Major International Scandal Will Make It Hard To Look At Ryo The Same Ever Again...

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Driving with an international driver's license that wasn't valid in Japan. I just want to know if this apology is enough for all the Ryo haters out there?

"I want to apologize to all the fans and sponsors who have supported me," Ishikawa said at Narita Airport. "There is no excuse for this."

The 19-year-old Ishikawa drove in Japan without knowing the international permit he received in the United States wasn't valid in Japan because his U.S. stay was not long enough. Ishikawa was questioned by local police over the driving license incident on Thursday.

 

Report: Olympic Course Site Announced

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Thanks to reader Rob for this ATR report (subscription required) that Rio Olympic officials made it official: the 2016 course to be used for the first Olympic golf competition since 1904 will be a new one on a site in the city. This hasn't been much of a secret, but still the first official acknowledgement from the organizers of the direction and location.

Organizers also chose the occasion to announce the stage for golf’s first Olympic tournament since 1904, a new course rather than one of the two private 18-hole courses already in existence in Rio.

“Now the masterplan of the different sports competitions is finalized, so we know where every sport will be for the Games in 2016,” Felli told ATR.

“We believe the course is going to be a key legacy for Rio as it’s going to be in the middle of the Barra zone like most of the Olympic Village.”

New USGA Hire On Eve Of U.S. Open

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For Immediate Release...

BODENHAMER NAMED USGA’S SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR OF RULES, COMPETITIONS & AMATEUR STATUS

Far Hills, N.J. (June 9, 2011) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) has announced that John Bodenhamer will join the Association as the senior managing director of Rules, Competitions & Amateur Status.

The new position will include oversight of the competition side of the USGA’s national championships. Bodenhamer will report to USGA Executive Director Mike Davis and will work very closely with USGA Managing Director of Rules & Competitions Jeff Hall.

“I am thrilled that John will be joining our staff,” said Davis. “He brings a vast amount of experience and knowledge to the USGA, and his background in golf administration will be an incredible asset to the Association.”

Bodenhamer, 49, has served as the CEO and executive director of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association since 1990, the CEO and executive director of the Washington State Golf Association since 1992, and executive director of the Pacific Coast Golf Association since 1998. He also serves as the CEO for The Home Course in DuPont, Wash., which served as the second stroke-play course for the 2010 U.S. Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash. Bodenhamer has served on a variety of USGA committees over the years, including the Regional Associations Committee, the Amateur Status Committee and the Handicap Procedure Committee. He served as president of the International Association of Golf Administrators in 2000-01 and currently sits on the board of directors for the First Tee of Greater Seattle.

Prior to joining the Pacific Northwest Golf Association, Bodenhamer served as a member of the judiciary committee staff for U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, from 1988 to 1990. Bodenhamer, who earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Brigham Young University, was a member of the Cougars’ golf team that won the Division I national team title in 1981. He won both the Pacific Northwest Junior Championship and Washington State Junior Championship in 1978 and the Washington State Amateur in 1981. He is a two-time Alaska State Open champion, in 1987 and 1988, and has played in two U.S. Amateurs, in 1984 and 1985.

Royal St. George's Roughless, On Edge...Already

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An unbylined BBC report says Royal St. George's is drawing upon emergency water supplies and in general, already super dry after the driest spring in 100 years follows a dry 2010. Like Augusta, this is a course that is better with a lot of turf and conditions not super firm and fast, so look out Open contestants!

The lack of rain has put pressure on ground staff at the Kent golf course holding the Open golf tournament in July.

After the driest spring for 100 years staff at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich are having to work round the clock to prepare the course.

Seeing players wading knee deep through the rough looking for stray balls has become a tradition at the Open.

But the lack of rain means the grass has not grown as deep as was hoped for.

Golfers who have been practising over the past few weeks have told ground staff that even if the rough does not come up to the level it should, the course still presents a challenge.

If it still presents a challenge, why have rough at all? Oh sorry, go on...

Christopher Gabbey, club secretary, said: "The rough may be slightly less than we would have wished but then the ground will be firm, the greens will be firm and they will still find it quite difficult.

"A lot depends on the wind we get during the week and the best man will come to the fore."

There has been just over 33mm (1.3in) of rain in Kent between March and May compared to an average of more than 148mm (5.8in).

To help keep the course watered, the club is allowed to draw water from the nearby River Stour. Since March it has taken two and a half million gallons - nearly half its annual allowance.