"No, sir. Rice."

Boo Weekley and Heath Slocum fired 61 to open the World Cup in China which gave them the lead, but more importantly, meant a press room visit for Boo.

Anyone know what this means?

BOO WEEKLEY: We played pretty solid today. We just brother in lawed it very well, kept it in play and kept us it front of us.

Love this exchange:

Q. What did you know about China before you came here?

BOO WEEKLEY: Not much.

Q. Anything?

BOO WEEKLEY: No, sir. Rice.

Q. The Wall?

BOO WEEKLEY: Sir?

Q. The Wall.

BOO WEEKLEY: Oh, yeah, I know The Great Wall of China, but I thought it was closer to where we're at, and I found out it was a lot further away. But yeah, I knew the Wall was here.

Shockingly, Boo is not out and about much...

Q. And what have been your impressions of China so far?

BOO WEEKLEY: We ain't been ever doing nothing. We go straight to the motel and straight here, but I know the people here are friendly. It's very nice, they always say hey and they are polite and stuff, and that's always a plus when you show up somewhere, especially in a foreign country and they are polite and nice. That's a plus for me.

For more Boo, check out his My Shot in the latest Golf Digest. 

Rory's Mom: It's The Irish Blood That Makes Him Do It

Jaime Diaz profiles Rory Sabbatini in the November Golf Digest and gets to the bottom of the South African's easy going manner:

"You pass the genes on," says his mother, Sharon, by phone from South Africa. "I've got Irish blood in me, and I've got a very, very short fuse. And I also speak my mind, and it gets me into trouble as well. You get to a boiling point, and you explode, and obviously you regret it afterward. But most people appreciate me for being straightforward. I'm not one of these mundane, boring people, and neither is my son. I've always let him be himself."

Going To Stack and Tilt

Robert Grant looks at the origin of Aaron Baddelay's decision to shift to a Stack and Tilt swing.

Reason No.37 That Your Personal Trainer Should Always Be Close By...

...or your Pilates instructor, or your HeartMath guide or your...no, the agent wouldn't pick up the bag.

Bob Harig explains how having his trainer watching came in handy for Robert Allenby after his caddy quit mid-round.

"I'd pay $15 to play El Dump-o-rama down the street with the bowl-shaped greens and the bunkers that haven't been raked in four years. Absolutely. That's fun. That's fun golf."

A fun item from Doug Ferguson's Deutsche Bank second round notes column: 

Rich Beem lives the good life on the PGA Tour, playing the best courses with the best players, taking part in pro-ams with the rich and famous. But he still enjoys going back to his roots - a municipal golf course, a few beers, lots of laughs.

Beem was having lunch with his caddie, Billy Heim, on Monday in Rhode Island when he mentioned he was going to play golf and the waitress recommended a course in Providence called Triggs, an old Donald Ross design.

"I played with two police officers from Rhode Island," Beem said. "They had their day off. They finished playing golf, but I don't know how. They were really enjoying their day off."

This wasn't the first time Beem has gone from TPCs to municipal tracks. He was asked if he would pay $400 to play Pebble Beach.

"Oh, God, no," Beem said. "But I'd pay $15 to play El Dump-o-rama down the street with the bowl-shaped greens and the bunkers that haven't been raked in four years. Absolutely. That's fun. That's fun golf. We play these beautiful courses all the time, but what's wrong with going out and playing fun golf now and then, shooting whatever, play in your bare feet."

Heim is more than just a caddie. He lost in the final match of the 1987 U.S. Junior Amateur to Brett Quigley, who happened to play with Beem the first two rounds of the Deutsche Bank Championship.

How does a former PGA champion wind up on a municipal golf course?

"I'm just another guy who took a day off of a work and went to go play golf," he said. "Is that so bad?"

Shipnuck on Cabrera

I finally got around to Alan Shipnuck's SI piece on Angel Cabrera, which unfortunately was relegated to the Golf Plus Fed Ex Cup stand alone issue. Unfortunate because it's an oustanding and revealing read that should have made the main issue. Well, those NFL training camp spreads are pretty special.

Anyway, don't miss this. And because I'm kind, the link is to the single page version to save you the trouble of the nine-page version.

Wow, you’re a lot shorter than you look on TV."

AP's Scott Sonner scribbled this down from 5'1" Tadd Fujikawa, who is making his pro debut at the Reno-Tahoe Open:

“Maybe I will grow. If I stay short, that’s OK,” he said. “A lot of people say, ‘Wow, you’re a lot shorter than you look on TV. That’s the main thing, as long as I look taller on TV.”

"Sergio Garcia has...cultivated the most laughable persecution complex this side of fellow divas Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan."

While reading Geoff Russell's Golf World Front Nine this evening, he reminded me of Sergio's cup-spitting incident and suddenly my sympathies subsided. I didn't even feel bad for him after this thrashing from Steve Elling at Sportsline:

For years, Sergio Garcia has manufactured thin excuses, pointed fingers elsewhere and cultivated the most laughable persecution complex this side of fellow divas Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan. Mostly, the sporting public has cut him some slack, because he was young and frustrated and playing in the shadow of Tiger Woods.

And... 

After last weekend's dive into the wallowing waters of self-pity, Garcia has faced excoriation on a global scale like no other top pro since Greg Norman. But of course, the Shark was consistently gracious in defeat, the consummate sportsman. Norman, as a rule, fell on his sword after his major-championship disasters, and many fans felt compassion, not scorn.

But Garcia, the preening and coddled superstar, deflects his shortcomings elsewhere. It recalls the scene in a locker room at another major championship a few years back, when Garcia was spotted repeatedly adjusting the rake of his cap before he left to play that day. Maybe if he had instead spent time looking at the man in the mirror, instead of the lid on his head, he'd find the source of his problems. Style trumps substance again.

Incomprehensively, at age 27, he lacks the maturity to realize that bad breaks, real or perceived, are why golf is the most brutal mental sport of all. Moreover, being accountable means more than just adding up a score at the end of the round.

Yet for the most notorious flirt on the PGA Tour, Lady Luck remains the lone woman in golf to escape his embrace, and it's driving him psycho.

R.I.P Taylor Smith

John Maginnes remembers his friend and the one-time PGA Tour player who passed away at the age of 40.

Allure Of Champions Tour Not Enough To Keep Seve From Retiring

Well, he played one more regular Champions stop than Greg Norman, so he's got that going for him. Still, Seve Ballesteros made his retirement official at Carnoustie Monday.

"If we can have something in clothing, something in wine, and one or two other areas, such as golf-course design, it could be interesting."

Paul Forsyth talks to Ian Poulter about how important winning the Open Championship would be in...uh, extending his brand's range of services.

He does not need telling that lifting the Claret Jug is more important than wearing it, as he has been reduced to in recent years, but success at Carnoustie would bring priceless exposure to his new clothing company, the first collection of which is to be launched in the days ahead. “I would love to win it,” he says. “For me, there is more to golf than just hitting balls at the minute. I’m seeing it from all angles. We want to try and grow the business, and winning a major would help that. It wouldn’t just be a two-minute fly-by.”

Whatever happened to the good old days when winning a major was just fun because it was, you know, a major?

The 31-year-old has invested a sizeable chunk of his not inconsiderable earnings in Ian Poulter Design. While an account with 60 professionals’ shops represents a cautious start, the grand plan is to be more than just a retired golfer when he grows old. “Who knows what the next 20 years will hold? The aim is to grow the other side of Ian Poulter, the business side. If we can have something in clothing, something in wine, and one or two other areas, such as golf-course design, it could be interesting. The business side fascinates me. Successful business-men fascinate me.”

You know I love how the golf course design part could be just one little subsegment of the brand extension.

Isn't it touching how today's touring professionals take the plowing and plundering so lightly? 

Bubba Debuts $14.98 Collection; Awaits Hackel's Review

Golf Digest's Jeff Patterson posts about the debut of Bubba Watson's "Steve and Barry's" line of shirts. You may recall that it's the same chain doing $15 basketball shoes with Stephon Marbury and other surprising hip looking stuff.

The collared shirts, rainshirts, pants, shorts and hats, which make up the 30 items bubbagolf offers, feature mostly pastel colors, the kind Watson likes. He has worn his brand of clothing since the beginning of the year and has had remarkable success -- four top-5 finishes (including a T-5 at the U.S. Open) and a PGA Tour-leading 315.3 yards off the tee.

"I chose which colors I liked, which designs I liked, which stripe patterns, how many buttons I wanted," Watson said. "Down to every last stitch, I played a part in everything. Picking the tags, everything."

Who knew he was so demanding?

Watson is still amazed he was picked to head the golf clothing line.

"Anybody that has their name on a clothing line, it's a special thing," he said. "That really blew me out of the water that they'd want to come to me, a guy who is practically a rookie on tour, so I said, 'Heck, yeah. I'll do it in a heartbeat.' "

Providing quality clothes for a low price is something that's close to Watson's heart. Growing up, he wasn't able to afford an extravagant golf wardrobe.

"My mom had a regular job to make more money and my dad worked at a construction site for 32 years to make sure that I could have everything, like newer clothes for golf tournaments so I didn't have to wear the same outfits every week," said Watson.

Somehow I don't see Marty Hackel featuring one of these shirts for a Golf Digest Index fashion spread.

"The First Tee or some other charity should own the U.S. Open."

I think Joe Ogilvie needs to stop drinking that special fruit punch they're serving him at PGA Tour Policy Board meetings. In a USA Today Q&A with Jerry Potter:

On the U.S. Golf Association …

"It shouldn't own golf tournaments, especially at the professional level. It should worry about the rules of golf. It has lost total concept of what it's about. The PGA of America is the backbone of golf. Their pros teach the game. The PGA Tour pros are the ones the fans are following. The First Tee or some other charity should own the U.S. Open."

Hey, and maybe PGA Tour Championship Management can manage it...pro-bono of course.

On the PGA Tour …

"It's the face of the game, but we don't get credit for what we do. The NFL gets recognition for the United Way, but we gave over $100 million to charity this year. (Fans don't) know the difference between the PGA Tour and the PGA of America."

And sometimes certain really prominent newspapers and magazines don't either!

On the equipment controversy …

"You don't need bifurcation of the rules because the average player needs to play the same equipment we play. If they (USGA) change the grooves, we'll have to wait and see what the effects are. They say it won't affect the average amateur, but should they make rules based on what the best players in the world can do? … The USGA worries too much about 200 guys in the world and how they play golf. We're supposed to be the best at what we do."

Now wait Joe. The average player needs to play the same equipment you play? And why is that? Do they get the same benefits you do? Come on!

On drug testing in golf …

"I don't think you need it. Golfers have always called penalties on themselves, and using steroids is cheating. The penalty for cheating is so severe you would be dead. The Tour would suspend you for life, and no company would want to sponsor you."

The Commissioner could not have said it better himself. 

Emailing With Levet

James Corrigan follows up his revealing Retief Goosen e-interview with another online interesting conversation, this time with Thomas Levet, who is recovering from a bout with vertigo and teeing it up at Walton Heath today in hopes of qualifying for the U.S. Open.

Just in case you think your golf swing is giving you problems, just consider this:

Are golfers particularly susceptible to vertigo?

I'm not sure about that, although there have been a few others who have suffered, such as David Duval, Peter Hanson. It's a condition that can hit anybody at any time. The golf swing did trigger my vertigo, though, and they had to find out why. When they did, that was when I could work towards a cure.