"It's not going to happen with this commissioner. A new commissioner might see otherwise."

Steve DiMeglio looks at the PGA Tour's insistence on keeping disciplinary actions private and gets this from Joe Ogilvie:

"I think you use your head on what should be announced. There are certain things that need to be kept within the Tour and there are certain things that can be made public. You guys are going to find out anyway. So, you can either control it, or you let (the media) control it. And I'd rather control it."

Ogilvie also said announcements could be a deterrent. But Ogilvie said he doesn't see the Tour changing it's current policy of keeping quiet.

"It's not going to happen with this commissioner. A new commissioner might see otherwise," Ogilvie said. "I'm not saying Tim is wrong, I'm just saying I'd look at it a little differently from a player's perspective. Maybe if I was in his position I'd think of the way he thinks of it.

"But Tim's not going to change his mind."

No Republicans Or Democrats Land In Top 10 Golf Digest's Washington Golfer Ranking!

Just the people who stuff their pockets! Want more proof that lobbyists rule the world? Look at them clog up Golf Digest's list of best political world golfers.

Boehner lands at T-43 while Obama is listed as a 17, landing him at No. 108.

New Golf Channel Feherty Show Declared "Ground-Breaking" By Golf Channel

For Immediate Release...

GOLF CHANNEL ANNOUNCES GROUND-BREAKING ORIGINAL SERIES STARRING IRREPRESSIBLE SPORTS PERSONALITY DAVID FEHERTY
 
FEHERTY
 
12-Part Series Features Personal Stories, Clever Observations and Captivating Interviews with the Man Known for his Inimitable Style and Witty Golf Commentary
 
Feherty Premieres Week of June 20
 
ORLANDO, Fla. (May 9, 2011) – One of the most recognizable and unique personalities in sports, David Feherty – a 14-year veteran of CBS Sports – is bringing his unmistakable wit to Golf Channel with the all-new, prime-time series Feherty, currently in production and debuting the week of June 20, following the playing of the U.S. Open near the nation’s capitol.
 
Feherty is the first original Golf Channel series created since the golf cable network became a member of the NBC Sports Group following the Comcast-NBCUniversal transaction in January.
 
No topic is off limits in this 12-part series which will share revealing interviews with well-known personalities from all walks of life – from sports to entertainment to politics – along with unique stories and anecdotes from the brilliant yet zany mind of David Feherty.

And skipping through the bio stuff:

“This show is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I'm glad it’s found a home at Golf Channel,” Feherty said.  “I’m really overjoyed, so much so that I may have to cheer down, rather than up.  I think I'm tri-polar.”
 
Surrounding the interview in each 30-minute episode, Feherty will share never-before-heard stories about the sport and the personalities that play it as well as poignant and humorous observations on the peculiarities of life. The series is being shot both in studio and on location with interviews taking place across the country.

Meet The New WGHOF Inductees...

There hasn't been much buzz about this year's golf Hall class for a few reasons, most notably that an active player (Ernie Els) is the headliner while two others (Jumbo Ozaki and George Bush) are less than ideal inductees who are not appearing to accept their place in golf's impressive shrine. Here is the entire group courtesy of a nice PGATour.com synopsis page.

Also, Deane Beman (with Adam Schupak's help) pens a My Shot this week for SI on inductee Frank Chirkinian, writing this about the legendary CBS producers' skill:

If you watched the Masters on CBS this year you saw Frank's artistic legacy. Tiger's tournament hinged on his putter at the 12th on Sunday. CBS got that. It wasn't that he had to make his birdie putt, it was that he couldn't miss the second putt, for par, which is what he did. He needed to step on the 13th tee feeling confident, make the birdie there, on the short par-5, and he didn't do that either. CBS showed all of that. A good broadcast paints the picture of how a player builds a round, or dismantles it for that matter. That's why Chirkinian showed fewer players making more shots. When golf is good on TV now, it's when producers follow Chirkinian's example.

Photographers Remember Seve

It's not often when we lose a golfing great that you hear photographers speaking out about their affection for the person, but that's just how powerful a presence Seve exuded.

Matthew Harris, who captured several memorable images of Seve and whose work can now be seen at The Golf Picture Library, shares the image (left) and following words about Seve:

"All any golf photographer ever wanted to do was to photograph Seve,he gave us some extraordinary moments. He will never be forgotten as long as golf is played, as he made the impossible shots, possible.It was a privilege being there for many of his triumphant wins, in an illustrious career and an honor we became friends ".

"One of my most cherished memories was going to dinner with him, and my friend Koji Aoki, to a small Japanese noodle  house, sitting on tatami mats,in the middle of the Hakone Highlands in Japan; laughter,chop sticks and a priceless evening ".

"Seve was the pied piper, not only of European golf,but why even non sports fans would tune in when he was rampaging across a golf course bubbling charisma with every swashbuckling swipe of his clubs; there never was a finer sight in my experience in golf ".

David Cannon also penned these thoughts for golf.com:

Whether it was a smile, a scowl, a serious moment or a great action image, it did not matter. The eyes told the story — the unrivalled passion for the game of golf. It's a passion I share every day of my life, and I very much miss Seve's being around as a person, let alone as a subject.

"I don’t know how long it will take to sink in. Eight months? Nine months? A couple days? I don’t know. I’ve never done this before."

I've been hearing from reader Rob Matre about amateur Russell Henley, winner of Sunday's Stadion Classic on the Nationwide Tour over his home course at the University of Georgia.  Rob posted a gallery of images from Sunday's round.

From an unbylined AP story on the win:

“I can’t even feel my arms,” Henley said. “I was nervous all day. I don’t know how long it will take to sink in. Eight months? Nine months? A couple days? I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.”

The three-time All-America selection finished at 12-under 272 on the University of Georgia Golf Course.

If you want to experience what golf highlights were like in the silent era, here's a B-roll with graphics of the final round in Athens.

Cool Nike Commercial During Derby

I was mostly to nervous for my man Shackleford to notice the pre-race commercials, but it was hard not to be glued to one that ran during the Kentucky Derby and turned out to be for...Nike golf balls!

Pretty impressive piece of work here, with some golf course damage thrown in. Anyone know what course this is? Looks like something Northern California.

Amateur Leading Nationwide Event

Russell Henley is tied for the lead with Troy Kelly on his home college course in Athens, Georgia.

More Memories Of Seve

In no particular order...

James Lawton on Seve's passing:

Life isn't a game, of course, but the tragedy behind the glory of Seve Ballesteros was that sometimes he plainly found it hard to distinguish between the two. He wept unashamedly in defeat and was distraught when he finished second as a 19-year-old at the Open at Royal Birkdale in 1976. Ballesteros always lived in the moment, and if such anguish was hard to understand after he had been beaten only by the superstar American Johnny Miller, and tied with Jack Nicklaus, it was soon enough widely understood that the thin, intense youth played only to win. It wasn't considered an ambition; it was a birthright.

He won three Opens along with his Masters titles, and each time he won a major he seemed to journey a little deeper into the improbable, even the surreal.

Peter Alliss's memories of Seve.

He could also be awkward. He could shut down a party with a look. That is the kind of power and charisma he had. But he loved the game, he loved to play, he just loved hitting balls. He was more than a golfer, he was a global star. It was such a shame that a life like his should end like it did. They were a very sad last two years, living in a bloody big house overlooking the Bay of Santander with a housekeeper and his brothers popping in. His family lived in Madrid and he was largely on his own. He knew he was dying. It was very sad.

I last saw him a couple of months ago. We went down to film a documentary. He lived in some style. You went into his garage and you discovered a Lamborghini and a Ferrari. He'd had them for years but they had fewer than 4,000 miles on the clock. A dealer friend of mine asked me to ask Seve if he wanted to sell them.

He offered Seve a decent price but he wanted a million pounds each for them because 'they belong to me'.

Thanks to reader Stuart for Ewen Murray's memories of Seve.

I first met Seve when he was a teenager at the under 25 championship in Evian.

It was a practice round and this engaging Spaniard arrived on the first tee with some dodgy-looking shoes and minus the full compliment of clubs.

My first question was: who are you caddying for? "I am playing," was the reply.

After a few holes, I realized I was in special company and it was the beginning of a friendship that would last until his untimely death of such a brutal illness.

Former caddy Billy Foster remembers the man and shares a few favorite stories courtesy of Kevin Garside.

Greg Turner is interviewed by Martin Davidson.

''He was bloody kind with his time. Any time I saw him going to the practice green I'd head over there as well. He was very free with his advice and he'd spend a lot of time with you, talking you through stuff. For a young guy that was purely inspirational.''

John Huggan on why we'll never see another like him.

It is no exaggeration to say that we will never see his like again. Quite apart from the fact that the explosion in club and ball technology over the last 20 years or so has left professional golf all but bereft of the subtle shot-making, touch and artistry Seve took to previously unexplored levels, the Spaniard played, to paraphrase the great Bobby Jones' famous description of Jack Nicklaus, "a game with which no-one else was familiar". Added to which he was the ultimate competitor, as his 50 European Tour victories - a record - and 87 worldwide wins so graphically indicate.

Mike Clayton remembers the man and some of his most important victories.

The Spaniard won his first major championship at Royal Lytham in 1979, beating a white handkerchief-waving Hale Irwin, a clinically accurate American who only a month earlier had won his national Open. Seve clattered the ball all over the links from the tee but in one of the most staggering performances on a brutally difficult course he holed the most improbable of putts, hit the most perfect bunker shots and then finished off Irwin, Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw and Australian Rodger Davis when he made a birdie at the 16th after driving into the carpark.

The orthodox and normally ruthless Irwin could not stomach a man burying him on the golf course whilst missing fairway after fairway with a swing that showed little regard for orthodoxy.

A very nice compilation of quotes from Seve's peers on the Champions Tour includes this from Nick Price:

"What he did for European golf was what Tiger Woods did for worldwide golf. The European Tour would not be where it is now if it were not for Seve. His allegiance to the European Tour was admirable. I mean the guy was an icon; just an incredible golfer. I've always said most of us could shoot 65 in about 30 or 40 ways. He could do it about 10,000 different ways. He could miss every fairway, chip in five times, hole two bunker shots...what a sad day today. He was so creative around the greens. It didn't matter if there was a tree or bunker, he'd figure out a way to get up and down. He and I had a great duel at Royal Lytham in 1988. It was a great day for each of us. I remember the seventh hole he made an eagle right on top of me. I remember after we played that hole that one of us was going to win because we were both playing so well that day and neither of us was going to back down. He was always very kind to me. Whatever you may have heard about him, his love for the game and his competitiveness was something I learned so much from.

Richard Goldstein files the New York Times obituary.

GolfDigest.com compiles the golf world's Tweets on Seve.

Garry Smits on a nice gesture from Tim Clark in advance of The Players.

Defending champion Tim Clark of South Africa, who won last year in stunning fashion with a weekend sprint to the top, has asked the PGA Tour to take his nation's flag down a week before usual.

On Clark's direction, his agent called Players Championship media official Laura Hill Saturday evening and asked that the Spanish fly be flown atop the Circle of Champions this week instead of the South African flag, a gesture he is making to Seve Ballesteros, the Hall of Fame player from Spain who died early Saturday of a brain tumor.

Hill got the word to the right people and the Spanish flag will be hoisted over the landmark at the bottom of the hill between the clubhouse and the practice area beginning Sunday morning. At the base of the flag are plaques commemorating each Players winner. Ballesteros never won the tournament but for a week his career will be honored as if he had.

Services are planned for Wednesday. The PGA Tour will suspend play Sunday on all tour events for one minute at 3:08 ET.

An ESPN phone interview with Jack Nicklaus.



R.I.P. Seve Ballesteros**

The news was foreshadowed but it doesn't make it any easier knowing how much one of the great sportsmen suffered. Tributes to come...

John Huggan at GolfDigest.com

Ewan Murray for The Guardian.

Sarah Rainsford of BBC.

An unbylined story on Jose Maria Olazabal's emotions Saturday:

"Obviously, he has been present all the time,'' he said. "Our relationship was so close. I always felt privileged for all the moments that we shared together, and there have been many. Even though I knew what the situation was, when the moment arrives you are never sufficiently prepared.''

Playing partner Colin Montgomerie said Olazabal was "in floods of tears most of the day. He has lost an older brother almost.''

"It was very difficult to get too much out of Jose Maria - he was very tearful and filling up. You could see in his eyes the great loss he feels and they've been a great support for each other. He did well to play at all today,'' said Montgomerie, who partnered with Ballesteros in a number of Ryder Cups. "It was his brother, really. It was a very, very sad day for him.''

Nick Faldo: "I am deeply saddened by the news on the passing of Seve.  He had a real impact on me and on my life in this sport.  He was a leader; bringing the spotlight to the European Tour, paving the way to European success at the Masters and bringing his relentless passion to the Ryder Cup.   Today I would call him, Cirque du Soleil.  For golf, he was the greatest show on earth.   I was a fan and so fortunate I had front row seat."

Randall Mell with comments from Paul Azinger.

Bob Harig on his passing with a Sportscenter video tribute as well.

Craig Dolch with a variety of player memories of Seve the golfer.

And Peter Alliss's final interview with Seve, now viewable outside of the UK.

**More:

Golf Digest has posted a page of Seve stories from over the years.

They've also posted this slideshow. No one photographed like Seve.

Alistair Tait's memories.

SI/golf.com has a special Seve Tribute page.

John Garrity recalls the legend.

SI provides a photo gallery recalling the man.

AP video: