Good day golf fans and welcome to yet another informative edition of Hittin’ the Links. So Tiger returns to the winners circle; does this mean Rory and Luke better watch out? I believe that type of thinking might be a little premature, but I do believe that a winning Tiger Woods is good for the game of golf.
In this edition of HtL we begin by finding out what has Arnie irritated, investigate a strange missing ball on the European Tour, and take a look at the new Q-School. Also on tap, we look into John Daly’s return, peruse a little-know golf rule, and check out the week’s winners. Read on!
This award, while it is nice to be recognized with an award, is not one you want to win. Ms. Congeniality is another way of putting it. Today’s candidates, if I was to pick one, would have to be a very close tie between Luke Donald and Lee Westwood. I think we don’t hear so much about this title anymore because it is not such a clear cut winner as it was a few years ago. Phil Mickelson held this title for the longest time and he could really go nowhere and discuss golf without this topic rearing its ugly head. David Duval held it for a while, but in his case winning a major seemed worse than not winning one. His career has gone down the tubes since kissing the Claret Jug. Don’t get me wrong, I like David and root for him each week that he plays, but one has to be honest at some point.
This seems to be the year where fairway wood technology is the topic of conversation. Top companies are making distance claims, going longer, lighter, adding slots on the crown, slots on the sole to achieve a boost in distance. Tour Edge may not have the big marketing budget of some of these companies but they have a steady history of great fairway woods and the 
Everybody has a few golfers out there that they just like for seemingly no reason. It could be because they won in your hometown, they are sponsored by your favorite brand, or because even the dress in a strange way. Much like picking favorite sports team, picking a favorite golfer doesn’t have to be rational. In fact, a friend of mine from northern New Jersey is a die-hard Miami Dolphins fan. Why? Because as a kid he liked their team colors.
One of the best things about the game of golf is the vast history. Golf has had transcendent athletes almost constantly over the last 150 years, and as I attempted to categorize them all I found myself writing, and writing, and writing. (I tried to do this with baseball, and all I got down was “Yankees, then… more Yankees, and a little more Yankees. And then the Red Sox won. And then the Yankees…”) In classifying the history of golf, these last 50 years are where it got tough, as I had to figure out what do do with Jack Nickluas. Jack had legitimate rivals in Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson at completely different ends of his own expansive career. I ultimately decided to combine Nicklaus and Watson, and give Palmer his own era. I’m sure they won’t mind.