Highlights from Jack Nicklaus' annual storytime hour at the Memorial

Thank you, Jack.

Sitting in a Jack Nicklaus press conference is always a treat. It reminds me of being a little kid gathering around grandpa, who was sitting in an armchair, by the fireplace at Christmastime, telling stories about your great-uncle Bob or cousin Lou. Well, that's kind of like attending a presser with Jack, but asking for his opinions on Rory and Rickie (and Tiger) and hearing him riff about winning his first U.S. Open in 1962.

One of the best parts is Jack enjoys talking to the media these days and sharing his ideas and thoughts. The experience (so-to-speak) of being there can't be replicated by simply reading the transcript (which usually resembles a short novel). Here are some of the highlights'

*On Bubba's incredible shot in the playoff at the Masters: 'I'm trying to visualize how much he hooked the ball at 10 at Augusta. I don't know how much he hooked it, but he obviously hooked it a lot. But what amazed me was when the ball came down on the green with a hook as hard as he hit it, it backed up. It backed up the hill, and I said, How do you make a golf ball do that? That was kind of interesting I thought.'

*On 'Bubba Golf': 'To put it mildly, a rather unique golf swing, and to his credit, which is to me what the game is all about, is learning who you are and what you are and what you do.  You know, people criticize Furyk for his golf swing, but Jim knows what he does and how he does it.  You look at some other golf swings and you see what you think is a perfect golf swing, but sometimes they don't know what they're doing with it. Bubba knows what he's doing with his golf club.  He had to learn that.  He had to learn how to do that.  I think that's what's so unique about it and what's so good about it.'

*On talking swing with Tiger at this year's Masters dinner:'I was asking him, Why do you need somebody to watch you all the time? He said, I really don't. He said, I go to Sean and I get some ideas, but then I really go work on it myself and try to learn what I want to do and how I want to do it, which I think is the right way. I said, If you're doing that, you're on the right track, but all I read in the papers is how Sean is making a swing change on you. He said, That's not what I'm doing. I said, Okay, that's fine then, because he's trying to be responsible for himself.'

*On the 50th anniversary of winning his first U.S. Open in 1962: ' I almost won in '60 at Cherry Hills, and I really look back, it's one that I gave away.  But I was 20 years old.  I gave it away because I didn't know how to win. And then the next year I didn't really give it away, but I had a good chance to win, and I finished fourth.  I felt going into Oakmont that, man, I'm not letting this one get away.  Going to Oakmont '' it sounds funny, may sound ridiculous to all of you, but I didn't know who Arnold Palmer was for all intents and purposes.  I didn't mean it that way, but what I mean is that all I had to do was worry about myself.  I wasn't worried about Arnold or Gary or whoever might be there. I was interested because I felt like I really had the chance to win those two previous wins, and I had just finished second the week before to Littler at Thunderbird and I was really playing well and I was charged up to play, and that was my sole thought was that this was my week.All of a sudden I found out I was in Arnold Palmer's backyard, but I found that out a couple weeks later after the tournament was over because I didn't pay attention to it while I was there. I don't know if you understand that, but that's what a 22'year'old kid thinks like.  Maybe even a 16'year'old kid.'

*On his recent first with Arnold Palmer at Oakmont: 'Well, neither of us could remember the course'(laughter)'The purpose of the visit to Oakmont was to try to get a couple of shots for a special they're doing for USGA on the '62 Open, 50 years since then. And Arnold says, Why do I have to do that? They want me to do the one with Casper in '67. I lost them both. (Laughter.) I said, You won enough. We'll get to yours that they won. I said, Did they do one at Cherry Hills, Arnold? Yeah. Okay, I lost there. We were kidding each other about it.'

*On traveling during his early 20s on Tour: 'I was 22 with a family.  Jackie was about eight months old when I played the Open at Oakmont.  But we used to travel.  We used to travel.  We talked about traveling in the car, back in the day when we didn't have disposable diapers and we had a diaper pail in the backseat with a port'a'crib and off we went.  Let me tell you, you'd better keep the windows open.  I'll tell you what, it didn't smell very good.

'And all the players, we'd all try to figure out and go to the same motel so we could have cookouts, and then the wives would have '' they'd take turns watching other people's kids.  If one of the guys was in contention, the other wives would take care of their kids and they'd go watch their husband play golf.  We did a lot of that kind of stuff in the days when we were playing.

'I think that we were pretty close as a group back in those days even though we were still playing on the golf course with blinders.  I think we all went to the golf course with the idea to play the best we could and try to win, but when the round was over, as soon as we shook hands, we said, Where are you having dinner?  That's sort of the way we did it in those days.  I don't know how the guys do it today.  I'm not 22 anymore or 25 or 30 or even close, but I don't know what the guys do today.

'I'm sure there's a lot of guys that spend time and go have dinner and do things and there are guys that are close friends and so forth and their wives.  That's got to continue to happen, and if it doesn't I'd be very surprised.  Everything is just magnified.  The attention is magnified.  The press is magnified.  The prizes are magnified.

'I don't know that the pressure or tension is magnified because the guys today can make a living playing golf.  We couldn't make a living playing golf.  We had to go play golf tournaments and win golf tournaments so we had the opportunity to make a name to go make a living, and that was a little different position to be in.'

[*Ed. note: One major difference European Tour players point out when they come over to the U.S. is the lack of camaraderie. Among the caddie corps, there's more of that, but obviously that's different. I mean, the most asked question every week is "Where are you staying?" or "How much did you get [that hotel] for on Priceline? Oh man, you got it for $55? I'm paying $70.']

*On slow play ' including himself being a slow player ' and the solution: 'I don't think there's a huge problem on the Tour.  They have an individual every once in a while.  I used to be that individual sometimes.  The guys have to learn, I learned how to not be a slow player.  It took me a few years, but I learned, as the other guys will, too. The one thing that if you wanted the Tour to move a little bit quicker would be instead of monetary fines, stroke fines, and I think they're starting to do that now, aren't they?'

*On the Tour not stroking slow players: 'Not yet?  They haven't done it.  They say they're going to do it but they haven't done it.  I'm not out here all the time so I don't really know what they're doing. I got a two'stroke penalty at Portland and I got a two'stroke penalty at Houston playing with Cary Middlecoff, and he didn't get a penalty, so then I knew I was really slow.  You don't know Cary Middlecoff, but he was the slowest.'

*On slow play being a different problem in recreational golf: 'Now, as it relates to the everyday game, I think the everyday game, they try to imitate what happens on the Tour, and the kids try to copy the players.  Well, the players, these guys are not only taking 65 shots, and there's not a lot of time between their shots.  They take their time over their shot, but they play a 7,500'yard golf course and they play it in four and a half hours and they play it in a threesome that moves along pretty good.  It's not that bad.  Should it be faster?  Yeah, it could be a little bit faster, but I don't think that's a major problem.

'But the major problem is becoming for the average recreational golfer because they can't '' today is not a four and a half, four'hour time to play golf.  This is in the computer age, kids want to do things in two and a half, three hours at dead max.  No other sport is played in any more than that except a five'set tennis match maybe might get there, and how much of that do you watch?  You watch the fourth and fifth set maybe by the time they get to it.

'The game for the average golfer needs to be faster, take less time, needs to be cheaper, and needs to be easier.  Those are contradictory to the Tour.  So to solve that problem, I'm not sure how we solve that problem.  I know that the USGA is doing a study on the golf ball and play to try to help it, and I think the PGA of America is working on it and I think the Tour will be, too, because I think they're going to get their statistics from it.  And what they do, I don't know.'

(Photo by Darren Carroll/Getty Images)

Balls in the Air: The Memorial Tournament

Welcome (back) to Balls in the Air, where I size up my Fantasy Golf picks of the week, featuring guys to watch (or not), and interesting story lines and tidbits from behind the scenes. Disclaimer: I'm just as full of crap as the next guy, maybe slightly less than others, but take my ramblings for what their worth. Ramblings.

Team Foley

I'm a jerk and didn't have time to post this pre-1AM Thursday morning, but I think I should get points for publishing it before the Fantasy Golf deadline ' okay, you're right, I'm pushing it. Somehow I feel like everyone managed and there have been no reported panic attacks, so carry on. I'll try harder next week.

As you'll see, I noticed after the fact that apparently I'm real high on students of swing coach Sean Foley at the Memorial. They're like the cool kids this week.

Maybe.

Ballstriking is premium at Muirfield Village, particularly precise iron play into the tiny, narrow greens ' which is what players always say, but also the takeaway I got on Monday. Spencer Levin, Harris English and Brian Harman played the front nine in a practice round late in the afternoon at the start of the week. I asked if they wouldn't mind if I walked along to observe and get a feel of the course. You get a way better feel for it walking down the fairway and seeing the shots from next to the player than you do from strolling in the rough an arms-length from the ropes (don't get me wrong, you see a lot, but nothing like seeing shots from the perspective a player is).

So I got a really good workout. It's not a hilly course, but there's way more undulation than you expect, and just the thought of standing outside in 95-degree muggy heat makes me a little nauseous.

I took pictures and 'grammed some of them, as you can see here, here, here and here.

There was also music playing the entire time. Not saying the type would have been my preference, but that's subjective. Not the point, though. It was certainly different. See this video.

Joking aside, what a pure, pure course.

For what it's worth ' which is practically nothing because everyone knows playing well in practice rounds doesn't amount to playing well in competition, but some times it's a decent indicator ' Hunter Mahan's team placed 1st in the pro-am competition and Tiger Woods' team came second. Of course, keep in mind their amateur partners may have been the biggest sandbaggers on this side of the planet, so they carried Hunter and Tiger on their backs or maybe not.

Luke Donald. Only two words needed to justify the pick: Luke Donald.

Ben Curtis is a hometown guy and will have good vibes with probably a few dozen locals supporting him. He also has one of the hottest hands in the game at the moment, but unsurprisingly he's flown so far under the radar that I didn't know that level existed. In his last five starts, he's placed first, 13th, 5th, second, and finally his worst finish being the most recent, 68th, on the other side of the pond at Wentworth.

Alex Miceli picked Brandt Jobe as his dark horse favorite on Golf Channel last year before the tournament started and the guy placed second. Since then, I always ask Miceli who his favorites are because I'm convinced he has some sort of crystal ball. He's sticking with Jobe again in 2012. His favorite to win? Robert Garrigus.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Webb Simpson or defending champ Steve Stricker near the top of the leaderboard. A few random guys to watch: Ricky Barnes and Bryce Molder.

Rory Mcilroy poked fun at himself in his press conference Wednesday and hopes he won't have another weekend off. After all, he needs those two extra reps in competitive rounds. He's already four behind and looks to find his top form in time to defend his U.S. Open title. Last time after McIlroy missed two cuts in a row was in 2010 ' the Shell Houston Open and the Masters '  he won the following event at Quail Hollow. Will history repeat itself? Will it be like deja-2010? We'll see!

***

Your turn. Which players are in your line-up? Who's your money on?

(Photo by Getty Images/Andy Lyons)

Dustin Johnson lets rumors roll off his back upon return at Memorial

What's the deal, dude?

It's been 80 days since Dustin Johnson played his last competitive round of golf ' that was on Sunday, March 12 at the WGC-Caddilac Championship at Doral, where he placed a meh T35. That sounds like a long time even though it certainly doesn't feel like it.

DJ was sidelined for the second time of the season  ' he missed a few tournaments in the beginning of the year due to knee surgery last November ' when he suffered a back injury while trying to help a friend move a jetski just before the Masters, forcing him to withdraw (though he also missed Bay Hill two weeks previous, which is on his usual schedule). Nearly three months later at the Memorial Tournament, he felt admittedly 'out of the routine,' causing him even to forget to unpack 'some stuff, mainly belts.

'Well, I really couldn't do anything for, I don't know, five weeks,' said DJ, referring to this latest recovery process. 'I really didn't touch a club for five, six weeks. It was kind of '' it was pretty tough.  I wasn't hitting it very good.  I was hitting it okay.  I'd go in spurts.  I think the first time I played, I was like 6' or 7'under through eight holes and then I was even through like 12 holes.  It was driver, just not driving the ball very much, because that was probably the last thing I got to work on really was the driver, so that was probably the thing that was the most sporadic.'

There's nothing more frustrating for an athlete than being benched. The carefree, athletic 26-year-old golfer has sat out for more of the 2012 season than he had foreseen. It's been a weird kind of year, where it's been see-sawing between rehabbing and recovering.

'I mean, more or less you've just got to be kind of careful of stuff you're doing and just kind of pay attention to what you're doing, especially as I'm getting older,' said Dustin, laughing, when asked what he had learned from the injuries. 'I need to pay a little more attention about activities that I'm doing.'

The types of activities Dustin partakes in came into question, so to speak, during his absence.  There were mumblings that DJ wasn't injured and instead was serving a drug suspension and possibly in rehab (not the outpatient kind, per se). It's not the first time we've heard of DJ and related chatter, so maybe that's what started the rumor and probably perpetuated it., but who knows, and to be honest, I don't really care. (It didn't happen unless I see at least photographic evidence in the appropriate context, and even then I tread lightly keeping doubt in mind.)

Unsurprisingly, the laidback golfer didn't let the rumor mill faze him.

'I just laughed,' he said when asked his reaction to hearing about the speculation.  'I mean, it doesn't bother me.  People talk all the time, so people make stuff up, especially when I'm not out here I guess they use their imagination a little too much.'

When people are away from the Tour for that long, it's noticed and pointed out. Just like upon their return, there's the custom of the welcome-back-to-our-traveling-circus-family ritual. Whenever the player and caddie show up at the putting green or driving range and first run into their old pals and acquaintances, who give them big bro hugs and exchange catch-ups.  That was the scene on the putting green Monday afternoon when DJ's caddie Bobby Brown showed up for a quiet cameo and then a more intense version all day on Tuesday.

There's also a lot of down time in golf. There's people hanging out on the putting green, the driving range, four-to- five-plus hours on the golf course, waiting at the valet, etc. The gossip on Tour is second to known, as you can imagine. (You constantly have to remind yourself to believe nothing of what you hear and half of what you see.)

'I've never been around anything like the PGA Tour when it comes to rumors and gossip,' said David Winkle, Johnson's agent who has been in the business for 25 years. 'It's insane.'

What does that mean? Well, I've joked about this and been accused of being crazy, but now I've got corroborating stories. Winkle said the gossip on Tour is 'worse' than what his two daughters, went through as cheerleaders and sorority sisters. (I can attest to both those, as well.) Not to say we've never not been guilty of participating in the chatter or or enjoy hearing the so-called dirt. But it happens like it does everywhere, it's just worse in the golf world (which isn't a big one, either).

Added Winkle: 'There's always going to be more stuff that swirls around a young single guy than there is a 50-year-old with six grown kids whether you're talking about sports or anything.'

Oh, isn't that the truth ' only human nature.

I'm not going to get into this right now, but let's say we judge DJ for his word on the reason for his absence the speculation and gossip could have been prevented if the PGA Tour disclosed the punishments it doles out to players. The Tour is one of ' if not the only ' majors sports league that reserves the right not to disclose suspensions and fines. So if Dustin had been suspended, we would have found out in March or April and saved the silly nonsense and trouble of dealing with the 'setting the record straight.'

Good news is DJ lets it slide off his back, one of his personality traits that has brought him success in his trade.

Limited scouting reports say he struck the ball beautifully during his practice round on Tuesday. Johnson finished a career-best fourth last year at this event, his best showing in four starts at Muirfield Village, where he hasn't missed a cut.

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Bubba's big-time adjustment

Bubba at an Orlando Magic game during his time off

After winning the Masters and fulfilling his obligation to play and defend his title at the Zurich Classic, Bubba Watson took a month off from golf to spend time with his family ' he and his wife Angie adopted a baby boy in March ' and adjust to his new life and fame. With the U.S. Open just around the corner, Bubba is playing the Memorial Tournament.

Fans have missed long-hitting lefty who describes his unconventional style to the game as 'Bubba Golf,' so they were a tad overzealous when he arrived. On Tuesday morning Bubba's presence almost caused a stampede by fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the beloved Masters champ near the clubhouse at Muirfield Village. Apparently, he freaked out (or didn't take too kindly to the attention) and one autograph-seeker was thrown off the premises for being 'too aggressive.'

Watson didn't touch a club for two-and-one-half weeks and said it's been a challenge adjusting to life as a member of the rich and fabulous, particularly with having a newborn (understandably so).

'It's a different tired than we're used to, having a child,' said Watson in his pre-tourney presser on Tuesday afternoon.  'A lot of different things going on.  My mind works differently, as we know throughout the years, so for me my mind is racing any time you hear noise, any time you hear something.

'You know, it's just different.  But I got energized as soon as I got here.  I got here Sunday afternoon.  I got energized, looking forward to the challenge of being out here and beating some of the great players, and (Jason) Dufner.  Trying to compete again.  That's what I've been missing.  I miss the game of golf, miss playing, miss competing, miss trying for championships.  So I didn't play as much as I wanted to basically is what I'm saying.'

Watson, of course, wouldn't trade winning a major for anything, but fame and success come with greater responsibilities and such ' not all of which are fun.

'I've got a lot more friends than I used to have,' he said. 'I wasn't very popular before, but now I've got a little more popular.

'It's just everybody '' not in a mean way, everybody wants something from you.  Can you help this, can you help that.  You've got to say no.  It's not that you're being mean.  You've got to have time for yourself, with your wife, with your child.  Manager seems like he wants a lot of time, as well.'

So that's what it must be like to be Tiger Woods, but multiply that by a few thousand!

[*Not done with this post, but gotta jet or my ride is going to leave without me. Will update later.] *Update'

One very, very important thing Bubba hasn't had to give up or lose: Sleep.

I've always liked his wife Angie and thought she seemed like a sweetheart. Well, turns out my gut and impression were right. She deals with the baby when he wakes up crying in the middle of the night.

'Well, with the new technology nowadays, they have these monitors where he's in a different room and we have this monitor that's turned up all the way just so we don't miss a peep, and you can always see him at all times, so we just look over at the monitor,' said Bubba. 'My wife is very special because she lets me sleep and she gets up when he is cranky or needs to eat.  So I've been able to go to bed around 11:00 or 12:00 and I've been waking up around 8:30, 9:00, so she tells me what he did during the middle of the night.  She's very special.'

I don't have kids, but I'm starting to have friends who do and I hear the 'stories' and all I know is I'm definitely not as special as Angie.

Bubba estimates he has put in three full days of practice in the last month, so he anticipates dealing with some possibly struggling as he gets back in the game, and then, mentally, competitive state of mind. His expectations are realistic (and his candor is refreshing).

'Who knows how I'm going to play because I'm going to be rusty,' said Bubba, whose best finish at Memorial is 23rd in '07 and '09. 'It's going to be that way.  I'm going to be down, I'm going to be up, I'm going to be happy, I'm going to be sad.  You're going to feel the nerves for the first time in basically two months, even though I played that one tournament.

'You're going to feel nerves that you haven't felt over a three'footer.  Right now a three'footer is easy back at home.  So hopefully I can get over that pretty quick and hit some quality shots.'

 

(Photo by Getty Images/Marc Serota)

Reminder: Tiger scheduled to 'Hangout' with fans LIVE (I'll bring the popcorn)

Surprise, surprise ' the PGA Tour released its pre-tournament schedule for the Memorial and four-time past champ Tiger Woods was not on the list. Thing is, no one seems to care or everyone has been too busy enjoying their long weekend of BBQs, sports and booze to be bothered with Tiger skipping out on his visit to the media center. Until he starts playing better, what's there for us to ask and for him to say, anyway? Yawn.

In lieu of his usual presser, Tiger is hosting take two of his initiative to establish 'more direction interaction' with fans. If only he had been holding the current day's newspaper, his taped Q&A could have easily been confused with a hostage video. As noted in the tweet above, Friday's meet-up can be viewed LIVE at TigerWoods.com.

Team Tiger has screened and pre-selected several ultra-geeky fans (for example, this guy) to join him in his very first Google+ 'Hangout.' We can cringe through this experiment together at 4pm ET. I'm sure it'll be riveting ' at the very least, it should be, er, interesting. Seriously, I'm looking forward to this.

I've got the popcorn ready. Who's bringing the candy?

***

Just for fun, what kind of things will be discussed? How will the 'Hangout' be conducted? On a scale of 1-10, how awkward will it rank?

Rory McIlroy alters pre-major routine, adds Memphis to schedule

McIlroy trying to track down his game

Rory McIlroy was visibly frustrated with himself and his game last week at the European PGA Championship, where he shot 74-79 to miss his second consecutive cut. McIlroy isn't accustomed to having the weekend off, which has also reduced his number of competitive rounds.

The 23-year-old reigning U.S. Open champ admitted to feeling unprepared for Wentworth and told reporters he needed to reassess his game plan as he aims to defend his title at this year's challenging and extremely difficult venue, the Olympic Club. In addition to the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village, he's also committed to play the FedEx St. Jude in Memphis, departing from his usual week-off (or more) before a major (he feels he plays better right out the gate).

McIlroy, who took a pit stop in Paris on Saturday evening to see tennis star girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki, revealed the shake-up to his schedule via Twitter:

After barely breaking 80 at Wentworth, Rory said he needed more reps.

'I just feel like I've lacked competitive rounds maybe a little bit,' said McIlroy. 'I take a couple of weeks off after the Masters, played Quail Hollow great, and then we had two days at the Players championship and another week off from competitive golf and another two days here.  I'm looking forward to hopefully getting over to the states and playing four rounds next week.'

I assume in an effort to make up the four competitive rounds he missed at TPC Sawgrass and Wentworth, the best solution was to throw in a start at Memphis, best known for its horrid heat and proclivity to cause swamp ass.

Brian Keogh has the scoop over at Irish Golf Desk on Rory's decision for the change, which is what I've already discussed above. Despite our assumptions that Rory was slacking off from his practice regime due to the short visit in Paris, Keogh explains that's not the case:

Having confessed that he took his eye off the ball, the Northern Ireland man is now playing catch up. But despite reports that he has run into the arms of his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki again for more R&R, he's been working harder than ever.

While he did travel by Eurostar to see Wozniacki prepare for Rolland Garros in Paris on Sunday, he has not neglected his practice regime.

Following a two-hour gym session with trainer Steve McGregor at Wentworth on Friday evening, he was on the range at 7.30am at Wentworth on Saturday morning and put in a five-hour practice session before catching the train to Paris.

He then spent Monday doing biomechanics testing in Leeds with McGregor and coach Michael Bannon before flying out with them to the US for The Memorial.

Bannon and McGregor will also accompany him to Memphis for his final warm up before the US Open.

Only 23, Rory hasn't found the perfect formula for preparing for the majors, and in retrospect, he should have probably added an extra tournament or two, like Bay Hill and/or the Shell Houston Open.

Well, live and learn, right?

I'm still not ruling him out to contend ' and even defend ' at Olympic in a few weeks. Rory has the most raw talent out there (which Luke Donald will tell you), so we'll see if he can find his game, and more important, gain the confidence and momentum to take with him into the U.S. Open in two weeks time.

(Photo by Getty Images/Ian Walton)

Phil steps up to the plate in bid to buy Padres

About Me

Hi! My name is Stephanie Wei. I grew up in Seattle. I live in Manhattan, NYC. I played competitive golf for ten years in the junior and college ranks. I went to Yale, where I played on the women's golf team and graduated in '05 with a B.A. in History.

I still enjoy hacking a small, white ball around the golf course. Oh, I'm feisty and I like to smile a lot.

I'm a freelance writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated Golf+ and I write regularly for the Wall Street Journal. I'm also a senior editor at Back9Network>. In the past I've contributed to Huffington Post and Mediaite. My work has been published in here and at ESPN.com.

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"Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening - and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented." -Arnold Palmer

Your 2012 Memorial Day weekend open thread: Zach attack and Luke back to No. 1

Zach and caddie Damon Green pay tribute to Damon's dad who last battle to stomach cancer 10 days ago

Just landed in Columbus for Jack's tournament, the Memorial, this upcoming week ' that's right, after a two-week hiatus, I'm back on Tour. Woot!

While I was packing and hustling to catch my flight, I watched the last nine holes of the duel between Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner, who was gunning for his third win in four starts, at Colonial. It might as well have been match play since the rest of the field was too many strokes back to catch the duo. Turned out to be an intriguing finish in more than one way.

Zach was assessed a two-stroke penalty on the 18th hole to cut his margin of victory to just a shot ' good thing he made that five-footer, huh?! He had moved his original mark out of Dufner's line and forgot to replace it before placing his ball down to roll in that final putt. Whoops.

'There's a number of adjectives I'm calling myself right now. And lucky would be the biggest one,' Johnson said. 'Blessed would be another one, humbled would be another one. It's an honor to put this jacket on once. ' I'm in shock I got it twice.'

Johnson was caught up with the emotion of winning another title at Colonial and the victory in honor of his caddie's late father that it slipped his mind. Again, thank God Zach drained the five-footer and that someone pointed it out before he signed his scorecard.

After Johnson snagged runner-up honors at the Players Championship, his long-time caddie Damon Green drove home to Pensacola, Florida, to see his 88-year-old father, who passed away ten days ago after a long fight with stomach cancer.

'He wanted to be here, he felt like his dad wanted him to be here,' Johnson said via the AP. 'I think he's the one that deserves this one more than I do. His courage and certainly his strength to get through last week and then work, and work well this week, to stay focused somehow. That's really commendable.'

Congrats to Zach and Damon, two of the best guys out there.

***

Boo Weekley spent so much time hanging out in the valet parking waiting area with a beer in hand that the good people at Colonial made it his official spot during the weekend'

***

It was kind of like deja vu for Luke Donald, who successfully defended his title at the European PGA Championship to reclaim the world No. 1 ranking, except this time from Rory McIlroy.

'What a place to do it,' Donald said. 'To come and defend and get back to No1 is very sweet indeed. Obviously, my next step is to win majors. I feel I am getting closer. These victories are key to taking confidence you need into the big four.'

Donald won by a commanding four shots over fellow Englishman Justin Rose and Scot Paul Lawrie. This is the third time in 10 weeks that Luke has retaken the top spot from McIlroy.

***

Check out this week's PGA Tour Confidential for more opinions and musings on this past week.

***

Any play golf this weekend? Anyone play well or have a special round/shot? Share your stories below!

Hope you had a lovely Memorial Day weekend ' let's not forget what this holiday stands for and take moment to remember the servicemen and women who have given their lives to defending our country.

(AP Photo/LM Otero)

Rory redirects focus to'sight-seeing in Paris with Caroline

Romantic evening for the young lovebirds

After Rory McIlroy missed his second straight cut ' his first on the European Tour since 2008 (aside from majors) ' at Wentworth last Friday, he said he needed to refocus his practice energies. He barely broke 80, posting a 79. Golf's latest golden boy is indeed human. Well, McIlroy had a bad week, which included a club throw during the first round, but known for his candor, he admitted that he may have slacked off in the practice department lately, according to The Guardian's Lawrence Donegan:

'I took my eye off the ball. I did not practise as hard as I might have,' he said. 'It is a week I'd like to forget. I feel like I've lacked competitive rounds. I took a couple of weeks off after the Masters and then only had two days at the Players Championship and two days here. It is probably a good thing that I have the next two days to practise on my game.'

Rory mentioned practicing and working hard to prepare for the Memorial Tournament this week:

'I'm going to have to put some hard practise in at the weekend and get ready for next week in the States'

'I'm looking forward to getting back over in the States and playing there and getting ready for that, and being prepared.  So I've got a big event coming up next week at Memorial, and I've got five days from now until then to put some hard practise in and get my game ready for that..

'I think it's just putting time in on the range.  Just hitting a lot of balls and just sort of getting back into it.  I don't think it's something that will be hard to fix.  I just need to hit a lot of balls and just get comfortable with my game again.'

Sure enough, McIlroy was spotted beating balls on Saturday morning at Wentworth. British broadcaster Andrew Cotter tweeted the photo below with this accompanying text, 'If you were coming to Wentworth and worried about not seeing McIlroy, don't be. He's here, digging it out of the dirt.'

Rory looking for the answer in the dirt

See, no need to worry about Rory ' he's grinding and working it out on the range, just like he promised. You know, instead of jet-setting to another country to visit tennis star girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki, like when he missed the cut at The Players, he headed to meet up with her in Rome. Not that there's anything wrong with that. After all, the power couple are young, successful and in love.

Wait, what's this? Apparently after Rory practice session on Saturday, he hopped on a plane to Paris to see Wozniacki. The Danish tennis player posted the top picture and tweeted:

'Enjoying a nice evening in front of the Eiffel Tower with @McIlroyRory'

Well, to be fair, Rory didn't specify on where he'd find his game pre-Memorial, and a romantic evening with his girlfriend can't hurt. I'm sure he jetted off to the States to beat balls first thing Sunday morning'

Can't really blame the kid for enjoying life and living the dream. I said in the PGA Tour Confidential roundtable last night that I wasn't ready to press the panic button on Rory yet, especially since he pledged his renewed energy to working on his game. Let's wait to see what happens this week at Memorial'

(Photo via Caroline Wozniacki's Twitter)

Leftover shots from the #TMShortGameEXP at Bandon Dunes

I posted a new album of pics from the TaylorMade Short Game Experience at Bandon Dunes on the WUP Facebook Page. I'll be utilizing it more frequently going forward, so you might want to 'Like' it to keep up with bonus behind-the-scenes coverage on Tour. After all, I can only say so much in 140 characters on Twitter.

Just a quick note to put the content in context: I was a lucky participant of TM's outing at Bandon Dunes Resort last month, where we received a short game clinic with legendary instructor Jim Flick, previewed the new par-3 course, Bandon Preserve, before it opened to the public on May 1st, and played Bandon Trails.

I wrote about the experience here and here, which, you know, was an OK trip. Maybe I'll even go so far to describe it as decent. In other words: effing incredible.

The video above might not be as entertaining as the trash-talking exchanges between Brian Katrek, who won his THIRD Smyrna City Amateur Championship title a few weeks ago,  and I (more like Katrek clowning on me), but Flick is one funny man. For example, he was instructing a fellow media member, who was releasing the club with his arms and getting his upper body way too ahead of his lower half. To explain the flaw, Mr. Flick described it as premature ejaculation.

But I digress. There aren't as many moments to make fun of me ' sorry, no inappropriate jokes that I recall ' but surely I look like a fool, so I figured I'd share and you could get a laugh at my expense.

Special thanks to Rob of GolfWrx.com for piecing together parts of my mini lesson with Mr. Flick, who ranks in my top five favorite people in the world. Be sure to check out the galleries Rob posted of Bandon Preserve, too. He took pictures of each hole and I think even identified them.

Of course, only after you look at my albun, which consists of shots from my impromptu, pseudo-tour of the front nine with the genius responsible for Bandon Dunes, Mike Keiser, which was a cool unexpected treat ' my friend Ben Cowan-Dewar, who has been working with Keiser on Cabot Links, happened to fly in Tuesday afternoon and my shuttle to the airport wasn't leaving until the evening, so I caught to witness their intense two-man team match, not to mention some really good golf shots.

Rules of Golf claim latest casualty: Graeme McDowell (*Update)

The scene of the incident

Graeme McDowell's opening round at the European PGA Championship ended on a sour note with a triple-bogey 8 to post a two-over 74. He incurred a two-shot penalty on the 18th hole at Wentworth because of a 'freak' rules violation and a slight brain fart by the golfer. After an errant tee shot into the bushes, McDowell tried to take a look at his ball, which was entangled in some branches, and as he approached, he thought it may have oscillated a dimple or two.

He went ahead and punched out, and then as he walked down the fairway, he called over a rules official and asked him to take a look at the TV footage because he wasn't sure if it had moved ' even though he couldn't have necessarily prevented it and didn't gain an advantageous lie. Point of the rule is to protect the field from a player improving his/her lie, but there's that gray area where intention should come into play as it does in several other rules.

 

Sure enough, the high-def, slow-mo camera (ahem, technology has changed the game, so shouldn't the rules adapt and be updated accordingly?') showed G-Mac's ball rotating a few dimples, which is virtually immeasurable because it's so insignificant, but that's not the point. According to the Rules of Golf, that's a one-shot penalty, and since he didn't replace the ball, he was handed another.

Sounds a tad absurd, doesn't it? Yep. At the same time, McDowell should have called over an official before hitting the shot if he thought his ball had moved.

'It's my fault,' he told reporters after his round.  'Like I said I probably should have called a referee in at that point.  I know what to do in the future let's put it that way.'

That came as a little surprising because from what I've seen, I consider McDowell to be one of the most knowledgeable players on the rules. Which also probably explains why he proceeded without asking for an official and felt unnerved by the unfavorable outcome.

At the same time, he made several good point about the problems of several outdated rules that don't stand the test of time, or rather, technology. Recently, it seems like rules controversies have been making headlines more often than Tiger Woods. Well, that's a little extreme, but definitely a close second.

'The rules are there for everyone's protection,' said McDowell.  'It's easy to say that when you're on the wrong side of them.  And yeah, I'm disappointed that'' how are you supposed to attempt to place the ball when you're not sure it's moved in the first place?  It's just a harsh one.

'(Rules official) John Paramor said the second you have any doubt, you need to call one of the guys in, because they can obviously try to guide you through it a little bit.  It's hard.  It's hard.

'You know, when you put these Hi'Def cameras and balls are moving by dimples, and there's a few guys that have got on the wrong side of that rule, and it's harsh, and it's there for everyone's protection.'

Plus, it sounds like McDowell couldn't have done anything to prevent the ball from moving. Sure, hit it in the fairway next time, but I don't think it's fair to penalize a player for the ball oscillating since it was out of his control. It's enough of a penalty to have to play from the bushes, which is already costing him a stroke.

Here's what G-Mac had to say via his Twitter feed:

Disappointing finish today. 2 shot penalty on the last. Attempting to check out my lie in trees I caused ball to move from 6 feet away#fb

' Graeme McDowell (@Graeme_McDowell) May 24, 2012

Ball resting on a load of branches which turned out to be all connected. As I approached the ball the whole area moved and nudged ball#fb

' Graeme McDowell (@Graeme_McDowell) May 24, 2012

I got a shot penalty for moving it and another one retrospectively for not replacing it (I wasn't positive at time that I had moved it)#fb

' Graeme McDowell (@Graeme_McDowell) May 24, 2012

In hindsight I should have called the ref right away and not asked for TV confirmation after I had chipped it out. Live and learn#golow#fb

' Graeme McDowell (@Graeme_McDowell) May 24, 2012

Two penalty strokes are quite costly in more than one sense, but good news is McDowell called an official over to resolve it before signing his scorecard ' otherwise, he would have been disqualified ' so at least he has the second round to make up the lost ground and hopefully squeeze inside the cut line.

Update: Thanks to Commenter Lone Golfer for the YouTube clip, via GeoffShackelford. The cameras are definitely high-def and zoomed in at the ball. From G-Mac's angle, I'm betting you couldn't see that. May have thought it was the branches. Or since it only may have slightly moved, but didn't seem to alter it's original position, he didn't think it would be a penalty'

(Photo via BBC)

Rory's club throwing form needs more reps

About Me

Hi! My name is Stephanie Wei. I grew up in Seattle. I live in Manhattan, NYC. I played competitive golf for ten years in the junior and college ranks. I went to Yale, where I played on the women's golf team and graduated in '05 with a B.A. in History.

I still enjoy hacking a small, white ball around the golf course. Oh, I'm feisty and I like to smile a lot.

I'm a freelance writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated Golf+ and I write regularly for the Wall Street Journal. I'm also a senior editor at Back9Network>. In the past I've contributed to Huffington Post and Mediaite. My work has been published in here and at ESPN.com.

*****

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The WUP Team

Editor/Writer:

Stephanie Wei | steph.wei@gmail.com

Special Contributor:

Conor Nagle | conor.nagle@gmail.com

Head Researcher Emeritus:

Kevin Ryan (Intern Kevin) | kvnryn77@gmail.com

Research whiz:

Shoshana Agus-Kleinman

*****

"Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening - and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented." -Arnold Palmer

Balls in the Air: Crowne Plaza Invitational (and the European PGA)

After a very long hiatus, welcome (back) to this special edition of Balls in the Air, where I size up my Fantasy Golf picks of the week, featuring guys to watch (or not), and interesting story lines and tidbits from behind the scenes.

The usual poker-faced Dufner reacts with extra gusto on the 72nd hole in Dallas

Wow, I can't believe it's been OVER A YEAR since I last did a 'Balls in the Air' post. I started to neglect Fantasy Golf, and when you're on tour every week, there's more work (obviously) than sitting at in my apartment behind my computer.

By the way, I started to get the shakes yesterday (Wednesday). It's the first time this season that I've missed TWO CONSECUTIVE Tour stops. I'm sure everyone out there is missing me oh-so-dearly! Don't worry, I'm fine, I hear the first few days of the shakes are bad, but if I can get through Friday, I'll be OK.

Plus, the forecast calls for 100 degrees with 25mph winds on Thursday in Forth Worth. Which, I imagine, feels like you're blow-drying your hair (with the 'high' and 'hot' options), except it's a full-body hairdryer.

Because of these conditions, the greens shouldn't be as firm as usual, but driving accuracy is still the highest premium at the tree-lined course. Obviously it's an advantage to hit a lot of fairways any week, but there are lots of doglegs that you need to set yourself up in the right spots, not to mention you're hitting into small targets. It's an old-school golf course, which just about every guy on Tour enjoys (and wishes there were more stops played on traditional tracks). The long-hitters will reel back and probably stick with their 3-irons and 3/5-woods off the tee, with the driver making two or three appearances throughout the round. Veterans (old guys) have had a lot of success here.

Here's my Fantasy Golf line-up:

Group A: Zach Johnson has obviously had success at this bunter's paradise, winning here in 2010. He's never finished outside of the top ten at Colonial. Matt Kuchar just won The Players and he's always a good guy you can count on for FG (naturally I've started him at all the wrong times). His scrambling and putting stats rank on the high side, which have been important at Colonial in the past few years.

Group B: Rickie Fowler is playing too well to rule out. He tweeted last week that he tied Tiger's course record 62 at Medalist. The defending champ, David Toms, is usually a good bet, not to mention he might be peaking just in time ' his finishes in his last three starts: 45 (Zurich Classic), 15 (Quail Hollow), 10 (Players Championship). I probably should have Hunter Mahan in there, but I opted to roll the dice and go with some dark horses. Instead I picked John Rollins because'I can't remember why anymore, which makes me think I should pull a last-minute switcheroo. Finally, Brian Davis has been playing sneaky well and his game seems to suit Colonial.

Group C: I'm not really high on picking guys who won the week before, but I can't resist picking the Duf. The dude is on a roll. And he's back on Twitter. I had Charlie Wi ('Cousin Charlie) on the bench, but for some reason, I decided to switch him out for Colt Knost. Well, I just pulled Colt and put Charlie back on the bench (sorry about the moment of disloyalty, 'cos). Colt is a good dark horse, though. He's from Texas, and if he's hitting it straight off the tee, the course should suit him well. Think Hilton Head.

OK, I think this is my final line-up for Thursday ' oh wait, I forgot to check who's in the morning/afternoon wave..:

***

Random note: Kevin Na has taken the waggle or the hitch out of his pre-shot routine. He's debuting his new, faster-playing version today, which should be interesting. Usually you can't change these things overnight and feel comfortable with it in competition, but he's gotta start somewhere, right? Good on him for keeping his word and really working on playing faster. I'm definitely very intrigued'and wonder if he'll regress to the waggle mid-way through the round. Word on the range is he's not exactly hitting it on a string.

***

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, there's the European Tour's version of the Players Championship, with the big three ' Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood ' playing starring roles. I enjoyed Paul Mahoney's primer for the event, especially this part:

Donald seems to be enjoying a friendly rivalry with McIlroy. They even tweet congratulations when one leapfrogs the other to the No. 1 spot. But the more brash-talking Westwood plays down any rivalry, and he was in a cheeky mood at Wentworth.

Would he rather win by 10 shots on Sunday or beat Donald in a playoff.

'I'd rather win by 10, obviously,' Westwood said.

How about beating Rory and Luke in a playoff, albatross at the last?

'I really don't care,' he said. 'Go for the hat-trick on daft questions.'

Westwood was enjoying the banter but not taking the bait. A lot of people would like to see a rivalry between you three '

'You weren't happy with the rivalry last year?' Westwood interrupted. 'It was No. 1 and No. 2. You're very greedy. As a player you turn up trying to win the golf tournament. You're not worried about what everybody else does. To be perfectly honest and perfectly ruthless, I would rather I play brilliant this week and everybody else played crap.'

That drew a big laugh, and then he offered a review of his so-called rivals' strengths.

The British bookmakers have Donald as the favorite, then Westy, and finally Rory. I like Luke for the week, too.

Speaking of the world No. 2, the European Tour held their Awards banquet on Tuesday evening and Luke was presented with several honors, including 'European Tour honorary life member.' He even gets a special card ' very official! ' which he posted on Twitter:

Is that real gold?

Alright, balls in the air! Who are your favorites this week?

(Photo by Darren Carroll/Getty Images)

 

Your daily dose of Tiger Woods: Hostage video, take 2, on deck

So I guess this means no pre-tournament press conference next week at Memorial? Kudos to Team Tiger for listening to the feedback after his taped hostage video experiment last month. I love that 'LIVE' is capitalized in the above tweet.

It appears this is part two in Tiger's social media campaign in an effort to interact with fans more directly. This time in a forward-thinking (or just 2012) format and seemingly un-Tiger-like, yet in the most Tiger-like way possible since the 'fans' will be 'selected' ahead of time. He's invited people to a 'Hang Out' sesh on Google+! Here are the deets, according to TigerWoods.com:

Tiger Woods, winner of 72 PGA Tour tournaments and 14 major golf championships, has invited fans to join him next Tuesday afternoon, May 29, on Google+ for his first Hangout. You are asked to send questions about the upcoming Memorial Tournament, the U.S. Open and other topics, and Tiger will pick some of you to join him LIVE next week. Please use the hashtag #TigerHangout.

The Hangout will also feature special guests and is expected to last for about 30 minutes. It will give fans a chance to interact with Tiger as he prepares for the Memorial Tournament next week and the U.S. Open in June.

The most notable person who has reached out to his supporters through Google Hangouts is President Obama.

Exciting!

Memo to 'fans': Throw some thoughtful softball questions in your initial submissions and then when you're 'Hanging Out' with Tiger, ask some hard-hitting follow-ups.

I'm waiting to hear back about whether or not he's canceled his pre-tournament presser yet. It'd be groundbreaking if he took all our critiques of the hostage video into account and did both the 'Hang Out' and regular visit to the interview room. Call me cynical, but I'm not holding my breath!

***

Tiger has been pretty busy lately. He recently joined 106.7 The Fan in Washington D.C. with 'The Sports Junkies' to talk about his ballstriking, confidence level post-Masters, driving stats, why he's playing more tournaments this year, and ' the one that caught my attention ' why he believes he can win into his 50s. Transcript courtesy of the fine folks over at SportsRadioInterviews.com:

Looking down the road, do you think you can keep winning tournaments into your 50s?:

'Absolutely, 100 percent agree with that. It just has to be on the right golf course. It can't be, at that age ' well, by the time I'm at that age, it'll be some golf courses over 8,000 yards. It's probably not going to be at one of those; it's probably going to be at a shorter golf course like you'd find at a British Open. Tom [Watson], at Turnberry, it was like the perfect Open. It was howling, it was a golf course he had won on and knew how to play and it was playing very quick. ' You can certainly see a certain player playing into their 50s and being successful on a certain venue. You can't do it on all venues, there's no doubt. Some ballparks are just too big.'

I absolutely agree 100% with Tiger that he'll win in his 50s'on the Champions Tour.  I kid, I kid. Kind of.

Good point with the Tom Watson/Turnberry example. It certainly wouldn't be out of the question for Tiger to win majors when he's in his 50s, but given his physical health and all the injuries he's sustained at age 36, I wonder if his body will be able to hold up for that long. I mean, his body seems to respond like he's already 50. I hear once you hit a certain age, it gets even harder to recover.

I'd also make a crack about how Tiger should focus on winning at 36, but I'd just be reminded he won two months ago (duh!), which I'm well aware of. Let's start with the Memorial Tournament, where he's won four times. In his last appearance in 2010 he placed tied for 19th.

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Tiger bashes new media for over-scrutiny!

Did Tiger just pick his nose?!?

On Monday Tiger Woods had a lovely media day for next month's AT&T National, which returns to Congressional Country Club after a two-year hiatus while the course prepared for the 2011 U.S. Open. Woods, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, held a lengthy news conference, speaking passionately about the incredible work and growth of the Tiger Woods Foundation (all proceeds from the tournament benefit the charity).

Interesting enough, I found the final question and answer the most intriguing:

Q.  You're judged on every swing, every shot, every tournament, every week ''

TIGER WOODS:  Well, I think that's the nature of the new media business.  The reason why I say that is obviously with the new 24'hour news cycle and all of the different medias that there are now, there's so many different ways for people to get information.

And I think that we have talked about it a number of times on TOUR with myself with other players is that there is so many different ways that we can '' so many different ways in which news is reported.  You've got to be able to stand out somehow to get eyes going to your site or to your media, and I think that's one of the reasons why there's the criticism that there is.

I was looking at it the other day, if LeBron didn't have a good game, then the Heat are done and he should retire.  I'm like, geez, guys, he just won MVP.  But I think that's just the nature of the volatility of the new media in which we are involved in now.

I'd like to ask a follow-up ' Tiger, are you saying you find the 'old media' more endearing?

Just kidding. I'm going to *assume* by 'new media' that he means 'new media cycle,' so I'll let this one slide!

I completely agree with Tiger. The public's appetite for any morsel of a story or report is insatiable. There's a never-ending need to feed the beast.

Tiger reminds us he's won not just once, but two tournaments in the last six months, including that real one at Bay Hill. Well, newsflash: No one cares about what happened TWO MONTHS AGO! It's about RIGHT NOW. Our attention span barely holds up for a day. I mean, really, you can't expect anyone to remember something from way back in March. That's like ancient history. Pffftttt!

An outrageous headline makes you click on the link when it pops up on your Twitter feed, right? A controversial point of view gets you riled up and drives you to comment repeatedly on the story, and ultimately, you keep reading because you can't wait to see what the columnist/blogger will say next.

That said, will Tiger break Jack Nicklaus's all-time majors record? Well, I don't see why not, but he'll need to record Seve Ballesteros' career accomplishments (five majors) in the next decade or so.

Coming off one of the worse three-tourney stretches of his career ' a tie for 40th at the Masters, a missed cut at the Wells Fargo Championship and another tie for 40th at The Players ' Woods will try to break his 'slump' at Memorial, hosted by Jack, next week.

 (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

English headed to England

This English is from Georgia

PGA Tour rookie Harris English won a ticket to the Open Championship this summer ' which also marks his first major ' via the International Finals America 36-hole qualifier on Monday at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, Texas. The 22-year-old opened with a record-breaking ten-under 60 in the first round, the lowest 18-hole qualifying score since the R&A started holding qualifiers in the U.S. in 2004.

No big deal.

English was on cruise control all day, firing a seven-under 63 in the second round to earn medalist honors by four shots at 17-under.

'It was a very relaxing round. I just lost track on what I was doing,' English, whose best finish so far came at the Heritage where he tied for eighth, told the AP. 'It's pretty amazing.'

As Harris was lining up his 20-footer for birdie from the fringe on No. 8 in the first 18  ' they teed off No. 9 ' Steven Bowditch, who was keeping his score, walked over to the rookie's caddie, Joe Etter, and asked if the putt was for a 59. He wasn't sure. Bowditch said he was pretty sure it was for a 59 or a 60. Turned out it was the latter.

Harris was on such a roll ' and there aren't big scoreboards, etc. at qualifiers ' that he was only focused on making more birdies rather than the result. He made six consecutive birdies to close out his record-setting 60.

Perhaps more impressive was following it up with the 63 in the second round to complete the bogey-free 36-hole effort. 60-63 = 123 ' that probably looks like the nine-hole scores and then the 18-hole total that a few of you may have shot over the weekend.

The top eight in the 70-something player field advance to the Open Championship at Royal Lytham in St. Annes in England.

Englishman Greg Owen also qualified, posting a 36-hole total of 14-under, including a 61 in the afternoon round.

'Canadian' Stephen Ames shot a 61, too, to finish at 10-under, along with Andres Romero and Justin Hicks, to secure spots.

With four guys tied at T6 for three remaining spots, Americans Bob Estes and James Driscoll, Swede Daniel Chopra and Scotsman Russell Knox had to play a few more in a sudden-death playoff.

Estes tweeted: 'Made about an 18 footer from pin high left in the fringe on 1st playoff hole to advance! Going back to Lytham!'

Chopra, Driscoll and Knox battled it out on the second extra hole, the par-3 17th. Knox, a 26-year-old PGA Tour rookie, unfortunately had some trouble with the water hazard, leaving Chopra and Driscoll to take the last two spots.

Knox tweeted: 'Tough day today. Missed out on a British open spot in a playoff. Gutted. Positive note: played much better 65 66. -9. Still gutted.'

He's first alternate, which if I remember correctly means that he still has a decent shot at getting in the field. Or at least a shot.

(AP Photo/John Raoux)

Keepin' it in the family: Tiger's niece signs with Steiney

About Me

Hi! My name is Stephanie Wei. I grew up in Seattle. I live in Manhattan, NYC. I played competitive golf for ten years in the junior and college ranks. I went to Yale, where I played on the women's golf team and graduated in '05 with a B.A. in History.

I still enjoy hacking a small, white ball around the golf course. Oh, I'm feisty and I like to smile a lot.

I'm a freelance writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated Golf+ and I write regularly for the Wall Street Journal. I'm also a senior editor at Back9Network>. In the past I've contributed to Huffington Post and Mediaite. My work has been published in here and at ESPN.com.

*****

GET WEI UNDER PAR NEWS

*Follow me on Facebook

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The WUP Team

Editor/Writer:

Stephanie Wei | steph.wei@gmail.com

Contributor/Senior Editor:

Conor Nagle | conor.nagle@gmail.com

Head Researcher Emeritus:

Kevin Ryan (Intern Kevin) | kvnryn77@gmail.com

Research whiz:

Shoshana Agus-Kleinman

*****

"Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening - and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented." -Arnold Palmer

Slow play controversy at Sybase turns into (continuous) melodrama

Pressel pouting

I've watched the replay of Golf Channel's tape-delayed coverage of the semifinals match between Morgan Pressel and Azahara Munoz, with a particular interest on the 12th hole, where Pressel went over the allotted time ' she had 2:09 to play her three shots ' by 39 seconds. I've also read just about every article of coverage by the scribes on-site.

Here's the story from the AP:

It all reverted to the morning semifinal in which Munoz and Pressel were both slow, although Munoz was admittedly a little slower. They were warned about slow play after nine holes and put on the clock after No. 11.

The 12th hole changed everything. Pressel won it with a par to take seemingly a 3-up lead.

However, before she could tee off on No. 13, tour official Doug Brecht informed her that she was being penalized for slow play. She had taken 2:09 to play her three shots, 39 seconds over the 30-second limit per shot.

In match play, a time penalty is the loss of the previous hole, and that handed the admittedly slow-playing Munoz the hole. She was 1-down and back in the match.

'It was tough timing because it was a really big, I think, turning point in the match, going from 2-up to 3-up, and then all of a sudden back to 1-up,' said Pressel, who was on the verge of tears several times in a postmatch news conference after she beat Vicky Hurst 2 and 1 in the consolation match. 'You know, it was ' I mean, it was really unfortunate.'

The time penalty was the first for Pressel in seven years on the tour, and it left a very bad taste in her mouth, knowing Munoz was the slower player.

'I think that slow play is one of our biggest problems on tour,' Pressel said. 'You know, I think that what bothers me the most is that we were given sufficient warning and she really didn't do anything to speed up and then I was penalized for it.'

Munoz said she was apologetic, adding she was surprised Pressel was penalized.

'I know I was slow and I really apologized for that and I told her, but I do feel both of us were slow and she was the only one getting penalized, and that was not fair and I know that,' Munoz said. 'I would never make her lose a hole.'

Tim Rosaforte spoke to Doug Brecht, the LPGA's VP for rules and officials:

'I feel like we do give them a chance to work it out on their own,' said Brecht. 'If they can't do it, we step in and administer the policy we're given.'

That reminded me of what PGA Tour player Brian Davis, who plays at a quick pace, told me after the final round of The Players. He said the players are supposed to police themselves, but obviously they can't, so that means the officials need to step in and enforce the pace-of-play rule.

Without being there for the Pressel-Munoz incident, I felt I needed to hear from someone who had a front-row seat. So I called Golf Channel's Jerry Foltz, who was the play-by-play announcer during the controversial match.

In sum, Foltz said he had no problem with the ruling and the penalty slapped on Pressel. Both Pressel and Munoz are slow players, with Munoz admittedly being on super-sluggish side, but once they were put on the clock, Pressel didn't appear to try and play within the allotted time. She walked fast in between shots, but she didn't think she'd actually get stroked.

Meanwhile, Munoz, who is probably more familiar with the rule, made the concerted effort to speed up and didn't record a bad time.

Foltzy penned a great piece on GolfChannel.com that explains what I just tried to convey:

Through two warnings and notification of being on the clock, Pressel did little to speed up. Having watched what happened from hole Nos. 8-12, and having listened to her interview with Val Skinner (which took place an hour and a half after the match concluded), I'm left to assume that Pressel never thought her pace of play was the problem and that she wouldn't be penalized.

Slow players cheat the system, routinely, on every tour. They speed up when they're placed on the clock, and once they're back in position, they go back to their old ways. It's as old as time. Therein lies the problem with any objective slow-play policy. However, Pressel's perceived disregard for the system cost her greatly and might go down as the most expensive penalty in LPGA history.

I was standing next to LPGA official Doug Brecht, to the side of the 12th tee, when he informed me that this match was officially on the clock. I saw the exact moment when he started the timing of Pressel (who was first to play), and I can tell you first hand that he used great discretion as to when to start the clock. And even with that extra allowed time for things to settle down on the teeing ground, she still took 57 seconds to play the shot. Gusting wind, a change of clubs, and a lengthy discussion with her caddie all played a part, but she never appeared to be in a hurry.

By hitting only three shots on the hole, and with the additional 10-second grace period, Pressel was in breach of the rule by 39 seconds ' or more than 50 percent of the allotted time. In my view, that blatant of a violation should never receive a blind-eye on behalf of any official. To make matters worse, Munoz missed a short putt to tie the hole, and the loss-of-hole penalty effectively became a two-hole penalty. However, Pressel still teed off on the 13th hole with a 1-up lead.

Clutch putts by Munoz on 15, 16, and 17, combined with missed putts by Pressel on the same holes (and a three-putt on 17) gave Munoz the victory.

Kudos to Munoz for handling a difficult situation with grace and closing out for the win.

***

This is a bit of an aside, but the rules controversies didn't end on No. 12.

On the 15th green Pressel accused Munoz of grounding her putter in front of her ball, which would have been a rules breach and a loss of hole for Munoz. Friend of WUP and Star-Ledger golf writer Brendan Prunty explained:

Once again, rules officials were called in to examine Pressel's claim. After a brief review via the television feed away from the hole, Robinson made the determination that the club had not been grounded and no rule had been broken.

Munoz would go on to win the 15th, 16th and 17th holes, closing out the match and moving on to the afternoon.

'You know, I'm not going to say that I was disappointed that there was no penalty,' Pressel said after defeating Vicky Hurst 2&1 in the consolation match. 'But, I mean, it is the Rules of Golf at that point. The same thing that I was penalized for three holes before. She ' on I think it was the sixth hole ' I kind of saw her (ground the club). She goes halfway to the hole and lines up her putt and she put her putter down.

'And I looked up at my caddie and I said, 'I think she just put her putter on the ground, which you can't do.' You can't touch the line of the putt no matter what you're trying to do with it. And then I just happened to look up and saw her do it again on 15 and I mean, I guess if she doesn't feel like she did it, then that's the Rules of Golf at that point. The television wasn't able to capture the footage.'

Now that's just petty. I mean, really, Morgan? C'mon. Grow up.

Apparently the two hugged it out on the range before the afternoon matches. The behind-the-scenes stuff sounds like it was more intriguing than the actual golf! Also from Prunty's article:

The 24-year old Spaniard sought Pressel out after the match to try and smooth things out before each played their afternoon round. At first they couldn't connect, but on the practice range, the two buried the hatchet.

'I didn't see her, so I sent her a text saying how I felt and what I thought and if we could talk after the round because I didn't know if I was going to see her,' Munoz said. 'She came to me on the range and just told me, 'Just win it for me.' So that meant a lot that she came to talk to me before my round. Obviously, having her on 17, it was really special.'

***

Another random morsel: Pressel's fiancee, Andy Bush, is the tournament director of Sybase.

I've heard some arguments that the LPGA was trying to make a statement on the heels of the slow play problem that was spotlighted on the PGA Tour a week earlier ' when all eyes were on Kevin Na and his antics at The Players. Maybe. But it's not the first time the LPGA has doled out strokes for slow play this year. Officials have penalized players in two prior incidents this season and gave out five in 2011, which probably isn't enough, but it's a start.

Bottom line is I can't stand on a soap box and complain about the PGA Tour not enforcing the slow-play rule and then condemn officials when they apply the penalty, which in match play is loss of hole. The only solution to conquering this epidemic is giving out strokes. Fines aren't enough to strike fear in players to play faster. A shot penalty would definitely get the slow pokes moving.

I realize there were only four players on the course, but that's not the point ' there's a rule that should be enforced consistently regardless of the circumstances. Pressel disregarded the allotted time, and thus, she paid the price. It's also not fair to say the penalty decided the match. Pressel was assessed the loss of hole after the 12th hole, leaving her at 1-up instead of 3-up with six to play. She felt wronged and let it affect the outcome.

Sure, it doesn't seem 'fair,' but again, I recommend reading Foltzy's first-hand account, you might walk away with a different perspective.

(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Belated thoughts and behind the scenes, post-Players edition

Pretty in pink at The Players

There are always a bunch of leftover tidbits from talking with players about whatever topic or observing something interesting/weird/funny/sad that I wish I could have shared, but for one reason or another, I didn't have time to post or write it, or it just didn't fit anywhere else. Maybe I'm an ultra geek and no one else cares, but that's too bad. I'm not forcing you to read on'

*I have an opus on the slow play problem on the PGA Tour, which is a post on its own.

*Speaking of which, Kevin Na hit an incredible 5-wood off the concrete cart path on the 18th hole and hit it to about 25-30 feet. From where he was and the water menacing all the way down the left side of the hole, that was very impressive. Na tweeted a YouTube clip of it ' if you just want to see the shot and skip his pre-shot routine, fast-forward to the 1:05 mark.

I swear Roger Maltbie let a 'sh*t' slip out in reaction to how good Na's shot was. Oh, there was hardly a scratch on the 5-wood, which means he had to have struck it pretty much perfectly. That's more than enough for me.

*Rookie Harris English was paired in the second-to-last group on Saturday with Matt Kuchar. Surely already nervous, English hit a drive that hooked and landed splat on top of a man's hand, knocking him down and causing a visible wound (and blood). Ouch. Well, that kind of shook up Harris and he never quite recovered. Not exactly the start he wanted to make. Add that with rookie nerves and there's your explanation for the 79 he shot in the third round. Chalk it up to another one of those valuable learning experiences.

*Remember what happened on Thursday morning with the whole crazy incident, where D.A. Points withdrew and officials weren't alerted until a Shot Link employee noticed there were only two balls in the fairway, and then the chaos ensued because they couldn't gather the first alternate, Brian Harman, in time ' technically DQ'ing him for not being at the tee, but he did everything that was required of him as an alternate and notified the lady he was on-site and ready to play, where he could be found, etc. The PGA Tour officials eventually decided to let Harman in the field and he teed off at 12:20, five minutes before the first threesome in the afternoon wave was scheduled to start.

The only thing left unclear to me about the situation was what Points did on the first tee, what he said to his playing partners, etc., and what transpired from there to the time when Harman was finally fetched'too late.

Well, Robert Garrigus helped clear that up. He told reporters his side of the story after the first round at TPC Sawgrass.

'When we got up to the tee box, D.A. was about to hit, I was third in the group, and D.A. is like, hey, man, I can't go.  I'm like, well, I tee off and we'll wait for Brian because I saw him on the driving range.  We didn't understand what was going on.  We thought Brian was going to come play with us.

'We hit our second shots.  We're like, okay, what's going on.  As soon as we finished the hole, we knew Brian was done.  So once he was done, we're like, well, they just DQ'd all the alternates because he didn't get to play. So as soon as we finished the hole, we're like, well, that's that.

'But the PGA Tour officials should have stepped in and said, hey, wait to finish the hole or we have to do something, and they did something and he's able to play, which is good, because he should have because he was here, and he notified them where he was. There was no way he should have been disqualified, and they made the right call in my opinion by letting him play this afternoon first off in a single.

'They asked him if he wanted a marker, he said no, so he's just playing as a single and then first off tomorrow morning, which is the right call because he was here.  He wasn't on the tee box, and D.A., I think, should have said something, hey, my back is hurt, call the first alternate.  That's my opinion.'

What happened on the tee:

'I saw (D.A) trying to swing a golf club.  I'm like, how is he going to do this today.  It didn't look like he was going to be able to swing a club, let alone play golf.  He said it was hard for him to stand up, but he could bend over and pick up a tee, but he couldn't straighten his back.  So I mean, he had muscle spasms.

'I heard 25 minutes before we teed off that D.A. hurt his back, so there was time for all this to get set up but it never did.  Either he ran to the physio, had someone take him to the physio, or whatever.  Something should have been said or something should have got done before then so Brian would have been able to tee off when we had him there.'

Ridiculous, but Harman made the cut and ended up placing a respectable tie for 51st and earning $22,496.00, which could turn out to be quite valuable at the end of the year or not at all, but there's always that possibility. Not everyone gets the fair or right call, but good to know it does happen.

Man, it hasn't been the best few weeks for PGA Tour officials, huh? Mark Russell has probably lost his voice from giving so many press conferences and statements.

*The beloved 2012 Masters champ Bubba Watson took a self-imposed 'maternity leave.' Well, I found it interesting to hear Simon Dyson (nice chap, by the way) had just returned the week before after a two-month non-completely-voluntary one:

My wife just had a baby two months ago.  She wanted me at home a lot during her pregnancy, and then she wanted me at home straight after, and it's tough.  And I've missed a lot of good tournaments.  I missed Honda, I missed Bay Hill, tournaments like that, whereas I could have got on a good run.  I've been playing one tournament, having a week off, playing another tournament, having two weeks off, and I just haven't been able to get into a run of tournaments.

I mentioned Bubba's decision to take a month off, which wasn't the case for Dyson.

No, he didn't have to.  My wife just wanted me to, and I wanted to be there, as well.  I would have hated to have missed any part of it because it's an unbelievable experience.  I'm pleased I did it.  But my golf is suffering a little bit.  Just got to get back in the swing of things.

Unfortunately, Dyson tweaked his back the week prior in Spain and was forced to withdraw after the first round due to the back injury. Good, friendly guy. Hope he feels better soon.

*Vijay Singh's absurdly amazing drill that I see him do at the range all the time and I find it fascinating that he doesn't hit either the shaft or the umbrella.

*Robert Garrigus threw in a 60' TV to the winner of the caddies closest to the pin contest on No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass on the spot, because, well he's Garrigus. Best coincidence? His caddie Brent Henley was the winner, knocking his shot to 3'7'.

*Curtis Dvorak has served as the Jacksonville Jaguars mascot, 'Jaxson De Ville,' since 1996. According to Golf World's Mike Johnson, Andres Romeros' caddie Adrian Monteros challenged Jaxson to hit a shot on 17. In full costome, Dvorak grabbed an eight-iron, saying he'd have to club down because of the suit. Brandt Snedeker chimed in and didn't think he'd make the green. Mike 'Fluff' Cowan, Jim Furyk, shot back, 'I'll take the cat for $20.' Sneds left the 17th tee with $20 less in his wallet. I happened to also be on the tee when this happened, but Jaxson hit more than one impressive shot. He was putting on quite the performance. (I'm joking when I say he's showing off')

That's all, folks!

(Getty Images/David Cannon)

Tour slow-playing slow play

The waiting game...

Slow play has been an epidemic on the PGA Tour since as long as anyone can remember. Every year it's the same ol' story ' fans/media/players complain and it's always brought up at least once in the annual Players Meeting, but the pace of play on Tour hasn't improved. It's become one of those things that's almost become part of the game. At least on Tour, but Kevin Na's waggles and whiffs put a massive spotlight on the slow play issue, which was already a point of contention heading into the week.

Interesting enough, this week's event marks the 20th anniversary of the last time a player ' Dilliard Pruitt, who is now, coincidentally, a Tour rules official ' was stroked a one-shot penalty for slow play at the '92 Byron Nelson Classic.

The Tour's pace of play policy references Rule 6-7 in the USGA's Rules of Golf and it also defines 'Out of Position,' stating:

The first group to start will be considered out of position if, at any time during the round, they exceed the time allowed to play, as detailed on applicable course's Pace of Play Chart. Any subsequent group will be considered out of position if, at any time during the round, they (a) exceed the allotted time to play and (b) reach a par-3 hole that is open and free of play or reach a par-4 or par-5 hole and have not played a stroke from the teeing ground before the hole is open and free of play.

In regard to 'Timing,' the rules officials determine a group is out of position, then all the players will be timed and informed they're on the clock. The time limit or 'shot clock' is 40 seconds with an extra 20 seconds given several exceptions (not all shots take the same amount of time to play). First time you receive a bad time, you get a warning, and then if you get another, it's a stroke penalty. That's what the rules read, but the Tour doesn't apply it.

******

Last Wednesday in a pre-tournament press conference, Commissioner Tim Finchem was asked to comment on the Tour complying with the USGA standards and stroking players.

'I actually think we might want to experiment with penalty shots,' he said. 'But I don't think penalty shots make a difference to be honest with you.'

Really? Well, if you haven't done it in 20 years, how would you know if it'd work?

After his final round at the players, Tiger Woods didn't mince words (for Tiger) on the topic. In 2008 he went out of his way to bring up the slow play problem. Has anything changed in four years?

'Worse,' said Tiger. 'Last week (at Quail Hollow), we were playing in 4:40 and there's no wind.  That's hard to believe.

'We have gotten slower on Tour.  College has gotten just incredibly slow.  It's so bad that now we are giving the guys the ability to use lasers to try to speed up play, and they are still in, you know, 5:45, 6:00 plus.'

Yep, it's been like that for over a decade. It's painful.

The easy solution?

'I think very simple, if you get a warning, you get a penalty,' said Woods.  'I think that would speed it up.'

******

More waiting

In an informal poll I did last week among at The Players, all but one said the only solution to fixing slow play would be to dole out strokes.

When I asked Henrik Stenson for his response to Finchem's comment, the Swedish golfer said, 'They don't give strokes here?' He seemed surprised. Stenson is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He was aware that the slow pokes receive fines.

'Giving strokes would speed things up if you're stricter with the rules,' he told me on Saturday after the third round of The Players Championship. 'People already get pretty heavy fines. Over here, you can get fined $20,000 if you're on the clock more than 10 times in one season.

'When I won here in '09, I was given a letter after the tournament that I'd been on the clock 3 times. I'm not going to mention any names, but I was playing with certain players who are not known to be the quickest and then I got a warning letter. I consider myself to be in the middle (speed-wise).'

The fines clearly aren't enough to motivate a player to speed up, and why would they? (Aside from the most basic: common courtesy.) The crime is worth the punishment.

'What's the difference between first and second right now?  How much is it? he asked. Reporters replied that it was about $800,000.

'So I would take the five grand and over the 800K,' said Tiger. 'But that's one shot, and that's the difference.  That's what people don't realize is that one shot is so valuable out here.'

Brian Davis, who is one of the quicker players, also doesn't think purely fines is enough incentive.

'I think we should just play for a million bucks every week and everyone would just run,' said Davis on Sunday, with a wry smile. 'There are six million (or more) reasons why to slow down.

'Some guys are slow and they want us to police ourselves, but obviously we can't. The men upstairs usually get it right. I'd be scared if they said, you get bad times, it's a shot. If they just say, we're timing you, you have a bad time, you're penalized a shot. I'd panic. I'd run.'

******

See ya later, suckers.

On Friday the threesome of Matt Every, Colt Knost and Harris English arrived on the 18th tee and took a seat in chairs alongside the tee. They had a good five minutes or more.

Colt called to me from across the tee box and said frustratedly, 'Hey, Stephanie, I have a story you need to write'how effing slow these guys in front of us are playing. It's ridiculous. Five hours and 20 minutes.'

I told him that he didn't need to worry about that ' we were all over it already.

He was also very vocal throughout the week via Twitter:

'Love it when it take 5.5 hours to play a round of golf. So ridiculous!!!'

Rickie Fowler replied:

@ColtKnost beat ya'5 hours 20 mins'morning wave'boom!! #waitedeveryshot

On Sunday, Knost missed the cut, but watched the final-round coverage and said:

Final group at the players is over a hole behind!! Pace of play is no issue!! FALSE

World No. 2 Luke Donald, watching from his TV at home, tweeted at the season opener in Hawaii:

'Slow play is killing our sport.'

After the third round at The Players, Donald raved about his playing partner:

'My new favourite golfer to play with is Bill Haas, top bloke and always ready when it's his turn, one waggle and he's off #refreshing'

You know there's a problem when 'slow play' is basically trending on Twitter and overshadowing the fifth major. In fact, he nearly stole the show, thanks to Kevin Na. However, perhaps it had to take something this extreme for Na to really address his waggle and trigger-pulling issue, and for the PGA Tour to finally start enforcing the rule and pace of play policy more stringently.

******

Tick-tock, tick-tock!

Apparently, the European Tour, who has the same policy, takes slow play much more stringently and it's not rare a player receives a penalty stroke.

'The rules officials are more people's tails in Europe on speed of play, for sure,' said Stenson.

Added Davis, jokingly: 'The officials are brutal in Europe. They jump out of the trees and say, 'Gotcha!''

Stenson and Davis both pointed out a gray area that could cause problems when it comes to give out penalty strokes for slow play.

'If you take a guy a stroke, it might not be only necessarily a check but the tournament and that's a lot of cash,' said Davis. 'I think penalties would make a difference, but problem is there's a fine line between when do they start the clock and when does he officially start.

'They want us to police ourselves, but obviously we can't do it.'

Some shots also take longer to play than others, which was Stenson's concern.

'If you're usually a quick player, but you hit a bad shot and you're on the clock because someone in your group is slow,' he said, 'You're going to miss a green and end up with a tough shot somewhere and you're not going to feel like you have that minute to go up and look (at the green) because all of a sudden you get a bad time. The other players is really the slow one, but I'm going to get the bad time.'

What about imposing a total time limit allowed for all shots you play? Well, it'd be difficult to monitor that and a pain to have someone time every single player (though it has been done by the intrepid team of Golf Mag staffers last year at Bay Hill). Hypothetically, it's a logical and fair concept.

This is what another player suggested: Let's say a player has 46 minutes ' that's a totally arbitrary number ' of shot time for the round. When I tee off, a person is timing you, but total amount of time to play all your golf shots. Some shots take more quickly to play them, so when you have a shot that requires more time, more than 40 seconds of attention, you can use that time. If it takes someone a long time on every shot and exceed 46 minutes, maybe they should be penalized.

******

I feel like with all the critique and negative attention the Tour has received over slow play, they have to do something to improve it, and the only solution that will motivate a player to hurry up is to give penalty strokes. Yes, you know, like I said earlier, what a novel idea to enforce the rule!

Given this week is the 20th year anniversary, I can't think of a better time. My only concern is some poor unknown player is going to get Doug Barron'd.

A one-shot penalty is worth more than winning a tournament. Every player knows how costly one shot can be. One shot can decide your schedule because each shot counts throughout the year. Just ask Spencer Levin, who finished 31st on the 2011 PGA Tour money list.

Last season he had to call a stroke on himself when an outside agent caused his ball to move on the putting green. Turned out the disparity in prize money due to that one-shot penalty was worth the difference in finishing 31st and 30th on the money list. The top 30 receives huge perks, like being automatically exempt to the next season's majors, most of the WGCs (no-cut, so free money), and all the invitationals, etc.

That all said, happy 20th anniversary of the last time a player was stroked for slow play! Bet Pruitt can still tell you exactly how much money in official money that cost him.

By the way, I'm a little tired of hearing about people compare their Saturday game with their buddies at their club to a PGA Tour event. I know it's the only barometer we know how to measure, but this would fall under the bifurcation category.

(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)