Stevie Case Closed, Say Commissioners Who Do Not Comment On Disciplinary Matters

So, let me get this straight. The PGA Tour does not comment on disciplinary matters, which was reaffirmed yesterday in the Steve Williams matter. Today, the PGA Tour and European Tour Commissioners Tim Finchem and George O'Grady issue a statementsaying "We are aware he has apologised fully and we trust we will not hear such remarks again."

Iain Carter reports on the rest, which sounds like teachers scolding 5th graders:

Their statement added: "The International Federation of PGA Tours feels strongly there is no place for any form of racism in ours or any other sport.

"We consider the remarks of Steve Williams, as reported, entirely unacceptable in whatever context.

"We are aware he has apologised fully and we trust we will not hear such remarks again. Based on this, we consider the matter closed and we will have no further comment."

Doug Ferguson says Adam Scott was shown the statement after his 73 Sunday and is not concerned the story will linger.

The following week is the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, where Scott and Woods - or is that Williams and Woods? - could face each other in any of the four days of competition.

Scott tried to deflect speculation that he could be walking into a frenzy Down Under.

"Hopefully, it's just for my good play rather than anything else. I don't think there's a story going forward," he said, adding that "the matter has been put to bed and I've got nothing more to talk about it with anyone. So I'm moving on."

Update on 2011-11-06 21:35 by Geoff

**Here is the full statement from PGATour.com.

Stevie Initially Denied Slur, Then Cited Context

Joanne Carroll has several vital details in the Stevie scandal, including the word that Williams only attended because Adam Scott asked him to go.

And we do seem to have different takes on which version of a--hole was used (or was it ar--hole..inquiring minds want to know!).

When asked if he used the words "black a***hole" he initially denied using the racially motivated language: "I did not say those two words."

However, he refused to clarify exactly what he did say on stage at the event, attended by more than 100 top players, caddies and golfing officials.

"Things get taken out of context," he said.

Regarding the context, these comments from Greg Turner probably best sum things up.

However, former New Zealand No1 Greg Turner said he did not think Williams could survive the media backlash, particularly in the United States.

"I can't see this ending well. There's some things you can't get away with and this is one of them. I have been trying to think of a context that might have been acceptable but can't come up with anything. I think this is a pretty big one," he said.

HORSE Course Images Gallery, Australia Coverage Warning

The blog will be a bit different for the next few weeks as I am heading to Australia. There will be plenty of Australian Open and Presidents Cup coverage, but I'll also be soaking up the culture and golf. Translation: there may be a less news coverage than normal and posting times will vary, but I think I'll be able to supplement that with something better in the way of cool photo galleries showing golf and life in Australia.

Which reminds me, if you are in Melbourne, The Woodlands will be hosting a special evening featuring yours truly, John Huggan, Mike Clayton (moderating) and others in a roundtable discussion. Cost is $100. For more information on what should be a fun evening at a great club, you can email Matthew Mollica at matthewm@mpx.com.au

To give you an idea how these galleries may look, here's a test run with some images just sent to me by Robert Nelson of The Prairie Club's HORSE Course, which we built in the summer of 2008. Good to see it evolving nicely and thanks Robert for the photos.

I'm still fine tuning how these galleries display images, but they will all be posted on my new Photos page and also embedded in posts. Here's the HORSE Course collection...