"But a little bit of dull to his game should have been expected at this point. It just takes some getting used to."

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Greg Stoda looks at Tiger's understandably rusty play. After all, his 8-month layoff was probably the longest since the Mike Douglas Show appearance days when he was two.

Hey, he might blitz the Blue Monster with 64, 65 or 66 today.

But a better guess is that Woods, who's simply not going to win mired so deep in the pack 10 shots off Mickelson's lead, will manufacture another round much like his first two.

It's not that he's being careful - he says he feels "great" save for a sore right ankle - as much as it's a matter of Woods being unable to sustain anything positive. He says it's a lack of "feel" on the course, which might be true. But it's almost certainly a nicer way of saying he's rusty.

It's as though Woods is in a struggle with his internal clock. He seemed several times to be fighting an urge to hurry between shots. There's a pace to the game - heck, fast or slow play can even be a strategy - and Woods might have to get used to his own rhythms again.

Woods isn't, as he said, "playing for five bucks at home in Isleworth" anymore.

No, he isn't.

And as much good as those social rounds surely did Woods in his physical recuperation, he might also have grown too accustomed to zooming through 18 holes in much less time than it takes to compete on the PGA Tour.

Stenson Does His Part To Ensure Most Of Us Think All Swedes Are Batty

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I don't know if Kyle Auclair is the luckiest snapper at Doral this week, but he certainly captured Henrik Stenson in his most, uh, organic moment. More of a Bert Yancey episode if you ask me, since it's not like he has to pay for these clothes he wears.

Here's his explanation in an AP story.  And here is the Getty Images page with the entire Auclair sequence.

I love how Fanny appears to be totally unfazed by the scene. Then again, she worked for Faldo so it would take a lot to shock her.

Barney Frank: Order Up More Golf Sponsorship, Go Easy On The Excess

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Ron Sirak pulls an interesting clarification out of Congressman Barney Frank regarding the Northern Trust/TARP situation.

"No one is saying they shouldn't sponsor golf tournaments and honor existing contracts," Frank, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, said in a telephone interview. "It's the spending on luxury hotels and limousines they should not be doing. Now, if they weren't getting federal money it would be up to them to decide if that's how they want to spend their money."

That's an improvement from Frank's original outburst in which he implied running a golf tournament was a waste of corporate money. But it still means the tour has some work to do in getting its message across to the power brokers in Washington.

"It's certainly good news that Congressman Frank understands the title sponsorship partnership component, but we also need to do a better job explaining the charitable aspects, the economic impact and the marketing benefits it creates for the companies involved," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said by telephone when told of Frank's clarified position. "We have to work harder to make sure the business model is being understood."

Suggestion Commish: start by not saying that you have to work harder to make sure the business model is understood. It'll go a long way toward gaining support from people who are tired of hearing jargon-laced corporatespeak as a substitute for straightforward talk.

"That's five months after his third heart was brought into an operating room packed in an ice chest, mind you."

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Since I can only take one Nicklaus design a month, I was searching for an excuse to record the Honda Classic just so that I could relive PGA National in all its glory. Then Steve Elling reminded me how great a story Erik Compton is and how amazing it is that he's playing the Honda.

Even we hardened, sarcastic, jaded beat writers were amazed the Compton story didn't gain more national traction last fall -- even after he was featured on the ABC evening news. Some of us slogged around Q-school watching him play, shaking our heads at how everybody had made a federal case about Tiger Woods' knee surgery -- he was out for eight months following a fairly routine procedure -- and how Compton was back five months after having his chest ripped open from stem to stern and then stapled back together.

That's five months after his third heart was brought into an operating room packed in an ice chest, mind you. It still gives me a lump in my throat.

Thanks to the help of a new agent -- former IMG player manager Peter Malik, the longtime representative for Mark O'Meara -- Compton has finally secured an endorsement deal, with Titleist. A book deal is being discussed, and it's sure to be one of the best golf tomes in years. You couldn't make up this kid's life story, really, since he received his first transplant at age 12.