Green Reading

PGA Tour scrambling already

Has the recession and Tiger Woods' proclamation that he's taking a leave of absence from the PGA Tour really made the tour this desperate already? The new name of the former FBR Open in Phoenix is the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Really???? Do they really want people thinking fecal matter when they think of a golf tournament? I understand Waste Management, Inc., the largest environmental services provider in North America, is the title sponsor. But couldn't the tour negotiate for a better title? Tiger's gone for a couple weeks and already the tour is going down the toilet.

 

 

Tiger musings

A couple thoughts on the ongoing Tiger Woods saga.
One, with Tiger taking an indefinite leave of absence from the PGA Tour, that opens the door for other players, including Myrtle Beach resident Dustin Johnson, to win more money and more events. When Woods plays a full season he's good for probably a minimum of six wins and one major. He won more than $10 million in 2009 despite not having the greatest of years for his standards.
Sure the tour is worse off without Tiger. If it weren't for him the purses wouldn't be close to what they are. But they are $6 million or more just about every tournament because of him, and without him competing others can get more than their share of the oversized pie.
Two, don't think Accenture and some of the other companies Tiger endorses are dropping him or considering dropping him because of his indiscretions. If Tiger were committed to playing golf this year, I believe those companies would remain committed to him. But Tiger is famous because he's the greatest golfer on earth, probably in history. If he's not playing, he's no use to a company. The ads are all tied into his exploits on the course. What ads would they run of him? Woods bicycling around his Isleworth community? I don't believe that'll entice me to buy sneakers, golf equipment or a razor.

McElveen gets assistance in Tilghman win

Drew McElveen, 17, of Murrells Inlet got a little assistance from his high school coach at St. James High, Mike Riley.
Riley, a former United States Golf Association rules official, caddied for McElveen in the tournament and provided invaluable advice. ``He knows exactly what he’s doing, so he gave me every number I needed and we had the mindset we were going to come out and win it, and it just happened," McElveen said.
Though he added help on the course at the Surf Golf and Beach Club, McElveen eliminated help on the range in the months leading up to his win. In the past couple years he's received instruction from both Ted Frick of the Classic Swing Golf School and Shelley Kenney of Wachesaw Plantation, but he said he hasn't had a lesson in six months.
"My motto has been: I know enough about my golf swing, so just hit balls and figure it out myself," McElveen said. ". . . I just need to learn to get the ball in the hole, and a lot of people don’t have that ability, so hopefully this is the start of figuring that out. For now I think I’m going to stick with the hit balls mentality."

Tiger saga brings out worst in "journalism"

The Tiger Woods saga has unfortunately illuminated what for me is a disturbing trend in journalism that generally emanates from Web sites but is picked up by what should be trustworthy news and entertainment television channels. To steal a popular term from NBA commissioner David Stern, I call it "rogue" journalism. Misinformation is everywhere and it gets repeated by other news entities, and there doesn't seem to be any accountability for mistakes, particularly in the world of the Internet. I've always considered live TV journalism a little suspect, but it has nothing on the Internet.
When Woods first crashed his car, ESPN interrupted programming for a special news bulletin that said he was reportedly in serious condition. He hit a fire hydrant and tree pulling out of his driveway and he was supposedly on his deathbed? Next, the first thing I heard on TV when Tiger's mother in law was taken to the hospital was that she was on life support. How blatantly irresponsible is that? Can't you wait to get official word on a person's condition before reporting it?
What happened Thursday afternoon may be even more ridiculous. The weekly magazine Life & Style posted disparaging quotes about Tiger from PGA Tour members Ben Crane and Charles Warren, a Clemson grad, on its Web site. Crane called Woods a "phony and a fake" and Warren indicated that Elin Woods "had stars in her eyes, and maybe dollar signs too," and suggested that she leave Tiger.
There's one major problem with the story. Thursday night, both golfers said they never spoke to the magazine. Crane's agent, Tommy Limbaugh of 4UManagement, said a magazine official told him the interview took place at the PGA Tour Qualifying tournament last week at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., and was conducted by a reliable freelance writer. Crane finished 51st on the PGA Tour money list this year and was not at Q-School. Warren said through his agent that he has not given an interview of any kind in two months. I wonder who the writer actually spoke to? If he didn't make it up, they must be having quite the laugh right about now.
I can only hope this "rogue" so-called journalism dissipates, but I don't see it. For all the good things the Internet has spawned, this is not one of them.

Taking live questions Friday at noon

I will be answering questions for an hour about golf along the Grand Strand on The Sun News' online town forum, which will begin at noon Friday at www.TheSunNews.com. I hope to hear from you.

Johnson in action for first time in two months

Myrtle Beach resident Dustin Johnson is playing competitively this week for the first time since Oct. 4, albeit in a silly season event. He's been selected to play in the 21st annual Shark Shootout, Friday through Sunday at Tiburon Golf Club at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Fla.
Tournament host Greg Norman selected the teams, and Johnson has been paired with four-time PGA Tour winner Steve Flesch, who replaced Fred Couples. The Naples Daily News reported Couples withdrew with back problems.
The Shark Shootout features a modified alternate-shot format during the first round, a better ball Saturday and a final-round scramble. The tournament has a $3 million purse with $750,000 going to the winning team. Golf Channel will broadcast Friday's action from 3-6 p.m., and NBC will broadcast Saturday action from 4-6 p.m. and Sunday play from 3-6 p.m.
Norman will not compete as he recovers from shoulder surgery. The other 11 teams are J.B. Holmes & Kenny Perry, Jerry Kelly & Steve Stricker, Ross Fisher & Ian Poulter, Justin Leonard & Scott Verplank, Zach Johnson & Nick Price, George McNeill & Jeff Sluman, Mark Calcavecchia & Brian Gay, Chris DiMarco & Rickie Fowler, Chad Campbell & Tim Clark, Brad Faxon & Matt Kuchar, and Graeme McDowell & Boo Weekley.

Tiger fesses up

Tiger Woods came clean Wednesday, and it's as sad as it is shocking. Tiger seemed to have all the family virtues instilled in him and he professed to put family first. Doesn't look like that's the case now.
Woods came clean in a sense by posting an apology for his "transgressions" and saying he let his family down and hasn't lived up to his values. There are now up at least three women romantically linked to him, including one who says she's been having an affair with him since 2007 and has come forward with evidence. One woman would be a shame, but it could at least be forgiven as a weakness or mistake. If it's more than one, Woods shows little regard for his wife or marriage. How would people not find out? He's among the most famous people on earth.
You can only hope he finds a way to become the person he claims he wants to be. I'd much rather see him competing for major titles than on an episode of Cheaters.

Something amiss in Woods saga

Something is amiss in the ongoing Tiger Woods saga. There are too many unanswered questions and odd circumstances building up for everything to be hunky-dory in Eldrick Woods' world. Tuesday was going to be the day Woods spoke to the assembled golf media in advance of his $5.75 million Chevron World Challenge to benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation. But Woods withdrew citing the injuries sustained in his single-car accident and apparently won't be talking to anyone -- the media or police.
So a multitude of questions will remain unanswered for the foreseeable future. Knowing Woods, he's unlikely to ever talk about the accident or circumstances leading up to it. But if his marriage is indeed strained, the details may eventually come from his wife, Elin, or the woman who is alleged by the often offbase National Enquirer to be his mistress, Rachel Uchitel.
So for now and possibly forever, we don't know:
Why Tiger Woods, a great athlete and a very intelligent man, couldn't pull out of his own driveway without plowing over a fire hydrant and driving into a neighbor's tree?
How did he get cuts and scratches on his face? By refusing to meet with investigators, Woods opened the door for speculation that the injuries could have been caused by a domestic violence incident rather than the accident. Investigators appeared to be interested in seeing if the injuries were consistent with an auto accident, but Woods was first "sleeping" when investigators wanted to talk, then he sent word through his agent and attorney he wouldn't be available. He wasn't obligated to speak to the police, but why the evasiveness?
Why was Elin wielding a golf club at 2:30 a.m.? She reportedly smashed out the back window of the Cadillac Escalade to pull Woods out of the vehicle. Wouldn't it be easier to open the front driver's side door?
Did he indeed have an affair with a New York City club hostess who has dated celebrities in the past? Among other damning charges, the National Enquirer reported Uchitel was at the same posh hotel as Woods in Australia while he was playing in the Australian Masters a couple weeks ago. Seems like quite the coincidence.
If there was no affair, why did Uchitel go through the trouble of hiring Gloria Allred, who represented Amber Frey, who had an affair with married murderer Scott Peterson; Bill Clinton alleged harassment victim Paula Jones; and the family of Nicole Brown Simpson during the O.J. trial?
Frankly, some of this is probably none of our business. But if there was a domestic violence incident, that's a crime. And let's face it, the public is always drooling for salacious scandals involving celebrities, especially someone as world-renowned and squeeky-clean as Tiger Woods. The fact that he regularly talks about family being the most important thing to him and the importance of family values in a sense opens up the door to scrutiny.
On his web site, Woods apologized: "This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again." Was he speaking solely about the accident or something on grander scale?
You'd like to give Tiger Woods the benefit of the doubt, but there's definitely something fishy going on in Isleworth.

Quail Creek owner content with proposed sale to CCU

When the principals in Glenmark Holding LLC purchased Quail Creek Golf Club from GGG of Myrtle Beach in October 2004 through the created company Chestnut Holding LLC, they considered building housing. ``As a buyer of the course at that time during a housing boom, we looked into a housing development,'' principal course owner Mark Nesselroad said Monday.
Then they learned Coastal Carolina University might be interested in the layout as a valuable amenity and attraction for its PGA Golf Management Program. An easement requiring the land remain green space in perpetuity was placed on the 175 acres, and a lease was negotiated with CCU that could have been extended to 15 years. Whether the owners knew the housing market would tank or not, they may have saved themselves some aggravation and helped the university in the process.
The course owners and CCU officials have negotiated a deal in which the school will take over ownership of the course early next year, pending approval of some state bodies, for the remaining debt, which Nesselroad said is less than $3 million.
``We're making a donation to the university subject to the indebtedness,'' Nesselroad said. ``We felt at some point in time it would be an appropriate donation to the university. It had been in our thoughts and based on where we are with other things it would make sense to do that this coming year.''
Nesselroad estimates the value of the donation is between $800,000 and $1 million. "It's a substantial donation to the university," he said.
 

McPherson closing out season this weekend

Kristy McPherson and the rest of the LPGA Tour wrap up their season this weekend in the $1.5 million LPGA Tour Championship presented by Rolex at The Houstonian Golf and Country Club in Richmond, Texas. McPherson tees off in the 120-player event on the first tee at 8:10 a.m. Thursday with playing partners Meena Lee and Se Ri Pak. The group goes off the 10th tee at 11:40 a.m. in Friday's second round. McPherson enters the season-ending event 17th on the LPGA Tour money list with $728,111 earned in 23 events.
Golf Channel will have live coverage of all four rounds, with air times of 4-6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3-5 p.m. Sunday. McPherson's good friend and U.S. Solheim Cup teammate Angela Stanford will be fitted with a microphone during Thursday's opening round, and new LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan will join Brian Hammons and Dottie Pepper in the booth during Friday's live coverage.