Trav

Leaving Tiger out of this for a moment - that blind, around the tree, uphill, from the rough, hooking iron by Phil on No. 7 (?) to about 2 feet was one of the most remarkable shots I can remember in a long time.

I agree with Beachbreak. And anybody who salutes his main competitor for making what appeared at the time to be the tournament clinching shot (Perry tee shot on 16), apparently ending his own chances, deserves our applause and respect. Not to mention the way he handled himself when he hit behind the tree on 18, thus also apparently ending his chances.

I understand, but normally it works that a number of people are added due to the +10 rule The X in this case is top 44 and ties. As I write this (using Pga.com), there is a group tied at 34 and a group tied at 45 who would be in because they are within 10 at +1. If he birdies one more hole, anyone at +1 would be out (assuming the +1s don't rise higher than 45).

He may fade and not win the weekend (although those early round big leads can very helpful come Sunday, just ask Immelman), but it's interesting to watch what he could be doing to the cut line. Another birdie or two and a lot of people sitting on +1 right now could find themselves out.

This is a very good point - the missus has had some bad experiences with this, even at so-called "destination" locales where they obviously have lots of experience renting.

On our home course, the ladies tees are frequently placed such that women hit their drives into an uphill spot so they get no roll, whereas men would clear the hill and gets plenty of roll. This translates into a disproportionately harder second shot for women that does not properly reflect the physical difference between typical men and women golfers.

What a great match. I couldn't argue with either choice, although I probably lean to Tiger. But I'll say one thing for Jack - he wouldn't flinch mentally in the clutch the way Tiger's current competitors usually do. The Tiger stare that makes most pros shake would have absolutely no effect on Jack, and I think he would figure a way to get inside Tiger's head a little.

There's a reason why all the "mental" experts tell you the first thing to learn is to control your temper on the course. None of us is immune; it's something I have to periodically remind myself of, too. Of course, at my club, it's not tolerated. People want to have fun, not put up with childish antics from others. When you have friends who are fighting what are likely to be fatal medical conditions, or playing with what used to be called a handicap, you are reminded how self-absorbed are the club-throwing tantrums over a shot that goes wide.

IMO those are deflecting answers. Childish behavior is less acceptable when displayed by an adult. The Williams example is not on point. He is in an arena where we expect outrageous or off-center activity. IMO, we don't expect that from a golfer, and a golf professional who throws a club is guilty of extreme self-absorbed behavior (Tommy Bolt included). The extent to which some people are willing to excuse TW's occasional errant behavior never fails to amuse me. It's as though their hero cannot do any wrong. I am with Arnold on this. Having raised several kids, I would never tolerate their acting this way or thinking it was accpetable in such an arena. If they want to become standup comedians, I might feel differently. When your kids get older maybe you will understand.

Will you teach your children it's OK to behave the same way?

Yes, Arnold was pretty clear what he thought about that behavior - note he made a point of saying, repeatedly, that he did it when he was 16. It's great Arnold feels free to speak his mind, I think too many people are worried about offending TW over such incidents. Tiger is a smart guy, I hope he listens and adjusts. The round showed again how miraculously TW can be at saving difficult situations. You can simply never count this guy out.

This would be very interesting. Would love to hear a caddy arguing, uh, discussing a shot with a player, or caddy to caddy dialogue. If only this would include the "under breath" caddy mutterings after the player ignores the caddy's advice.

I'm just going to have to call BS on that. When you're approaching $1 Billion in career earnings, while many of the folks you are visiting have lost their homes and hundreds have been killed, I think you can afford to be charitable this once and not worry about failing to accumulate enough wealth. No one is asking him to forego his appearance fees in Abu Dhabi or these made for TV events or wherever. And if anyone is worried that it sets a bad precedent for showng some understanding to his hosts in a difficult situation - well, they have more serious problems than whether they have accumulated enough wealth. And yes, some celebrities and entertainers DO go to the other side of the world to perform for free. An old golfer named Bob Hope spent his life doing that every year. Somebody said he needed to take care of his family. This should generate the same amount of sympathy as the pro basketball player who complained about having to feed his family on only $20 million a year or so. Just my $.02 - well, since I posted before, make that $0.04. Still a bit shy of Tiger.

In other words, they are transitioning between sponsors.

Years ago I watched a promotional match between Nicklaus, in his prime, and Peter Oosterhuis outside Sydney. It generated a lot of fan interest and media attention, and was probably a good thing because Australian golf was not considered to be anywhere near US golf back then. But realistically, no noticeable economic benefit outside the parking and concession stands. Normally I would say that while a local government probably is clueless about the hard facts of tangible economic return and such claims are normally made without any real evidence simply to justify a desired decision, it's their money to spend as they see fit (assuming the taxpayers don't object) and Tiger shouldn't object to taking a fee someone is willing to pay. However, Australia has just had a devastating series of fires wreaking enormous hardship and death, not to mention many people made homeless. A billionaire raking in a large appearance fee under these circumstances strikes me as closer to the ugly American image than it does the Promoter of Golf. I understand that his buddy Appleby wants to do a positive thing for his country, but I see no good reason why Tiger can't return the favor by waiving his fee in this case.

I have no idea whether any of the other events were publicity oriented, but even if they were, the Montgomery prank alone would outweigh it all. Priceless.

Sammy Davis Jr. was reportedly once golfing with President Nixon. Nixon asked him what his handicap was. Davis said: "You're kidding, right? I've got one eye, I'm Jewish, and I'm black. What other handicap do I need"?

I was going to enter a note of support for him for sticking it out after that 1st round. Then in the 2d round, he is 8 over after 9 holes and withdraws.

I have no doubt that, by the end of the round, he was...

Today in the first round of the Honda Classic, Mathias Gronberg shot a +19 (89). Made me start thinking - anybody know the record for highest score in a PGA tournament? Could not find it on Google.

Agreed, we enjoyed this course and setting in summer; don't know about March. There's another course on the same grounds whose name I can't recall that is not as fancy, but locals said it was nice. If you take the ferry there isn't too much driving, but allow time for getting through town of Bremerton.

I'd be happy to make suggestions, but please tell us what you mean by inexpensive, and where in the state you are looking.

Since you're parsing words, please note I didn't say they CAN'T, I said it's hard for them not to sound that way to me, and I noted specific exceptions. You too are entitled to your opinion, but not to overgeneralizing.

I agree completely about Rankin, didn't mean to overlook her, I like her reporting.

My wife is an accomplished professional who has had to overcome outright discrimination, so I'm sensitive to these matters. I'm just talking about reaction to her TV presence. I would feel the same way about Pee Wee Herman's voice; I don't feel the same way about Dottie Pepper's voice (maybe that's because I met her once). A subjective observation, I'll grant you, but TV presence is a highly subjective activity. I do think she's improved over the past year.