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Tiger Woods’ planned return to golf at the Masters drew plenty of criticism from the international press, and the most scathing comments came from Britain.

Daily Mirror columnist Oliver Holt questioned the top-ranked golfer’s reasons for coming back to play at Augusta National.

“How typical of the man to hijack the world’s most famous golf tournament,” Holt wrote. “How could he turn Augusta into a circus like this? Does his vanity know no limits?”

Woods drove his SUV into a fire hydrant and tree outside his Florida home in November, an accident that set off sordid tales of extramarital affairs. Woods announced Dec. 11 that he would take an indefinite break from golf to try to save his marriage, then made a public apology on Feb. 19.

“When he finally sticks his head above the parapet before a hungry media at Augusta National, don’t be surprised if he refuses to talk about anything relating to matters that predate February 19 on the ingenuous grounds that he has already dealt with that,” Douglas Lowe wrote in the Scottish paper The Herald. “But let’s wait and see before reaching a conclusion.”

The Daily Telegraph’s Mark Reason questioned the 34-year-old Woods for making his return so soon after last month’s apology, where he took no questions.

“All that halting guff about maybe returning to golf one day was just a great big fib,” Reason wrote. “Tiger, Tiger, pants on fire, nose as long as a telephone wire.

“How will the kids believe in him now? Woods wouldn’t know the truth if it came wrapped in a polyurethane cover and had Nike stamped on it. He’d just want to know how much he could spin it.”

In the Toronto Star, columnist Dave Perkins made fun of Woods’ extramarital affairs.

“So that’s what Tiger Woods meant when he said he would be fighting the temptations: He’s coming back to golf at a club that doesn’t allow women,” Perkins wrote. “Bada-boom.”

In Sweden, the country of wife Elin Nordegren’s birth, Aftonbladet columnist Lasse Anrell wrote that Woods was in the clear to play golf again after “four months of mourning, four months of apologies, four months of crying, four months of healing …” But Anrell added that Woods needs to make a strong showing at the Masters to regain his status.

“He knows—just as well as all the media strategists and brand analysts— that he needs to win for this to be a really good resurrection of Tiger Woods The Brand,” Anrell wrote. “A 27th place will not be a hit for the brand strategists. It needs to be top 3.”

Not everyone attacked the American, however. French sports daily L’Equipe had only a small news story about Woods’ return, while Italian paper La Gazzetta dello Sport featured a full page on the announcement, saying the Masters was the natural place for him to come back.

“Apparently the expected onslaught of the media, curiosity seekers and fans has convinced (Woods) to return at the most important and most protected venue and for him the most familiar, skipping any warmup tournaments,” Gazzetta wrote. “Even if this increases the risks, especially for someone who is used to winning all the time.”

In Britain’s Daily Mail, golf correspondent Derek Lawrenson said Woods chose the Masters as his comeback tournament because Augusta National would be able to keep the media at bay.

“All those showbiz Web sites that have plagued Woods’ life for the last three months would have more chance of an audience at the White House than gaining access at Augusta,” Lawrenson wrote.

John Hopkins, the golf correspondent for The Times, said Woods’ return will eclipse anything seen before at Augusta.

“And although President Eisenhower was a regular and President Clinton also played there, both requiring extra protection, the security when Woods makes his reappearance will be enormous,” Hopkins wrote.

Woods has won 14 majors in his career, including four at the Masters. This year’s tournament begins on April 8.

“Tiger’s comeback will rival that of legendary heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali as the world tunes in to see the greatest-ever golfer face the most harrowing challenge of his career,” Karl MacGinty of the Irish Independent wrote.

Not long after Tiger Woods returned home and starting practicing, the PGA Tour began checking with tournaments to make sure they were prepared to handle the hype over the world’s No. 1 player getting back to golf.

That even includes tournaments he has never played.

“Historically, he hasn’t played the week before the Masters,” said Steve Timms, tournament director of the Houston Open, which is the week before the Masters. “But these are unusual times. We’re prepared from a security and media standpoint. We’ve been watching the media closely, and we’ve had some weird ones.”

Timms, like other tournament directors, are in touch with PGA Tour officials about who is applying for media credentials.

The more immediate focus is in Florida. Woods hasn’t played at Innisbrook since Kelli Kuehne was his partner in 1996 at the old JCPenney Classic. Long before Woods was exposed for cheating on his wife, there had been increasing speculation that he was considering the Transitions Championship one of these years, although this doesn’t appear to be one of them.

Even so, tournament director Gerald Goodman said tour officials contacted him last week.

“They described it as talking to all tournaments,” Goodman said. “They gave no indication that they knew anything, they were just wanting to be thorough. They asked us if we had room for media. We’re a large resort on a thousand acres. There’s plenty of room.”

Scott Wellington didn’t need a phone call to start planning. He’s the tournament director of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, where Woods is a six-time champion (including last year) and lives a short drive away.

Wellington said the tour shared information from its experience at the TPC Sawgrass, where Woods spoke publicly Feb. 19 for the first time since his car accident the morning after Thanksgiving. Some 300 media came to a nearby hotel to cover the event.

Bay Hill is not the largest property, although it typically has a large media turnout because it is two weeks before the Masters.

“We’ll accommodate to the extent we’re able to,” Wellington said. “But it’s like a balloon. It can only get so big. We’ve discussed ‘Plan B’ scenarios, and we’re prepared to react as best we can. Obviously, it would help to get as much advance knowledge as we can.”

Woods typically does not enter a tournament until a day or two before the 5 p.m. Friday deadline, although there are indications from his management team that more notice will be given in this case.

PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw described the phone calls as typical conversations the tour has with its events on subjects ranging from media coverage to charity to television. In this case, another topic was added—the return of Woods.

“We’ve not indicated that we have inside knowledge,” Votaw said. “We just want them to be aware so they’re no scrambling

Tuesday, 09 March 2010

Ping Chairman and CEO John Solheim announced today that Ping will waive its rights that prevent the PGA Tour from prohibiting the use of pre-April 1990 Ping EYE2 irons and wedges that do not meet the 2010 Condition of Competition from being played at PGA Tour professional competitions.

PING EYE 2 WEDGE.  Picture © Getty Images

The waiver goes into effect March 29 and applies to the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour. As a result of a request from the USGA, Ping will also apply the waiver to the U.S. Open in June. The PGA Tour will then adopt a Condition of the Competition that does not provide an exception for the pre-April 1990 Ping EYE2 irons.

"John Solheim and Ping had a terrific opportunity to do something very positive and significant for the game of golf and we very much appreciate his willingness to take this action," said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem.

“We’re thankful for Commissioner Finchem’s understanding of our position and his role in helPing bring about this resolution. We all believe it is in the best interests of golf,” said Solheim. “It levels the playing field on the PGA Tour and resolves a very unfortunate situation that we predicted would happen when the USGA first proposed the new groove rule more than two years ago. It keeps in place all of our other rights established in the 1993 PGA Tour settlement and the 1990 USGA settlement, including ensuring amateurs will continue to be able to play their pre-April 1990 EYE2s at all amateur events played under the USGA Rules of Golf.”

Ping and the PGA Tour stated the waiver does not take all EYE2 irons and wedges out of PGA Tour player’s hands. At the request of several players this year, Ping has made EYE2 irons and wedges with grooves that conform to the 2010 New Groove rule. Those clubs remain eligible for use.

Solheim confirmed several solutions were considered since meeting with USGA executives on

February 10 in Dallas but felt that under the circumstances the PGA Tour and U.S. Open waivers were the most appropriate ways to keep intact the spirit of his company’s original USGA and PGA Tour agreements.

“We’ve heard from a lot of loyal Ping EYE2 owners who were concerned that a resolution of the TOUR's issue might also keep them from playing their EYE2s that were grandfathered as a result of the 1990 USGA settlement. I want to reassure those golfers that their clubs remain conforming in all amateur events played under the USGA Rules of Golf,” said Solheim, who negotiated the original agreements together with his father, Karsten Solheim. “The problem is solved on the PGA Tour and the integrity of the original agreements is unaffected.”

Both the PGA Tour and Ping said they were pleased with today’s announcement by the USGA that it will be conducting a forum in the Fall of 2010 in an effort to find ways to improve the equipment rulemaking process utilized by the USGA.

“Today’s announcement by the USGA that it intends to review its rulemaking process and consider the input of all stakeholders in the game of golf demonstrates the USGA’s commitment to our great game and its obligation to develop and implement rules for the game that are in the best interests of all concerned,” Finchem said. "The PGA Tour will actively participate in the forum and will offer its own views on how the process may be improved."

Solheim is also encouraged by the USGA’s announcement that the volunteer organization will share more information with, and seek more input from a variety of sources, including manufacturers, in the rulemaking process.

“I’ve been consistent in voicing my concerns over the last several years about the challenges of the current rulemaking process and the needs to improve it to the benefit of golfers,” said Solheim. “I am hopeful this will be a significant first step in realizing this goal. We’re looking forward to the forum and will be an active participant when it convenes sometime this fall. Our goal is to help ensure innovation remains an important part of golf’s tradition.”

Thursday, 04 March 2010

Tiger Woods’ caddie said he knew nothing about the golfer’s extramarital affairs and was angry with him over the scandal.

Steve Williams told TV3’s “60 Minutes” program Wednesday that he also is bitter at the reaction toward him from the media and members of the public.

STEVE WILLIAM & TIGER WOODS. Picture © Getty Images

“It’s been the most difficult time of my life, no two ways about it, because every single person believed that I should know or did know or had something to do with it,” Williams said. “I knew nothing, that’s my answer. I don’t have to clarify or extend that answer, I knew nothing.”

The New Zealander, who has been Woods’ caddie for 11 years, said he would have “blown the whistle” if he had known about the player’s behavior.

“If the shoe was on someone else, I would say the same thing. It would be very difficult as a caddie not to know but I’m 100 percent telling you, I did not know, and that’s that,” he said. “I’m a straight-up sort of person. If I had known something was going on, the whistle would have been blown.”

Williams said he was angry when revelations about Woods’ private life emerged, but had not berated the player because he felt he needed a friend.

“Of course I’m mad at him, why would you not be?” Williams said. “I’m close with his wife and he’s got two lovely children and he’s let them down.

“When a guy’s having a tough time, it’s not up to me to beat him with a stick right now. He’s getting enough grilling from everybody else.

“When you’re a true friend of somebody, that’s when somebody needs your support and need you the most. That’s when you don’t walk away. Tiger’s one of my closest friends and he needs my support right now and I’d never think of walking away.”

Williams said the two haven’t discussed the scandal.

“When I talk to him, I don’t talk to him about what’s happened,” Williams said. “I talk to him about the future and about what we’re going to try to accomplish and how we’re going to get over it.”

Williams said Woods recently hit balls on the practice range, but would not return to golf until he felt he was in top form.

Williams said he had personally tried to concentrate on his charity work and auto racing interests to avoid thinking about the controversy around Woods.

“Every week I try to focus on something to keep my mind off it,” Williams said. “You try to deal with it as best you can but in some peoples’ perception, I’m involved in it, I’ve committed a crime, I’ve done wrong or whatever it may be.”

Jack Nicklaus is going to appear at next month’s Masters. He thinks Tiger Woods will as well.

Nicklaus said Wednesday that “it would surprise me” if Woods did not return to competitive golf in time for the Masters, a tournament the embattled world No. 1 has won four times in his career.

JACK NICKLAUS. Picture © Getty Images

“I suspect he’ll play something before Augusta,” Nicklaus said behind the 18th green at PGA National, where the Honda Classic opens on Thursday. “Your guess is as good as mine. I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t play something before Augusta.”

Nicklaus has been reluctant to comment much about Woods since the saga involving revelations of infidelity began late last year, saying more than once that someone else’s private life isn’t any of his business. He reiterated that belief again Wednesday after finishing his Pro-Am round at the South Florida course he redesigned.

A person with knowledge of Woods’ schedule told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Woods returned to his home near Orlando, Fla. over the weekend after a week of family counseling and resumed practicing for the first time in nearly four months.

Like many, Nicklaus seemed to take that as a sign that Woods could be back sooner than later. The Masters begins April 8.

“It would surprise me if he didn’t,” Nicklaus said. “I can’t imagine in 100 years he’s going to miss this. None of you guys do either. But I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ve been very noncommittal about anything as it’s not my business. But as it relates to him playing golf, my guess is as a golfer he’s going to want to try to play Augusta if he’s got his other things in order.”

Earlier this year, Nicklaus said 2010 would be “a big year” for Woods if he wanted to get closer to Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships. Three of this year’s majors will be on courses where Woods has been dominant before, Augusta National, Pebble Beach and St. Andrews.

Of Woods’ 14 majors, half have come on those three courses. Woods has never missed a Masters or a U.S. Open since 1995.

Nicklaus is going back to the Masters, a tournament he won six times, as an honorary starter this year. He agreed to take on the role last year, and will join Arnold Palmer for the opening shot of the tournament. In time, he expects Gary Player to join them.

The honorary start is something Nicklaus never saw as a player, and he spent several minutes Wednesday talking about that after finishing the round he played with Dan Marino, Drew Brees and saxophonist Kenny G. (For what it’s worth, Nicklaus said he broke 80, after closing birdie-birdie.)

Then the questions turned to Woods.

“I didn’t think I was going to have anything else,” Nicklaus said.

Woods was photographed hitting balls at Isleworth on Feb. 18. One day later, he ended nearly three months of silence by speaking to a small group of associates, a statement that got worldwide attention.

“I do plan to return to golf one day, I just don’t know when that day will be,” Woods said on Feb. 19. “I don’t rule out that it will be this year.”

Nicklaus was asked if Woods’ presence would make the Champions Dinner, a pre-Masters tradition, different than normal.

The only man with more major championships than Woods didn’t hesitate to answer.

“No. It’s the Champions Dinner,” Nicklaus said. “His personal life is his personal life. As a golfer, he’s a sensational golfer. He’s a great athlete. He’ll figure out his own problems. But as a golfer, he’ll come back and get his game in shape and play. That’s what he does.”

So much for shedding tears on Oprah.

Tiger Woods is finished. Done. Said all he’s going to say.

Pretty much everything was neatly wrapped up in 13 and a half minutes, certainly to the satisfaction of the trio of women (his mother included) who looked on approvingly from the front row.

Besides, he has other things to do. Sex therapy is apparently just getting interesting, and he’s got some people back at the clinic in Mississippi who might need his help.

Someday he may even play golf again. Not only that, there’s a chance he’ll quit screaming the F-word every time he hits a bad shot.

For three months we’ve been waiting for Woods to utter something, anything, about the bizarre circumstances he finds himself in.

In one weirdly scripted and strangely robotic appearance, we got information overload.

Not about the salacious details of his wide and varied sex life, and that’s a good thing. Woods was right when he said that was between a husband and his wife, and surely we’ve heard enough already.

Give him credit, too, for admitting his sins and apologizing not only to fans everywhere but to parents who had to explain to their kids why the world’s greatest golfer is no longer a great role model. He had no choice, of course, but to come out and actually say the words instead of hiding behind prepared statements had to be a painful thing to do.

It’s all part of recovery, and at times it seemed like Woods was trying to cram an entire 12-step program in for extra credit when he returns to therapy. Other times it looked like a bad Saturday Night Live skit. You half expected Tina Fey to jump onstage at any minute.

Whatever it was, it had to be the most remarkable television apology/explanation/performance since Richard Nixon saved his vice presidential candidacy with his infamous “Checkers” speech more than a half century ago. About the only thing missing was a mention of his dog.

Elin wasn’t there, disappointing some online bookies who made her even money to show up. Mom was, though, and the Tigercam stayed tightly focused on her and two female Woods employees offering looks of sympathy, one them even dabbing her eyes.

That, of course, was part of the plan. Everything was rehearsed, everything was scripted. The camera angles showed only what Team Woods wanted to show, and the three reporters allowed inside were not allowed to ask any embarrassing questions.

Put it on late night cable with a suggested retail price of $19.95 and you would find some takers. Toss in a few 8-by-10s of Tiger jogging in his Nike apparel that the Woods camp released earlier this week and you might have a hit.

But that’s all it was, an infomercial that seemed aimed directly at the women in the audience.

It didn’t work.

“He just came across as very arrogant, not believable, not likable,” said Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5WPR, a top New York PR firm that does crisis management work. “I found myself almost giggling in the sense of what was he apologizing for? Being caught or for really doing something? The fact there was continually three women in the frame was clearly very contrived as well.”

Indeed, Woods might have been better off issuing another statement on his Web site, because this had all the soul of one of his prepared releases. His people advertised the gathering as a chance for him to personally apologize to friends and associates, but most of the invited audience were either Woods’ employees or PGA Tour executives.

And, while a lot of things were said, a lot more things went unsaid.

Had Woods taken questions from reporters we might have found out what caused his bad driving that Thanksgiving night in Florida. Surely someone would have asked how a golf club ever got involved. We might have learned whether he was on medication or had been drinking when he ran into a fire hydrant and a tree.

There would have been questions about his relationship with a Canadian doctor linked to human growth hormone. And he might have been able to tell us why he was headed back to sex rehab again after spending 45 days in a program usually completed in four to six weeks.

We might have even found out if he was going to play in the Masters the second week of April, something that still appears likely.

We didn’t, because the man whose life so suddenly spun out of control still desperately wants to be in control. The game has changed, but Woods is still using the same playbook that catapulted him into the biggest star in sports and made him the first athlete to earn a billion dollars.

Under the old rules, it would now be over. Woods would be done talking, and everyone would be happy to get back to watching him play golf.

Not anymore. The script Woods read from is almost certainly the last he’ll get away with using. Once he goes back on tour, the questions will come.

For now we’re supposed to believe he’s working hard on being a better husband and father. We’re supposed to believe he’s given up his arrogant ways and wants only to live a life of integrity.

We’ll believe it when we see it, not just when he says it.

Because if we’ve learned anything about Tiger Woods in this whole sordid mess, it’s that what he says and what he does can be two very different things.

Steve Stricker took over for Tiger Woods as the No. 1 seed at the Match Play Championship, and then did something only Woods had achieved in the 12-year history of the event.Steve Stricker took over for Tiger Woods as the No. 1 seed at the Match Play Championship, and then did something only Woods had achieved in the 12-year history of the event.

He lost in the opening round.

“History is showing in this event,” Stricker said. “It can happen to anybody.”

RORY MCLLROY. Picture © Getty Images

Ross McGowan of England, who only got into the 64-man field because Woods isn’t playing, rolled in a 30-foot par putt on the 19th hole to become only the second No. 64 seed to win a match. The other was in 2002, when Peter O’Malley beat Woods in the first round.

It capped a wild day at Dove Mountain, even if the 32 matches were overshadowed by word that Woods, who has not been seen since revelations of his infidelity, will speak publicly on Friday for the first time in three months.

Even without being at the Match Play Championship, Woods’ prints were all over the place.

“I guess everybody is going to get their answers,” Sergio Garcia said after beating David Toms. “We’ll see. I’m focused on this tournament here. That’s a lot to worry about. I think he’ll be OK.”

Stricker was coming off a victory two weeks ago at Riviera, although recent form has no bearing over 18 holes of match play. Three days after he won at Pebble Beach, Dustin Johnson lost the first four holes and never had a chance against Camilo Villegas.

The other top four seeds made it into the second round. Lee Westwood controlled his match against fellow Englishman Chris Wood, Jim Furyk went 17 holes before beating Ryder Cup teammate Scott Verplank, and Martin Kaymer of Germany beat Chad Campbell, the first time Campbell has failed to make it out of the first round.

Ryo Ishikawa made a sensational debut at this World Golf Championship.

The 18-year-old from Japan won the last three holes for a 2-up victory over Michael Sim of Australia in a match of rising stars. The signature moment came at the 17th, when Ishikawa hit from a fairway bunker to inside 2 feet for birdie.

Ishikawa advanced to the second round to face McGowan, who only learned he was coming to Arizona five days ago.

“I knew I had a good chance at the beginning of the day,” McGowan said. “It is nice to win and get through for tomorrow. It was quite exciting when that one dropped on 19.”

It was devastating for so many others.

Padraig Harrington, the No. 8 seed, couldn’t make a putt and lost to Jeev Milkha Singh of India, who won his first match in three trips to Arizona. Henrik Stenson, who won this event in 2007 and was the No. 7 seed, didn’t even get past the first hole. He conceded his match to Ben Crane because of flu-like symptoms.

The longest matched belonged to Zach Johnson, who made a 3-foot par putt on the 21st hole to beat Francesco Molinari of Italy. His brother didn’t make it, either. Even though Edoardo Molinari built a 4-up lead early on Stewart Cink, the British Open champion played what he called the best nine holes of his career for a 2-up victory.

The shortest day of work belonged fittingly to Mike Weir of Canada, who faced Alvaro Quiros of Spain, one of the biggest hitters in golf. Quiros didn’t stand a chance—not many would have—against Weir’s short stick. The Canadian opened with five straight birdies and made nine birdies in 12 holes for an 8-and-6 victory.

Defending champion Geoff Ogilvy also didn’t work up much of a sweat. He built an early lead and then poured it on against Alexander Noren of Sweden, winning 7 and 5. The most peculiar aspect was that none of the holes were halved. They traded the first six holes before Ogilvy took the lead for good at No. 7, then won the next six holes.

“An odd match,” Ogilvy said.

It wasn’t anything like last year, when Ogilvy had to go overtime in his first two matches to avoid elimination. Ogilvy prefers a tough match early to prepare him for the week, although ultimately, only one thing matters.

“You can’t win the tournament if you don’t win the first round,” he said.

Stricker found that out the hard way. He was given a second chance when McGowan failed to make a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the match. And he appeared to be in good shape on the first extra hole when the burly Englishman missed the green well to the right. Stricker posed over his approach, only for it to plug in the face of the bunker.

He did well to blast out to 15 feet, but then McGowan rolled in his long putt for an unlikely par.

“I could go all the way,” McGowan said.

Not so for Stricker and 31 others. They can only go home.

Tiger Woods will end nearly three months of silence Friday when he speaks publicly for the first time since his middle-of-the-night car accident sparked stunning revelations of infidelity.

TIGER WOODS. Picture © Getty Images

However, his agent said Woods will not take any questions from a small group of media.

“This is not a press conference,” Mark Steinberg said Wednesday.

It will be Woods’ first public appearance since Nov. 27, when he crashed his SUV into a tree outside his Florida home. Woods’ only comments since then have been made through his Web site.

Woods is to speak at 11 a.m. Friday from the clubhouse at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., home of the PGA Tour.

“This is all about the next step,” Steinberg said. “He’s looking forward to it.”

Still, there was strict control over the appearance, typical of Woods’ career.

Steinberg described the gathering as a “small group of friends, colleagues and close associates,” who will listen to Woods apologize as he talks about the past and what he plans to do next. He said three wire services have been invited — The Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg—and he asked the Golf Writers Association of America to recommend pool reporters.

Only one camera will be in the room to provide live coverage via satellite. Steinberg said other writers with proper credentials could watch from a hotel ballroom more than a mile away.

Steinberg said in an e-mail announcing the public appearance, “While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between he and his wife, he also recognizes that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him. He also let down his fans. He wants to begin the process of making amends and that’s what he’s going to discuss.”

The timing is peculiar. It will be held during the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona, sure to steal attention away from the first big event of the year. Accenture was the first sponsor to drop Woods when he became embroiled in the sex scandal.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said he did not think Woods’ appearance was going to undermine a World Golf Championship event.

“We have tournaments every week,” Finchem said. “I think it’s going to be a story in and of itself. A lot of people are going to be watching golf this week to see what the world of golf says about it, my guess is. So that will be a good thing.”

As far as the PGA Tour’s part in the Woods event, Finchem said: “We were asked to make the facility available and to help with the logistics. That’s what we’re doing.”

Steinberg said only that Woods’ appearance during the championship was “a matter of timing.” Asked if it could have waited until Monday, he said, “No.”

Woods made a spectacular fall from his perch atop golf. He was believed to have been the first athlete to gross $1 billion in earnings and endorsements and, at 14 majors, was closing in on golf’s record of 18 majors held by Jack Nicklaus.

It all collapsed the in the morning hours after Thanksgiving.

Over the last few months, Woods has been on the cover of gossip magazines and the butt of jokes on national talk shows.

In the days before Woods’ accident, a National Enquirer story alleged the world’s No. 1 golfer had been seeing a New York nightclub hostess. Following the crash, a stream of women came forward to claim they had romantic relationships with Woods. One woman provided Us Weekly magazine a voicemail she said Woods left her three days before the crash, asking her to take his number off the phone.

Woods admitted to “infidelity” in a statement on his Web site in mid-December and has been on an indefinite break from golf ever since.

Wednesday, 17 February 2010

The Match Play Championship has at least one thing going for it this week. No one has to fret when the biggest stars don’t make it to the final match, or even the weekend.

STEVE STRICKER. Picture © Getty Images

That’s because they’re not here.

Anyone who has paid attention over the last 11 years should know that even if Tiger Woods were not embroiled in a sex scandal and Phil Mickelson was not on a vacation with his family, there would be no guarantee they would last long, anyway.

Woods is the only three-time winner of this fickle tournament, yet he has made it to the weekend only four times in 10 starts. The longest Mickelson ever lasted was Saturday in 2004, and he was gone before lunch.

This World Golf Championship brings together the best 64 players available.

For one week, it is hard to distinguish them from top to bottom.

Lee Westwood is the No. 2 seed and opens on Wednesday against Chris Wood. The only time Westwood played on Friday was in 2005, and only because the tournament started a day late at La Costa because of rain. He has never made it past the second round, although he came close last year until losing to Stewart Cink in 23 holes.

There were years when Westwood wondered if it was even worth the trouble to fly all the way from England. And when he packed his bags on Sunday night and his 5-year-old daughter asked him when he was coming home, Westwood wasn’t sure what to say.

“Historically, Thursday,” he told her. “Optimistically, Monday.”

No one has a better record in the Match Play Championship than Geoff Ogilvy, the defending champion, who has won nearly 90 percent of his matches. He has won twice, was runner-up and had the odd year when he lost in the first round.

As he stood on the putting green Monday night at his home course of Whisper Rock north of Phoenix, he asked another member if he would be around on Sunday to host three friends who wanted to play. Then came an awkward pause, for Ogilvy knows full well that he might be able to join them.

For those who watch golf for its star power, this isn’t the best week even when Woods and Mickelson are around.

Steve Stricker is the No. 1 seed. His opening match is against Ross McGowan of England, and Stricker should know better than anyone what to expect, which is anything.

Stricker was at the front end of his slump in 2001, ranked No. 90 in the world, when he got into the 64-man field because it was held in Australia right after the holidays and so many players didn’t want to go. He stopped off in Florida to try to shake off the rust and snow from a Wisconsin winter and showed up as the No. 55 seed.

He then beat Padraig Harrington, Scott Verplank and Justin Leonard without ever getting to the 18th hole and ultimately beat Pierre Fulke in the championship match.

And that wasn’t even the biggest stunner.

Kevin Sutherland holds a couple of tournament records—lowest seed to win (No. 62) and the only player to beat a higher seed in all six of his matches. He rumbled through a lineup of Ryder Cup players (David Duval, Paul McGinley, Jim Furyk, David Toms, Brad Faxon) before beating Scott McCarron in the 2002 final.

Stricker has won four times in his last 15 starts, his confidence higher than ever.

This week?

“It scares me a little bit, to tell you the truth,” he said. “Just because you never know who you’re going to get, or who you’re going to run into.”

Two reporters once studied the bracket and tried to come up with one first-round match that could be considered a sure thing. Woods wasn’t a safe bet because he played J.B. Holmes, a big hitter on a big golf course. Mickelson played Pat Perez, who could be really good or really bad on any given day. Ernie Els is never a sure thing.

After about five minutes, they picked the same match: Vijay Singh over Peter Hanson, who was making his Match Play debut.

Sure enough, Singh won—in 20 holes.

The one peculiar part of this event is that it operates in reverse. The two most exciting days of the tournament are Wednesday and Thursday, when there are 32 and 16 matches on the golf course, most of them filled with wild swings in momentum. A year ago, Ogilvy had to go 19 holes in each of the first two rounds.

Each day features fewer matches, fewer possibilities, far less excitement. Last week at Pebble Beach, as many as four players had a chance to win in the final hour. On Sunday, only two players will have a chance over the final six hours.

It’s a nightmare for television, which fills its time with more talk than golf in the final round. Woods made his return to golf after knee surgery last year at the Match Play Championship. By the time network TV took over on Saturday, he was long gone.

Stricker doesn’t know much about McGowan, but this much he knows.

“I’m sure he likes having me rather than Tiger,” Stricker said.

Monday, 15 February 2010

Fred Couples gave the attention-starved Champions Tour a big boost.

The 50-year-old star won the ACE Group Classic on Sunday for his first victory on the 50-and-over tour, holding off Tommy Armour III by a stroke.

Couples closed with an 8-under 64 to finish at 17-under 199 at The Quarry, while Armour—making his Champions Tour debut—matched the tour record for lowest score in relation to par with an 11-under 61.

Couples made a 5-foot birdie putt on No. 17 and a tap-in par on 18 to wrap his first official victory since the PGA Tour’s 2003 Houston Open.

“That’s a long time,” Couples said. “I am very excited that I won and I’ll keep trying to win out here and I have a couple chances on the PGA Tour to make the cut. That’s really not the idea of fun.”

Couples and Armour, friends since college, had some fun earlier in the week, exchanging text messages.

“And then three days later I wasn’t all that thrilled about the text when he was 11-under par after 53 holes,” Couples said.

Armour started his charge with an eagle on the par-5 seventh, and birdied Nos. 8, 9, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17.

“I wish he would’ve shot two shots higher,” Armour joked about Couples.

Armour tied Couples with the birdie on No. 17.

“I hit an iron on the 15th green and I looked at the leaderboard and I was tied and seriously was shocked,” Couples said.

After the second round was halted due to darkness Saturday night, Couples came back to play five holes Sunday morning to complete a 67 and take a two-stroke lead over Dan Forsman. Couples birdied four of the first five holes in the final round to push his advantage to five strokes—six over Armour.

“I thought that would easily be enough,” Couples said.

Armour’s 11-under round tied Walter Hall (2002 AT&T Canada Senior Open) and Tom Purtzer (2004 Toshiba Senior Classic) for the lowest in tour history.

“Birdied half of them and then one more,” said Armour, who made the decision to move to the Champions Tour this year after undergoing back surgery last June.

Armour said he never looked at the leaderboard, but had a number in mind.

“I figured 15 under was as high as he was going to shoot, so I figured I had to get below 15, and I did, but he’s a pretty awesome player.”

Couples was in contention in his Champions Tour debut last month in Hawaii, but Tom Watson birdied the last two holes to beat him by a stroke.

“I got to watch that,” said Couples, who was in the same group as Watson. “That was easier, I think even easier to take.”

Couples earned $240,000.

Scott Hoch, the 2008 champion, shot a 69 to finish third at 9 under. Bernhard Langer and Mike Goodes tied for fourth at 8 under. They also shot 69s.

Tom Watson says Tiger Woods needs to “show some humility to the public” when he returns to golf after sorting out his personal life.

Watson also said Wednesday that Woods should clean up his on-course behavior in order to be considered among the true greats of the game.

TOM WATSON. Picture © Getty Images

Woods is on an indefinite break since his car crash Nov. 27 that fueled sordid tales of extramarital affairs.

“I’ll let the cat out of the bag,” Watson said ahead of the Dubai Desert Classic. “Tiger has to take ownership of what he has done. He must get his personal life in order. I think that’s what he’s trying to do. And when he comes back, he has to show some humility to the public.

“I would come out and I would do an interview with somebody and say, ‘You know what? I screwed up. And I admit it. I am going to try to change. I am trying to change. I want my wife and family back.”’

The 60-year-old Watson, one of golf’s elder statesmen, also criticized Woods — a 14-time major winner—for bad language and other on-course behavior.

“I feel that he has not carried the same stature that other great players that have come along like Jack (Nicklaus), Arnold (Palmer), Byron Nelson, the Hogans, in the sense that there was language and club throwing on the golf course,” Watson said. “You can grant that of a young person that has not been out here for a while. But I think he needs to clean up his act and show the respect for the game that other people before him have shown.”

Despite beginning his year with victories in Hawaii in the Champions Skins and the senior’s Mitsubishi Electric Championship, Watson played down his chances of winning the Desert Classic on the European Tour.

After playing in the pro-am, Watson said he was impressed with the condition of the Emirates course but had trouble keeping his drives on the narrow fairways.

“The rough is very tough,” he said. “It is very tough to get the ball on the green from the rough. You have probably only got a one-in-seven or one-in-eight chance to get the green if you drive into the rough.”

The field also includes England’s Lee Westwood and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who will be among the favorites for Sunday’s $416,600 prize.

Phil Mickelson won’t be using the Ping Eye2 wedge that led a fellow player to accuse him of “cheating,” even though he hopes others will use the controversial club to keep attention on what he calls a ridiculous rule.

PING EYE 2 WEDGE. Picture © Getty Images

“I won’t be playing that wedge. My point has been made,” Mickelson said on Wednesday on the eve of his two-time title defense at Riviera. “But if these governing bodies cannot get together to fix this loophole, if players stop using this wedge—which would stop the pressure of the issue—then I will relook at it and put the wedge back in play.”

The Ping wedge has grooves that no longer conform under a new U.S. Golf Association regulation, adopted by the U.S. PGA Tour. However, any Ping wedge made before April 1, 1990, is approved for play under a legal settlement from two decades ago.

Mickelson is among five players who have used the Ping wedge in competition this year.

Several players believe using the club goes against the spirit of the new grooves regulation, although Scott McCarron fueled the debate when he said of Mickelson and others, “It’s cheating.”

Mickelson hinted at legal action after saying he was “publicly slandered.” He said McCarron offered him a sincere apology late Tuesday, which he accepted.

“We all make mistakes, and we all say things we wish we could take back,” Mickelson said. “I’ve done it a bunch in my career. And the fact that it’s also not easy to come up and face that person, look them in the eye and apologize … I appreciate him being a big enough man to do that.”

Instead, Mickelson vented his anger at the USGA and its lack of transparency in developing the new rules for grooves. He has complained that he’s submitted wedges that fit the guidelines, only for the USGA to reject the club for violating the intent of the new rule.

“I’m very upset with the way the rule came about, the way one man essentially can approve or not approve a golf club based on his own personal decision, regardless of what the rule says,” Mickelson said. “This has got to change.”

The next step remains murky.

Tour commissioner Tim Finchem met with players on Tuesday and conceded that tour officials did not realize a Ping wedge from 20 years ago would become such a big issue.

Finchem said the Ping Eye2 wedge produces spin at about 60 percent of the rate from last year’s wedges, but about 10 percent more than wedges approved for competition this year.

“The assumption was made last year that very few, if any, players would use that club because they’re 20 years old,” Finchem said. “I think we underestimated that a little bit.”

He said the tour could either do nothing and monitor how many players used wedges, an option that seemed unlikely because Finchem said it still raised issues over fairness in competition. Some players are going to eBay to find the clubs, as Ping stopped making them and now only can confirm through serial numbers when the wedges were made.

The other option is to work out an agreement with Ping chairman and CEO John Solheim. He said Solheim was to meet with the USGA over the next few weeks, and “I can only hope progress is made in that regard.”

Ping plays the biggest role in any solution because of its lawsuits against the USGA and U.S. PGA Tour over square grooves.

Finchem said the third option involved a complicated process in which the tour’s independent committee on equipment tries to establish a local rule. He called that a “cumbersome process.”

Any solution could be weeks, if not months, away.

In the meantime, Mickelson said he would not use the wedge at the Northern Trust Open, even though he’s hopeful others will.

“If there’s no pressure among these organizations to make changes, I will immediately put the club back in play,” Mickelson said.

U.S. captain Corey Pavin appointed Tom Lehman, Davis Love III, Jeff Sluman and Paul Goydos on Wednesday as his assistants for this year’s Ryder Cup against Europe.

COREY PAVIN. Picture © Getty Images

Lehman, the 2006 skipper at the K Club and British Open champion in 1996, played on three Ryder Cup teams with an overall win-loss-half record of 5-3-2.

Love, winner of the 1997 PGA Championship, has appeared in the biennial match on six occasions, compiling a 9-12-5 record.

Sluman, the 1988 PGA champion, and PGA Tour journeyman Goydos have never competed in a Ryder Cup but they are both veterans on the U.S. circuit who are highly respected by their peers.

“I have hand-picked my four assistants because of their intelligence, experience and their ability to express their own opinions to me without hesitation,” Pavin told a news conference at Riviera Country Club.

“Each of my assistants have unique perspectives to bring to the table which I believe will bring a great balance of leadership to Team USA.

“Tom and Davis have been long-time friends of mine,” added Pavin, who was an assistant to Lehman at the 2006 Ryder Cup.

“Tom and I joined for his first Ryder Cup match and Davis and I were on the U.S. team in 1993 that brought home the Cup from The Belfry—the last time the USA won on foreign soil.

“Jeff is a major champion, a seasoned veteran who has been a success on both the regular and the Champions Tour. Paul is well-liked, a fine player and a good judge of talent and well respected over the 18 years he has been on Tour.

“I will lean on them for advice, and I am delighted that they have accepted to be a part of our team this year.”

The 2010 Ryder Cup will take place at Celtic Manor resort in Wales from Oct. 1-3 when the U.S. will defend the trophy they won by 16-1/2 points to 11-1/2 at Valhalla Golf Club in 2008.

World number two Phil Mickelson will aim to become the first player to win the Northern Trust Open three years in a row when he tees off in Thursday’s opening round at Riviera Country Club.

PHIL MICKELSON. Picture © Getty Images

The American left-hander has always enjoyed playing on the classic par-71 layout but he will need to bury memories of his faltering finish at last week’s San Diego Open where he made his first competitive appearance of the year.

Mickelson had been in a good position to challenge for the title at Torrey Pines after starting Sunday’s final round just four strokes off the pace but his bid stalled with three bogeys in the first three holes.

“I had a good warm-up session and I felt like it was going to be a good day,” Mickelson told reporters after closing with a one-over-par 73. “I got off to a terrible start and then throughout the round didn’t get much out of it.

“But the good thing is that I’ve got a direction of what I’m working on. I hit some good shots coming down the stretch … and my game is feeling not as rusty as it looks. I’ve had some success at LA so I’m excited (about this week).

“The golf course is one of the best we have on Tour,” Mickelson said of Riviera. “It is such a visually stimulating course and a very challenging shot-making course.”

The three-times major winner faces a typically strong field in the fifth event of the 2010 PGA Tour where four of the world’s top 10 are set to compete.

Apart from Mickelson, third-ranked Steve Stricker, fellow American Jim Furyk (fifth) and Irishman Padraig Harrington (eighth) are taking part.

Stricker finished second to Mickelson by one shot at Riviera last year and, like his compatriot, he has always enjoyed the Los Angeles event.

“It’s always nice to come back here,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s a place where I had some success last year and I’m looking forward to getting it going again this year.

“I haven’t played the last couple of weeks and being home in Madison (Wisconsin), you don’t get a lot done there this time of year.

“Hopefully I can continue my play like I did the first couple of weeks of the season,” he added, referring to his top-10 finishes in his first two PGA Tour starts.

Other leading players in this week’s field include world number 15 Robert Allenby of Australia, British Open champion Stewart Cink of the United States and three-time major winner Ernie Els of South Africa.

Also competing are Canadian left-hander Mike Weir, champion here in 2003 and 2004, South Africa’s Rory Sabbatini, a winner in 2006, and Japanese teenage sensation Ryo Ishikawa.

Scott McCarron has apologized to Phil Mickelson for using the word “cheating” when he disagreed with Mickelson and others who use the Ping Eye2 wedges that are only allowed because of a legal loophole.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem met with players at the Northern Trust Open late Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles and, according to one player, said the tour was working with Ping to figure out a solution.

SCOTT MCCARRON. Picture © Getty Images

The player spoke on condition of anonymity because Finchem asked that he be the first to speak publicly to the media Wednesday morning.

The tour likely would not be able to invoke a local rule banning the wedge at Riviera this week.

McCarron caused a furor last week at Torrey Pines when he told The San Francisco Chronicle about Mickelson using Ping wedges with square grooves, “It’s cheating, and I’m appalled Phil has put it in play.”

Mickelson said he had been “publicly slandered” and hinted at legal action.

McCarron told The Golf Channel as other reporters looked on Tuesday evening: “I’m certainly sorry for it. I’d like to apologize to Phil Mickelson for what I said. We both realize we’re on the same page on this issue.”

Whether that was enough to satisfy Mickelson remained to be seen.

McCarron also apologized in the meeting, according to the player.

The United States Golf Association changed its rules to outlaw square grooves with a certain depth and volume, now requiring grooves that are more shallow with rounded edges, which some refer to as V-shaped grooves. The idea is to reduce spin and make hitting into the fairway more important.

However, the Ping Eye2 wedges made before April 1, 1990, are approved for play, even though the grooves don’t conform. That’s because Ping’s legal settlement with the USGA (in 1990) and PGA Tour (in 1993) take precedence over any rule changes.

The player at the meeting said Finchem apologized to players for the PGA Tour not realizing some competitors—Mickelson, John Daly and Hunter Mahan, among others—would use clubs that were at least 20 years old.

Among the considerations were to find a solution with Ping and John Solheim, the chairman and CEO of the equipment company; or to look into the possibility of creating its own set of rules, the player said.

Solheim had said in a statement Monday that the tour could not establish a local rule that was different from the USGA. Solheim also said he was willing to discuss a “workable solution.”

Earlier Tuesday, three-time major champion Padraig Harrington of Ireland said he was contemplating using the Ping wedges at Riviera.

“I’m kind of waiting to see what the tour’s direction is,” Harrington said. “What I’m doing is I’m preparing myself for all eventualities. It would be naive not to. I did some good testing yesterday. Unfortunately, the testing showed up exactly what you would expect, and there’s a significant difference. I think that significant difference depends on the players.”

Steve Stricker said he was surprised how divisive the Ping wedges have become.

“The rule isn’t very good,” he said. “We have conforming grooves, but yet we can play a set of grooves that were legal back in 1990. I think the rule just needs to be altered. Hopefully, we get it straightened out and we all get on an even playing surface.”