The Common Golfer

I’m not suggesting anything, but next time you see Tiger Woods’ giant biceps, this story may give you pause.  Dr. Tony Galea, whose revolutionary “blood spinning” techniques helped Woods recover from knee surgery, is being charged with three counts of illegally importing and selling drugs.

Galea is popular in the sports world, and his patients have included Olympic gold medalists, NFL players, and NHL players.  Most notable on the list of “illegal” drugs is Actovegin, which is a drug containing extracts of calf’s blood.  It promotes healing and increases stamina, and has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.  Actovegin is also not approved for sale in Canada – part of the reason for Galea’s pending legal issues.

Galea claims that the charges are due to a misunderstanding because while not approved by Canadian health authorities, he is permitted to use the drugs by the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons.  The other drugs, less related to sports, are Ambien (a sleep aid) and Vicodin.

Again: I am in no way suggesting that Tiger Woods is using performance-enhancing drugs.  But these allegations could not have come at a worse time for Woods.  And if we’ve learned anything these past two weeks, it’s that we don’t know Tiger as well as we thought we did.  Previously, being tied to controversial doctors has not bode well for other athletes.  What do you think?  Is it possible that Tiger has been cheating on more than just his wife?

Every time I post something related to Tiger Woods lately, I swear to myself that it will be the last post related to his infidelity.  But there’s nothing else to write about!  Yes Jim Furyk just won the Chevron, yes Q School is going on, bla bla, boring!

Here’s the silver lining to all the Woods drama: if you act fast, you can get Tiger Woods figurines for dirt cheap at Toys ‘R’ Us!  Since all the cheating/porn stars/etc. went public last week, the figures have been put on clearance.  I think I’ve found stocking stuffers for my entire family

Apparently, Colin Montgomerie’s driving skills are as bad as his social skills.  The European Ryder Cup Captain/Jerk had his driver’s license suspended for six months after he was cited for driving 37 mph in a 30 mph zone.

The speeding offense added 3 points to his driving record, putting him at the legal maximum of 12 points.  In Scotland, District Judge Gerald Chalk also hit Montgomerie with a £850 fine, £4,000 court costs and a £15 victim surcharge (not really sure why there’s a “victim surcharge” when there weren’t any victims).

Jesper Parnevik is suing golf clothier J. Lindberg for not paying for his use in the company’s marketing.  The lawsuit seeks $1.3 million.

For years, Parnevik was the primary player on tour for J. Lindberg and at one point was a shareholder in the company.  Stefan Engstrom with J. Lindberg said, “It is sad that it has been like this, but his contract was in 2008. It is not true that we have used him in our marketing. Jesper has been valuable for the company and built up the brand, but our primary name the last five years is a Colombian player Camilo Villegas.”

I have done absolutely no research on this subject, but I do vaguely recall having seen Parnevik’s face on some J. Lindberg material somewhere over the past year.  More importantly…what ever happened to Parnevik?  He was always one of my most favorite players to watcy, and roughly 10 years ago he was one of the most dominant players on tour!

After the remarkable performances recently of “older” past champions, the age rules for the British Open have been changed.  The rules change guarantees that Tom Watson, who finished runner-up this year, will be exempt for the next five years.  It also ensure we will see more of Greg Norman, who tied for third in 2008.

Today the Royal & Ancient, which governs golf outside of the United States, announced that former champions with a top ten finish will receive a five year exemption.  Prior to the rules change, Watson’s exemption as a past champion would have expired this year when he turned 60 years old.

”We have introduced this exemption as a direct response to seeing two of our great Open champions, both in their 50s, challenging to win our championship these last two years,” R&A chief executive Peter Dawson said. ”We rightly reduced the age of exemption for past champions from 65 to 60 two years ago and our intention was never to remove players still at the top of their game from competing in the Open.”

Unlike the defacement of the road hole, this is something Dawson has gotten right.  Actually, if it were up to me, past champions would have a lifetime exemption to come back and play the British Open.  But this will do, and I can’t wait to see Tom Watson come back next year and try to recapture the magic again!

Ryan Moore has finally woken up, and decided to sell out like everyone else on the PGA Tour.  Actually, I’m kidding – this is actually a smart move on his part.  I’m on record saying Ryan Moore was an idiot for being the only player on Tour without a sponsor, but that has officially changed.  Moore has signed a deal with Scratch Golf, which not only includes him using their equipment but also give him part ownership in the company.

He will play Scratch Golf wedges and irons, and will also sport the logo on his clothing and golf bag.  ”He feels we give him the best opportunity to succeed and we feel that he will help us get our name out there,” Ari Techner, president and CEO of Scratch Golf, said. “Having a spokesman out on the PGA Tour, carrying our bag and wearing our logo, being the face of the company, is really going to be important for us. We want to get our name out there. We don’t do any traditional advertising. I’m not sure there’s anyone else on tour we would have considered. It’s really a win-win for everybody.”

So I’m going to go ahead and ask it – am I the only one who’s never heard of Scratch Golf?  Moore is their first Tour staff professional, however Christie Kerr plays their wedges on the LPGA.  Details of the deal haven’t been finalized yet, but Moore seems to have gotten a potentially sweet deal!  Think of it this way…who else on Tour has equity ownership in the company that sponsors them?

Maybe Moore was on to something, by playing “hard to get” for 5 years.  For an equipment manufacturer I’ve never even heard of, I’m sure their long-term success if yet to be seen.  But if Scratch Golf becomes an established name on Tour, Moore could find himself earning much more than a standard sponsorship would rake in.

The PGA Tour announced today it has no plans to change the playoff schedule and points system for the 2010 FedEx Cup.  Rick George, PGA Chief of Operations, said there are no changes on the agenda and that the issue was not even discussed at a policy board meeting earlier this week.  ”We think the FedEx Cup did a lot of positive things and met the objectives we set for it,” George said. “We don’t anticipate it changing.”

As I’ve mentioned before, I think the current FedEx Cup is a complete disaster.  It’s easy to look at the end result of this season and proclaim the FedEx Cup a complete success – it doesn’t get any better than Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson finishing in the top two slots, right?  The fact is, it could’ve been a lot worse.  And much like the BCS in college football, the longer the current setup remains in place, the better the odds that we’ll eventually get that “perfect storm” of horridness.

There were glimpses of what could go wrong this year.  Heath Slocum won a playoff event and jumped from #124 to #3 in the standings.  The fact is, 125 golfers is too many for a playoff system.  A playoff champion should be someone who played well all year, not someone who caught fire for 2 weeks at the end of the year.  Otherwise, why keeps points throughout the regular season?  Some of the players in the playoffs this year had only made 3 cuts all season!  Why even give one of those players an opportunity?  At best, they’ll play well enough to advance and rob a more deserving player of a spot in the later rounds.

A true playoff system should pit the final players against each other.  If the tour doesn’t want a completely match-play playoff system, then use the first 2 pointless weeks of the month-long affair as stoke-play qualifiers.  Once the field is whittled down, then have match-play to decide the true champion.  Otherwise, you’re just pointlessly trying to prop up tournaments that used to not mean anything.  Tour players care more about The Masters and The US Open.  Maybe pitting the best against each other individually will give the FedEx Cup real meaning.

Please start listening to your fans, PGA Tour.  Otherwise, instead of Tiger vs. Phil one, you might end up with Doug Barron and Ted Purdy in a dramatic battle for the title!  No offense to either of them, but I’m sure you can do the math how awesome those t.v. ratings would be…

You didn’t think Doug Barron “cleanly” missed the cut in every tournament he played this year, did you?  Clearly he was doing something to gain an advantage, and average 277 yards off the tee!  Today, Barron became the first player to be in violation of the PGA Tour’s substance abuse policy.  As a result, he was immediately suspended for one year.

The Tour’s policy states, however, that it doesn’t have to reveal what substance was being used.  That actually poses an interesting question; everyone jumps to assume that steroids were being used to gain a distance advantage.  They’re probably right, but we shouldn’t entirely rule out stimulants of some sort…like something to keep you sharp week after week, or something to help you focus more.

Through the Tour offices, Barron immediately issued an apology.  ”I would like to apologize for any negative perception of the tour or its players resulting from my suspension. I want my fellow tour members and the fans to know that I did not intend to gain an unfair competitive advantage or enhance my performance while on tour.”

He has played 8 years on tour, with his best finish a tie for third place at the 2006 Byron Nelson Championship.  Sadly, his career seems to be slipping away lately.  He played a full season on the Nationwide Tour last year, missing 12 of 17 cuts.  This year, he played 4 Nationwide events and 1 Tour event, missing all cuts.  The last time his name was in the news was in 2006 when he took his shirt off to play a ball from the water (you’re welcome for the picture – seriously, shouldn’t he be more worried about his pants?).

I can’t say I blame the guy.  I’ve often found myself fantasizing about what it would be like to play on Tour.  I’m not condoning the use of performance-enhancing drugs, but it wouldn’t shock me to hear that a lot of Nationwide Tour and mini tour players are using drugs.  When you’re so close to accomplishing the dream, and to actually “making it,” how many of you wouldn’t pop a few pills if you knew that would put you over the top?

In that respect, I find myself torn; on the one hand, Doug Barron is a despicable cheater who shouldn’t be allowed back on Tour.  On the other hand, he’s just another regular guy out there trying to live out his dream.  What do you think?

If golf in October has taught me anything, it’s that Robert Allenby likes to bitch.  Especially when he’s playing with Anthony Kim.  After their now infamous match at the President’s Cup, where Allenby referred to Kim as “the next John Daly” because of his alleged late night partying, the two met again in the semi-finals of the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Casares, Spain.

The result of the match was pretty much the same, with Kim winning the 36-hole match 5 and 4, and Allenby finding something to whine about.  After the morning half of the match, Allenby cried “I was definitely surprised at not being given a few putts out there,” Allenby said. “I gave him a couple of four-footers. Maybe I’ll do the same to him this afternoon.”

If I may, I would like to take a moment to address Mr. Allenby:

Hi Mr. Allenby.  First off, please shut up.  Every time you whine about something Mr. Kim does, it reveals a childish side of you that, up until the President’s Cup, I didn’t even know existed.  Second off, please shut up!  You’re a professional golfer – if a four-foot putt isn’t conceded, then make the damn putt!  Plus, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re somewhat notorious for being a poor putter on tour.  That being said, if I had to play you I probably wouldn’t concede a single putt to you either.

After hearing Allenby’s remarks, Kim said, “I don’t think I made him putt any short putts, maybe a two-and-a-half footer,” Kim said. “But it had a lot of break. It’s match play.”

From my vantage point, it certainly seems like Kim should be commended for being more mature about the whole situation.  Action definitely speak louder than words…so going out a kicking Allenby’s butt on the course again is the best statement you can make.  On a separate note: there were no reports as to Kim’s blood alcohol content during Saturday’s match.

Okay so maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit…but on Sunday, Parker McLachlin became the first player to tweet in the middle of a PGA tournament.  While waiting on the 5th tee at the Frys.com Open, he said the following via Twitter:

For me, an active user of Twitter, I found this to be pretty cool.  Sadly, though, I think it’s only a matter of time before the PGA Tour comes out with its own social media policy.  It’s awesome to see another side of many tour pros, but from a PR perspective, there have been a few rough spots.

First off, there’s the risk of pissing off sponsors (or potential sponsors)…case in point – Stewart Cink tweeting about his horrible AT&T cell coverage.  

Then you have guys like Ian Poulter, who tends to offend a portion of his followers all too regularly.  I love reading his tweets, but you can see how this pic of Justin Rose and Camilo Villegas might rub a few people the wrong way!

But anyways, getting back to the whole point of this post – it’s cool to envision a world where Tour players are tweeting their way around the golf course, but in all likelihood we’ll never get to that point.  Can you honestly see Tiger Woods snapping out of his intense focus, so he can tweet about that putt he just had on the last green?  I doubt it.  It’s also worth noting that McLachlin actually went on to bogey the 5th hole.  Coincidence, or lack of focus?