"Expand the field, have a cut, be more inclusive."

Oh did I hear it for suggesting the WGC-Cadillac at Doral was not must see TV. But just a few weeks after the match play where we saw a unique format and a daily dose of great golf, it's hard to get excited about a limited-stroke play field where players mostly show up because of the easy money and even easier world ranking points.
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Finchem, O'Grady Find Common Ground Over "Integration": Empty Buzzword Key To Fending Off Any And All Questions

Rex Hoggard sums up the highlights of George O'Grady and Tim Finchem's numbing Sunday Commissioner's press conference.

Thankfully, they may be dull but the ridiculous idea to further reward the world top 50 with a worldwide exemption appears to be going nowhere:

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Doral's Attendance Woes...

Jeff Rude writes about the leaders even noticing the small crowds at Doral and asks...

Why the small crowd on such a perfect day? Well, part of the answer was in the question;

it was a perfect day in Miami, and there’s an ocean a few miles away. It’s a big weekend for NCAA basketball conference tournaments. Woods isn’t in contention.

Might ticket prices be a reason? Yes, tickets cost $50 at the gate Saturday. But daily tickets bought before March 1 were as low as $20 daily and $90 for the week.

$50 is of course ridiculous for a walk-up price in a town where there is plenty to do. That price point backfired dreadfully last year in Los Angeles, another town where there are plenty of cheaper alternatives.

"Getting a glimpse of golf's secret society"

It's not a documentary about sleazy dude who hits his friends up for money and rails on about his court case, but at least North Korean has given the okay for some Irish grad students from Salford University to film an unprecedented amateur golf tournament behind their very closed borders. Dermot Gilleece with the amazing story of aspiring filmmakers Damien Wilson, Alan Dukes and Philip Pendlebury and the break of a lifetime.
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"With most key logistical matters addressed, confidence is higher than ever that Cadillac will sponsor a PGA Tour event at Detroit Golf Club in 2012."

I'm trying to read between Carlos Monarrez's lines in two Detroit Free-Press stories about the likelihood of the PGA Tour returning to Detroit with Cadillac as the sponsor. So far, I'm not figuring out what is in play here but it does seem like the potential demise of the Heritage and this week's WGC event at Doral will be a part of any domino effect that ushers in a return to Detroit.
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"No. 1 Kaymer, No. 2 Westwood and No. 3 Donald deserved better than the 58 people who saw them on the seventh hole."

Gene Wojciechowski on the massive draw that world Nos. 1-3 were down at Miami's WGC Cadillac Championship.

I mentioned this to Westwood in the locker room after darkness cut short Thursday's play. Said that I was a little surprised about the small size of the Kaymer, Westwood and Donald galleries.

The top 3 players in the world -- Lee Westwood (No. 2), Luke Donald (No. 3) and Martin Kaymer (No. 1) -- were grouped together in the first round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship. The pairing was a combined 14 under par through 10 holes Thursday.

"Really?" he said, smiling.

"You're not?" I said.

"Not here."

"But it's still 1, 2 and 3 in the world."

"And it's still from Germany, England and England."

"So I'm being naive about this?"

"Yes."