"Is Bubba Watson going to be a true star?"

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Thoughtful analysis from Jaime Diaz on Bubba Watson now that the Masters dust has settled. Also love Streeter Lecka's image accompanying the story and the epic cover.

Watson's unique shapes are reminiscent of the way soft shafts, persimmon heads and balata balls allowed shots to be worked in past eras, except with extra zip and ADD-fueled creativity. Bubba's best example was the mind-bendingly hooked gap wedge from oblivion in sudden death that won him the Masters. Not since the similarly self-taught Lee Trevino came from nowhere to win the 1968 U.S. Open has a method and style almost instantly gone from being regarded as limited to transcendent.

More Q-School Demise Fallout: Walker Cup Captain Scouring Junior Ranks For Possible Players

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I think Scott Michaux was a bit stunned to find 2013 Walker Cup Captain Jim Holtgrieve scouting players at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, now in its second year of glorious excess. Holtgrieve confirms he is hitting the junior golf trail in anticipation of Q-School's demise causing top players to turn pro long before the Walker Cup at The National Golf Links.

“I’m going to be a little more cognizant about junior play because I think that’s probably where it’s going to go,” Holtgrieve said of the Walker Cup selection process. That’s a safe bet considering 2011 Sage Valley runner-up Patrick Rodgers made Holtgrieve’s 10-man roster last fall.

“Last year having Patrick Rodgers on the team was eye-opening,” said George Cunningham, 15, of Tucson, Ariz., who played in his second Junior Invitational.

Because of the pending changes to Q-School, Holtgrieve has received every indication that top American collegians Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth will pass up hanging around as amateurs another year in order to participate in the final Q-School that hands out PGA Tour cards. Cantlay and Spieth were Holtgrieve’s top point-getters with 2.5 each in last year’s Walker Cup at Royal Aberdeen, and they would have been the expected leaders for next year’s campaign to win back the cup.

“Nobody is a lock, but there’s no doubt about it that both of them are great players and great ambassadors for the United States,” Holtgrieve said. “So selfishly I’m hoping they stay amateur and try to make the team again.”

Realistically, he knows that won’t happen. Because Holtgrieve understands that amateur and collegiate golf are all the unintended victims of the death of Q-School.

“Absolutely,” he said when the trickle-down consequence of Q-School’s demise was broached.

By the way, if you get weepy seeing the yellow jacket ceremony at the Junior Invitational presented by Electrolux, or nauseous at the sight of 16 year olds with caddies in white overalls, don't watch the final round highlights produced by PGA Tour Productions. They also had W on hand for the banquet.

Four Greens at TPC San Antonio To Be Rebuilt

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Golf World Monday's Ron Sirak notes the Valero Texas Open's inability to draw a field and the TPC San Antonio's AT&T Oaks Course, which was 50th of 53 in the Golf World player survey, appears to be the problem. He reports that four greens will be rebuilt and the unplayable lies just out of play will need to be addressed.

When Greg Norman and Pete Dye were selected to design the 36 holes at San Antonio, a policy board member famously suggested budgeting for the inevitable post-opening redo. Wonder if the Commissioner listened? Wait, what was I thinking. I'm sorry for wasting that last 15 seconds of your time.

Butch: Haney's Memory Suspiciously Good; Tiger's Swing Is "Very Robotic"

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Jeff Neuman with several fun insights from a silent-until-now Butch Harmon, talking about Hank Haney's book on Tiger, which drops to the fifth spot on this week's NY Times combined bestseller list.

Highlights...

"I'm very surprised that he would write it," Harmon said this week. "I'd never do that to Tiger or Greg [Norman] or any of the guys I've been with. We get to spend a lot of time with these people, sometimes even more time than their own families. Things are said, or you see different things, and it's just—it is what it is, you just leave it where it belongs. I was really shocked to see him talk about Elin and Tiger's kids and stuff like that, I don't think that had any place in it."

He went on: "It almost seems the way he has everything documented in there—too many times and dates and places that you wouldn't come up with from memory—it's like he kept precise notes all along with writing a book in mind."

Doesn't every great swing instructor keep a diary?

As for Tiger, Butch offers his advice from afar, which probably won't be appreciated by Tiger's current instructor Sean Foley.

"For me, and I think we saw this at the Masters, he looks like he's playing 'golf- swing' and not golf," Harmon said. "In my opinion, he's very robotic. And you could see that at Augusta with all his practice swings and the double-cross shots when he's trying to fade it and he hooks it. I think everyone thought because he won at Bay Hill that he was back; well, he didn't hit it great at Bay Hill, he hit it OK. And Bay Hill's not a major."

NY Times: Non-conforming Ball Selling Well

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Bill Pennington follows up on his story from last year about Polara's non-conforming ball and in his latest story reports that sales have been solid for the dreaded pill that could finally convince manufacturers that there is a market for non-conforming equipment.

About 70 percent of these same driving range golfers also said they would not use the ball. Summoning a kind of hacker moral code, they said it was against the rules. Interestingly, nearly every golfer wanted a handful of the balls anyway. As one duffer said: “Just to test out.”

Since then, the Polara golf ball has generated close to $3 million in sales, which represents more than 1.2 million nonconforming golf balls in the market. The Polara, which had modest beginnings, now is available in about 750 stores nationwide as well as online at Polaragolf.com.

Edwin Watts carries the ball in 60 of their 86 stores

Steve Claude, an Edwin Watts purchasing agent who participated in the decision to place Polara balls next to the displays of traditional, established golf balls, said the Polara ball was the only nonconforming item sold in the chain. But he said the company hoped more nonconforming equipment found its way into mainstream golf.

“Anything that gets more people playing,” Claude said. “We need to welcome everybody and grow the game. If that gets people out there, then I’m not worried about what they’re using. If they learn to love the game, in time they’ll want to try other kinds of equipment, too.”

Of course, USGA and R&A rules do not forbid anyone from making or selling non-conforming equipment.

Reports Of Rory Having Shrunk A Foot Appear Premature; Appears To Be Just Caroline's Nine-Inch Heels

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The Daily Mail's Deborah Andrews on Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki taking in a day at the Newbury races with the Queen on Her Royal Worship's 80th birthday. The caption writer couldn't help noting how Caroline "towered" over her man. I was more alarmed by the length of his trousers.

They are at the top of their sporting game - and appear to be very much in love.

It seems life can't get much better for golfer Rory McIlroy and his tennis player girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki.

The couple, nicknamed 'Wozzilroy', spent the day at Newbury today and could barely keep their hands off eachother.

Rory Tweeted about the day and his delight in meeting the Queen.