PGA Tour Offering Schwab Cups And Tourney To-Be-Named-Later To Remedy Ironclad Contract Nuisance

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Ron Kroichick reports that the pesky "ironclad" PGA Tour contract with the City of San Francisco for a 2013 or '14 penultimate playoff event at Harding Park is leading to a new offer so that Conway Farms can host the BMW Championship in 2013.

"We've told all the parties the same thing throughout this dialogue: Look, we have a contract with the city of San Francisco to bring the penultimate playoff event there in 2013 or '14," tour executive David Pillsbury said Wednesday. "Until we are able to secure approval from the city to do otherwise, we plan on honoring our contractual agreement.

"We're hopeful, but it's not done until it's done. ... I think ultimately (the revised agreement) is good for the game of golf, for San Francisco and for Harding Park."

Rec and Park general manager Phil Ginsburg plans to soon bring the proposal, which includes another marquee PGA Tour event in 2017, '18 or '19, to the commission.

"We are in the process of finalizing an amendment that would move a tour playoff event to 2016 but also add two Schwab Cups," Ginsburg said.

Above Riviera's 10th Before Greenside Bunkers Added

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One of my favorite images of Riviera is below, cropped to focus on the 10th hole circa 1927 before George Thomas and Billy Bell added the greenside bunkers which took the short par-4 to another level. It's followed by a view today with all of the tournament hoopla, cart paths, fairway lines, rough, Eucalyptus and the hideously re-shaped fairway bunker paying homage to Desmond Muirhead's spiral and mermaid years.
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"I bet I'm the only guy that has to work (Wednesday)."

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Jill Painter with a super story on Tom Gardner, an assistant pro at Bel-Air Country Club who got in the Northern Trust Open at the local SCPGA qualifier.

After the 11 a.m. shotgun start at the exclusive country club, he'll race down Sunset Boulevard, about four miles from Riviera Country Club, and get some work in on the driving range and putting greens.

Gardner has his own crucial tournament this week. He qualified as a club pro to play in the Northern Trust Open, which starts Thursday.

"I bet I'm the only guy that has to work (Wednesday)," Gardner said with a laugh.

Gardner, 33, got the rest of the week off to play on the PGA Tour, so he's been the star at Bel-Air, a place filled with stars like Luke Wilson, Jerry West and Pete Sampras.

"Since I've qualified, it's been a fairly big thing at Bel-Air," Gardner said. "They've sent out emails, and the membership has been unbelievable. They're so supportive. They've really made this fun.

"It's been a dream of mine to work at a golf course like this, and there's 300 people congratulating me and telling me how proud of me they are."

He goes off at 1:15 Thursday on #1.

Questions Surround Gulbis Decision To Pose With Painted Swimsuit In Swimsuit Issue

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You can feel the tension as golf.com's Jeff Ritter doesn't back down in questioning the decision to use a body painted swimsuit for Natalie Gulbis's SI Swimsuit issue shoot. Uh, so yes, that's paint. How do they do the part where...oh this can't end well. Just check it out. On newstands this week.
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