"The omission of Paul Casey is, in strictly golfing terms, indefensible."

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Lawrence Donegan takes a more diplomatic approach than Oliver Brown did yesterday, but the message is the same: Paul Casey was not selected because of perceived personality issues. He's too American, he didn't play in Europe enough (but more than Donald and Harrington). He's just not well liked by the other saints on the team and Captain Marvelous.
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“Everything -- Adidas, Puma, Nike, except the Tiger brand.”

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The most fascinating thing in Alex Sherman's story about the decline in sales of Tiger apparel is not that people have stopped by the ugly stuff Nike has been designing for him, but the news that so many other lines are up in this economy. I'm not sure what it means, but it does seem interesting. Or not.
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"It's one of the interesting paradoxes of our times that someone can be referred to in all apparent earnestness as 'fiercely private' while also publicizing her private pain in a mass-circulation periodical."

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Slate's Laura Kipnis notes that about Elin's People Magazine exclusive (confession: I felt like Michael Keaton buying tampons in Mr. Mom, but yes I bought the issue...and learned nothing, though I did enjoy the less than subtle jab sent the way of Steiny.)
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Phil "Opts Out" Of Pro-Am; Has To Sit Through Corporate Drone Dinner Instead

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Thanks to reader Mel for Rex Hoggard's post on Phil Mickelson's withdrawal from Thursday's Deutsche Bank Pro-Am.

Unlike Furyk, however, Mickelson’s withdrawal will not cost him a spot at the second playoff event because Lefty used a special option that allows top players to miss a pro-am. Instead the player must participate in an “alternative sponsor function.”

Translation: long dinner pretending to be interested.

Players who finished in the top 20 on the previous year’s money or FedEx Cup lists have two pro-am opt outs that are contingent on sponsor approval. Mickelson used his first opt out earlier this year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and instead had dinner with a handful of corporate clients.

According to Andy Pazder, the Tour’s senior vice president of tournament administration, this is the first year of the opt out provision and only about “a half dozen” players have used it.

“In a pro-am three or four amateurs are going to get five hours with Phil on the golf course, which is great, but maybe it’s better if you have a dinner with 20 executives and clients for two or three hours,” Pazder said. “Maybe that’s a better use of a player’s time.”

Why Does Attending A Major Need To Be Life Threatening?

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The confirmation of Quail Hollow--home to the PGA Tour's seventh major--as 2017 PGA Championship host came today with no mention of the potential for the kind of hot and humid weather that scorched the club's greens this summer and will likely lead to a green resurfacing project.

Next summer the PGA visits Atlanta in August, about the last place any sane individual wants to be and where they are also having issues with new greens. This, just after leaving Whistling Straits where the media opted not to take a harder look at the number of injuries once again caused by the Strait's steep faux dunes.

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Golf Takes The Blame For Everything Files: Brush Fire Edition

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I can see it now, Rustic Canyon shut down in any Santa Ana wind for fear of someone's precious 4-iron skimming a rock and ingniting a spark.

Thanks to Brooks for catching Erika Ritchie and Peter Schelden's story on a brush fire breaking out next to Shady Canyon, home course to Tiger Woods and Mark McGwire when they are in the OC.

 

"Throw a dart. Pull a name out of a hat. Figure that one of that bunch will step up and give Pavin a reason he can't ignore. If not, pass the Advil."

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Monty's headache was nothing compared to Corey Pavin's pending migraine. With less than a week to go before he sits down at the New York Stock Exchange (!?) to reveal his picks, Doug Ferguson asks, "Can anyone find two players who stand out above the rest? Can anyone find two players who stand out at all?
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"If I had been a really dedicated person, and really worked hard, I think I could have accomplished more."

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Jaime Diaz labels it a "startling confession" from Jack Nicklaus, and it's hard to disagree:

Addressing a number of topics during a 90-minute conversation, Nicklaus displays a new candor. He used to say, "My record is my record. I did all I could do." Today, he casts a more analytical and sometimes critical eye on the nuances of his career, starting with a self-effacing haymaker: "If I were to look back on my work, I think I accomplished probably about 70 to 75 percent of what I could have. Maybe 60 percent. Somewhere in that area; two-thirds of what I could have accomplished. If I had been a really dedicated person, and really worked hard, I think I could have accomplished more."