"In the American golf imagination, the nine-holer is maligned as a Velcro-patched pitch 'n' putt, the lesser-dressed cousin of miniature golf."

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I loved Tom Coyne's SI Golf Plus My Shot piece on Irish golf and the beauty of the 9-hole round. He nails it. If there was some way we could de-stigmatize the 9-hole round, I'd sure love to hear it. (I still say a match play event with 9-hole matches in pool play would help.)

As for Coyne's book, I just received it and haven't had a chance to look at it yet. But freelancer and avid book reader Tom Mackin says this about it and John Garrity's latest:

If you're not going to Ireland soon -- despite one Euro being worth $1.30 American, the best rate in a long while -- two new books will get you there in spirit. Tom Coyne's "A Course Called Ireland" (Gotham Books) chronicles his walk -- yes, walk -- around the entire island while playing almost 60 links courses. John Garrity investigates his own Irish heritage, at a more leisurely pace, in "Ancestral Links" (New American Library). Two different perspectives on the game and the country with a shared favorite: Carne Golf Links in County Mayo.

"And the only people unhappy about such a situation seem to be the whining Americans."**

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John Huggan says the demise of Americans in the world rankings is long overdue payback for years of European discrimination...

Changed days indeed for the most powerful golfing nation on the planet. Actually, "pay-back time" may be a more accurate description of this still fairly new phenomenon. Not so long ago, before the advent of world rankings and WGCs, America ruled the professional game with a self-interested and insular attitude that served only to distort the history of the sport at the very highest level.

Despite those nasty rumours you may have heard about statistics, the numbers don't lie. Until quite recently, even the very best European players were all but completely excluded from three of the four major championships, those – surprise, surprise – played across the pond.

"But a little bit of dull to his game should have been expected at this point. It just takes some getting used to."

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Greg Stoda looks at Tiger's understandably rusty play. After all, his 8-month layoff was probably the longest since the Mike Douglas Show appearance days when he was two.

Hey, he might blitz the Blue Monster with 64, 65 or 66 today.

But a better guess is that Woods, who's simply not going to win mired so deep in the pack 10 shots off Mickelson's lead, will manufacture another round much like his first two.

It's not that he's being careful - he says he feels "great" save for a sore right ankle - as much as it's a matter of Woods being unable to sustain anything positive. He says it's a lack of "feel" on the course, which might be true. But it's almost certainly a nicer way of saying he's rusty.

It's as though Woods is in a struggle with his internal clock. He seemed several times to be fighting an urge to hurry between shots. There's a pace to the game - heck, fast or slow play can even be a strategy - and Woods might have to get used to his own rhythms again.

Woods isn't, as he said, "playing for five bucks at home in Isleworth" anymore.

No, he isn't.

And as much good as those social rounds surely did Woods in his physical recuperation, he might also have grown too accustomed to zooming through 18 holes in much less time than it takes to compete on the PGA Tour.

Wie Must Fire 12 More Agents If She Hopes To Erase Memories Of Caddy Carousel

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Ron Sirak, writing about the firing of William Morris Agency:

The 19-year-old Wie, who has been on a rollercoaster ride of a pro career and last won a tournament nearly six years ago, went through three different agents while with WMA. First there was Ross Berlin, who lasted about a year, and then Greg Nared, who served a similar sentence. Always overseeing the operation for WMA was Jill Smoller, who was handling Wie's affairs directly when the relationship came to an end after the SBS Open in Hawaii in February.

"It's all good," Smoller said about the termination of the business deal with Wie. "I and we love Michelle and always will." That's a lot kinder than most of her many ex-caddies would say about a work situation that includes intense involvement by Michelle's parents, father B.J. and mother Bo. In all, Wie has had about 15 caddies since she started playing LPGA events seven years ago.

Stenson Does His Part To Ensure Most Of Us Think All Swedes Are Batty

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I don't know if Kyle Auclair is the luckiest snapper at Doral this week, but he certainly captured Henrik Stenson in his most, uh, organic moment. More of a Bert Yancey episode if you ask me, since it's not like he has to pay for these clothes he wears.

Here's his explanation in an AP story.  And here is the Getty Images page with the entire Auclair sequence.

I love how Fanny appears to be totally unfazed by the scene. Then again, she worked for Faldo so it would take a lot to shock her.