Five-time British Open champion Peter Thomson is glad John Daly has been invited to play in the Australian Masters this week, but fellow Aussie Stuart Appleby calls Daly a "walking train wreck" and isn't sure luring him to Australia with an appearance fee is a smart move.

"Very few, I guess, make it look as effortless as John does, but I don't think John's here because of his world ranking [788]," Appleby says in the Sydney Morning Herald, in addition to other Australian newspapers. "I'm not quite sure how that works. I guess he's a walking train wreck and, unfortunately, people turn their heads to watch the train wreck."

Daly, who will have to rely on sponsor exemptions and past-champion status to get into PGA Tour events in 2009, told Golf Digest recently that he might play 10 to 15 events in Europe next year. This week's Australian Masters is co-sanctioned by the European Tour, as was the Hong Kong Open that Daly played in last week. Daly shot a bogey-free, eight-under-par 62 in the final round Sunday to finish tied for 17th.

Australasian tour chairman Peter Senior defended Daly's invitation to Australia.

"John's one of those guys who can perform or not perform," says Senior told the Sydney Morning Herald. "As a drawcard, I think he's great in any field. I wouldn't say he's a close friend, but I've spent quite a bit of time with John, and people don't realize he's just a normal, average guy. Unfortunately he gets into trouble now and then, but you can't help but like the guy."

Aussie Wayne Grady won the PGA Championship in 1990, a year before Daly became a household name by winning the PGA at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Ind. Grady is happy Daly is in Australia.

"He's exciting to watch," says Grady. "Anything can happen. Hopefully it's the start of his road back to playing well because he's not that old."

Appleby says in the Suncoast Daily Online that the "saving grace for John is that he's a good man," but that it doesn't excuse his behavior, or the decision of tournament organizers to bring him.

"It's symptomatic of world golf because he still runs around the world," Appleby said. "He's in Europe, he's in Asia, he's in Australia. It's not like we're desperate. Everybody's doing the same thing. John Daly is unique. We only wish ⿿ he'd put a little more time into his game instead of ruining his personal life. He would be a drawcard, not just a freak show."

No more Buick commercials for Tiger Woods. General Motors and the world's top-ranked golfer announced a "mutual and amicable separation" Monday after nine years together, effective December 31, 2008. Woods, who is expecting his second child in late winter, wants more personal time. Plus, GM is looking for ways to cut costs during difficult economic times.

"I am very proud of the long standing partnership I've had with GM and have enjoyed being a part of the company's dramatic product evolution," Woods said in a statement on his web site. "We've had a lot of fun together and I participated in some unique and rewarding activities. We've enjoyed a tremendous partnership over the years and we will maintain strong ties with the many people at GM we call friends."

--Golf Digest

Oprah hasn't called. Neither has Letterman or Leno. But J. P. Hayes says he has fielded at least 30 requests for interviews since he became national news, and that amazes him because golfers routinely turn themselves in after infractions of the rules.

"It probably happens every week on the PGA Tour," said Hayes. "You just never hear about it. Why I've attracted so much attention, I don't know. But it's good for golf, I guess, because it confirms what we're all about, although a couple of the responses I've read or heard are interesting. Some people aren't buying it. They're saying there has to be more to the story, or that I'm doing all this for publicity."

Rather than impugning Hayes' character, however, that sounds like a reflection of how jaded we've become by hanging around the sewer of sports. In fact, Hayes was perfectly content to take his medicine quietly after being disqualified during the second stage of Q school at Deerwood CC in Kingwood, Tex. Then Hayes -- who hails from Wisconsin but lives in El Paso, Texas -- was contacted by Gary D'Amato, a golf writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"Gary told me he'd been getting a few calls back home about what happened," said Hayes. "So I told him. In the first round, on the 12th hole, I used a ball that I realized after playing two shots -- my tee shot on the par 3 and a chip -- was not the same [type of] ball I'd started the round with. I brought over an official, and I took a two-shot penalty. Finished the hole with that ball, then changed back to my original. Then, after my second round, I realized that second ball might not be a conforming ball. It was a Titleist prototype. We get them maybe once a month to test them. It got into my bag, I used it, and I was disqualified."

So, after twice abiding by the essence of golf's culture, Hayes went home to plan his future at age 43. His burst of honesty created headlines, although within the community of golf, it was business as usual. Only a couple fellow players contacted him, and one of them was a fellow Cheesehead, Steve Stricker, who stays in touch with Hayes anyway.

"That's what we do," said Stricker. "Maybe someone else, knowing that it meant no chance of being on the PGA Tour next year, might have let it slide. Probably not. And certainly not J.P. That's the guy I grew up, what he did with nobody else knowing or looking on."

Hayes exonerated his caddie, and did not volunteer naming him. (He's John Charpentier.) "I take the bag back to my hotel room most of the time," said Hayes. "I go through it every night, like a ritual, to get all the stuff out of there. Like bananas. There are usually nine balls in there for every round. I usually use six, and like I said, a nonconforming ball can get stuck in one of those pockets. It's nobody's fault but my own. It's not my caddie's responsibility. I'm in charge of the balls and bananas."

Soon after Hayes' story had been resurrected, the John Deere Classic extended its first sponsor's exemption for 2009 to Hayes. He won that event in 2002, and the first paragraph of the press release cited Hayes' act. Hayes said he will play the Nationwide Tour next year while waiting for responses to his requests for other sponsor exemptions on the PGA Tour.

"I'm going to write letters just like I used to write them," he said. "I'm not going to be making a big deal about what happened at Q school. I'm not going to write anything about it. I'm proud to be a professional golfer and I'm proud of what we stand for. This is the culture we grew up with. I didn't do anything special. To tell you the truth, I'm almost embarrassed by all this attention. But, like I said, if it helps remind people what we're about, I guess it's OK."

Hayes thus wins Golfer of the Month in a close race with Tony Romo, the Dallas Cowboys' quarterback who participated in the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge prior to the national championship at Torrey Pines last June. Romo is an excellent and frequent player, but here is the rest of the story. Last week, in a spur of the moment gesture, he took a homeless man who identified himself only as "Doc" to the movies and sat with him through "Role Models" in Dallas. What was not reported is this: Romo originally proposed going to a soccer game, but the stranger declined, saying he had suffered enough.

-- Bob Verdi

In writing about J.P. Hayes' unfortunate disqualification at the second stage of PGA Tour Q School for using a ball not on the USGA's Conforming Golf Ball List, I suggested that any tournament director receiving a request from Hayes for a sponsor's exemption in 2009 should put him at the top of the list.

Clair Peterson, tournament director for the John Deere Classic didn't bother to wait for Hayes to reach out, offering Hayes a spot in the tournament to be held July 6-12, 2009 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. Hayes accepted the invitation.

"J.P.'s honesty in calling a penalty on himself during the PGA Tour's Qualifying School tournament is truly impressive, because by respecting the Rules of Golf he sacrificed any chance he had to earn full-time playing status on tour next year," said Peterson. "We certainly feel he deserves the opportunity to play here."

Hayes had pretty much earned an exemption to the Deere even before the Q-school situation. Hayes won the event in 2002 and finished second in 2006. Such credentials usually result in an invitation being offered.

Still, it was nice to see the Deere tournament act so swiftly. Other events would be wise to follow suit.
--E. Michael Johnson

If your favorite players failed to make the 36-hole cut at the ADT Championship and both Annika and Lorena were part of that group, there's still lots to do at Trump International.

Before you even set foot on the course, you'll be tempted by all the free food. A good start is the oven-roasted Blue Diamond almonds. Try both the cinnamon and brown sugar and sea salt coatings. Wash them down with a complimentary cup of chilled fruit-flavored Vitamin Water. Still hungry?
Visit the vendor offering bread samples soaked with a variety of Crisco olive oils.

After so much snacking, you might be sleepy. Among the special attractions at this event are Select Comfort beds. Both single and king models are set up for you to lie on. It felt pretty comfy before my personal comfort number
was dialed in. But after I got that adjustment, it took a major effort for me to move. And for all my trouble, I was given a 100 percent cotton tee shirt.

On a more serious note, skin cancer screenings are scheduled by local dermatologists. Along with the physical exam, sample products and informational pamphlets are available.

Although most of the gallery comes to watch the best women players compete, spectators can improve their own skills. Teaching Division LPGA professionals give 10-minute lessons on the same range where the contestants
practice. Lessons are in demand with waiting lines. A less time-consuming option is swinging in the golf simulator at the ADT tent and having your action analyzed by a professional.

For kids, there's a hands-on junior clinic and a performance by trick star golfer Dennis Walters.

The winner-takes-all prize is $1 million for this seaon-ending event, but you can enter a $1 million shootout for a chance at a big payout.

The odds of winning the shootout are slim, but you can at least feel what's it's like to be in possession of $1 million. Get your picture taken with the lucite box containing 10,000 crisp $100 bills that will go to the eventual winner of the ADT Championship. You don't get to keep the money, but you
will have your photo and bragging rights.

-- Topsy Siderowf

After two seasons of not awarding any full exemptions at the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament, the format reverted to the way it had been for many years before the change. Five golfers, led by medalist Robert Thompson, earned spots on the 2009 Champions Tour as Q-school concluded Friday at TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Fla. Another seven players earned conditional exemptions.

Thompson, 51, who birdied the 15th and 16th holes en route to a closing 70, finished at 7-under 281, one stroke better than John Morse. Tom McKnight was third at 285. Another shot back were James Mason, Steve Thomas and Ronnie Black. In a playoff, Mason and Thomas earned the final two fully-exempt spots.

Black led seven players getting conditionally-exempt status for 2009. The others were Mike San Filippo, Jay Don Blake, Tim Conley, David Ogrin, Russ Cochran and Kirk Hanefeld.

Curt Byrum, Mark James, T.C. Chen, Mike Hulbert, Mike Donald and Mike Smith were among the top-30 finishers and ties, who earned the right into four-spot open qualifiers in 2009. Jerry Courville Jr. and Mark W. Johnson missed by one shot.

-- Bill Fields

A pair of 70s helped Jason Hak make the cut at the $2.5 million Hong Kong Open, which isn't a huge deal until you find out Hak is only 14.

Hak became the youngest player ever to make the cut in a European Tour event, breaking the milestone set by Sergio Garcia.

Garcia was 15 years, 46 days old when he made the cut at the Turespana Open Mediterrania in Valencia, Spain, in 1995. Hak is 14 years, 304 days old.

Hak was born in Hong Kong but lives near Orlando, Fla.

The mood in the country is grim. Every day there's word of another troubled company
looking for some creative way to make things work. Even though
our world as we have known it is changing, there's still a lot of positive
energy.

That's how it seems on the LPGA Tour at the season-ending ADT championship.
The 2009 schedule isn't quite as robust as last year, but 31 events with a
total of $55 million in official prize money is not all bad. The LPGA has
endured other tough times, but now in its 58th year, has shown a resiliency
to get through.

Staples of the tour continue as stops in 2009. Familiar events like the
Kraft Nabisco, Corning Classic, State Farm, LPGA Championship, Wegmans,
Jamie Farr and Long Drugs represent more than 240 years of LPGA activity.
And next year's purses at these tournaments will be either equal to last
year's or in the case of, Jamie Farr and Longs Drugs, increased by $100,000.

Although Annika may be "stepping away from the game," Lorena, Paula Creamer,
Katherine Hull, Yani Tseng, Angela Stanford, are poised to make their own
history. Michelle Wie should be a regular next year, adding to the tour's
appeal and coincidentally, the gate receipts.

Clearly, these are tough days, but as Lorena Ochoa summed up, "We are going
through hard times, and, of course, it will hurt a few tournaments or
sponsors. But I think we're in good shape. We believe that we are in great
hands."

-- Topsy Siderowf

Jerry Courville Jr. helped his cause a bit at Champions Tour Q-School on Thursday, shooting a 70 to climb to T-40 after three rounds, while the race for full 2009 exemptions tightened at TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Fla.

John Morse maintained the lead after 54 holes, despite shooting a two-over 74, and is at six-under 210, only one stroke ahead of Robert Thompson. With the day’s best round, a 65, Tom McKnight pulled into T-3 with Jay Don Blake at 212. Ronnie Black, Tim Conley, James Mason and David Ogrin are T-5 at 213.

Twenty-four golfers are within nine shots of the lead, but the magic number is five ⿿ that being how many full exemptions will be awarded at the end of 72 holes. Another seven players will earn conditionally-exempt status, while the top 30 will be eligible for weekly qualifying.

-- Bill Fields

Former amateur standout Jerry Courville Jr., subject of a Mike Cullity Backspin in the Sept. 26 Golf World, has struggled through the first two rounds of the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament at TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Fla.

Courville, who turns 50 next Feb. 13 and has battled back problems in recent years, shot a second-round 79 and is T-62 through 36 holes at 10 over par. The Connecticut resident and 1995 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion got to Q school finals by finishing ninth at the Orlando regional qualifier.

One-time PGA Tour winner John Morse is the halfway leader. He shot a second-round 69 for an 8-under total, three shots ahead of Mark W. Johnson and six better than Jay Don Blake and Robert Thompson in the race for five full exemptions for 2009. The next seven finishers earn conditionally-exempt status with the 30 top finishers and ties eligible for open qualifiers.

A number of familiar PGA Tour names have some work ahead of them if they are going to secure a card for 2009. Ronnie Black, Mike Hulbert and Curt Byrum are T-15, Russ Cochran T-21, Mike Donald T-26, Gary Hallberg T-56 and Mac O’Grady T-69.

-- Bill Fields