"This is the difficult thing, when you see that the end is coming."

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Oliver Brown files a heartwrenching must read story on his visit with Seve Ballesteros.

It is heartbreaking that it shall not now come to pass. Ballesteros, barely out of his hospital bed, was first attracted to the notion of a St Andrews comeback last July, when he watched Tom Watson revive days of yore at Turnberry. He could scarcely credit that his former nemesis came within one errant eight-footer of winning a sixth Open, aged 59.

"I feel very sorry about that missed putt for Tom. For me, the champion of that Open was Tom. He did everything to win, but golf is an unpredictable game. He was a great inspiration to me. That was when I thought about going to St Andrews. He brought me that desire and determination.

"St Andrews, you see, is unique: the road hole, Hell Bunker, the museum, the hotel, the shops in the town where everybody is selling golf – all of it. I want to spend time with the people there. They want to see me, and I want to see them. It's an appreciation."

"Steve has been a major part in Lee's rise the last three years."

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Lee Westwood not only opened with a 63, he admitted that his initial snub from the Memphis stop was not tied to his UPS sponsorship.

But most impressive is his physical overhaul, and John Huggan profiles the likely U.S. Open favorite with non-clueless bookies in the UK who clearly haven't watched Tiger play in a while.

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“(The Ryder Cup) is the most important event of the year to him."

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That's Anthony Kim who Rex Hoggard is writing about, according to his swing coach Adam Schreiber. When was the last time you heard of an American circling the Ryder Cup on his schedule? Especially as he faces hand surgery.

The math is simple, at least to a 24-year-old with a bag full of Advil. He wants to play all four majors, secure his spot on captain Corey Pavin’s team and, when the pain becomes too unbearable, have surgery on his thumb, a procedure that will take between two and three months to recover from.

They may not have believed in excuses in the Kim childhood home, and they must not have been big on calendars, either. Not when the last putt at “Glory’s Last Shot” drops 45 days before the United States and Europe resume the Transatlantic grudge match.

Even if he skips the PGA Championship and has the surgery following July’s British Open that would leave little time to rehab his thumb and his game for what is clearly the Super Bowl of Kim’s year.

“(The Ryder Cup) is the most important event of the year to him,” Schreiber said. “So for him to find this out in a Ryder Cup year, it’s pretty challenging.”

For an entertaining look at this week's SI Golf Plus cover shoot of Kim, check out snapper Darren Carroll's blog post and gallery (embedded below) recounting how he got his shots. It's becoming clear that AK has watched one-too-many episodes of Entourage.

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