This post appeared on Flagstick.com on July 16th/2012.  Click here for the link.

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I love the opportunity to read up about golf’s history and take in personal, exclusive stories of guys who have been to some of the biggest events in the world. That’s why I was excited to pick up this month’s Golf Digest as I knew there would be a special section about the PGA Championship and it’s return to Kiawah Island in South Carolina for the first time in a major event since the Ryder Cup in 1991.

The cover for the magazine also featured one of the game’s best young stars, Rickie Fowler. Fowler has gained a legion of fans – including my girlfriend –  since his red-hot debut on Tour in 2009 thanks in large part to his humble demeanor, homemade swing, daredevil background, and of course, his highlighter-bright wardrobe.

Not only has Fowler picked up fans both young and old, but companies of all sorts have been lining up to sign him on to promote their products. I knew that Fowler was a big reason for a few companies’ expansion into golf – Puma and Redbull, for example – and responsible for a full rebrand of Cobra; however, the latest edition of Golf Digest might as well be called Rickie Fowler Digest.

He on the front cover, and the topic of the main story, but the first quarter of the magazine had no less than three ads which featured him, and another one which featured his caddy.

This begs the question, is Rickie Fowler the most marketable man in golf?

The answer is a resounding ‘yes.’

Not only was Fowler shown on the front cover and featured in ads for companies from Rolex to the PGA Tour itself, but he took out an ad on the back cover to thank all of his sponsors and supporters after his first victory on Tour earlier this year.

This is nothing new. Athletes who have been with a particular team for a long period of time and end up leaving that team on good terms – Roy Halladay leaving the Toronto Blue Jays, or Ray Allen leaving the Boston Celtics for example – have taken out full-page ads in local papers before, but this the first time I’ve seen a professional golfer to do it thank sponsors.

Fowler has a very promising future ahead of him with surely, more victories. Is this something that should be expected each time he wins? I’d hope not.

Among Fowler’s sponsors include a hotel chain (Crowne Plaza), a watch-maker (Rolex), two club manufacturers (Titleist and Cobra), an insurance agency (Farmer’s), a financial services group (Zurich), a media group (Wasserman), a jet manufacturer (Netjets), a car company (Honda), a sport bracelet (Colantotte), an energy drink (Red Bull), a GPS-maker (Bushnell), and finally, a video-game company (EA Sports).

I also hope he knows a good accounting firm to help keep all of these companies straight.

Fowler has the unique gift to be able to connect with golf fans and non-golf fans alike and seeing as he is young with a clean image, sponsors come to him hoping for more of the same to continue, and for him to reflect their brands.

At only 23, Fowler is one of the tour’s rising stars. His bright wardrobe has inspired a legion of imitators, and because of his non-golf background – he grew up wanting to be a competitive motocross racer, something he continues to enjoy to this day but finished competing in when he was 14 – he has inspired the PGA Tour to include his likeness in many of it’s new ad campaigns.

Not only is he young, but his multi-racial background is another asset for his sponsors to leverage for success considering how much the game is growing around the world.

For many years, generations of golfers have been inspired by golfers who only need one name to be recognized – Arnie, Jack, Seve, Tiger – but it’s still too soon to know if ‘Rickie’ will be added to that list.

This  week, Fowler heads across the pond to tee it up at the British Open, where he looks to build off of his tie for 5^th last year. He’ll bring with him a host of supporters, and more fans will meet him there. For now, there’s no slowing down the Fowler juggernaut.

What do you think? Is there a more marketable person in golf than Rickie Fowler?

After a great vacation week – including four rounds of golf in a row and visiting my wonderful girlfriend in Ottawa– I’m getting back into a blogging rhythm with my weekly Tuesday column about the goings-on in the golf world.

Potter conjures up some winning magic

After missing 24 straight cuts on the former Nationwide Tour – now Web.com Tour – in 2004, Ted Potter Jr.’s game came full circle on Sunday with a dramatic playoff victory over Troy Kelly, his first on the PGA Tour. Potter found some success in golf’s minor leagues before, and was second on the Web.com Tour’s money list for 2011. However, it was his breakthrough victory on Sunday at The Greenbrier Classic that allowed him to punch his ticket to the British Open in two weeks, next year’s Masters, and a two-year exemption on the big Tour. When Greenbrier owner Jim Justice shelled out nearly $2.5 million to get Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to come to his tournament, I’m sure the last thing he expected was to have two no-names – Potter and Kelly – battling it out down the stretch on Sunday. The two big draws – Woods and Mickelson – both missed the cut and the virtual unknowns were left standing. Casual golf fans certainly were disinterested, and I’m sure the TV ratings will reflect this, but most true golf fans root for good golf, not necessarily good players. Such is golf. I’ve spoken about how much parity there is in the game these days in this column before and because of this new playing field, sometimes these are the kinds of finishes that we’re going to get on the PGA Tour.

Will the real Tiger Woods please stand up?

Two weeks ago, Tiger Woods trumped the field by two strokes at his own event, the AT&T National, held this year at Congressional Golf Club after a two year hiatus. Tiger looked masterful on the course: twirling his club, dropping putts, and even emphatically fist-pumping where necessary. The debate again raged on as to whether he was ‘back’ or what a tour-leading third victory of 2012 would mean to him. At this point, the case for whether Tiger is ‘back’ should be closed. Back from injury, back from scandal, back in the winner’s circle – he is all of those things and more. Back to the player he was in the early 2000s? Probably never, but only two other people in golf in the past three years (Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker) have won as many tournaments as Tiger has in one season (three) and this season is just over half done. But this past week, Tiger missed the cut badly at the Greenbrier – despite having allegedly taken upwards of $1.5 million for an appearance fee – and the questions have come back again. He went into The Masters after a victory at Bay Hill, he went into the U.S. Open after a victory at The Memorial, and he would have gone into the British Open after a victory too, had he not played at The Greenbrier. Who knows which Tiger will show up across the pond, but, per this piece from CBS Sports’ Shane Bacon, with three victories already on the year, the golf world should return to measuring Woods’ success based on major triumphs. It’s clear that winning a Major is the only thing that will make Tiger feel as though the season was a success, and he has two more chances to go.

A final round for Lorne Rubenstein

After 32 years, the Canadian golf journalism legend Lorne Rubenstein has decided to retire after the RBC Canadian Open in three weeks. Rubenstein, an award-winning columnist, ScoreGolf Magazine contributor, and author of multiple books including his latest, Moe and Me, has left a legacy on the Canadian journalism landscape – not just in golf – that few are able to hold a candle to. His writing has filled the pages of The Globe and Mail since 1980, covering the end of the Jack Nicklaus era, the rise of the Tiger Woods era, and everything in between. A true inspiration for many – me included – Rube’s writing will be missed.

She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy

It’s hard to believe that in just two weeks the third major championship of 2012 will be played. The year, and summer, is certainly flying by! This week though is the final tune-up for the British Open on both sides of the pond. In the U.S., Steve Stricker looks to win the John Deere Classic for the fourth straight year, becoming only the fifth man to accomplish such a feat. He’ll have some good competition this week, but with one victory already this season, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him complete the ‘Stricker Slam,’ as some are calling it, and come away the winner.

Across the Atlantic, the European Tour is drawing a slightly stronger field competing at the Scottish Open where Luke Donald is the defending champion. I’m hoping Branden Grace has a good showing, as he’s my dark horse pick for the British next week – but look for Padraig Harrington to build on some recent success in the U.S. and emerge victorious this week.

First-Half Awards

With the golf season now more than halfway done for the year it’s time to reflect back on the first six months of the year and give out some awards.

Player of the year – Tiger Woods. Three victories (no majors) but if history has taught us anything, it’s that three victories on a season would pretty much automatically guarantee POY honours. And, we’re only halfway done the season. Honourable mentions to Jason Dufner, Webb Simpson, and Hunter Mahan.

Comeback player of the year– Jason Dufner. No contest. After two near-misses last year, Dufner finally broke through with a victory earlier this year after over 350 tries on Tour. He then followed it up two weeks later with another victory. His southern charm and wonderful swing has won over a legion of new fans.

Rookie of the year– Johnathan Huh. Another no–contest. Huh already has four top-10 finishes on the year, including a victory at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in February. Huh, a product of the ‘old’ Q-School, is as good a reason as any to keep things the way they are with respect to qualifiers. This season has been a wonderful start to his career.

New ‘Leish’ on Life

After shooting an 8-under 62 on Sunday, Australian Marc Leishman finished his final round at the Travelers Championship and just waited. He was long done his round before the final groups came through the closing stretch of holes at the TPC River Highlands, and I’m sure he is glad that he stuck around. As more balls found the water, and more challengers faded back – including Masters champion Bubba Watson who was making his own Sunday charge – Leishman was getting closer to his maiden Tour victory. After Charley Hoffmann, the only man left on the course who had a chance to beat Leishman, finished double bogey-bogey, Leishman had captured the win by one stroke. The journeyman pro was the fifth first-time winner at the Travelers Championship in the last seven years, and the fifth player this season alone to come from at least six shots back to win a tournament. In 2012, it seems as though no Sunday lead is safe. Guys on Tour seem to have more difficulty than ever closing the deal. I’d guess it’s because of how much talent there is on Tour these days and at any moment someone could go on a hot streak and snap up a victory, as Leishman did this past week.

Calcaveccia orders the Triple-Triple

A rare achievement, but with a four-stroke victory this Sunday at the Montreal Championship, Mark Calcaveccia has now won three separate professional golf tournaments North of the border. The 1997 Greater Vancouver Open and 2005 Canadian Open champion (both PGA Tour events) matched the course record at Richelieu Valley Golf Club this past Sunday with a blistering 8-under 64, including a chip-in eagle on no.16 which all but sealed his victory.  I was doubtful at the success of the tournament after hearing that stars like Fred Couples, Nick Price, and Kenny Perry had withdrawn before the tournament began, however, reports indicate that the crowds in Montreal were the biggest of the year and arguably bigger than some of the major tournaments on the Champions Tour. Hopefully more of the stars of the senior circuit recognize the success of the event and will make an appearance next year when ‘Calc’ will look to defend his title.

Brittany Lang dukes out her first victory

About 8 hours down the 401 from Montreal in Waterloo, another professional golf tournament was being played as the LPGA tour swung through Grey Silo Golf Club for the inaugural Manulife Financial LPGA Classic. Former Duke University standout Brittany Lang captured her first LPGA victory after surviving a three-hole playoff with four other golfers. For a Tour that has been struggling in years past, any ‘new’ event (and specifically, any new event with half-decent prize money) will bring out a great field. As Bob Weeks mentions on his blog here, playing on the LPGA Tour can be a tough way to make a living. Despite some media hiccups by the organizers – there was minimal Canadian golf media invited to any of the pre-tournament events, and therefore, minimal coverage of the event itself – the event seemed to be a great success. Reports indicate that all 1,400 of the volunteer positions were filled, and Grey Silo saw nearly 66,000 spectators come through the gates for the week.

Congressional confessional

After two years playing at Aronimink Golf Club nearPhiladelphia, the AT&T National returns to Congressional (outside ofWashington,D.C.) this week. The two year absence was due to Congressional prepping to play host to the 2011 U.S. Open where soft weather conditions allowed for Rory McIlroy to trounce the field and the record books. The Tiger Woods-hosted event is one of the premier non-major events of the season and Woods looks to return to the winner’s circle to ‘defend’ his 2009 title – the last time the tournament was played at Congressional. After shooting a scorching 61 on Sunday at the Travelers Championship, I wouldn’t be surprised if Hunter Mahan translates some of that success into a good showing this week. Also, with Dustin Johnson coming to Summit Golf & Country Club (in Richmond Hill) for an event on Monday, I have to give a little Canadian-connection shout-out to DJ, who I also expect to play well this week.

Simpson Spins a Victory Webb

If one was to go into a weekend of a U.S. Open and shoot 4-under par over the two days, more often than not that person would come away as the champion. This past weekend at the Olympic Club in San Francisco was no different. Webb Simpson, the 26-year-old Wake Forest graduate and (now) three-time PGA Tour winner squeezed out a one-stroke victory, finishing with a four day total of 1-over par. Simpson, who won twice in 2011 and amassed 21 top-25 finishes in 26 events, had the game to win a major, but many did not think it would come this soon. As is the case with many U.S. Opens, the man who emerges victorious is usually the one who makes the least mistakes. Simpson began his back-9 on Sunday with a birdie and made pars on the final eight holes to close out his round. It was a mistake-free stretch, made even more impressive as, after the round, he said “I couldn’t feel my legs” during those final holes. The last 15 major championships have all been won by different golfers, and Simpson was just another young gun whose time had come.

Major Disappointments

After disastrous starts by some of the world’s best golfers – and disastrous finishes by many others – no one was spared by the test that was Olympic Club’s Lake Course. I received a tweet from a friend of mine last night that said “Olympic has no regard for anyone.” This could not be a more correct statement. World no’s 1 and 2 Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald (respectively) both missed the cut. Major champions Bubba Watson, Lucas Glover, Louis Oosthuizen were gone after two days. Pre-tournament favourites Dustin Johnson, Bill Haas, and Kyle Stanley also were sent packing early. Guys who actually made the cut didn’t have it much easier, as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson for example, were a combined 17-over par. For a golf course that has only one fairway bunker, and no water hazards, Olympic Club was able to cause players fits in different ways. Just how the USGA likes it.

The Kids are Alright

I didn’t think the ‘youth’ storyline could get any better than after 14-year-old Andy Zhang qualified for the U.S. Open and became the youngest-known competitor in the championship’s 112-year history. But then, a 17-year-old named Beau Hossler with braces and a baby-face came along, and on Saturday night told the world he wasn’t thinking about low amateur honours – he wanted to win the whole tournament. Hossler would not go on to win, and would eventually lose out on low amateur honours after a double-bogey on his final hole to Jordan Spieth, but Hossler will definitely not forget this experience any time soon.

Not to be outdone by the boys, 14-year-old Brooke Henderson made waves north of the border last week after winning the second CN Canadian Women’s Tour Event of the season, and locked up an exemption into the LPGA’s CN Canadian Women’s Open championship later this summer. At 14, Henderson will become the youngest player ever to play in the tournament.

Travelling Man

This week, the PGA Tour heads across the country from California to Connecticut for the Travelers Championship. For those who struggled through the U.S. Open test, it will be a welcome sight to see the TPC River Highlands course, the third-shortest course the PGA Tour visits all season. A popular pick this week to contend would be Ryan Moore, who wasn’t in the field last week and should be well-rested. He’s also a two-time runner-up at the championship, including in 2011.

Meanwhile, both the Champions Tour and the LPGA Tour are coming to Canada for the Montreal Championship and the inaugural Manulife Financial LPGA Classic, respectively. Unfortunately, the Montreal Championship has seen a fair share of star-withdrawals including Fred Couples, Tom Lehman, Nick Price, and Kenny Perry; however, the Manulife tournament – hosted in Waterloo – will feature eight of the top 10 female golfers on Tour this season.

D.J. Delivers

Returning for only his second tournament after injuring his back lifting a jet-ski three months ago, Dustin Johnson captured the FedEx St. Jude Classic this past week in Memphis by one stroke over John Merrick. Johnson, who started the final round two strokes back of the lead, put together a Sunday charge and ended up shooting a 4-under 66, eclipsing all other challengers including Rory McIlroy. McIlroy was tied for the lead early in the day but struggled on the back nine, including making a double-bogey on 18. Despite the double-bogey to finish the tournament, McIlroy returned to form this past week after missing three straight cuts. Johnson, who already had three other top-10 finishes this season before teeing it up in Memphis, has a ton of ground to make up if he wants to make the Ryder Cup team in September. But, a victory this past week will act as a springboard for his confidence heading through the rest of the summer.

Shanshan Feng wins LPGA Championship

Shanshan Feng, the only woman fromChinaon the LPGA tour, won the tour’s first major of the year this past Sunday. Feng won the LPGA Tour with a 5-under 67 for a two-stroke victory. Feng’s 67 was the lowest round of the tournament. Although Asian women have been dominating on the LPGA Tour for quite a while now, surprisingly, Feng was the first woman ever fromChinato win a LPGA title. Considering how successful they’ve been on the LPGA tour for years now, it would not be surprising to see a major one day played in Asia. And, with China putting heavy dollars into their amateur athletes in time for the Olympics in 2016 – where golf will make its return – I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more Chinese contenders sooner rather than later.

Ryder Cup Rumblings

With the emphatic return of Dustin Johnson this past week, all of a sudden the list of the top American golfers got much longer. With 2012 being a Ryder Cup year, there will be even more focus than usual on who is playing well this side of the Atlantic. For years, the European team always appeared stronger on paper, and the results showed. This year, however, one could argue the teams will be at least even, on paper and rankings-wise. The top 10 on the U.S.team as of mid-June are listed as: Watson, Dufner, Mickelson, Kuchar, Mahan, Woods, Johnson, Bradley, Fowler, Johnson. All winners on the PGA Tour so far this year – save for Bradley, but he is the reigning PGA Champion and lost in a playoff earlier this year – and all playing some extremely good golf. The European team should not be considered underdogs by any means – they do have the nos 1, 2, and 3-ranked players in the world on their team in Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, and Lee Westwood. However, top-to-bottom, the Americans look stronger at this point. It will definitely be an interesting summer to see how the teams shake out.

Born in the U.S.A.

This week, the PGA Tour heads to the ‘land where legends die,’ Olympic Club in San Francisco, for the 112^th playing of the U.S Open – the second major of the year. The nickname for Olympic Club was born after Ben Hogan was upset by little-known Jack Fleck in the 1955 U.S. Open and kicked off a string of upsets by underdogs over crowd favourites. Names like the aforementioned Fleck, Billy Casper, Scott Simpson, and Lee Janzen have all won the Open at Olympic over legends like Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, and Payne Stewart. There has not been a U.S. Open in recent memory that has been filled with more story lines than this one. The front-runner is, of course, Tiger Woods, who already has two wins on the season. Not to be overlooked as contenders include, well, everybody. To borrow a line from Tin Cup, “Anyone’s got a shot at it. You just gotta get past a local and a sectional qualifier and unlike Doral, or Colonial, or the A.T.T. they can’t keep you out […] You qualify, you’re in.” It should be a great week.

Tiger’s Triumph

Already a winner on Tour this year, Tiger Woods returned to a location where he had won four previous times and delivered a knock-out blow to the field with an explosive chip-in on the 16^th hole Sunday. This allowed him to seal a two-stroke victory over Andres Romero and Rory Sabbatini at The Memorial Tournament. This marked Tiger’s 73^rd overall victory on Tour, matching him with the tournament’s host for the week, Jack Nicklaus. Nicklaus ribbed him in the post-round press conference saying he, “had to rub it in my face” in reference to the matching record. Spencer Levin, who was tied for the lead after 54-holes, just as he was earlier this season in Phoenix, imploded (again) for a final round 75 to drop him to fourth, but his implosion was nothing compared to Tiger’s playing partner Rickie Fowler. Fowler, who was set to earn his sixth top-10 finish of the season, shot a 12-over 84, 17 strokes higher than Tiger, to drop into a tie for 52^nd place. Tiger and Rickie will now take a week off before heading to San Francisco for the U.S. Open in two weeks while Levin will tee it up this week in Memphis.

Is he back?

For some on Tour, two victories and nearly $3 million in earnings through nine events in a season would already be a career-defining year. But for Tiger Woods, there are many who still doubt that he is ‘back.’ With Tiger, he’s under such intense media and public scrutiny that one struggles to remember that although he isn’t winning every week, he’s still winning and contending more than most. Woods was his own worst enemy, having taken the game to another level in the early 2000s and now, he will never truly be ‘back’ until he reaches that pinnacle – something that may never be achieved again. In the video clip above showing Tiger’s chip-in on Sunday, a viewer will hear, “that was sick” (Gary McCord), or “That was one of the most incredible golf shots I think you’ll ever see” (Jack Nicklaus). However, I think the most telling of comments came from the incomparable Jim Nantz who said, “…and this is the one moment, right here, that people have been waiting almost three years for.” It was vintage Tiger. The summer Sunday sun shining on the tell-tale red and black. Playing competitors falling away as Tiger prowls up the leaderboard. The incredible shot that, before it’s hit, gets overanalyzed (but everyone knows that if there’s anyone who can sink it, it’s Tiger) and the flying fist pump. Oh, yes. The summer is just starting. Whether it becomes the summer of Tiger remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: Tiger is back and he’s ready to play.

Mickelson Withdraws

In an uncharacteristic move, Phil Mickelson withdrew from The Memorial after an opening round 79 citing ‘mental fatigue.’ Tour rules state that a player doesn’t have to actually give a reason for withdrawing after play in a tournament has begun but Mickelson’s rationale struck a nerve with many. One of the better comparative examples came from Rick Lipsey of Sports Illustrated who said, “soldiers and firemen battle fatigue on the job, not PGA Tour players.” Mickelson could have easily feigned injury, but instead admitted he wore himself too thin with outside commitments and decided he needed to focus on the U.S. Open. His coach, Butch Harmon, was on record saying Mickelson should have never teed it up at all this week and I agree. If you know you’re just feeling ‘off,’ give your spot to a qualifier. It’s not as if Mickelson needs the money.

Delivering a Victory

This week, the Tour moves to Memphis for the Fed-Ex St. Jude Classic. It’s the final tournament before the second major of the season, the U.S. Open, next week. Rory McIlroy is back in action again this week after three straight missed cuts at The Players Championship, the BMW Championship across the pond, and last week’s Memorial. He’s recommitted himself to the game after admitting he wasn’t practicing as much as he should have been. However, his game has gone ice cold after a blistering start to the season. I wouldn’t count out the no. 2-ranked player in the world just yet, though. He still has one of the nicest swings on Tour and sometimes all it takes is one good shot or one good week to turn things around. Really like seeing Dustin Johnson playing again after a lengthy time away after a back injury. The long hitter has a long way to go if he wants to make the Ryder Cup team in September, and this week may be as good as any to get a victory that may springboard him through the rest of the qualifying period.

For What it’s Worth

The top golf rankings in the world seem to be a revolving door these days as Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy have been going around-and-around for the last six weeks with no one landing a deciding blow and truly claiming number one. However, this past weekend at Wentworth Golf Club just outside of London, Luke Donald may have taken an important step forward with a strong victory over a world-class European Tour field at the BMW PGA Championship. The BMW, the European Tour’s flagship event – save of course, for the British Open – has been won by Donald the past two seasons. McIlroy was a non-factor, missing the cut by a mile for his second early exit in a row (including the Player’s Championship two weeks ago). Donald now sits atop the world rankings again, but for how long? McIlroy is back in action this week and a solid finish would leap-frog him again to number one. A topic I’ve touched upon the last few weeks is how much parity there is in the game of golf right now, and the world rankings show no exempt from that claim. For years, there was really one name that was the best in the world – no one came even close. However, since Tiger Woods has lost some of his magic, there are probably ten guys in the world who could, at any point, be claimed the best. It is a great time to be a fan of the game.

Zach Attack

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Jason Dufner was in contention late on Sunday to win a PGA Tour event. It took him nearly 200 tries, but since his maiden victory four weeks ago in New Orleans, Dufner had been on a tear. However, many are saying he just ran out of gas this past weekend at Colonial, after he fell to gritty veteran and former Masters champion Zach Johnson by one stroke. Johnson won his second Crowne Plaza Invitational in three years on Sunday but it was not without controversy. After draining his short putt to put the finishing touches on his victory, his caddy whispered to him “did you replace your marker?” Turns out, he did not. After moving his marker on the green to get out of the way of his playing partner, Dufner, Johnson forgot to move it back to its original place and was charged a two-stroke penalty. His comfortable three-stroke victory had turned into a one-stroke win, but a win all the same. It would have been a shame for Johnson to have lost the tournament on such a technicality, but that’s golf.

Chapman melts the field at the Senior PGA Championship

Relatively unknown Englishman Roger Chapman sealed a two-stroke victory over John Cook, and three strokes over the ageless Hale Irwin (seriously, he is 67 and still competing. So impressive!) to win for the first time on the Senior circuit. Chapman carried a nine-stroke lead through the early stages of his round but did end up falling back slightly to the field before the day was done. Week to week, some familiar names will pop up on the Champion’s Tour leaderboard – names like Kenny Perry, Tom Watson, Tom Lehman, and Fred Couples come to mind – but there are also the handful of guys like Chapman who literally come out of nowhere for a win. It’s unfortunate for the tour there isn’t the financial draw for guys to want to play after 50 years of age, because they’ve already made their millions. Hard to see the Champions Tour change its marketing angle to reflect anything other than an opportunity to see some legends one more time, and unfortunately (with no disrespect to Chapman), a victory by an unknown journeyman is not what the tour needs.

Jack’s House

This week, the Tour returns to Ohio for one of the more anticipated stops of the year: The Memorial Tournament, hosted by Jack Nicklaus. The tournament is played on a Nicklaus-designed golf course just outside ofColumbus,Ohio, — Nicklaus’ hometown. It’s one of only five tournaments that have been granted ‘invitational’ status on the Tour (including last week’s tournament at Colonial) meaning the field is reduced from a normal size of about 150 golfers, to 120. Past winners include Tiger Woods (back in the field this week looking for his fifth Memorial title), Tom Watson, Steve Stricker, Greg Norman, and the host himself, Jack Nicklaus. Any number of the top golfers in the world would be a fantastic pick this week, but I’m going to go with Webb Simpson. After his magical season in 2011, he just has too much game not to turn it around soon in 2012. He tied for seventh last year, and a win here would do wonders for his confidence heading into the summer.

Duf Man says, “Make it a Double”

What a few weeks it’s been for 35-year-old Jason Dufner. Late April in New Orleans, he finally captured his first TOUR event after 164 attempts – including a loss in the 2011 PGA Championship to Keegan Bradley – and then he took a week off to get married. Although he struggled at the Player’s Championship one week later (he was in the honeymoon phase, obviously) he bounced back and won again this past week at the HP Byron Nelson Classic. His laid-back demeanour has captured the hearts of many new fans across the golf world, and his hot streak couldn’t have come at a better time looking towards next month’s U.S. Open and the Ryder Cup in September. Is Dufner the overall best American golfer in the world? I’d say that distinction still belongs to Hunter Mahan, however, hard to argue against Dufner playing the best of anyone in the world right now. Out of the top-25 golfers in the world (Dufner is no.14 – who saw that coming?) he joins Mahan, Steve Stricker, Keegan Bradley, Luke Donald, and Bubba Watson as the only golfers with a two-win season the past three years. Although the casual ‘sports’ fan would love to see another dominating streak like the Tiger Woods of old, golf fans across the world are enjoying the parity, and the fact that there are so many strong golfers at the top of their games right now.

Morgan Pressel meets her match

At the LPGA tour’s Sybase Match Play, Pressel won the 12^th hole to go 3-up in her match against Azahara Munoz. However, a TOUR official met the pair on the 13^th tee to assess  Pressel with a slow-play penalty and an automatic loss of hole (because it’s match play. Had this been stroke play, it would have been a one-stroke penalty). ‘Slow play’ seems to be the topic du jour across all golf tours around the world. Last week at the Player’s Championship, the media and other players were stirring the pot regarding Kevin Na’s slow play (including re-gripping, copious practice swings, etc) and the fact that he wasn’t penalized. I’m not in favour of how close in proximity this slow-play penalty was called on the LPGA after all the uproar on the PGA Tour – it almost gives off a “look at us” mentality and media stunt (because no one is talking about the golf, they’re all talking about the penalty) – but a rule is a rule. The fact that it was actually enforced is a positive. It will be interesting to see if the powers-that-be on the men’s tour follow suit.

Be like Mike

My eyebrows raise slightly with excitement each time I read that Mike Weir gets granted an exemption and will be in a particular PGA Tour field week-by-week. However, there hasn’t been much to be excited about of late. Weir has missed the cut in every event he has played so far this year and it’s not even close. He hasn’t even broken 70. This past week at the HP Byron Nelson, Weir shot 75 in the first round, giving himself at least a shot to crawl back and make the cut. However, a second round 83 dashed any chance at that, and he ended up in a tie for last place out of the 160-man field. Bob Weeks arguably knows Weir better than anyone in the media and writes a good post about Weir’s struggles here. Most telling may be that Weir was off for seven months because of surgery to his elbow and has only played in eight tournaments since the comeback. As Tiger says, “it’s a process,” but hopefully Weir manages to turn things around soon.

Texas Take Two

The Tour shifts west about 40 minutes from Irving, Texas to Fort Worth, Texas for this week’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Last year, David Toms got over the heartbreak he suffered at the Player’s Championship in his loss to KJ Choi to take the victory. The Texas wind will definitely be a factor again this week sweeping across the par-70 layout. The last three PGA Tour winners are in the field this week – Dufner, Matt Kuchar, and Rickie Fowler – along with Hunter Mahan, who many are saying is a perfect fit to get his third win of the year.

The Kuch is Loose

After 24 other top-10 finishes over the last two years, but only one other victory, the case was certainly be made that Matt Kuchar was due. And, after a two-stroke victory on Sunday, over names like Rickie Fowler and Martin Laird and major winners Zach Johnson and Ben Curtis, there is no reason for him to wipe that boyish grin off his face any time soon. It’s a grin we saw a lot of through a solid final round 2-under 70, giving Kuchar his biggest victory on Tour at the Player’s Championship. Kuchar has been basically a top-10 machine over the last few seasons, thanks in large part to his flattened swing, much improved (albeit, somewhat unconventional) putting stroke, and can-do attitude. He’s rarely been able to close the big one but now that he has, it’s time to see what he can do as a follow-up act.

Nationwide is on your side

With the strong Canadian contingent popping up weekly on the Nationwide Tour – guys like Adam Hadwin, Brad Fitsch, and Matt McQuillan come to mind – my eyes have been on the minor league’s leaderboards a lot more often than in recent years. What’s been interesting is to see the kinds of golfers and calibre of names that pop up week-to-week at any Nationwide Tour event. Take last week’s Stadion Classic, where former PGA TOUR winners like Jason Gore, Woody Austin and Joe Durant all cracked the top-30, and two-time U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen finished t-3. Even this week’s past Player’s Champion Matt Kuchar spent a season on the Nationwide Tour fine-tuning his game and getting his head on straight. Golf is a cruel game, no doubt about it. And with the changes coming to Q-School starting next season, who knows what other names we may see on Nationwide Tour leaderboards.

Ain’t Ready To Quit

Last weekend, alongside the incomparable Dan Jenkins, two-time major champion Sandy Lyle, British broadcaster Peter Alliss and four-time LPGA major champion Hollis Stacy, Phil Mickelson was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Although obviously deserving, Phil admitted afterwards that he still has a lot of golf left in him. At 42, he is arguably one of the favourites going into next month’s U.S. Open at Olympic Club in San Francisco and no one knows how many Phil-the-Thrill moments he has left in him. This is akin to inducting Albert Pujols into the baseball Hall of Fame at the All-Star break. A great suggestion I came across was to at least raise the age limit to 50 and tie it into a Senior Tour event of some kind. I can’t think of a better ambassador for the Tour, nor a more deserving Hall of Famer, but when the guy himself admits he has more wins in him, and we all believe him, the timing may not be right.

Texas Was You

This week the Tour heads to Texas for a mini two-stop swing through the lone star state. First up is the HP Byron Nelson Classic, played in what would be Lord Byron’s 100^th year. The TPC Four Seasons resort will play host to the championship for the 27^th time. Defending champion Keegan Bradley is back in the field, and after an incredible latter-half of 2011 (including winning the PGA Championship) along with a great start to 2012, Bradley has cooled down slightly, missing cuts at two of his last three events. I would not at all be surprised if Matt Kuchar won again this week, riding high off his win at The Players and the sixth-place finish he had at last year’s edition of this tournament.