There was some unintended drama at the St. Jude Classic on Sunday that involved Tom Pernice Jr. As he stood over his putt on the 14th green, the ball moved ever-so-slightly off the putter-head before he made his putting stroke. The rules of golf are pretty clear in this situation, and once the putter has been grounded the ball is in play and can’t be moved, except to make the putting stroke. The instant replay clearly showed the ball moving forward, but when confronted by a rules official a few holes later, Pernice was completely unaware of the incident.

It was actually an odd conversation between Pernice and the official that went something along the lines of, “did you see your ball move?”. “No, I didn’t, but if it did move, then give me the penalty so I can keep playing my round”. The official then said something to the effect of “it actually looked like the ball oscillated back and forth…do you agree?, and if so, there is no penalty”.

Wouldn’t you know it, Pernice agreed that the ball did in fact oscillate and lo and behold, there was no penalty assessed to Pernice. Now, color me skeptical but I’ve been playing golf for many years and I’ve never seen a golf ball go into an unprovoked, break-dancing, oscillating fit all by itself. Not to question Pernice’s integrity, but isn’t it ironic that last year Pernice took it upon himself to call PGA/USGA headquarters during a tournament he was watching on TV, to let them know he thought Tiger Woods’ driver ought to be confiscated after the round and tested to see if it was illegal. Seems that Mr. Pernice didn’t appreciate Mr. Woods outdriving Mr. Mickelson on that particular day. Tiger’s driver was tested that day and deemed perfectly legal.

Mr. Pernice, go spend some quality time with one Mr. Darren Clarke.

There’s no doubt that Darren Clarke has been of the classier guys on the tour (though he primarily plays in Europe), but his decision this past weekend to not improve his lie after a weather delay during the Irish Open absolutely cemented his place in the sportsmanship hall of fame. On the 9th hole during Sunday’s round, Clarke pushed his drive into the rough, but before he could finish the hole, the horn sounded and he had to mark his ball and finish the round on Monday. When he returned to finish the hole, he discovered that the patrons had trampled down the rough where his marker was and now had a much better lie than he had the previous day. The 9th hole is a par-5 and this improved lie would have given him the opportunity to probably reach the green in two and possibly make birdie, and even win the tournament.

Feeling unsure about the improved lie, he asked for a ruling and the official ruled he could play the ball as it lay. Now, I have to believe 99% of most hackers (and I’m guessing most touring pros) would have taken the opportunity to play the ball with the improved lie and go for the green. Nothing wrong with that since that’s how the official ruled.

However, Clarke didn’t feel comfortable about the situation and proceeded to chip the ball back into the fairway, as he would have had to do if he would have finished the hole on Sunday. Clarke went on to say, “”When I went back out the area around the ball had been flattened. It was a much better lie than when I left it. “I could have put it on to the front of the green from where it was, but my conscience would not allow me to do it so I just decided the best thing to do was chip out like I would have done the previous night. “Honesty is part and parcel of the game and I could not have acted any other way.” Ironically, his chip out and subsequent bogey more then likely cost him the tournament, but Mr. Clarke wouldn’t have it any other way.

Yes, golf is a gentlemen’s game and this is what we expect out of professional tour players for sure, but there have been other incidents where touring professionals may have lacked better judgement. Case in point: two years ago at the Harbor Town Classic, Stewart Cink improved his lie in a waste bunker by removing loose impediment from behind his ball. This was within the rules, but it left a sour taste in some eyes as Cink clearly improved his lie to the point that the ball looked like it was sitting on a tee. Note that the waste area on this hole was filled with crushed seashells as the primary component, as opposed to sand and gravel. However, Cink made a clear indentation behind the ball with his finger allowing him to pick the ball cleanly and make birdie on the hole. In my opinion, Cink took advantage of the rules to create a situation that clearly allowed him to win the tournament.

Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is only 4 months away so it’s not too early to start the water-jug discussions. So what are the odds this year that the Americans will finally win one? I’m not convinced that collectively they’re going to jell come September. Individually, and on paper, the Americans are better, but even that gap is closing as the European tour players are playing more in the United States and getting used to big-league golf.

However, I still think the intangible that separates this generation’s American golfers from previous generations, is that they are in fact indepedent contractors and it’s very difficult to come together as a team when for 23 months you’re grinding all by yourself week-to-week.

So how come the Europeans can rally round their respective flags? I think it has a lot do with the fact that the European players still hang out together when playing the European tour and generally have a natural camraderie that just bubbles over during Ryder Cup week. Their American counterparts go their separate ways during tournaments here in the United States.

And does it really matter who the captain is? I’m not convinced the captain is anything more than a glorified concierge, dealing with tons of logistics, not the least of which is to pick those hideous shirts and caps we see every two years. Hal Sutton was the ultimate rah-rah type of captain, but for all the primping and posturing he did, the Americans got spanked. Tom Lehman seems to come from a similar mold, that of the underdog who is going to win one for the red, white, and blue.  However, factor in that the Ryder Cup is being played on the Euro’s home turf, and it could get ugly. Color me skeptical, but I’m not convinced the Americans are ready to win yet.

LPGA

Lorena Ochoa continues her tear on the LPGA and won going away last weekend at the Sybase Classic. Annika Sorenstam made a little noise on Sunday, but couldn’t put together a stretch of 5 or 6 holes that might have made a difference. Is Annika’s dominance finally diminishing? I don’t think so. I think she’s having an off year (by her standards), but look for her to challenge in the majors the rest of the year.

Calcuating the exact yardage to a location has been every hackers dream for years and GPS devices have been available to golfers for about a decade now. For professional tour players however, knowing exact yardages is a job requirement if they’re going to be competitive on the PGA tour. Long-time golf fans know that yardage books are the absolute bible for tour players and back in the 70s and 80s, touring professionals could actually buy yardage books from other caddies and suppliers. It wasn’t long before tour players started using full-time caddies and they were soon creating their own yardage books for every course on the tour.

Fast forward to this decade and hand-held distance measuring devices (DMDs) have become the norm for touring caddies to verify and log yardages during practice rounds. Bushnell has recently released an updated $499.00 rangerfinder that also gives slope information, in addition to yardage information. However, instead of using GPS, the Bushnell Pinseeker uses a laser to determine distances.

So I’m curious how many weekend hackers actually use the Bushnell or any other DMD on your local course.

Daly’s Drama

The buzz surrounding John Daly’s newly released autobiography has dulled somewhat, but it’s being reported here that some PGA tour players are skeptical of Daly’s self-proclaimed gambling debts of $50-60 million dollars. Daly already has a bigger-than-life personna so it doesn’t make sense for him to have to exagerate his debts, but you have to believe the publisher might have had just a little to do with it.

If you’ve ever watched Daly’s reality show on the Golf Channel, you know that he’s a regular Joe, which is his big attraction for his millions of fans. His priorities seem to be eating, golf, drinking, and his family. That’s not a criticism, but an observation, and the Golf Channel steers clear of any type of gambling while they’re taping him.

Can John win another major? Maybe, but it’s hard to imagine that winning majors is high on his golf priority list. He certainly has the long ball, and the short game to match most anyone, but clearly lacks the dedication (by his own admission) to spend the countless hours on the range honing his game. Regardless, we’re all pulling for Daly when he’s in contention.

Wie Advances

Michelle Wie won the local U.s. Open qualifying tournament in Hawaii and now advances to the sectional qualifying. I’ve been one of Wie’s biggest supporters, but even I have to wonder what her long-term plans are.

Is she entertaining thoughts of playing the PGA tour someday? If she wants everyone to view her as just another golfer and not a female golfer, then if she somehow qualifies for the men’s U.S. Open, what’s the big deal? Journeymen golfers qualify every year for the U.S. Open and hardly a word is written about it. Wie should be treated accordingly. Of course, that’s not realistic, because she IS a female golfer and it will generate interest in the game and even attract casual golf fans. I’m just confused about her commitment to the LPGA.

Reigning U.S. Open Champion Michael Campbell has been conspicuously absent from the PGA Tour this year. Unfortunately for him, the PGA Tour restricted the number of tournaments he could play because he did not compete in the minimum number of 15 tournaments in 2003. The PGA Tour requires all foreign-born players to play a minimum of 15 events or they are banned from joining the PGA for five years. On the surface this sounds a bit harsh, but the PGA does not want International players to only play a select number of events, then bolting back to Europe after they’ve cherry-picked the top events.

However, I think this policy needs an exception clause if the reigning U.S. Open or PGA Champion is a foriegn-born player. Campbell has turned down a dozen or so invites to tournaments across the U.S. because of his non-menber status. This not only hurts Campbell’s experience and exposure as the reigning U.S. Open Champion, but it’s also hurting tournament directors that would benefit immensely from the U.S. Open Champion playing in their respective events. Not to mention, it’s hurting his ability to prepare for his U.S. Open defense at Winged Foot this year.

As the current U.S.Open Champion, Campbell did have the option of joining the PGA Tour at the begining of the year, but he had to commit to playing the minimum of 15 events in 2006, something he was not willing to do. That’s understandable because he’s a card-carrying member of the European Tour and his home is in England where he and his wife are raising school-age children. He was recently quoted in Golf Digest saying while he enjoys playing U.S. events, he’s more comfortable playing in Europe because of the culture differences and doesn’t feel he has a lot in common with his American counterparts. Again, understandable because American players have said the same thing over the years when they’ve played the European and Asian tours.

Michael Campbell should be turning down invites to PGA tour events because there are too many to choose from, not because he’s being restricted by the PGA Tour.

The Big Break V finals have been completed and as most predicted, Ashley Prange won the match play event 5 and 4 over Jeanne Cho.  It started out as a pretty good match with Jeanne and Ashley trading birdies and pars, but then it appeared Jeanne’s nerves started to get the best of her.  More than anything, she seemed to be tentative with her putts and never really got the rock rolling consistently.  As I’ve written earlier, Ashely has shown her mettle by already winning a Future’s Tour event this year so you have to believe winning the Big Break gave her some additional confidence.
  

The Golf Channel also announced that Big Break VI will be comprised of both men and women and is going to be played at Donald Trump’s resort course in California.  Boy, this show has come along way from the cabins the men stayed in for Big Break I.  This was probably the most enjoyable Big Break from my perspective because of the camaraderie that most of the women had with each other.  Granted, most of them had played together on the Future’s Tour, but the competitors seemed to be genuinely applauding each other’s good shots.  The previous shows (excluding the U.S.A. vs. Europe show) were as much about the gossip as they were about the golf.  Yes, there is a human element in these matches, but golf is and will always be a gentlemen’s game and with that comes with respect for your competitor.

I had a chance to watch the final round of the Champions Tour event this weekend, and it was definitely a thriller with Brad Bryant hitting three consecutive long-iron shots over the closing three holes to win. It got me thinking that I wonder what the overall health is for the Champtions Tour. I used to watch it regularly on the weekends, especially when Hale Irwin was in the top 10 consistently. Then Peter Jacobsen came along and gave the tour a boost, but since he’s been hurt, I have to believe TV ratings have been down. I personally don’t watch near as much as I used to, as I’m more apt to look for the LPGA events, or even the Nationwide events. In fact, on a side note, I wouldn’t mind seeing a few select Futures Tour events as well, as I think the Golf Channel could spread the wealth a little on what they broadcast.

Does the Champions Tour have long-term staying power? You’d certainly think so, but the new generation of 50-year-olds coming up are more financially secure than their predecessors and they really don’t need to be out there every week bringing home a paycheck. And as the regular tour purses continue to rise, there will be even less of a reason to continue to play competitively past 50 years old. Greg Norman is 50 now, but has little to no interest in playing on the Champions Tour, primarily because he makes more money from his other business ventures. And Norman has to feel that he’s substantially better than 50 percent of the field at any given event. Which leads to, what about the competition?

Save for the well-known PGA Tour carry-overs, how competitive is the rest of the field at a Champions Tour event? I looked at the final leaderboard after Sunday’s event, and roughly, 30% of the field was over par (the winning score was 17-under). Is that good or bad? I suppose it depends on what percentage of that number is comprised of Super Seniors (those 60 and over). Does the gallery want to follow someone that’s shooting 82?

And what about TV ratings? I’m glad that the Champions Tour has finally found a home on the Golf Channel but I have to believe that a player of Hale Irwin’s caliber needs to step up and create some excitement, consistently. Loren Roberts had a fantastic run at the beginning of the year, but he’s cooled off somewhat. Factor in the competitiveness of the LPGA tour now, and it could be a tough road for the Champions Tour.

After eight attempts, Michelle Wie finally made a cut at a men’s event. Granted, it was the SK Telecom Open in South Korea (where she’s a superstar), but nonetheless, it was a huge accomplishment. She’s also scheduled to try and qualify for the U.S. Open in Hawaii.
Now, I’m a huge fan of Wie’s, but I think it’s time to focus on winning on the LPGA tour. I followed her at last year’s Women’s U.S. Open in Denver and she does in fact play a different game, but she needs to hone her skills against the best Women players in the world. Yes, she’s been close in the Women’s majors, but she’s going to have to win eventually to justify all the media attention and exemptions she’s been given.

By the way, the crowd following her at last year’s Women’s U.S. Open was easily twice the size of any other player, including Annika.

Earl Woods

Earl Woods, Tiger’s father, passed away yesterday after battling prostate cancer. Our condolences go out to Tiger and his family and we wish them all best during this difficult time. It’s been said a thousand times that Earl influenced and shaped Tiger in ways the world has yet to see, but if it’s anything like his approach to golf, then Tiger’s legacy is just beginning.

The Big Break V

The Big Break is finally down to the championship match as Julie Wells was eliminated in the semi-finals. Ashley and Jeanie will go head-to-head in the finals next week, with Ashley as the prohibitive favorite. Regardless of the winner, Ashley has already shown she’s a player as she won a Future’s Tour event a few weeks ago and was in contention to win another just last week.I’m still not sure why this show has two co-hosts. Vince Cellini does a fine job introducing each challenge and its consequences and definitely has a rapport with all the contestants.