"A great deal of the PGA Tour ongoing relevance in Korea owes itself to the Qualifying School."

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Ben Sellenger makes a strong case that top Asian players interested in playing around the world will choose the European Tour now that Q-School sends them to the Nationwide Tour. Besides a Jeremy Lin reference and reminding us that K.J. Choi came to the PGA Tour through Q-School, he writes (thanks reader Josh):
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The Donald: I Just Got A Women's U.S. Open!

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Gary Van Sickle interviews Donald Trump about purchasing Doral out of the bargain bin and His Donaldness reveals that his Bedminster course will be awarded a U.S. Women's Open, just as soon as the USGA announces it! Oops!

We just got the Women's U.S. Open at that one, which is phenomenal. [Editor's Note: USGA representatives say nothing is official, yet].The one in Florida is great. One of the other things I'll be having is a brand new Sikorsky helicopter that'll go between my course in Palm Beach and my course in Miami. I'm totally sold out in Palm Beach. That place is a real success. Having helicopter service between them will be fantastic. We're going to spend a lot of money and bring Doral to the highest levels of golf. I think it's the best location in the country. Miami is hot as a pistol.

Nice, Fun Muni Faces Closure Because Of Bad Greens!?

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Thanks to reader Tom for Mark McGregor's disturbing look at the possible demise of Snyder Park, a 1929 muni that Tom says "is 6,300 yds. from the tips" and is "a wonderful old style course and a delightful walk." 

City finances and no direction on how to fix bad greens may cause the city of Springfield, Ohio, to close the place. Perhaps this would be a nice salvation job for the USGA to tap its surplus and the expertise of the Green Section to save a quality place for everyday golf? Oh there I go again.

City Manager Jim Bodenmiller said in a January commission meeting that the city challenged the park district to make Snyder and Reid Park courses self-sufficient. National Trail met that goal in two of three years, but a subsidy was necessary in 2011.

City Finance Director Mark Beckdahl said in the meeting that without the subsidy, the district’s bills and vendors would have gone unpaid.

“We had a rough 2011, there’s no denying that,” Smith said. “It’s tough when you’re dealing with the weather. Not everything you do (to fix turf) works.”

Early estimates to repair the greens range from $15,000 to $20,000. National Trail will know more in a few weeks once a golf turf expert examines the course, determines why conditions deteriorated and how much it will likely cost to restore them.

The city hasn’t decided whether it will pay to redo the greens or if it will instead close the Snyder Park course.

Davis On Olympic's 16th: "It will play the way it did for Hogan"

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Ron Kroichick on Mike Davis's meet-and-greet with San Francisco media Monday to get us excited about the 2012 U.S. Open. The big talk centered around the 670-yard tee for the 16th hole.

“We felt this would make it a true three-shotter,” Davis said of the new tee. “It will play the way it did for (Ben) Hogan and (Arnold) Palmer in ’55 and ’66. It will be a big, big par-5.”

What about for Jack Fleck, Billy Casper, Scott Simpson and Lee Janzen?

Previously, the longest hole in Open history was No. 12 at Oakmont Country Club (outside Pittsburgh) in 2007, at a paltry 667 yards.

An unbylined AP story includes many other details on this June's U.S. Open setup and operation.

"The new system undoubtedly makes it harder for outsiders to crash the PGA Tour’s party."

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Sean Martin says good players will make their way to the tour, but he also mourns the likely demise of stories like Q-Schooler John Huh's Cinderella run, which will not be possible if the PGA Tour policy board votes to approve changes (and since FedEx just re-upped for $35 million based on the proposal, I'd say the votes will be there!).
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