Nick Faldo clearly doesn’t want anyone on the European Ryder Cup team who reminds anyone that Faldo’s getting old himself. Faldo is a very hip 50 after all. So, thanks but no thanks Darren Clarke, the Rod Stewart look will not be needed. Still, Faldo made a big blunder in searching for young players that almost everyone hates, guys in his own playing days’ image. Sure, Faldo found two in Ian Poulter and Paul “I properly hate” Casey, but he also picked up the European version of a whiny, wimpy American. In fact, Poulter does this song and whine even better ... full post »

Just when you didn’t think the LPGA could make any news (except for killing off long-time tournaments), the worst-run organization in professional sports is at it again, making speaking English a requirement for holding a Tour card starting next season. The LPGA apparently feels too many South Koreans are winning - clearly targeting them with a rule that makes absolutely no sense for a Tour that has long claimed it’s building its brand globally (or at least used that as the excuse for all its problems stateside) under Carolyn Bivens. Is this the Ladies Professional Golf Association or Paranoid Americans Are Us? The ... full post »

PARAMUS, N.J. - When Sergio Garcia slammed his putter down in the sand trap at the 18th green like Kobe Bryant pulling out his jersey and pointing it at the crowd, you didn’t know it was going to end badly for him. After all, how can you expect Vijay Singh - whose putting has dogged him throughout his career - to drop in a 26-foot birdie putt on the top of Garcia’s 27-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole at The Barclays? But even before Singh struck back, you knew Garcia had gone over the top. Pointing up to European Ryder ... full post »

PARAMUS, N.J. - Sergio Garcia finds himself holding the lead in another golf tournament coming down the back nine. If Garcia pulls out the win in the first event of the second FedEx Cup many will say and write that this has to make Garcia feel better about the PGA Championship. If you really think about it though, it might make the PGA sting even worse. For it’s obvious this week at The Barclays that no one’s playing more consistent good golf this late season than Sergio. Padraig Harrington’s back-to-back majors hangover had him missing the cut completely. Phil Mickelson is still ... full post »

PARAMUS, N.J. - The FedEx Cup is a golf success because it produces star-studded fields in late season events that would never otherwise have them. It’s even more of a home run in terms of in your face marketing though. In 10 years, they’ll be teaching a sports marketing class on PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem’s deviously clever baby. This is the one corporate-tagged modern sporting event in an age where every major event has a corporate tag that you cannot help but use the sponsor’s name with. Think about it. Sure every college football bowl game has a brand of chips ... full post »

PARAMUS, N.J. - Phil Mickelson started this day so far back at The Barclays that he even declared himself out of it. And Mickelson admits defeat about as willingly as Danica Patrick. But playing in the much-easier-scoring morning conditions that he couldn’t take advantage of on Thursday, Mickelson eagled the par 5 third hole at Ridgewood Country Club and suddenly finds himself only four shots back of shaky leader Kevin Streelman, who has yet to tee off. Mickelson is through nine at 4-under for the tournament (3-under for the day). When it’s over, he’s probably going to still end up kicking ... full post »

Canadians are cute. You can’t deny that. Especially now that they’re all convinced that they’re suddenly this economic superpower because their Loonies are actually worth more than 3.5 pennies. Of course as the Canucks strut about, their collective military power is still equivalent to your fourth grader’s water gun collection and they’re getting lapped in Olympic medals by countries like the Ukraine and Belarus. Heck, Ethiopia has more gold medals than our neighbors to the North. I believe Canada’s official medal count for the 2008 Beijing Games is minus 10. Which is where Mike Weir can come in and save the day. ... full post »

COLTS NECK, N.J. - Do you think Tim Finchem and his PGA Tour brain trust came up with the FedEx Cup because they wanted to promote Steve Stricker? Stricker’s a good story. I know because I wrote it last year when Stricker won the first event of the first FedEx Cup. It’s hard not to like a guy who realized he had to fire his wife as his caddie to save his marriage. Stricker’s an even better guy to golf writers, always going out of his way to answer whatever questions anyone has no matter how he played. So you won’t ... full post »

PARAMUS, N.J. - If you’ve spent any time in the greater New York metro market, you know that Northern New Jersey is largely New York Giants country. In these parts, you’ll get 10 lifelong Giants fans for every one New York Jets rebel. Yet Ben Curtis - who for once had a choice in what he’d wear in a golf tournament with this being a two-team NFL market - showed up in all Jets green for the first round of the Barclays, the first tournament in the second FedEx Cup. Maybe Curtis got a little carried away with the Brett Favre ... full post »

PARAMUS, N.J. - Hunter Mahan - whose rip of the Ryder Cup was only wrong because he compared the week to being a “slave” - may have just shot himself onto the team. Mahan just posted one of those crazy numbers he seems to put up more frequently than most top players, dropping a 9-under 62 on the field in the first round of the first FedEx Cup event. When Mahan’s on, there might not be a better ball striker on the PGA Tour. Of course, he’s not on often enough to ever win anything big. At least not yet. Except … ... full post »

PARAMUS, N.J. - Want a glimpse at how completely glossed over the FedEx Cup is in its second incarnation? One prominent national website (not this one) wrote a preview column on Tim Finchem’s baby that included not one, but two references to the Cup kicking off in Westchester. Only one problem … The Barclays - the first FedEx Cup tournament - moved from New York to Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey this year. Still, even after someone surely pointed this out at that national website, only one of the two Westchester references got corrected. This doesn’t just prove that WorldGolf.com is ... full post »

Sure, Michael Phelps won the most gold medals, set all the records and turned an already bitter Mark Spitz into a near Bobby Fisher-like figure. But Usain Bolt is the most exciting athlete at the Olympics. Watching the Jamaican Bolt completely blow away the field in the 100 meters, so much so that he could slow down to celebrate in a race that takes little more than nine seconds, blew away anything Phelps did in the water in terms of pure thrills. You’d have to be one of those rubes that NBC depends on (and programs for) who thinks the only ... full post »

Michael Phelps’ mom received so much TV time during the Olympics that Regis Philbin and Ryan Seacrest are insanely jealous. Could NBC have possibly shown more cut-ins of Phelps’ mom? They’ll probably break into local programming to show Phelps’ mom return home from Beijing. Picking up her held mail probably deserves a special report. Those Red Sox fans who did their best Robert De Niros for the FOX cameras during that curse-breaking World Series (Stephen King still deserves an Emmy for his performance) think things got a little ridiculous in China. It all brings back to mind modern golf’s great photo-op pursuer, ... full post »

Tiger Woods needs to come out with another one of those snazzy newsletters at his website. You know the ones in which he tells us earth-shattering things - like that he’s enjoying watching the Olympics on TV. Only in his next newsletter, Tiger should concede the Player of the Year award to Padraig Harrington. It’s time for the greatest golfer in history to let everyone know that he does not deserve Player of the Year, that Harrington is the golfer who clearly had the better 2008. Tiger’s entire career, his entire life focus, has been based on the belief that golf is ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - As well as Padraig Harrington played in the final two rounds of the PGA Championship (66-66, including 3-under on his final back nine), it’s hard to argue that Sergio Garcia blew this major more than Harrington won it. Unless, perhaps, you listen to Padraig Harrington. “On 16, I was surprised,” Harrington said moments ago, the Wanamaker Tropy resting in front of him. “(Sergio) was in control there.” Then, Sergio sent his approach into the water. “When I was on the 17 tee, I felt like I was going to win the PGA Championship,” Harrington said. “On the 16th tee, ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - This PGA Championship is no Super Bowl. But it’s seen its share of Super Bowl week wacky questions from the media, many who mostly seem to be annoyed they are not at the Olympics. There was the TV reporter earnestly asking Ben Curtis if he drew inspiration from the Detroit Lions. As if the guy didn’t realize that Curtis gets to paid to look like a fool. Then, moments ago, Sergio Garcia - who has a great chance to win his first major, standing just three shots back of Curtis and playing in one of the final ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - This is the PGA Championship that no one seems capable of seizing, the kind of major Phil Mickelson should be salivating over. Mickelson held a prime opportunity this morning too, playing an Oakland Hills course whose greens are finally softened by all that rain - getting to play most of his third round in the morning when the conditions are always easier here rather than the tough afternoon he would have had to endure without the washout Saturday. So what does Phil do? He shoots a 1-over 71 with the course ripe for scores much lower than that ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - Usually if you hold the lead after three rounds in a major, you get tons of stories written about you, TV face time and some “hip” SportsCenter love (even during a Michael Phelps Olympics). Ben Curtis is guaranteed none of those things even though he holds a one-shot advantage at the PGA Championship over J.B. Holmes and Henrik Stenson going into this afternoon’s final round. That’s because Curtis played his entire third round this morning at this rain-racked event, rendering it essentially meaningless as a news story by the time the newspapers print and the sports shows ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - Andres Romero took advantage of the always easier morning conditions at the PGA Championship big time, shooting a 5-under 65 that ties the all-time pro scoring record at Oakland Hills Country Club. It also apparently pissed off some people upstairs. For as soon as the 27-year-old Argentinian arrived at the media center to talk about putting up seven birdies on Oakland Hills, the Michigan sky opened up with one of the most powerful rain storms you’ll ever see. Within minutes, rain drops were falling through the enclosed, heavy duty, super-high tent roof media center - right onto ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - I wrote a column that’s up on the front of WorldGolf.com about how few fans have actually shown up to watch the PGA Championship. It’s stunning to walk around Oakland Hills and see all the open space right up against many of the ropes. There may be even less fans here than there were at the U.S. Women’s Open in Minneapolis (and if it’s not less, it’s close) and that was a largely disappointing turnout for a women’s golf tournament. This is a men’s major in a Ryder Cup year. Now, there are some numbers to back ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - One of the sadder sights at this PGA Championship is CBS announcer David Feherty leaning against a cane, in obvious pain, waiting to interview players coming off the course. Feherty got leveled by a car while biking through a nearby Michigan suburb on Tuesday - the second time he’s been run over while pursuing his cycling passion in the last several months. This time, the hit from a car that didn’t stop knocked Feherty unconscious. He estimates he spent 40 minutes lying in the bushes at the side of the road before he awoke and staggered back ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - As afternoon sped toward evening in the second round of the PGA Championship, Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson stood tied at even par, only one shot back of can’t-hold-up leader J.B. Holmes. They were well into their back nines and a major that’s been largely duller than an Al Gore speech stood on the cusp of getting the marquee Sergio-Phil duel that could save it. With Garcia and Mickelson, everyone should have know it couldn’t last. Mickelson goes bogey-bogey on 14 and 15 thanks in large part to some of the most horrendous chip shots this short-game master ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - The Detroit Lions are the most poorly-run franchise in the history of sports (and as someone who grew up in Michigan, I can say that.) This is a team where you find yourself pining for the old “glory days” of the Wayne Fontes era. Yet, there is Ben Curtis - a guy who grew up in Columbus, Ohio - all decked out in Lions garb as he shoots a 3-under 67, the lowest round of the PGA Championship so far, today. Again, these are the Lions. Not the Dallas Cowboys with their horde of pathetic bandwagon backers ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - Kenny Perry’s stunning late night withdrawal from the PGA Championship finally has an explanation. And it’s not a pretty one. Not for Perry. Not for any pro athlete who is considering Lasik surgery - which has been all the rage in pro sports for a while. Minutes ago, Perry just admitted that the eye injury that made him decide to withdraw after having shot a 9-over 79 in the first round comes from an infection he got after going through Lasik surgery. Perry’s doctor is telling the 47-year-old Perry that the infection was likely caused by the ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - With Oakland Hills Country club shrouded in darkness and even most of the players who had to wait through a 90-minute rain delay on the way to their courtesy cars, Kenny Perry made a decision that rocked the PGA Championship. Perry - the focus of so much pre-tournament attention with this being the first major he’s played this year after skipping the U.S. and British Opens - withdrew from the PGA minutes ago. Perry played his whole first round, shot a 9-over 79 and signed his scorecard despite showing up at the course with a scratched ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - Maybe Sergio Garcia realized he was an idiot for only playing one late practice round at a much-changed Torrey Pines before the U.S. Open. Maybe it finally dawned on Garcia that if Tiger Woods still spent five days out on Torrey Pines, examining all the USGA’s tweaks again and again, even though his knee wasn’t right, that Garcia’s own major prep is sorely lacking. Then again, maybe Garcia’s just inspired by being back at Oakland Hills, the course where he won 4 and 1/2 out of a possible five points for the European team in the 2004 ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - When Hunter Mahan went off on the Ryder Cup basically calling it a giant pain only geared to fill the PGA of America’s coffers, a bunch of U.S. golfers didn’t exactly rush forward to condemn him. No word on whether Phil Mickelson gave him a secret pat on the back or anything. Mahan even had some valid points. But once a millionaire pro athlete compares Ryder Cup service to slavery, he sort of loses anything legit. Mahan’s blast was worse than Latrell Sprewell’s “I have to feed my family” line from several years ago when he rejected ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (Aug. 6, 2008) - Every time I return to the metro Detroit area where I grew up, the trip includes a jarring dose of reality. And it’s no different this time for the PGA Championship. You get here and you realize Michigan - and specifically the greater Detroit area, which remember is supposed to be Motor City - has the absolute worst roads in the entire United States. Road construction never ends in Michigan. The system here (whatever it is) makes those show, no-work jobs in The Sopranos look quaint by comparison. Now, the geniuses that be have ... full post »

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. - This year, the pairings in majors are finally getting the thought put into them that they deserve. That Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson pairing at the U.S. Open helped bring out more tournament prehype than golf’s ever seen. The PGA of America didn’t have that option obviously with Tiger resting his knee while flipping through yacht catalogs. But they’ve done the next best thing in this week’s PGA Championship - otherwise known as the major without any buildup. No, the PGA of America’s leadership didn’t do something lame like trying to cobble together a limp Tiger-less top grouping of ... full post »

Those black bears that lollygagged around the course during parts of the U.S. Senior Open - otherwise known as the golf tournament of Depends diapers and bad driving - deserve to be treated to steak dinners by the irrelevant geezer golfers in the field. If it wasn’t for those black bears - particularly the bold one from Friday who shared both the attention whore syndrome and likely the intelligence of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo - the Senior Open never would have gotten any SportsCenter time. Those bears completely saved the tournament from itself. They made everyone forget they were watching ... full post »