Gates Open On TPC Scottsdale's $15 Million Renovation

Having long felt like the course was a three or four-hole gem with the rest pretty ordinary, I was excited when news of Tom Weiskopf's hiring was announced and we wrote about it on The Loop.

After seeing Shane Bacon's Back9 tour with Weiskopf along with the drone shots, the whole lunar-golf-in-the-desert vibe of the course looks lost to unsightly flashed white bunkers, making the prospect for a revamped TPC Scottsdale became a lot less exciting. Seeing more shots in this Matt Ginella-Rex Hoggard chat on Morning Drive really highlighted the horrible look of bright white sand fighting the desert's browner hues.

AP's John Nicholson previewed the re-opening and Weiskopf also touched on the Church Pews added to the 18th hole.

Out of respect for the historic Pennsylvania club's Church Pews bunker, the course architect refers to the four long, thin strips of raised, turfed ground as islands.

"That's reserved for Oakmont. There is only one Church Pews," Weiskopf said. "Those are islands in there. Four islands. Big islands. Some people call them church pews. They can call them whatever they want. You don't want to be in there."

This will also be one of the few renovations with bunker placement based on ShotLink data, all because the guys are eating their kale.

Weiskopf used ShotLink data from the last five years to put the fairway bunkers back in play for even the longest hitters. He cut the number of bunkers from 73 to 66 and filled them with white sand that area tour players tested for two years on the back range.

Also surprising is seeing some bunkers shallower than they were in the past, especially at the famed 16th. During the pro-am, Tiger's release pattern miscue (once called a shank) is notable in part because (A) he shanked a bunker shot, and (B) how shallow that bunker now appears.

Video: On The Rocks At The Palmer Course, Two Final Times

A four-way tie for the lead includes Erik Compton, Michael Putnam, Justin Thomas and Bill Haas heading into Sunday's Humana Challenge with Matt Kuchar one back after a poor finish. Besides Humana's departure after Sunday's final round and the Palmer course leaving the rota, there's a very good chance this is the last year they will play a course hugging the rocky Santa Rosa mountains.

Anyone who recalls Lanny Wadkins and Craig Stadler's epic Hope Classic playoff at Indian Wells or some of the down-the-stretch fun at the Palmer course will lament the loss of this eye-catching once-a-year hazard.

In the meantime, we have two weird shots off the rocks Sunday by James Hahn and Scott Piercy. Both cases appeared to benefit from a deadening effect when hitting the mountainside. How, is the question?

Hahn’s 143-yard tee shot that rolls just past the cup to 3 feet on the par-3 17th hole where he made the putt for birdie.

Piercy’s shot hitting the rock ledge and where the cameraman rightly anticipates the bounce the ball should have taken. Piercy ends up making the 8-foot putt for birdie.

Allenby Recants: Gives Homeless Woman Reward

A day after questioning Charade Keane's motives for telling media outlets what she witnessed, Robert Allenby wisely rewarded the woman who saved him from a sticky situation with a $1000 AmEx gift card (and maybe some reward points too!).

John Strege tries to unravel the run of stories on Allenby's increasingly confusing claims of robbery, kidnapping and assault.

On Monday night, Allenby and Keane met on camera (see below), and he thanked her for helping him. Their exchange:

Allenby: "Thank you for looking after me."

Keane: "No problem."

Allenby: "I appreciate what you did for me."

The meeting and story on Honolulu's KHON2 News:

Jason Sobel reports that Honolulu detectives issued a statement saying their investigation was ongoing.

The news, though, was that there is no news.

No arrests have yet to be made and suspects are still being investigated.

"Detectives are reviewing witness statements and gathering security video footage," read the statement, issued around 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday. "They are also looking into recent charges made on Mr. Allenby's credit card. No arrest has been made.

"Detectives have opened second degree robbery and fraudulent use of credit card investigations. Second degree robbery is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment; fraudulent use of credit cards is punishable by up to five years."