" When Oscar De La Hoya says Donald Trump 'cheats in golf,' this is what he's talking about"

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There have been a few "I won't vote for Donald Trump because I've played golf with him" stories, but also one Lou Holtz endorsement because he loved the service at a Trump golf property. Politics is dirty business!

Still, Oscar De La Hoya sharing his golf story from a day with the presumptive nominee at Trump National Los Angeles--as written up by Lance Pugmire of the LA Times--is fun to visualize. I'm just teasing you with the punch line...hit the link for the full story.

“We get up there [to the green] and he’s like, ‘Oh, my ball’s right here!’ Three feet away. ‘And by the way, I’m going to pick it up, it’s a gimme,’” De La Hoya said.

“You don’t do that in golf,” De La Hoya said, adding there were no side games in play where money was exchanged.

“No money at all, how can I win?” De La Hoya said. “I’m not [voting] for someone who cheats in golf.”

Of course, another former President was known to fudge the mulligan rules. Oh, and his wife will be running for President against Trump. What a world.

Nice: Chandler Egan's 1904 Olympic Medals Found, On Display

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Nice work by Dave Shedloski to tell the story of Chandler Egan's medals having been found by his family and handed over to the USGA for display in Far Hills and the U.S. Open, before moving on to the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Longtime readers know about Egan, the actual architect of Pebble Beach as we know it who, for mysterious reasons, is ignored by historians who apparently aren't as enchanted with his story as they are with the Neville/Grant/amateurs-make-good story. But Egan's life in golf was pretty impressive: Harvard man, Olympic medalist, U.S. Amateur champion, NCAA individual champion (and three time team winner), golf architect, beloved friend of Bobby Jones, etc.

Shedloski writes at GolfDigest.com:

Until a year ago historians believed that none of the individual medals from the golf competition in the 1904 Olympics at Glen Echo Country Club in St. Louis still existed. That changed when the silver medal of H. Chandler Egan, former U.S. Amateur champion, was discovered (along with his team gold medal) in the bottom of a bookcase in the former home of Egan’s daughter in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, about 25 miles southeast of Cleveland.

Rory Season Is Upon Us, Will He Step Up?

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Rory McIlroy's game has been as good as ever at times but just a bit off too much to be racking up wins, but as I note in this week's Forward Press, the Wells Fargo Championship this week kicks off Rory's month.

Besides returning to Quail Hollow where he posted at 61 last year en route to winning, McIlroy then has two events he finds less compelling--The Players and BMW PGA--along with the Irish Open he hosts. We should have a pretty good idea where his game stands by month's end.

That and TV times on Wednesday's National Instruction Day, NCAA Men's Regional selections on Morning Drive, the European Tour and LPGA Tour this week.

SI's More Magnificent-Than-Normal Player Poll

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Sports Illustrated's annual anonymous players poll is always fun, but the questions were more clever than ever this year and the responses are all worth looking at as long as you can handle the motion sickness that comes with reading golf.com.

You won't be shocked to know that the male players are not Hillary fans, but the LPGA's finest also don't sound too excited. In the "If you were to be in a bar fight" question, Ernie edged Keegan. Congrats guys, you are considered the most likely to do damage when inebriated!

There are also some epic quotes--"I have a Twitter, but I have never twittered"--

The most alarming question may have been the apparent hostility many players have for paying caddies 10% after a win.

Does the caddie deserve 10% of a winner's check?

PGA TOUR

Yes 67%
No 33%

Loose Lips: "Maybe more like 8%."

The Donald seems to be embraced by the players, with Trump Doral surviving 45% to 39% in favor of keeping the Doral event. In the voting booth, Trump carried the PGA Tour votes 34% to 22% for Undecided.

The other shocking result that speaks to the vitality of the almighty dollar: players would rather win The Players than an Olympic medal.

The Players or a gold medal?

The Players 62%

Gold 38%

The Texas Open or a gold medal?

Gold Medal 76%

Texas 24%

Stuard's Historic Putting Performance Salvages Zurich Classic

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Let's not sugarcoat this one: the 2016 Zurich Classic was pretty much a nightmare on all fronts thanks to horrible weather and players who didn't seem to be in a big hurry to finish Monday with another storm on the way. That slow play at least prompted some great on-air moaning from the always-morbid Peter Kostis, who had to stay another day on swampier-than-normal New Orleans.

(Bad news too, the tournament is not going anywhere as (Jeff Duncan at the Times-Picayune explains).

And while a 54-hole win is not as great as a 72-hole win, especially wearing a t-shirt under a golf shirt, the stats from playoff winner Brian Stuard help justify the win and all that comes with it:

He's also only the fourth tour even winner with a perfect scrambling record (20 for 20).

Stuard also found time after his win to talk to A.J. Voepel about the big day:


The final round highlights:

 

Li's China Open Victory A Win For HSBC's Grassroots Support

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While the Volvo China Open didn't sport the greatest field in the tour's history, a tip of the cap to HSBC for getting to see the first European Tour winner from its CGA-HSBC China Junior Program, the only sanctioned program for aspiring players in the country currently hostile to the game.

"Grow the game" has become a tired and obnoxious phrase wheeled out way too often in the name of trying to justify greed or pandering, but when the results are tangible like this, I say let 'em pat themselves on the back. Especially after Haotong Li contended at last fall's WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai and looks to be headed toward big things.
 
From Giles Morgan, HSBC's man in golf:

“Haotong Li’s win clearly demonstrates just how far golf in China has come over the last decade and what an exciting future the game has. It’s an incredible story of human ambition and shows exactly why HSBC supports golf and why our junior programs are so important to our sponsorships around the world. A win for any golfer in their home nation is inspiring but for this to happen in China for a 20 year old is really special.”
 
“For HSBC he is proudly one of our own. Haotong was first inspired into the game as a youngster by attending our tournament, HSBC Champions in Sheshan and now he has the potential to inspire a new generation. He graduated through the ranks of the CGA-HSBC Junior Golf Program, a development program we started nine years ago with the ambition of supporting future champions. Today we have realised that ambition. We saw glimpses of his potential at WGC-HSBC Champions last year and now he’s advanced into the winner’s circle and we’re delighted for him. For Li and golf in China this is only the start. The CGA-HSBC Junior Golf Program offers a proven pathway to the very top of the game and I’ve no doubt with this victory many more will be inspired to make that journey.”

As Will Gray notes at GolfChannel.com, with this win Li likely vaults into the top place for one of China's male Olympic golf exemptions.

Nice setup:

A star in the making 🌟 #VolvoChinaOpen

A video posted by European Tour (@europeantour) on May 1, 2016 at 10:30am PDT

 

Full highlights from his win: