Capelle On Golf

Announcers on Fred Couples
On October 3 of last year Fred Couples (he is listed as FRED at the PGA Tour) turned 50. Finally these announcers will start calling him by his name, not by that silly sounding Freddy, which has made him seem like a little kid for the last 20 odd years.
PS: I like Fred, but that long putter’s got to go! Play golf or hang it up.

John Daly - enough already
I had a whole post prepared before his latest retirement following a MC in San Diego, then I said the heck with it, maybe he’s done. But if he plays again, I’ll publish it. Meanwhile, here is Gary Van Sickle’s take from the SI Group.
“I feel like I’m done enduring the Daly saga, and after the PGA Tour effectively pulled the plug on his previous show, I still don’t know why Daly is getting another crack. “

Tiger Woods’ on course behavior
I’ve been ranting and raving about this for years, so it was awesome to see Tom Watson speak out on the matter. And as for those who said he should he should have tried to communicate with Tiger in private, he tried last summer. But his message failed to get through to Woods.

I feel that he has not carried the same stature that other great players that have come along like Jack (Nicklaus), Arnold (Palmer), Byron Nelson, the Hogans, in the sense that there was language and club throwing on the golf course. You can grant that of a young person that has not been out here for a while. But I think he needs to clean up his act and show the respect for the game that other people before him have shown.”

JB Holmes the human tortoise
An exasperated Johnny Miller counted 8 practice swings on one shot. Two years ago when Holmes played Tiger in the Match Play he was using a similar number. So, unlike Sergio Garcia who got rid of the waggles - there has been no improvement from the tour’s all time tortoise. The TV people have got to learn to come back to Holmes when he is over the ball, or show replays shortly after the fact. On the plus side, he did ditch the long putter and no longer has his caddy stand behind him to line him up for putts.

Anthony Kim the slacker
Not long ago the golf world was going nuts over Kim. Mark O’Meara rhapsodized about his swing, and his swagger and confidence bespoke a winner. It looked for sure like a potential Tiger beater was emerging from his shell when he broke through and won at the 2007 Wachovia, then backed it up two months later at Woods’ AT&T National. Then poof - done with the Ws. And so I ask, why does this keep happening, over and over and over and over again and again and again in the Woods Era. Just when a player with potential looks ready to bust loose, they break down. If Kim had been trying his hardest his slump would be forgiveable, but he’s a serial slacker, content to cash checks and party on. He says he’s rededicating himself this year to the game. We’ll have to see about that.

Alex Prugh and his broomstick
This 25 year old grad from a big year on the Nationwide Tour is off to a rousing start on the PGA Tour, finishing 5, 5t, 10t in last 3 starts. No problem, except for he uses the long putter. Yuck! He’s in his mid twenties and his nerves are already so shot that he’s got to result to the broom? As for the stats, his broom must be working. From 3-5 feet, where the money is made, he’s made 95.56%, 13th on tour.  From 5-10 feet he’s 14th at 66.04%. I’d sure like to see what those numbers would look like if he’d used a real putter.

The San Diego Open (sorry, but as a native of San Diego, I just can’t get into that last second name change) had, in some ways the feel of a mini major, perhaps because the event is played at Torrey Pines, which hosted the Open in 2008. I could also be biased considering that Torrey was my home course as a youth.

The event probably felt a bit like a major as well to those seeking their first PGA title, including 21-year-old phenom Rickie Fowler. Paired with three time major winner and local favorite Phil Mickelson, Fowler showed a big case of nerves on the first hole when he lagged an 81 foot putt to within six inches of the cup while his 18 years old playing partner stumbled to a bogey. Mickelson also bogeyed two and three while Fowler made easy pars. So much for the intimidation factor of playing with the world’s #2.

Fowler continued to methodically dissect the South Course, taking few chances, a game plan that produced three birdies and eight pars through 11 holes. At that point. Fowler had picked up five shots on his distinguished playing partner and owner of 37 tour titles (including three San Diego Opens).

Fowler finally blinked at the 505 yard par 4 twelfth, a par 4.5 if ever there was one, making his first bogey after driving into a fairway bunker. No problem. He got it back on 13 by hitting the green in two and deftly lagging a super fast, downhill 66 foot putt to three feet (below the cup, of course!).

Pars on the next trio of super tough holes and a fairway splitting tee shot on 17 put Fowler in position to get aggressive on his second shot to a dangerous back pin. If this shot had come earlier in the round, he probably would have played safe to the left of the pin. But this was winning time, so Fowler went into attack mode, but pushed his shot 35 feet to the right into deep rough on the short side.

The subsequent double bogey ended his hopes of winning, but he did rebound for a birdie after stuffing a 95 yard wedge over the pond to 4 feet on 18 to finish two back of Ben Crane in a tie for fifth.

Fowler probably figured he needed a birdie to have any chance of winning on 17, so he gambled and lost. The irony of it all is that, if he had stuck to his smart golf game plan, a par would have landed him in a playoff and guaranteed no worse than his second runner-up finish.

Despite his hiccup on 17, Fowler showed a lot of game over the four days on the cliffs above La Jolla. Om Thursday at the shorter Torrey Pines North, he reached the 18 greens in only 36 shots on his way to an easy 67. He then put together three consecutive 70s on the always difficult South Course.

Best of all was the way he played on the final day. In this mini-major, he played with a certain cool all day long – no cursing or club throwing, just a clam and businesslike approach to the game. And, despite Gary McCord’s assertion that “He will try any shot at any time,” and that, “He is not afraid of anything,” Fowler, despite his youth, plotted his course around the way like a young Jack Nicklaus.

He hit lots of greens (16 in the final round - 4t for the week), played for the fat part of the green on the longer holes, and made his score on the par fives (he was four under on them on Sunday). In short, he seems to have a gift for knowing when to play safe, and when to attack. He was also reasonably straight off the tee, ranking 25t in a field of 78 despite his length (he was 15t in distance).

So, let’s sum of this young man’s play. Fowler is a superb ball striker. He is an excellent lag putter. He’s got the course management skills of a veteran. And he’s cool under Sunday pressure. Add those qualities up and they bring to mind a certain player who celebrated his 70th birthday not long ago.

Sure, the odds are still long the Fowler will live up to the hype because of the sheer magnitude of his early career press. But at least, after failing dismally in his first two starts this year, we once again have reason to believe that this kid might be something special – very special.

I’ve been following Jack Nicklaus’ career since before he turned pro, both in person and on TV – I only missed a couple of majors during his prime. I remember watching him hit towering bombs on the range at the Bob Hope Desert Classic in 1963. Later that day on the ninth hole he hooked a drive behind some trees, which left me wondering what he would do next. He aimed his short iron approach to the right of the right hand greenside bunker and played a low sweeping hook that stopped on the green within 30 feet of the cup.

At the 1977 TOC at La Costa I watched him shoot a trouble free third round 70 which featured 16 greens in regulation. I remember that when the pin was on the left side of the green, his ball would be 20-30 feet to the right of the hole, and vice versa for a right hand hole location. He never brought bogey into play. And for those who say he has no short game, I say who needs one when you miss two greens! Still, I vividly remember a bunker shot he played on the 14th hole. Nicklaus overshot the green and had very little room to work with thanks to the pin position, which was about 15 feet from the fringe. He gently lofted a sand shot onto the edge of the green and the ball trickled down to within a foot of the hole. He won the event the following day.

By 1985 Nicklaus’ best days were well behind him (except for a few notable exceptions at Augusta National), but he was still the game’s leading ambassador, something he proved to me beyond a doubt at the LA Open. As Nicklaus approached on a path leading from the putting green to the first tee at Riviera, Jimmy (my stepson) and I waited nervously for our big chance . I held out a program and Nicklaus stopped, gave us a friendly greeting, and signed Jimmy’s program. You can just imagine how that made our day!

I always felt proud to be a fan of Jack Nicklaus. He was The Man and a joy to watch play. So to you, Jack Nicklaus, I say, Happy 70th Birthday and thanks for the memories and for the opportunity to watch your fantastic career unfold in its entirety.

Nicklaus through the Years
1940 – Born: January 21.
1950 – 60 years ago he took up golf.
1959 – 51 years ago he won the first of two U.S. Amateur titles over the great Charles Coe.
1960 – 50 years ago Nicklaus came in second to Palmer at the U.S. Open – (see Eternal Summer).
1960 – 50 years ago (in July) he married Barbara Bash. They went on to have five children.
1962 – 48 years ago Nicklaus beat Arnold Palmer in a playoff in front of a hostile gallery for his first major at Oakmont.
1970 – 40 years ago he won his second British Open, but first at St. Andrews, breaking out of a two year slump.
1972 – 38 years ago Nicklaus’ bid for the third leg of the Grand Slam ended by a shot at the British Open.
1973 – 37 years ago in is mind, Nicklaus set the new record for majors, passing Jones’ 13 majors, pro and amateur .
1974 – 36 years ago Golf My Way was published. The book has sold millions of copies.
1975 – 39 years ago Nicklaus won his 14th major at the PGA.
1977 – 33 years ago Nicklaus and Watson engaged in their epic Duel in the Sun at Turnberry
1980 – 30 years ago Nicklaus enjoyed his last double major winning season, capturing the U.S. Open and the PGA, the later by seven shots.
1986 – 24 years ago Nicklaus was seven under on the last 10 holes (and four under on the last four) to win by a shot in golf’s ultimate curtain closer.
1997 – 13 years ago Jack Nicklaus: My Story was published. It remains the definitive work on his life. A must read!!
1999 – 11 years ago Sports Illustrated names Nicklaus the Best Individual Male Athlete of the 20th Century
2005 – 5 years ago Nicklaus made his last appearance in a major at St. Andrews
2009 – Last year – Putting My Way is published

The Gold, Silver, and Bronze
In 2009 golf became an Olympic sport. So now, perhaps, the game will start giving sufficient credit to golfers who have come so close to winning. While Nicklaus obviously owns the record for major titles, it is high time the golf world gave him credit for his silver and bronze medals as they do in the Olympics. As it stands, Nicklaus currently enjoys a 2-1 lead over Tiger Woods in major “medals.”
(Nicklaus’ record in the majors with Woods’ record in parentheses.)

Wins: 18 (14)
Seconds: 19 (6)
Thirds: 9 (3)
Top 3s: 46 (23)

Ryo Ishikawa and Charl Schwartzel know the secret to becoming one of the top 50 players in the world ahead of their time: play on a foreign circuit.

Events on the Japan Tour and some of the weak fielded European Tour events may award far fewer points than the big name events on the PGA Tour, but the points earned count just the same towards things like qualifying for the Masters, WGC events, and securing sponsor’s exemptions.

Schwartzel, the winner of last week’s Joburg Open, is exhibit A. He’s won the last two stops on the South African swing of the Euro Tour, picking up 20 and 22 points in the process. At the Joburg Open, I recall from a glance at the standings that only a couple of players well down in the WGR top 50 were even competing.

Now consider the case of Steve Stricker. At the Sony Open he finished third, earning 20 points, or two less than Schwartzel.  In the top 25 finishers with Stricker were WGR top 50 players Robert Allenby (#15 – who finished second), Retief Goosen (#17), Ernie Els (#18),  Zach Johnson (#22), Angel Cabrera (#23), Tim Clark (#39), and Brian Gay (#48). That’s considerably tougher competition that Stricker had to beat for fewer points!

Schwartzel’s two Ws have vaulted him from the 66th position two weeks ago into the 35th position in the WGR, ahead of quality players like Mike Weir (#37), Tim Clark (#39), Rory Sabbatini (#44), Ryan Moore (#47), and Gay. This would make him appear to be a star in the making. But on the PGA Tour last year (in regular, non facing events), here recorded a list of dismal finishes that included: Accenture (17t), Memorial (27t), U.S. Open (MC), British Open (MC), and the PGA (43t).

Now it’s possible Schwartzel’s game has come together. But I’d like to see him fatten his ranking on the PGA Tour or in the tougher European Tour events. Otherwise, this is just another case of the bias in the WGR that favors foreign players.

Now for Ishikawa. He is currently ranked 30th in the world based on the strength of his four wins on the Japan Tour last year, for which he earned an average of 17.75 points against players who would struggle to make the cut in Ameirca! On the PGA Tour last year, he was a disaster as these finishes demonstrate: Northern Trust (MC), Transitions (71), Arnold Palmer (MC), Masters (MC), British Open (MC), PGA(56t). Not what you’d expect from #30.

Has Ishikawa’s game picked up and does he really belong in the top 30, or is he still in need of further seasoning in the minor leagues? We’ll find out in a couple of weeks when he opens a stint on the PGA Tour with an appearance at the Northern Trust Open.

When considering the potential for greatness of highly touted prospects such as Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler, it is fashionable to speculate on if and when they might become the next Phil Mickelson. That’s nonsense. After all, who wants to wait a dozen years to see them win their first major?

Now I suppose it would be nice if McIlroy and Fowler are able to carve out multiple major winning careers. But let’s not skip past that oh so delicious question that should accompany any young phenom: Are they a legitimate candidate for Best Ever? Why not ask it while they have yet to fail the test? Unlike future Mickelson’s and Singh’s, who can take years to develop as major players, a potential Best Ever will show his stripes soon enough.

Jack Nicklaus won his first major at age 22, and Tiger Woods won his at 21. And the much overlooked Gary Player won his first of nine at age 23. The point: if a player is going to threaten Nicklaus’ Gold Standard of 18 majors (not to mention all of those seconds and thirds), then he’s got to begin stockpiling wins and close losses in his very early twenties.

Our two big hopefuls for Best Ever are at the break out age – McIlroy will turn 21 in May, and Fowler celebrated his 21st birthday a month ago. Yes, they are long shots, as is any aspirant to Nicklaus’ throne, but at least they have a shot. And their play in 2010 will show us if they are special once in a generation players, or if the hype has exceeded their talent for playing major championship winning golf.

Let’s first consider McIlroy. He’s about five months younger than Fowler, but is the superior candidate based on his record. He made an impressive debut in three of the four majors last season (he finished 42t at the 2007 British Open) and he posted a remarkable string of performances: 20t at the Masters; 10t at the U.S. Open; 47t at the Open; and a 3t at the PGA. That’s two top 10s in his first campaign in the majors as a 20 year old!

McIlroy won a European Tour event in early 2009 as a 19 year old, finished second on the Order of Merit, and at the end of the season he posted an impressive string of finishes: 3t, 7t, 3t, 2t, 30t, 5t, 4, 2, 3, WD, a spree that catapulted him into the top 10 in the World Golf Rankings.

McIlroy hits the ball a mile and has a swing to die for, but two big questions must be answered in the affirmative: 1) is he a closer? And, 2) is he, or can he very soon become, a great putter? Those are two big ifs, but if he can close and putt like a Nicklaus or Woods, he could become golf’s next big thing.

Fowler comes to the pro game at the same age as Woods did, and after only two years of college, also like Woods. Fowler had only three starts in which to play his way onto the PGA Tour, and he came close with earnings of $571,090, about $90 grand short of securing his card. His 7t and 2t in the Fall Series and his 15t at Q School (which earned him his card) did, however, convince the experts that he is an upper echelon player in the making.

To date Fowler has played in only two majors, the last two U.S. Opens, posting finishes of 60t and MC. As a result, it may take him a season to get acclimated to competing on the four biggest stages. Still, with his game, anything seems possible.

Fowler appears to be a fearless competitor, a trait he developed while riding dirt bikes as a youngster. He likes to keep his swing simple, playing mostly by feel, and he can correct his swing on the course, a talent that Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus felt was a big key to their success. And he appears to want to be at the top, a place that far too many of today’s players shy away from, possibly in deference to Woods. “I want guys looking at the leaderboard and saying, “Oh, man, Fowler’s up their again.’ ”

Nicklaus and Woods were on a beeline to superstardom as they wasted precious little time gaining experience – both won the U.S. Amateur in their final season as amateurs, then won a major in their rookie years as pros. And then they kept right on winning.

If McIlroy and/or Fowler have the same stuff of greatness, we will see it soon enough, which is what makes their 2010 seasons so compelling. And if not, they can be lumped into the pile of potential Mickelson’s, Palmer’s, Els’s, and Watson’s – all superstars, but all a rung or two below the Best Ever.

I noticed a column by Golf World’s Ron Sirak in which six prominent crisis management consultants explain how they would handle the Tiger Woods crisis.

Before reading the article, I wrote my advice, which appears below. Then I read the article to see what the pros thought. First, my advice, then theirs.

Crisis management would be appropriate for a one time misstep from his otherwise pristine off course life, but this goes way beyond a typical crisis. Woods is not the ideal brand spokesman any longer, and no amount of PR or phony baloney damage control can change that, nor could it have since the accident.

So, forget about  using typical crisis management that is centered on fixing Tiger the Brand. How about fixing Tiger the Man? Fundamental #1 is to first get Woods straightened out.

Woods needs to forget about Team Tiger and find a psychologist and a spiritual healer so he can begin the hard work of rebuilding his mind and way of thinking from the ground up. The right PR firm could help with that.

His swing changes took over a year to take hold – his mind makeover will take even longer. Can he win golf tournaments in the interim? Maybe. But that should be secondary to his spiritual awakening.

Woods is a deeply flawed human being. He needs a time out so he can, for the first time in his life, discover the Tiger he’d really like when he looks in the mirror – not the heartless ninja warrior he was programmed into becoming.

Now for the experts and who I would hire if I was Tiger Woods.

You’re Hired!
Dan McGinn - TMG Strategies
‘What do you really need to do to address the problem?’ Put aside the communication issues. Put aside the pressure from your sponsors. Put aside the chase for the most major titles. What is the real nature of the problem and what is the best advice from the experts to correct it in a substantive way?
“He is going to have to have a new humility. People want to know ‘Do you really get it? You hurt a lot of people.’ Does it look like he wants to earn it back rather than just get it back? He needs great counseling support.
If he tries to deal with this as merely a PR problem, he is going to be a major failure. It will be seen through.”

Good Second Choice
Marsha Friedman   Event Management Services Inc.
“He needs to shift his worldview. It’s not enough for him to show penitence, but he has to actually be penitent. He needs to believe intrinsically that the betrayal of his wife and of the public’s trust was wrong. Any rehabilitation in the public eye must be preceded by at least the beginnings of a rehabilitation within himself.
“…  he needs to take time off from golf not to stay out of the public eye but to repair the damage in both his private and public life.”
Finding his inner peace and fixing the darkness within him that caused this mess will result in him becoming a better golfer than he already is today.”

NO
Jeff Eller - Public Strategies, Inc.
“The only one who can answer [when he should return] is Tiger. He has to get his head to a place where he thinks he can compete at the level he is capable of. [When he returns] he shouldn’t recast himself in any fundamental way. In politics, a prime directive is that you don’t put your candidate in funny hats. Don’t try to make him something he is not.”

NO
William M. Moran  - McCarter & English LLP
“He needs to miss a few [tournaments]. It will demonstrate his value to the game. And when he does come back, the story is not just about his infidelity, but also about his comeback to golf. Then he regains a measure of control. I don’t know if he will ever get to the level of income he has now. But assuming he wins, he will get back to a level he will be very happy with.”

NO
Jonathan Bernstein - Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc.
“If he wants people to think he’s not golf’s equivalent of a bad-boy basketball player or a bad-boy football player, he needs to spend time rehabilitating his personal image. From a public memory point of view, he needs to take a year off. Time heals and makes people forget. And it is going to take him time to return to the focus he was famous for and to be prepared for the media storm when he returns.”

NO
Ken Scudder - Virgil Scudder & Associates
“What I would recommend is one interview with Oprah or Larry King. Then he should do one press conference. ‘ I’m not even sure he should [take a break from competitive golf]. Winning won’t make this go away, but it will help a lot.”

I laid awake last night wondering what it would be like to be Tiger Woods now. It’s not easy to put yourself in another’s shoes, but I tried. I came up with this list of things that would be troubling me. But I’m not sure if Woods thinks of these things because if he did, he never would have gotten himself into this mess.

Still, if you were Tiger Woods, and you were at all aware of the world going on around you, you would know that:

You’ve still got all the money you’ll ever need
Stevie is going to stay loyal
Elin may let you keep Privacy
jokes are being made about you
you are now a cartoon character and a laughing stock

most women hate you
your wife almost surely detests you, and her family as well
you’re going to lose tens of millions in endorsements annually
you’re headed towards a messy divorce
you kids’ lives are going to be so much more difficult

you’ve let down your fans
many of your friends will desert you
those who remain on your team are doing so for the money
you are on the scandal media’s A-list and will be heavily scrutinized the rest of your career
you’ve disappointed the millions of kids who idolized you

you’ve hurt the PGA Tour, which is struggling for sponsorships
you’ve let your sponsors down
you’ve been a fraud
you may have violated the drug policy you pushed for
you’re going to be heckled by the galleries

winning majors is going to be so much harder
many who wanted you to break Nicklaus’ record now want you to fail
you will have a family-less house to come home to
you have no one to share your life with except money grubbing women
you’ve let your parents down

But hey Tiger, if money can buy happiness, if the W is all that matters, and if you don’t have a conscience, then you should be just fine no matter what the rest of the world thinks of you. Up till now, you haven’t cared about anyone but yourself. Why should the future be any different?

Except for his swing, Tiger Woods has resisted change his entire career. It’s pretty much been Tiger’s Way or the highway for the sporting world’s ultimate control freak.

In the aftermath of the Great Tiger Woods Scandal of ’09, however, change has finally been forced upon him. The public is demanding it, sponsors will require it, his family must have it, and, most important, Tiger realizes (I hope) that it’s time for him to just do it.

Immediate and Mandatory Changes
Giving Up his Other Life
Give up sexually skilled women for someone who evidently did not completely satisfy him. Whatever Elin did, or didn’t do in the bedroom (which is where I leave off and the tabloids only too gladly pick up the ball) is not likely going to change. That is, if we are to believe what we’ve heard, he will be trading Baskin Robbins for vanilla. For a soon to be 34 year old with an abnormally high sex drive, that’s a tough pill for him to swallow.

Give Power to Elin Woods
While I wonder if an immediate reconciliation is the right move (more on this below), if Tiger goes this route, he will have to give a big share of the power to his wife. Tiger is a control freak, so this won’t be easy. One moment he’s supposedly ready to leave her, and, if we are to believe the tabloids, wished he had met Rachel Uchitel first. Now he’s doing and about face and is committing to someone he wishes he’s never married?

Drug Usage
Tiger must dump the pain killers which he may be addicted. He admitted to taking a pain killer at the 2008 U.S. Open when his pain was far greater than it is today. Surgery followed and he may have taken Vicodin during rehab and never stopped. Now he must stop. Besides, narcotics violate the PGA Tour’s drug policy, the one that he pushed so hard for! As for the Ambien, perhaps he and Elin … (see tabloids).

Changes for when he Comes Back to Golf

• Learn to win without the anger response (cursing, club throwing).
• Interact with the fans, smile, and sign some autographs.
• Answer a few hard balls in the media room and open up to the public.
• Develop a new persona that we can believe in should he wish to continue to pitch products.
• An expansion of his charity work would be nice. Maybe he could become a spokesman for the virtues of monogamy.
• Oh, and straighten out that driver!

Tiger’s got a lot on his plate. He’s got to wipe his slate clean of a lifetime of habits and beliefs that have brought him to this place and rebuild himself from the ground up. Considering the amount of work to be done, it is no wonder that he is taking a leave of absence from golf.

Tiger changed his swing twice and won numerous majors with the new versions. But can he change his very being and become a winner off the course as well?

Tiger’s knows golf, so changing his swing was comparatively easy. Changing his life, about which he apparently knows so little, is going to be a far more difficult task. He’s going to require help and he will need to trust people from outside his inner circle. He needs a new Team Tiger that has his interests at heart. Luckily the kind of help he needs comes from professionals who are sworn to secrecy.

I applaud Tiger for what appears to be his sincere effort to do the right thing. Getting away from golf is a good idea. Beyond that, I doubt that Tiger knows what’s best for him.

“After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.”

Tiger is in a process of evolution. What he believes today could change tomorrow. He may think that he wants to patch things up with Elin and become a devoted family man, but how can he know for sure when he doesn’t have a clue who he is or wants to become?

Assuming Tiger entered into intensive one-on-one therapy for his many issues (sex addiction, marriage, image, drugs, on-course behavior, etc) immediately following the accident, he would still be in the early stage of his transformation.

Maybe he had time to feel the emptiness of being away from Elin and the kids, but he’s had nowhere close to the time needed to discover who he’s been, who he is he, or what he wants to become.

So, at this point, how does he really know that he wants to remain with Elin? And how can Elin know that she wants to remain with Tiger when she hasn’t a clue what the new Tiger’s going to be like, or what he really wants in life? And surely she doesn’t really want to stay together just for the kids – that’s no good for any of them.

Tiger is a mess, that’s a given. A statement on his web site and an attempt to behave for Elin, however well intentioned, is not going to magically solve his problems. Before he and his family can heal, he needs to get right with himself. If he does, everything that is meant to happen will fall into place.

Let’s hope he understands that, but, sadly, I doubt that he does.

Is Tiger Woods good for the game of golf? Absolutely not.

He violates the game’s traditions with his over-the-top celebrations, his sulking, and his disregard for his playing partners as witnessed by his many walk offs while his opponents have yet to putt out.

He’s been teaching kids for over a decade that swearing, spitting, and club throwing are tolerated in the adult game, undermining what juniors learn from their parents and organizations like the AJGA and The First Tee. And as for the lesson of accountability, the PGA Tour has fined him token amounts which are never made public for his countless on course “transgressions,” reinforcing the notion of unequal justice for the rich.

Even Tiger’s mom must be disgusted with his behavior. Here’s what she had to say about playing golf (courtesy of Geoff Shackleford and The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations):

I tell him  (Tiger) the golf game is a gentleman’s game. I point out…John McEnroe playing Jimmy Connors in tennis and him cursing and throwing his racket. I tell him not to do it, because it will ruin my reputation as a parent. I will not have a spoiled child.
Kultida Woods

There is no question that Tiger is bad for golf, the game, but his behavior has been downplayed or ignored altogether by the media because Tiger is supposedly good for golf, the business.

Purses on the PGA Tour have tripled since he turned pro, and more people are watching golf, at least when he plays, than ever before. Big deal – so he attracts football and basketball fans who buy Gillette razors and sports drinks. They would consume those items anyway. As for his impact on the game, golf participation in the U.S. has declined since he turned pro, so those new eye balls are not hitting golf balls.

As for the pros getting rich thanks to those huge Tiger inspired purses, how does that improve golf for the rest of us? I say it doesn’t, and may even make it worse. How often, for example, have you wanted to throw your Gatorade bottle at the TV when they go into the mode of showing 3 shots – break for commercial – showing 2 shots – break for another commercial? And why are there so many commercials? Do we have Tiger to thank for that?

About the experience of watching Tiger play, what really is so great about that? He can’t hit a fairway. He acts worse than a child, he looks like it’s killing him to play, and his intimidating nature has, on so many occasions, killed off the kind of close competition that makes the majors such great theatre.

Let’s suppose there never was a Tiger Woods.  Phil Mickelson, the ever smiling gallery favorite, might have broken loose in the late ‘90s and become the modern day Arnold Palmer. And perhaps Mickelson-Els would have emerged as a great rivalry. The PGA Tour would have also had to learn to market its product better, skills it will need more than ever should Tiger’s game suffer next year or his popularity fail to return to previous levels.

It’s anybody’s guess how badly the business of golf will be impacted by Tiger’s transgressions. But what is bad for the sport might be good for the game. Imagine this: Woods comes clean in front of the public and is forgiven, he pulls his marriage back together, he gets his mind back on golf, he adopts a fan friendly on course demeanor, and he dumps the brand and becomes a real person. The possibilities for a new Tiger are endless.

A short time ago we were eagerly looking forward to the 2010 season because of Tiger’s return to form following surgery, the juicy line up of major venues, Phil Mickelson’s improvement, and the emergence of a host of young talent. To that we can now add the chance for a new and better Tiger. Let’s hope he changes his stripes.

Tiger Woods lobbied for participants of his Chevron World Challenge to receive World Golf Ranking points, and whatever Tiger wants, Tiger gets – in and out of the bedroom.

Too bad Woods wasn’t there to join in the spoils because of — well, he’s not telling. But that didn’t stop Jim Furyk from scoring 48 big points in the Tiger-less field, enabling him to leapfrog over five golfers to the number six position. Cut his take to a far more reasonable 28 points and he would be #9 in the WGR.

Since points are awarded based on the strength of the field, you can imagine how many Furyk would have earned if Woods had played. Or Woods, for that matter, who’s won four of the last seven Challenges he’s played in. I would say 55-60 points is a good guess. For beating 17 golfers!

Oh, but what an exemplary group these 18 were. Even without Tiger, or World #2 Phil Mickelson, the Challenge still attracted 5 of the top 10, and 11 of the top 20 (see below). Whoo-hoo!

3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 9 – 11 – 12 – 14 – 15 – 16 – 19 – 21 – 22 – 23 – 31 – 35 – 39 – 55

(Here are those in the top 20 who didn’t play:
Woods, Mickelson, Stenson, Garcia, McIlroy, Ogilvy, Els, Goosen, Fisher)

Never mind that Tiger, Phil, most of this group, and several that are missing from the top 20, played in Arnie and Jack’s events, which are 5x tougher to win, but that only offered only 60 and 62 points.

In case you’re wondering, here’s how Furyk’s points booty compares to those Woods earned for his six PGA Tour victories (# of players):

60  Arnold Palmer Invitational (120)
62  Memorial (120)
50  AT&T (120)
36  Buick Open (156)
76  WGC Bridgestone (80)
68  BMW Championship (70)

So, thanks to Woods, we have a scandal raging that’s made him and golf the laughing stock of the national media, not to mention this distortion of the WGR, which could affect who plays in the majors next year.

Case in point: Challenge runner-up, Graeme McDowell. Before the tournament he was on the outside looking in at #55 in the WGR. Now, thanks to the super generous 28.8 points he earned, he’s now in the 38th position and a lock to play in the majors next year.

I know, it’s no big deal. Some player on the rankings bubble may not play in the majors next year because of this WGR points silly season farce. And Furyk’s ascension to the sixth position could affect some players’ bonuses based on their yearend WGR points (just a guess, but not impossible). And who do the players have to thank? None other than PGA PLAYER (double meaning!) of the Year, Tiger Woods.