"He told me to stay positive, something like that"

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I can't post much because I'm looking into two health stories related to the 2009 AT&T National final round. One involves reports of several suicide attempts after the second mesmerizingly depressing SPCA ad ran during the finale. The other involves the poor lad turning his back and bending over to avoid Anthony Kim's 18th hole drive, only to be plunked on the tush.

Meanwhile, Thomas Bonk, writing about Tiger Woods' win over rival-in-the-making Kim:

Kim dropped to third behind Mahan with a one-over 71. The way things were going, his most interesting shot of the day might have been his tee shot at the 18th, where the ball went so far off-line, it popped a fan on the derriere.

Woods and Kim shook hands before they got started and that's about as close as they got the rest of the day, unless you count the times they stood in the tee box together. Until they chatted while walking down the 18th fairway, they hadn't exchanged a word.

"He told me to stay positive, something like that," Kim said.

See how took those words to heart!

Kim chalked the whole thing up as a learning experience, sort of on-the-job training.

"I learned that if you have a birdie putt, you'd better make it, especially on the last day," Kim said. "Tiger obviously wins for a reason."

See, he doesn't miss a beat.

Two mind-boggling Tiger stats, courtesy of the PGA Tour's Mark Williams:

• Woods has now won 46 of 49 tournaments (94%) when leading/co-leading after 54-holes. The three he didn't win -- 1996 Quad City Open/T5, 2000/2004 THE TOUR Championship/2ndboth times.

• Woods has won 32 of 38 tournaments after holding the 36-hole lead/co-lead -- that's 84 percent.

Showdown With Woods Offers Kim Chance To Face His Hero And Ask How Many Majors He's Won

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Doug Ferguson reports on Sunday's potentially exciting showdown between Anthony Kim and Tiger Woods, with background on Kim growing up idolizing Woods. But unlike Woods who committed every Jack Nicklaus record to memory, Anthony is still fuzzy on Tiger's history.

Actually, wouldn't it be fun if old geezer Michael Allen slipped in and won the thing?

"My reaction was extreme disappointment."

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Gary D'Amato on the vandalism (with photos) at Brown Deer Park just two weeks before the U.S. Bank Championship. Thanks to reader Nick for this.

About 60% of the putting surface on No. 17 was damaged by vandals on the night of June 23, according to tournament director Dan Croak. The damage likely was caused by a motorcycle or motorcycles.

"I got the call early Wednesday morning (June 24) from Tim," Croak said, referring to course superintendent Tim Wegner. "My reaction was extreme disappointment."

"I want the rough up and the greens firms."

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I skimmed Tiger's press conference yesterday in search of his grooves answer, but gave this passage another read today:

Q. Thick rough, no rough. What's your preference?

TIGER WOODS: I want the rough up and the greens firms. I want the build [ability?] to have the guys get the ball down there on the fairways, be aggressive off the tees if they want, get the ball down there, but also have the greens firm enough where it rewards guys for being more aggressive off the tees and getting the ball down there so they can control their spins coming in the greens.

I doubt that Tiger gets too involved in setting up Congressional--that would mean actually speaking to people not under his employ--but it still strikes me as odd that he's dictating setup for a tournament he's playing in. Oh I know, it's his event and Jack Nicklaus probably used to make the call on Muirfield Village's setup when he was still active. Still odd, but what's the Tour going to do, tell him to bugger off?

It's also confusing that Tiger selects high rough as a setup ideal. Especially as he's advocating reward for aggressive driving. That said, the transcript was a weird one and I probably should not read much into it.

"I've had a dream about 20 times where he comes to me and asks me for a lesson."

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Michael Bamberger theorizes about how Tiger found his swing at the Memorial, prints a cute rant from Hank Haney and shares this from Johnny:

Johnny Miller, the winner of the 1973 U.S. Open and lead analyst at Bethpage for NBC, has long been Tiger's most incisive critic (and, at times among the microphone crowd, his only objective fan). Last week, before the Memorial, Miller said in an interview, "I've had a dream about 20 times where he comes to me and asks me for a lesson." In Miller's dream he instructs Woods to hit shots with a slight pause at the top of his swing, as he did from 1997 through 2000. Miller also asks Woods to soften the squat move he has been making in recent years, where his head and body come too close to the ball on the downswing and he gets in his own way.

You know Johnny, if you ever went out on the driving range I'm sure Tiger would have made time for you.

"Finding an emotional balance will be more difficult than finding the first fairway."

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Craig Dolch files a very nice column about the emotional mixed-bag that Phil Mickelson faces this week and compares. Uh, editors, did we really need this tagline at the end of the column?

Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.

Look, we all understand that Craig's a subversive rebel looking to undermine the integrity of the PGA Tour and most weeks you need a disclaimer to distance yourselves from his radical views. But on this column? On this topic? Really? Let's give it a week off, eh?

"The improved course setups are allowing players to play a little more quickly."

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Peter Kostis praises the shift in PGA Tour course setup toward a little less rough, a little more variety and a lot more excitement. He also offers this in another answer to readers at golf.com.

5. From watching golf on TV, it's tough to tell whether or not slow play is as much of a problem this year. From what you've seen, are the players just as slow this year, and what can realistically be done to speed up the pace of play?

Be certain of one thing: The pace of play on the PGA Tour is still brutally slow. That said, I think the improved course setups are allowing players to play a little more quickly.

This makes the USGA pace of play policy look like an easy sell:

Here is something I would love to try: Hold a tournament in which half of the total purse was guaranteed to be distributed to the players, but the distribution of the second half would be pro-rated based on the field's average time to complete the round. Set some "time pars" so that if everyone plays quickly, the players will be awarded the full purse on Sunday night. I think this would really encourage professional golfers to be more outspoken on the issue—and willing to call out slow players—because there would be economic ramifications.

And just because slow play is tolerated on the PGA Tour, that does not make it OK for you to play slowly at home. In my home club in Arizona, Whisper Rock, all runs are completed within four hours because that's what's expected. There are very few reasons your round should take any longer.

Memorial Ratings Success; LPGA Not So Hot

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Tod Leonard on the weekend ratings:

Tiger Woods is back in the winner's circle, just in time for the U.S. Open and for golf's stagnant TV ratings.

With Woods winning in comeback fashion Sunday at the Memorial, the overnight numbers for CBS were a 3.8 rating and a 9 share. That is double what the Colonial received (1.8/4) the week before when Steve Stricker own a three-man playoff. Anything doubled is huge for the networks.

The golf also doubled up the French Open final, with Roger Federer winning his 14 major title.

The LPGA Tour made a rare appearance on network television on NBC, and though the finish was bunched, it didn't have big names, and the ratings were low. In-Kyung Kim's win Sunday drew an 0.6, or half of what the Prefontaine track event did for NBC, also on Sunday. Not a promising sign for women's golf

Autograph Seeker Disguised As Golf Writer Goes Unnoticed

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Alex Miceli reports the first of two blows for the golf writing cause (not to mention a less humorous security breakdown). The first involves an autograph seeker slipping into Tiger's press conference and after hearing one too many banal questions, finally blurted out his request.

“Jack’s going to hate me for this. (Interloper stands up) Tiger, congratulations for winning the Memorial. I’m a normal person that snuck in here with a patron badge. I was just wondering if I could get an autograph.”

Nicklaus apparently intervened and got the man Tiger's autograph before they carted him off.

The Rally Killer of all Rally Killers? Or does this make him a Point Misser?

While the above exchange is not in the transcript, this low blow was:

Q. Tiger, not to be fishing, but wonder if I could maybe get personal on the issue of do you actually read anything that we write or watch anything that guys say on TV, or is it secondhand information?

TIGER WOODS: It's more TV.

"The conversation went good shot, good shot, good shot"

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Column highlights filed following Tiger's win at Memorial, starting with Helen Ross writing for PGATour.com:

And Woods put on a clinic Sunday -- hitting all 14 fairways for the first time since he won at Bay Hill six years ago. In fact, he only missed the short grass seven times all week and his driving accuracy percentage of 87.5 equaled the best of his career.

"The conversation went good shot, good shot, good shot," said Michael Letzig, who got the up-close-and-personal view while paired with Woods on Sunday.

Woods' iron play was extremely sharp, as well. He hit 53 of 72 greens in regulation -- none as precise as the approach at the 72nd hole that stopped 14 inches from the pin and stamped the victory with an exclamation point.

Thomas Bonk on the win:

Forget all the fallout from Woods' perceived problems closing in his last three tournaments -- the Masters, Quail Hollow and the Players Championship -- this one was an instant classic. Now with 19 wins in his last 35 PGA Tour events, Woods is clearly back on track, and he's pleased with the timing.

Rex Hoggard notes this from Jack Nicklaus:

Just ask Nicklaus, perhaps the only man alive who can relate to Woods’ brilliance.

“If he drives the ball like that it won’t be a contest,” Nicklaus said. “Can you imagine, 14 of 14 fairways (hit) today, seven (missed) fairways all week. That’s pretty good...”

And Steve Elling adds this from the Golden Bear:

The host of the event, a guy with 18 major championships, was slack-jawed at Woods' performance and even made Woods blush during the trophy-presentation ceremony on the 18th green.

"Tiger, you're not known for hitting the ball straight, are you?" Jack Nicklaus said into the public-address system as thousands laughed and Woods pulled the cap down over his eyes.
Then the Golden Bear uttered the words that everybody was thinking: Woods, the defending U.S. Open champion who will seek his 15th major beginning June 18 on Long Island, has never seemed like a stronger pick.

"I suspect that No. 15 will come to Tiger Woods in about two weeks," Nicklaus said. "If he drives the ball this way, and plays this way, I'm sure it will. If not, it would surprise me greatly."
Thanks for saving me from having to state the obvious, Jack.

Bob Harig caught up with Hank Haney and quotes the vindicated instructor:

"I heard people on TV say he was lost," said Haney, who arrived for the final round Sunday. "How can anybody say he's lost? It makes no sense. I thought he deserved an opportunity to get himself back feeling good. It was a pretty serious injury [ACL reconstruction] for an athlete. And then you consider how long he was out of competition. This was a huge confidence boost for him."

Tiger Moves To Fourth In FedEx Cup Standings; Haney's Job Status Seems Safe For Now

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Naturally the subject came up after the finale of the Memorial where Tiger picked up a much-needed 500 points.

Q. Tiger, after Augusta most of us had Hank Haney on the unemployment line. Can you talk about what Hank does for you, especially with the changes in your swing and how maybe we were like maybe misguided in some way in running that.

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, you guys jumped the gun on that one. You know, Hank's been just absolutely phenomenal for my game and helped me through a lot. We work great together. And just like he and I understand. I mean, give me a little bit of time.

You know, most guys, when they have a surgery like that, it takes them a little bit longer to come back. People expected me to go out and win everything I played in. Maybe I'll just surprise everyone by winning a third event. I just think that Hank's been just phenomenal for my game and my development. He's one of my best friends.