Thanks to those who revived City Amateur

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reviving the City Am has been long overdue.

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

Well done.

Hurry if you want in at Quail Hollow

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

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

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

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

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

That’s not what the Wachovia Championship is after.

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

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

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

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

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

And, still, the tickets are almost gone.

Again.

It’s a nice problem to have.

Gap between Tiger, world widest ever?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

U.S. Open to introduce Chambers Bay

Never heard of Chambers Bay Golf Course?

You’re about to.

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

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

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

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

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

Tiger's message: Be very afraid

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

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

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

How good can he get?

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

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

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

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

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

Nicklaus not done at Augusta

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ian Poulter naked? Why?

Do we really need to see Ian Poulter naked?

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

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

First, the photo.

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

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

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

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

So much for Tiger winning the Grand Slam.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amazingly, Tiger still getting better

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

Tiger doesn’t do idle chatter.

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

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

It’s what he does.

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

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

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

Not anymore.

Woods chooses his causes carefully

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And not just on the golf course.

Tiger closing in on another legend

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

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

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

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

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

Arnie is just waiting to say congratulations.

Tiger's appearance signals golf's return

Tiger Woods has arrived just in time.

But will Phil Mickelson be able to join him?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Soaking up the tug of golf on TV

This is when watching the PGA Tour is cruel.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daly, Gainey victims of unkind cut

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

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

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

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

Didn’t think so.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tilghman apologized. That should be it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On golfer's resolutions

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

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

Therefore, I hereby resolve in 2008 to:

• Never dress like Rory Sabbatini;

• Never dress like Christina Kim;

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

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

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

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

• Practice putting more often, hit balls less often;

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

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

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

• Listen to Boo Weekley every chance I get.

It’s a start, anyway.

Naked lady tees (no!) and other gifts

Golf and Christmas can be a dangerous combination.

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

Not the ones you’re giving.

The ones you might get.

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

THE GOOD LIST

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

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

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

-- Tickets to the Wachovia Championship;

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

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

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

THE BAD LIST

-- Golf balls that aren’t white;

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

-- Golf sandals;

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

-- Iron covers;

-- An 11-wood;

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

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

Merry Christmas

Sabbatini off Tiger's Christmas card list

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

Surely, Sabbatini is smarter than that.

Then again …

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Payne opens Masters to next generation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Two Gloves has firm grip on tour card

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

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

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

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

Now Gainey gets to prove it to the world.

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

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