Say It So: Even Money On Monty For 2010! **

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Lawrence Donegan reports the stunning shift in online wagering that has overnight lifted Monty from 10-1 longshot to an even-money second favorite to captain the 2010 European Ryder Cup team.

My sources say that Monty, after ragging on the over-50 set and doing some math to realize he'll be 51 in 2014, started a Gordon Gekko-esque operation to drive up his online betting stock and at the same time, bring joy to bloggers on the westside of Los Angeles desperate for the great-Scot-in-his-own-mind to remain in the spotlight.

Donegan says it's something else. Sort of:

Like Olazábal, Montgomerie has been intent on playing his way on to the team but the fact is he is now 127th in the world rankings and showing no signs of recapturing the form that once made him an automatic choice for any Ryder Cup side. But if he is not the player he once was, he still the remains a significant figure on tour — popular with fans and, more important in these straighten financial times, popular with sponsors.

It has long been assumed the Scot would take on the Ryder Cup captaincy in 2014, when the event will be played in Scotland, but there is a mood within the players' committee after Nick Faldo's captaincy that the team needs a captain who competes regularly against, and is in touch with, potential team members.

"It could be a blessing. They pulled him over 50 yards [outside the nightclub]."

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John Hawkins talks to Hank Haney about the state of Charles Barkley's Golf Channel reality show after the NBA great's DUI.  Thankfully, it's still on despite the arrest report that has sponsors and other network execs fleeing.

Haney and Barkley had taped five of the eight episodes before the DUI. While production was on hiatus anyway, it's unclear when the final three episodes will be produced as Barkley deals with legal issues and an alcohol problem as big as the man struggling with it. Haney, who quit drinking in 1986, could see the situation getting more serious and had hinted to his friend that things weren't OK.

Still, grown men don't tell each other how to behave. Haney was with Barkley earlier on the night he got pulled over, which doesn't exactly lighten the load of regret, but, he says, "It could be a blessing. They pulled him over 50 yards [outside the nightclub]. They were waiting for him, and nobody got hurt."

"I'd like to know why Jack designed this"

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Brian Lee in the Tucson Citizen takes a sneak peak at the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain, new home to the WGC Match Play.

The signature Jack Nicklaus- built course, utilizing two of three finished 9-hole layouts, will be "typically" Nicklaus, said general manager Kenn DePew of The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain resort. That means intriguing and multiple bunkers, tempting space and undulating greens with eight to 10 possible pin placements each.

"I'd like to know why Jack designed this," DePew said. "Not that I question it. I just want to know what the reasons are. There is going to be some good golf played here."

Well I'm sure he'll be happy to take your call anytime to answer questions about his thought process.

But a Ritz-Carlton designed for tournament play is not just about the worldwide pros. The change from the much narrower straight-out-and-in Gallery course of the first two years of Tucson WGC play, is a fans' delight or relief, depending on how you look at it.

"The Gallery was beautiful but was a lot of walking," DePew says. "It was a load of work. This is fan friendly."

And at just a few yards under 8,000, it's oh so quaint.

Monty: Over 50s Out Of Touch With Today's Youth

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I'm not sure where that leaves Monty since he'll be 51 when his self-appointed captaincy comes up (2014),  but he tells Mark Reason that once they turn 50, Ryder Cup captains lose all sense of what's going on!

Montgomerie said: "We found last time with Faldo's situation that you do lose as a captain over 50 [is this bad news for the 50-year-old Sandy Lyle] a sense of what's happening with the youngsters, a feeling of what's going on."

Given Faldo's obvious lack of empathy with parts of his team, was it surprising that he appointed only one assistant captain? And would Montgomerie be prepared to help out in Wales if he didn't make the team in 2010?

He said: "I would be willing to do anything to help. I said so pre-Faldo when he didn't pick me. I was surprised that Darren, who has played in five of these things, and myself, who has played in eight, were left sitting at home last time. I am sure we could have helped the European cause in some way.

"I was fully expecting some sort of call when the voicemail came through from Nick. At the end of his spiel about, 'I'm sorry, I haven't picked you because' – which I fully accepted, I didn't play well enough to get selected – I did expect the follow on: 'But would you come out to help in some way'. Anything. But it didn't happen. I'm sure Darren would have felt a similar way."

"And while we're on a roll, how about losing the cryptic jargon."

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Bad day for the Brand Lady Carolyn Bivens as Ron Sirak reveals the name she gave her project to shed the LPGA Tour of all those pesky longtime sponsors in favor of new ones who spoke her language: "Vision 2010."

And in this week's SI, Dottie Pepper all but explains how the Commish has messed up. Somehow the vision of Paula Creamer picking up the phone to try and repair the ADT relationship may just mark an all-time low for Bivens:

The LPGA players are a tremendous asset when it comes to drumming up new business and trying to save sponsor relationships. Paula Creamer, for example, called ADT when it was announced that the company would no longer sponsor the year-ending tour championship. She did it because she had a personal connection with company executives and wanted to do whatever she could do to save the business relationship. The tour needs to use players in this manner and be thankful for their commitment.

And while we're on a roll, how about losing the cryptic jargon. For example, the LPGA's announcement said that it hoped to create "economic empowerment opportunities" and "to establish executional excellence as standard." How about "provide our members with as many business opportunities as possible" and "do the very best job we can"? Putting a human touch on the sport starts with the way you talk about it.

"That’s akin to eliminating the need to water six courses, saving an estimated 1.5 billion gallons each year."

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Because I was going for a big picture take on Obama, bailouts, the WPA and golf, my Golf World viewpoint did not get into too many specifics regarding environmental retrofitting of existing courses. However, I can't think of a simpler, more sensical model for saving water, improving energy efficiency, creating courses that better co-exist with the environment or doing more to improve golf's image than the Southern Nevada Water Authority's "Water Smart Landscape Program."

Cindy Elliott recently wrote about it and other water-saving programs for Golfweek:

...the program provides courses and other property owners with a rebate of $1.50 for every square foot of turf converted to xeriscape, a lush but water-efficient landscape alternative that requires virtually no maintenance once established.

Major conversions at facilities, including Spanish Trails Golf and Country Club, Red Rock Country Club and Wild Horse Golf Course, have contributed to the transformation of 629 existing acres. That’s akin to eliminating the need to water six courses, saving an estimated 1.5 billion gallons each year.

Imagine how much water and energy could be saved if we could establish a federal program mimicking the SNWA's concept. Seems like a serious win-win here for our courses and the country.

"It's a big year for our talent"

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Jim Gorant files a short profile of new Golf Channel man Tom Stathakes, who has shaken up the production team and is looking to elevate the channel's PGA Tour coverage. He's bringing in Paul Azinger for a few telecasts and evaluating the entire announce team. With incidents like this, sounds like there'll be some sleepless nights in Orlando.

Euro Committee Decides That They Better Not Look Indecisive **

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First reported to be putting their decision off until May, the committee charged with selecting the next Euro Ryder Cup Captain decided that they might look indecisive if they didn't decide on a captain by the end of this month. Or so Mike Aitken reports:

It was originally believed that if the committee could not reach an agreement this week then the issue would go into cold storage and not be settled until their next scheduled meeting at the Irish Open in May.

While the committee were not prepared to rush their deliberations, it now seems they've listened to concerns that waiting until the spring would make the Tour look indecisive and was not in Europe's best interests.

The players' willingness to choose Europe's next captain this month rather than in May also eliminates charges of favouritism and the possibility of anyone being branded a "second choice" captain.

That means you Sandy!

"The last few years we've got stuck in this narrow fairway, long rough kind of setup that's really quite similar every week we play, I think."

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A highlight from Geoff Ogilvy's teleconference call today, answering a question about sameness on the PGA Tour:

GEOFF OGILVY: It wasn't really a comment about the architecture of the course we play; it was more about the setup we play. The last few years we've got stuck in this narrow fairway, long rough kind of setup that's really quite similar every week we play, I think. Kapalua is the exact opposite of that: wide fairways, rough is really not in play, big greens. Everything is just different about Kapalua than we play a lot of the year.

I just think a bit more variation in the setup. The TOUR, there was a big player meeting at Charlotte last year where the players and the TOUR got back on the same page about how we think we should set our golf courses up. Maybe we've got a bit off track trying to set them up as extremely narrow, as extremely hard as we can recently, kind of chasing the U.S. Open model, can we add a bit more interest back into our courses? Over the next few years, the TOUR is already taking about a bit more interest in the setup, maybe a little bit less rough. They've already done it at Sawgrass by cutting the rough down and changing the course. I think we're on the right track. I think for a while we got stuck in the narrow fairway, long rough kind of golf course. I think, to be honest with you, there's definitely a time and place for it, but every week it kind of gets boring. That was my point. It's more of a setup thing than an architecture thing.

“A union of uncompromised originals”

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...uncompromised? The R&A? Aren't they the ones who change courses instead of the equipment rules? Anyway, score one for the USGA...

The R&A and SABMiller plc today announced that they have enteredinto a long term agreement under which Pilsner Urquell, the iconic beer brand from SABMiller, will become the Official Beer of The Open Championship.

The arrangement is effective from the upcoming 2009 Championshipat Turnberry and will last for five years, taking in confirmed future Championships at St Andrews, Royal St George’s and Royal Lytham and St Annes.

Vinod Giri, International Brand Director of SABMiller plc said, “The heritage, authenticity and premium nature of The Open Championship offer fantastic synergies for Pilsner Urquell. Both brands are the original, uncompromised leaders in their fields and set the gold standard. We are excited by this partnership, and look forward to building a long and successful association with The R&A.”

David Hill, R&A Director of Championships, said, “The R&A is delighted to welcome Pilsner Urquell as the Official Beer of The Open Championship. I’m sure spectators at this year’s Open at Turnberry will be delighted that such an iconic beer is available throughout the Open Championship site.”

Yes, especially since getting to the property will induce migraines.