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.