Memorial weekend next year will be a little different on the PGA Tour, especially in Memphis, Tennessee. The tournament moving to June 4-10 which is the week before the U.S. Open which will hopefully attract even more of the top players in the game looking to fine tune their games. Stanford Private Wealth Management will now assume the role of title sponsor increasing the purse to $6 million making it one of the largest on the tour. Next year should also be a good celebration as it will mark the 50th anniversary of the tournament.
We’ll get to 2007 soon enough so let’s get to this years tournament.
The ladies of the LPGA Tour are three months into their 2006 season, and there have been a lot of things to talk about so far. The season’s first major championship, the 
Nicholas Von Hofen stood on the 12th tee of the new 
It had to happen sooner or later. Golf design has advanced so far it has entered into the realm of science fiction. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda have apparently conspired with 
When is Hittin’ the Links not random? Well this week’s edition is no exception and features everything from an Earl Woods / BJ Wie comparison to a Tiger / LeBron James comparison to the correlation between learning golf and chronic pain. 
I play golf with Steve Brummer a few times per week, and I can safely say that the most consistent thing about his game is his inconsistency. Steve will play well for five holes, have a stretch where he doesn’t hit the ball well, and then finish out the round strong once again. While I joking refer to Steve as the “anti-Rotella” for his mental outlook (“even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then” he’ll say after a good shot), his mental game is probably responsible for three to four dropped shots per round.
Half of the season on the PGA Tour is in the books, and we’ve got some first-half awards to hand out. Plus, Michelle Wie makes it through local qualifying for the U.S. Open, Greg Norman to divorce, a man shoots 57 (!!!), and Tiger is skipping The Memorial. This and a whole lot more in the 23rd episode of the Golf Talk Podcast.
Titleist has ruled the “premium ball” roost since, well, since there was a roost to be ruled. In the pre-Tiger era, I remember seeing advertisements that said “The last 47 U.S. Opens have been won with a Titleist ball” (or something like that). Eventually, Tiger and his Nike R&D chums managed to put a stop to that streak, but Titleist still owns darn near 85% of the premium ball market, leaving Callaway, Nike, Bridgestone, and others to pick up the scraps.