sergio, el ninothe boy

Seeing Sergio playing with Tiger Woods in the final round of the Buick made me think back to 1999, and what could have been. Remember when "El Nino" stormed onto the scene (even with eyes closed) and appeared to steal the thunder from Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship. (See here). Sergio, only 19, played with bravado and boldness. I loved it when he raised his fist on the par 3 on the back nine on Sunday and stared Tiger down, who was watching from the tee. Lo an behold, Tiger went on to bogey the hole (as I recall). Although Tiger hung on to win by 1 stroke, after winning, an emotional Tiger gave a lot of props to Sergio, and even a hug. After the tournament, the two soon became friends.

Flash forward to 2006: Sergio hasn't won a major and he hasn't defeated Tiger Woods when both have been in contention (excluding the Battle of the Bridges and the Ryder Cup). After the round, Woods and Garcia barely seemed to acknowledge each other with other than a half-hearted handshake. Where's the love? More importantly, for Garcia, where's the game? His support team appears to have made the free-spirited Sergio into an overly mechanical, unnatural golfer and putter. Sometimes, kids know best. They don't think, they just do.

golly, Ollie

Jose Maria Olazabal's play to get into a playoff on Sunday was impressive. But, as soon as Tiger made the playoff, the look on Ollie's face changed. CBS did great camera work in cutting away to Ollie on the range when the crowd roared on 18 after Tiger's birdie. Ollie's grimace seemed to indicate greater anxiety and almost disappointment when Tiger joined the playoff party.

And why shouldn't Ollie get more anxious? After all, Tiger was 8-1 in playoffs and the World No.1 going into the tourney. But part of me thinks that Ollie should have tried to keep his "game face" on, without even acknowledging Tiger Woods' birdie to get into the playoff. Here's one time when the "Hal Sutton" attitude of take-no-prisoners, be-the-right-club-today! might have been better. Ollie should have wanted to go head-to-head against Tiger. He should have relished the opportunity. Maybe that kind of confidence would have translated into better play during the playoffs. For a guy who is touted for his iron play, Ollie came up really short -- literally -- on both playoff holes. First, his wedge from 90 yards rolled back onto the fringe. Then, on the 17th (which he parred everyday all week), his 2 or 3 iron hit the beach. From a two-time major winner, you'd expect a little more.

Monday recap: Tiger wins Buick

For most of Sunday, the leaderboard looked like the stock market, with players going up and down every few minutes. There were plenty of ties for 1st, and then occasionally a person like Nathan Green took the outright lead at -11. For most of the day, Tiger was not at the top, but either one or a few strokes behind. In the end, things changed.

Jose Maria Olazabal, who had the best round of the leaders, finished at -10 with a 69. 30-year-old Australian "rookie" Nathan Green then bogeyed 2 of his last four holes, but salvaged his round with a birdie on 18 to get into the playoff. Meanwhile, Arjun Atwal yipped a 1+ footer for birdie to miss the playoff. Lucas Glover, John Rollins, and Jonathan Kaye also had nice rounds but finished at -9. Sergio and Lefty played pathetically, for golfers of their stature (75 and 73).

That left the door open for you know whom: Tiger Woods. Needing a birdie on the last, Tiger hit his 5-wood on the par-5 in 2. He misread his first putt and left himself about 8 feet for his birdie. But Tiger is so money in clutch putts that you knew he would make it. And when he did, the fans erupted. Back on the driving range, the look on Olazabal's face (after he heard the roar) said it all: it was a part grimace, part look of I-really-didn't-need-that-guy-to-make-the-playoff-too. It probably was over before the playoff even started.

Nathan Green, playoff jitters

In the playoff that Tiger won, Nathan Green was about 20 feet from the green on the 1st playoff hole, but took 3 shots from there just to get on the green. What are the best words to describe Green's pitch and chip, the latter of which moved about 5 inches?

A. Chunk
B. Chili dip
C. Flub dub
D. Better than my own short game
E. Other

Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep.....

Watch out everyone, that sound you here is everyone backing up to make sure Tiger wins his first tournament of the year. Tiger Woods is an amazing player, but I continue to be amazed how his aura leads all the world's best players to go into the tank.

Playing in the last group in the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, Tiger shot an even par 72 ... and he had the best score in his group by 3 strokes! (Sergio posted 75 and Rod Pampling put up 76, nearly the worst round of anyone who finished in the top 50.) And then, in a three-way playoff, Tiger just had to post two ho-hum pars and he walks away with the title.

Tiger may well be the best ever, but I am still waiting for someone to really push him to actually have to beat someone to take home the title.

Buick: Sunday showdown

Sergio Garcia (-11) and Tiger Woods (-10) in the final group, with Lefty (-9) not far behind? Could the Buick get any better?

Buick: Saturday Storylines

1. Tiger, 7 back: Tiger shot a 68 yesterday, but is still 7 back (-5) from the leader Brandt Jobe (-12). Tiger is using the new Nike Sasquatch (SQ) driver for the first time in a tournament, so he says he's having trouble trusting it. On the first day, I think he only hit one fairway.

2. Phil, 6 back: Lefty is at -6. Sergio at -7. Full leaderboard here.

2. Jesper's return: Forget about David Duval, for now. Jesper Parnevik is back. He's at -10, 2 back of the leader, following up his stellar play last week at the Bob Hope Classic. If I heard correctly, Jesper said he got a new Titleist driver and loved it immediately.

3. Bubba (squared): How's this for a threesome on Saturday? Long-driving Bubba Watson, plus Bubba Dickerson plus the volatile Pat Perez.

4. Sophomore slump?: Hammer time (MC) again for Sean O'Hair and Jason Gore. That's 3 straight tourneys with MC.

TGB Goes Gaming

Do you love to play golf? Ever wish you could play it everyday, even in the dead of winter? Well, you won't want to miss The Golf Blog's next review. Stay tuned.

The Daly report

It was a tough day for John Daly off the course, after his wife headed to prison for a 5-month sentence for participating in an illegal drug ring and a gambling conspiracy offense. On the course, JD shot a 69, which was amazing given the circumstances.

Also big news: JD is officially playing TaylorMade's R7 driver and sporting a TaylorMade hat (see here from Golfweek). TaylorMade must have paid JD extra, because I can't remember the last time I saw him wearing a cap.

The Tiger report

I'm back. Buick Invitational, Torrey Pines.

Faldo's follies, Part II

I've already chronicled the shenanigans that Nick Faldo engaged in this Saturday on ABC's coverage of the Bob Hope Classic. See here. The tournament on the 17th hole appeared to be a part of the Hooters Tour, with 3 hot "margarita" babes at Faldo's side, not to mention the cameo appearance from a braless Nicolette Sheridan.

Some have written in, asking for some photos of what happened. I haven't seen much out there. I wonder why. But there is one of Nicolette here. Click on "Photo Gallery" and then fast forward to Picture 83. Then, just imagine a TV camera fixated on Nicolette, even taking a profile shot. For those wanting to watch some golf, things got a little distracting.

Take a mulligan: keeping mum on David Duval

A few of the comments suggest that I should talk more about David Duval making 2 straight cuts this year (the total number he made last year). I'd rather not. Why? Better not to jinx the guy; I just want to let the guy play. But if you want to know how much I really want DD to come back, look no further than these posts from the past. Enough said. I've probably said too much already.

1. David Duval on leaderboard (2005)
2. Bigger comeback: seve or duval (2005)
3. (Dis)equilibrium theory (2005)
4. DD spotting (2004)
5. DD: making my way back (2004)
6. David Duval, a different man (2004)
7. Daly in, Duval out (2004)
8. David Duval (2004)
9. News flash: duval to play U.S. Open (2004)
10. David Duval (2004)

Monday recap: Chad + Chris back in the victor's circle

This weekend saw the return of both Chad Campbell, playing at the Bob Hope Classic, and Chris DiMarco, playing in Dubai, to the victor's circle. For Chad, it's been 2 years since his last victory, and, for Chris, it's been 4 years. Just shows you how difficult it is to win on tour. With his second place finish at Sony last week, Chad Campbell appears to be primed and ready for a great season. At the Hope, Jesper Parnevik, finally playing some good golf, finished tied for second with Scott Verplank.

Meanwhile, Annika Sorenstam and teammate Lisalotte Neumann won the World Cup of Golf for Sweden. Even though they shot +3 on Sunday (with some shaky play from Neumann), they still finished 3 ahead of the second place team from Scotland. The U.S. team of Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis finished a somewhat disappointing 4th, at +1, a full 8 strokes behind.

Footnotes: It's still early in the season, but both Sean O'Hair and Jason Gore are starting to raise questions of "sophomore slump" with their play (although Gore may still be a tour rookie, depending on how you count it). Both missed the cut this week and last week, and both ended up tying Michelle Wie last week. Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson had a good first showing of the season, finishing 5th at -19, while young gun Lucas Glover made up for last week and getting beat by Michelle Wie, and finished tied for 10th.

Faldo's follies

Apparently, ABC wants to go out with a bang. Fed up with losing money on the PGA tour, ABC decided to give up on golf after this year. That left the PGA scrambling in negotiations with other networks.

Well, yesterday, ABC was broadcasting the Bob Hope Classic for the last time (including today). It's a 5 day tournament, with 4 days of pro-am. To "liven" things up, ABC had Nick Faldo on the 17th tee with a "margarita stand" with 3 hot babes who were scantily clad in very tight T-shirts. Not to be outdone, Nicolette Sheridan (star of Desperate Housewives) sported a white tank-top -- apparently, with no bra -- while following her beau Michael Bolton around. Faldo was doing his best to make this PGA event actually a part of the Hooters tour.

The shameless Faldo even sought autographs from and pictures with all the stars. Faldo was at his best (or worst), giving cheeky, color commentary while the famous celebs passed by. The PGA players seemed to be avoiding Faldo, thankfully. At one point, Faldo gave some swing advice to Roger Clemens (who earlier that round had made a hole in one), and the ABC announcers were quick to point out that giving advice was a rules infraction. Apparently, it didn't matter b/c Clemens's team won. Thank heavens, the pro-am is over.

Women's World Cup of Golf

Round 2 is concluding in South Africa for the 2-women teams from different countries. I wonder who's leading? Answer here. Of course, you might not want to know where things stand if you plan on watching it later this afternoon on The Golf Channel.

espn's new website

In the past day or so, ESPN's website got a fresh new look, here. The changes have made the site the Best Sports Website on the planet, with vivid photos and free video.

UPDATE: Wow, ... all that traffic we sent espn.com with our story must have been too much for them to handle. (We'll be more careful next time.) Here's what they said today:

"ESPN Back In ActionEditor's Note: ESPN.com was off-line for several hours early Saturday morning. Story publishing and scoreboard updates were affected. The site is returning to normal operations. We appreciate your understanding."

Women's World Cup of Golf

Tourney features in South Africa the top duos from around the world, including Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis. The Golf Channel will air coverage at 1:30-4:00 p.m. on Friday.

L.Brooky, G.Scott (NZL), D.Delasin, R.Quiazon (PHL) 3:10 a.m.
M.Prieto, P.Marti (SPN), B.Brewerton, B.Morgan (WALES) 3:22 a.m.
V.Zorzi, S.Cavalleri (ITA), Blomqvist, Hakkarainen (FIN) 3:34 a.m.
A.Monke, M.Nagl (GER), A.Hung, Y.Lin (TAI) 3:46 a.m.
R.Hetherington, S.Waugh (AUS), Hannemann, Bemvenuti (BRZ) 3:58 a.m.
M.Lee, B.Song (KOR), G.Nocera, K.Icher (FRA) 4:10 a.m.
P.Creamer, N.Gulbis (USA), M.Baena, C.Baena (COL) 4:22 a.m.
K.Taylor, L.Davies (ENG), L.Kane, A.Eathorne (CAN) 4:34 a.m.
A.Sorenstam, L.Neumann (SWE), C.Matthew, J.Moodie (SCO) 4:46 a.m.
* A.Miyazato, S.Yokomine (JPN), L.Maritz, A.Simon (SAF) 4:58 a.m.

The hullabaloo over Bubba

As I chronicled here, ferocious swinging Bubba Watson was the third biggest story of last week, next to David Toms's impressive victory and The Golf Channel's coup in securing exclusive cable rights to PGA play in 2007. Besides being mentioned by The Golf Blog, how do you know you've generated some buzz in the golf world? Well, you get a whole article devoted to you by Golf World's Tim Rosaforte, who was awarded The Best Golf Beat writer by TGB for 2006 (see here).

As usual, Rosaforte's article's great (see here). Here's a flavor:

"At the Sony, four of his drives in the final round traveled over 360 yards. At the 12th, he was two yards shy of breaking the 400-yard barrier. The scary thing: He only missed three fairways in the final round, shot 65 and finished fourth.

"Watson is more than a circus act experiencing his 15 minutes. He is the reason why Tiger Woods went to graphite and why Mickelson was experimenting with a 47-inch shaft this off-season. Watson is the future. He is 6-foot-3, 180 pounds of elasticity, and he didn't appear the least bit nervous on the weekend, finishing with an eagle on Sunday for a check of $244,800 that represented job security."

The Wie report

Deary diary,

My driving's great. I just got my driver's license!

-MW

John Daly's reality show tonight

It debuts at 10:30 p.m. on The Golf Channel.

The Leadbetter report

We're never going to see what she's really capable of until she plays a bunch of tournaments in a row -- on different courses with different conditions -- on a regular basis. But when you limit the number of tournaments you play, and you play the best men and women, your chances of winning are less. [On the LPGA tour, Michelle is limited to 8 possible starts.] That's tough, even when she's hitting it well. The momentum factor isn't there. That's going to be an issue until she finishes school. It's tough to play 12 tournaments a year and really get your game firing on all cylinders.

She can win with a half-set of clubs in her bag (on the AJGA, junior circuit). These girls are good, but this girl is special.

- DL

Take a mulligan: why Wie should keep playing PGA events

To me, the question is very simple now: does Michelle Wie have the shots and capability to compete with men on the PGA tour? Anyone watching her play at the Sony on Friday would have to conclude yes.

The woman drives the ball 290+ yards on a regular basis, outdriving even her male playing partners. Tiger's coach Hank Haney compares Michelle's powerful swing to Tiger's. Michelle hit 7 birdies on a par-70 course with a PGA pro set-up in blustery and rainy conditions, and her Friday score of 68 bested over 100 PGA tour players, including World No. 2 Vijay Singh and a host of other big names (see here). The 68 is an alltime lowest round for a woman in a PGA event. Based on what I saw, the weakest part of Michelle's game is her short game around the green (followed by a somewhat inconsistent putter). She needs more practice in this area, but it's not going to help her much unless she gets that practice at the tougher PGA set-ups (as opposed to the LPGA set-ups).

I'm not suggesting that Michelle should be playing regularly on the PGA tour. But I am saying that her current approach to play a couple selective PGA events a year is a good strategy. Of course, some argue she needs more experience either in winning or playing on the LPGA tour with the women. Well, you forget she is doing that -- she'll be playing in more LPGA events this year than she ever has. But she also is playing with the men in a few tourneys. I think that makes a lot of sense.

Here's why: Making a PGA cut is easier (or the chances are greater) the more PGA tourneys you play, and the more PGA experience you get. Take Lucas Glover, for example. Before his first year on the PGA tour, he played in 7 PGA or USGA tourneys. He missed the cut in his first 4 events; made the cut in his last 3 events (T80, T40, T39). In his first full year on the PGA tour, Lucas missed 13 cuts, including strings of 3 and 5 consecutives tourneys missing the cut. He made more the cut in more tourneys total, however. Last year, his second year, Lucas had a "breakthrough" year with his first PGA victory. But, if you look at his record, he missed nearly the same amount of cuts, 12 total, including one stretch where he missed 5 straight cuts in a row. And, this year, Lucas placed 6th at Mercedes, but missed the cut at the Sony, finishing worse than Michelle Wie.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not picking on Lucas Glover. He's a very talented and promising young golfer. But, if you look at his record, I think it shows that it's fairly typical for young, promising golfers to go through stretches of missing cuts on the PGA tour. Glover missed his first 4 cuts in 2002. But I'm sure with each experience, he learned what it takes to make a PGA cut. Tiger notwithstanding, even the best golfers can miss a cut on the PGA tour because the competition is so great on any given week.

To put things into perspective, Michelle Wie has played only 5 male pro tourneys, and came close to making the cut on the back nine of Friday in 3 of the 5 tourneys. Michelle's "close to success" ratio is probably at or even better than what young, promising male golfers face when first playing on the PGA tour (using Lucas Glover as an example). Even after shooting a 79 on Thursday this year, Michelle showed determination on Friday to make the cut. Next time around, she'll have that PGA experience to draw from.

Bottom line: It won't be any easier for Michelle Wie to make a PGA cut if she played the LPGA tour exclusively. Isn't that what Annika Sorenstam did already, and look how hard it still was for Annika. What Michelle Wie needs is what all young, promising golfers need when trying to make it on the PGA tour: more PGA tourneys and more PGA experience. For Michelle, a few PGA events a year can only help her achieve her goal.

The Natalie report

Natalie Gulbis will be teaming with Paula Creamer for the World Cup in South Africa. They were supposed to fly together out of DC for an 18-hour flight. One problem: Natalie's used up most of the pages in her US passport, and, apparently, she needs to have 3 consecutive empty pages to make the international flight. I've never heard of that rule, but my passport isn't as filled up as Nat's. (Can any of you who is a frequent traveler confirm?)

Nat explains on her website what happened: "What Next…I spent the next 4 hours on the phone with lawyers, agents, government officials and executives trying to figure out what to do. The solution would end up being a call from the South African Embassy to the CEO of the airline granting permission from immigration for me to get on a plane.

"Hopefully when I get to South Africa, they’ll allow me to enter into the country to compete. I’ve been told that my first stop after my 18 hour flight will not be the hotel, the course, or a safari, but to the US Embassy to get a few extra pages in my passport so I can stay and compete (and also get back to the US). Keeping my fingers crossed."

My advice: Next time, call up W. Didn't that guy help out Sean O'Hair get his passport?

cool feature from Golf Digest: swing sequence

Perfect timing with David Toms's victory, the February issue of Golf Digest has this clip of Toms's swing. (I believe you need QuickTime to play it.) My one complaint: that can't be how slow Toms swings the driver, can it?

The Monday review: Toms runs away at -19

So I caught the end of the Sony Open grabbing a late night dinner at a local bar. The sound, of course, was turned down. But I saw all I needed to see when ESPN flashed David Toms's beautiful wife and kid alongside the 18th green. David sunk a 1-footer or so to finish -19 for the tourney -- some 4 strokes ahead of Rory Sabbatini, who finished in second place.

Watching Toms play this week reminded me: he's a major winner, and he's pretty deadly when his irons are working. David can shoot lights on his approach shots, which compensates for his lack of distance off the tee. I really like his game.

Stories: As far as what's the big story from this past week, all of my co-bloggers are wrong. Sorry, guys. David Duval making a cut and shooting a 63 is all well and good, but, before Sony, the guy made 2 cuts in a row in his last 2 tournaments (did you forget about that?). For the Sony, DD was never in contention, and he only finished T-31. So if that's "big news," it would be a very sad statement about how the low standard applied to DD really is.

So what's the story of the week? I think you have to go with David Toms' 4-stroke victory. And maybe that goes without saying. Michelle Wie setting the all-time record for low round by a women in a PGA tournament was also certainly newsworthy, but I wouldn't even place that as the second biggest story. The second biggest story occurred off the course: as someone has already referred to in a comment, The Golf Channel secured all cable rights to air PGA events in 2007. That's huge news, and I think it's fantastic (more later). The third biggest story of the week was the play of Bubba Watson, who finished 4th (scorecard here). The guy takes a ferocious swing and is really exciting to watch. And with a name like "Bubba," how could he not be a top story?

Bigger Story?? Wie misses cut or Duval makes cut??

Even though Mulligan has been spending a decent amount of time talking about Michelle Wie, I'd like to turn people's attention to the fact that David Duval is 1 for 1 on making cuts this year. So I have to ask, which is a bigger story, Michelle's poor play or Duval's making the cut?

Michelle Wie: valiant comeback, 68

After turning on ESPN coverage and seeing Michelle Wie at +11 with shoulders drooping and appearing to be having no fun, I was just about to write a post agreeing with AndrewsDad. Yes, you heard me right: I was having second thoughts about Michelle's strategy of playing with the men. She looked like one unhappy camper, and you hate to see a teenager getting demoralized.

Then, Michelle made a comeback, rattling off 5 birdies sprinkled in with 2 bogeys. During this stretch, her body language changed. She was on the attack and trying to make the cut -- and she was actually smiling. At one stretch, she birdied 4 of 6 holes, including stuffing an approach shot to 2 feet 7 inches on the 14th -- the closest shot of any golfer on that hole all day. She consistently hit her driver 290 yards plus, including some huge bombs. Hank Haney (doing commentary) compared her powerful swing to Tiger's.

Michelle played really well on the back nine. One of her bogeys on the 13th was due to a 3-putt from 59 feet (when she was clearly trying to drain another birdie). Another bogey on the 15th was caused by a bad lie in a divot. She closed with a birdie on the last hole for a 2-under 68 (played for some time in the rain). 7 birdies, 5 bogeys, and some incredible shots. She didn't make the cut (+3), but today she proved she can compete with the men. And anyone who missed the ESPN coverage of Michelle's performance today is really in no position to naysay her anymore.

Michelle Wie beat for 2 day total: 18 PGA golfers, including Lucas Glover, Harrison Frazar, Bart Bryant, Pat Perez, Shaun Micheel, Todd Hamilton.

Michelle Wie tied: Craig Stadler, Sean O'Hair, Jason Gore, Frank Lickliter, Jason Schultz, DA Points, Stephen Leaney, Chris Couch, Kris Cox.

Michelle Wie beat with today's round of 68: Vijay Singh, David Toms, Mike Weir, Adam Scott, Jerry Kelly, KJ Choi, Jeff Gove, Rory Sabbatini, Ryan Moore, Shaun Micheel, Peter Jacobsen, Kenny Perry, Sean O'Hair, Jason Gore, Lucas Glover, Todd Hamilton, Justin Rose, Peter Lonard, Bubba Watson, Fred Funk, Vaughn Taylor, Paul Goydos, Tom Byrum, Mark Calcavecchia, Arjun Atwal, Robert Gamez, Will MacKenzie, Vance Veazey, Richard Johnson, Billy Mayfair, Charles Warren, Shane Bertsch, Jeff Sluman, Rich Beem, Stewart Cink, Nathan Green, Michael Allen, James Driscoll, Aaron Baddeley, Matthew Goggin, Carlos Franco, Troy Matteson, Aaron Oberholser, Paul Azinger, Jeff Maggert, Brad Faxon, Olin Browne, Brent Geiberger, Jon Mills, Jesper Parnevik, Jason Bohn, Tommy Armour III, Patrick Sheehan, Tom Lehman, Roger Tambellini, Bill Haas, Hidemichi Tanaka, Charles Howell, John Riegger, Joe Durant, Ryuji Imada, Thomas Levet, Shigeki Maryuma, Kaname Yokoo, Jeff Overton, Joe Ogilvie, Craig Barlow, Bo Van Pelt, Parker McLachlin, Henrik Bjornstad, Bubba Dickerson, Tom Pernice, Steve Lowery, DJ Trahan, David Ishii, Greg Chalmers, Brett Quigley, Heath Slocum, John Huston, Jeff Brehaut, Kevin Hayashi, David McKenzie, Jeremy Tucker, Eric Axley, Charlie Wi, Yusaku Miyazato, Tim Petrovic, Tag Ridings, Daisuke Maruryama, Steve Schneiter, Dean Wilson, Craig Perks, Shiv Kapur, Charley Hoffman, Nicholas Thompson, Kiyoshi Miyazato, Joey Snider, Nick Watney, Alex Aragon, Jason Schultz, DA Points, Frank Lickliter, Craig Stadler, Stephen Leaney, Chris Couch, Kris Cox, Robert Garrigus, John Engler, Harrison Frazar, Thaworn Wiratchant, Pat Perez, Bart Bryant, Beau Yokomoto, Ryan Palmer, Tadahiro Takayama, Jimmy Walker, John Cook, Brandan Kap, Wes Short, and Brad Elder.

Out of 153 male pro golfers, how many beat Michelle's 68 today?: only 11.

The Wie Report

I'm fried... I want some chocolate.

Michelle, after yesterday's round

Will Wie or won't Wie?

So will the 3rd time be a charm for Michelle Wie in trying to make the cut at the Sony Open? The odds are against her, but I think she might do it this year, as long as the winds don't blow as bad as they did last year. Then, I have to remind myself she's only 16, and when's the last time a 16-year-old (not to mention, a woman) has made a men's pro cut? She's come razor close three time before, though, and I think that experience will help her this week.

tee time: Chris Couch, Camilo Villegas, Michelle Wie 1:40 p.m. Thurs, 6:10 p.m. Friday

UPDATE: When I got home to watch ESPN coverage, the announcers were already saying kinds words about Michelle Wie to take some of the sting out of her 9-over 79. Bad round. The only thing I was right about was how tough it would be for Wie if the winds blew. They did, and so did her round. (TGC: Wie Blown Away at Sony) She's second to last.

To keep things in perspective, though, about how difficult the course was playing. Wonderboys Sean O'Hair and Ryan Moore shot 5-over 75s. Major winners Shaun Micheel shot +6, and Todd Hamilton, a +7. Corey Pavin, +8.

3-peat: Appleby bests Singh in playoff

Vijay Singh made a dramatic charge from 5-strokes back at the start of the round, shooting a 7-under 66 to grab the lead at -8 in the clubhouse. Fighting some mid-round balkiness in his putter, Stuart Appleby steadied himself to make a 5-footer for par on the 17th and then another 5-footer for birdie on the 18th to force a playoff. Both were huge clutch putts.

In the playoff, it only took one hole, the par-5 18th. Both hit monster drives. Appleby flew his 3-iron on the green but it rolled into the bunker. Vijay, seeing that, hit his ball shorter, in the hopes of rolling it onto the green, but his ball checked up. Vijay hit his chip to 10 feet, but then Appleby nearly holed his bunker shot, leaving it a little over a foot. After Vijay missed, Appleby made his.

Story of the tournament: Besides Appleby's 3-peat, the story of the tournament was how difficult Kapulua played with the new slick greens and gusty winds. Last year, there were 50 rounds in the 60s during the Mercedes. This year, only 2. Vijay hit the low round, but came up a tad short. Stuart Appleby, to me, is the best player not to win a major.

Lucas Glover wins a Mercedes

Lucas Glover hasn't won the tournament yet (2-time defending champion Stuart Appleby's in the lead at -6), but he has won this new Mercedes-Benz CLS55 AMG for acing the 203 yard 5th hole yesterday. It goes 0-60 in 4.7 seconds. Sweet ride. The shot was sweeter: there must have been a sideboard on the green or sidespin on the ball b/c it hit pin high to the right and then hopped 2 bounces to the left and in.

Take a mulligan: PGA playoff system, gimmick?

"Take a mulligan" is a new feature for The Golf Blog: I'll be posting periodic editorials analyzing a golf issue in greater depth. I'll be staking out my personal view in these editorials more than I do in other posts. Sunday seems like a good day to "take a mulligan," so I'll start today. Today's topic: the planned PGA playoff system in 2007, culminating in the "FedEx Cup," with the winner apparently taking in $10 million. You read that right, a sweet $10 million -- at least by initial reports.

What the FedEx Cup is: The FedEx Cup is an idea modeled on (or stolen from) NASCAR's Nextel Cup, in which drivers earn points during the season and the top drivers compete in a playoff race for the championship. NASCAR switched to a playoff system in 2004, in order to draw more viewers during the football season (more here). (Of course, NASCAR is killing the PGA in TV ratings.) Apparently, the PGA will have a similar point system, with three rounds of playoffs (tournaments) in three different weeks leading to the finale Tour Championship in September.

Potential problems: I need to hear more specifics about the playoff system before reaching a final conclusion, but I already can see big problems with it achieving its goal of increasing TV viewers.

1. Majors rule. The obvious problem is that, in golf, there are 4 majors, and everything else. Having a "playoff" in golf seems beside the point, if the 4 majors are the most coveted by players and most watched by viewers.

2. Tiger rules. There's no denying that Tiger Woods draws in TV viewers more than anything else (sometimes doubling the number of TV viewers). Having 3 rounds of playoffs before the Tour Championship might result in Tiger being knocked out in an early round, which would be incredibly bad for TV ratings. Just think of the Accenture World Match Play Championship when Tiger is knocked out before the finals, and what happens to ratings. If the PGA wants TV ratings, Tiger should get an automatic bye into the finals of the FedEx Cup. I don't care how much money goes to the winner of the FedEx Cup. You ain't going to draw more TV viewers unless Tiger's in the finals.

3. Crowding effect. Golf already has a bunch of tournaments (outside of the 4 majors) in which golfers have to qualify or receive an invite. Let's see, to name a few, the Mercedes Championship (winners), the TPC (rankings), World Match play, the Memorial, the NEC Invitational, and the Grand Slam (4 major winners). What will happen to the prestige or importance of these tournaments if the FedEx Cup is supposed to the champion of the year, capturing more money than all of those tournaments combined?

Would you deny Tiger a membership?

For his 30th birthday, Tiger bought a $40 million house in an exclusive Jupiter Island neighborhood. There's a golf course there, but apparently it's so exclusive that Tiger won't even be allowed in as a member. (More here.) "There's a long list and membership is by invitation only," said Debbie Squires, membership secretary at the club. You can't be serious?!

Mercedes, Round 1

I got a chance to watch some of Round 1 at Kapulua. I played the course once, and was reminded just how amazingly beautiful the course is. Sergio, sporting blonde highlights, said the new greens are much faster this year. Justin Leonard, savoring the victory of his Texas Longhorns (but unable to find a burnt orange shirt), admitted that, even for him, the winds were tricky. Olin Browne leads at -4; Vijay at -3; Garcia, David Toms, 2-time defending champion Stuart Appleby, and Carl Petterson tied at -2. It's a great leaderboard, but without the Big Three -- Tiger, Phil, Ernie -- the tournament lacks a certain amount of buzz. (Lots of anticipation, though, for Michelle Wie's third go at Sony next week, but more on that later.) Full leaderboard here.

Speaking of the Texas Longhorns' victory, I'll digress a moment. If I were a NFL GM trying to pick the No. 1 pick, I'd have more questions than answers after the game. Vince Young had an incredible game -- 267 yards passing, 200 yards rushing -- but against a porous SC defense that gave up major points to lesser teams all season. They couldn't stop John Daly from the buffet line. An NFL team can't expect Young to rush 200 yards playing QB in the NFL, not even the faster Mike Vick does that. Then there's Heisman winner Reggie Bush, who was upstaged by his own teammate Lendell White at RB. Bush is very fast, but he looked "very contained" by the fast Texas defense. In the NFL, defenses are even faster, not to mention bigger. Then there's Matt Leinart, another Heisman winner. He had a great second half. He can't run, but he can pass. Should you take him over Young at QB? The $64,000 question. I think Young is a more dangerous threat, but I wouldn't want him to turn into another Daunte Caulpepper while Leinart turn into another Carson Palmer.

the state of golf

The USAToday has some excellent articles about golf today:

1. Preview of the year of transition (before playoff system)

2. Interview with PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem (who apparently is an optimist)

3. Articles on Tiger here and here

4. and Johnny Miller's predictions on Tiger

Mercedes meltdown?: the flap over Tiger's and Phil's no-shows

When the 2 biggest names in men's golf don't show up for the 1st PGA tournament of the year, which is supposed to showcase the past winners from last year, what should the PGA do? What about the sponsor of the tournament Mercedes, which is in its last year of its contract? Apparently, neither Tiger nor Phil liked the greens at Kapulua, but the golf course just redid them all to make them better.

For the PGA, it's a very tough call. I don't blame Tiger or Phil -- the length of the PGA season has gotten way out of hand. Do we really need 3 Hawaii tournament within the span of 2 1/2 months? Who knows, maybe if Phil and Tiger didn't play in the Grand Slam at Poipu Bay, they might have room in their schedules for the Mercedes? And do we really need to start the PGA season in the beginning of January? On the other hand, the sponsor of the tournament loses out for not having the marquee names, like Tiger, Phil, Retief, or Ernie this year. So do the fans, not to mention the TV network airing the tournament.
So what's the solution? Maybe start the season later, I don't know. That would negate both Tiger's (tired) and Phil's (family) excuses of not showing. I wouldn't like to see the PGA forcing players to play in certain tournaments -- that would be a drag. For more analysis, the Honolulu Star Bulletin has this excellent article.

The Commish: Wie might make it on PGA ... one day

Even PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem can see Michelle Wie's potential of possibly making the PGA tour one day. Finchem admitted in the midst of intense TV negotiations for the PGA, while no doubt salivating at the prospect of a second coming to Tiger:

"Most people recognize Michelle as having the physical skills to compete at this level, if her game matures as she matures." Finchem said no one knows for sure how she will mature, but he believes if she is successful in playing men's golf effectively, then a new generation of young women might want to follow her. "For now, I think everyone should relax and enjoy watching her try to achieve her goal, which is to make it on the PGA Tour. It will be interesting to see if she can do that." More from USA Today here.

Plight of PGA: ABC walks out on golf

A sign of the times: the network lost a lot of money on golf in the past 5 years. First casualty: ABC, which is leaving golf in 2007. More from USA Today here: "the networks have said they were losing money on golf, and Finchem brought a revamped schedule to the negotiations this year. Starting in 2007, the tour will feature the FedEx Cup, a points race that culminates with three blockbuster tournaments, ending with the Tour Championship."

Mercedes Championship: start your engines

PGA 2006 season: all systems go. Kapulua, Plantation Course, Maui, with defending champion Stuart Appleby. I can't wait. (More here) My prediction of the winner: Tiger....um, he's a no-show, so I'll go with Ernie Els. But, wait, he didn't even qualify (forgot about that injury). So I'll settle for Retief. Uh-oh, he's a no-show, too. (Full field here)

Swami's 2006 bold predictions

Predictions are worthless, but that won't stop us from making some. Better to be bold in 2006, than wimpy.

1. Tiger will win at least 2 majors, but Annika won't win more than 1

2. Paula Creamer will win her 1st major, and Natalie Gulbis her 1st pro event

3. John Daly will gain more weight than Phil Mickelson, but Phil will do better in the majors

4. Daly will show more skin in his reality show than Natalie did in hers

5. Michelle Wie will not be DQ'd ever again, and she'll win at least 2 LPGA tourneys but won't make a men's cut

6. Sean O'Hair will avoid a sophomore slump and will contend in at least 2 majors

7. Ernie Els will show no signs of injury and will have a good year

8. LPGA will gain viewers, while PGA will lose viewers

9. David Duval will not return to golf form, but his snow boarding will be better than ever

10. The Golf Channel will stoop to "The Big Break - Bikini challenge" (oops ... has this already come true? see here)

New Year's Golf Resolutions

My New Year's Golf Resolutions:

1. Three putt less
2. Practice my short game more
3. Take a cart less
4. Play more rounds

I am fairly confident that I will fulfill some, but not all, of these resolutions. But I will really try to achieve them all.

Dear readers, what are your New Year's Golf Resolutions?