"He's been drinking it every morning since then"

Maybe this NY Daily News item explains why our 99 cent stores here in SoCal are loaded with aisles and aisles of Gatorade featuring Tiger's eyes, the word Focus, and all the high fructose corn syrup an athlete does not need:

Tiger Woods gets paid a rumored $100 million to drink Gatorade. But we hear he's been sneaking sips of Neuro1, the "focus drink" John McCain is said to have used during his debates with President Obama. Apparently, Tiger is getting better results. Former NFL star Bill Romanowski, who developed the stuff, tells us he sent the golf god a package during his slump after his father's death four years ago. "He's been drinking it every morning since then," says Romanowski. Romanowski says other customers include Alex Rodriguez, Owen Wilson, Charlize Theron and Adam Sandler. Woods' rep didn't respond to calls for comment.

Presidents Cup Day 3, How Was It?

I can say I didn't see a single shot, but I did happen to walk by a golf course starter who had it on and well, it was dark and we're in the same time zone so I can only conclude that pace of play was just sterling!

And is it true the NBC team referred to the Europeans on more than one occasion?

John Huggan compares the Presidents Cup with the Ryder Cup and finds the PGA Tour's event lacking.

OK, maybe a more low-key attitude towards the RC would be no bad thing in tabloid world, but, conversely, almost everyone has a hard time getting even a little worked up about the PC. Immediately after he and Adam Scott had closed out Hunter Mahan and Sean O'Hair by 2&1 on day one, Els seemingly couldn't be bothered to walk back and support his guys in the next match. Instead, the big South African teed off at the 18th and played quietly in by himself. Ho-hum.

Update on 2009-10-11 04:43 by Geoff

Woods v. Yang makes tomorrow watchable. Ryo v. Kenny isn't bad either. Ogilvy v. Stricker should be interesting. The rest? Zzzz...

Golf Channel's Olympic Announcement Coverage

Golf Channel featured a pretty extensive roundup on the golf-in-the-Olympics announcement, and as you might imagine some interesting things were said. There were a few highlights, starting with Tim Finchem's appearance alongside Brandel Chamblee and Kraig Kann.

Finchem said this "will go down as a turning point for the game from a growth standpoint" and that "we're on a nice trajectory globally with golf" and "countries are going to spend a lot of energy to grow the game."

Finchem also believes this will "legitimatize, if we even needed it, golf as an athletic sport. It's truly an athletic sport."

And finally, golf in the Olympics "puts us on a stage that demonstrates the global diversity of the game. No longer will it be viewed as an elite sport," and this will "catapult the sport upward." He said the "next forty years are going to be golden age of golf globally."

As for the courses in Rio, Finchem said they have "some decent courses, not at the level to challenge these guys" and that the Tour "may build a course in partnership with the other federations."

Kann chimed in that he was envisioning a "Nicklaus design, Palmer Design, Player Design, Woods Design…" Finchem was gone so he didn't have to touch that one.

A few moments later they threw it to Inga Hammond and Adam Barr, who talked about the potential worldwide sales of "clubs, shoes, balls," and the "potentially enormous market for an industry that needs good news right now."

He also cited Brad Klein's article which suggested a private developer might bear the risk of building what Barr called "one of these mega complexes" and a "big course to handle the big players," and floated Donald Trump's name.

And Rich Lerner wrapped up with an essay where he noted that this was a "sudden financial sunrise for what had been a cloudy golf industry."

Golf Is In The Olympics; TPC Rio Next?

From Gene Yasuda's story about golf getting the official nod from the IOC:

Limited options explain why there’s already much discussion about building a new facility, and that could lead to PGA Tour Golf Course Properties unveiling a TPC-branded layout in Rio, Golfweek has learned.

“It’s a possibility,” confirmed David Pillsbury, president and chief operating officer of PGA Tour Golf Course Properties. “We will be evaluating all the courses in Rio de Janeiro and talking to prospective partners in Rio about building something similar to TPC San Antonio, with a resort, a couple golf courses and a location that would be ideal to the Olympic city.”

Update on 2009-10-09 17:16 by Geoff

From the wire story on the 2016 Olympic bid:

"There are millions of young golfers worldwide who would be proud to represent their country," Woods said from the Presidents Cup in San Francisco. "It would be an honor for anyone who plays this game to become an Olympian."

Golf was approved 63-27 with two abstentions. Rugby was voted in 81-8 with one abstention.

You can view the golf presentation to the IOC here.

The Ubiquitous Hank Haney?

For a man who doesn't think much of the media, it's just heartwarming to see Hank Haney making the rounds now to talk about Tiger. First there was the call in to Alan Shipnuck, then now he's on FanHouse, then yapping it up with Golf.com's Connell Barrett and finally, doing Ryan Ballengee's podcast.

But it wasn't until Monte Burke nabbed Haney for Forbes.com that the truth came out.

You recently became the spokesperson for Charles Schwab's ( SCHW - news - people ) retirement services. Are there parallels between golf instruction and retirement advice?

There are lots of parallels. The most important thing you can have is a plan, whether that's for your investments or your golf game. You have to be patient. Both require longterm approaches. There are ups and downs, and you can't get too high with the ups or too low with the down.

After that, don't ever tell me this blog fails to provide you with useful information. Ever!