Here's the story: GolfChannel.com selected five stories from one of golf's most memorable years in recent memory, and prepared in-depth accounts of each, in most cases by people who were there at the time. The stories included Tiger vs. Sergio at the PGA, the rise and fall of David Duval, Payne Stewart's tragic passing, Jean Van De Velde's British Open meltdown, and the 1999 Ryder Cup. We spoke with Rex Hoggard and Jay Coffin, authors of two of the pieces, to get their perspective on the year and on their subjects. It's good stuff, and it's all free -- just click right here to get it. 

As always, we welcome your thoughts, ideas, and recommendations on the podcast. Hit me up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com. Click the link below to play the podcast or right-click it to download, and hit the iTunes site linked below to subscribe. Have at it!

Devil Ball Golfcast, Episode 24 -- The Golf Channel's Project '99

Colbert -- it's "Col-bert," not "Col-bear," Comedy Central fans -- won eight times on the PGA Tour and already has 20 wins on the Champions, and he's one of the most eloquent defenders of the Champions arrangement. He's also a rabid Kansas State fan and has his own golf course, Colbert Hills, in Kansas -- the story of which leads to a good story contained herein. He also spent time broadcasting for ESPN, and today kicks back and plays golf when he feels like it. A good life, all the way around.

As always, we welcome your thoughts, ideas, and recommendations on the podcast. Hit me up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com. Click the link below to play the podcast or right-click it to download, and hit the iTunes site linked below to subscribe. Have at it!

Devil Ball Golfcast, Episode 23 -- Jim Colbert

It's no secret that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson haven't exactly been best buds. You can psychoanalyze that any way you like, but on its surface, the coldblooded, relentless Tiger couldn't be more different from the smiling, surfer-dude Phil. Still, the two are inextricably linked; we've written more than 180 posts mentioning both Tiger and Phil just since August 2008. (Hey, we know what sells 'round here.)

But as Steve Elling notes over at CBS Sports, tensions may be thawing between golf's two titans. They're actually joking with one another, as in this exchange regarding golf in the Olympics:

Q: With golf becoming an official Olympic sport, will you compete to win a medal in 2016?

Woods: Well, I have to qualify first in 2016. Christ, I'll be 40 years old in 2016.

Q: Still young.

Woods: Younger than Phil.

And that was said with humor, lest anyone think differently. Elling notes that there's precedent here -- Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer were bitter rivals for decades before finally growing close in their golden years. Perhaps the same thing's happening here between Tiger and Phil.

Of course, Phil would do well not to get too comfortable. He jumps too far out in front of Tiger, and there's no more joking -- just ninja assassin action.

Tiger and Phil: Friendly foes at last [CBS Sports]

Coming into 2009: Harrington was the one guy who really took advantage of Tiger Woods' surgically-enabled absence by winning the last two majors of 2008. Then, for some unfathomable reason, he began tinkering with his swing, and the results were catastrophic. He looked like a man lost at sea for the first half of 2009. 

High-water mark: Harrington notched six top-10 finishes, which out of 21 tournaments isn't exactly amazing. But consider the fact that all six of those came in the last six tournaments he played. Changing your mind now? He tied for second at both the Barclays and the WGC-Bridgestone, and was in the hunt at the FedEx Cup until the tournament's final day. 

The low point: The number 8. Harrington had two straight tournaments where he was either in the lead or challenging for it, and in both cases torpedoed his chances with a snowman. Still, considering the fact that he'd practically forgotten which way to hold his club earlier in the year, he was okay with the misfires.

Outlook for 2010: Almost nobody concluded 2009 on a hotter streak than Harrington, so it could be that he's got all his swing problems behind him once and for all. If so, that'd be a welcome change and a welcome return to form for Big Irish. 

Related posts from 2009:
Padraig Harrington adds 30 yards with the Happy Gilmore swing
Twas not a good day to be an Irishman at the Masters
Padraig Harrington got a stopwatch wrapped around his throat

• Hangin' with Rickie Fowler. Rickie is my homeboy; is he yours too? He will be soon... [Wei Under Par]

• While you were sleeping, Tiger Woods grabbed himself a share of the HSBC Champions lead, along with Nick Watney. (You slacker.) One stroke back? Phil Mickelson. Yeah, buddy! [Golf Digest]

• Great headline: "Franco flops in Franco at Franco." Carlos Franco shot a 79 in the Carlos Franco Invitational, held at -- yep -- Carlos Franco Country and Golf Club. Nice! [Local Knowledge]

• Gary Player isn't just a champion golfer; he's also a horse breeder. Yes, he is one of the coolest men alive. [LA Times]

• Kevin Streelman is about to get a $1 million check for winning the Kodak Challenge. That rainout at the Viking pretty much washed out anybody's chances of catching him in the season-long best-18-holes tourney. [CBS Sports]

• Inside the mechanics of filling the field with sponsor exemptions at the final full-field event of the season. Good reading. [Golf Channel]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.

Everybody loves Tiger Woods, but not everyone's quite sure how to react when they see him. Right now, Tiger's over in Shanghai, playing in the HSBC Champions tournament. It's his first visit to China in many years, and as expected, he's drawing rock star-level crowds with every stroke he takes.

Problem is, many in those crowds don't quite know how to behave on the golf course. Eight years ago during Woods' first visit, fans in stiletto heels gouged craters in greens as they chased Woods all over the course. These days, the gallery is a bit less destructive, but no less problematic to golfers, clicking their cameras at Tiger's every move.

Traditionally, photographers don't snap pictures during golfers' backswing; the sudden sound can disrupt the swing, and a swing that's a millimeter off can send the ball flying in unexpected directions. During Tiger's first tee shot on Thursday morning, at least one photographer didn't get the memo:

"The guy in the grandstand basically did a photo sequence. I flinched on it and hit it straight to the right," Tiger said.

Problems continued throughout the round, as Tiger and playing partner Ross Fisher had to deal with a sea of moving faces and constant shutter sounds. Woods finished the round three shots behind leader Nick Watney, while Fisher was five shots back.

Right here, it's worth pointing out something important to those who would make the predictable "why do golfers have to have silence when baseball players can hit curveballs in noisy stadiums?" argument. It's not the noise that's the issue; it's the sudden change in volume. Pro golfers will tell you that they can focus just as easily in silence as they can in noise -- provided the sound remains consistent.

And it's not just true for golfers -- if college basketball fans could ever get their acts together to work in unison, they could totally disrupt opposing free throw shooters by screaming their heads off, then going stone-silent just before the player released the ball.

That said, Tiger and his caddy, Stevie Williams can indeed be divas about this. Williams has quite the rep for being a camera ninja; at the 2002 Skins game, he rolled a fan's camera into a lake, and during the 2004 U.S. Open, he kicked the camera of a professional photographer. Did he get in trouble for his vigilante photographic justice? What do you think?

Don't expect to see any of that kind of behavior this weekend, though. Tiger, Stevie and the rest of the PGA are trying to make a good impression on Asia, and going all John Daly on some poor guy for snapping a shot at the wrong time probably won't get the kind of press that the golf world would like.

After all, these folks just want their own little piece of Tiger. If they wanted to disrupt him, they'd use an air horn. Hypothetically speaking.

Camera-shy Tiger blocks out shattering shutters in Shanghai [Reuters via Yahoo! Sports]

_______

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Other popular Yahoo! Sports blog posts:
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We're at the end of the decade of the 2000s, and it's time to look back on some of golf's most amazing achievements over that span. Today, we focus on the most amazing LPGA shots of the last 10 years.

1. Karrie Webb's eagle, 18th hole, 2006 Kraft Nabisco. Webb capped one of the best rounds of the decade with a hole-out approach from 116 yards out. Amazingly, Lorena Ochoa also eagled the hole, but Webb won in a playoff. It marked Webb's first win in four years and helped reinvigorate her career.

2. Birdie Kim's bunker birdie, 2005 U.S. Women's Open. This is how you win a tournament: Kim (above) birdied the 18th and final hole of the Open from the bunker, and pursuer Morgan Pressel - then still an amateur - was unable to match her shot.

3. Brittany Lincicome's approach, 18th hole, 2009 Kraft Nabisco. Locked in a match with Kristy McPherson and Cristie Kerr, Lincicome dropped a perfect approach shot on the par-5 final hole to within four feet of the cup. She putted for eagle and won the tournament by a single stroke, capturing her first major.

4. Annika Sorenstam's birdie, 18th hole, 2008 Dubai Ladies Masters. It wasn't an amazing shot on its own; an eight-foot birdie is nice but generally not a particularly memorable shot. But this birdie happened to be the final shot ever made by Annika Sorenstam in her storied career, and so it's only fitting that one of the greatest golfers in history went out with a hole under par.

5. Se Ri Pak's approach, first playoff hole, 2006 McDonald's LPGA. On the first playoff hole, Se Ri Pak placed her approach within four inches of the cup, going on to birdie the hole and knock off Karrie Webb en route to capturing her fifth career major.

6. Momoko Ueda's albatross, final round, 2007 Mizuno Classic. After holding a share of the overnight lead, Ueda put distance between her and her pursuers with a double-eagle at the par-5 7th en route to winning her first LPGA Tour event. She was the first Japanese-born golfer to win on the LPGA Tour in the 2000s.

7. Lorena Ochoa's approach, 18th hole, 2007 ADT. From 161 yards out in an ugly lie, Ochoa dropped a perfect approach onto the green. It rolled to within three feet of the hole, past where Natalie Gulbis, one shot back, waited to take a birdie shot of her own. One long birdie later and the ADT was hers.

8. Annika Sorenstam's tee shot, first hole, 2003 Colonial. It wasn't an exceptional shot - 243 yards down the fairway - but it was her first at a men's event, and it signaled that some women could play every bit as well as the men.

9. Maria Hjorth's ricochet, 2008 McDonald's LPGA. Some shots don't need to be described, they need to be seen, like this gift in the final round of last year's McDonald's LPGA:

All right, your turn. Post your thoughts on the greatest LPGA shots of the decade right here. Next up: the men.

Bringing you the best in golf news and info. Get up to date on your way to the first tee.

• Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are capturing most of the headlines in Asia, but there are other guys playing in the event too. Guys like Nick Watney, who shot a course-record-tying 64 to take the Day 1 lead at the HSBC Champions. [PGA.com]

• Michelle Wie will wrap her season at the last Ladies European Tour event of 2009. Can she nab that elusive win in her first season on Tour? [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

• There are only 13 definitive events on the LPGA slate for 2010? Really? Uh-oh. [Golfweek]

• Anthony Kim won't be going to the Dubai World Championships after all, even though he's qualified to take a shot at the $7.5 million bonus pool. [The Golf Channel]

• Cristie Kerr, lookin' good on the cover of VIVmag. [Armchair Golfer]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter. 

A district court had found that the club breached Ireland's Equal Status Act, but the club challenged that ruling, and in a split 3-2 decision, the Supreme Court agreed. The assenting judges -- among them one woman -- found that Irish law lets clubs restrict membership provided that the club's "principal purpose is to cater only for the needs of persons of a particular gender."

However, one of the dissenting judges said that golf wasn't actually a "need" for men any more than women. (The judge may have a point. Anybody who thinks golf isn't a gender-based "need" hasn't ever been married and needed to get the hell out of the house and away from the spouse for a few hours. That goes for men and women.)

The issue, of course, is that golf isn't just about male bonding. If it was, there's no way any sane woman would want to be a part of that. I'm a guy, and my behavior on the golf course and afterward disgusts even me. But golf is also about networking and business relationships, and cutting women out of that cuts them out of a potentially lucrative business angle.

For some, though, it's not about business. Irish TV quoted one unnamed member of the club as saying that he didn't want women on the course because they'd slow down the pace of play. Fair enough, but couldn't you just relax and enjoy the view ... ?

... of the countryside! It's lovely there! What did you think I was saying?

Irish Supreme Court upholds men-only golf club [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

The HSBC Champions begins this week in Shanghai. It's a pleasant little late-season tourney that attracts its share of journeymen and ... what's that? It's got both those guys in the photo above? Wow. Um ... nice!

Yes, the HSBC Champions has ascended to true World Golf Championship status by running out a field that would be the envy of any tournament this side of Augusta. Tiger Woods is there, and so is Phil Mickelson, both of whom are apparently trying to put the ball right through the hole in that Shanghai skyscraper above -- or, barring that, drive one through the skull of somebody standing on the deck of that unfortunately-positioned yacht.

This is a watershed moment in Asian golf; the tournament at Sheshan International Golf Club will bring 15 of the top 20 players in the world, and it's the latest testament to golf's spiraling popularity all over the globe. Players like Mickelson are now turning their eyes to locales outside the United States to play, and by all indications, everyone's interested in seeing this little game get much, much bigger:

"I think that we would love to help grow the game throughout the world," Mickelson said. "Our participation helps grow awareness, it can spark interest in youth to get them started. If we can get kids interested in the game, I think in 15 to 20 years is when we'll see golf prosper in China."

The tournament begins Thursday, and oh yes, we'll have coverage.

• Paula Creamer is captaining the American team at The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship, a high honor for a 23-year-old golfer. We think she'll do okay. [Golf Babes] 

• Great story about an Army veteran who is looking to make the Champions Tour despite the fact that he lost a leg in combat. Highly recommended read. [FanHouse]

• There's this new kid out there named Bobby Jones who's going to be a hell of a golfer! Why's nobody talking about him? (/checks article, realizes it's from 1924) Oh. Never mind. Anyway, good read on Jones from Grantland Rice, the dean of sportswriters. [The One-Eyed Golfer]

• The spookiest shots in golf. And no, the putt into the jack-o-lantern at the pitch-and-putt doesn't count. [Armchair Golfer]

• Robert Allenby is pulling out of the Australian Masters, but insists it's because of his crowded schedule, and not because he's boycotting a bunch of events in his home country. [Daily Telegraph]

• Steve Elling makes an interesting suggestion in his "Up & Down" this week: the PGA should add an extra $1 million to the pot of the season-ending Disney finale to make up for the money lost in the Viking Classic washout. [CBS Sports]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.

Han extended his lead as high as six strokes in the back nine, which allowed him to coast home with three bogeys over the final five holes while still posting a two-under 70. Fortunately, he held on and didn't pull a Van de Velde in those final holes.

Han's win takes him straight to Augusta for the Masters, as you can see by the flag there above. He also vaults into the final round of British Open qualifying. And that's not a coincidence; Augusta National and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club co-sponsored the Asian Amateur as a way to spur interest in one of the fastest-growing segments of golf on the planet.

It's a wise move on the part of two organizations usually thought of as stodgier than cement. Golf is taking hold all over the world -- it's kind of a kick, seeing how Asia and Africa embrace the sport that we've known for so long -- and to turn a blind eye to this spectacular growth would be suicidal. Augusta and the R&N are getting in ahead of the swell that will surely happen once the Olympics hit in 2016, and further establishing themselves as the dominant organizations on the planet for golf. More power to 'em.

Han Chang-Won wins Asian Amateur, Masters spot [PGA.com]

The PGA Tour has reported that Doug Barron has been suspended for testing positive for a banned substance; Barron is the first player to be suspended under the PGA's drug policy. Barron is the very definition of a journeyman, having lost his card three years ago after playing eight seasons on Tour. His best finish was a third-place tie at the 2006 Byron Nelson Championship.

Under its policy, the PGA Tour discloses a penalty -- in this case, a one-year suspension -- but does not disclose the substance for which the violator tested positive. It's a way of protecting privacy, but it also leads to more questions than it answers. As the AP's Doug Ferguson notes, Barron is best known in recent years for taking off his shirt to hit a water shot, revealing a rather large spare tire around the midsection. 

That doesn't seem to fit the mold of the performance-enhancing user, of course, which has naturally led to questions about what Barron was using, and whether there could have been some kind of inadvertent tripping of the test. Again, here's where the PGA Tour's secrecy policy causes further problems.

The difficulty is this: there's too much wiggle room for interpretation. Rather than closing the door to questions, a policy of secrecy invites wild speculation and leaves the door wide open to potential legal action, as NASCAR has found with its botched secrecy surrounding suspended driver Jeremy Mayfield.  

In the wake of the news, PGA players expressed concern about Barron and questions about the testing. But Pat Perez probably summed up the feeling of most fans: "It's not like it's a top-20 player who was trying to take steroids to catch Tiger," Perez said. "In a way, it matters. And in a way, it doesn't. He's not really on the PGA Tour." Ouch.

Tempting as it may be to paint the PGA Tour as a drug-filled haven, I tend to think Barron fits the profile of the isolated case trying to gain any edge to get back on Tour. Certainly, performance enhancers can help you blast farther off the tee, but the ability to stay calm when standing over a crucial six-foot putt? That's something that steroids can't help.

Bottom line, if the PGA Tour is going to suspend players, it owes it to those players' reputations and the fans to give full disclosure about what drugs were involved. Doing anything less simply means the PGA Tour isn't holding up its end of its responsibilities.

Doug Barron is 1st to violate PGA Tour drug policy [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

Leading the way is a former president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, inducted in the Lifetime Achievement category. Eisenhower was a rabid golfer, the first president ever inducted into the Hall of Fame, and played an estimated 800 rounds while in office and untold numbers before and after. He also has the distinction of having two separate Augusta fixtures -- The Eisenhower Tree and Ike's Pond -- named in his honor. 

Speaking of the Masters, José María Olazábal has won the event twice, in 1994 and 1999. He is also one of the holders of the record for the lowest round in the PGA Championship, notching a 63 in 2000. 

Christy O'Connor has one of the finest nicknames in golf -- "Himself" and was inducted in the Veterans Category. He won the British Masters, and played on the European Ryder Cup team every year from 1955 to 1973, and was one of the leading senior players for many years.

Lanny Wadkins won 21 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1977 PGA Championship, and played on the Ryder Cup team eight separate times before serving as captain in 1995. He also was a prominent CBS commentator for many years, of course, before being replaced by Nick Faldo in 2007.

For more on the World Golf Hall of Fame's Class of 2009, including info on the telecast of the induction ceremonies, click here. 

Congrats to Cook, and best wishes to Sindelar for a speedy recovery.

In related news, Loren Roberts hung on to win the $1 million annuity for taking the entire Schwab Cup, his second such victory in the last three years. He's making the Schwab Cup his playground, or something like that, and stands to challenge for the title for quite some time. 

 

Believe it or not, we're at the end of the decade. And with that in mind, Devil Ball is looking back at the greatest moments in golf over the last ten years. Today, we focus on the finest PGA Tour rounds of the 2000s.

In creating this list, we selected rounds that balanced skill with historical significance, so rounds like Ty Tryon's 2001 Q-school win that made him the youngest player ever to earn a tour card or David Gossett's 59 at the 2000 Q-School narrowly missed the cut. (You'll get your chance to weigh in on our choices below.) And, as you'd expect, most of the rounds either feature or involved one certain player. You'll never guess who.

1. Davis Love III's 64, 2003 Players Championship, final round. In miserable conditions, Love put on a golfing clinic, notching five straight birdies to kick off a round that tied the lowest by a winner in the 30-year history of the Players.

2. Tiger Woods' 63, 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, second round. In one of the most dominant major rounds of the decade, Woods fired a white-hot 63 to put himself in position to win his 13th major. He was robbed of a record 62 when his birdie putt at the 18th spun out of the cup.

3. Y.E. Yang's 70, 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine, final round. We called it the greatest upset in golf history, and with the benefit of a few weeks of perspective, that might be overselling it by one spot. (Caddy Francis Ouimet's win at the 1913 U.S. Open probably takes it.) Still, Yang was the first ever to face down Tiger in a major, and his final approach on 18 will stand as one of the best pressure shots ever.

4. Retief Goosen's 71, 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, final round. On a day when the average score was over 78, Goosen held steady and shot only one over par in difficult conditions. Phil Mickelson briefly took the lead on 16, but a double-bogey on 17 crushed his hopes, and Goosen calmly went birdie-par-par to win the Open. Remarkably, Goosen needed only 24 putts on Shinnecock's slick greens.

5. Phil Mickelson's 69, 2004 Masters, final round. In one of the most emotional moments of the decade, Phil Mickelson finally captured his elusive major with one of the finer back-nines in Masters history - five birdies over the last seven holes, including the one on the 18th to win. He didn't jump very high, but he didn't need to.

6. Tiger Woods' 64, 2000 Pebble Beach Pro-Am, final round. Rallying from seven down to take the Pro-Am and extend his winning streak to six straight tournaments, Tiger demonstrated early on his ability to rebound from adversity and terrify the field.

7. Tom Watson's 65, 2009 British Open at Turnberry, first round. What a lovely opener by the golfing legend! So nice that he could come out and shoot so well one last time! Obviously, this was a one-day miracle, and he'd fade back into the field by Friday, right? Right?

8. Tiger Woods' 65, 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, first round. Tiger Woods launched perhaps the greatest four rounds in golf history with this opening 65. He would go on to win the U.S. Open, his third major, by 15 strokes, the greatest margin of victory in any major ever.

9. Ben Curtis' 69, 2003 British Open at Royal St. Georges, final round. Playing in his very first major ever, Curtis held off all challengers to win the unlikeliest major of the decade. Thomas Bjorn gave away a three-stroke lead over the final four holes, but Curtis stayed steady enough to win.

10. Bob May's 66, 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla, final round. May gave Woods one of his toughest challenges, taking the budding icon to the very brink before falling on the final hole of a three-hole playoff. With the win, Tiger captured his third straight major of the year.

All right, your turn. What did we miss? What's your favorite individual round of the 2000s? Have your say!

Previously:
The best LPGA rounds of the decade

Hmmm. You know, it's probably best if you don't share any personal reflections on this particular topic. We'll just leave this as a Friday smile.

(Visor tip to Waggle Room.)

• Did Tiger Woods take $2 million less to play in the Australian Masters rather than the Australian Open? Ouch. [Local Knowledge]

• Goats on the golf course! Why, I never! Next thing you know, they'll be letting women play! (Kidding, ladies, kidding. Aw, man, is this thing live?) [Links Life] 

• What's your favorite golf buddy trip? Tell your story to About.com! Send pictures, especially mug shots! [About.com]

• Parsing out the inaugural press conference from new LPGA commish-to-be Michael Whan. [A Walk in the Park]

• Kevin Streelman has had his putter stolen! Keep an eye out for it, and if anybody tries to sell it to you, contact the authorities! Alert! [Cameron Collector]

• Natalie Gulbis, Zach Johnson and Chris DiMarco were at Pinehurst recently and suffering through a chill wind. Guess which one was wearing an unseasonably short skirt. [Golf Spelled Backwards]

• Checking out the months at Golf Digest's World Ladies' Golf 2010 calendar. Going to be a good year. [Golf Babes]

• Finally, I was on the Joe Sports Fan podcast this week. Check it out! [Joe Sports Fan]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.

Check that Scottish landscape above. If you think it looks foreboding, then you, friend, have absolutely no vision, and Donald Trump would fire you in an instant. Trump, you see, plans to turn that expanse of mud and heather into the World's Greatest Golf Course.

On Wednesday, work began on the Trump International Golf Links - Scotland, a new course in the Aberdeen region of Scotland. And, true to form, The Donald was properly restrained and humble in describing its opening: "We are pleased to announce that work on site will begin [Wednesday], ahead of schedule, to build the greatest golf course in history. For a golf course there are no dunes and there is no land as large and magnificent anywhere in the world."

The entire course and resort will cost an estimated $1.6 billion to develop, and as you'd probably guess given the remote appearance of the land above, it's caused quite the little conflagration there in northeast Scotland. Local residents are worried that the thousand-residence behemoth will destroy the character of their region, and have formed an organization called "Tripping Up Trump" to try to, well, trip up development plans.

But Donald Trump Jr., son of The Donald, has derided the protesters as "teenage people" engaged in "little childish stunts." Supporters of the project include the Scottish government and the nation's tourist council, as well as local celebrity Tilda Swinton, the Oscar-winning actress who played the White Witch in the Narnia films.

At the project's official site, developers take pains to address concerns right on the very first page -- TIGLS (which, I'm sure, is not their preferred acronym) will be public and will coexist with the surrounding countryside rather than bulldoze it. Plans are, of course, to bring championship golf to the area, and I'm sure Tiger and pals will eventually make an appearance -- even if The Donald has to get them there by twisting some arms. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

(Visor tip: Geoff Shackelford)

Work starting on Trump's Scottish golf resort [AFP via Yahoo!]
Trump International Golf Links - Scotland [Official site]

The Augusta Chronicle brings us the story of one Larry Brooks, a recreational golfer who bought a golf bag and clubs at a thrift store for five bucks. While digging through the bag, Brooks heard a rattling, and dumped out a small black plastic sleeve. Within the sleeve was a medal:

The front of the medal has the words Augusta National Golf Club and shows a replica of the clubhouse. The back says Masters Tournament and has "Lloyd Mangrum," "runner-up" and "1940" engraved. The medal features the club's distinctive logo of the outline of the United States with a flagstick marking Augusta.

Huh. Well, I'm stumped. Where the heck is this thing from? Mesopotamia?

While the basics of the medal seem obvious, Masters archivists are trying to figure out the true origins of the find. As the Chronicle notes, Masters runners-up received silver medals starting in 1951, and winners have received gold medals since the tournament began in 1934.

So is the medal authentic? Most observers seem to think so, though Augusta National itself is holding out to make its own determination. If it's proven legit, Brooks will have himself your basic priceless Masters collectible.

For the record, Mangrum (pictured at right) shot a course-record 64 in that 1940 Masters, which he lost to Jimmy Demaret. Mangrum passed away in 1973, having lived a life that included not just Masters play but a charge of Normandy on D-Day. Just try to imagine one of today's golfers doing something like that.

(Visor tip: Golf Observer)

Man seeks confirmation of found Masters medal [Augusta Chronicle]

The change
First off, let's go over exactly what will be changing. Any club that has a loft of more than 25 degrees will have to conform to the new groove rules, which require smaller grooves with less severe edges. These rules have been handed down by the USGA, and the effects could be profound.

The reason
The USGA and R&A looked at statistics over the past few decades and determined that driving accuracy wasn't correlating to wins -- in other words, there wasn't a severe enough penalty for missing the fairway, because players were able to stop their approaches on a dime. So, in the kind of nanny-state move that would have most golf fans screaming if it had come from the White House, the USGA and R&A decided we couldn't have nice toys, and are thus taking them away. (See a more in-depth explanation here.)

The effect
Sharper, larger grooves give the ball a lot more spin, meaning that players can shape the movement of their shots like they're virtually on remote control. Smaller grooves take away that ability, which will place more of a premium on shot placement and make for a harsher penalty for slightly misplayed shots. The ball won't bite as well as it does now, so it'll be up to players who rely on that element of their game to change their style.

The deadline
Starting on January 1, 2010, all PGA players and anybody who wants to play in a PGA event, along with the U.S., Women's and Senior Opens, has to use conforming clubs. However, anybody at a local qualifying tournament may use the older clubs.

One year later, manufacturers will stop making the nonconforming clubs, so if you want one of the high-spin models, now would be the time to get it.

By January 1, 2014, all USGA and R&A championships will use the newer grooves. Six years later will be the first time the USGA will evaluate the rules, and on January 1, 2024, golfers will have to use the "new" -- by then 14-year-old -- grooves even for handicapping purposes. (See more info on the dates here.)

What the pros say
A roundup of various pro quotes on the new grooves:

"I just don't understand it. We've been progressive for a hundred years, and now we're backing up 20. I'm a little confused by it, but it's not my decision." -Lucas Glover

"New grooves next year mean 10% less spin from the fairway and 60-70% less spin from the rough with short irons. Players will use a softer ball I believe." -Stewart Cink, via Twitter

"i tested the new grooves with vokey in feb. what a difference no spinnnnnn. the usga are insane to make us change so quickly ... i guess they were all bored sitting around that table drinking coffee and smoking cigars... get a life let us have fun on the course." -Ian Poulter, via Twitter (obviously)

"It's a domino effect. It's going to make itself felt throughout the whole game. I think they (golf authorities) have been very clever." -Jack Nicklaus

"I'm all for the groove change because I don't miss too many greens on the stats. I tend to be pretty good tee-to-green. It's the people that miss a lot of fairways and a lot of greens that are going to suffer more." -Lee Westwood

Bottom line: it's a huge change that's going to have a major ripple effect on the game, from the highest levels all the way down to the mini-tours. Is it the wisest idea to make such a dramatic shift in policy based on statistical speculation? Have your say, friends, have your say -- but it's happening, like it or not.

Whan comes to the LPGA with longtime golf experience: "I was that crazy high school kid cutting greens at 5:30 in the morning so he could play free golf in the afternoon and caddying on Sundays," he said during his initial news conference on Wednesday.

He's got two months to get his affairs in order; the gig starts in January. Marty Evans, the current acting commissioner, will remain on the job until then.

The Internet was -- what's the word for "five notches down from abuzz"? -- mildly intrigued by Whan's hiring. "His name had not surfaced in reports and he wasn't on anybody's known short list of candidates," CBS's Steve Elling wrote. "Not that many outlets were tracking the search, in all honesty."

Waggle Room speculates on the business reasons that got Whan hired. Golf Digest's Ron Sirak apparently had the scoop, and called Whan's hiring a "bit of a surprise" given all the hype surrounding Donna Orender, Peter Bevacqua and others.

Best of luck to Whan, who's going to need all the help he can get and all the business savvy he can muster to pull the LPGA out of its power-dive.

Whan named new LPGA commissioner [Golf Digest]

Each week, Five To Watch breaks down the most significant players and storylines for the upcoming weekend's tournament. We're not saying these guys will win, or that you should pick them for your fantasy team; we're just saying you ought to keep an eye on them. You never know what might happen. Today, we run down the field in one of the year's final regular-season tournaments.

John Daly: Only eight of the world's top 100 players in the field -- and none of the top 25 -- are at the Viking Classic, which means that all eyes will be on Mr. Daly. As they always are. Since the tournament is in Mississippi, this is home turf for Daly, who's trying to make yet another career rebound. But since his most recent fall post-British Open wasn't nearly to the depths of his previous descents, maybe we can hope that his next rise will be that much higher.

Chad Campbell: Outside of a second-place tie at the Timberlake, we haven't heard a whole lot from Chad since he fell in the playoffs at the Masters, but here's a chance for him to run the table on a weak field. He's not one of the guys trying to get his card for 2010, so he can relax and play the kind of game that could triumph over his more nervous counterparts.

David Toms: The highest world-ranked player at this tournament, Toms has been turning in reliable top-10 performances all season long. And like Campbell, he's got the chance to ride herd on the field. Plus, like Daly, he's in his region, being a Louisiana boy and all.

Rickie Fowler: Everybody's All-American tees it up again with the chance to get into the top 125 and skip right over Q School. If you're not a big fan of the all-Tiger, all-the-time style of broadcasting, you're probably not going to want to watch FowlerTV this weekend. But you'll miss out on some fine golf.

Michael Sim: I'm calling it here -- Sim/Fowler is going to be the Tiger/Phil of the 2000-teens. Am I putting too much pressure on these two cats? Sure I am. But if I'm right, I can point to this post as proof. And if I'm wrong, nobody'll remember it anyway. It's flawless!

All right, you're up. Who are your picks for the weekend? Go!

Usually when an email finds me from Nigeria, it's asking me to provide a bank account to hold money. (I've provided my account to seven princes, still no cash! What's up with that?) But today was different. Today, I received an email from a gentleman named Cliff Friedman, taking me to task for not chastising Natalie Gulbis for hitting a golf ball at a guy in that video last week. (Advice taken. Folks, don't hit golf balls at people, not even if you're an LPGA superstar.)

Well, turns out Cliff is the general manager of the Ibom Golf Club in Nigeria, and he also sent along a few photos and some info on the region's developing golf scene. The country has 10,000 golfers and about 60 courses, and is developing a junior golf program as well as a calendar of tournaments for both pros and amateurs.

Hopefully they'll be teaching the kids to hit 'em straight, because that rough looks brutal.

Thanks to Cliff for sending along the photos. And if you happen to be reading this in some international territory, feel free to send along your golf course pics to jay.busbee@yahoo.com. We'll show you to the world!

One of the big stories popping up over the last couple days is how President Obama invited a woman to play in his foursome for the first time as president. Melody Barnes, his chief domestic policy advisor, was the first woman to slam the trunk (note: not a euphemism) with the president in any of his 24 rounds since taking office.

And since anything the president does has to be scrutinized beyond all rationality -- seriously, political geeks are worse than fantasy football geeks -- Local Knowledge notes that CBS White House correspondent Mark Knoller made the following post on Twitter: "Today - Obama ties Pres. Bush in the number of rounds of golf played in office: 24. Took Bush 2 yrs & 10 months." (For the record, as Press Tent points out, Dwight Eisenhower played about 800 rounds during his two terms.)

Make of all this what you will. And since everybody loves ranting about the president, pro or con, let me throw out a whole pack of talking points. Pick one and rant away!

Here we go (deep breath): If he's playing so much golf, he can't be focusing on getting the country turned around! But if he's not focusing on getting the country turned around, then he can't inflict his ideas on those who want them! And if he's bringing more women to play, that's a good sign for a sport that's always been exclusive rather than inclusive! But since golf is traditionally a Republican sport, he could be turning more to the right! But if he's playing more golf, maybe that means golf won't be the whipping boy for all this country's ills!

I agree with all the above ideas. And none of them. I'm so confused. Where are my clubs?

We detailed yesterday how close Rickie Fowler is to cracking the top 125 and therefore jumping straight into the Tour without all that messy Q School business. (He's already exempted out of the first stage.) But he's by no means the biggest name searching for that elusive top-125 card.

No, the big name belongs to David Duval, who has burned through virtually all his exemptions and now faces the ugly possibility of losing his card. Since his amazing run at the U.S. Open, he's missed six of seven cuts and now sits at No. 125 on the money list. So much for the career revival, huh? (As we suggested here a few months ago, the hosannas of Duval's return may have been a bit premature.)

Oh, and remember his fellow Open challenger Ricky Barnes, he of the painter's cap and the Open lead at Bethpage? Yeah, he's missed six of nine cuts since then, and sits at No. 121. He too is hoping to get in with some strong performances over the next couple weeks.

Perhaps most dismaying is the case of Stuart Appleby, who, as Steve Elling notes, started 2009 as the only golfer on the planet to have played in every major and WGC event since 1997. But now, he's giving up and relying on sponsors' exemptions for next year, sitting as he does at No. 134 on the list.

While Q School gets the headlines for its go-or-go-home drama, for my money the battle for the card among Tour regulars is much more compelling ... even if it turns your stomach at the thought of a pro losing out on what he's known for so long.

Time for another Devil Ball Golfcast, and today we welcome in LPGA / reality TV star (and occasional Devil Ball contributor) Natalie Gulbis. She's one of the most recognizable names in golf today, though -- this being the 21st century and all -- some of that attention comes from her looks rather than her game. Fair? Well, that's for you to decide, but she knows her stuff, and she knows her golf. She's active in helping chart the future of the LPGA, and she's active in charting her own future as well, with a range of shows, promotional appearances and Twitter tweets always in the making. We discuss all this and more in the course of our conversation; check it out.

As always, we welcome your thoughts, ideas, and recommendations on the podcast. Hit me up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com. Click the link below to play the podcast or right-click it to download, and hit the iTunes site linked below to subscribe. Have at it!

Devil Ball Golfcast, Episode 22 -- Natalie Gulbis

Now, fair or not, Rickie Fowler has added his name to that dubious Next-Tiger list. Acing a hole on the final day of one of your first tournaments, and forcing your way into a playoff in that same tourney, will do that for you. (Or, should I say, to you.) As my man Shane Bacon of Dogs That Chase Cars noted, the Golf Channel announcers nearly wet themselves with excitement at Fowler. Which is fine and dandy for the course of a tournament, but it gets kind of disturbing if this kind of fawning becomes standard operating procedure. (See: Vitale, Dick.)

Over at ESPN.com, Jason Sobel makes a very good point as to why we shouldn't go crowning Fowler, or his fellow playoff rookie Jamie Lovemark, as the next great golfer. This is a cruel, capricious game, and a guy who's riding high one day can get shot down the next. (Well, except for you-know-who.) Just take a look at that list of Next Tigers above. Except for McIlroy, who we don't yet know enough about, every single one of them has displayed significant, often career-wrecking, weaknesses in his game.

We don't know enough about Fowler to predict with anything approaching certainty that he'll go either high or low, but for the short term, he'll be just fine. He'll be playing in the next two tournaments with some serious incentive -- earn about $100,000 to put himself in the top 125 on the money list (he currently sits at No. 145) and leapfrog Q School to get onto the PGA Tour next year. That's enough of a fire under him that we'll see exactly how he performs under pressure ... and probably not for the last time, either.

Impressive work from Mr. Fowler, who's already being heralded as one of golf's next great saviors. (We'll get to that later today.) Congrats to Matteson, who earlier in the tournament set a PGA record for the lowest consecutive rounds with two 61s. Yes, you read that correctly -- Troy Matteson went where Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and everyone else who's ever played golf has never tread before. Not bad, huh? See? You should be watching more golf. You never know when history will show up.

Daniel Chopra tries to find his way out of a hole on Day 1 of the Frys.com Open. He ended up posting a +2 on the day, nine back of the lead. Ah, well.

Enjoy the weekend, everyone, and feel free to chat here about golf, life, whatever. We'll be back in just a bit with more.

So you think you're a big-stick driver, huh? You laugh at 600-yard par 5s; your ball's still going up when it hits the treeline at your local driving range. Saddle up, chief, because the greatest longball challenge in the world now awaits you: Nullabor Links in Australia, a course that stretches nearly 850 miles.

Yes, you read that right -- miles. Or, if you prefer, 1,365 kilometers, whichever sounds easier.

A round at Nullabor takes at least a week and takes you through two of Australia's states, from Kalgoorlie, West Australia to Ceduna, South Australia. Along the way you'll see everything from dingoes (presumably not the baby-stealing kind) and wombats to a huge scar in the ground where Skylab fell to earth in 1979.

The fairways are desolate desert, while most of the greens are synthetic. Par on the course is 72. (And for the very literal-minded among you, most of the distance is between the holes, not the holes themselves.) You can drive the holes in either direction and get your card stamped at each green to certify you've completed the whole beast. (Interestingly, one of the sponsors on the official website is a towing company. Make of that what you will.)

Also, there are obviously some high-end tourist packages that will keep you wrapped in Aussie comfort for every kilometer of your journey. A five-day jaunt costs about $2,000 per person, not including airfare or extra balls. Of course, you can also play the course yourself for just $50 ... plus the cost of gas and lodging. Don't know about you, but I'm ready to go golf gypsy and live in my car for a week.

What are you waiting for, hammer? Get swinging Down Under!

Nullarbor Links [Official site]
Bring your driver: World's longest golf course opens in Australia [USA Today]

Stewart was everything you want a golfing partner to be -- funny, quick-witted, genial, and insanely talented. Along with Paul Azinger, Stuart Appleby, Lee Janzen and others, he characterized the post-Jack, pre-Tiger landscape of golf. At the time of his death, he was 42 years old, and already aware that a younger generation of power golfers -- Woods and Phil Mickelson chief among them -- were working their way onto center stage and making Stewart and his contemporaries obsolete.

Nonetheless, Stewart had a vibrancy to him that no one since has matched. He combined trademark throwback outfits with a deep respect for the game, and as a result the PGA named an award in his honor, to be given to the player who best exemplifies Stewart's traditions of respect and honor. Kenny Perry was the 2009 winner, and previous winners have included Hal Sutton, Davis Love III and Tom Watson.

Since his passing, the PGA family has kept a close eye on Payne's widow Tracey and his two children Chelsea and Aaron. And golfers, officials and media have never forgotten that day; check here for an oustanding, heartrending collection of remembrances of Payne and that tragic day from Golf Digest. From the final pancakes he made for his kids that morning to the frantic phone calls and prayers, it's a difficult but necessary read.

And I defy you to get through this ESPN article, from earlier this year, about how Tracey Stewart is coping and how Aaron Stewart resembles his father, without the room getting a little dusty. The final photograph and caption are an absolute heartbreaker.

Payne's gone, and no player will ever replace him. But as long as the game remembers him, and the way he played, it'll be something. Not nearly enough, but something.

Okay, "running away" may be a little premature -- we're only one day in, after all -- but what else can you say about a guy who runs off eight straight birdies? Sim set a course record and now has a three-stroke lead on the field at the championships, held at Daniel Island in Charleston, South Carolina. And he very nearly tied the Tour's record of nine straight birdies, set by Omar Uresti at the 1994 Shreveport Open. Sim's putt on 12 stopped just inches short of the cup.

It's a fitting capper to a memorable 2009 for Sim, once the No. 1 amateur in the world and already the Nationwide Tour's all-time single-season money winner. Adios, Nationwide; it's PGA next year for Sim.

A second major storyline of this tournament is the fact that the top 25 money winners for the season get their PGA Tour cards for next year, which means that the guys on the bubble will be looking to make a charge. It's going to be a nervewracking weekend for a lot of folks, but with his Tour card in hand and a championship in sight, Sim looks like he could be free and clear from all the drama.

Sim shoots 64 in Nationwide championship [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

• While the LPGA is on its dormant weeks, the players have to do something, right? Keeping up with LPGA'ers like Paula Creamer and Stacy Lewis as they venture to Japan for tournaments. [Mostly Harmless]

• The fall season tournaments may not be among the most star-powered, but they have the capability to change lives, both on and off the course. [Links Life]

• Sizing up Annika Sorenstam's perfume, with a bevy of lovely ladies weighing in on its merits. Mmmmm, smells golfalicious! [A Walk in the Park]

• Well, here's a bummer: Angel Cabrera raced from Bermuda to Spain, bouncing from the Grand Slam to the Castello Masters, only to run late and get DQ'ed. Ah, well ... at least he can cry into his green jacket. [Golf Girl's Diary]

• Nick O'Hern -- not to be confused with Sean O'Hair -- shoots eight birdies on the back nine to take the lead at the Frys.com Open. [PGA.com]

• Erin Hills in Milwaukee, which will host the 2011 U.S. Amateur and could one day host an Open, is in the process of being sold, but the new owner promises to keep it public. [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.

1: Annika Sorenstam's 59, 2001 Standard Register Classic, Moon Valley Country Club, second round. Sorenstam's legendary 59 was two strokes better than the previous LPGA Tour low of 61, shared by Karrie Webb and Se Ri Pak. The round featred 13 birdies and no bogeys and only 25 putts. She reached every green in regulation and her longest par putt was less than four feet.

2: Sorenstam's 71, 2003 Bank of America Colonial, first round. The eagle-eyed will note that this is actually a PGA Tour event, and while Sorenstam's history-making round of one over par didn't end in a made cut, she performed brilliantly under the kind of pressure no woman golfer had ever encountered. The longer distances weren't an issue, but the missed opportunities on the green were. Nonetheless, it marked a large step forward for women's golf.

3: Juli Inkster's 66, 2002 U.S. Women's Open, final round. On the very same course on which she won the 1980 Women's Amateur, Prairie Dunes Golf Club in Kansas, Juli Inkster ran down and passed Sorenstam to take the title. At 42, Inkster became the second-oldest women's Open champion, after Babe Didrickson Zaharias. Her score tied an Open record for the lowest by a champion in the final round.

4: Michelle Wie's 66, 2003 Kraft Nabisco Championship, third round. Say what you will about Michelle Wie, with her performance in the 2003 Kraft Nabisco Championship she became the youngest player in LPGA history ever to make a cut. Due to the 66 on Saturday, Wie made it to the final group on Sunday of a major. Wie was only, believe it or not, 13 years old. She shot a 74 on Sunday (not bad, considering the circumstances) to finish in a tie for ninth.

5: Lorena Ochoa's 62, 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship, first round. Ochoa, the 2003 LPGA rookie of the year, established the lowest-ever score in a major championship, male or female, and served notice that Sorenstam wasn't going to be on top forever. (Incidentally, Ochoa did not win the tournament. See next entry.)

6: Karrie Webb's 65, 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship, final round. In one of the most dramatic finishes of the decade, Webb holed out a 116-yard chip to force a playoff with Ochoa, and ended up posting a win that heralded a comeback in her storied career -- one that she celebrated with the leap into the water at right.

7: Meg Mallon's 65, 2004 U.S. Women's Open, final round. Mallon captured the 2004 Open by playing a masterful 65 to secure a two-stroke win. It was pretty impressive stuff for Mallon, who was 41 at the time and had also won the Open back in 1991.

8: Catriona Matthew's 67, 2009 Ricoh Women's British Open, second round. Just 11 weeks after giving birth to her second daughter, Matthew notched a win over Karrie Webb and became the first player from Scotland to win an LPGA major.

9: Se Ri Pak's 69, 2006 LPGA Championship, final round. The South Korean Pak, a true pioneer in women's golf, secured her third LPGA Championship and her fifth major overall in a playoff victory over Webb.

10: Paula Creamer's 60, 2008 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic, first round. Creamer, who would wind up winning the tournament, birdied nine of the last 11 holes in her opening round, including the final three, on the par-71 Highland Meadows layout.

The biggest near-splash came from Ricky Barnes, who very nearly captured the U.S. Open before withering under pressure from Lucas Glover and the weight of Bethpage. Webb Simpson had some early juice before fading in the spring. James Nitties, same story. But for the most part, the 2009 rookies were an unremarkable lot.

The lone standout was Marc Leishman, who chose a good time of year -- the late summer -- to get hot. Leishman closed the year with a fine performance in the FedEx Cup playoffs, including a second-place tie at the BMW Championship. The only rookie in the Tour Championship field, he's pretty much a lock for the award.

The rookie of the year award has some merit to it; previous winners have included everyone from Vijay Singh and Tiger Woods to Sean O'Hair and Trevor Immelman. Also Todd Hamilton, Jonathan Byrd and Carlos Franco in the last ten years, too, so it's not a total ticket to stardom. Still, it's a nice way to start a career, yes?

Bringing you the latest and the strangest in golf news and opinion. Get up to date on your way to the first tee.

• Rory McIlroy isn't coming to the PGA Tour after all, despite reports to the contrary. Best part of this story? McIlroy's agent is named "Chubby Chandler." That sounds like a Dick Tracy villain or a member of the Little Rascals. Awesome! [Local Knowledge]

• Golf can be a pretty hazardous game, so if you're ever attacked by an alligator, if trees are falling all around you, or you get impaled in the groin by the sharp edge of your broken driver (AAAAAHHHH), Zip Golfer has your tips for survival! [Zip Golfer]

• A good rundown of some fine golf betting games. Know what you're getting into before you start playing, or you could go from millionaire to dead broke and writing a golf blog. Hypothetically speaking. [From the Rough]

• Many golfers are jumping from the LPGA to the Japan LPGA, since the JLPGA will have more tournaments and thus more opportunity to earn some cash. Mostly Harmless does a fine job of breaking down who'll be making the attempt to qualify through JLPGA Q-School. [Mostly Harmless]

• Charles Barkley offers up some advice for Anthony Kim and the way that sex can screw up your putting stroke. [Sports Radio Interviews]

• Federal tax credits for high-mileage vehicles? Turns out they could be used to purchase golf carts. Who knew? [Wall Street Journal]

• There's a golf course in Baltimore that's looking for your suggestions for a name. I'm thinking "Devil Ball Hills" sounds pretty lovely, but your ideas are welcome. [Waggle Room]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.

Just before Y.E. Yang won the PGA Championship, legendary Golf Digest writer Dan Jenkins said that if Tiger didn't take the season's final major, they should rename the Bermuda major winners-only tournament the "Grand Slugs of Golf." That's pretty harsh, and more than a little unfair, but Jenkins gets the benefit of the doubt because he's covered 200-plus majors.

The Grand Slam is one of those cool, quirky little events that pop up after the season's done. It brings together the four winners of the year's majors, and nobody else, for a little mano-a-mano competition at the beautiful Port Royal Golf Course of Bermuda. And regardless of what Dan Jenkins thinks, Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink and Yang can play some fairly decent golf.

Of the four, Glover played the best, running away with the two-day event after a brief challenge from Cink. Cabrera ended up catching Cink to finish second, and Yang, suffering from jet lag after flying all over the planet to get to the event, ended up DFL.

Still, a bad day golfing is better than a good day doing most anything else, and a bad day golfing in Bermuda is better than a good day golfing almost anywhere else. Jenkins' pronouncements aside, this could be the start of a fine golfing run from Glover. We'll have to see if he ends up back in Bermuda next year.

Glover wins Grand Slam in Bermuda [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

Each week, Five To Watch breaks down the most significant players and storylines for the upcoming weekend's tournament. We're not saying these guys will win, or that you should pick them for your fantasy team; we're just saying you ought to keep an eye on them. You never know what might happen. Today, the fall series rolls on.

Ryan Moore: Everybody's favorite gypsy golfer is back, and he'll bring his hodgepodge of equipment and gear to the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale. He looks like he slept in his clothes, but he plays like he got a good night's sleep.

Mike Weir: The happy lil' Canadian (is there any other kind?) is long overdue for a runaway victory. He's had plenty of success in Scottsdale, so expect him to be in the hunt on Sunday.

Charley Hoffman: The mulleted one was quite the sensation earlier in the season before the Big Guns really returned to the links. Now, with most of the field cleared out, the way is wide open again.

Pat Perez: He won waaaay back in January, but has fallen off the map since then. His brother is making noise over on Golf Channel's Big Break, so it's time for Pat to step up as well.

Rickie Fowler: This kid's gonna be huge! HUGE, I tell ya! And it all starts right here! Or maybe next week ...

All right, you're up. Who are your picks for this weekend? Go!

Now, Tadd Fujikawa, who's gotten some acclaim but never quite yet reached Next Big Thing status, is taking his shot at the Tour via Q School. Fujikawa, you may recall, was the youngest player ever to qualify for the U.S. Open in 2006 as a 15-year-old. He was very nearly the PGA Tour's youngest winner at the Sony Open earlier this year. Now, the 18-year-old takes on a series of tournaments with far more upside than the Sony, one that will put him in line for many more Opens.

Fujikawa and hundreds of other hopefuls will wend their way through a three-stage, 252-hole gauntlet with the end result being a PGA Tour card. It's the latest turn in a career that could have raised a few eyebrows; Fujikawa turned pro in 2007 and proceeded to miss 10 straight cuts.

But he straightened out his game, and made three of four cuts this year. Now, he meets the enormous challenge of Q School. For perspective, last year 1,200 entrants took a run at Q, and only eight made it through all three stages.

This year's field is a star-studded one, featuring famous progeny like Gary Nicklaus, son of Jack, and Sam Saunders, grandson of Arnold Palmer, as well as heralded college star Rickie Fowler. Fujikawa won't have an easy route, but then it's not supposed to be. If he can make it through Q School, he'll be much more ready for anything the PGA can throw at him in 2010 and beyond.

The Hawaii teen goes to school [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

Wait ... what? Who or what is a Mark Benevento Jr.?

Mark is a young man who's about to be famous for all the right (i.e. non-balloon-oriented) reasons. At an event commemorating the opening of The Cliffs at High Carolina, a new Tiger-designed course in Asheville, North Carolina recently, Tiger fired his first two shots into the trees. He then looked out over the crowd and invited anyone to step up and try to outdrive him.

Most everyone in the crowd pulled that routine that you do when you don't know the answer and don't want the teacher to call on you -- looking everywhere but at Tiger, taking an intense interest in the clouds above, suddenly staring at their cell phones, and so on. But one brave soul -- that would be Mark -- stepped up and took his swing. You can see him there in the photo at right, teeing it up under the watchful eye of Tiger, who's wearing the white hat at right. NBC Philadelphia has the video of what happened next; click here to check it out.

In short, the kid fired two straight 200-yard drives, right down the fairway -- which, according to driving rules, means he won, because Tiger put his shots into the trees. The kid didn't collapse into jelly, like so many of Tiger's opponents, which makes him a good bet to at least make the cut at next year's Masters.

Oh, and Tiger? The future's calling ... and it's outdriving you. Heads up, my man.

Local boy outdrives Tiger Woods [NBC Philadelphia]
___________

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Lee Westwood has the dubious distinction of being the man with the best view of two of the greatest golf tournaments of the last few years. He was the last man out of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in 2008 before Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate staged their epic battle, and he similarly just missed out on the landmark Stewart Cink-Tom Watson playoff at Turnberry for this year's British Open.

Stuff like that has gotta weigh on a man.

So it's good news that Westwood finally has his first win in two years by taking the Portugal Masters this past weekend. Since his previous win, the British Masters, he's notched 26 top-10s, including those two majors. The win puts him back in the top 5 in the world rankings, and also nudges him past Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai rankings.

Westwood has always had the game to break through and challenge for the top spot in golf, but bad choices -- like coming in too aggressively on the 18th of those majors, and playing himself out of a playoff spot -- have hindered him, as has his rep as a whiner, gained after his complaints at the 2008 Ryder Cup. Here, though, is a chance for Westwood to wipe the past clean -- and charge into 2010 riding as high as anyone in the game.

Westwood gets first victory in two years [PGA.com]

This is one of those stories.

Tiger Woods is headed to Australia for the Australian Masters, and he's going to get an unbelievable treatment for the extent of the six or so days that he's in country. First off, he's getting about $3 million for his appearance, which isn't bad coin. From there, the Daily Telegraph provides a complete breakdown of what he'll enjoy while he's there. And we're talking presidential-level luxury for Woods' first visit to Australia since 1997, when he made a relatively paltry $250,000 in appearance fees.

This time around, he'll fly to Australia in a private plane. He'll be chauffeured around the country and kept under the watchful eye of a complete security detail. He'll be the guest of honor at a prestigious dinner whose tickets cost more than $5,000 a seat. And chances are, everybody who's anybody in Australia -- no, I will not make a hack Crocodile Dundee joke here (unless I just did) -- will be angling for some face time with Woods.

It's already a given that Tiger's appearance will be a boon to the Aussie economy, but how much? The tournament has already sold out all four days, and tourney organizers expect Tiger's gallery to be in the neighborhood of a stunning 25,000 people per day.

The whole idea isn't just to make sure Tiger has a good time in 2009, but to bring him back in 2010 and beyond.

I'm not going to get up on some soapbox and rant about how absurd it is that an entire continent is prettying itself up like a homecoming queen hopeful. It's Australia's money, and the Aussies can do with it what they like. I will say this to Australia, though: I'm willing to bring Devil Ball down under for only a tenth of what you're offering Tiger, and I'll go ahead and commit to 2010 too. Call me!

(Visor tip: Local Knowledge)

Tiger to get 'rock star' treatment [Daily Telegraph]

Here's a little thought exercise for your Monday. Just imagine what would happen if:

• Kenny Perry had drained a par putt on the 18th at Augusta.

• Phil Mickelson hadn't misfired on the 15th at Bethpage.

• Tom Watson had curled in a putt on the 18th at Turnberry.

• Y.E. Yang hadn't cleared the tree on the 18th at Hazeltine.

Imagine what would have happened if Perry, Mickelson, Watson and Tiger Woods had captured the majors this year. Has there ever been a greater cross-section of major winners in a single year? Could you imagine a year in which a Tiger major would have been, at most, the third-best story of the year?

Here's my take on what would have happened. Kenny Perry would have become a hero to weekend hackers everywhere, proof that golf stardom can come even to those in their late 40s. Then Mickelson would have followed up with the most touching story of the year, perhaps the decade, with a U.S. Open win for his ill wife. After that, Tom Watson would have delivered the best sports story in years by winning the British Open. And finally, Woods' win would have been an anticlimax, but after his British Open cut a reminder that nobody should doubt Tiger.

Alas, it wasn't to be. The story of golf is always the battle between star power and a good tale, and in 2009 we got plenty of good tales -- but at the expense of star power. We'll almost certainly never see this star-crossed collection of potential major winners all together again.

Many observers are saying this was the worst season for majors in recent memory. Not so; this was as good as it gets. But sometimes the ball doesn't quite go where you want it to, and sometimes the story doesn't end the way you want it to. Still -- and taking nothing away from Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink and Yang -- it's kind of cool to imagine what could have been, yes?

Playoffs are always exciting, even when they're between two guys you've hardly ever heard of. But thanks to his win, Laird now has a two-year Tour exemption and the satisfaction of getting to hang with Mr. Timberlake. Just don't look inside any boxes he might offer you, Martin.

Nice! For more on the Disney installment of Big Break, click here. And I expect to see some contestants hitting balls right through Cinderella's castle soon.

Bringing you the best in golf news and opinion from around the web. Get up to date on your way to the first tee.

• Very interesting: what would the Olympic field look like if the games were played today? Some surprises in store: Anthony Kim and Zach Johnson out; Gaganjeet Bhullar, Felipe Aguilar and Roope Kakko (right) in. Roope! [About.com]

• Sizing up the move toward globalization in the PGA versus the LPGA. Mostly Harmless holds that the ladies are doing a better job of spreading the global golf love. [Mostly Harmless]

• Brotherly love: two brothers fought on a golf course, and one broke the other one's nose with a club. Oh, yeah -- these clowns are both in their 40s. [Links Life]

• Community service with John Daly! (Satire. Also probably NSFW.) [Style Points]

• Sean O'Hair's struggles at the Presidents Cup could be traced to one of his coaches. (Also satire.) [Armchair Golfer]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.

After getting waxed on Sunday in the singles matches of the Presidents Cup, Robert Allenby accused Anthony Kim of being a boozing party hound who's living a wild life unbecoming of a golf professional. (How Allenby justifies getting beaten by a guy he claims was an all-night raver remains unanswered.)

The PGA Tour took the unusual step of issuing a statement decrying the kerfluffle (how's that for a journalistic term?), which only served the purpose of adding more kindling to the fire:

"Concerning the reports published after the fact with unfortunate comments attributed to Robert regarding Anthony (emphasis added), we understand that both players have since spoken and have put the incident behind them," said Rick George, VP/COO of the PGA Tour. Combined with Allenby's contention that his comments were "taken out of context," the implication here is that this is the fault of the writers who initially reported this story, and not Allenby just being a sore loser.

Nice try. Geoff Shackelford did some digging and found that four reporters heard the comments, and one has them on tape. Allenby was given the chance to confirm that he meant what he said -- which is rarely done, and is an exceedingly gracious offer to Allenby -- but Allenby stood by what he said, including the part where Allenby compared Kim to John Daly.

I agree with the prevailing sentiment that everybody should've just let this one die, and it would've been forgotten within hours, particularly with Balloon Boy dominating the next few news cycles. I'm on record as saying golf could use a little more life in it, and Allenby's quotes certainly qualify. Anthony Kim seems like he can handle himself just fine, both during the nightlife and in the media.

It's interesting to note, as SI's Gary Van Sickle tweeted, that there have been no denials that Kim was actually out that late. And what's even more interesting is that nobody's bothered to apologize to John Daly. Now that's just rude.

Nice! Of course, Natalie can get away with assaulting fans on a golf course, because she's Natalie. When my brothers and I try this routine, we get run off the grounds. Of course, it's usually because we're playing "set off the car alarm on the Escalade," but hey.

Seen a strange golf video? There's plenty of 'em. Send a link to jay.busbee@yahoo.com and we'll get you teed up!

Ballesteros said that his treatment is going well following several operations to remove the malignant tumor in his brain. He looked forward to the match play event, which will include luminaries such as Rory McIlroy, Angel Cabrera and Sergio Garcia.

What's a little more troubling is that Seve is making noises about wanting to play in the British Open in 2010. (If Tom Watson can do it ... ) Seve, alas, already has a bit of a rep for staying around too long; he hasn't made a cut in a major since 1996, despite having played in 15 events in the succeeding 11 years. Assuming Seve actually wants to play a real round, and not just a ceremonial swing, this is ... kind of awkward.

I know, I know, it's his life and his career and if he wants to do it, he should be allowed to. And if he does step up to the first tee at St. Andrews next summer, it's not like I'd turn my back or anything. But if Seve was to play poorly, the overriding emotion wouldn't be pride or nostalgia, it'd be pity. And the last thing a guy like Seve Ballesteros needs is cheap pity. Better to give him a roaring ovation for his achievements than a sympathy round of applause as he salvages double bogey.

But let's leave those discussions for another time. For now, it's great to see Seve back in the mix, and we're looking forward to much more from him in the course of the match play event at the end of the month.

Ballesteros hopeful of British Open return [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

Each week, Five To Watch breaks down the most significant players and storylines for the upcoming weekend's tournament. We're not saying these guys will win, or that you should pick them for your fantasy team; we're just saying you ought to keep an eye on them. You never know what might happen. Today, we run down the field in the second stop in the fall series.

Justin Timberlake: He's rich, he's famous, he's dated the most beautiful women in the world, he's a pretty good golfer and now, he gets his own tournament. Yeah, I hate him too.

Anthony Kim: After a mostly forgettable 2009, he finished with a flourish at the Presidents Cup. Time to see if he can carry any of that momentum through the fall season. Continuing to play is absolutely the right move for Kim.

Brian Gay: Hey, if he happens to win this, he joins Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson as the only guys to have more than two wins this season. Not bad company, eh?

David Duval: The onetime icon is now reduced to trying to play his way onto the 2010 Tour. It's a sad state of affairs for Duval, but there's always the possibility he can pull it together and make some noise.

Rory Sabbatini, Jeev Milka Singh: These two guys have a bit of an axe to grind with Greg Norman, since he left them off the Presidents Cup team in favor of total flameout bust Adam Scott. A win the first week after the PC would make their case quite nicely, don't you think?

All right, your turn. Here's the field for the tournament; who's your pick? Go!

"My recovery from stem cell surgery has been closely monitored by my doctor and I have been cleared to begin playing competitively in two weeks," Daly said in a statement. "As such, I have added the Viking Classic to my 2009 U.S. schedule plus have accepted invitations to play in the 2009 Australian Open and 2009 Australian PGA Championship. I regret the confusion the injury process has caused but I'm relieved things have begun moving in the right direction."

Or, as he put it on Twitter in language that sounds a whole lot closer to how he'd really speak, Daly wrote:

"My rib is feeling a little better---Just committed to play the 'Viking Classic' in Jackson, Mississippi---Hope to see you all out there! ... oh and yes----gonna hit the AUSSIE TOUR!"

Daly, you'll recall, caused a bit of a stir in Australia last year when he smashed a fan's camera against a tree. (In all fairness to Daly, reports indicated that the guy had it coming.) Since his return to the Tour earlier this year, he'd been a model citizen, playing well until a range of injuries and exhaustion slowed him down. Daly's life is always a rollercoaster, so perhaps the fact that he didn't fall too far this time means he's got more ups ahead.

So good luck Down Under, John. The golf world's always more interesting with you in it.

John Daly to playi n Australia [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

And now Godwin's Law has kicked in with our national politics, as evidenced by the vandalism at right. Somebody decided it would be cute to carve a swastika and President Obama's name into the green at the 18th hole of the Lakeville Country Club in Massachusetts. Unbelievable.

Strangely, though, this is the second golf/Nazi crossover this week. In Michigan, a couple has reported finding golf balls with swastikas scrawled on them scattered throughout their yard. (The swastikas, we're assuming, were hand-drawn; professionally-made models would have a limited market at best.)

Golf's connection to Naziism is a peculiar one, but it exists. In the late 1930s, Adolf Hitler held the inaugural "Hitler Cup," a means of having his German athletes reassert their superiority after getting beaten on their home turf by Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics. Only it didn't work out that way; Great Britain won the Cup, and Hitler drove off in a snit, refusing to even present it. The Hitler Cup vanished into the mists of history, and was only rediscovered a few years ago.

Still, the clowns who performed these recent acts of vandalism obviously weren't looking to draw some connection between the Third Reich and the grand old game. I'll leave the political commentary out of this, except to say that anybody who throws around Nazi symbolism like this is a thundering moron. Here's hoping the idiots who did this get sentenced to a year of cleaning out the sump tank of John Daly's motor home.

Obama hate message scratched into 18th hole [Boston Herald]
Golf balls with Nazi symbols put in Michigan yard [Chicago Tribune]

There's a well-worn but still true saying in poker that if you can't spot the sucker at your table in the first half-hour, you are the sucker. I don't doubt Greg Norman has played a lot of poker in his life, and probably very well, but he still strikes me as the kind of guy who'd go all in with a great hand but forget that a flush beats a straight.

Which is why I'd like to see Norman captain the International team again in Australia. No, not because I think he'd shoot himself in the foot -- although I do -- but because I'd like to see Norman finally get his shot at redemption.

Look, it's tough to feel sorry for Norman; the guy owns property and businesses that have brought him a nine-figure fortune. His "job" is playing golf. Even so, he's got to be Exhibit A for why golf's a cruel, heartless mistress. We don't need to even give his Masters disaster more than a passing reference, but he was in the hunt at last year's British Open until the last few holes, another of the many times everything has aligned for Norman ... and everything has fallen apart.

This Presidents Cup, Norman had the opportunity to transition smoothly into an elder-statesman role ... and, unfortunately, he dropped the opportunity as if it was greased. His captain's pick of Adam Scott was strange but, in some backward way, defensible if you figure that maybe he was trying to restart Scott's career.

But then came the matches themselves, and Norman appeared completely overmatched. The U.S. built a strong lead, and Norman responded by sending out some of his weakest players to both start and wrap the Sunday singles matches. It was a peculiar move, but utterly characteristic of Norman.

Here's the thing. I don't bear the guy any ill will; hell, I'm jealous as heck of the guy. Still, I'd like to see him finish his career as something more than a punch line, something more than just the guy who gets brought up, along with the 2004 Yankees and Jean Van De Velde, whenever "choking" gets mentioned.

So I want him to get another shot at captaining the Internationals. Learn from your mistakes, Greg. Bring on some lunatic golfers that nobody's seen on these shores, and throw in a few celebs to get the blood pumping. You can do it, Shark. Just don't think too much about it.

Send your video to lvgolfguru@earthlink.net and see if you can make the cut to take down the King of the Muni! Shoot, everybody else on the planet is becoming a reality TV star, so why not you? Get on it!

Dumping on the United States is always in fashion for the rest of the world, and golf is no exception. While Tiger Woods' greatness is incontrovertible, every other nation that can roll out a scratch golfer thinks they can hang with Mickelson, Furyk and all the rest of the red-white-and-blue-clad mouth-breathin' Yankees.

Think again, world. The United States is back on top!

This kind of snuck up on us; the last few international tournaments, the U.S. has been either a slight or a prohibitive underdog, but take a look at the stats over the last three years:

• 2007 Presidents: USA 19 1/2, Internationals 14 1/2

• 2008 Ryder: USA 16 1/2, Europe 11 1/2

• 2009 Presidents: USA 19 1/2, Internationals 14 1/2

One win is an aberration, two wins is a good streak. But three wins by five points each? That's domination, homes. And while it's fun for some to paint the U.S. as a crew of hollering white-trash jingoists -- fun to act that way, too, now that I think about it -- truth is that the Americans can now play some serious golf.

Sure, Tiger and Phil are good, but we already knew that. What we're seeing now is guys like Anthony Kim stepping up in international play, Steve Stricker earning the Tonto/Spock/Silent Bob award as best partner ever, Stewart Cink coming into his own on the world stage ... sorry, internationals, but the window has closed.

Bottom line, the U.S. right now has probably the toughest top-12 it's ever had. And with only a handful of players set to shuffle off to the Champions Tour soon, the domination could continue for a long time to come.

Q. What's the difference between Anthony Kim and John Daly?

A. John Daly wasn't invited to the Presidents Cup.

At least, that's the assessment of Robert Allenby. (The comparison, that is. It's a pretty well-documented fact that Daly wasn't invited to the Presidents Cup.)

Allenby, fresh off a 5-and-3 drubbing at Kim's hands on Sunday, lashed out at Kim's alleged nighttime habits:  "Maybe we should all take the theory of Anthony Kim," he said. "Get home at 4 o'clock (in the morning) and then go shoot 6 under."

Sour grapes? Probably. But oh, he didn't stop there: "Ask his playing partners. Ask his team. He is the loosest cannon in that team." Allenby further called Kim the "current John Daly," which is not fair at all, because Kim hasn't even come close to eating a live cow on the hoof.

Kim, who's admittedly enjoyed the nightlife in the past, stressed that this week he was absolutely well-behaved, and that he was actually in his room when he was alleged to have been out on the town. (Still, Golfweek notes that one U.S. team member said that Kim was asked to leave a team function because he was not "presentable.")

Allenby has a history of making outlandish statements and not much caring whether he upsets anybody; earlier this year he swore off golf in Australia because he was ticked about how the country and its fans treated him. (And he's a native!)

Wherever the truth lies, let's take a step back and realize what we're talking about here -- two grown men bickering over whether one went out and tipped back a few too many. Seriously. And they say golf's a prissy sport.

Allenby rips Kim as U.S.'s 'loosest cannon' [Golfweek]

Yet if there is one clear winner of the Presidents Cup, besides the American players and Harding Park, it is Tatum, 89 years young, who helped raise the necessary funds and awareness to upgrade the course he loves.

Before Tatum got involved, Harding was a mess. Such a mess that he didn't play it for about a decade.

"I couldn't bear it," Tatum said.

Walking inside the ropes on Saturday, Tatum was stopped on a number of occasions by fans in the gallery thanking him for his efforts. In typical fashion, he didn't focus on the attention. He focused on the golf course. He kept pointing to the contour of the greens and the design of the fairways. It was a shock that he didn't pick up any trash.

Tatum first teed it up at Harding in 1938. A freshman at Stanford, he was competing in the San Francisco City Championship, for years the most prestigious municipal title in the United States.

In roughly 35 appearances, he once made it as far as the quarterfinals.

"I lost to a carpenter," Tatum recalled. "You played with carpenters and police officers and firemen, and they were damn good players."

Tatum, who won the 1942 NCAA championship, wasn't too shabby, either, but professional golf was never on his agenda. A Rhodes Scholar, he practiced law instead, and became an invaluable member of the United States Golf Association. As the USGA president in the early 1970s, he came up with the unforgettable response when Winged Foot, the venue for the 1974 U.S. Open, was heavily criticized by players who felt the organization had set out to embarrass them.

"We're not trying to embarrass the best players in the game," Tatum said. "We're trying to identify them."

At Harding, the best players stood out again, and so did Tatum.

Mickelson was 4-0-1 this week, a record second only to Tiger Woods' 5-0-0. More importantly, while Tiger was getting into a smooth groove with Steve Stricker, Mickelson was switching partners more often than Derek Jeter. Most notably, he spotted Sean O'Hair struggling to an 0-2 start on Thursday and Friday, so Mickelson took him under his wing. Together, they won one and split one, not a bad day's work.

"Phil did a great job coaching me through today, which made me feel comfortable and helped me play my game, which was nice," O'Hair said. "I couldn't have had a better pairing today."

"Actually, I took him selfishly," Mickelson said after the round, "because I thought Sean had been striking the ball well, and I thought it was the best chance to win a point."

He did that and more. This has been a year of oscillating emotions and performances for Mickelson, and the way he's finished it out, he's poised to become one of the most important figures in golf in 2010. Tiger may -- and probably will -- win more on the course, but Phil is setting up to be every bit as important to the game.

Wing man Mickelson takes O'Hair under his wing [San Francisco Chronicle]

But Scott got an unlikely shot at redemption from fellow Aussie Greg Norman, whose lunatic unexpected pick of Scott to join the International squad of the Presidents Cup team incited muffled laughter from all over the golf world. Norman had confidence in Scott in a way that nobody -- possibly not even Scott himself -- else possessed. Could Scott rise to the challenge? Could he, as Waggle Room indicated, remake his struggling career Michelle Wie-at-Solheim style?

Um ... no.

Scott posted a miserable 1-4 record, worst on the Internationals aside from Camilo Villegas's zero-win performance. Scott got knocked around all week, culminating in his 4-and-3 walloping at the hands of Stewart Cink on Sunday.

So where does Scott go from here? At a time when he desperately needed to be away from golf and working on his game (or at least his mental state), he got knocked around like Kimbo Slice all tournament long, and whatever confidence he had in his game is almost certainly shot right now.

It's not over for Scott, obviously; the guy's got far too much talent, and it's entirely possible that he's suffering the lingering effects of a knee injury he suffered while surfing in 2008. But the last thing he needs is more pressure, so he probably ought to go hustle some club pros in Sydney or something.

And the next time Greg Norman calls, let it go to voicemail.