"The entire sport of golf likely will be faced with a fork-in-the-road decision in charting its future."

/
Jim Achenbach assesses the U.S. Open at Congressional and concludes that the "gulf" between regular golfers and the professionals has "grown dramatically" in recent years with the need for a resolution appearing more evident than ever.
Read More

"Doctor's orders."

/

Tiger is out of the AT&T National but is still going to appear at the event next week, reports Doug Ferguson.

Woods is scheduled to be at Aronimink next week, to sign the "We Salute Our Heroes" tribute wall in which fans can write personal messages to the U.S. military. He has a news conference Tuesday afternoon, and is expected to take part in the military opening ceremony on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Ron Sirak contrasts McIlroy with Tiger after last week's U.S. Open.

When it came time for McIlroy to face the media -- never one of Tiger's favorite chores -- that humility was captivating. With the trophy sitting next to him, Rory took out his cell phone and snapped a photo. "I have to tweet it," he said. "I've waited all week to do this." After the Masters, McIlroy tweeted a photo of him smiling next to Charl Schwartzel, who had on the green jacket Rory could have been wearing. It was a gracious gesture.

After taking his trophy shot Sunday, McIlroy turned his camera toward the hundreds of writers in the room and snapped a photo. In nearly 15 years as a pro, nothing close to that spontaneous ever occurred with Woods. Right now, Tiger has 14 majors and Rory has 13 fewer. But McIlroy is also 13 years younger and has connected with the public in a very special way.

Who Says The PGA Tour Isn't Progressive? "MATCHUPS" Debuts

/

I shudder to think how many meetings the underlings conducted with the fuddy-duddies at the top of the PGA Tour BMW 7 Series chain to convince them that this social media thing combined with the gambling thing can draw Americans to certain sports (eh, the NFL).

Anyway, somehow the fun-lovers in Ponte Vedra emerged victorious and this week the PGA Tour debuts Matchups, what I think could be a very positive move in the direction of making the tour more interactive and fun each week. Only quibble: as with their fantasy league excursions, the prizes are still a little underwhelming, but this is a solid start.

I've entered and also started a group under the highly original title, GeoffShackelford.com.

I found the interface and sign up very easy, so if you're on Facebook, join in and let's test this thing out!

"The obvious question is: What the hell has happened to American golf?"

/
There are a couple of good reads today about the continued decline of American performances at majors following the U.S. Open where Kevin Chappell and Robert Garrigus were the low Yanks (though it should be noted that Chappell, a former NCAA champion, playing his first U.S. Open finished T-3).
Read More