USGA Finds Next PR Director For Walter Driver To Blame**

His name is Chris Wightman, and while I'm still waiting on the USGA release, GolfDigest.com has an unbylined story that reads eerily like a press release about the poor bastard lucky recipient of Marty Parkes' old job.

Following a comprehensive national search, the United States Golf Association has named Christopher P. Wightman to the position of Managing Director, Communications. In this newly-created position, Wightman will oversee all communication functions and work across the organization to integrate the growing initiatives of the USGA.

"The addition of Chris, with his talents and experience, will help the USGA in identifying and presenting new, creative approaches to our programs and services," said USGA Executive Director, David Fay.

With 25 years of media expertise, Wightman brings the USGA a diverse and sophisticated background in publishing, broadcast, digital media, marketing and media relations. Wightman recently completed five years as Publisher of GOLF Magazine, one of the largest media companies serving the golf category.

Publisher of Golf Magazine to figuring out where to seat Art Spander in the press room? What an ascent!

Time for the quote pile-on:

"Our communication efforts at the USGA are expanding rapidly and Chris has a unique blend of communications, marketing and business skills that will help take our efforts to new and diverse venues," USGA Chief Business Officer Peter Bevacqua said. "As we continue to transform our approach to communications, public relations, branding and other related initiatives, his leadership and strategic guidance will be critical. Chris is exactly what we need and we are confident that his knowledge of the game, business acumen and rich professional experiences will help improve our approach to everything we do throughout the game of golf."

That ought to please the shareholders.

"My past 15 years serving the golf market gives me an important level of confidence as I join one of the most trusted brands in the world of sports," said Wightman. "To be part of the team that is driving the evolution of this historical organization and to build out dynamic new paths to its future success provides an inspirational challenge. And, as a life-long golfer, I am honored to be given the chance to enhance the incredible reputation of the USGA."

There's reputation to be enhanced?

Update on 2007-12-17 15:56 by Geoff

** Here's the USGA news release. Same text as the above story on GolfDigest.com.

The Donald Can Help You Make Millions In Foreclosures!

L.A. Times business columnist David Lazarus is in trouble with The Donald!

The column in question involved a seminar held recently at the Pasadena Hilton. It was one of a number of such events held in the region by Trump University, Trump's online business school, founded in 2005.

An ad in this paper quoted Trump as saying that "investors nationwide are making millions in foreclosures . . . and so can you!" It also promised two hours of "priceless information . . . all for free."

Yes, the USGA should definitely do business with this man!

The column included a pretty flattering photo of Trump standing before a poster of himself at a recent event.

In his letter, Trump seemed particularly upset with my observation that his "primary claim to fame these days has been hosting 'The Apprentice' on TV." He wasted no time rebutting this notion.

"I am worth many billions of dollars, am building large-scale developments all over the world, am considered by many to be, by far, the hottest name in real estate," Trump wrote, "and I have to read an article by a third-rate reporter in your newspaper that my 'primary claim to fame' is hosting 'The Apprentice.' "

Show of hands: How many people think of Donald Trump as, by far, the hottest name in real estate? How many think of him as the guy who fires people on TV?

Thank you.

"Unlike many other people that make their money giving seminars," Trump continued, "I made my money in real estate and, as your reporter should have known, I never filed for bankruptcy."

Look what his first...so sorry...Trump card was:

He noted that his Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes is "one of the most successful and highly rated golf courses in the state of California," and that he bought it for "a mere fraction of its current worth."

Wow, no better than Pebble Beach reference. The Donald is off his game.

Anyway, read the rest of the column it's a beauty.

"This entire exercise exists to bring you the 20 least interesting things they pick up."

Intrepid L.A. Times NBA columnist Mark Heisler pens a fun look at the league's mike-the-participants idea and I couldn't help but think that golf is the one sport that would stand to benefit from such an idea, assuming that the sanitizing wasn't excessive. Because as Heisler notes, we never hear the good stuff and therefore, these exercises are not translating into increased viewership numbers.

With all this interactivity, everyone's ratings continue to decline, even the NFL, which this season had the five lowest-rated Monday night games ever.

Despite the new insights from its managers, Major League Baseball just saw the World Series post its three lowest ratings ever in consecutive seasons.

Now for the exciting debut of babbling coaches with the Denver Nuggets in Dallas!

Denver Coach George Karl:

"OK, Marcus Camby, get in the game, babe!"

Johnson:

"Way to go, Stack!"

That would be Jerry Stackhouse. Talk about participating in the experience! Then there was Karl's memorable interview on the bench, in which he concluded: "I really think the key to our team is passing the ball."

It may be the key to his team, which doesn't pass the ball much after it's inbounded. Everyone else already knew it was good to move the ball.

Not that it was a total waste of time. In that night's second game, Portland's Brandon Roy told the sidelined Greg Oden that Miami's Shaquille O'Neal said to tell him, "You're lucky you're sitting out tonight."

In the high point, Utah Coach Jerry Sloan was caught telling his team there were "four @#$%^&! minutes" left during Wednesday's loss in Phoenix.

Unfortunately, this was a mistake on the part of someone at ESPN, who may not be at ESPN anymore.

If ESPN and TNT actually showed the interesting stuff, it would be great. But as NBA partners, their first obligation is to see that nothing too interesting goes out over the air.

In other words, this entire exercise exists to bring you the 20 least interesting things they pick up.

Awtrey On McClure

Stan Awtrey profiles the USGA's Joe Dey award winner, Gene McClure. Thanks to reader Rob for this.

"8 out of 9 of Callaway’s patent claims are valid!"

David Dawsey does a superb job breaking down each claim in the Callaway v. Acushnet suit.

"The handling of this case has raised a number of matters of principle."

As shocking as it may seem, turns out that the sudden approval of The Donald's Scottish golf course may not have been entirely on the up and up.

Eddie Barnes reports for Scotland on Sunday:

In a highly unusual move, the national director of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has written to Finance Secretary John Swinney, reminding ministers of the need to be "politically impartial" and "transparent" when handling planning applications. Dr Veronica Burbridge warns Swinney that her members have been in contact to "express concerns" about the way the case has been handled.

The move follows a week of turmoil after ministers decided they, not the local council, would decide whether plans by American tycoon Donald Trump to build a huge golfing complex in Aberdeenshire should go ahead.

It emerged that a day before the decision, First Minister Alex Salmond, who is also the local MSP for the area, met two of Trump's representatives to discuss the case.

It then emerged that the pair had also met the Scottish Government's chief planner on the day the decision was made.

The matter led to a bitter political row which continues to rage, with opposition parties accusing Salmond of "sleaze", while the SNP accused them of risking an investment of up to £1bn.

In the RPTI letter, Burbridge states: "The handling of this case has raised a number of matters of principle. Members of the institute have expressed concerns that the manner in which this case is handled should not appear to damage the integrity of the planning system."

It adds: "They stress the need to ensure that procedures are transparent, respected and clearly understood by all those involved. Members of the institute are concerned that the approach to scrutiny of this case should be politically impartial and according to planning law and planning policy."

Opposition parties seized on the letter last night, claiming it supported their own concerns.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Nicol Stephen said: "This is an exceptional move which underlines the seriousness of the institute's concerns. This matter has grave implications for the conduct of Government.

"Ministers are ultimately responsible for the actions of Government and there is a fundamental lack of transparency and openness in the SNP Government's approach to this issue."

Swinney is expected to make a statement to Parliament this week answering questions about the Government's handling.

No one was available for comment from the Scottish Government.

Callaway v. Titleist Spin, Round 1

AP's story on Callaway prevailing over Acushnet features quotes from the company flacks:

"We have now established in court that our golf ball patents are valid, and that Titleist Pro V1 golf balls infringe those patents," she said. "We will immediately start the process of requesting an appropriate remedy, including injunctive relief and damages."

And from Fairhaven...

"The jury's mixed decision has created ambiguity that will have to be resolved post-trial," said Joseph Nauman, an Acushnet executive vice president.

Tiger Tops Rory By 19, Setting Up Monty-Sabbatini Dewsweepers Pairing

Since it was 29 degrees in Malibu Canyon this morning and 31 when I pulled into Sherwood, you can imagine how many people will be rushing out to see Rory Sabbatini attempting to repeat his trio of triple bogies while Monty sees if he can run faster than Rory and perhaps even catch the hole cutter during Saturday's round at Sherwood.

Oh, by the way, Tiger fired 62 and said the greens were soft.

Q.  How would you characterize the course setup today, and what do you think of the job the field staff does in general?

TIGER WOODS:  Well, the field staff set it up probably a little bit more difficult today pin wise, but the greens were soft.  I mean, that's the thing that allows us to be aggressive.  I fire at pins that I normally don't fire at here.  One, we had no wind, and we had greens that were backing balls up.  We had to watch out for spinning the ball back too much with 9 irons and wedges.  They did all they can do to hide the pins and make it a little more difficult, but when you've got receptive greens then the guys are going to shoot good scores.

I walked on all 18 of them while touring the course with John Mutch of the PGA Tour field staff and while the greens may not have been brick hard, to call them soft is an exaggeration. Several were frozen until nearly 10 a.m.

Admittedly, Sherwood's greens and today's locations did allow for shots to be funneled to the hole, but soft?

If those are soft and guys are spinning it back, then maybe U-grooves do have to go. I'd hate to think what Tiger considres to be a firm green.
 

Callaway Prevails In Pro V1 Patent Suit

From the wire...

Callaway sued Acushnet last year in a Delaware federal court for patent infringement relating to Callaway's three-layer golf balls. Acushnet acknowledged that its Titleist Pro V1 balls had infringed the Callaway patent, but claimed that those patents were not valid.

Clever!

A jury found that four of Callaway's contested patents were valid, while one was invalid, Bloomberg News reported today. An additional trial is expected to be held to assess damages.

"I believe, if you are going to be fair, you need to be consistent in setting up a course"

Newly engaged and already feisty, the Shark lashed out at the different condtions during round two in South Africa.

The 52-year-old Australian carded a 70 to finish in a six-man group on 145 that also included Britain's Darren Clarke.

But Norman was critical of the way the course was set up for the second round.

"It's been two totally different courses, the course was more difficult yesterday," he told reporters.

"They made a few adjustments to the tees and they did 100 percent irrigation last night so the greens, which they also did not cut, were softer and there was not as much release on the fairways.

"I believe, if you are going to be fair, you need to be consistent in setting up a course," added Norman.

Ah, the dreaded fair word.

Tournament director Mike Stewart defended the changes.

"Yesterday was very windy and the course was incredibly difficult as you could tell from the scores," Stewart told Reuters. "Some holes were exceptionally demanding.

"We felt we had to do something based on the weather forecast for today, which had wind speeds 5-mph stronger all day with gusts of up to 30-mph."

Stewart said the changes were made in order to make the course play as it did on Thursday.

"When we brought tees forward it was to make it play like it did on the first day," he said. "Despite the stronger wind players would be able to use the same club off the tee.

"We also had to slow down the greens because the ball was moving around in the afternoon yesterday. The possibility of an even stronger wind today put us in a very difficult position.

"If balls were moving around we may have had to stop play and we would look very silly if we brought the players in glorious sunshine."

Conditions were so difficult on Friday there were only 17 sub-par rounds, leader Kingston calling it a day for grinding out regulation figures.

"I was so solid on the back nine, I only missed two or three greens, but the wind was gusting so hard it was pushing you in all directions," said the South African.

"With the ball oscillating on the greens and the wind pushing you from behind it was so tough making a decent putt. It took a lot of energy just to stand still."

Greg And Chrissie Wrap Pre-Nup Negotiations, Confirm Engagement

Guess the lawyers didn't want to work during Christmas.

"My God. If you need a rah-rah speech to play the Ryder Cup, you've got some serious issues."

You gotta love Fred Couples.

Talking about his desire to be a Ryder Cup captain, quoted by Thomas Bonk in the LA Times:

"I can promise you there are 12 guys who don't want to do 75% of the stuff. My goal would be to slough some of the stuff off."

Couples said his first move would be to appoint Michael Jordan and Robin Williams as assistant captains.

"I would have Michael Jordan tell stories every single night and I would have Robin Williams tell jokes for 30 minutes. That's what I want," he said. "I don't want a rah-rah speech. My God. If you need a rah-rah speech to play the Ryder Cup, you've got some serious issues.

"If we lose, we lose because we lose, but I can promise you we'd have a good time."

Furyk raised an eyebrow when he heard Couples' choices as assistants. But he had no problem with the potential candidacy of Couples, who has played on five Ryder Cup teams and four Presidents Cup teams.

"Anyone with that kind of passion, I think Freddie would do a good job," he said.

"What you're trying to prevent is the kids look up to athletes, and you don't want to have kids going down the wrong path at an early age and knowing that they can get away with it."

Sherwood was abuzz today...with talk of the Mitchell Report. This meant all of us got to listen to Art Spander do a live radio interview (actually, Art talked loud enough that he really didn't need to phone this one in).

When Tiger Woods came in the cart barn after his opening 69, he was asked by Doug Ferguson about the possibility of such a report in golf had the new drug testing program not been started, and Tiger said what I've been ranting and raving about forever and which no one in a position of power has said, which is odd considering their devotion to family values.

Q. If the TOUR doesn't have this testing now, do you think there eventually could have been a Mitchell report for golf?

TIGER WOODS: I think it could happen. What you're trying to prevent is the kids look up to athletes, and you don't want to have kids going down the wrong path at an early age and knowing that they can get away with it.

"More people have now entered the GolfDigest U.S. Open contest than took steroids in major league baseball last year."

Bob Carney reports that the USGA/Golf Digest/NBC US Open Contest passes 3000 entries and the essay clips he shares make for fun reading.

Is it too late to bag the celebrities and just have four amateurs? I know, I know. But I had to try.

Promise I won't bring it up again...this week.

"Make room for the kids."

Michael Bamberger reveals that the same Tom Watson who suggested to Hootie Johnson (remember him? such warm fuzzy memories) that the Masters say sayonara to the old geezers, now finds himself on the receiving end of a new R&A policy.

Past champions used to be automatically exempt through age 65. This week, an R&A spokesman confirmed a change; past champions will now be exempt through the age of 60. In the short term, the change really only affects one person: Tom Watson himself.

Now this has me a bit confused...

He turned 58 in September, and he'll play in '08 at Royal Birkdale, where he won the '83 Open. He'll play in '09 at Turnberry, where he won the '77 Open. And he'll play his final open in 2010, at the Old Course, on a links he loves even if it never loved him back. He'll be 60 then and one of the most respected players in the history of the Open championship. He'll be done.

I guess this means the policy is being grandfathered in?

As usual Watson handles it with class and perspective:

"I'm fine with the decision," Watson said Wednesday night. "I think it's a good thing, good for golf. Make room for the kids."