Tiger Will Not Be Fined, But I Bet These Boys Will Be!

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Tiger at Hazeltine today:

Q. Have you heard from the TOUR regarding Sunday and the fine, and also, you're not a guy that typically putts his cards out on the table, and Padraig was in here earlier saying that it was easier for you having won the tournament to say what you said, and he felt in his position he would keep his mouth shut; why do you feel you had to say what you said if you felt that you needed to, and is there a point to be made with that, put your whistles away at the end of a game and let the players decide it?
TIGER WOODS: Okay, what part of your question do you want me to answer first? (Laughter).

Q. First have you heard from the TOUR?
TIGER WOODS: Yes, I've heard from the TOUR and there's no fine that. Was an erroneous report.

Now I know they haven't hired the VP of PGA Tour Tweet Monitoring yet, but I'm getting a vibe that stuff like this will force their hand. Ian Poulter Tweeted a photo the other day and then apologized after apparently getting a lot of complaints, which is why the image and a couple of other Tweets sounding a wee bit iffy subsequently came down!

And the lovely image, not to mention wonderful plug for MarquisJet from today's Trevinos:

Padraig Taking Career Inspiration From Howard Hughes **

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Absolutely do not miss Karl MacGinty's setup and interview with Padraig Harrington about making swing changes after winning two straight majors.

Q: Are great sportsmen different to the rest of us? Can we only try and imagine what they, or you, do?

PH: It's complicated to explain what's going on. I'm trying to understand the whole process (of playing golf) so that I can control it. I wouldn't be able to accept performing without knowing why. I don't think I'd enjoy winning if I didn't know why I was winning. I think the ultimate satisfaction of winning is understanding how I got there. While I admire sporting achievement, I pay very little respect to somebody who wins without knowing why.

Q: Like the guy who smashes the balls up in pool and some go in?

PH: No. No. Actually it's the opposite. It would be the guy who gets in on the pool table; has the perfect cueing action and clears everything up but has no understanding of what he's doing.

Q: Who, for example?

PH: I'm not going to give you examples but I am all the time trying to figure out, do people understand what they're doing?

Q: Like Maradona?

PH: Yeah. I've very little time for wasted talent and very little time for the talent that has no understanding of why they do what they do. If somebody's best in the world at something and they can't explain in detail why they were there, I wouldn't be interested.

And here I thought most great athletes were successful because they didn't have a clue what made them so good!

Q: Can that be damaging?

PH: Howard Hughes. As a 14-year-old kid, he got his dad to buy him a sports car so he could pull it apart. He spent a month breaking it down bit-by-bit and then putting it all back together. Well, that's me with my golf game.

Howard also spent the last few years of his life locked up in the Desert Inn wearing Kleenex boxes for shoes.

Damaging? Oh you be the judge.

"He’s started referring to next week’s extravaganza as — deep breath now — the ‘British Open,’ for heaven’s sake."

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Derek Lawrenson searches for deep hidden meaning in Ian Poulter's Tweeting and also notes this:

That 15ft putt at Birkdale was actually the last time Poulter was seen in action on British soil. Never mind those spelling mistakes. Here’s something worth feeling horrified about: the lad has spent so long in America he’s started referring to next week’s extravaganza as — deep breath now — the ‘British Open,’ for heaven’s sake.

Peter Dawson, chief executive of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, would probably be well within his rights to take the Claret Jug back off him if he started any winner’s speech with those words.

Irrefutable Evidence Of Tour Pros Making Too Much Money: Vijay Offers To Bail Out Allan Stanford

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Darren Rovell reports:

The professional golfer was one of three people who offered to sign for a portion of the financier's bail, his attorney said in court in Houston on Thursday, according to CNBC's Scott Cohn.

Cohn said Singh would have been on the hook for $500,000 if Stanford fled, but he was not allowed to help with bail because he is not a citizen of the United States.

And...

"Vijay's opinion is that Stanford has yet to be proven guility and until then has chosen to act supportively," said Dave Haggith, spokesman for IMG, the management company that counts Singh as a client.

Haggith continued, we wanted to help out as well, we're still waiting for our 10% and it wouldn't make sense at this time.

"I didn't even know that Congressional held the Open."

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Continuing to ensure his likeness will have a spot in the next Dan Jenkins novel, Anthony Kim gave another impressive press conference last week at the U.S. Open. I did not attend but heard about it and saved the printed version and finally read it today while going through my stuff.

He has no recollection of watching the 2002 Open at Bethpage. Fine. He caddied for Justin Timberlake in the Golf Digest break 100 deal, having never seen the course and prepared by practicing at Trump National Bedminster. Kim eventually played each nine once before the event. Bet you'd like to have known that before picking him in your pool!

But I loved this most.

Q. You won at Congressional last year; hosted an Open. The setup is so different, that there's no confidence built because you know you've won on a track that can host this kind of tournament?

ANTHONY KIM: I didn't even know that Congressional held the Open. But --

Q. It will again.

ANTHONY KIM: Now it gives me a little bit more confidence going into the week. So thank you. But I'm excited to hear that, because the course set up well for my eye.

Sir Nick! Queen Recognizes Faldo's Contributions To Reviving American Golf

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Mark Reason reports that Nick Faldo has been knighted, the ultimate recognition of charitable works such as using your Ryder Cup captaincy to help dejected American males feel better about themselves or spending countless hours working for the Golf Channel.

Faldo said: "I was delighted to hear the news that I will be receiving a knighthood and am more than a little bit humbled. It has come as a real surprise and the reaction from my children, family and friends has made this a very special moment for me."

Faldo stressed that a large part of the honour was its recognition of the Faldo Series that works to inspire young golfers. But having stated his pleasure at becoming only the second British professional golfer to be knighted, he seemed a little flummoxed by the timing.

Reason has broken the news five hours ahead of the royal palace's embargo. There goes his knighthood!

The Intervention Worked: Padraig To Stop Tinkering With "Rant"...For Now

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Brian Keough delivers the news:

“I have been trying to fix something in my swing that has been annoying me and while I still have more work to do on it, the important thing is that I’ve finally got the answer I wanted.

“I have been on this particular rant for the last two or three years and it has only been in the last four or six weeks that I have finally figured out what it is, what I need to do to change it.

“That doesn’t mean that is going to be there for the next period of time. But a huge part of this is finding the answer and because I have that, I can maybe put this on the back burner for a while.”

The news will be music to the ears of Harrington’s wife Caroline, caddie Ronan Flood and mental coach Dr Bob Rotella, who have been begging him to cut back on his marathon sessions on the driving range this season.