“This guy has walked this land more than any architect"
/Ken Belson files an NY Times story on the status of The Cliffs and Tiger's design there.
Read MoreWhen you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
2010 Arnold Palmer Invitational Final Round Comments
/It's looking like an Ernie Els run-away victory and an impressive second straight win as we inch closer to the Masters. And since just about everyone on the planet would like to see him win that, it's exciting stuff. Nonetheless, I won't be watching live. Then again, neither will you be since the round is tape delayed to get in before possible inclement weather.
But feel free to post your various thoughts here on any and all things Arnold Palmer Invitational.
"It's a bit like football. Great players don't necessarily make great coaches."
/I've finally found one silver lining in this whole collapse of the global
Read More“He started contributing value pretty doggone quick”
/Another item from Jonathan Mahler's New York Times Magazine story on "The Tiger Bubble."
Read More"Arnold Palmer wrestled with Cherry Hills for three rounds and then strangled it"
/
Bill Fields files a must read feature on the late great Bob Drum for Golf World's Backspin issue. Naturally, I loved this story of a lede gone lost, all in the name of front page conformity:
Motivated to prove Drum wrong, Palmer drove the 346-yard par-4 first hole that had flummoxed him for three rounds and two-putted for an easy birdie. He birdied six of the first seven holes and shot 65 to emerge the winner.
"Drum came up with a real snappy lead, something like 'Arnold Palmer wrestled with Cherry Hills for three rounds and then strangled it,' " remembers Giffin, forced to tinker with the beginning of Drum's story after an editor decided it needed a few more facts if it was going to run on the paper's front page. Moreover, on the biggest story Drum would ever write about Palmer, his byline was inadvertently left off.
DENVER, June 18 --Arnold Palmer, who had wrestled with the Cherry Hills golf course for three rounds, caught it in a stranglehold on the final 18 today and pulled off one of the most unbelievable victories in National Open history.
Drum soon made an important point.
The sensational victory moved him over the second hurdle in his bid for present-day golf's Grand Slam.
There's also a nice web exclusive video worth watching...
Masters Featured Group Coverage Follow Up
/Nice spot by reader Don who noticed on the Masters website the rather extensive "Featured Group" coverage, which as far as I can tell, is an expansion over previous years. I have to assume Tiger Woods will be in a Featured Group and therefore, the return will be televised...online. If it works.
Read More"When you look at changing the major medical category for a nonexempt player, the ramifications it has for field makeup are incredible.”
/Larry Dorman tracked down Champions Tour president Mike Stevens for some clarification on the vote against Ken Green. Essentially, Green should have played better.
Read MoreIM'ing With The Commissioners, 2010 Edition
/
(click on image to enlarge)When Carolyn Bivens stepped down as LPGA Commish, many of you so kindly lamented the demise of this site's IM'ing With The Commissioners, gulp, franchise.
But I'm happy to report that my NSA sources have been able to share this exchange between the PGA Tour's commissioners, Tim Finchem and Tiger Woods. Click on the image to enlarge.
“I just wanted something I earned."
/
It's good to see that the Champions Tour PAC and Policy Board feel their operation is in such good shape that it can shoot down a potentially massive feel-good story by denying Ken Green a major medical extension. “All (the changes) are for the better.”
/In my limited viewing of round one from Bay Hill, I have to say the course looks way better, What a joy it is not to see the crop of rough that Arnie annually harvested. And even better, replaced by short grass and firm greens. Maybe he got the message after Mickelson sat it out the last few years (that's his compliment above), or when players like Ogilvy and Poulter (an Orlando resident!) are sitting this one out.
Read More"It’s a sucker pin if one ever existed."
/John Hawkins makes this prediction about Tiger's schedule post-Masters.
Read More"I told them they can get wherever they can get"
/Adam Folk reports for the Augusta Chronicle on media inquiries to the Richmond County Sheriffi's office seeking info about Masters week lockdown parameters. He talked to Sherriff Buford T. Justice Sheriff's Col. Gary Powell.
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