"It was a one time situation."

Jill Painter has been filing some great stuff lately for the L.A. Daily News in advance of the Northern Trust Open, including a stellar Jerry West profile and a nice update on this year's Charlie Sifford Northern Trust Exemption recipient, Joshua Wooding.

Speaking of that exemption, Painter has this clarification on the annual exemption becoming a one time thing:

"Because of Charlie's current state of health and his current situation, he's ditched any appearances, endorsements or business activities," said Gerald Roisman, Sifford's longtime attorney. "At this point, he's cutting way, way back."

Reached by phone at his home in Cleveland, Sifford made it clear he was unhappy about something relating to the exemption but referred questions to his attorney.

Roisman declined to go into details on Sifford's health, nor did he elaborate on how the partnership ended. "I'm not comfortable talking about my communication on behalf of a client," Roisman said.

And this from the tour:

It's unclear as to whether Sifford had a contract for more than one year.

"It was done last year to honor his 40th anniversary of winning the L.A. Open," said Ty Votaw, the PGA Tour's executive vice president of communication. " It was a one-time situation."