64 Players, One Storyline

Tiger Woods, left, and caddy Steve Williams walk to the practice range at the World Golf Championships Accenture Match Play Championship Tuesday Feb. 24, 2009, in Marana, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

If you enjoy match-play golf – and I’m a big fan of it – the first round of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship makes Wednesday one of the most fun days on the PGA Tour schedule.

You get 32 matches guaranteed to produce a handful of shockers and enough storylines to make you dizzy.

This year, there is only one storyline – Tiger Woods’ return.

You may have heard about it.

I’m not ready to go as far as some have and say it’s comparable to Ben Hogan’s return from a near fatal auto accident. The guy had knee surgery, took eight months off and now he’s back, almost sure to be as good or better than ever.

If the plot revolves around Tiger, the subplot spins around Brendan Jones, the 64th-seeded Aussie whose name is penciled in opposite Woods’ in the first-round bracket.

If you haven’t caught up with Jones’ sudden celebrity, he’s 35 with one Nationwide Tour victory and eight wins on the Japan Tour. He was home in Australia, enjoying some down time, when he got word he was in the field at Tucson and, surprise, drew Tiger.

Jones knows what he’s up against.

In a first-person piece on pgatour.com, Jones said he “doesn’t want to do what Stephen Ames did and upset (Woods),” referencing the beatdown Ames took from Tiger after a snarky comment prior to their match.

In fact, Jones sounds like a guy just thrilled to be in Woods’ presence.

“I want to meet him and try to be nice and, at the end of the day, win, lose or draw, if I could have a drink or go out to lunch, it would be nice,” Jones wrote.

Maybe he’s trying to intimidate Tiger with niceness.

Jones does have one advantage – he’s from Down Under. Tiger has been eliminated by Aussies three times in this event, twice by the mysteriously successful Nick O’Hern and once by Peter O’Malley.

Still, the facts say Tiger is 31-6 in this event.

If Tiger beats Jones, he’ll draw either Retief Goosen or Tim Clark in the second round. There’s a possible third-round match against 19-year old Rory McIlroy and the bracket also includes Mike Weir, Hunter Mahan, Camilo Villegas and Geoff Ogivly.

In other words, welcome back Tiger.

Among the things I’ll be watching early in the event are:

-- Whether Ernie Els can make a run here. He hasn’t made it past the second round of this event since 2001.

-- Phil Mickelson against Angel Cabrera in the first round. Bombs away.

-- The 5-12 matches. That’s the one that typically produces the upsets in the NCAA basketball tournament so why not in golf? The best 5-12 match is Dustin Johnson against Steve Stricker, though Adam Scott against Sean O’Hair isn’t bad.

-- Davis Love III against Henrik Stenson in the first round. If Love is going to vault up the world rankings and secure his place at the Masters, a winning streak this week would do it.
So, does Tiger win in his first tournament back?

That’s asking a lot, even of Tiger, and especially in match play where one hot round can do a guy in.

I’m going with Phil Mickelson.

The kids are all right

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland is congratulated by Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland after the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic on February 1, 2009 in Dubai,United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)


Suddenly, Camilo Villegas and Anthony Kim aren't the youngsters any more.

Ryo Ishikawa is 17, Danny Lee is 18 and Rory McIlroy is 19 years old.

Combined, they're one year younger than Jay Haas.

And their futures may be as bright as the yellow outfit Ishikawa wore at the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles last week.

There are no promises, of course. Just ask Ty Tryon.

But the three of them have given the game a nice. Red Bull-like jolt, even if it will now be overshadowed by the Great One's return to competition.

McIlroy, with his bushy hair that hasn't been cut in months, looks like the real thing. When he won the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this year, it only reinforced the notion that he's Ireland's next great player. He has a golf swing built to last and, it seems, uncommon nerve. Not yet 20, he's already an international star.

It's possible that McIlroy could go head to head with Tiger Woods if both players win their first two matches at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship this week, a pairing that would demand clearing time Friday afternoon to watch.

Watching Lee storm through the U.S. Amateur championship at Pinehurst last August, it was obvious he had a different game than other teenagers. He can kill it, of course, but he can putt, too. When he joked after his victory that he would beat Tiger Woods when they're paired together in the 2009 U.S. Open, you could tell he wasn't just being funny.

After winning the European Tour's Johnnie Walker Classic in Thailand Sunday, Lee -- still an amateur -- was asked again about challenging Woods.

"All I want to do is break what he's done," Lee said.

At least he sets his goals high.

Lee will get his shot at Tiger at Bay Hill and again at the Masters. After Augusta, Lee is expected to turn pro and has full status on the European Tour after his victory.

As for Ishikawa, the 17-year old missed the cut by three strokes at Riviera in what amounted to his introduction to the American golf audience. He didn't play as well as he'd have liked but he seemed to embrace the moment, rather than allow it to overwhelm him.

The kids, it seems, are all right.

Tiger to return next week

Tiger Woods will return to competitive golf next week, playing in the World Golf Championships Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.

It will be Woods' first event since winning the U.S. Open in a playoff last June and having knee reconstruction surgery eight days later. Woods has not played a competitive round since beating Rocco Mediate in a playoff for the U.S. Open title, his 14th major championship, on June 16.

Woods made the announcement on his website Thursday, ending weeks of speculation about when he would return to competition.

He has said during his rehabilitation that he will make his scheduling decisions on a week to week basis determined by how his left knee and leg are feeling.

Two brothers, two aces

The odds of a golfer making a hole-in-one in any given round -- according to people who are good enough with numbers to study these things -- are 5,000-to-one.

So what are the odds that two brothers, in this case Steve and Enrico Piraino of Charlotte, would both make a hole-in-one on the same day?

Whatever the odds, it happened on Feb. 11.

Steve Piraino made his ace on the par-3 seventh hole on Carmel Country Club’s North Course, hitting a 7-iron shot just past the flag on the 150-yard hole, and having it roll back into the cup.
Ernico made his ace the same day at The Peninsula Club, where he holed a 6-iron shot on the par-3 fourth hole.

And to think, they almost played golf together that day.

“My son, Philip, was at (Steve’s) house that day and he called me about 5:30 that afternoon,” Enrico said. “I told him I’d played golf and made a hole-in-one.

“My brother got home about 7:30 that night and he told my son that he’d made a hole-in-one. Philip said, ‘You’re kidding me. My dad did too.’”

Earlier that day, Enrico Piraino had called his brother inviting him to play at The Peninsula but Steve Piraino already had a game at Carmel.

For the record, it was Steve’s third career ace, his second in less than two years.

For Enrico, it was his first ace.

“Steve gets more chances because he plays more,” his brother said.

The brothers haven’t seen each other since they made their matching aces and neither is quite sure who gets stuck with the traditional bar tab.

“We haven’t decided that yet,” Enrico said.

The Curious Case of Michelle Wie

Watching Michelle Wie in the SBS Open in Hawaii was a blast, until Wie imploded over the final eight holes.

Here’s what Michelle Wie does for the LPGA Tour:

On Saturday night, I made a point of watching her try to win her first professional event, the now-defunct SBS Open in Hawaii.

Wie didn’t win, of course. She let a three-shot lead with eight holes remaining evaporate while the sneaky-good Angela Stanford showed the 19-year-old how tournaments are won.

Admittedly, had I been someplace other than a hotel room halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte on Valentine’s night the chances of me watching Wie would have been, well, wee.

The point is, however, that Wie is an attention magnet. Nothing against Angela Stanford but if she had been battling Cristie Kerr over the closing holes, the NBA All-Star challenge might have been more appealing.

But it was Michelle Wie playing for a trophy and that’s a very good thing for the LPGA Tour.

Like Benjamin Button, Wie is a curious case. To say she’s always been more famous than she’s been good is not entirely correct because for a time Wie was an outstanding player, regularly threatening in major championships.

Then she became a mess.

Now, before her 20th birthday, Wie seems to have run the circle of fame already. She was new, fresh and loved, she crashed hard and now she’s on the rebound.

For all of her immense fame, it’s worth remembering that Wie hasn’t won a golf tournament in six years. Put another way, she was 13 the last time she won.

Her nerves showed in the final round Saturday. (As others have suggested this week, maybe the LPGA should consider more Saturday finishes to get a little more bang).

Wie hit a couple of bad tee shots, couldn’t hole putts when she had to and had a front-row seat to watch Stanford win for the third time since last fall.

Afterward, Wie said the experience reminded her of what it felt like to be in the chase. It didn’t end the way she wanted but she was there again.

She’ll be there again and again. And with happier endings – soon.

A New Meaning To The Term Army Golf...

Sgt. Ryan Greve started hitting golf balls as a five-year old in Charlotte, visiting a driving range near Carolina Place Mall.
He played on the Providence High golf team for two years and, with his family living at Providence Country Club, golf has always been a part of Greve’s life.
Now stationed in Baghdad serving with the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Greve and golf have been reunited.
The base recently opened its own driving range, helped in large part by donations from veterans in Ridgefield, Conn., who sent some of the supplies needed to construct the practice facility.
“The fact that a driving net was created is awesome,” Greve said via e-mail.
The facility is named ‘Ridgefield Country Club Driving Range in Iraq’ and is open 24 hours a day.
It took eight soldiers approximately two weeks to construct the facility, which includes artificial turf tees and a collection of used golf clubs. They hope to eventually paint a backdrop to place behind the practice net.
Greve said he and other soldiers keep up with golf happenings via the internet. Now they have the opportunity to work on their games, at least a little bit.
“It is a huge morale booster and it keeps your swing in check,” Greve said. “For the golfers in the brigade, it is exactly what we needed.”

The Commish, Pinehurst And Other Matters

Now on the tee, the Commish.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem is combining work and play this week by teeing it up in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Finchem is paired with Davis Love III, who he’s been fishing and skiing with but, until Wednesday, had never played golf with.

Finchem was convinced by AT&T executive Randall Stephenson to play in the celebrity-heavy pro-am this year.

“It makes you nervous to go out and play with these great players and being nervous is kind of fun,” said Finchem, who carries a six-handicap.

Finchem doesn’t have to worry about attracting the biggest galleries along the Monterey Peninsula. The Fred Couples-Justin Timberlake pairing will draw the most attention.

-- How would you like to win unlimited golf at Pinehurst for a year? It’s being offered as part of a promotion this spring at the resort. From March 8 through May 30, Pinehurst is offering an unlimited golf package which allows players access to all eight courses with unlimited play. The cost starts at $515 per night and includes the golf, a room, full use of the practice facilities, the resort’s exceptional breakfast buffet and dinner. As for the contest, registration is open at www.Pinehurst.com/sweepstakes and the winner will receive unlimited golf for two plus other exclusive benefits at the resort from June 1, 2009 through May 30, 2010.

-- It will be interesting to see how Phil Mickelson plays this weekend, given his flat start. I’m not buying into suggestions that Lefty has begun a slow fade into mediocrity. I still think he has another major win or two in him but it has been surprising to see him struggle as he has.

-- It should be a nice evening in Pinehurst Friday when the Carolinas Golf Association celebrates its centennial with a dinner featuring its 2008 players of the year, a number of former champions and guest speaker David Fay, the executive director of the United States Golf Association.

LPGA's New Stars Ready To Shine

The LPGA season opens Thursday at the SBS Open in Hawaii, one of those suitable-for-framing spots, where the tour will begin life after Annika Sorenstam.

While Lorena Ochoa is still the tour’s top player with Paula Creamer, Yani Tseng, Suzann Pettersen and Natalie Gulbis among her challengers, the 2009 season brings with it a rookie class capable of transforming the power structure.

Excluding Ji-Yan Shin, who is technically a rookie but won three times on tour last year, here are three new faces – okay two new faces and one very familiar one – we’ll likely see regularly:

-- Vicky Hurst.

She dominated the Duramed Futures Tour last year, winning four times.

She was almost literally born on a golf course because her mother went into labor with Vicky while playing golf. Like Morgan Pressel and Alexis Thompson, Hurst is another sparkling talent from Florida.

She’s easy to recognize, too, wearing a Hogan-style cap when she plays to honor the late Payne Stewart.

-- Stacy Lewis.

She was already one of women’s golf’s most inspirational stories even before she won the LPGA qualifying tournament last fall.

Lewis wore a back brace for more than seven years to correct curvature of her spine caused by scoliosis. When it was determined the brace hadn’t worked, Lewis underwent surgery to correct the problem when she was 18.

Last year, she won the NCAA individual championship and was the top-ranked women’s amateur in the country before earning her spot on the LPGA tour.

-- Michelle Wie.

Sound familiar?

She’s finally a full-time member of the LPGA tour and says she intends to play golf for six months while attending Stanford the other six months.

Wie has the potential to be a huge star if she can win consistently on the LPGA tour. She has suffered from poor direction and bad decisions but she says she’s healthy and happy these days and her game is coming back.

That’s a good thing for Wie and for the LPGA tour.

Will Tiger Return Before Phil Does?

With the news that Tiger Woods now has a son – Charlie Axel Woods was born Sunday -- two questions beg to be answered:
1. When will Tiger return to the PGA Tour?
2. When will Phil Mickelson return to the tour?
In Tiger's case, there's no clear answer when he'll bring his new knee and new baby pictures on tour. The fact that his son was born over the weekend has heightened the speculation that perhaps Tiger will show up at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in three weeks.
Tiger loves match play but it's on a new course which makes you wonder if he'd rather be someplace more familiar. There's also the possibility of consecutive 36-hole days on the weekend were he to reach the quarterfinals, a test he may prefer to avoid right now.
If not the Match Play, I’m guessing we’ll see him at the WCG event at Doral in early March.
By that time, perhaps Mickelson will have arrived.
It has been a dreary start to the year for Lefty, who missed the cut at the FBR Open then scraped his way to a tie for 42nd at the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines.
Not exactly the start he or anyone else envisioned.
The culprits are familiar -- Mickelson hasn't driven the ball straight enough nor putted it well enough to make himself a factor. That's a bad combination because it's easier to fix one major component than two at a time.
And, by the way, a white belt with black pants and a black shirt, hmmm....
Mickelson has said more than once he thought he was ready for the year, despite taking two months off from golf and only practicing for a week before resuming tournament play. It appears that grueling regimen didn’t effectively knock off all the rust.
The thing about Mickelson is he can turn it around in an instant. After getting the weekend off in Phoenix, it wasn't a stretch to think Mickelson might win at Torrey Pines.
Instead, he sputtered again after a good start on the tough South Course. Now the question is whether he'll right himself along the Monterey Peninsula at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am this week. Had it been just one bad week, you could brush it off easier. After two straight flame-outs, maybe it's not such a quick fix after all.
Mickelson has won the Pebble Beach event three times in his career. Maybe a little time around Bill Murray, Andy Garcia and 17-Mile Drive will fix what’s ailing Mickelson’s game.
Maybe.

Waiting On Tiger

In his newsletter this week, Tiger Woods confirmed what we’d been hoping to hear – he’s practicing “full bore” now and his return to the PGA Tour is getting very close.

Naturally, Woods wouldn’t say just when he’ll come back for a couple of reasons.

His wife, Elin, is due to give birth to their second child this month, which will keep him around the house for a while. And, Woods typically doesn’t let on where he plans to play until shortly before his jet lands.

What matters, from a golf perspective anyway, is that Woods is almost ready. He’s working to regain his golf stamina, he said, which for him means being able to hit more balls in a day than most of us hit in a year.

For a while, Woods said, he was able to distance himself from golf because he knew he wasn’t capable of playing. But as his rehabilitation has progressed, the desire to play has returned.

If things go well, Woods said he would like to play a full schedule this year. Whether that includes the Wachovia Championship where he won in 2007 is uncertain. For a while, though, Woods will take it week by week as he gets back into the routine of tournament golf.

The most likely scenario has Tiger making his 2009 debut at the World Golf Championship event at Doral in early March. He could show up at the WGC match play event in Arizona later this month but it's being played on a course he's never seen and there's the possibility of playing 36 holes in a day more than once.

If Tiger plays Doral, takes a break then plays Arnie's tournament at Bay Hill, that's two events before the Masters.

As announcer Gary McCord said earlier this week, now is the time for the other players to take advantage of Woods’ absence but no one seems able to do it.

The storm is on the horizon, McCord said.

It can’t get here soon enough.

Something Old, Something New

On Sunday, halfway across the world, 19-year old Rory McIlroy delivered a championship in Dubai that reinforced the notion he may be golf’s next international star.
In another desert, surrounded by a smaller than normal but still noisy Phoenix crowd, 48-year old Kenny Perry won his fourth tournament since May and reminded us that he’s not going anywhere, at least not for a while.
So there was something new and something old. Now if we can just find something borrowed and something blue…
Neither McIlroy nor Perry finished in grand style. McIlroy bogeyed the 15th, 16th and 17th holes to throw his victory in doubt before making a nerve-testing up-and-down from a bunker to win in Dubai.
Perry, meanwhile, seemed to go an hour between pars but somehow still beat the haircut-challenged Charley Hoffman for his 13th career win.
Though separated by 29 years, McIlroy and Perry are separated by only seven spots on the official World Golf Rankings. Perry jumped back into the top 10 at No. 9 while McIlroy is now the 16th-ranked player in the world.
McIlroy looks like the next great player to emerge from Great Britain. He’s good enough that his fellow Irishman Padraig Harrington has said he’d be willing to pay to watch McIlroy play.
We’re going to get a look at him soon when he plays a handful of PGA Tour events leading to the Masters and beyond. It’s possible McIlroy will play the Verizon Heritage at Hilton Head and Wachovia Championship officials would like to have him at Quail Hollow.
Meanwhile, anyone who figured Perry would gracefully fade away into the Kentucky sunset after his inspiring Ryder Cup appearance last fall is mistaken. His 13th career victory has him looking for more. “I set a goal out there that’s probably unrealistic and unreachable, yet here I am,” Perry told reporters after his victory. “I’m only seven away now, not eight. So you never know.”
While McIlroy’s story is just beginning, Perry’s obviously isn’t ready to end.

Boo, Furyk, Scott Commit To Wachovia

Boo Weekley, one of the stars of the United States' Ryder Cup victory last fall and among the most popular players on the PGA Tour, is among the golfers who have made early commitments to play in the Wachovia Championship April 28-May 3 at the Quail Hollow Club.
Jim Furyk, the 2006 champion, and Adam Scott have also made official commitments to play in the event, tournament officials announced.
Other top players who have made official commitments are Davis Love III, J.B. Holmes, K.J. Choi and Lucas Glover.
Players have until 5 p.m. on the Friday preceding tournament week to officially enter.
Though the event is nearly three months away, the Wachovia Championship is expected to attract many of the PGA Tour's top players. Anthony Kim is the defending champion. The event has been a sellout in each of its first six years and is expected to be sold out again this year. For ticket information, visit www.wachoviachampionship.com.

A Beautiful Thing -- Once In A While

The par-3 16th hole at the TPC Scottsdale, site of the FBR Open this week, is 162 yards of beer-fueled, bet-making, boo-bringing fun.
It’s everything golf isn’t supposed to be – loud and rowdy with a touch of rock and roll.
It’s as subtle as Anthony Kim’s belt buckles.
And it’s what the PGA Tour could use more of.
Not a lot more, but a little more.
The 16th hole is truly stadium golf, a par-3 completely encircled by bleachers and hospitality tents, holding upwards of 20,000 fans, some of whom are actually there for the golf.
Lousy shots are booed, good shots cheered and memorable shots – like Tiger Woods’ ace there in 1996 – become a part of history.
You wouldn’t want it every week. It’s not the vibe they’re going for at Quail Hollow’s 17th during the Wachovia Championship or the 12th at Augusta National.
But in a sport that too often takes itself far too seriously (tour players who don’t smile after making a birdie or a putt longer than 15 feet should be forced to buy their own lunch), the 16th hole in Phoenix is like a frat party.
You don’t want to go to one every night but once in a while, they’re a blast.

Aye, Aye, Captain Montgomerie

Colin Montgomerie has been named captain of the European Ryder Cup team for 2010.

The 2010 Ryder Cup is still 20 months away but it officially became more entertaining today when rumors were confirmed with the announcement that Colin Montgomerie will captain the European team in the matches at Celtic Manor in Wales.

Bravo.

No one does golf drama better than Monty.

Tiger has his fist pump. Phil has his smile. Monty has his lower lip.

You’ve seen it, pushed up like a 4-year-old’s who’s just had his candy taken away.

That’s Monty, who does for golf chatter what Lindsay Lohan does for ‘Entertainment Tonight.’

I happily admit I’m a Monty fan.

In fact, I still have my ‘Be Nice To Monty’ button on display in the office.

He’s been one of the best players of his generation despite the obvious knock on him that he hasn’t won on the PGA Tour nor captured a major championship.

True, those are glaring voids. Monty owes Mickelson a thank you for throwing away the 2006 U.S. Open or we’d still be fixated on how Monty blew it himself on the 72nd hole.

But he’s won the European Tour’s Order of Merit eight times and been absolute money in the Ryder Cup.

Monty has passion and that’s what the Ryder Cup is about. He knows he’s a character but he also knows how and why the Ryder Cup matters, especially to the Europeans.

There are already questions about how the European players will react to Monty, particularly in light of a controversial rules question he was involved with a couple of years ago.

They’ll be fine with their new captain. He’s a different bird but that’s OK.

Captain Montgomerie – it has a nice ring to it.

We've all been there with Stricker

We’ve all been where Steve Stricker was Sunday afternoon.

Maybe not that exact spot – the 10th tee at the Palmer Course at PGA West trying to win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic on a wind-blown Sunday – but in that place where everything comes apart.

In case you weren’t watching, or turned your head when it happened, Stricker had lost a three-shot lead over Pat Perez when he triple-bogeyed the par-4 seventh hole.
Then it got worse.

With the wind ripping on the watery 10th, Stricker stepped away from his tee shot a couple of times. When he finally hit his tee ball, what was intended to be a draw into the breeze was instead a nervous cut that got caught in the jet stream and sailed out of bounds to the right.
That was the one, Stricker said later, that hurt the most.

Then, if you’ve ever played golf, you know what happens next. The wind is howling left to right, the left side of the 10th hole looks like Lake Michigan and, the dreaded smother hook arrives.
If there’s such a thing as a good eight, Stricker eventually made one at the 10th hole. By the time he finished the hole, he was four strokes behind Perez, the eventual champion.

“I just got out of sorts a little bit on those couple of shots,” the ever-gracious Stricker told reporters afterward.

In a tournament that had video-games scores through the first four rounds, Stricker’s collapse was a jarring reminder that golf’s little demons can strike anywhere, any time.
If you’ve played much golf, you already know that.

Don't count on Tiger hitting the stump

Tiger Woods introduced the U.S. Naval Glee Club at President Barack Obama's inauguration celebration.

Since we've known him, Tiger Woods kept politics out of his public life.

To some, Woods has copped out, opting for safe rather than risking his image. He has been compared to Michael Jordan, who famously explained why he keeps his politics private by saying, “Republicans buy sneakers, too.”

But there was Woods during the Inauguration weekend, taking his turn on a celebrity-filled stage, to say a few words on behalf of the United States military and introduce the U.S. Naval Glee Club.

It was a surprise to many that Woods participated in the inauguration, if only because he has so carefully kept his political profile lowered.

Does it mean Woods is becoming more politically active? Probably not.

It means he appreciated the opportunity to be part of something special and his respect for the military runs deep.

Fujikawa, 18, may hone game on Tarheel Tour

Tadd Fujikawa, an 18-year-old phenom in the golf world, might use Charlotte's Tarheel Tour to get used to the grind of professional golf and hone his game.

Could Tadd Fujikawa's future be on the Tarheel Tour?

It sounds that way.

During his latest star turn at the Sony Hawaiian Open last week, the 18-year-old sensation said he is considering joining the Charlotte-based mini-tour this summer to get comfortable playing professional golf on a weekly basis.

Fujikawa said his teacher, Todd Anderson at Sea Island, suggested he find a place to play regularly so he can get acclimated to the grind of professional golf. The Tarheel Tour, Fujikawa said, is his possible destination after he graduates high school in May.

"Right now, because I've had exemptions and stuff, I played two tournaments and have a month break, play two tournaments, have a month break, play one tournament, two weeks break, and another tournament. It's hard to get any momentum going," Fujikawa told reporters in Hawaii.

"I feel like I play well one week, and then right when I start getting my game, I feel some confidence coming along and then I'm on a break. So it just kills it.

"It's tough to play like that. (Anderson) wants me to play every week and get into contention as much as I can. And whether it's a mini-or a PGA TOUR event, he said it doesn't matter. He said he just wants me to play and get some experience and go out there and win."

Though he's flashed onto the national scene twice in the Sony and once when he qualified for the U.S. Open, Fujikawa's two-year professional career has been underwhelming. He won the Mid-Pacific Open in Hawaii last year but, otherwise, he hasn't distinguished himself.

There are questions about whether at 5-feet, 1-inch tall he has the physical ability to play the PGA Tour, though his third-round 62 in the Sony answered many questions.

Fujikawa has star power but it takes more than that. It takes following up a 62 with something better than the 73 he closed with on Sunday that left him tied for 32nd at Waialae. If he's really good enough, he'll learn from last weekend and build on it.

He'll learn if he has the game and the temperament to play golf for a living week after week. And he may find out here on the Tarheel Tour.

Charlotte's Patty Moore caps '08 with award

It came as no surprise recently when Charlotte's Patty Moore was again named the women's player of the year by the Carolinas Golf Association.

It will be news when Moore doesn’t win the award again.

In 2008, Moore won the Carolinas women's senior championship, the Carolinas women's match play and the North Carolina women's senior championship -- which explains why the 58-year old Carmel Country Club member was also the women's senior player of the year.

Moore also finished second in the Carolinas women's amateur championship, reached the round of 32 in the U.S. senior women's amateur and qualified for the U.S. women's mid-amateur championship.

It was the second straight year Moore has won the honor and the third time overall.

The men's player of the year was 57-year old Paul Simson of Raleigh, who shows no signs of slowing down.

Simson was the Carolinas men's player of the year in 1998 and 2005, also.

His biggest victory was the British seniors open championship in England to go with three other wins in the U.S.

To give you a sense of what it means to be the men's player of the year in the Carolinas, consider that since 1999 the list of honorees includes Jonathan Byrd, D.J. Trahan, Bill Haas, Webb Simpson and Dustin Johnson, each of whom is now playing the PGA Tour.

Duke wise to pluck talented 49ers coach

The announcement Friday that Jamie Green has resigned as men's golf coach at Charlotte to become the new men's golf coach at Duke shouldn’t have come as a great surprise.

Green has been too successful with the Charlotte program not to have drawn the attention of other programs. College golf coaches aren't as famous or as well paid as football and basketball coaches, but the system works the same way. If you're good enough, other programs will want to hire you.

And Duke made a wise choice in hiring Green, who coached the 49ers to consecutive top-10 finishes in the NCAA tournament in 2007 and 2008.

In five years, Green took a Charlotte program that had never made an impact on the national stage and he turned it into a contender. Some of the talent he inherited. Some he recruited. All of it he nurtured.

It's a stinging loss for the Charlotte program. Athletics director Judy Rose had worked to secure Green's future at the school with a contract extension and program enhancements. Green, in a statement, said the decision to leave Charlotte was the toughest of his coaching career.

But when Duke - with its national stature, its Rees Jones-redesigned golf course and its extensive resources - calls, you listen. And, in Green's case, you move.

There may be hurt feelings for a while but, when the emotion subsides, there should be an appreciation at Charlotte for what Green accomplished with the program.

And there should be a goal of finding the right person to sustain the program Green transformed.

Sergio wins U.S. Open, and other predictions

Is this finally the year Sergio Garcia gets a grip on a U.S. Open trophy, at Bethpage in New York?

Before the first official shot of the 2009 PGA Tour season is struck and before John Daly can do anything else, allow me to make five predictions about things that will happen on tour this year.

Like me standing on a tee with trees left and water right, this can’t have a good outcome. But since it’s the first swing, maybe a mulligan will be in order.

1. Sergio Garcia wins the U.S. Open at Bethpage.

He’s going to win a major, probably multiple majors, and I think he gets the first one this year. If he wants to answer any remaining questions about how good he is and if he’s tough enough, a victory at Bethpage would do it.

Remember, that’s where he went through his re-gripping phase and the gentle New Yorkers were so kind to count off each re-setting of his hands. It’s up to him in New York, New York.

2. Tiger Woods comes back as good as ever.

Notice I didn’t say better than ever. That’s a big ask.

When he disappeared after the U.S. Open last June, Woods had won 10 of his last 13 worldwide starts, had two seconds and a wimpy fifth-place finish.

He says he’s better physically than he’s been in 10 years and I don’t think he forgot how to play since June. Welcome back.

3. Quail Hollow lands a major championship.

It’s just a hunch but it’s never been a secret that the club would like to host a major. The Wachovia Championship contract expires after 2014 and it’s not outrageous to think a PGA Championship could come to Quail Hollow sometime after that.

4. Tim Clark finally wins in the U.S.

For several years, the former Wolfpack golfer has been a steady presence on the global golf scene, often in major championships. To this point, however, he hasn’t won a PGA Tour event. This is the year that changes for Clark.

5. Greg Norman makes the cut at the Masters.

Just having the Shark back at Augusta will be great fun but he showed in the British Open last summer that he can still summon some magic from his game. It’s too much to ask for him to contend at the Masters but having there for the weekend would be great.