rory McIlroy, David Toms, Jim Furyk

1:45: Vaughn Taylor, Marc Leishman, John Merrick

1:55: Troy Matteson, D.J. Trahan, Patrick Sheehan

2:05: Stephen Gangluff, Ted Potter Jr., Richard Lee

2:15: Brendon Todd, Will Claxton, Troy Kelly

2:25: Kyle Reifers, Tommy Biershenk, Rick Lewallen

10th Tee

12:25: Jeff Overton, Nick O'Hern, Gavin Coles

12:35: Ryan Moore, Spencer Levin, Sunghoon Kang

12:45: Andres Romero, Brandt Jobe, David Hearn

12:55: Mark Wilson, Heath Slocum, Vijay Singh

1:05: Sean O'Hair, Stewart Cink, Angel Cabrera

1:15: Rocco Mediate, Jason Bohn, Anthony Kim

1:25: Carl Pettersson, Nick Watney, Jason Day

1:35: Hunter Mahan, Ben Crane, Martin Laird

1:45: Mathew Goggin, Greg Owen, Marco Dawson

1:55: Matt Every, Scott Brown, Edward Loar

2:05: Bobby Gates, Daniel Summerhays, Harris English

2:15: Erick Compton, Roberto Castro, Mark Anderson

2:25: Kyle Thompson, Billy Hurley III, Bryan Bigley

It's Bigley 2.0 at Quail Hollow this year

Bryan Bigley knows what to expect this year. The groundskeeper/mini-tour golfer Monday qualified into the Wells Fargo Championship for the second straight year, shooting 64 at Carolina Golf Club to play his way in and avoid a 10-man playoff for the final two spots (Frank Adams III and Nick Flanagan survived the nine extra holes). Bigley has been playing eGolf Professional Tour events this year and felt good going into the qualifier. Back at Quail Hollow, he feels more at home than last year when he shot 78-76 to miss the 36-hole cut. "Last year, I was still trying to find the range and find the locker room," Bigley said. "Having been here before, I know more what to expect." Last year, Bigley's goal was to make the cut. This year, he wants more. "My goal is to compete," Bigley said. "Making the cut would be huge because it would make me some money and get me through some pre-qualifying (events) but I really want to compete."

Tiger feels ready, praises Harris, Quail Hollow

Tiger Woods says he feels he has resolved the ball-striking issues that bedeviled him at the Masters, leading to a disappointing performance in the year's first major championship after winning two weeks earlier at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.


Woods said posture issues at address led to takeaway problems at Augusta and he believes his recent work with instructor Sean Foley has remedied the issue.

"At Augusta, it wasn't quite there," Woods said on a video posted on his website in which he answered questions submitted by fans. "My posture was a little off and my takeaway was off because my posture was off. I've fixed those things the last couple of weeks and I'm really looking forward to the next couple of weeks."

Rather than hold a pre-tournament interview session with the media at Quail Hollow this week, Woods opted to answer questions in a 14-minute video on his website (www.tigerwoods.com)

Asked how he would feel to win a second Wells Fargo Championship, Woods said, "It'd feel just as good (as 2007). winning is winning. It's been a few years since I've won (at Quail Hollow). I'd like to get back in the winner's circle there.

"I love what (Quail Hollow president) John Harris has done for the event. He's going to get a PGA there and maybe a Ryder Cup down the road. He means so much to that area and what he's done for golf in general is just phenomenal. It's why all the players are there. It's a great golf course and (because of) what John has done for golf."

Woods said he took a week off after the Masters but went back to work on his game two weeks ago in preparation for the Wells Fargo Championship and The Players Championship.

Tiger, Phil go early and late Wednesday

Tiger Woods will start it and Phil Mickelson will finish it Wednesday at the Wells Fargo pro-am at Quail Hollow Club.


Woods will play at 7:30 a.m. off the first tee while Mickelson won't play until 2:03 p.m. in the Wednesday event.

The morning pro-am wave will include Davis Love III, Rickie Fowler, Vijay Singh, Hunter Mahan and Keegan Bradley, among others.

The afternoon wave includes defending champion Lucas Glover, Geoff Ogilvy, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Zach Johnson and Mickelson, among others.

Amateur pairings will be finalized at a party Tuesday night.

Here are the professional tee times for Wednesday:

First Tee


7:30 a.m.: Tiger Woods

7:39: Aaron Baddeley

7:48: Davis Love III

7:57: Charles Howell III

8:06: Rickie Fowler

8:15: Camilo Villegas

8:24: Tommy Gainey

8:33: John Senden

8:42: Spencer Levin

8:51: Vijay Singh

9:00: Rory Sabbatini

9:09: Hunter Mahan

9:18: David Toms
10th Tee

7:30: Jason Day

7:39: Gary Woodland

7:48: Brendan Steele

7:57: Jonathan Byrd

8:06: Brendan Steele

8:15: Johnson Wagner

8:24: Bill Haas

8:33: Chez Reavie

8:42: Kevin Na

8:51: Bo Van Pelt

9:00: Mark Wilson

9:09: Keegan Bradley

9:18: Nick Watney
First Tee


12:15: Lucas Glover

12:24: Ryan Moore

12:33: Rory McIlroy

12:42: Geoff Ogilvy

12:51: Chris Kirk

1:00: Anthony Kim

1:09: Robert Karlsson

1:18: Brandt Job

1:27: Joe Ogilvie

1:36: Jim Furyk

1:45: Robert Garrigus

1:54: Robert Allenby

2:03: Phil Mickelson

Tenth Tee

12:15: Martin Laird

12:24: Scott Stallings

12:33: Trevor Immelman

12:42: Zach Johnson

12:51: Jhonattan Vegas

1:00: Stewart Cink

1:09: Ben Crane

1:18: Carl Pettersson

1:27: Lee Westwood

1:36: Kyle Stanley

1:45: Sean O'Hair

1:54: George McNeill

2:03: J.B. Holmes

Woods talking to fans, not media, before Wells Fargo

If you're interested in what Tiger Woods thinks about Quail Hollow, the Wells Fargo Championship and the state of his golf game, he's going to talk about those things on his website (www.tigerwoods.com) Monday rather than address the media prior to the tournament next week.

Rather than do a pre-tournament media session at various events, Woods will post a video on his website that will include him answering questions submitted by fans via his Twitter account and Facebook. The first video is expected to be posted on Monday.

"Instead of talking to the media, he'll talk directly to his fans," Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg said. "With social media today, it made sense to connect to (fans) so we'll selectively pick some events to do that."

Steinberg said Woods has made himself available for a formal interview or an informal gathering with reporters prior to the start of each tournament he has played. That will change at Quail Hollow next week. He will not address the media on Wednesday either before or after his pro-am round.

Woods will still talk with the media after he plays tournament rounds and will do pre-tournament interviews where is the defending champion, at major championships and selected events.

Steinberg said the new initiative is not in response to media criticism, most recently when Woods was criticized for kicking a club after hitting a bad shot at the Masters.

"The media will continue to have access to him," Steinberg said. "This isn't anything more than a couple of times a year to interact with the fans. They deserve that.

"This isn't intended to make a statement. This is intended to be more inclusive. This isn't a statement whatsoever. Some in the media might interpret it that way but that's not the intent."

Wells Fargo golf sold out again

The Wells Fargo Championship, which begins Monday at Quail Hollow Club, is a sellout again.


Ticket sales closed Friday with all available tickets purchased.

The field includes Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan and others as the event celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Carolina Panthers football coach Ron Rivera is scheduled to participate in the Monday pro-am at Quail Hollow while Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney is scheduled to play in the Wednesday pro-am. Tournament play starts Thursday.

Wells Fargo donates $100,000 to First Tee of Charlotte

Wells Fargo has made a $100,000 donation to The First Tee of Charlotte, part of the bank's celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Wells Fargo Championship next week at Quail Hollow Club and the company's third annual Reading Above Par community program.

"Wells Fargo remains committed to making a real difference in the lives of children by maintaining an active involvement with our public education system and local communities," said Kendall Alley, Wells Fargo Charlotte region president.

"This is accomplished through our companywide volunteer efforts and support of community organizations like The First Tee, which help to create a brighter future for our young people."

Wells Fargo volunteers have spent the past month working directly with Charlotte-area students enrolled in The First Tee program, reading with the students in an effort to meet the Reading Above Par curriculum before next week's PGA Tour event.

Students who achieve the goal before the tournament will get to meet several PGA Tour players at a tournament-week event which will include the formal presentation of the $100,000 check.

"The First Tee of Charlotte youth are extremely grateful to companies like Wells Fargo that recognize the importance of building life skills and are willing to dedicate resources to help our students reach their goals," said Jennifer MacCurrach, executive director of The First Tee of Charlotte.

The gift will help The First Tee program be incorporated into 41 of 100 elementary schools in the Charlotte area by next fall.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney to play pro-am

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney and New Jersey Nets star Deron Williams are scheduled to particpate in the Wednesday pro-am prior to the start of the Wells Fargo Championship May 2 at Quail Hollow Club.

Also, former Charlotte sports radio personality Gary Williams, now with The Golf Channel, and his 'Morning Drive' colleague Holly Sonders will play in the Wednesday pro-am.

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin is scheduled to play in the Monday pro-am at Quail Hollow.

Among the recent player commitments are Jason Day, No. 16 in the world, and Rickie Fowler, joining Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood and others in the field.

Daily tickets for Friday, Saturday and Sunday are sold out. Weekly badges ($140) are available at www.wellsfargochampionship.com or at the tournament kiosk in Southpark Mall.

Georgia Tech takes ACC men's golf title

    Georgia Tech added to its collection of ACC hardware Sunday as the Yellow Jackets captured the ACC men’s golf championship at Old North State Club.

   It was the Yellow Jackets’ 14^th team championship as they rolled to a seven-stroke victory over Virginia. Georgia Tech finished at 27-under par 837, playing the final round in rainy, breezy and cool conditions.

   The Cavaliers were led by Ben Rusch, who won the ACC individual championship, becoming the first Virginia golfer since Pete Arend in 1955 to win the league title.

   Florida State finished third in the team competition, Virginia Tech and Clemson tied for fourth followed by Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, N.C. State, Maryland and Boston College.
   Earlier this month, Duke claimed its 17th women's golf championship led by medialist Lindy Duncan.

   

Green Mile gets tweaked for Wells Fargo Championship

Quail Hollow Club's Green Mile will have a different look in the Wells Fargo Championship this year.

Club and tournament officials have decided to play the watery par-3 17th hole from the left side 'member' tees for all four days of the tournament. It's a change in a course set-up that players have suggested through the tournament's first nine years.

Earlier this year, the decision was made to play two tournament rounds from the left side, which provides a more receptive angle into the green. After deliberation, it was decided all four days will played from the left side where the hole is likely to play between 190 and 205 yards.

Grandstands have been constructed behind the left-side tee box offering a dramatic view of the 14th, 16th and 17th holes. There are no grandstands behind the right side tee box anymore.

"I think the players will be very excited by the move so we decided to do it," Quail Hollow president Johnny Harris said.

Pinehurst No. 2 again top best in NC list

  If you're into golf course ratings, and many people are, the North Carolina Golf Panel recently announced its ranking of the state's best courses.


   To no one's surprise, Pinehurst No. 2, recently redone maginificently by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, again tops the list.

   Here's how the rest of the top 10 breaks down and how the panel ranked courses in the Charlotte area that made the state's top 100. If you want to see the full lists, you can visit www.NCGolfPanel.com/courserankings.cfm

   Pinehurst No. 2 again tops the list of the state's best courses as voted on by the North Carolina Golf Panel. Pinehurst No. 2 has been No. 1 since the voting began in 1995.

   The rest of the top 10, in order is: Grandfather Golf & Country Club; Quail Hollow Club; Old North State Club; Pine Needles; Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood); Charlotte Country Club; Elk River Club; Forest Creek (South); and, Pinehurst No. 8.

   The panel also ranked the top courses in the Charlotte area. They are, in order: Quail Hollow Club; Charlotte Country Club; Myers Park Country Club; Carmel Country Club (South); The Club at Irish Creek; The Club at Longview; Gaston Country Club; Carolina Golf Club; The Golf Club at Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge; River Run Country Club; Ballantyne Country Club; and, Providence Country Club.

   If you're wondering, I'm not a member of the North Carolina Golf Panel though my list of the top three courses in the state would mirror the panel's list. From there, things would look different.

Luke Donald surrenders No. 1 to Rory McIlroy again

With his 39th-place finish at the RBC Heritage, Luke Donald lost his spot atop the world golf rankings, falling to second behind Rory McIlroy.

Donald could have stayed No. 1 with a finish of eighth or better at Harbour Town but he was never a factor, struggling to deal with the firm greens, ending a run of three straight years in which he finished third or better.

 Donald said he intends to direct his attention to sharpening his short game rather than dwelling on being No. 2 now.

 "Is it a concern? No," Donald said. "Obviously, I would have liked to have played a bit more consistently this year. I built up a nice lead last year through some good tournaments and winning a bunch and being consistent. This year hasn't been quite as consistent. As a result, there's a little bit of fluctuation in the world rankings now. So, nothing too worried about."

 Donald held the No. 1 spot for 40 weeks, lost it to McIlroy for two weeks then held it four more weeks after his victory in the Transitions Championship.

 "I didn't have it just for a few weeks," Donald said. "I had it for something like 40 or 45 weeks, so I've experienced it and enjoyed it and hopefully I can get it back again. It's never really been the focus. Obviously, there was a lot more focus the first time around, trying to get to No. 1. Now my focus is solely on trying to win tournaments and win majors."

 Donald will not play in the Wells Fargo Championship.

Beach putting, it's hard to miss

Taking a morning walk on the beach at HIlton Head (one of the many benefits of covering the RBC Heritage), I saw the usual sights:


Kids digging in the sand, adults reading and an old man (not me) taking a stroll wearing shorts and gray socks pulled up to his knees.

And there was a man with his putter and three golf balls, stroking putts back and forth on the hard-packed sand. The beach was quick, maybe 13 on the Stimpmeter and, not surprisingly, everything breaks toward the water.

The guy looked at peace, or at least as much at peace as a guy putting can appear. Funny how easy putting looks when there's no hole to worry about.

I might try it tomorrow morning.