“Let me make sure I understand this, he rode a jet to Augusta to collect dirt?”

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Steve Crawford follows up on the story of Clayton Price Baker, who attempted to fill a cup with bunker sand Sunday of this year's Masters, only to be arrested and charged. His case was dismissed but not before some incredible details were revealed and confirmed by his attorney.

Claridge said the incident had caused his client a great deal of embarrassment and money. In addition to losing his Masters badges, the meter was running on a private jet he had booked to fly him home while he sat in the Richmond County jail, Claridge said.

“Let me make sure I understand this, he rode a jet to Augusta to collect dirt?” asked Judge William D. Jennings III.

Claridge clarified that his client had come to see the Masters Tournament.

“So he came here to collect special dirt,” Jennings said. “Had he been successful in his attempt, what, pray tell, would he have done with it?”

Claridge explained that his client tries to collect dirt from ballparks and other sports venues he attends as sort of a hobby.

He's not alone in the sample collecting world, as reader Emile forwards this ebay link to a sale of the "actual" pine straw divot of Bubba Watson. From the seller's all-caps entry, always the sign of a healthy mind.

WE JAMMED OUR WAY INTO THE CROWD OF PEOPLE TO WATCH BUBBAS MIRACULOUS SHOT. AS SOON AS HE HIT IT, EVERYBODY STARTING CLAMORING OFF TOWARDS THE GREEN, BUT WE ALREADY KNEW THAT WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GET ANYWHERE CLOSE TO THE GREEN, SO WE DECIDED TO JUST STAY PUT AND JUST WATCH WHAT WE COULD AND LISTEN FOR THE CROWDS REACTION. AS SOON AS THE CROWD HAD LEFT, MY FRIEND WENT OVER TO WHERE BUBBA HAD JUST HIT HIS SHOT. MY FRIEND HAD A PIMENTO CHEESE SANDWICH  BAG AND WENT OVER AND COLLECTED ALL THE PINE STRAW FROM AROUND THE DIVOT, AS WELL AS THE SMALL AMOUNT LEFT IN THE DIVOT, AND PUSHED TOGETHER THE LOOSE PINE STRAW IN FRONT OF THE DIVOT (MOST OF THE PINE STRAW FROM THE DIVOT FLEW FORWARD). HE PUT IT ALL IN THE PIMIENTO CHEESE SANDWICH BAG AND BROUGHT IT BACK TO MACON, GA WITH HIM. HE WAS PLANNING ON GETTING IT FRAMED WITH A PICTURE OF BUBBA, BUT JUST DECIDED HE WOULD JUST LIKE TO SELL IT, IF ANYBODY WANTED IT. SO HERE IT IS. 100% AUTHENTIC AND WEIGHS A LITTLE UNDER 2 OUNCES. I TRIED TO GIVE AS MUCH INFO AS POSSIBLE, BUT IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS, JUST LET ME KNOW. THANKS FOR LOOKING. 

How did I miss this on my daily ebay search for Bubba Watson's pine straw divot!?

Finchem On Augusta: Too Important To Be Consistent With Our Anti-Discrimination Policies

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Oh the comedy of listening to Tim Finchem answer questions about the PGA Tour's double standard on for-profit country club discrimination. Namely, Augusta National's refusal to admit women is okay because they are too important, but those other measely tour events at courses that discriminated against African Americans? Eh...

Doug Ferguson's first few graphs sum up the absurdity of Wednesday's Finchem "state of the tour" presser:

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said Wednesday the Masters is "too important" for the tour to take it off its official schedule, even though Augusta National has never had a female member in its 80-year history.

"We have concluded a number of times now — and we have certainly not moved off of this — that we are not going to give up the Masters as a tournament on our tour," Finchem said. "It's too important. And so at the end of the day, the membership of that club have to determine their membership. They are not doing anything illegal."

Finchem spoke at a news conference that featured The First Tee announcing a new corporate partner. The First Tee tries to attract kids of diverse backgrounds to golf.

Steve Elling summed up the irony/hypocrisy/absurdity of Finchem's stance Wednesday.

“We concluded -- we have concluded a number of times now and we have certainly not moved off of this -- that we are not going to give up the Masters as a tournament on our tour,” Finchem said Wednesday. “It's too important.”

Speaking at his annual press confab at the Players Championship, Finchem moments later welcomed two men of African-American descent to the dais to discuss the national First Tee program, which was founded in 1997 to bolster -- get this -- the number of minorities in the game.

Oh, the levels of irony, huh?

I'm pretty sure any dreams the Commish had of a cabinet appointment in the next administration (Obama or Romney!) went out the window with today's comments. Well, there's always PV for you, Commish!

Here is the full question and answer from the transcript:

Q.  With Augusta National's all‑male membership again an issue at this year's Masters, how does the PGA TOUR view its discriminatory policy?

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM:  Well, I think the position of the PGA TOUR hasn't changed.  We have a policy that says that when we go out and do a co‑sanctioned event, we are going to play it at a club that is as open to women members, open to minority members, etc., and we follow that policy carefully.

In the case of the Masters, we concluded‑‑ we have concluded a number of times now, and we have certainly not moved off of this; that we are not going to give up the Masters as a tournament on our tour.  It's too important.  And so at the end of the day, the membership of that club have to determine their membership.  They are not doing anything illegal.

But we just elect to continue to recognize them as an official money event on the PGA TOUR because we think it's that important to golf, so we don't get to determining whether their policies are right or wrong, because we don't have to, because we made the conclusion that regardless of those policies, we are going to continue to play and recognize them as part of the PGA TOUR.

I know some people don't like that position, and I appreciate that and I understand their reasoning, but that's the decision we've made.

Romans: "It's like a guy from Augusta putting on the green jacket."

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Randy Beard on trainer Dale Romans, who I know you all revere as the Preakness-winning trainer of the great, legendary and unforgettable Shackleford, really wants to win Saturday's Kentucky Derby.

And how can you not root for a Louisville native who wheels out a golf analogy?

"It's like a guy from Augusta putting on the green jacket," said Romans, referring to The Masters golf tournament. "The (Kentucky) Derby is the dream."

Based at Churchill Downs, Romans trains Dullahan, an 8-1 deep closer in a speed-heavy race who drew the five post and who so far has largely shown himself to be a synthetic specialist. Kind of like a golfer who really only plays well on Nicklaus courses.

"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.