Steve Stricker wins Northern Trust Open; overtakes Phil Mickelson for No. 2 World Ranking

Phil Mickelson: golf needs Tiger Woods back

Should Phil Mickelson play Ping Eye 2 wedges with square grooves?

Answer: yes. If they are permitted by the USGA and PGA Tour, then any pro golfer can play them--even if they are grandfathered in because of a lawsuit brought by Ping. To anyone who says Phil Mickelson is "cheating," play a Ping wedge or shut it.

Ben Crane wins Farmers @ Torrey Pines, as Phil Mickelson plays amid Ping wedge, square groove controversy

Win McMurry leaves PGA Tour for The Golf Channel

We found Win McMurry. She's left the PGA Tour for The Golf Channel. She says, "It's been forever since I last tweeted but wanted to share that I'm now at Golf Channel hosting studio updates during live TOUR coverage!"

Here's a look down memory lane with Win last year.





This guy is Win's replacement at the PGA Tour:

Daily Beast: Elin Nordegren texted Rachel Uchitel posing as Tiger Woods after he denied affair

Wow. Basically, Elin Nordegren reportedly set up her own little sting operation to find out that Rachel Uchitel was having an affair with Tiger Woods.

Here's the video of the account

Winter golf in Colorado

Wow, we loved this spectacular image of our good friend Bill Browne on the driving range. Not only does he have a good swing, but the color contrast and imagery are breathtaking. (c) Bill Browne. (photographer Greg Moore)

Round 4 of Bob Hope Classic: Bubba Watson + Alex Prugh tied for lead; Round 5 today

Tiger Woods photo at sex addiction rehab Pine Grove clinic in Mississippi

Where's Tiger?

Check out the photo by National Enquirer by clicking here

Ryan Palmer wins Sony Open after chip gets help from pin

For a wrap-up of the final round, click here.

2010 winners:

1. Geoff Ogilvy - SBS

2. Ryan Palmer - Sony

Michelle Wie gives Pres Obam a lei, shaka (hang loose) sign, and raves about White House visit

Michelle Wie went to the White House as a part of the victorious Solheim Cup. She gave Obama a lei, the shaka (hang loose) sign (just extend your pinkie and thumb, and shake it), and raved about it on Twitter:

"The white house was AMAZING yesterday. meeting pres obama was one of the coolest things EVER!!"

Christina Kim on her new blog wrote: "Anyway, spending time with President Obama is something I will always cherish. He told the team how he hit a 2-iron from 250yds to 8 feet and made the putt for birdie while he was in Hawaii. Someone mentioned how we need to get him into the 21st century and take that 2-iron out and slap a hybrid in his hand, and we all laughed. He was so gracious and it was so wonderful to spend time with him, especially considering he is such a busy man. Immediately after meeting with us, President Obama had to go into a meeting about, I'm assuming, the crisis in Haiti."

Natalie Gulbis and Solheim Cup team visit Pres. Obama

What are the new rules on square or U grooves on golf clubs--do they apply to amateurs and recreational golfers?

WSJ has an excellent article this week on the new USGA rule banning the square grooves so popular today. This rule applies immediately to the PGA Tour and professional golfers, but does not yet apply to amateur events. The new grooves will be not as big, which means you can't put as much backspin on a ball out of the rough (when grass gets between the ball and the club). Here are some basic facts:

1. The new rule applies to the PGA Tour and professional golfers. It is the first time that the USGA has gone backwards in terms of technology.

2. The change was implemented after 2 studies by the USGA that showed that the square grooves had greatly diminished the driving accuracy as a determiner of scoring on the tour, compared to the past (before 1990) when V grooves were in place.

3. Ping wedges and irons made before April 1, 1990 are "grandfathered" in and still permissible on tour because of the settlement of a lawsuit brought by Ping years ago.


4. The U.S. Amateur won't switch to the new rule until 2014.

5. All the rest of us don't have to switch until at least 2024. (Just think about it, by then, you won't be playing the same clubs anyway.) But golf manufacturers will stop after this year making the old square grooves.

Pres. Obama supports Tiger Woods after sex scandal

Finally. Someone has spoken up in support of the much maligned Tiger Woods. It's Pres. Barack Obama. During a visit by the US women's team that won the Solheim Cup, Pres. Obama responded to news of Tiger Woods's scandal with these words of encouragment:

"I'm a strong believer that anybody can look within themselves, find their flaws, and fix them."

Obama is the first prominent public figure to come out in support of Tiger Woods since the entire sex scandal first broke. It's only taken a couple months for someone to speak up.

Did Hank Haney know about Tiger Woods' sexcapades? -- was it reason for diminished role for Haney and not traveling to tourneys

In October of 2007, media speculated that Tiger Woods had fired coach Hank Haney, who was no longer showing up at tourneys with Tiger as he had before. Tiger denied the firing, but acknowledged a reduced role at tourneys. Well, the speculation continued into 2009 about the surprising reduction in Haney's presence and the possibility that he might be fired.

Now that we know about Tiger Woods's sexual affairs during this time period, the diminishment of Haney's role as coach may be seen in a different light. Haney basically has said "no comment" about whether he knew of those affairs--which is in stark contrast to caddie Steve Williams, who said adamantly that he had "no knowledge" of the sexual affairs.

Does anyone else think there might be a connection between Haney's reduced role and Tiger Woods's apparent sexual affairs during this same period?

Roger Federer spoke to Tiger Woods: he needs "calm"

Finally, someone has spoken to Tiger Woods. It's good buddy and tennis superstar Roger Federer. Roger reveals that "Tiger Woods needs calm" and "soon he'll become the wonderful golfer that we know again."

More from CNN

Zach Johnson tied for lead at Sony Open

Top 5 Shots of last week

Geoff Ogilvy defends his SBS Championship to open 2010

Ooo...we miss Win McMurry! Hope she's back for Monday Backspin.

Charles Barkley SNL (Saturday Night Live) video clips

For more Barkley videos, click here

Gay sex for Tiger Woods?: Loredana Jolie Ferriolo shopping book alleging witness to Tiger Woods in group + gay sex

The 2010 PGA Tour season starts today in Maui at the SBS Championship. Tiger's not there, of course, but the latest bombshell in the Tiger Woods sex scandal comes from Loredana Jolie Ferriolo, who, according to an exclusive from Radar Online, was allegedly a favorite mistress of Tiger Woods.

Ferriolo is shopping a book in which she reportedly claims to have witnessed Tiger Woods in group sex activities, threesomes, girl-on-girl action. Not only that, Ferriolo claims to have seen Tiger in sexual encounters with other men. (The allegation reported is not specific, but the description suggests that Ferriolo is claiming that she and Tiger were allegedly involved in group sex that involved men (and women).

Wonder if any publisher would take the chance in publishing this book? Can you say lawsuit. At this point, we don't know what to believe. One thing we know: nothing in the Tiger Woods sex scandal would be shocking now.

Click here for the Radar online report

February Vanity Fair article attacks Tiger Woods

In February's issue of Vanity Fair, Buzz Bissinger writes an article "Tiger in the Rough" that attacks Tiger Woods like no other article ever has. It's a scathing attack on Tiger Woods. Here's a key paragraph:

"In the wake of the steamy revelations, Logan, like the general public, feels that Tiger willfully, and fraudulently, created an image designed to make him as much money as possible: “He held himself out to a higher standard he created and built and cashed in on. Everyone feels duped and betrayed. It’s not like some guy who got drunk and jumped in the sack with some waitress.”

"He deluded himself into thinking he could be something that he wasn’t: untouchable."

Click here for the full article

All we can say: Wow.

Bad to worse: Vivid porn studio says alleged Tiger Woods sex tape being shopped

Huffington Post reports that porn (or adult film) studio Vivid CEO Steven Hirsch says that a sex tape allegedly with Tiger Woods is being shopped around right now. He says he has seen 30 seconds of it and is reviewing it to determine if it is really Tiger Woods.

Wow. That's all we can say. Speechless.

Golf + vacation over for Pres. Obama

Pres. Obama is back in DC. The PGA is back in Hawaii for the SBS Championship. It's going to be a great 2010! We can feel it.

It's not Playgirl, but Vanity Fair boasts bare chested Tiger Woods in February after sex scandal

Pres. Obama plays golf on vacation in Hawaii - video

Looking good, Mr. President!

More bad news after sex scandal: AT&T drops sponsorship of Tiger Woods

AT&T said: “We are ending our sponsorship agreement with Tiger Woods and wish him well in the future."

Wow. Happy New Year.

"Tiger Woods" defense: David Letterman extortion suspect uses Tiger Woods as defense for paying money to keep quiet about sexual affairs

Happy New Year 2010 from Jib Jab

Happy Birthday, Tiger Woods!

It's Tiger Woods' birthday today, probably a weird one at that. We wish him a great day and better year.