Remember when Michelle Wie quit at the Ginn Tribute last year when she was in danger of shooting an 88? That would have made her ineligible for LPGA events the rest of the year. What made it worse was the injury she cited was vague and questionable – she was seen practicing not long afterward for the LPGA Championship – and the tournament was hosted by Annika Sorenstam, one of the most gracious golfers ever. Wie’s abrupt departure and subsequent practice time riled up even the polite Sorenstam, who said it showed a lack of respect. This time, at the Women’s U.S. Open, ... full post »

I’ve read in several different places how golf can overcome Tiger Woods’ absence. One guy said John Daly could do it. Don’t forget Michelle Wie is back. How about Cheyenne Woods, Tiger’s niece? Some say the LPGA could step it up. No way. Not with American golfers letting foreign interlopers take over the game RIGHT HERE on American soil. Look at the makeup of the LPGA now. It might as well be based in Seoul. No fewer than 45 South Koreans are on the active LPGA roster. Overall, there are 120 players from outside the U.S. Look at the majors. Foreigners have won 24 ... full post »

Namely, Michelle Wie thinks much too highly of herself. Of course, every player should go into a tournament believing she should win, but with her history, she should consider keeping her thoughts to herself. Wie fired an 81 in the first round of the Women’s U.S. Open yesterday, including a 9 on No. 9. At least she earned her way into the tournament. If you’ll remember, she accepted sponsors exemptions even after a disastrous 2007 season. “I feel like I’m re-emerging as a new player, a new person,” she told the media the day before the Open started. “I realize I just ... full post »

In my younger years, I was voted the Ultimate Party Hound of Mardi Gras five years running, but it’s been years since I’ve visited the New Orleans. Yes, there are lingering signs of Hurricane Katrina, but it’s good to see Bourbon Street and the French Quarter are back up and running at full speed. You can still see men dressed as women and you can see ALL of real women in certain establishments, if you know what I mean. It’s also good to see corruption and political shenanigans in Louisiana are just as they were before Katrina. Hell, you could throw a Po ... full post »

Who would think the World Golf Foundation could be drawn into political nastiness? It’s a staid golf organization. But, a top Department of Justice official, J. Robert Flores, is under a Congressional investigation for awarding $500,000 in a federal grant to fight juvenile crime, even though Flores’ staff recommended against it, according to ABC News. Why? Investigators noticed Flores played a free round of golf at the Slammer and Squire golf course in St. Augustine in February, 2006. Wait just a minute, Flores said. He DID pay for it. Yesterday, 24 hours before his scheduled testimony to Congress. If I’m ever subjected to Congressional ... full post »

NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans golf was a lot slower than the Mississippi Gulf Coast to bounce back, but that’s characteristic. They take things slow here in the Big Easy. A number of courses closed, but there are still some excellent courses, led by the TPC and the Carter Plantation. The thing I like about the TPC, aside from being a classy layout, is its walkability. The course has actually improved since Hurricane Katrina hit. During the down time that followed TPC officials worked out some of the problems people had complained about, one of which was those nasty, little pot ... full post »

The Reynolds Plantation is hosting the 41st PGA Professional National Championship this weekend, June 19-22. Defending champ Chip Sullivan of Troutville, VA will defend his title, joined by 10 past champions in the 132-man field, representing 32 states. Sullivan, the director of golf at the Ashley Plantation in Daleville, VA., is the first reigning champion to play in the Japan PGA Championship, where he finished tied for 18th in May. He was the only American in the field. Last September he helped the U.S. beat Great Britain and Ireland in the PGA Cup on the Oconee course at Reynolds. Reynolds is one of the ... full post »

I make no bones about it, I’m pulling for Rocco Mediate to win the 2008 U.S. Open. This is the last chance he’ll ever get. Tiger Woods will have many more. If you had asked me of all the players I wanted to win the Open, I would have picked Mediate. He’s one of the genuinely nice guys on the tour, maybe the nicest. He’s about as regular a guy as you can get in that pampered universe. Now they go head to head Monday in a playoff for the Open championship, after Woods sinks that tense putt on No. 18 to ... full post »

We all know Phil Mickelson is a little different – look, he’s touched in the head – but his display at No. 13 in U.S. Open Saturday action was bizarre in the extreme. Three times he hits it up the hill at No. 13 from about 100 yards. Three times it comes back. It looked like the ball was tied to his club with a string. Maybe it was Mickelson’s new boomerang shot. A QUADRUPLE-bogey. I like Mickelson, but I have to admit I let loose several guffaws. You couldn’t help but laugh. It was like an Adam Sandler movie. I’ve done stuff like ... full post »

The gaping gulf between the world’s No. 1 and No. 2, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, was never on better display than Friday at the U.S. Open. The difference: it’s all up there in the medulla oblongata. The head. Mickelson comes out driver-less on the longest U.S. Open course in history. That’s fine, but the three-wood he carries is essentially a mini-driver, with an 11.5 degree loft. It was as if Mickelson couldn’t totally commit to a strategy many saw as bizarre. The problem of course was that Mickelson couldn’t execute, missing fairway after fairway with his midget driver. He would have been ... full post »

Yes, that’s right. I will personally sign over to you a check for $1 million if you publicly tell me that Justin Hicks will win the 2008 U.S. Open. This happens every year, and every year people get excited about a no-name leading the U.S. Open, no disrespect intended. And every year, those early-round leaders say they intend to stay at the top, and every year they don’t, fading back to oblivion. Hicks is a Nationwide guy, and not even a star on that tour. His best year was 2007, when he finished 80th on the money list. He played in one PGA Tour ... full post »

It sounds typically Phil Mickelson wacko at first. Playing the U.S. Open at the longest U.S. Open course in history without a driver. Mickelson has left the driver out of his bag in favor of his 3-wood, at least for the first round. Torrey Pines has two 600-yard-plus par-5s and two par-4s over 500 yards. The rough will be nasty, but not as penal as the rough has been in past U.S. Opens. Still, it makes sense in a Lefty kind of way. Yes, Torrey Pines is longer by nearly 400 yards than any previous U.S. Open course, but Mickelson’s three-wood is essentially ... full post »

Highlands Links on Cape Breton is one of the prettiest golf courses in the world I’ve played a lot of beautiful golf courses around the world, and Highlands Links is among the most beautiful I’ve ever played. The drive alone is worth the time and effort to reach this stunningly beautiful course on the rugged coast of northern Cape Breton, a little north of the Nova Scotia mainland. This is golf in the wild. The views are breathtaking, over ocean waters – where whales can be seen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence – and up to the ringing mountains and over inlets, ... full post »

I thought I must have somehow slipped into a time warp. I pull over for gas in Nova Scotia, somewhere in the heartland as I was driving from Halifax to Digby, and an attendant comes out and starts pumping my gas. That was enough to surprise me right there. Then, damned if he didn’t take a squeegee and start cleaning my windows, all the while chatting amiably about the Red Wings and Penguins. He didn’t go as far as to check my oil – if he had, I would have fainted – but he did ask if my tires needed air. What happened to ... full post »

One of the immutable laws of man and nature is that whenever I board an airplane, a screaming baby will sit right behind me. Not two, three or four rows behind. RIGHT behind me. This can be maddening because you’re trapped and there is no where to go. You’re at the mercy of parenting skills, and as we all know, there are no more parenting skills in America. As a public service, I have decided to share with you effective methods for dealing with crying babies on airplanes. A rubber mallet works wonders. A slight tap usually does it, and doesn’t leave permanent marks ... full post »

You Jet Blue fans might as well skip this blog. You already know what I’m talking about. Turn to Chris Baldwin – he always has something interesting or outrageous to say, even if it’s usually misguided. I’ve carped a lot about the sorry state of American airlines, so I owe it to one that is head and shoulders above the others. You already know who I’m talking about: Jet Blue. Somehow, in my years of flying, I’ve never gotten around to Jet Blue. I did recently, and what a treat. Jet Blue is like a European or Asian airline. The people who work there ... full post »