By now you’ve probably read how Darren Clarke’s wife Heather died this weekend after battling cancer. I knew about her being ill, sure. Most golf fans did. But I hadn’t read any of the stories about her death until just now. Scanning around on various golf blogs I stopped at Even Par Round’s blog where I saw this AP story. It was sadly predictable - all too depressing. One thing, made me smile, however: The account of how, Paul McGinley, a buddy of Clarke’s, is helping Darren cope. Along with Clarke, McGinley is sitting out the PGA Championship this week. ... full post »

My man Kyle from PinnacleSports.com just zapped over the latest odds for the 2006 PGA Championship at Medinah. At 16/1, I’d lay $100 on Vijay. Tiger Woods 9/4 Phil Mickelson 10/1 Ernie Els 14/1 Jim Furyk 16/1 Vijay Singh 16/1 Retief Goosen 25/1 Sergio Garcia 28/1 Adam Scott 30/1 Luke Donald 35/1 Padraig Harrington 45/1 Chris DiMarco 50/1 Geoff Ogilvy 50/1 Mike Weir 60/1 David Toms 60/1 Stuart Cink 60/1 Stuart Appleby 65/1 full post »

If your name is Greg Johnston and you have recently been fired by Michelle Wie (well, fired by her people anyway), we need to talk. I don’t care what Jim Brighters says about you, I’ll hire you RIGHT NOW to write a golf blog for TravelGolf.com! We’ll have to negotiate something pay wise, but I can guarantee you an upfront signing bonus of $100. Think about it, Greg, you’re out of work anyway and this is an easy gig. $100 buys a lot of Scotch and writing a golf blog is a great way to meet chicks. Plus you’ll get your chance to ... full post »

The following is a statement e-mailed to me by Michelle Wie’s spokesman, Jesse Derris of Ken Sunshine Consultants in New York. My colleague Tim McDonald cites a part of this statement in this blog but I thought it was only fair to run the entire thing. It is in regards to the departure of her caddie, Greg Johnston. Derris said: “Greg Johnston’s hard work and dedication made him a great partner for Michelle, as he would be for any other golfer. His departure comes as part of Michelle’s maturation as a golfer, part of which is learning from many different bright golf ... full post »

Oi! In this article in The Guardian, Lawrence Donegan tosses out a few nasty gems including these two: “Failure comes in many shapes and forms but seldom has it looked less like failure than it does on the CV of Michelle Wie … .” And: “… Wie’s critics - who are not hard to find in the world of women’s golf - will point out that, for all her undeniable talent, winning tournaments has never been her forte.” Donegan goes on to quote young Michelle as saying, “Well, you know, obviously it is very frustrating right after you finish playing. It’s like, oh ... full post »