I always thought of Canadians as mountain men with good palates. Folks who could survive in the woods but still appreciate a great bottle of wine. Then I wrote about Canada being a good summer golf destination and realized just how wimpy and whiny many Canadians are. Somehow I’d missed these crybabies in golf adventures to Whistler, the Kootenays and the Okanagans. But apparently they’re out there. (Maybe they congregate near Toronto like America’s East Coast loons). For when I wrote that “almost all of Canada is summer proof,” they sprang out of their air-conditioned mini hybrids like I’d insulted maple syrup or ... full post »

Sure Michelle Wie will have to wait much longer than even Natalie Gulbis did (in terms of tournaments played) to ever even dream of a win. Sure Wie only broke par in one of the four rounds at the Evian Masters. Sure Wie has dropped so far in terms of relevance that the French press didn’t even bother to ask her any fashion questions. Still Wie made an important step in Evian-Les-Bains. The often petulant overhyped teen showed traces of humility. Maybe it’s the French translation, but Wie seemed downright humble at times. She called her second round 71 - her first round ... full post »

Banish any thoughts of the Carnoustie carnage of 1999. Sergio Garcia might be crying on someone’s shoulder again, but that’s because he is Sergio Garcia not because Carnoustie is going to be unfair. Thankfully, we can put those setups that produced dreadfully dull golf at the Masters and the U.S. Open at Oakmont behind us as well. There will be birdies at the British Open, legitimate charges up the leaderboard, a reminder that golf can actually be exciting. You can hear it in the way officials are talking about the course, in the players’ almost disbelieving shock at how thin the rough ... full post »

There have been enough unremarkable champions we know nothing about in golf’s majors this year. We’ve had Zach Johnson, who’s only at all interesting because he thanked God after his Masters win, and Angel Cabrera, who’s lone compelling point is his habit of puffing his way down the fairways. The British Open needs a champion that somebody outside of Iowa, Argentina or some other boring spot dependent on corn or cigarettes cares about. Tiger Woods need not threepeat. That would be annoying in itself with the reaction it’s sure to trigger from columnists declaring that Tiger can still win as a dad ... full post »

You know who’s really hurt by the fact the American dollar is about as strong as Uncle Junior was at the end of the Sopranos? The Canadians, our lovable, innocent, often helpless neighbors to the North. Now that traveling to Canada isn’t cheaper than traveling back in time, less and less of us are going over there. I talked to a Ontario tourism worker this weekend who was bemoaning the fact that the Canadian and U.S. dollars are about equal now (around 95 U.S. cents equals one Canadian dollar, a staggering difference from when it was 70 cents to the Canadian ... full post »

It would be great for golf if Phil Mickelson could find a way to contend in the British Open. Of course, just days before The Open kicks off, Punxsutawney Phil showed everyone why he’s still most afraid of his own golf shadow. With a chance to win the British tuneup Scottish Open, Mickelson went wild with his drive on 18 and then again on the first hole of the playoff to lose to unremarkable French journeyman Gregory Havret this afternoon. In fact, it took Mickelson four shots just to get his ball onto the 18th green. Butch Harmon’s sure fixed that problem, ... full post »

Nick Faldo turns 50 on Wednesday, on the eve of a British Open that he’ll both play in and analyze on the TV broadcast. How many 50-year-olds do you know who are still the coolest guy in the room? Faldo is even as he reaches the age that will let him play on the pathetic Champions Tour. When I encountered Faldo at the LPGA Championship, he was wearing black jeans and a black polo (like he was still in the late 1980s) and everyone still flocked to him. Especially lady fans. Not that he paid them much mind. How many guys do you ... full post »

If you grew up in the Midwest or spent much of your time on the East Coast, driving through fire is not part of your daily experience. Unless you’re Evil Knievel or Nicolas Cage in a bad big budget motorcycle movie. Out West, especially in the deserts, it’s not considered such a big thing. Now the current massive wildfires threatening homes from Fresno to Utah are not anything to be taken lightly by anyone. But what those who aren’t out West don’t realize is how often little fires erupt in the dry desert brush along the sides of roads and locals hardly ... full post »

A shooter opened fire inside New York-New York casino in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip over the busy holiday weekend. The guy stood on top of the two long elevators that go down to the casino floor and fired 16 bullets before he was tackled. Anyone who’s ever been to New York-New York knows how open the casino floor is to that balcony perch and how many people would have been sitting ducks on a busy Friday night. It’s fortunate and amazing that no one was killed. What isn’t amazing is the fact that some people reportedly kept playing their ... full post »

Anyone questioning Tiger Woods decision to play the U.S. Open with his wife Elin in the hospital with child bearing complications all four days of the tournament does not get it. Of course, Tiger played. That’s why he’s Tiger Woods and one of the countless reasons you’re not. You would have been at your wife’s side the entire time, anxiously consulting with the doctors? Good for you. Someone with that attitude never would have been staring down Jack Nicklaus’ majors record in the first place. People love to celebrate greatness. As long as they don’t have to admit what greatness takes. Here’s ... full post »

The USGA just held a national championship where five players finished under par - that’s right under the mark the blue blazers live to uphold the “sanctity” of. Cristie Kerr finished five under herself at the U.S. Women’s Open. Five under. If that happened in the men’s Open, USGA president Walter Driver would have the greenskeeper, his competition chairman and two interns shot on the spot. Angel Caberera won at 5 over at Oakmont’s ridiculous setup. So why does the USGA take it so much easier on the women? Why are the courses suddenly reasonable when Annika Sorenstam and friends show up? Does the ... full post »

Lorena Ochoa messed up the 17th hole at Pine Needles just as badly as Phil Mickelson blew the 18th at Winged Foot. There’s no denying it any longer, not after another blown chance in a U.S. Women’s Open. The No. 1 ranked player in women’s golf is as fragile mentally as Mickelson ever was. It’s fair to wonder if Ochoa will ever even approach Mickelson’s success rate in majors. And she doesn’t have anything close to Tiger Woods blocking her path like Mickelson’s had in his way. Don’t look now, but Ochoa is rapidly speeding toward Sergio Garcia territory. She’s 0-for-23 in ... full post »