"But I'm more a man for a Coke."

Tim Carroll talks to Padraig Harrington about his wrist, the Ryder Cup, Sergio, the chances of a Paddy slam and clarifies this little bit for the media that always assumes every Irishman bathes in Guinness:

WSJ: Which tasted better: Guinness in the first Claret Jug or the second?

Mr. Harrington: Oh, I'm not a Guinness man at all. John Smith's Smooth Bitters was the first drink out of the jug, which is a drink that my manager drinks. It wouldn't be my cup of tea at all. It would be down to the Irish whiskeys for me. I don't have the most acquired taste for beer. But I'm more a man for a Coke. 

"The tour season opens: auto, electronics, auto, financial, auto."

Seems like we've had quite a few of these economic crisis-impact stories, but Ron Sirak's is one of the better ones at clarifying a few of the important dates and possibilities. Mercifully for the PGA Tour, Buick has a car to promote

And how can you not love this bit:

The most important spin, at least for the first part of the season, won't be on the golf ball but rather on the economic reality. There are 15 events the first 13 weeks of 2009, and 12 have sponsors from the most distressed areas of the economy. Forget the tournament names and think of it this way: The tour season opens: auto, electronics, auto, financial, auto. All are industries that have suffered deep and painful layoffs.

"A fair way from reality in year ahead"

As weird as 2008 was, I won't say that John Huggan's satirical preview of 2009 will be that far off. Especially that Billy Foster replacing Stevie part!

Hertz Club Gold, Here They Come!

Doug Ferguson reports the tragic news that the PGA Tour's finest may have to rent cars next year after Buick's various regional offices are believed to be cutting courtesy car programs at all but a handful of tournaments.

Kevin Sutherland finished a career-high 18th on the PGA Tour money list this year with just over $2.5 million. He has been on tour a dozen years and can remember times when he rented his own car at an airport.

“I expected some of the perks we’ve gotten in the past are going to be cut back, and it only makes sense,” Sutherland said. “It’s easy to take this for granted. You show up, you get your car. You bring in your dry cleaning, they do it for you. Some of this stuff is over the top, and you get spoiled over time. But so many companies are struggling.” 

"I'm delighted to say that the demise of the PGA Tour has been overstated considerably"

In noting the slight total purse increase for the 2009 PGA Tour schedule, an unbylined ESPN.com story includes this:

"I'm delighted to say that the demise of the PGA Tour has been overstated considerably," commissioner Tim Finchem said Monday night at the World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Getting cocky are we? 

Bob Harig breaks down the schedule changes here.

PGA Tour '09 Schedule Looks A Lot Like '08

Pretty remarkable considering what's going on. Of course, there no Fall Finish dates announced yet. Here's the list and the PGATour.com spin.

"The restructuring was all one-sided"

Bill Huffman reveals that the Thunderbirds have been doing some serious renegotiation to keep FBR as sponsor of the Phoenix tour event.

Two different sources close to the Thunderbirds told me a new deal was recently brokered between FBR and the Thunderbirds that reduces FBR's overall financial commitment to the tournament "by millions." And the restructuring was all one-sided, with FBR telling the Thunderbirds it would walk if they didn't accept the terms.

According to those sources, FBR is going to keep its commitment to the tournament on several fronts. It will be the title sponsor and pick up TV costs, but it has reduced its charitable contributions significantly. And, as previously reported by the Tribune, FBR also will cut back on its entertainment commitment, which means the corporate hospitality, the pro-am and Tuesday night dinner.

"The US-Tour schedule is normally out at this time of the year but it is not yet out"

In this story on Ernie Els turning his attention to 2009, there is this item thrown in at the end:

Els said he would play a little bit more in Europe because he believes that the US Tour in particular could suffer from the credit crunch.

"The US-Tour schedule is normally out at this time of the year but it is not yet out, it hasn't been printed yet some of the events might be under threat, a couple of tournaments might not take place," he said.

"These are very, very difficult times at the moment and probably to the next year."

FYI Big Easy, the PGA Tour announced the 2008 schedule on November 14th.