Douglas Lowe reports that Tom Watson may have played his last Masters because of the recent course lengthening. Watson also talks about Aberdeen's setup and design. In a vintage Dan Jenkins piece for Golf Digest, he looks at what America has given golf.

Jim Seimas reports on the various forms of trickery they're going to inject into Harding Park so that the World Championship event seems like a major. Sandy Tatum gurantees the rough will be harvested in time. Can't wait. And finally, John Daly reveals that he has Ryder Cup aspirations. Apparently no one told Daly he would have to wear a jacket and tie to mandatory functions!?

The Walker Cup squad was announced, which is a reminder that we’re just three weeks away from getting to see Chicago Golf Club. Michael Putnam becomes the second Pepperdine player to make it. I know you’re excited. The big news is that Captain Bob Lewis selected no grumpy mid-Amateurs!

Ran Morrissett’s course profile should get you in the mood for the Senior British Open at Aberdeen. PGATOUR.com notes that Greg Norman will be making his Champions Tour debut there.

Mark Soltau has some more comments from Tiger about the final round, and refers to Hank Haney as his swing coach. I think it's safe to say we no longer have to hear references to Haney as Tiger's "friend." There’s also an AP story on how Hank Haney has been validated.

Golfweek's Martin Kaufman isn't very high on the TNT telecasts and makes some good points, while Brad Klein plays yang to Kaufman's yin and says he enjoyed it despite the flaws, because after all it was the Old Course. So they're both right! Golfobserver's "Man from London" shares his Open thoughts.

The 2007 (and beyond) PGA Tour schedule is shaping up. Sounds like some big events might move to the fall while an official post season swing is relegated to The Golf Channel. And finally, don't miss John Huggan's excellent profile of Peter Thomson in Golf World.

"We and the United States Golf Association wanted a line drawn in the sand and hitting distances have plateaued," Dawson said. "This is definitely happening - all this discussion that players are hitting the ball further is not true."

Not true they are hitting further? Compared to when? Round 3 versus round 4?

The Open driving distance average for those making the cut was 27 yards longer in 2005 than it was in 2004! Did he not hear that all but three players averaged OVER 300 yards off the tee?

Donegan writes of the added length, rough and other setup ploys: "all these 'innovations' may have kept the scoring higher but they fundamentally changed the character of the Old Course. Nothing is more likely to send the lay person to sleep than endless musing on the minutiae of course architecture, but behind the wearisome chitchat there is a big, big story: the Old Course is at its limit, and so is golf itself, because advances in technology - the ball, in particular - now mean the era of the 400-yard drive off the tee is upon us."

Mike Aitken reports on the same press conference and includes this rationalization from Dawson on the 17th hole setup, which Dawson admitted they may have misjudged: "In retrospect, what we did there was perhaps not the smartest thing, though I think it would be a wrong analysis to surmise that was the reason people stopped using driver," he said.

Really? You have a fairway basically ending with a rough checkpoint at the 315-yard point. That’s the average tee shot length of the field, but the rough did not impact their decision-making? I wonder if he even blushes when making these claims?

Doug Ferguson talks to Jack Nicklaus about Tiger’s performance and even the normally reserved Jack is in awe. This AP story notes a equipment malfunction for Tiger prior to the Open. And Mark Kiszla in the Denver Post says the Old Course has been rendered obsolete. Unfortunately, he says the cure is to drop it from the rotation, not address the equipment.

As far as game stories on Tiger and a wonderful week, here's the link to Lawrence Donegan's in The Guardian. Here's Mike Aitken's Scotsman story on the various contenders and Tiger. Oh, and not to be forgotten, here's the story on Jason Gore's second win in a row. Back to the Open, Peter McCleery reviews the TBS and ABC telecasts, with several interesting observations. Though he kindly chose not to comment on the BBC's wretched camera work and overall coverage, which ABC is at the mercy of. Michael Hiestand in the USA Today also offers a review. He's no Rudy Martzke, which means he’s enjoyable to read. Tod Leonard has some interesting stats on how easy 18 played through Saturday.

For complete stats, here's a link to the 2000 Open stat package, and the 2005 Unisys breakdown. This will be scrutinized more this week, but there's some wild stuff in the numbers. My early favorite: 10 players making the cut averaged over 300 in 2000. All but 3 players making the cut in 2005 averaged OVER 300 yards! Man, these Tour guys must be reading Arnold Schwartzenegger's fitness editorials!

Gary Van Sickle explains why John Daly skipped the champions dinner. This unbylined Guardian story reveals some frustration with Tiger for not signing autographs after an early round, and the uproar it caused in Britain. I'm sure Tiger will lose a lot of sleep over it. John Huggan wrote on Sunday (prior to the finale) about Tiger's putting woes. Finally, Tom Mackin paints a picture of what was going on outside the ropes Sunday.

Peter Dawson, the chief executive, has warned that if it became necessary to lengthen the Old Course again it would be time instead to rein in the ball. The significance of the driving distance figures from St Andrews this week is that the time is well nigh if, indeed, it hasn't passed already.

Tim Glover in the Independent also says Tigerproofing is a waste of time.

Even so, the Beardies are still as old-fashioned as a moustache. The governing bodies are looking at the problem from the wrong angle. They can make a course as long as they like, but it will not outstrip modern technology. They keep tinkering with the real estate instead of the real issue.

In retrospect, I have to agree that the rough on the right of the 17th isn't ideal. If we had to do it over again, I don't think we'd let it grow there. But it's too late to do anything now. On the other hand, by not allowing a player to drive a long way up the right side, we have ensured that everyone will be hitting a longer approach shot. That has to be a good thing.

Hey, why not just eliminate the tee shot all together and create a big white circle where you'd like them to approach from. That way you ensure everyone will be hitting a longer approach, and you don't have to do anything about the ball! Yeah, that's a good thing.

David Davies has a note on technology, wedges and a juicy quote from Will Nicholson . Sounds like Will is in St. Andrews doing a little groundwork prep on the Masters ball! And finally, thanks to TBS for sending the press release that included this highlight quote from Bobby Clampett during Saturday's telecast. Here's Bobby on the difference between the modern player and players in the past: “I think there’s more emphasis today on style and technique, as opposed to dynamics. Players like (Greg) Norman may have had interesting techniques, but had great dynamics.”

And if you know what that means, you are one bright soul on this Open Sunday.