CBSSports.com sen and the water, wind, temperature as the PGA Tour begins one of its biggest events and the LPGA loses its top player for the second time in 1½ years.
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Hasta la vista, baby In these turbulent time its both a notable and laudable accomplishment. Lorena Ochoa isnt retiring because of burnout, a personal scandal, a twitchy putting stroke or for financial reasons. In its simplest form, she fell in love with a guy and out of love with the game. She leaves the hard-luck LPGA as its most recognized star, a four-time Player of the Year, and as one of the classiest and most conscientious stars in tour history. “Im ready to start a new life,” she said. “I want to be a normal person. Im ready to move on.” Normalcy will have to wait a few more days. She plays this week in the LPGA tour stop in Mexico, where a deserving awaits, to be sure. Ochoa insists shes not irreplaceable, but after eyeballing the players on the horizon, and Im not so sure. I will be hoisting a cold Corona in her honor, to be sure.
Green pastures A few weeks back, Ken Green received word from the PGA Tour that his request for a medical extension on the Champions Tour had been denied. The reasons were perfectly valid, since he had only minimal status, but the emotional part of the equation should have been given more weight. The veteran played last week in the senior team event outside Savannah, his first appearance in a Champions event since a car crash last year took his wife, brother and one of his legs. His son died in an SMU dorm room a few months later. Green said Sunday that getting back into the game not only has proven cathartic, but represents his very salvation. The names of his dearly departed are written on one of his golf shoes. “I dont know if I could possibly express what this has done for and I hate to say this, but getting hope for life,” he said Sunday, fighting to keep his composure. Just as with the remarkable tale of Erik Compton, a double heart-transplant recipient who has received exemptions into multiple European and U.S. tour events and played with some success, Greens story of redemption and perseverance is two-fold. It makes us feel good for him and better about any minor setbacks in our own lives. Heres hoping he gets as many chances to play as his physical limitations will allow.
Woods new tack: Committing early and often Tiger Woods said on his website that the PGA Tour asked him to commit to his upcoming events earlier than has been his professional pattern, as a means of allowing tournaments to get their additional security organized, among other details. It makes you wonder why they didnt impose on him about a decade earlier, no? A couple of days after he committed early to play in this weeks Quail Hollow Championship, the event sold out. While thats not altogether unusual for the Charlotte event, the addition of Woods gave fans an extra week to buy tickets or schedule days off. Security issues aside, it gave the tournament an opportunity to properly trumpet his presence in the field. When W the decision smacked of selfishness and ego. He never bothered to explain his reasoning. Hopefully, Woods realizes that while he might be the games grand marshal, hes still part of the parade. Whats good for the tour and his brethren is good for him, too.
Lefty and Woody revisited Im not sure which one is Batman and which one is Robin, exactly, and Charlotte surely isnt Gotham City. But the dynamic duo of Woods and Phil Mickelson this week will tee it up in the same tournament for only the fourth time in seven months. Woods was all over the place at the Masters, when Mickelson won his third green jacket, and if hes intent on proving that hes still the reigning No. 1 on the course despite his myriad issues, hes going to have to knock off Lefty to stay there. Mickelson has won the past three PGA Tour-sanctioned events in which both have played, dating to the Tour Championship last September in Atlanta, an unprecedented string by any player in the Woods era. By the way, in another quirky statistic that few have noticed, the typically unpredictable Mickelson now holds the longest streak of weeks in the money with a steady 19 in a row. Woods missed the cut at the British Open last year.
The Bohn Collector Sometimes, 30 seconds is all it takes for real insight. If you witnessed veteran Jason Bohns impromptu, post-round interview with Peter Kostis on Sunday, you got a true glimpse into the charisma and character of the 37-year-old, who cracked wise, laughed and cried all at once. Bohn has battled to make a mark on the PGA Tour and missed most of 2008 with back issues. His only other victory before Sunday was at the now-defunct B.C. Open, an opposite event against a weak field. Bohn, one of the most personable and self-deprecating players in the game, gave Kostis a big hug and fought to keep both his train of thought and composure. Sometimes, good guys do finish first, and given the stella it might have been the best clutch run of any player there might be many more such weeks for him.
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No such thing as bad publicity, huh? There was some interesting news reported on the media front relating to the Quail Hollow Championship, set for this week in Charlotte. When saucy celebrity TV shows such as and applied for credentials after Woods committed last week, they were told they had missed the application deadline. Yet when traditional print outlets and sports magazines asked for more credentials, they were green-lighted for admittance. Were all for maintaining some semblance of dignity and decorum here, but is there any more damage that the tabloids and celeb shows can do? a few loose ends about how he will be rec and golf probably can use the exposure. At this stage, the sport has already been tainted. Letting in a few breathless, bleach-blond TV reporters to report the sideshow might not be such a bad thing, given golfs apparent everywhere but in golf.
All over but the lawyering? Amid increasing assumptions though back-door channels that Woods marriage is all but officially over, several celeb sites outed him last week for attending a concert in Orlando while his wife and kids were in Sweden. Woods, mind you, said in February that he would be taking time off from the game to try to repair his relationship, then resumed playing his traditional schedule at the Masters. Given what he said, he was asked at Augusta whether he would be better served by staying home, as hed pledged. “Well, Im excited to play this week,” was all he offered in response. So while his wife was reportedly in Sweden, he was partying backstage with the rock act Nickelback. In some ways, a divorce might be the quickest and cleanest way to publicly resuscitate his image, the personal financial setback aside. Because Elin Woods is going to get way more than a nickel back for what Woods put her through.
Taking the collar Popular veteran Steve Stricker, who staged the most notable career turnaround of the past decade, his 43-year-old body. The world No. 3 had to withdraw last w because of a nagging collarbone problem that has become swollen and painful. Doctors ordered him to lay low for at least two weeks, and Stricker says his status for the Players Championship next week remains somewhat in doubt. The personable veteran has never really worked on his body much over the years. “I dont stretch, I dont work out or anything,” he told his hometown . “I never have over the course of my career, except in the fall. Maybe I need to look at that end of it.” Stricker is the lone member of the world top five who isnt entered in the Queen City.
Daytona Beached The new commissioner of the LPGA, Mike Whan, and his newly hired marketing whiz, Jon Podany, were schoolmates in college who used to hang out together. Whan went into the corporate side while Podany worked for years at the PGA Tour. When Whan took over as the boss earlier this year, he hired Podany, who is commuting daily from Jacksonville to LPGA headquarters Daytona Beach. “We thought it would be a good fit, because he knows the business world and I know the golf side,” Podany explained at the Masters. What neither of them could have known is that their top player, Ochoa, was on the verge of quitting. With three events in Mexico on the schedule established largely as a result of Ochoas magnetism in her homeland, the womens tour is facing an even tougher battle to retain a place at the table in North America. Ask yourself this: Once Ochoa effectively bails after this week, who is the No. 1 female player in the world? Well wait for your answer. Unfortunately, the marketing folks at the LPGA cant afford to.
As for that other Spanish-speaking star Sergio Garcia was ranked No. 2 in the world 15 months ago. Even after a steady fall, at No. 23, he was the highest-rated player in last weeks surprisingly weak New Orleans field. That made his performance all the more perplexing, particularly when TV cameras were doing close-ups to determine which grip he elected to use while hitting full shots on the weekend. Garcia, looking for some sort of fix, switched from an overlap to an interlock grip for a few rounds, then gave up on the experiment. Its hard not to view that development as a muted cry for help. Garcia has long looked uncomfortable and mechanical on the greens, and now one of the games great ball-strikers seems indecisive standing over the ball. Outside of some short-game tips gleaned from other gurus, Garcia has always been coached by his father, Victor, a former tour journeyman. Now 30 and starting to fade, he seems to need a fresh perspective.
