Golf notebook: Singh escapes PED controversy without sanction

Golf notebook: Singh escapes PED controversy without sanction










Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange May 6, 2013 2:20 AMThe SportsXchange


--We might never know exactly what went down behind the scenes in the Deer Antler Spray Incident, in which Vijay Singh admitted using the product, which included the banned substance IGF-1, a growth hormone.

Singh escaped punishment because the PGA Tour said the World Anti-Doping Agency has ruled that the substance no longer is banned, although it was at the time.

The Big Fijian hasn't said a word publicly since a Sports Illustrated article in January disclosed that he was taking the stuff, and the PGA Tour always is secretive about such matters.

Singh did release a statement: "While I have used deer antler spray, at no time was I aware that it may contain a substance that is banned under the PGA Tour Anti-Doping Policy. In fact, when I first received the product, I reviewed the list of ingredients and did not see any prohibited substances. I am absolutely shocked that deer antler spray may contain a banned substance and am angry that I have put myself in this position. I have been in contact with the PGA Tour and am cooperating fully with their review of this matter. I will not be commenting further at this time."

After being cleared, Singh withdrew last week from the Wells Fargo Championship, citing a back injury, and he did the same thing when he pulled out of the Waste Management Phoenix Open after the Sports Illustrated article came out.

About all that is known is that Singh was not sanctioned by the tour in any way.

"We're going to say that it's not on the list for purposes of consumption," said commissioner Tim Finchem of the PGA Tour, a former lawyer. "But just know that we're not liable here if for some reason or another you managed to trigger a positive test even though there is no test out there.

"So it is kind of silly, but it is what it is."

This is not the first time deer antler spray has been an issue in golf, the first time coming when Mark Calcavecchia of the Champions Tour, which is overseen by the PGA Tour, was told in 2011 to stop using and promoting the substance.

Calcavecchia was not punished, only warned, and all players under the PGA Tour umbrella were told that deer antler spray was on the listed of banned substances.

Even though Singh apparently missed the memo, it's possible his lawyers threatened legal action if he were suspended, because a precedent was set when no action was taken against Calcavecchia for taking the same substance.

Again, we might never know, because nobody involved is saying much.

--Move over Guan Tianlang, here comes Ye Wocheng.

Ye, a 12-year-old from China, became the youngest player to compete in a European Tour event last week when he played in the Volvo China Open at Binhai Lake Golf Club in Tianjin, China.

At 12 years and 242 days, Ye was about 10 months younger than Guan was when Guan played in the same event last year.

Ye said he made it a goal of his to break the record when he watched Guan play in the tournament a year ago. Guan shot 77-79--156 and failed to make the cut in 2012.

Even though his appearance was historic, Ye had a predictable outcome, shooting 79-79--158 and missing the cut by 14 strokes.

"I was a bit less nervous (in round two), which is why I played well at the start," Ye said. "But then on the back nine I struggled a little bit, which was a bit disappointing. Overall I'm still pretty happy with how I played.

"Golf is a hard game to play at this level of competition and on these courses, but I feel I will soon be ready for it. I'm looking forward to the next time I can play out here."

Guan went on to win the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship last year to earn a spot in the Masters, where last month he became the youngest player to make the cut at 14 years, 169 days. He also made the cut in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Jason Hak of Hong Kong, who is a freshman at Georgia Tech, became the youngest player to make the cut in a regular European Tour event at 14 years, 304 days in the Hong Kong Open in November 2008.

Ye qualified for the Volvo event through an open qualifier in March, when he shot 2-under-par 142 to earn one of the three available spots.

"I've been dreaming about this since I was a boy," Ye said.

The youngest golfer to play a PGA Tour event was Don Dunkelberger, who was 11 at the 1937 Chicago Open.

--Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, who captured the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St. George's, returned to the European Tour last week in the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters after missing five weeks because of a hamstring injury.

Clarke, who was forced to miss the Masters last month because of the injury, opened with a 2-under-par 70, but he showed his rust by shooting 75-72-74 the rest of the way to tie for 56th.

The 44-year-old was injured while playing tennis on a family vacation in the Bahamas.

"It has been a frustrating period," said Clarke, who also missed the Valero Texas Open because of the injury. "I'm not good at sitting and not doing anything. I've had intensive treatment on my hamstring, and it is fine now.

"I was playing tennis with my kids, and I thought I was 24 and not 44. Unfortunately I had to pull out from Augusta and (the Ballantine's Championship in South Korea two weeks ago). I couldn't do anything. I could hardly walk, hit golf balls or putt.


"I had to sit at home and watch the Masters. I only watched the last round on television because if I watched every day, then I would have been frustrated."

Clarke had not played in the Indonesian Open before, so he sought advice from his friend Lee Westwood, a two-time winner of the Indonesian Masters.

--The legendary course at Muirfield in Edinburgh, Scotland, has been lengthened by 158 yards and more rough will be grown for the Open Championship in July, it was announced by Peter Dawson, chief executive of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.

Dawson said that new tees have been added on seven holes, taking the distance of the par-71 course from 7,034 yards when Ernie Els won the Open in 2002 to 7,192 yards.

Els will be making something of a double title defense, since he also won the Open last year at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

"The R&A and the (host) club strategize about the course's strengths and weaknesses, based on history and viewing previous championships," Dawson said. "We used (golf course architect) Martin Hawtree to come up with plans, discussed them with the R&A and the club, and then presented to the members at a meeting in Edinburgh I attended with Martin and club officials.

"Members sanctioned the changes, and we've gone along on that method at all the other courses where we've made alterations. The changes we have made here have sharpened up the strategy of the golf course. This course has produced some fantastic quality of champions in the past, and we envisage that continuing."

In recent years, the R&A has made alterations to all nine courses in the Open Championship rotation, trying to keep them up to date with all the changes in the modern game.

The biggest change at Muirfield is on the par-5 ninth hole, where the championship tee has been moved back almost 50 yards, making it play to 554 yards.

Also, a new bunker was added on the right side of the fairway, and other bunkers were moved closer to the green.

To make the changes on that hole possible, Muirfield swapped some land with its neighbor, The Renaissance Club.

"The players love it," Dawson said of Muirfield. "It's immensely popular, and it's always in fantastic condition. I always say we could hold an Open here any year at three weeks' notice.

"We will be setting the course up to challenge the golfers. The rough has been cut down over the winter, but it will regenerate depending on the weather we get. You will see the rough up, and you're unlikely to win an Open at Muirfield from the rough."

Other new tees have been added at the second, fourth, 14th, 15th, 17th and 18th holes. There also has been some reworking of bunkers, and the 10th fairway has been moved to accommodate a bigger practice range.

Muirfield is hosting the Open for the 16th time since 1892, and the East Lothian area is gearing up for the event, which is expected to bring an economic impact of 70 million pounds (approximately $109 million) to the region.

--PGA Tour Canada announced that Freedom 55 Financial has been confirmed as the presenting sponsor of the Tour Championship of Canada, the tour's marquee event, which will be conducted by Golf Canada.

The tournament, which will be played Sept. 12-15 at Sunningdale Golf and Country Club in London, Ontario, will culminate the season-long Order of Merit race, with the top finishers earning Web.com Tour cards.

"We're delighted to solidify the Tour Championship of Canada presented by Freedom 55 Financial as the season finale for 2013," PGA Tour Canada president Jeff Monday said.

"With a quality organization like Freedom 55 Financial, an experienced host in Golf Canada and a tremendous golf course at Sunningdale, we have all the right pieces in place for an outstanding finish to our inaugural season."

Headquartered in London, Ontario, Freedom 55 Financial, a division of London Life Insurance Company, entered into a multi-year agreement that ensures the Tour Championship of Canada will remain in the London area for years to come.

The event will feature a unique partnership between PGA Tour Canada and Golf Canada.

"Golf Canada is very proud to be evolving our longstanding partnership with the PGA Tour and becoming the host organization for the Tour Championship of Canada presented by Freedom 55 Financial," Golf Canada CEO Scott Simmons said.

"Some of Canada's best and brightest PGA Tour prospects will be competing at this event, and we are honored to be a part of the excitement surrounding the PGA Tour's continued support of the game in Canada. We are also pleased to bring professional golf to Sunningdale and the tremendous golf community in the London area."

Golf Canada has more than a century of expertise running national golf championships that include the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA Tour, the CN Canadian Women's Open on the LPGA Tour and Canada's national amateur championships.

--Padraig Harrington is known for tinkering with his game more than perhaps any player on the major tours.

In fact, there are those who believe that Harrington has tinkered himself into the massive slump he has been mired in since 2008. He won the 2007 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, repeated the following year at Carnoustie and claimed the PGA Championship a month later at Oakland Hills.

Last week, he took his penchant for change to a new level when he showed up at Quail Hollow for the Wells Fargo Championship with a belly putter, even though he agrees with the R&A and the USGA that anchored putters should be banned.

"I took it out last week," said Harrington, who came into the tournament with three missed cuts in seven outings on the PGA Tour this season. "Mechanically, everything I do with my putting stroke is better with the belly putter than without it. ...

"I had picked up the belly putter in the past and have always hated it, but when I put it on the analysis, everything came out better. So that encouraged me to get over the, 'I don't like the feel of this,' because I accelerate better, and I do so many things better with it."

Not last week.

It didn't help that the greens at Quail Hollow were not up to PGA Tour standards, but Harrington took 32 putts on Thursday and 35 on Friday, including a total of seven missed putts from 10 feet and in.

Harrington, who has not won anywhere since the 2010 Iskandar Johor Open on the Asian Tour, shot 80-75--155 and missed the cut by nine strokes, tying for last in the field of 156 players through 36 holes.

Course Source: St. Johns Golf & Country Club, Fairmont Chateau Whistler

Course Source: St. Johns Golf & Country Club, Fairmont Chateau Whistler










Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange May 6, 2013 2:20 AMThe SportsXchangeIN THE PUBLIC EYE: St. Johns Golf & Country Club in St. Augustine, Fla.
THE LAYOUT: There are dozens of options on Florida's "Golf Coast," but for the price and experience, St. Johns is one of the best.
Architect Clyde Johnston carved a magnificent 7,236-yard track out of a pine forest that winds through natural wetlands, playing to a par of 72 with a USGA rating of 74.7 and a slope of 132.
However, only low-handicappers can play from the gold tees and must get permission in the pro shop. There are five other sets of tees, down to a 2,500-yard family layout, that make the course enjoyable for players of all abilities.
St. Johns, considered by locals to be the equal of its higher-priced neighbors near Interstate 95, has been host to the PGA Tour qualifying school in the first round five times, the 2006 PGA Level II Qualifying School and U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship local qualifying the last several years.
Before heading out onto the course, warm up on the state-of-the-art practice facility, which includes a 10,000-square-foot putting green, a double-sided driving range and several practice bunkers.
GENERAL MANAGER: Dan Zimmer.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: Even though there are 63 bunkers on the course, plus several waste areas, and water comes into play to one degree or another on 14 holes, St. Johns offers wide driving areas and spacious yet challenging green complexes.
After a relatively straightforward opening hole, a 400-yard par 4 where the primary obstacles are a large oak tree and fairway bunkers on the left, Johnston challenges the golfer with a meaty 552-yard par 5. Get past the fairway bunker on the right side of this slight dogleg left and there is water along that side of the fairway all the way to a green guarded by sand and grass bunkers.
After a beautiful 210-yard par 3 with water and sand to the right, the fourth hole is a tantalizing par 4 at 382 yards from the tips, but the lake on the right comes into play off the tee and on the approach.
The front nine wraps up with two magnificent holes. The 565-yard eighth, rated as No. 1 on the card, plays through a corridor of trees, and even though the water is almost out of play on the left near the green, seven bunkers pockmark the trip home. Don't be fooled by the traps short of the green because the putting surface is actually 40 yards beyond.
If you are ever going to hit a straight drive, No. 9 is the place, with water on the left and sand on the right. Hit the fairway and more bunkers plus mounding provide a challenge on the approach to the green, but take a peek at the magnificent view of the stately clubhouse across the water behind the hole.
There is only a trace of water on the first three holes of the back nine, but the par-3 13th, which plays 194 yards from the tips, is almost completely surrounded by it. Even a breath of wind makes club selection dicey, with a single bunker protecting the front of the green.
As good as the rest of the course is, St. Johns is one of those layouts that saves the best for last, starting with the 557-yard, par-5 16th, where water is reachable on both sides of the fairway from the tee. The fairway narrows so an accurate layup shot is required, and the wraparound bunker behind the green on the left is not a bad spot compared to the water beyond.
The 212-yard par-3 17th is a dangerous beauty, with water and sand to the left, a steep slope and grass bunkers on the right. Make par and run to the final tee.
No. 18 is considered the best finishing hole in the area, other than the famous one on Pete Dye's Stadium Course at nearby TPC Sawgrass. Right is the sensible path off the tee because the lake from No. 17 runs all the way down the left side of this hole and three bunkers sit in the middle of the fairway. That's also the best angle from which to approach the green without having to carry the water, which protects the left side. Into the wind, this hole can play two or three clubs longer.
Add up your score and enjoy post-round refreshments in the Grille Room or on the back patio overlooking the ninth and 18th greens.
OTHER COURSES IN THE AREA: St. Johns is located in what might be called the golf capital of the United States, because the headquarters of the four major golf tours in the country are nearby.
Not only that, the World Golf Village and the World Golf Hall of Fame are only a few miles away, also in St. Augustine. Located there are two championship courses, the Slammer and the Squire (designed by Robert Weed and named for Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen), and the King and the Bear (named for Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, who collaborated on the design).
Right down the road in Ponte Vedra Beach is TPC Sawgrass, home of the PGA, Champions and Nationwide tours. On the property are Pete Dye's Valley Course and the Stadium Course, with its infamous island 17th green, site of the Players Championship this week.
About an hour's drive down Interstate 95 in Daytona Beach is LPGA International, home of the LPGA Tour, with the Legends Course, designed by Arthur Hills, and the Champions Course, designed by Rees Jones.
Also in the area are Royal St. Augustine Golf and Country Club, St. Augustine Shores Golf Club, the Golf Club at South Hampton in St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Golf and Country Club at Sawgrass, the Ocean Course designed by Jack Nicklaus at Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Queens Harbour Yacht and Country Club in Jacksonville, Magnolia Point Golf and Country Club in Green Cove Springs, and Eagle Harbor Golf Club in Orange Park.
WHERE TO STAY: Stay and play on the grounds of the World Golf Village at the Renaissance Resort, the Comfort Suites, Laterra Resort and Spa or the Grande Villas, which all offer golf packages for the Slammer and the Squire, and the King and the Bear.
Historic St. Augustine is the oldest European settlement in the United States, first visited by Ponce de Leon in 1513, and there are numerous hotels and B&Bs in and around the city. Among the best are the Bayfront Marin House, the Casablanca Inn on the Bay, Casa Monica Hotel, the Bayfront Westcott House, St. George Inn, Our House Bed and Breakfast, Alexander Homestead Bed and Breakfast, the Pirate Haus Inn and the Carriage Way B&B.
In Ponte Vedra Beach are the Sawgrass Marriott Resort and Beach Club, Ponte Vedra Beach Inn and Club, the Lodge and Club at Ponte Vedra Beach, the Hilton Garden Inn and the Fig Tree Inn.
Golf resorts in the area include the Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast and Amelia Island Plantation.
ON THE WEB: www.stjohnsgolf.com
THE LAST RESORT: Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.
THE LAYOUT: Don't be fooled by the 6,635 yards shown on the scorecard; look instead at the 145 slope from the back tees, because this scenic beauty can play like a beast.
The course, which plays to a par of 72, climbs 400 feet from the clubhouse up the slopes of Blackcomb Peak and features tight fairways, doglegs, severe drops and rises from tee to green, plus uphill, downhill and side-hill lies.
This is a resort course, so playing from the one of five tee boxes that most suits your game can bring an enjoyable and even exhilarating golf experience -- but selecting the right club is a must.
The valley views are spectacular on this course that winds through granite rock outcroppings and tall Douglas fir trees, some that are 1,300 years old, with a river and fast-running streams dissecting many holes.
Carts are required because of the steepness of the course, and don't be surprised to see a bear looking for a handout.
The course opened for the season last Saturday and will remain open through Oct. 14, weather permitting.
DIRECTOR OF GOLF: Gregg Lown.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: It does not take as long to reach Whistler these days because of a construction project that widened the scenic Sea-to-Sky Highway to handle the traffic for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in the Vancouver area.
Workers blasted enough granite out of the mountains to fill 60,000-seat B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver, where the Opening and Closing Ceremonies were held, and all of the rock was recycled into fortifying the old two-lane Highway 99.
Whistler was the site of the Alpine skiing events, and Canadians were disappointed their country did not claim a single medal at the venue, but they still celebrate the gold that Nancy Greene of British Columbia claimed in the giant slalom at Grenoble, France, in 1968.
Greene was instrumental in the development of Whistler, and the locals did not forget, naming a street located on the way from Chateau Whistler Golf Club to Nicklaus North Golf Club as Nancy Greene Drive.
The first ski run opened at Whistler in 1965, and golf did not arrive until Whistler Golf Club was created in 1982. However, the most distinctive of the four local courses opened in 1993, Chateau Whistler Golf Club, designed by Robert Trent Jones II.
After a fairly straightforward start on the 505-yard first hole, the toughest stretch of the Chateau Whistler course tests the golfer on the second through sixth holes -- the first three dramatically uphill.
No. 2 is a deceiving 326-yard par-4, with a delicate second shot from a severe uphill lie to a dramatically sloping green guarded by a rushing stream and a large bunker. The third hole plays much longer than its 399 yards from the back and requires a long tee shot in order to clear the stream and a natural hazard with the approach.
The third consecutive par 4, No. 4, is even longer at 411 yards and might be the most difficult driving hole on the course. Make sure to hit enough club on the approach because of the false front to the green.
Use at least half a club less on the 190-yard fifth hole because of the drop, but a well-struck shot will leave a chance to make birdie.
The last of this challenging fivesome is a 457-yard par 4, rated No. 1 on the card, that plays downhill from the tee and then back up to the green. Try to land your approach shot on the front of the green, which slopes toward the back.
Signature hole is No. 8, a 212-yard par 3 that plays downhill to a green with a granite wall on the right and a large lake on the left. Playing safe and hitting your tee shot off the wall sometimes will kick the ball onto the green for a birdie opportunity.
The best of the back nine is saved for the finish.
While the sound of all of the rushing water almost makes you feel if you are playing in the shower, the roar on the par-4, 444-yard 17th is the loudest, perhaps because water cuts across the fairway twice. Two precise shots are needed to safety reach the tricky green, where a large swale dominates the right side.
The 543-yard finishing hole plays downhill off the tee toward one last lake 300 yards away, with trees on the right side of the fairway but open area to the left. Try to stay below the hole on the approach because the green is banked from back to front.
Bring your kids when playing at Chateau Whistler because players under 18 golf free when accompanied by a paying adult.
OTHER COURSES IN THE AREA: Whistler Golf Club, located barely inside the town limits, was the first course in the area and the initial Arnold Palmer-designed layout in Canada. It opened in 1982 and underwent a $1.8 million renovation in 2000.
Nicklaus North Golf Course, less than a five-minute drive from Fairmont Chateau Whistler, was the first course in the world to have the name of the greatest golfer in history on it. The course brought thousands of golfers to the Whistler area when it hosted the televised Telus Canadian Skins Game in 1997, and the event returned in 2005.
Big Sky Golf and Country Club, located about 25 minutes north of Whistler, is a spectacular course designed by Robert Cupp and John Fought at the foot of Mount Currie in the Pemberton Valley. It opened in 1994 in a valley where potatoes once grew, and it features seven lakes plus several streams that bisect the course.
If you have a chance on the way up from Vancouver, stop and play Mayfair Lakes Golf and Country Club below the towering Coast Mountains in Richmond, or picturesque Furry Creek Golf and Country Club, about 30 minutes south of Whistler on the Sea-to-Ski Highway.
WHERE TO STAY: Fairmont Chateau Whistler, part of the worldwide chain that has its flagship in San Francisco, is one of several spectacular golf properties owned by the corporation in Canada.
Also included are Jasper Park Lodge Golf Club and Fairmont Banff Springs Golf Course in Alberta, Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello Golf Club and Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu Golf Club in Quebec, and Algonquin Golf Course and Academy in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, New Brunswick.
Golf can be arranged by the concierge at outstanding local courses for guests of the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth in Montreal, the Fairmont Tremblant in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, the Fairmont Palliser in Calgary, the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton and other Fairmont properties that do not have their own courses.
Conde Naste Traveler magazine has selected the Fairmont Chateau Whistler as the No. 1 ski resort and No. 1 golf resort in Canada. Whistler receives 46 feet of snow a year, and the Wizard chairlift right outside the back door of the resort whisks skiers up the slopes of Blackcomb Peak to 8,100 acres of skiing terrain.
After returning from the slopes and/or the links, have yourself pampered in the Vida Spa. Then enjoy exceptional cuisine in the Wildflower Restaurant, the Wine Room or the Portobello Market and Fresh Bakery, and have a drink in the Mallard Lounge. For even more exceptional service, stay on Fairmont's exclusive Gold Level.
Other winter activities include cross-country skiing, horse-drawn sleigh rides, snow-shoeing, dog-sledding, ice skating, four-wheel driving, indoor rock climbing and snowmobile riding.
During the spring and summer, guests also enjoy kayaking, wakeboarding, windsurfing, jet boating, whitewater rafting, swimming, fishing, rollerblading, mountain-biking, hiking, rock climbing and canoeing.
Other top hotels in Whistler include the Four Seasons Whistler Resort, the Westin Resort and Spa Whistler, the Whistler Alpine Chalet, the Delta Whistler Village Suites, the Crystal Lodge & Suites, the Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside and the Chalet Louise B&B Inn.
ON THE WEB: www.fairmont.com/whistler; www.fairmontgolf.com/whistler

Inside the Ropes: Players aren't all fans of Players Championship

Inside the Ropes: Players aren't all fans of Players Championship










Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange May 6, 2013 2:21 AMThe SportsXchange


The debate about whether the Players Championship actually should be the fifth major has raged for years and obviously will be discussed at length this week at TPC Sawgrass, when the event celebrates its 40th edition.

Bubba Watson weighed on the subject last year when he withdrew before the tournament following a whirlwind month after his victory in one of the four bona fide major championships, the Masters.

Had it been as important as a major, he would have been at TPC Sawgrass, the flagship event of the PGA Tour.

Lee Westwood, the No. 1 player in the World Golf Rankings at the time, and Rory McIlroy, on his way to becoming No. 1, passed on the tournament two years ago, with major input from their agent, Chubby Chandler.

When PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem moved the tournament from the run-up to the Masters to May in 2007, the idea was to give the Players a spot of its own and put a big tournament in five consecutive months on the schedule.

He obviously was hoping that having the Masters in April, the Players in May, the U.S. Open in June, the Open Championship in July and the PGA Championship in August might give the Players a boost in status.

Even though it remains a big event, the plan might have backfired.

"It just seems that it comes now in the season where there's a lot of big tournaments, and it sort of just, I think before the Masters, it sort of stood out," McIlroy said of the Players.

"And now in the place where it is, it's just one of a number of big tournaments coming up."

Chandler weighed in with this: "Moving it to the middle of May has made it about the 10th most important tournament in the world."

McIlroy left Chandler's International Sports Management later in 2011, and he and Westwood returned with apologies of sorts to the Players Championship last year.

But the damage had been done.

When Watson decided not to play last year, PGA Tour executive Ty Votaw said, "Some of the top-ranked European Tour players like Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy also missed the Players Championship last year, which delivered a big blow to the credibility of the event."

Westwood, who rejoined the PGA Tour last year and moved his family from England to the United States before this season, also has talked down the Players.

On his list, the event had fallen behind the World Golf Championships.

"They have to go in now before the Players Championship," Westwood said of the WGC events. "So what is (the Players), eighth on the list now?"

As far back as 2003, Ernie Els said: "The four majors are the most important. Obviously the Players Championship is our championship. The tour runs it ... but it's not a major. Never will be."

In recent years, Els has piled on by saying: "(The BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, flagship event of the European Tour) is definitely taking the place of the Players. I also feel we have a stronger field (at Wentworth) and a classic course."

That last part is an absurd statement because Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and the rest of the Americans do not play in the BMW, while almost all the best players in the world make it to the Players, like it or not, every year.

If nothing else, the Players has a major feel to it.

"We obviously have strong fields at the majors, but player-for-player, this is the best field we have all year, the biggest purse we have and one of the toughest tests of golf we have," said Mickelson, who captured the Players in 2007.


"This tournament has built a real credibility. We use the same course every year like Augusta (National), so you see history being made and shots being played that you can look back on."

Woods has dominated the World Golf Championships, with his victory in the WGC-Cadillac Championship earlier this year giving him 17 of those distinctive trophies.

"I would say I think (the Players) is much bigger," said Woods, whose only title at TPC Sawgrass came in 2001. "This field is so much deeper, and it's played on a much more difficult golf course."

Oh yes, the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

That could be one reason why you get so many varied comments when talking about the Players Championship, because it is played at Pete Dye's dye-abolical masterpiece.

From the beginning, the players have had a love-hate relationship with the place. Sometimes it's hate-hate.

McIlroy is only one of the latest to say he does not like the course, that it doesn't suit his game, although last year he amended that to saying he hadn't learned how to play it yet.

Then he went out and missed the cut for the third time in as many appearances in the Players.

"They ruined a perfectly good swamp," J.C. Snead said when the Stadium Course became the permanent home of the Players Championship and hosted it for the first time in 1982.

Of course, Jerry Pate didn't feel that way after winning that first tournament played on the Stadium Course, taking a dive into the lake next to the 18th green along with Dye and then-commissioner Deane Beman, the early driving force behind the Players Championship and TPC Sawgrass.

While the Players might never be universally accepted as one of the Grand Slam events, it will undoubtedly continue to be a major topic of conversation.



COMING UP

PGA TOUR: The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 1-7 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel; Saturday and Sunday, 2-7 p.m. EDT on NBC.

LAST YEAR: Matt Kuchar claimed the biggest victory of his PGA Tour career when he closed with a 2-under-par 70 to win by two strokes over Rickie Fowler, Zach Johnson, Ben Curtis and Martin Laird of Scotland. Kuchar, who made the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship his fifth title earlier this year, was one stroke behind Kevin Na at the start of the final round in the so-called Fifth Major after posting scores of 68-68-69. He stumbled out of the chute with a bogey on No. 1 on Sunday, but he took the lead by carding three birdies in the next 11 holes, and Na fell back on his way to a 76. Kuchar was lining up a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole when he saw Fowler sink a 20-footer for birdie across the water at No. 17. Kuchar, who became the first American to claim the Players since Phil Mickelson in 2007, answered by sinking his birdie putt and survived a three-putt bogey on the 17th hole.



CHAMPIONS TOUR: 74th Senior PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, May 23-26.

TV: Thursday and Friday, noon-3 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel; Saturday and Sunday, 3-6 p.m. EDT on NBC.

LAST YEAR: Roger Chapman of England built a nine-stroke lead early in the final round and held on to claim his first victory on the Champions Tour by two strokes over John Cook at Harbor Shores Golf Club in Benton Harbor, Mich. The 53-year-old Chapman, who had only three professional victories previously, added the U.S. Senior Open less than a month later. In the Senior PGA, he built a five-stroke lead after 54 holes with rounds of 68-67-64 before closing with a 1-over-par 72, carding bogeys on three of the last five holes. Kenny Perry posted a tournament-record 62 in the final round, but all it got him was a tie for ninth, five strokes behind Chapman.



LPGA TOUR: Mobile Bay LPGA Classic at the Crossings Course at Magnolia Grove in Mobile, Ala., May 16-19.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 6:30-8:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday and Sunday, 5-7 p.m. EDT, on the Golf Channel each day.

LAST YEAR: Stacy Lewis held a five-stroke lead early on the final day, only to be caught by teenager Lexi Thompson. However, Lewis regained the lead with a birdie on the 16th green and claimed her third victory of the LPGA Tour with a two-putt par on the final hole to close out a 3-under-par 69. Thompson, who was 17 at the time, pushed Lewis all the way to the finish, closing with rounds of 66-65. Lewis, the only player in the field to record four scores in the 60s, hit her second shot at No. 15 into the water left of the green and carded her first bogey in 24 holes. That dropped her into a tie with Thompson, but Lewis, who has won five times since, bounced back with the birdie on the next hole after a brilliant chip shot, and she closed with two pars.

Tiger Woods is Right: Ban Anchoring Sooner

Tiger Woods is Right: Ban Anchoring Sooner











Ryan Ballengee May 21, 2013 5:59 PM


COMMENTARY | Why wait? Two-and-a-half years is a long time for anchoring to continue to be legal under the Rules of Golf.



Tiger Woods has a solution: enact as soon as possible the ban that was formally announced Tuesday, rather than waiting until Jan. 1, 2016 for it to take effect.



"Anchoring should not be a part of the game," Woods said Monday at Congressional C.C., site of his AT&T National, played June 27-30. "I've always felt that in golf you should have to control your nerves and swing all 14 c
lubs, not just 13. And as far as the PGA Tour, I hope they do it as soon as possible to be honest with you."





He's not entirely right, but he's close. The ban of the anchored stroke -- which will fall under Rule 14-1b in the next edition of the Rules of Golf -- should begin two years sooner, at the start of 2014.



Like the timetable to implement new grooves specifications that were announced in 2008, pros should have to deal with them first, then high amateurs, then the bulk of the 26 million Americans that play golf.



Pros had to start using clubs with grooves that jived with the new rule at the beginning of 2010. High amateurs will have to convert next year. The rest of us? We have until 2024 to swap out our sticks. That's a 14-year difference between pros and everyone else.



The ban should start Jan. 1, 2014, but only for professionals. It should start earlier for the simple reason that the likes of Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson and other players that anchor their putter now will be subject to fan heckling for another 30 months. That's far too long for guys who have done nothing wrong under the current Rules of Golf to be looked at as cheaters for something that isn't even illegal yet.



Bradley already had to deal with an unruly fan. Days after the proposed ban was announced, a fan yelled "Cheater!" at the 2011 PGA champion while playing in Tiger Woods' World Challenge event in California. The USGA had to issue a statement condemning the fan -- a messy situation.



Starting the ban next year would be as close as it will get to good timing for the guys on the PGA Tour, as the schedule will go to a wrap-around calendar after this season. In essence, accumulating FedEx Cup points will never end. Every tournament will offer them. The Tour's brief Asia swing will now offer big money that counts toward the money list. A player can fall behind very quickly when the year never ends. Bumping up the ban forces players to make a conversion they may hold off in doing until four months into the 2015-2016 season.



PGA Tour veteran Bob Estes suggested to me last November that the success rate of adopting the anchored stroke is already low because there's little time for his struggling peers to learn over several months without putting their livelihood in jeopardy. The same would likely be true going back to a traditional stroke.



There will be no perfect time for the pros to have to switch, but if everyone is forced to do it at the end of this calendar year, there are no holdovers or stubborn stalwarts that could be accused of clinging to their advantage longer than anyone else on the PGA Tour.



Bumping up the ban impacts a couple-thousand players worldwide. The USGA said Tuesday that just about 2 percent of recreational golfers anchor the putter. Of 26 million American golfers, then, just about 300,000 anchor. They're sparse. Why not let this dinosaur of a stroke, then, die quietly over a long span?



Give amateurs until 2030, or some other outrageous date in the distant future, to ditch the anchored stroke. Players who have leaned on the anchored stroke -- literally -- to keep enjoying the game without back problems will have two more decades to do just that.



Meanwhile, most young kids that may have taken up the anchored stroke early, akin to what 14-year-old Chinese amateur Guan Tianlang did, will have ample time to change how they putt before they get to the collegiate or professional level.



A select group of teens would fall through the cracks. Current college recruits that anchor the putter, though they are rare, might have their futures negatively impacted by the proposed, drawn-out adoption time frame. Coaches will be uncertain if these otherwise brilliant talents will be able to make a successful swap to a traditional stroke. That impacts players that are not only on the doorstep of college, but for three more classes.



Ending the practice of anchoring for players that could someday go on to join the paid ranks of professional golf would help remove any doubt college golf programs might have in making an investment in developing an up-and-coming kid who just so happens to anchor the putter.



Why put off until tomorrow what can be done today? It's a great outlook for life and one that applies to the anchoring ban. Do it now. Rip off anchoring like the Band-Aid that it is for so many and let the game move on to other critical issues, like mediating a truce between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia. Or maybe slow play, how far the golf ball travels and developing a more robust drug-testing program.



Ryan Ballengee is a Washington, D.C.-based golf writer. His work has appeared on multiple digital outlets, including NBC Sports and Golf Channel. Follow him on Twitter @RyanBallengee.

Sergio Garcia crossed line with 'fried chicken' comment about Tiger Woods

Sergio Garcia crossed line with 'fried chicken' comment about Tiger Woods











Ryan Ballengee May 21, 2013 9:44 PM










COMMENTARY | Sergio Garcia crossed a line on Monday he never should have toed.



At the European Tour's annual gala dinner ahead of its flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship in England, Garcia responded to a question asking if he would have dinner with Tiger Woods at next month's U.S. Open at Merion.








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Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia shake hands at TPC Sawgrass. (AP)His reply, according to The Guardian: "We will have him round every night. We will serve fried chicken."





The comment can only be construed as racially charged, particularly if one harkens back to remarks made byFuzzy Zoeller in 1997 after Tiger Woods won the Masters. Zoeller, the 1979 Masters winner, was asked about Woods' record-setting performance and injected several racial undertones -- and some overtones -- into his response.



"That little boy is driving well and he's putting well," Zoeller said. "He's doing everything it takes to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets in here? You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not serve fried chicken next year. Got it? ... or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve."



That comment haunts Zoeller to this day. It's one he regrets. He should.



Garcia will likely regret these comments. They are inappropriate and uncalled for under any circumstance. They're not justified. It's not merely an escalation in the exchange or verbal barbs traded by Garcia and Woods after an incident of etiquette that unfolded during their third-round pairing in The Players Championship.



Woods may have fudged the timing of events on the par-5 second hole. He may have said it was not surprising Garcia was whining. Again, none of that merited what Garcia said.



The Spaniard issued a statement through the European Tour on Tuesday, apologizing for his remarks.



"I apologize for any offense that may have been caused by my comment on stage during the European Tour Players' Awards dinner," Garcia said. "I answered a question that was clearly made towards me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner."



That's not an unequivocal, unmistakable apology. Saying "Sorry if I offended you" is merely a way of apologizing for being caught.



Garcia's been caught doing and saying a number of things people haven't liked the 14 years he has been in the spotlight. Most times, however, Garcia has come across as self-wallowing and lamenting. He believes the golf gods are against him, that he's just playing for second place in the majors. Those kinds of things really only impact Garcia and the possibility of one day reaching his full potential as a player.



He spit in a cup at Doral in 2007 at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, venting -- literally -- after a three-putt bogey at a par 3. Questioned about it on television, Garcia stumbled to provide an explanation for the inexplicable, much less a wholehearted apology.








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Tiger Woods raises The Players championship trophy. (AP)"I just missed that [par] putt and wasn't too happy," Garcia told NBC Sports at the time. "But it (the spit) did go in the middle (of the hole) and wasn't going to affect anyone else. If it did, I would have wiped it off."





That sounds an awful lot like his apology for what he said in reference to Woods on Monday night. Garcia essentially said, "Yup, I did it, and if anyone made a stink about it, then I would have apologized."



The 33-year-old could have said any other kind of food. Snowballs would have been clean and funny as a reference to Woods' girlfriend Lindsey Vonn. He could've gone with Swedish meatballs as a more edgy shot across the bow about Woods' defunct marriage to Elin Nordegren. How about a Hank Haney reference and say "popsicles"? Garcia chose to allude to fried chicken.



The ramifications for Garcia going forward depend on how he is viewed in the court of public opinion. He deserves to be skewered for saying something so insensitive.



The last guy that made a racial comment about Woods was the guy's former caddie, Steve Williams. A little more than a month after Woods fired him, the Kiwi put on an over-exuberant celebration following current man Adam Scott's win in the 2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. At a function in China months later, Williams said the point of the jubilant display was to "shove it up that black arse----."



Williams is not nearly as visible as he was when with the world No. 1, but the comment didn't drive him out of the game. Hardly. Woods had no say in the broader reaction to what Williams said and will be unlikely to make much public acknowledgement of what Garcia said on Monday night.



Woods, however, got the latest laugh at Garcia when he hoisted The Players crystal trophy at TPC Sawgrass. Given how things have unfolded competitively between the two over the course of their careers, the laugh was not Woods' last.



Ryan Ballengee is a Washington, D.C.-based golf writer. His work has appeared on multiple digital outlets, including NBC Sports and Golf Channel. Follow him on Twitter @RyanBallengee.

Matteo Manassero’s Star is Dim Stateside, but Not for Long

Matteo Manassero’s Star is Dim Stateside, but Not for Long
At 20 Years Old, the Italian Has Won Four Times Professionally, but Gets No Love in the US











Chris Chaney May 28, 2013 11:05 PM

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Matteo Manassero raises the trophy for the BMW PGA Championship.




COMMENTARY | Italy's Matteo Manassero emphatically reinserted himself into the conversation of the best young golfers in the world on Sunday, winning his fourth European Tour tournament in dramatic fashion at the BMW PGA Championship, the tour's flagship event.

At just 20 years old, Manassero has made a career of breaking records -- mostly age related -- and with his four-hole playoff defeat of Simon Kahn and Marc Warren at the B
MW, we were reminded once again just how good Manassero is at such a young age.



Currently, Manassero boasts four professional wins at an age younger than Tiger Woods had even turned pro. As for Rory McIlroy, his first win came at age 19, an age by which Manassero had already pocketed two winner's checks, en route to his third only months later.

The comparisons would come naturally -- fairly or not -- between the trio of child phenoms that realized success on the professional level have it not been for the general apathy levied by American fans towards the young Italian.

There's something about living under the 50 stars and 13 bars that we Americans tend to have a grandiose view about our sports. The MLB contends for the World Series despite all but one team hailing from a single country. Same way with the NBA. The league titleholders are hailed as World Champions. The tendency of Americans to measure success as a domestic trait has blinded our view of the truly exceptional taking place outside our borders.

Granted, golf may be one of the exceptions to the rule. The PGA Tour is widely considered to be where the best of the best come to play the top courses in the world with the most money on the line, but to zero in on one tournament a week in an American city would be doing a disservice to the global game.

The big knock on Manassero is that his success in Europe hasn't translated to success in America -- a fair gripe. Manassero's best finish in a stateside major was a T13 at the US Open in 2009. He still has only notched one top-10 in any event on American soil (T9 - 2011 WGC Match Play), yet the talent is irrefutable and thus far, practically unrecognized outside of Europe.

Manassero is still coming along, both mentally and physically. At this point in his career, the facets of the physical game that come with maturity and strength are not fully developed. His ball flight does not have the same arching trajectory that has become the norm and a necessity on many US courses.

However, the mental acuity gained in his four years traveling the world as a professional were on full display at Wentworth. Manassero simply wore down his opponents as he wore out the middle of the fairway. Steady and consistent the entire way through the four-hole playoff, Manassero proved to have the mental fortitude and discipline to outplay his opponents while still playing into his strengths.

We are well past the time when we should have noticed what Manassero has been doing. He's already the most accomplished Italian golfer on the circuit today and perhaps the best the country has produced since Constantino Rocca.

His developing physical game is catching up with his already sharp mental approach. Although he is not one of the longest hitters on Tour, tracks like Merion, the host of this year's US Open, play right into his hands.

Manassero has the ability to be the next great thing in global golf. It is time we in America pay attention.

Chris Chaney is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based sportswriter. He has written for multiple outlets including WrongFairway.com, Hoopville.com, The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer and The Clermont (OH) Sun.

Follow him on Twitter @Wrong_Fairway.

As Anchoring Players Lawyer Up, PGA Tour Not Making Any Promises

As Anchoring Players Lawyer Up, PGA Tour Not Making Any Promises
Nine Pros Seek Out Boston Lawyer While PGA Advisory Committee Remains Split











Chris Chaney May 29, 2013 12:30 PM




COMMENTARY | Not yet two weeks have passed since the USGA and R&A issued a joint statement condemning the anchored stroke as illegal and unusable in their sanctioned events effective January
1, 2016.



Still 2 ½ years from implementation, questions are swirling as to which side the PGA Tour and PGA of America will come down on. Talk of the Tour employing the ruling sooner rather than later has already been brought up, despite an actual decision from the Tour's stance being released.

Still, with no definitive stance being taken by the PGA Tour, some of the most prominent anchorers in the game have taken the precautionary step of retaining a lawyer with the possibility of waging legal war against the Tour should they have their preferred putting style outlawed.

Tim Clark, Adam Scott and Carl Pettersson have enlisted the services of Harry Manion, a Boston-based attorney and founding partner of Cooley Manion Jones.

Consulted only in a preparatory manner, Manion has begun readying a case against the Tour.

"Nobody wants to litigate, so you hope for the best and prepare for the worst," Manion said. "I am optimistic that the [PGA] Tour will not follow this rule."

The Tour's predicament is an intriguing one. Popular knowledge implies that while Commissioner Tim Finchem came out publicly at the World Golf Championships Accenture Match Play Championship and stated the Tour's stance as firmly opposed to the ban, recent events could prove a changing of sides is imminent.

"Essentially where the PGA Tour came down was that they did not think that banning anchoring was in the best interest of golf or the PGA Tour," Finchem said in Tucson, now over three months ago.

Months removed from Clark and other anchorers impassioned defense of the stroke, word from Tuesday night's PGA Tour Players Advisory Board meeting at Muirfield Village Golf Club, the site of this week's Memorial Tournament, were decidedly undecided.

Doug LaBelle II, a PAC member physically at the meeting -- others not in the field joined via conference call -- said feelings were "very mixed" and that players "left pretty undecided."

According to a Golfweek report, players who were swayed by Clark's speech at the January 21st meeting of the PAC have since backed off their opposition of the ban providing more of a chasm between opinions.

While litigation is not something Manion and the players want to face, they believe they have some wiggle room within the stingy guidelines laid out by the notoriously staunch PGA Tour suits.

"I think the Bob Gilder case against the PGA Tour is the leading case here, that you cannot do something arbitrary and capricious," Manion said in reference to the 1991 case between Gilder and other pros vs. the PGA Tour that dissented to a proposed rule change on square grooves. Gilder et al are believed to have won the case although it was settled out of court, but in the end, square grooves were outlawed.

As much as Manion believes his clients have a case, the USGA and PGA Tour believe they have done their due diligence to prove just the opposite.

"Our mission is not to avoid legal challenges," said USGA president Glen Nager in announcing the affirmation of the rule "Our mission is to determine the appropriate rules for the game that make the game strong for the long-term. ... We have looked at this from the legal perspective, as well, as we feel confident of our position."

Legal precedent also seems to be on the Tour's side, according to Marquette University professor of sports law, Matthew Mitten.

"It would be a difficult legal challenge for (Manion and his clients) to win," Mitten said. "Historically, courts have been very deferential to sports governing bodies to regulate what they determine to be the rules of the game and to regulate playing equipment. There's a recognition that sports are unique and you've got to have uniform rules and that there needs to be an independent governing body that has to take the necessary steps to preserve the integrity of the game and its competitive balance. As long as they have independently exercised its judgment in prohibiting anchoring and they have a rational basis for coming to that conclusion, courts generally are not going to intervene. They're certainly not going to substitute their judgment for that of the sport's governing body."

The hope that Tuesday's meeting would provide some sort of clarity in an already murky case proved futile. The latest reneging emanating from the PAC along with the players' decision to seek legal counseling give us a hint that the Tour may actually roll over and accept the ruling bodies' decision.

Those affected most by the ban, it appears, will not.

Chris Chaney is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based sportswriter. He has written for multiple outlets including WrongFairway.com, Hoopville.com, The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer and The Clermont (OH) Sun.

Follow him on Twitter @Wrong_Fairway.

Tiger in a Dead Sprint to Five Victories, but is it His Fastest Ever?

Tiger in a Dead Sprint to Five Victories, but is it His Fastest Ever?











Adam Fonseca May 29, 2013 3:46 PM




COMMENTARY | If Tiger Woods wins the 2013 Memorial Tournament this week, it will not only mark his fifth victory of the year, but it will be the fastest he has ever reached five victories in a season.

That fact alone is almost mind-boggling, especial
ly when discussing a talent the likes of Woods. In 2000, arguably Tiger's best year on Tour where he won an astounding nine times, he didn't record his fifth victory of the year until winning the US Open on June 18. This week's Memorial Tournament will conclude on June 2, barring an unlikely Monday finish.



A victory this week will not mark the fastest Tiger has accumulated five wins at any stretch during the year, however.

After winning the Farmers Insurance Open on January 28 of this year, Tiger has won four times in 105 days, most recently at The Players Championship on May 12. If he wins at Muirfield Village, his fifth victory will come 126 days after his first victory of the season.

In 2000, Woods won five tournaments between May 28 and August 27 of that year, or 81 days. His victories included The Memorial, the US Open, the British Open, the PGA Championship and the NEC Invitational. He also won the Bell Canadian Open two weeks later on September 10, 2000, marking his sixth win in 95 days. Pretty impressive stuff.

In 2006, Woods broke his own 'speed victory' record. He won his third British Open title on July 23. Woods then captured his second Buick Open (August 6), his third PGA Championship (August 20), his fifth Bridgestone Invitational (August 27) and his first Deutsche Bank Championship (September 4). That's five victories in a little less than three months, or 43 days. Woods proceeded to win the American Express Championship on October 1, 2006 some 27 days later.

What does this all mean? Woods is winning tournaments at a pace that we have not seen from him since what a 'younger Tiger' did years ago.

He has won four times in seven events on Tour this season, or 57 percent. During his five-win stretch in 2000, Woods played seven tournaments and won five, or 71 percent. In 2006, Woods amazed us all by playing in - and winning - all five tournaments he entered between July 23 and September 4.

As Yahoo's own Shane Bacon reported earlier this week, golf fans are expecting Tiger to win every tournament he enters for the first time in years. It doesn't matter if you are a fan of Woods or not; you cannot overlook the fact that he is literally more likely to win a golf tournament than the opposite. We haven't been able to say that about the World No. 1 in a long, long time.Tiger Woods has won The Memorial five times in his career. He is the overwhelming favorite heading into Jack Nicklaus's tournament once again. Barring a major set-back, there is little reason to suspect that he will not be in the winner's circle again come Sunday.



Adam Fonseca has covered professional golf since 2005. His work can be found on numerous digital outlets including the Back9Network and SB Nation. He currently lives in Chicago with his wife. Follow Adam on Twitter @chicagoduffer.

Phil Mickelson Rewarded for Being a Good Dad with U.S. Open Lead

Phil Mickelson Rewarded for Being a Good Dad with U.S. Open Lead











Ryan Ballengee June 13, 2013 7:00 PM


COMMENTARY -- Instant karma got Phil Mickelson on Thursday at the 2013 U.S. Open. For the better.



Mickelson flew into the Philadelphia area early Thursday morning after taking a cross-country plane ride for
the second time in three days to attend his daughter Amanda's eighth-grade graduation in California an


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He rolled into the Ardmore, Pa., club at 5:37 a.m. ET, just about 90 minutes before his 7:11 a.m. tee time with Keegan Bradley and Steve Stricker. It was go time -- jet lag, lack of sleep and all.



After a three-putt bogey at No. 11, his first hole of the day,Mickelson steadied himself. Mickelson got back to square with a birdie at the short par-4 13th and didn't drop another shot the rest of the way en route to 3-under 67 and the lead after the first wave at Merion.



He even was gifted some nap time by Mother Nature, as a three-and-a-half-hour weather delay halted play starting at 8:36 a.m. ET.



But let's be clear: It's not like Lefty snagged a ride on a FedEx cargo jet, rolling around in the underbelly of the plane without a seat belt. He rode on a G-5 private jet. He took a nap, albeit not a long one.



But, still, Mickelson did the right thing with his means: He was there for his daughter.



Amanda Mickelson was a speaker at her middle-school graduation. That speech was the latest chapter in a parenting journey that began 14 years ago, and whose prologue was the most public part of the story.



It was 1999, and Phil Mickelson was battling Payne Stewart at Pinehurst No. 2 for his first major championship at the U.S. Open. His wife, Amy, was pregnant with the couple's first child, who turned out to be Amanda. Mickelson was carrying a beeper -- remember those? -- swearing that if it went off, he knew his next move: off the golf course and on a path directly to a delivery room to see his daughter born.



The beeper never went off. Phil didn't win the trophy. With a 20-foot putt on the 72nd hole, Stewart captured his legacy win. Amid the jubilation of the moment, Stewart went to Mickelson and shouted in his face, "You're going to be a father!" almost as though Stewart was happier about that than winning the national championship. Maybe Stewart was.



Amanda was born the next day, the first of three children for the Mickelsons. In the intervening time between that day and now, the family has been through a lot.



Nearly five years later, Dad won a major at the 2004 Masters, the first of three Augusta titles and four majors overall. However, the year before, Amy nearly died giving birth to the couple's third child, Evan. Maybe the stark reality of the fleeting nature of life made that back-nine comeback against Ernie Els seem so much easier. Later that summer, Mickelson nearly won his nemesis major, the Open Championship, before Todd Hamilton shocked the world.



Mickelson would then win two more majors, including the '05 PGA Championship and '06 Masters. The Mickel-slam was one bad drive at Winged Foot away from maybe being as real as the Tiger Slam. The self-described idiotic mistake may have put Mickelson's professional career on another course, but three years later, life cruelly realigned his priorities.



Not only was Amy diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, but so was Mickelson's mother just six weeks later. Thankfully, both survived. Mickelson did his best to turn the page professionally in April 2010, capturing his fourth major in an emotional win at the Masters.



Since then, he's gone majorless, despite a shooting-star chance at the 2011 Open Championship and a run at the '12 Masters. Maybe that's about to change.



The 3-under tally Mickelson posted on Thursday at Merion was his lowest opening U.S. Open round against par since, you guessed it, that week at Pinehurst 14 years ago.



Maybe that 67 wasn't instant karma after all. Maybe it's payback from an act 14 years ago.



Either way, it's about time for Mickelson to win a U.S. Open. He has been runner-up in this championship a record five times. The window is closing on the period where he can reasonably expect to contend for many more of these grueling examinations. He turns 43 on Sunday.



An Open breakthrough on his birthday and Father's Day might seem cheesier than one of Philly's best steak sandwiches, but for a guy who has spent as much time in the air as he has this week, it'd be a great round trip.



Ryan Ballengee is a Washington, D.C.-based golf writer. His work has appeared on multiple digital outlets, including NBC Sports and Golf Channel. Follow him on Twitter @RyanBallengee.

Mickelson among early leaders on Day 1

Mickelson among early leaders on Day 1












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Phil Mickelson's 67 was his lowest opening round in the U.S. Open since 1999.(Getty Images)

PGA.COM June 13, 2013 8:44 PM


ARDMORE, Pa. (AP) -- So much for getting a good night's sleep.

Phil Mickelson arrived at Merion Golf Club about four hours before his 7:11 a.m. tee time and still managed to shoot a 3-under 67 for the clubhouse lead at Thursday's opening round of the U.S. Open.

"I might have used just a little caffeine booster at the turn just to keep me sharp," Mickelson said. "But that was our ninth hole or so, and I just wanted to make sure I had enough energy."

Mickelson flew overnight from San Diego after watching his oldest daughter's eighth-grade graduation, where she was one of the featured speakers. At first, he was a little shaky. But after rolling a birdie putt 8 feet past his first hole and putting his tee shot in the rough at his second, he settled himself --helped by a little more sleep during a rain delay.

It was his lowest opening round since 1999 in a championship he's never won, even though he keeps coming close. He's been runner-up a record five times.

"If I'm able -- and I believe I will -- if I'm able to ultimately win a U.S. Open, I would say that it's great. ... But if I never get that win, then it would be a bit heart-breaking," Mickelson said.

By the time Mickelson tapped in a par to complete his round, the sun had replaced clouds, and putters had long replaced squeegees. Drenching storms caused a 3-hour delay, halting play less than two hours after it began.

The rains returned while the marquee group of Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy were on the front nine, and play was stopped again at 6:11 p.m. for about 45 minutes.

Woods was 1 over at the time. He winced and shook his left arm after playing shots out of the rough on Nos. 1 and 5. The horn sounded before the three-time Open champion could finish the 5th hole, and he returned after the delay to complete a bogey and drop to 2 over.

Both Scott and McIlroy were 1 under through five. Peter Hedblom was 3 under, tied with Mickelson, through seven holes, but Mickelson and Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts (69) were the only players in the clubhouse under par.


Merion was as challenging as advertised, despite the onslaught of storms that softened the course during the past week. The slanting greens and heavy rough valued precision over power. Ian Poulter had quite the start, with only one par spaced among four birdies and three bogeys through nine holes on the way to a 71.

Sergio Garcia birdied the 102-yard par-3 13th, but that was an aberration in a terrible start for the Spaniard, who has spent the lead-up to the tournament trying to make amends with Woods. Garcia had a quadruple bogey, double bogey and a bogey in his first five holes, but he later went birdie-eagle on the front nine on the way to a 73.

Garcia was greeted with mild applause and a few audible boos when he was introduced at the start of his round. He is playing his first tournament in the U.S. since a recent exchange with Woods hit a low point when Garcia said he would serve fried chicken if Woods came to dinner during the Open. Garcia has since apologized for the remark. He shook hands with Woods on the practice range this week and left a note in Woods' locker. He was also noticeably friendly to the gallery during Wednesday's practice round, stopping several times to sign autographs.

Garcia said he hasn't heard from Woods about the note, and he acknowledged there were hecklers in his gallery.

"I think there were a couple here and there," he said. "But there was -- I felt the people were very nice for the whole day. I think that they, almost all of them, were behind me and that was nice to see."

Cliff Kresge, a Floridian ranked No. 551 in the world, hit the first tee shot of the tournament at 6:45 a.m. The horn blew at 8:36 a.m., and thunder, lightning and downpours followed, sending everyone scurrying for cover.

Safety was a concern on a course that required fans to take long shuttle rides from remote parking lots. At a fan zone, where a replay of the limited action was on a jumbo screen, a worker used a microphone to implore an overflow crowd to move to the merchandise tent.

"We're not feeling safe having this many people in here," he told them. Many folks heeded his message and moved on.

Any major weather disruption to the championship would be a shame, given that the U.S. Open waited 32 years to return to the course where Olin Dutra overcame a serious stomach illness to win in 1934, where Ben Hogan hit the picture-perfect 1-iron approach to No. 18 before winning in a playoff in 1950, where Lee Trevino pulled a rubber snake out of his bag at the first hole of the playoff when he beat Jack Nicklaus for the title in 1971, and where David Graham became the first Australian to win the trophy in 1981.

Thought to be too small to host an Open anymore, Merion had been off the radar for so long that many of the top names in the field -- including Woods -- had never played it until recently. Organizers had to be creative with the placement of hospitality tents and parking lots on the club's relatively small footprint, and ticket sales were capped at 25,000 a day instead of the usual 40,000 or so for recent championships.

Garcia fights through tough start and wisecracks

Garcia fights through tough start and wisecracks











PGA.COM June 13, 2013 8:56 PM

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"I felt the people were very nice for the whole day. I think that almost all of them were behind me," …


By Jim Litke, Associated Press

ARDMORE, Pa. -- There was at least one wiseguy waiting on more than a few of the holes. Despite that, Sergio Garcia's charm offensive was mostly well received by the galleries during the opening round of the U.S. Open.

Some three weeks ago, in the midst of a hissing match withTiger Woods, the Spaniard made a racially tinged remark about inviting his rival over for dinner and serving fried chicken. Widely criticized at the time, Garcia has apologized to Woods both privately and publicly. Yet there were some lingering questions about how he'd be received at Merion Golf Club this week by a sometimes-tough Philadelphia sports crowd.

"There were a couple here and there, but there was -- I felt the people were very nice for the whole day. I think that almost all of them were behind me," Garcia said afterward, "and that was nice to see."

The same unfortunately, couldn't be said for Garcia's golf game.

He shot a 3-over-par 73 Thursday, and that after recovering from a double-bogey, quadruple-bogey stumble at Nos. 14 and 15, where Garcia hooked both of his tee shots out of bounds.


"The U.S. Open doesn't give you much room," he said, then conceded the margin for error at 14 and 15 wasn't his problem.

"The out of bounds is close, but if you hit a bad shot, even if it's far away, you're going to find it. ... I guess I was just making my week a little bit tougher," he added. "But I tried to battle as much as I could coming in."

Garcia teed off alongside Padraig Harrington and Stewart Cink amid cheers and a few scattered boos on the 11th hole at 7:44 a.m., and was cruising until the 14th. No sooner had his tee shot flown the coup at that hole than heavy rains came down and caused a 3 1/2-hour delay.

Garcia described his return this way: "Hit another 3-wood, 7-iron to about 16 feet and managed to two-putt for par.

"Sorry," he added quickly, to some laughter. "Par with the second ball."

The delay may have given the occasional hecklers around the course a chance to down a few beers and screw up their courage. As Garcia reached the first green, where he had an 8-footer for birdie, a fan holding a beer yelled, "Hey, head case! Let's see you blow it 10 feet by."


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Instead, Garcia drained the putt for birdie, then made eagle at the par-5 second hole with a big drive, another 3-wood to 16 feet and made that putt as well. That left him at 4 over.

"But then I hit a couple of bad shots," Garcia said. "So I don't know. It was a pretty flat round for most of the day."

Not for everyone, though.

As Garcia started down the No. 5 fairway, a fan lining the ropes yelled, "I ate the bones!" -- the punch line from a new round of commercials for KFC, the fast-food chain formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken. Yet just another 100 yards, as Garcia passed by, another fan said, "I hate Tiger, too!"

On and on it went at nearly all of the closing holes. Many fans cheered and a few expressed loud support for Garcia, only to have someone yell something like "Winner, winner, chicken dinner!" as one did standing on a patio of a pricey home alongside the sixth fairway.

The wear and tear of a long day finally seemed to show on Garcia on the par-3 ninth, his next-to-last hole. When his tee shot there fluttered off to the right and into a greenside bunker, his shoulders slumped and he walked across the tee box dragging his club behind him like a broom. Yet he hit a terrific wedge into No. 10 that bounced twice and slammed on the brakes just two feet from the hole for birdie.

If only his efforts to make up with Woods had gone that smoothly. Garcia walked over to where his rival was practicing on the range Monday and offered his hand. The two shook, and briefly exchanged a few words.

Garcia also left a note in Woods' locker. Asked if there was a response, he said simply, "No. I haven't really seen him."