For Some Reason, Darren Clarke To Play PGA Tour In '14

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He hasn't been competitive on the European Tour since winning the Open Championship, but that's not stopping Darren Clarke from using his major-win exemption to play the PGA Tour in 2014. I wonder if he knows the season starts in a month?

From Sky Sports.

"I still feel I can be competitive at the highest level, I have always enjoyed America and the US Tour in the past and I am looking forward to playing there more often again."

Jack Nicklaus On Bill Campbell: "He always thought of others in the game of golf."

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Jack Nickaus on Bill Campbell after Campbell's passing on Aug. 30, 2013:

I first ran into Bill Campbell in 1955, when at 15 years old, I was playing in the US Amateur qualifier at Camargo in Cincinnati. I managed to qualify for the US Amateur and Bill must have evidently been impressed with something he saw in me, because the next year, he called the Sunnehanna (Amateur Invitational) people and got me an invitation there at age 16. He said to them, “This young man won’t embarrass you.” Thanks to Bill, I went to Sunnehanna and finished fifth.
 
I became good friends with Bill back then, although he was 17 years my senior. Bill was a wealth of knowledge, and if Bill saw something I needed to do or he had advice for me, he didn’t hesitate to call me. I appreciated that very much. He always had a good word to say; always was a great supporter; and always a good friend.
 
Through the years, we have enjoyed a special friendship and he was a tremendous member of our Captains Club for the Memorial Tournament. “A member of the Captains Club for 24 playings of the Memorial Tournament, Bill missed only one Captains Club meeting—that was two years ago—since the inception of the tournament in 1976. He was always there and involved. Bill always had something to contribute and was great with suggestions. Bill had a résumé that was unparalleled in the game of golf, so he provided a uniquely qualified perspective. His whole interest was whatever is good for the game of golf. To my knowledge, I don’t think Bill Campbell ever thought of Bill Campbell one time. He always thought of others in the game of golf.
 
Bill Campbell was such an intelligent and thoughtful man. He was successful in business. He served his country as an Army Captain in World War II. And he served our game for a lifetime. I thought he was the ultimate amateur in the game of golf. The game was never any purer than Bill Campbell. He absolutely did it all the right way.
 
Bill and I played a lot of golf together. In fact, we played together in the US Pro-Am in Cincinnati, when I partnered with Pandel Savic (long-time friend and former Chairman of the Memorial Tournament) my first year as a pro in 1962. Pandel and I were grouped with Bill and Byron Nelson in the final round. Obviously, Bill and I played together in other tournaments and other times, and I will cherish those moments and memories.
 
Barbara and I send out our most heartfelt condolences, our loving thoughts, and our ongoing prayers to Bill’s wife Joan and their entire family. Joan, just like Bill, was always a wonderful supporter and friend to us both.

There was this super profile of Campbell from Kingdom magazine, which included this story about Nicklaus, Campbell and Frank Hannigan:

Former USGA executive director Frank Hannigan likes to tell this anecdote, which sums up the respect Campbell earned from his peers: “I was talking with Jack Nicklaus about the USGA’s amateur status rules, including a prohibition against accepting free balls or clubs from equipment manufacturers. Nicklaus, who had turned professional by this time, was telling me the rule should be changed. He asserted that the prohibition was unenforceable. ‘Name one top amateur who doesn’t take anything from the manufacturers,’ Nicklaus said.

‘Bill Campbell,’ I replied. Nicklaus paused for a moment. ‘Okay. You can have Campbell,’ he said. ‘Name another one.’”

Stevie: All's Well With Tiger (*&^%$ Ass) And Phil ($%&^*)

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If you were looking for a good laugh to break the withering playoff tension bound to envelop Friday and Saturday's Tiger-Phil-Adam pairing at the Deutsche Bank Championship, Robert Lusetich has the story of Adam Scott looper Stevie Williams, new pal of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Or so he says.

You may recall Stevie used a less than flattering bit of imagery while suggesting that he would like to insert something into Tiger. And with Phil he just went with the more succinct "prick" description.

The Stevie-Tiger make-up story started at Merion where Stevie says he sensed that his presence made Tiger "uncomfortable," so feeling the pain and concern for his former mate, decided at Muirfield during the final round--and what better time to chum it up than during a major final round--Stevie talked auto racing with Tiger on the 8th hole. Voila! They've been exchanging loving glances ever since.

“When I used to caddie for him I’d watch it at (their rented home) and after a while he started watching with me and getting into it.”

They engaged in small talk; as often is the case in such situations, the subject wasn’t important.

“He asked me how the family was and I did the same. We just talked, you know,” Williams said.

“At some point in time, I just felt we had to break the ice."

As for Phil, all Stevie said is they are "all good."

Call me skeptical...

Hicks Thinks Johnny Will Stick Around Post-2014 U.S. Open

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Ed Sherman interviews Dan Hicks about taking over announce duties for Notre Dame football and also addresses the "kick to the stomach" of losing the US Open to Fox starting in 2015. But on the minds of most is sidekick Johnny Miller's status, whose passion for the US Open was undeniable.

From the Sherman Report where he posts the interview, and Sherman's Tribune column.

I feel worse for (Johnny Miller) than anyone. He gives so much emotion to that championship. After I talked to (producer Tommy Roy), I called Johnny. You could hear the emotion in his voice.

Miller will be 67 next year. Is there any chance he does one final Open in 2014 and rides off into the sunset?

I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think Johnny is too good to just walk away because we’re not doing the Open anymore. He still wants to do some golf. Our team is tight. If the crew was breaking up, then I could see him leaving.

Punter's Note: Players Changing Coaches At Any Time

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With the (questionable) efforts to make golf a year-round cash grab at the expense of the seasonal ebb-and-flow other sports enjoy, Tim Rosaforte spotlights another bizarre twist that has arrived with calendar-year golf: players changing coaches at any given time.

He cites the Westwood-to-Foley move, the not so surprising Watney-to-Anderson move (nice going Butch!) and the very surprising Donald-to-Cook move.

"Used to say: 'We'll really focus on this in November,' " Foley said Sunday morning. "You can't do that anymore."

Players are looking for the type of impact Matt Kuchar gained from going to Chris O'Connell in 2006 for the one-plane swing, or in the case of Gary Woodland, some short-game counsel from the coach of the game's best short-game player. By going to Pat Goss on a cold rainy day in Chicago the week of this year's Masters, Woodland started learning the fundamentals of bunker play that paid off with a win at the Reno-Tahoe Open and a T-2 in the Barclays.

"It wasn't a rewrite," Goss said. "It was like writing it for the first time. When he came to me, his short game was terrible."

Goss has coached Donald since his freshman year at Northwestern and will continue to help him with his short game. What has changed is that Donald no longer uses Goss as his swing coach -- a switch Goss saw coming. He sensed that Luke had lost faith "when he started trying other things on his own in another direction."

Dustin Instagram's A Photo Of Paulina Gretzky Wearing A Ring

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And it's on her left hand, and it's absurdly large, so I believe this means Ms. Gretzky is off the market. Sorry to Alex and Sam and all of the others who were hoping Paulina would dump Dustin Johnson for them.

Paulina hasn't Tweeted anything personally, but did re-Tweet a congratulatory message from Hannah Selleck.

Thanks to reader Brad Power for spotting and Tweeting this momentus moment in golf history.

Westwood Twitter Tirade; Countdown Begins Toward His Re-Retirement From Social Media

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Jack De Menezes encapsulates Lee Westwood's post-PGA Championship Twitter tirade toward the "trolls" which, unless you really have a lot of free time, is not worth the time.

Unless you like to see how an Officer Of The Order Of The British Empire thinks of others, especially after a major championship!

Westwood also took aim at former Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie, responding to criticism made by the golfer-turned-TV pundit by replying “who?”.

His tirade continued, trying to goad more from those having a go at him, as he said: "Ahhh just when I'm in the mood the haters all go quiet! They must have the porn on! Ahhh the haters have all gone quiet now ! Obviously didn't like a bit back at em!

"Come on you girly boy trolls! I've only won just over 2 mill on course this year! Need you to keep me entertained a bit longer than this!

Uh, hate to interrupt, but is that pounds or dollars? Because if it's dollars, well, Boo Weekley's won $2.5 million...

"I love slagging people back! Had enough of sitting there taking it. Bring it on!"

After appearing to grow tired of tweeting, the world No 14 signed off for the night by saying: "Not been hacked. Just honest. Bored now. Westy out."

He suggested there might have been some aid this tirade...

 


Feherty asked Westwood earlier this year about quitting social media.

"It can take over your life, [you can] get addicted to it. The thing that put me off was the amount of negativity. Negativity I don't need in my life."

I forgot Feherty's advice of using it as an offensive weapon. Sounds like someone listened!

Bubba To Chipotle Customers: Dinner's On Me!

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Thanks to reader Pete the Luddite for Tristan Thornburgh's item on Bubba Watson picking up the tab for 60 mostly strangers at Chipotle, once again revealing the place you are most likely to see PGA Tour players when they visit your town.

Caddie Paul Tesori Tweeted a photo of the receipt.

 

Snead's Claret Jug Brings In $262K At Auction

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For Immediate Release...

Sam Snead’s 1946 British Open Claret Jug brings $262,900 to lead The Sam Snead Collection, Aug. 1, at Heritage Auctions
 
Offered by Snead’s family; “Slammin’” Sam Snead’s 1954 Masters trophy draws spirited bidding to realize $191,200; 14 featured lots total $1,106,868 for rare memorabilia Heritage’s Platinum Night Sports event at the National in Chicago
 
DALLAS – The name of Sam Snead, one of the greatest golfers to have ever graced the links, inspired collectors to “Major” heights as his 1946 British Open Claret Jug brought $262,900 as the heart of The Sam Snead Collection, offered as the centerpiece of Heritage Auctions’ Aug. 1-2 Platinum Night Sports Auction in Rosemont, IL, taking place in conjunction with The National Sports Collector’s Convention.
 
The first 14 lots of the Snead Collection realized an impressive $1,106,868 altogether.
 
Snead’s 1954 Masters trophy also provided considerable fireworks in Chicago, as the trophy rose to $191,200, finally selling to an anonymous collector bidding online.
 
“One smart and determined collector actually won The British Open tonight, or at least the trophy,” joked Chris Ivy, Director of Sports at Heritage Auctions. “Collectors recognized that this was not only a chance to win one of the rarest prizes in golf, but that it’s also associated with one of the greatest names to ever play.”

R.I.P. Jim Langley

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Quite possibly the nicest man who ever lived. The longtime head professional at Cypress Point, former Marine, former Cal basketball player and great golfer passed away Saturday night the 19th and would have celebrated a birthday Sunday the 20th.

Joel Zuckerman recently interviewed Jim and posted this wonderful profile of the great man.