When Tiger, Phil and Vijay left the World Match Play Championship, so did millions of viewers. Here’s hoping some of them switched over to the Chrysler Classic of Tucson. The tournament easily has the ugliest trophy in all of sports, but don’t hold that against champion Geoff Ogilvy. Great drama in the final round (certainly more than we had in La Costa), and wonderfully true emotion from 21-year-old runner-up Kevin Na, who seems primed for greatness. Other random thoughts on a late sunday: You wouldn’t think the world needs another golf manufacturer. But after reading a piece in today’s SF ... full post »

Good article in today’s LA Times about Nissan’s frustration with last weekend’s shortened PGA Tour event. Apparently Nissan wasn’t real happy about having to pay the full $4.8 million in prize money for a 36-hole tournament. Can’t say I blame them. That said, I don’t have much sympathy for them, either. Someone in Nissan’s legal team probably should’ve read the fine print, which said the full prize money had to be paid out even if just 18 holes were played. Doesn’t make sense, really, but that’s the contract. If nothing else, maybe last weekend causes a few sponsors to take ... full post »

There have been a lot of bad reality shows, but the new season of “Dream Job” on espn might be the worst. Auditioning five former NBA players - all names have been omitted here to protect the innocent - for an analyst job sounds like a good idea. Instead, it’s like watching a train wreck. The ex-players seem likeable enough, but they’d probably struggle to get a sports gig at the lowest-ranked TV market in the country. They’re that bad. The first two “Dream Job” shows were at least watchable. This one is just painful. full post »

In 1999, David Duval was the world’s top-ranked player. By 2003, he’d dropped to 211th on the money list, making only four cuts in 20 starts. Last year, he entered only nine tournaments, including the U.S. Open, where he missed the cut after shooting 83-82. Still hoping this was just some kind of awful aberration, I wasn’t encouraged by Duval’s 85-79-74 at Pebble this weekend. Exactly how did this happen? Once the picture of consistency, Duval seems hopelessly lost on Tour now. Whether you like him or not, it’s baffling. But give Duval credit. In his typical reserved manner, ... full post »

If we’ve learned anything from the PGA Tour’s West Coast Swing, it’s that wins are going to be hard to come by for the little guy. I fully expect this year’s list of winners to be dominated by Singh, Woods, Mickelson and Els, with the occasional appearance by Harrington, Appleby, Leonard, Kaye, or Garcia. That said, we’d be remiss if we didn’t check in periodically on several young players on the verge. Just in time for Pebble, keep an eye on two former California college stars who could make some noise. In his third year on tour, Arron Oberholser has shown ... full post »