Arnie's Characterization Of Rory Snub Depends On Who You Read

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Simon Evans of Reuters with the story on Arnold Palmer's disappointment at Rory McIlroy passing on the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

"I'm disappointed that they are not here, no question about it," Palmer told reporters on Wednesday.

"I'm certainly not happy that those fellas chose not to come this year. We are doing everything we can to entice them to come and play."

And there was this dry humor from The King:

Q.  Given your goals for this event, how disappointing is it not to have Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald in the field, and how hard did you try to persuade them to play?

ARNOLD PALMER:  Well, yes, I'm disappointed that they are not here, no question about it.  They are the top players on the TOUR right now in the positions that they are in, and I am disappointed.

I had a letter from Rory seeking my consultation and told me he wasn't coming.  And of course that made me feel great.  (Laughter) And if you believe that, I'll talk to you outside afterwards.

Anyway, back to the story that appeared on the Reuters website and at Sky Sports. Check out the different handling. First at Reuters.

And then Sky Sports:

Rory's Asking Price: $750,000

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Martin Blake reports that not only is he a nice guy, but Rory McIlroy's price to show up at a tournament where such enticements are allowed is far lower than you-know-who. IMG is exploring options to get McIlroy to Perth for October's new European Tour event there.

The $2 million Perth International at Lake Karrinyup from October 18-21 has emerged as the most likely tournament to draw the new world No. 1, since it is co-sanctioned by the European tour. Although his asking price is estimated to be at least $750,000, IMG, the new tournament's promoter, says it would love to have the Northern Irishman.

''We haven't had any discussions with him, but there's no tournament in the world [that] wouldn't love to have him,'' David Rollo, IMG's head of golf, said yesterday. ''It's difficult with scheduling, but we'd be stupid not to explore it.''

Betting On Rory In '12

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Brian Keogh posts some of the tantalizing and not-so-tantalizing Rory McIlroy wagers offered up by the betting houses, including just 10/1 odds to win the U.S. Open at Olympic Club even though it'll be an entirely different course (firmer, narrower, colder few driver holes) compared to Congressional (soft, wider, hot, lots of drivers).

Paddy Power also features a series of tempting golf bets for 2012, including its ‘Rory McIlroy Specials’.

For the majors, Paddypower.com rates McIlroy at 7/1 behing Tiger (5/1) for the Masters, 8/1 for the Open, 10/1 for the US Open and 12/1 for the US PGA.

Not offered are any Holly Sweeney related bets, but after reading Alana Fearon's latest story in the Mirror (thanks reader David), there may more drama to come.

The model is pulling out all the stops to make sure she doesn't bump into McIlroy and his new lover, Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, 21. She has even banned Rory, 22, from sending her presents or cards and got a pal to deliver presents to her dogs at the home the ex-lovers shared.