"I think after what the USGA probably witnessed on 18 yesterday, that ball staying up, that will be shaved."

Tiger's post Buick final round chat with the media guys and gals who had to brave holes in the tent top (my condolences)...

Q. Freddie said you just screwed the U.S. Open up for everybody. Are you sorry about that?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I only did it on one hole. I think after what the USGA probably witnessed on 18 yesterday, that ball staying up, that will be shaved. Just like Augusta, you see Freddie's ball stayed up, next year it's all shaved.

Actually, before anyone goes scribbling about that, the plan was to shave the lake before today.

And this is downright funny...

Q. What about LA?
TIGER WOODS: What about it?

Q. Any thoughts yet, yes or no if you're in yet?
TIGER WOODS: I don't know.

Give it up! He's not coming back. Paraphrasing Taupin, I think it's going to be a long, long time. 

"Bettering the field average by almost 10 feet"

From Alex Turnbull, the PGA Tour's ShotLink guru, after Tiger's bogey-free 66 at Torrey Pines:

Leading the field in greens in regulation this week, Tiger was very accurate today with his irons. Hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation today, he averaged 26 feet 3 inches from the hole on all approach shots bettering the field average by almost 10 feet (Rd 3 average: 35 feet 0 inches).

"That the tour is looking into Daly's week at the Hope is a good sign."

Thanks to reader Taylor for noticing Larry Bohannan's story on John Daly's "lost weekend" in the desert, which raises some tough questions about Daly's future both in this game and sadly, on this planet.

And he seems to be losing whatever battle he's putting up against his excesses. Alcohol, food, cigarettes and partying are all evident. Maggie Downs, a Desert Sun reporter who doesn't really know all the back story on John, just what she was seeing last week as she covered the Hope's celebrity parties, reported on her blog that Daly told her to write that he wasn't drinking at one party as he was knocking back a shot of something alcoholic.

Let's just say I trust Maggie to tell the facts more than I'd trust Daly right now.

This goes well beyond the idea that Daly pulled out of a tournament. This is about a life that many observers believe is in danger. A 41-year-old, 300-pound man who drinks and smokes and eats to excess is in danger of a massive heart attack or stroke.

Forget that he is one of the most physically talented players in the world, when he's focused and wants to play. This is a man who seems unable to control his worst characteristics. Those who have known Daly and have been around him believe he is headed down the road to a sad end.

For all the hushed whispers and huddled meetings about Daly by PGA Tour officials in the last week, the tour might not be able to do much for Daly, because he doesn't really work for the tour. Tour players are independent contractors.

That the tour is looking into Daly's week at the Hope is a good sign.

“Some reporters suggested that the movement of The Barclays was due to our view that Westchester Country Club was substandard."

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem is quoted by Sam Weinman as making an interesting statement in his apology letter to the folks at Westchester CC:

“Some reporters suggested that the movement of The Barclays was due to our view that Westchester Country Club was substandard. Nothing could be further from the truth,” Finchem wrote. “We have great respect for Westchester Country Club—your course, your membership and your great tradition. Our players enjoy playing there. We at the PGA Tour regret any offense created by these misplaced media comments and are sorry for the impressions these comments caused. Our return to your club at least one more time indicates our view that it is a world class facility.”

Now why would the dirty, nasty, grubby media get that idea? Could it be that Ed Moorhouse wrote:

"While we believe we all attempted to make The Barclays work at Westchester in late August, I believe it simply is not possible to stage a tournament at the level we need to stage this event, satisfy the needs and requirements of our players and accommodate the needs of the Westchester membership during that time of year."

No, it's those pesky reporters!

Kikuyu At Torrey Pines

Over the last few days, I have heard Tilghman, McCord, Kostis, Baker-Finch and Faldo all note that the kikuyu will "take over" this summer at Torrey Pines and create much heartier rough. Several have noted it will be an entirely different course.

Apparently the memo didn't reach our friends in the broadcast booths, but the Torrey Pines roughs were overseeded with rye this fall and rye grass will be the predominant grass at this year's U.S. Open, contrary to what they are proclaiming hourly on the broadcasts.

Yes, kikuyu is out there and it will be most noticeable in the fairways this June (which would also contradict a lot of the talk about how fast the fairways will be since kikuyu is spongy). However, the combination of rye grass being the one thing in the world that stifles kikuyu and the cool climate at Torrey Pines means it will be a blend of grass, with rye grass dominating the roughs. (A good thing by the way. Kikuyu is silly as a rough.)

Here's what Mike Davis had to say about it in a recent piece by Brian Hewitt:

Kikuyu grass is very ‘grabby.’ And as a result, said Davis who was at Riviera in 1998, “it made the players, at times, look almost stupid around the greens. That blade of grass at that time of year is just too strong.”
 
The greenside roughs at Torrey Pines are also primarily kikuyu. But Davis says the plan is to overseed and create a friendlier blend of ryegrass and kikuyu to give the players a fighting chance around the greens.
 
Greenside kikuyu at the Buick Invitational, played at Torrey Pines this week and at the Northern Trust Open, played at Riviera next month, isn’t healthy enough in winter to present the kinds of problems it does later in the year.

"You may recall that the Tour had proposed terminating our Agreement in its entirety."

Not much news here except that it seems the Tour has the option to return twice and it could be any combination of 2010, 2011 or 2012.

Weinman: Tour and Barclay's Back In The Saddle Again...Sort Of

Sam Weinman reports that the PGA Tour will be returning to Westchester CC at some point, just not 2008, and the Commissioner will be apologizing for those letters that got out and where they never really meant what they said.  Oh, and here's $1.1 million for your troubles...this year.

Even better we now have a definition for accelerating the rotation. 

Update on 2008-01-26 18:03 by Geoff

The Tour issues a release confirming, everyone is happy:

The Barclays moves to Ridgewood Country Club for 2008 event Westchester remains in rotation, will host again by 2012

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL – The Barclays, one of the premier events on the PGA TOUR schedule and the first of four events in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, will move from Westchester Country Club to Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., for the 2008 event, scheduled for Aug. 18-24.

“As we have said before, we believe it is in the best interest of The Barclays to rotate among various venues in the New York area, as do other significant events,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem.  “We look forward to beginning that rotation with Ridgewood in 2008 and a return to Westchester, which has been a terrific host for PGA TOUR events since 1967, for at least one more play by 2012.  I want to thank the membership of Westchester Country Club for making this possible.  It is yet another reflection of the great integrity and character of our partners at Westchester.”

As previously announced, the 2009 Barclays will be held at Liberty National in Jersey City, N.J. The rotation for The Barclays for 2010 and beyond will be announced at a later time, though under the terms of the contract with Westchester, The Barclays will return at least once by 2012.

“Westchester Country Club has been proud to partner with the PGA TOUR for more than 40 years, and our members overwhelmingly agreed last year that rotating The Barclays among New York-area courses was in the best interest of our club and this great event,” said Westchester Country Club President Philip Halpern.  “We have agreed to begin that rotation this year in the true spirit of partnership, while ensuring that our club’s charities will benefit from the 2008 event as planned.  We are proud that Westchester remains in The Barclays rotation.  It’s an honor that our world-class golf course, and our passionate and loyal membership, have earned and deserve.”

“Which one would I rather play? The old South. Now? The new North.”

So much for the South Course growing on players. Rex Hoggard reports on the Golfweek blog:

Wandered out on the North Course this afternoon. Not to see Tiger Woods inch his way closer to No. 6 on the SoCal coast, but to get one final look at the venerable North.

Come June when the golf world descends on Torrey Pines for the U.S. Open the South Course will be cast under a microscope while the North will just be cast under. The North – one of the most scenic and enjoyable munis anywhere – will become the home to corporate villages, media tents, driving ranges and infrastructure during the national championship.

Here’s the rub. Ask a local to pick their Torrey Pines favorite and many will say the North Course. A few years back Southern Cal native Charley Hoffman summed it for many. “Which one would I rather play? The old South (before the 2001 redesign). Now? The new North.” 

"It's very simple, play better"

Considering his frustration with slow play, it's not a surprise that Tiger is a fan of the new cut policy, as Steve Elling reports on his CBSSports.com blog:

In fact, in 2002, 85 players made the cut at the Buick Invitational and eventual winner Jose Maria Olazabal, who advanced on the number, caught fire with rounds of 67-65 on the weekend. However, it should be noted that in 2002, Olazabal was eight shots back in a more tightly packed field, versus the 13-stroke margin the guys who were bumped on Friday would have faced.

Tiger Woods, who is leading the tournament by four shots at 12 under, hardly provided a sympathetic shoulder.

"It's very simple, play better," Woods said. "If you hit the shots that you want to hit and hit them properly, then you won't have to worry about that."

Of course, Woods almost never misses cuts.

Added Woods: "I think what I've tried to talk to some of the guys and with the commissioner is that maybe the fields might be too big when you have daylight savings, because, obviously, we're trying to get the round finished.

"And we weren't finishing the top players weren't finishing on time, guys were finishing Saturday mornings or Friday mornings, their rounds, just because it was too slow. If you had any kind of fog delay, rain delay, guys aren't finishing, a frost delay in Phoenix, things like that happen."

Kevin Who?**

I know I should know all about Kevin Streelman, currently in second at the Buick Invitational behind Tiger, but I don't. Thankfully, Matt Paulson at Brener-Zwikel passed this along:

Before graduating from Q-School this year, Kevin Streelman, who is in second right now at the PGA TOUR's Buick Invitational, earned one of his biggest single-event paychecks ever in last year’s The Ultimate Game, a unique event co-created by former Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski where players compete for a purse composed wholly of their own entry fees.
 
In last year’s event, Streelman won both his matches to make the 12-man final, earning $25,000 in the process, a huge chunk for a mini-touring pro in one event. And this was eight months ago. This week, Streelman could take home nearly $1 million.
 
In the final, he shot 69-70 to finish in fourth place. A class act, despite not winning anything additional in the final, Streelman was awarded another $25,000 by his sponsorship group for his effort and conduct throughout tournament week, a gesture that brought him to tears.

Update on 2008-01-26 03:18 by Geoff

Steve Elling profiles Kevin here.

Dissecting The Match

Bo Links looks at how factual Mark Frost's The Match is while also sharing some fun tidbits on a rematch of sorts that took place a week after the original.

"They gave me hours on my Marquis Jet Card, they even threw a party in New York.”

Sallie Brady pens a New York Times "Escapes" piece on the burgeoning market for homes in various Latin countries. Included are a couple of fun anecdotes and even more reminders at how poor most of us are:

On Anguilla, Mr. Kanavos has developed the island’s first golf course, designed by Greg Norman, in the Baccarat Hotels and Residences at Temenos, a 115-villa project with a spa and a David Bouley restaurant. Eager to appeal to high-end buyers, Mr. Kanavos successfully lobbied the government to extend the airport runway to accommodate private jets.

“I’ve been to almost every Caribbean island and this was Shangri-La” said Kenny Bergstol, 48, a New City, N.Y.,-based developer of golf courses and real estate, who bought a three-bedroom villa at Temenos, where furnished villas are priced from $1.4 million to $13.2 million. “While my home is being built, they’re letting me and my family stay at the resort for a week a year, they gave me hours on my Marquis Jet Card, they even threw a party in New York.”

And this ought to bring great joy to the branding team in Ponte Vedra: 

“I had thought about buying a piece of property and putting a hacienda up on it, but there are issues in Mexico,” said Larry Harvey, 43, a wealth consultant in The Woodlands, Tex., who recently bought a two-bedroom town house at the Viceroy Mayakobá, part of a new 1,600-acre golf community along the Riviera Maya, 42 miles south of Cancún, that Viceroy is developing around a Greg Norman championship course with the Rosewood, Fairmont and Banyan Tree resort developers.

Mr. Harvey was referring to a Mexican law that puts limits on foreigners who seek to buy near the coast. Mexico employs a system that allows a Mexican bank to act as a trustee on behalf of a purchaser of this restricted land.

“I had stayed at the Viceroy Santa Monica and liked it,” said Mr. Harvey, noting the California hotel’s designer, Kelly Wearstler, is also designing the Mexico property. "I have four boys who are learning how to play golf, and my wife, Mari, and I like the fact that the FedEx Cup is here in February. We’ll be able to rent” Mr. Harvey said.

The FedEx Cup is coming! The FedEx Cup is coming! 

Back In Black!

Ryan Herrington reports that after two years of losses, the United States Golf Association is profitable again.

The report shows that the USGA and USGA Foundation had a net income of $1.21 million on revenues of nearly $137 million for the year ending Nov. 30, 2007. Net assets at year's end were $253.3 million.

The 2007 figure is modest compared to the USGA's reported net income $8.4 million in 2002, $4.4 million in 2004 and $2.3 million in 2005. However, a year ago, the governing body had a deficit of $6.12 million on revenue of $126.6 million, so things are moving in a positive direction.

Analysts reacted differently to the news.

Terry Tasselloafer at Gorge, Selle and Hatchet and author of the golf stock newsletter Give The Doglegs A Bone, has upgraded USGA stock from "dump it" to "eh" thanks to a positive outlook for 2008, which includes major profits at the U.S. Open thanks to a lopsided lease agreement with the City of San Diego.

"They really did a nice job ensuring the profit is privatized and the risk was spread evenly among all public agencies down there," Tasselloafer said. "Plus I love all of the initiatives geared toward the 18-34 year olds. It's shows they are looking out for the needs of their most important constituency: advertisers."

However, Steve Acluistic of Hunkerdown and Goldbricker has downgraded USGA stock to "unload faster than Blockbuster" on the lower than expected net income. He says rising fuel costs combined with the USGA's private jet use mean flat net income for several years.

"And until they can get David Fay's bloated salary off the books, I'm afraid the stock price is going to be flat," said Acluistic, who won't issue a positive evaluation "until we see naming rights sold on championships to boost revenues."

Tiger and Rory Not Making Eye Contact As Valentine's Day Approaches

Bob Harig at ESPN.com has all the juicy details:

Tiger Woods made his 2008 debut at Torrey Pines, predictably shooting up the leaderboard at a place where he has won the Buick Invitational five times, including three in a row.

And there alongside him in third place, two shots behind tournament leader Troy Matteson, is Tiger's 2007 punching bag, Rory Sabbatini. Safe to say, they didn't exchange New Year's greetings when they passed each other in the Buick media center.

In fact, they didn't even acknowledge one another.

Their relationship is as frosty as the temperature, which caused a run on scarves, mittens and sweaters. It didn't keep Woods from picking up where he left off 130 days ago, when he put the finishing touches on an outstanding 2007 season by winning the Tour Championship and the inaugural FedEx Cup.

Sounds like I left San Diego a day too early: 

Players such as Fred Couples and Mark Calcavecchia were not kind, with Couples saying, "It's just not right," and Calcavecchia adding, "Rory is Rory." Woods was none too pleased, either. "I'd like to try and get to the bottom of it when we're done here," Woods said on Dec. 16. "And we'll see what happens."

Apparently, Woods never got to the bottom of it.

"I haven't talked to him about any of it," Woods said Thursday, just minutes after walking past Sabbatini without saying a word, without making eye contact. "It is what it is."

Couples was among those who suggested that Sabbatini donate his $170,000 to the Tiger Woods Foundation, but on Wednesday Sabbatini visited a nearby naval base, where he gave the money to the United Through Reading Foundation. The organization provides a video program for military personnel to keep in touch with their families.

"It's unfortunately one of those things that we seem to forget about and we take for granted out here on the tour," Sabbatini said. "And we were just fortunate that we were able to contribute to it."

When asked if he donated the winnings from Woods' event, Sabbatini said: "That is what the situation was. Unfortunately, the media took a lot of criticism towards me after the event, and in that situation I was there, I was tired, and we thought about it and we thought we'd put it to some good use."

So does this mean if the media hadn't ragged all over Rory, that he wouldn't have made the donation? 

Rory Decides To Donate Target Winnings; Chooses Ultra Low-Profile Setting To Break The News...

...the Thursday Sprint Post-Game following round 1 of Buick Invitational play. Surely seen by hundreds, I was half asleep and only heard Kraig Kann noting that Rory Sabbatini was not seeking a high profile outlet for the vital announcement (and he found it!) that yes, after much painstaking deliberation and vigorous pleading from his agent, he was donating the $170,000 last place winnings from the Target World Challenge which he left so abruptly.

Apparently the full interview and in-depth profile of Rory will be airing this weekend on Golf Channel. Set your TiVos!