"She has no control over the ball right now."

David Steele of the Baltimore Sun talking to Gary Gilchrist, Michelle Wie's former instructor:

"She needs to re-evaluate the team around here ... [and] she needs to be more clear on what her goals are and the steps she needs to get to them," Gilchrist said. "And make sure everybody around her understands them. Right now with the way she's swinging, it's very difficult for her to play well. She has no control over the ball right now."

What credibility does he have? Oh, right, he teaches Suzann Pettersen who just won the LPGA Championship and nearly won the season's first major. 

"Nothing would have given me more pleasure than inflicting a touch of pain and suffering on the US Tour's unworthy wealthy."

Vintage Frank Hannigan, writing in The Scotsman on Europe's U.S. Open winless drought:

I'll tell you a secret. I held high office at the USGA in those days and we wanted a European to win. It would have emphasised the worldliness of our event and victories by Europeans would have seemed a put-down for the US PGA Tour. Nothing would have given me more pleasure than inflicting a touch of pain and suffering on the US Tour's unworthy wealthy.

But you let us down. And now your prospects are worse. In the world of golf gambling (illegal in the United States and therefore cited here only as hearsay) the lowest-priced Europeans are an uninviting 30-1, the numbers cited for Padraig Harrington, who comes close but always seems to make a six at least once during the final nine holes; Sergio Garcia, who has been "promising" for at least a decade and still misses three-foot putts; and the pretty swinging Luke Donald, who fancies himself as a genuine artist - on canvas at least. Trust me, Ben Hogan did not own a palette.

As for the Ryder Cup, a thought: it matters much more to your side than it does to ours. I don't think it means much at all to Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson, who can tolerate, if barely, playing for nothing while big money is sucked in by the PGA of America. But what's intolerable is being forced to attend a string of the world's most boring dinner parties during the run-up to the event.

And he slips this in... 

Indeed, it saddens me to think that not nearly enough of you are going to see this new version of Oakmont. The United States Golf Association, in its infinite greed, sold the television rights to Rupert Murdoch's Sky operation so as to diminish the audience in the UK. The BBC, thank goodness, continues to own the rights to the Masters.

"...the editors made a quadruple bogey by not including Tiger on its 100 Most Influential People in The World list."

I should cut Tim Rosaforte some slack for his touching tribute to Stu Schneider in this week's column, but I know deep down that Stu wouldn't want me to let these Larry King-esque musings go by without some sort of comment!

Time is by far my favorite news magazine, but the editors made a quadruple bogey by not including Tiger on its 100 Most Influential People in The World list. And I'm not just talking about what he does on the golf course. Woods may be having a hard time attracting a Memorial-like field to his new tournament, but seeing how the tough Washington crowd is laying down the red carpet for him is an indication of his influence and power.

Sure, right behind a couple of interns at Powell-Tate who can probably influence on the workings of our fine government than our golfing hero.

Torrey Pines Update

Tod Leonard looks at Torrey Pines, 368 days out from hosting the U.S. Open.

Torrey South is currently a wildly stitched quilt of many shades of green, brown, yellow and white. The rough is burned out from a chemical, applied intentionally, that killed all but the kikuyu grass. A few Torrey pines stand in huge crates, ready for transplantation. Tractor tracks are imbedded in mud near a few holes.

There hasn't been this much construction on the South since the course was completely redesigned by architect Rees Jones in 2001 to attract the Open. But it has to look worse before it gets better.

And they might as well order the rye grass seed now, because kikuyu rough isn't going to fly... 

The biggest concern, Davis said, is whether the kikuyu rough will be healthy enough by the end of the summer that he can commit to it for the Open. Otherwise, they will have to overseed the rough with rye before the tournament to enhance the thickness.

“The reason I can sleep at night is knowing that we have that rye as an option,” Woodward said.

Official This Week: Pinehurst In 2014?

Newsday's Mark Herrmann looks at Shinnecock Hills' slim hopes of grabbing a U.S. Open hosting bid anytime soon, with this from the Club's GM Gregg Deger:

Deger acknowledged what USGA executive director David Fay said last year, that his group and the club are discussing another Open. But, Deger added, "It's not too intently. It hasn't been active."

Marty Parkes, senior director of media relations and communications for the USGA, said, "Conversations are still going on, but I don't know of anything imminent."

Time's a-wasting. The USGA has booked the Open for the next six years, including 2009 at Bethpage Black. Already, Shinnecock has missed its once-every-nine-years call (after 1986, 1995, 2004) because Merion has been awarded the 2013 event.

Fay probably will announce the 2014 site this week, with speculation leaning toward Pinehurst No. 2. The Journal-News of Westchester reported that Winged Foot, which was lauded for being tough but fair with a 5-over par winning score last year, has asked to host in 2015.

A Look At Oakhurst

Chico Harlan in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looks at Oakhurst Links, a must if you are ever in West Virginia.

Golf Channel and European Tour Events

Reader Gary notes that there was a 2-hour weather delay on the European Tour today, meaning Golf Channel's broadcast window "ran out" with the leaders having 6 or so holes to play, and the programming switched to the dreaded infomercials.

Anyone out there know precisely why they don't see the tournament to its conclusion? I'm sure our buddy Stu would have gotten to the bottom of this.

Oakmont's Design Evolution

Ron Whitten presents a detailed and fascinating account of Oakmont's design evolution and he attempts to figure who was most responsible for course's character. It may surprise you.

Much less inspiring or interesting is Tom Marzolf's description of the work he and Tom Fazio have done there in recent years.

"You can hit great, straight drives in the US Open and still miss the fairway."

John Huggan follows up on his Golf Digest interview with Geoff Ogilvy with a few more questions for the defending champion. Ogilvy touched on a similar notion about driving accuracy in the Q&A we did for Links (not online). I think he's onto something with regard to the effect of the 21-24 yard landing area...

JH: Ironically, the US Open isn't the one of the four your game would seem most suited to.

GO: No. I have thought a lot about that. I would have expected, for someone like me who is a little wayward off the tee even when playing well, that Augusta or the Open would be the best bet. But US Opens are so narrow that straight hitters almost lose their advantage. Everyone is in the rough. And I'm used to that and they are not.

You can hit great, straight drives in the US Open and still miss the fairway. So it almost works against those guys. I mean, I'm quite happy hitting seven shots out of the rough. I do that every day. They don't.

I'm not alone, though. Take a look at the leader board at Winged Foot.

Phil was up there and he isn't the straightest hitter. Everyone talks about how you have to hit it straight at the US Open. And I thought that too. But in hindsight I'm not so sure. No-one can hit it straight enough to hit every fairway in the US Open. It's so difficult, almost impossible really. You can be a great driver of the ball and still miss six fairways in a day. And you can drive badly and do that.

JH: What do you think of all the rough around the greens?

GO: I think some of the holes at Winged Foot would have been better served if balls were allowed to run away from the greens, rather than get stopped within a few feet.

JH: Which is what happened with your approach to the last green came up short.

GO: Exactly. That created quite an interesting shot.

Winged Foot is a stellar course though. I can't say anything bad about it because I won! I loved the fact that they had trimmed the trees so that you can see a lot of the course under the branches. That has been lost in a lot of places, but Winged Foot had that look about it.

It also has some of the coolest greens I have ever seen.

Nonconforming Driver: The Prez Jet In Context

Chris Millard's story on the USGA under Walter Driver marks the first time a publication of any kind has addressed the USGA presidential jet. Millard considers it in the context of USGA staff outrage over benefit cuts and Driver's "change agent" style:

...in February USGA staff was notified of significant cuts to their medical plan. Further, the Educational Assistance Program, a prized USGA benefit, which since 1997 has assisted Golf House employees with the cost of a child's college tuition, would be phased out.

Compounding the issue--and confounding staffers--were the following: First, only weeks prior to the revelation that benefits would be cut, the USGA had signed two new deep-pocketed corporate sponsors. Second, less than a year before rumors of the cuts reached Golf House staff, news media had revealed that the USGA had acquired time on a private jet for use by the president and the executive committee.

Uh guys, it was here. Quibbling, I know. Continue...

On Feb. 6 USGA staffers were advised of the benefit cuts via memo (a copy of which was obtained by Golf World). The cuts, their timing and the manner in which they were presented stunned and angered employees. "The way it was couched to us, they were basically taking something away without really telling [us] what was going to happen," says one USGA veteran with college-aged children. "A lot of people here felt that wasn't fair."

Fast forward...

In an unusual move, Driver flew to Far Hills to quell concerns. "The staff had not been given what I call the ‘three-legged stool,' and I wanted to explain to them the process," says Driver.

Please, would some inkslinger at Oakmont please ask Driver to flesh out that metaphor.

 
Onward...

Outside observers were flabbergasted. "Walter Driver [saying] in his address we've made changes to help us improve our potential for getting quality staffers in the future--when in fact they were cutting benefits--was the ultimate corporate act: Say one thing and do another," says Shackelford, who frequently posts provocative and acerbic comment on his blog. "For me that was the all-time low, really."

Acerbic?

Oh, sorry. Believe it or not, I am building to a point here...

Before Driver took over, longstanding USGA tradition called for executive committee members to pay their own travel expenses for association business. Once disclosed, the idea of a USGA-funded private jet for executive committee use sent shockwaves through a century-old volunteer ethos. One former president who asked not to be identified says, "I have been away from the institution for a long time. Priorities and demands change. For example, a jet for executive-committee use would have been unheard of in my time."

Driver has been demonized as the procurer and chief beneficiary of the plane when, in fact, he inherited the lease from Fred Ridley's presidency. The deal with Citation Shares was made, ironically, at the suggestion of the past presidents. Driver is unruffled by the controversy. He considers the plane a tool, one that has allowed him to expand his USGA schedule. "If people don't think it's appropriate," he says, "either I or the next president simply won't do those things."

Those things? Would those be boring speeches that really do nothing to impact any lives? Okay, sometimes I am acerbic.

Anyway, here's my question. If the past president's pushed this jet on Ridley and Driver (joined at the hip, something Millard left out), and Driver truly cared about the future health (no pun) of the USGA and its staff, wouldn't he have said "no thanks, save the hundreds of thousands of dollars you'll lavish on me with this jet for a better cause."

Now, I know it's from page 291 of the CEO playbook to blame the board for those excessive stock options and perks while your workers are taking pay and benefit cuts, but just an FYI for Walter Driver, there are still some CEO's who actually commit acts of charity for the good of the team:

[Gerald] Grinstein, who has led the USA's No. 3 airline since January 2004, said he wants Delta instead to invest what he would have gotten in post-bankruptcy bonuses, to be used for scholarships and emergency hardship assistance for Delta employees, families and retirees. Under a post-bankruptcy compensation plan unveiled Monday, Grinstein could have been expected to net about $10 million, including such bonuses, over about three years.

Now that's my kind of "change agent." 

"I had a thing for Tiger when I was young. But not any more."

That's from a 16-year-old who is playing in this week's U.S. Open. Lorne Rubenstein has the story of Richard Lee, Canadian-born runner-up in last year's U.S. Junior Amateur and playing in his final event as an amateur.

Monty Again Ready To Almost Win U.S. Open

James Corrigan tells us way more than we ever wanted to know about Colin Montgomerie's close calls at the U.S. Open.

Mrs. Daly Attempts To Implement Alternative Weight Loss Program On Husband*

Good times in Memphis...

John Daly, who lives on the course where he is playing in the Stanford St. Jude Championship, reported to authorities that his wife attempted to stab him with a steak knife early Friday, authorities said.

Daly, 41, called police about 6 a.m. on Friday to report the alleged assault, Shelby County Sheriff's department spokesman Steve Shular said.

IN-PROGRESS SCORES: Updates from St. Jude Championship

When deputies arrived, she and the couple's children were not there. Deputies could not find the knife he claimed she used.

Red marks could be seen on both of Daly's cheeks as his warmed up on the course Friday afternoon. Play had been delayed by weather.

It will be Daly's decision whether to press charges, Shular said. No charges had been filed Friday afternoon.

Update on 2007-06-09 04:38 by Geoff

* Daly comments:

"While I slept at home last night, I was the victim of an assault by my wife," Daly said.

"This morning, I filed a complaint with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. They are investigating, and I'll have no further comment on the matter while they pursue their investigation.

"My only concern at this point is for the safety of my children and myself, and we are working closely with local authorities and PGA Tour security officials to assure appropriate safeguards."

Can You Spot The $#@%! Pairing? 2007 Edition

 Last year there were no definitive winners in the USGA's annual, unofficial $#@%! pairing. Still, here are the 2007 groupings. Your nominations for that pairing of three jovial, sunny, truly beloved contestants.

<sub>Thursday (June 14), hole #1; Friday (June 15), hole #10 

            7:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Ken Duke, Palm City, Fla.; Sam Walker, England; Johnson Wagner, Charlotte, N.C.
            7:11 a.m. - 12:41 p.m. - Craig Kanada, The Woodlands, Texas; Jon Mills, Canada; Tom Gillis, Oxford, Mich.
            7:22 a.m. - 12:52 p.m. - Allen Doyle, La Grange, Ga.; Olin Browne, Tequesta, Fla.; Tom Byrum, Richmond, Texas
            7:33 a.m. - 1:03 p.m. - Nick Dougherty, England; A-Trip Kuehne, Dallas, Texas; Ricky Barnes, Scottsdale, Ariz.
            7:44 a.m. - 1:14 p.m. - Ryuji Imada, Japan; Vaughn Taylor, Augusta, Ga.; Michael Campbell, New Zealand
            7:55 a.m. - 1:25 p.m. - Jose Maria Olazabal, Spain; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Pablo Martin, Spain
            8:06 a.m. - 1:36 p.m. - Tiger Woods, Windermere, Fla.; A-Richie Ramsay, Scotland; Geoff Ogilvy, Australia
            8:17 a.m. - 1:47 p.m. - Justin Leonard, Dallas, Texas; Rory Sabbatini, South Africa; Jerry Kelly, Madison, Wis.
            8:28 a.m. - 1:58 p.m. - Retief Goosen, South Africa; Luke Donald, England; Angel Cabrera, Argentina
            8:39 a.m. - 2:09 p.m. - Bob Estes, Austin, Texas; Johan Edfors, Sweden; Ryan Palmer, Amarillo, Texas
            8:50 a.m. - 2:20 p.m. - Woody Austin, Derby, Kan.; Mathew Goggin, Australia; Pat Perez, Scottsdale, Ariz.
            9:01 a.m. - 2:31 p.m. - Jason Allen, Pueblo, Colo.; Mike Small, Champaign, Ill.; Geoffrey Sisk, Marshfield, Mass.
            9:12 a.m. - 2:42 p.m. - Michael Berg, Detroit Lakes, Minn.; A-Jason Kokrak, Warren, Ohio; Kyle Dobbs, Ann Arbor, Mich. 

Thursday (June 14), hole #10; Friday (June 15), hole #1
 

            7:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Michael Putnam, Tacoma, Wash.; A-Rhys Davies, Wales; Lee Williams, Alexander City, Ala.
            7:11 a.m. - 12:41 p.m. - Boo Weekley, Milton, Fla.; Nobuhiro Masuda, Japan; Bubba Watson, Bagdad, Fla.
            7:22 a.m. - 12:52 p.m. - A-John Kelly, Saint Louis, Mo.; Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland; Kirk Triplett, Scottsdale, Ariz.
            7:33 a.m. - 1:03 p.m. - Colin Montgomerie, Scotland; Chris DiMarco, Orlando, Fla.; Tim Clark, South Africa
            7:44 a.m. - 1:14 p.m. - Ernie Els, South Africa; Zach Johnson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Padraig Harrington, Ireland
            7:55 a.m. - 1:25 p.m. - Thomas Bjorn, Denmark; Ben Curtis, Stow, Ohio; Stephen Ames, Canada
            8:06 a.m. - 1:36 p.m. - K.J. Choi, Korea; David Toms, Shreveport, La.; Mike Weir, Canada
            8:17 a.m. - 1:47 p.m. - Stuart Appleby, Australia; Scott Verplank, Edmond, Okla.; Robert Allenby, Australia
            8:28 a.m. - 1:58 p.m. - Todd Hamilton, Westlake, Texas; John Rollins, Richmond, Va.; Anders Hansen, Denmark
            8:39 a.m. - 2:09 p.m. - Niclas Fasth, Sweden; Arron Oberholser, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Nathan Green, Australia
            8:50 a.m. - 2:20 p.m. - Nick Watney, Fresno, Calif.; Peter Hanson, Sweden; Harrison Frazar, Dallas, Texas
            9:01 a.m. - 2:31 p.m. - A-Philip Pettitt Jr, Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Warren Pineo, Palm Desert, Calif.; John Koskinen, Baraga, Mich.
            9:12 a.m. - 2:42 p.m. - Andy Matthews, Grand Rapids, Mich.; A-Jeff Golden, Winter Park, Fla.; Michael Block, Aliso Viejo, Calif.
 

Thursday (June 14), hole #1; Friday (June 15), hole #10
 

            12:30 p.m. - 7:00 a.m. - Jeff Brehaut, Los Altos, Calif.; Andrew Buckle, Australia; Darron Stiles, Pinehurst, N.C.
            12:41 p.m. - 7:11 a.m. - Martin Laird, Scotland; A-Alex Prugh, Spokane, Wash.; Todd Fischer, Pleasanton, Calif.
            12:52 p.m. - 7:22 a.m. - Joe Durant, Pensacola, Fla.; Steve Stricker, Madison, Wis.; Joey Sindelar, Horseheads, N.Y.
            1:03 p.m. - 7:33 a.m. - Trevor Immelman, South Africa; Stewart Cink, Duluth, Ga.; Paul Casey, England
            1:14 p.m. - 7:44 a.m. - Vijay Singh, Fiji; Davis Love III, Sea Island, Ga.; Henrik Stenson, Sweden
            1:25 p.m. - 7:55 a.m. - Jeff Sluman, Hinsdale, Ill.; Fred Funk, Ponte Vedra, Fla.; Toru Taniguchi, Japan
            1:36 p.m. - 8:06 a.m. - Camilo Villegas, Colombia; Lucas Glover, Greenville, S.C.; Aaron Baddeley, Australia
            1:47 p.m. - 8:17 a.m. - David Howell, England; J.J. Henry, Fort Worth, Texas; Rod Pampling, Australia
            1:58 p.m. - 8:28 a.m. - Lee Westwood, England; Chad Campbell, Andrews, Texas; Carl Pettersson, Sweden
            2:09 p.m. - 8:39 a.m. - Brett Quigley, Barrington, R.I.; Anthony Wall, England; Hunter Mahan, Plano, Texas
            2:20 p.m. - 8:50 a.m. - Kevin Sutherland, Sacramento, Calif.; Soren Kjeldsen, Denmark; Eric Axley, Knoxville, Tenn.
            2:31 p.m. - 9:01 a.m. - Joe Daley, Scottsdale, Ariz.; A-Martin Ureta, Chile; Miguel Rodriguez, Argentina
            2:42 p.m. - 9:12 a.m. - A-Chris Condello, Heathrow, Fla.; Adam Speirs, Canada; Jacob Rogers, Tucson, Ariz. 

Thursday (June 14), hole #10; Friday (June 15), hole #1
 

            12:30 p.m. - 7:00 a.m. - Jason Dufner, Auburn, Ala.; Darren Fichardt, South Africa; Chris Stroud, Sea Island, Ga.
            12:41 p.m. - 7:11 a.m. - Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn.; Christian Cevaer, France; Steve Marino, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
            12:52 p.m. - 7:22 a.m. - Shaun Micheel, Germantown, Tenn.; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa; Tom Pernice Jr, Murietta, Calif.
            1:03 p.m. - 7:33 a.m. - Nick O'Hern, Australia; Brett Wetterich, Jupiter, Fla.; Robert Karlsson, Sweden
            1:14 p.m. - 7:44 a.m. - Kaname Yokoo, Japan; Paul Goydos, Dove Canyon, Calif.; Kenneth Ferrie, England
            1:25 p.m. - 7:55 a.m. - Ian Poulter, England; Ryan Moore, Puyallup, Wash.; Shingo Katayama, Japan
            1:36 p.m. - 8:06 a.m. - Phil Mickelson, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Adam Scott, Australia; Jim Furyk, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
            1:47 p.m. - 8:17 a.m. - Lee Janzen, Orlando, Fla.; Steve Elkington, Australia; Rich Beem, Austin, Texas
            1:58 p.m. - 8:28 a.m. - Charles Howell, Orlando, Fla.; Justin Rose, England; Sean O'Hair, West Chester, Pa.
            2:09 p.m. - 8:39 a.m. - Anthony Kim, Dallas, Texas; Jeev Milkha Singh, India; Dean Wilson, Kaneohe, Hawaii
            2:20 p.m. - 8:50 a.m. - Tim Petrovic, Tampa, Fla.; Marcus Fraser, Australia; Tripp Isenhour, Orlando, Fla.
            2:31 p.m. - 9:01 a.m. - D.J. Brigman, Albuquerque, N.M.; A-Richard Lee, Chandler, Ariz.; George McNeill, Ft Myers, Fla.
            2:42 p.m. - 9:12 a.m. - Frank Bensel, Purchase, N.Y.; Todd Rossetti, Dallas, Texas; A-Mark Harrell, Hazlehurst, Ga.</sub>

Noncomforming Driver: COR v. Grooves

In Chris Millard's Golf World cover story, the banning of U-grooves comes up.

You remember that right?

The guys are bombing it out there insane distances because the USGA believes the guys think they can spin it out of the light rough with today's grooves better than they can from the fairway (based on a field study of nine players). And because the drive distances are so eye-opening, the USGA wants to stop this embarrassing practice that makes what is left of today's fairways less meaningful.

By 2009, anyone wanting to play a competitive event under USGA rules will have to buy new clubs with conforming grooves.

Here's what USGA President Walter Driver tells Millard:

Oddly, the impetus for the grooves proposal was the state of play on tour, a very small but highly visible slice of the American golf community. "The fact that really stimulated this," said Driver, "is that during the last several years there is no correlation at all between fairways hit and money won on the PGA Tour. Clearly, you can hit it anywhere. Part of that is the grooves. We think we can demand more skill [by] making you drive the ball in play."

Now because of this, a whole bunch of people are going to have to go out and replace their clubs (which is why other than Ping, the reaction from the equipment industry has been and will continue to be concerned silence).

Yet, earlier in the story, Millard looks at the COR debate and Driver explains why the USGA rolled over:

If the view that the USGA should have fought to the death on COR can be described as idealistic, Driver's view is correspondingly pragmatic. He explains that the clubs in question were manufactured and bought in good faith and had earned the USGA's seal of approval. If the USGA had gone back even further on COR, he says, "I don't know whether we would have had the resources to buy all those clubs or to compensate the manufacturers for relying on the letters that we sent out.

So my question for Walter is, why aren't you offering to buy back all of these u-grooved irons that were manufactured and bought in good faith and had earned the USGA's seal of approval?