The fawning press coverage by Australian media outlets of Tiger Woods' Australian Masters appearance and performance was not universal, it turns out. Peter FitzSimons, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, demonstrably (and colorfully) took Woods to task for his temper tantrums, specifically the incident when he let go of his club and it wound up in the crowd.

"Had the likes of John Daly done the same thing, it likely would have made fierce headlines and drawn extremely negative comment from all and sundry," FitzSimons wrote. "But because it was Woods, the fawning television commentators all but ignored it, as did most of the golf writers. The question has to be asked though - who does this (bleep) think he is? And how does he get away with it? Is there not some level of responsibility that goes with being the best in the world, to not behave like a petulant prig?"

The bleep is ours, not FitzSimons'. He used a word that would not find its way into mainstream U.S. publications.

-- John Strege

Michelle Wie, who shot an even-par 72 in the first round of the LPGA Championship, has withdrawn with a lingering ankle injury. She issued this statement:

"This tournament, and the support shown from the fans in Houston, meant a lot to me and I wanted to do everything I could to fight through the injury. It bothered me last week in Mexico, but I was able to play through the pain. I realized today that I wouldn't be able to continue to play through it. I want to make sure that I'm being smart with it, so I will return home to have it looked at by my doctors and follow their advice for treatment."

-- John Strege

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Lindsay Knowlton called it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, begging the question, Who's lifetime? Employers don't routinely send employees around the world to play golf; hence Knowlton's partner in this adventure, Josh Sullivan, likened it to winning the lottery.

They are employees of Adidas Golf, who were the chosen two following a copmany-wide global casting call to find a pair of employees to front a marketing campaign it's calling "Wear in the World," designed to test and promote its all-climate golf apparel.

Their sendoff took place Thursday at TaylorMade headquarters here, and included a helicopter landing down range at its test center and whisking them off to Palomar Airport nearby to begin a journey that will start in a California desert and will take them to three Southern Hemisphere continents.

Their itinerary includes golf at Furnace Creek Golf Course in Death Valley, the lowest elevation golf course in the world, at 214-feet below sea level. From there, they go to Bolivia, for a round at LaPaz Golf Club, the world's highest-elevation course, at 10,800 feet above sea level.

Then it's on to Ushuaia, Argentina, and golf at the southern-most 18-hole course, "600 miles from Anatarctia," said Knowlton, a native of Canada and a former Ohio State golfer. "Total penguin territory." From there, it's a 20-hour flight to South Africa, for golf at Walker Bay Resort, Africa's southern-most golf course. And, finally, it's on to Alice Springs, Australia, to play the world's hottest course, where temperatures often exceed 120 degrees.

On the same trip, they'll also ride mountain bikes down Bolivia's Death Road, cage dive with great white shakes off the coast of South Africa, and play a better ball match against Argentina star Andres Romero.

"Checking things off our bucket list in the process," said Sullivan, a scratch golfer who works at company headquarters here.

Their progress can be followed at adidasgolf.com/wearintheworld/.

-- John Strege

RICHMOND, Texas -- The 2010 LPGA schedule was released here Tuesday and the fact it contains only 23 or 24 events, depending on how you do the math, explains why several LPGA members are trying to get the their cards for next year on the Japan LPGA. More than a dozen members were in the mix originally, but now it is down to Seon Hwa Lee, Candie Kung and Inbee Park. These are not insignificant players. Kung has four LPGA careers victories, as does Lee, who was the 2006 Rookie of the Year. Park has won once, but it was the 2008 U.S. Women's Open.

The JLPGA has 34 tournaments on its 2010 schedule as of now, and sources familiar with the Japan women's tour say the worst-case scenario is that it will have 31, still significantly better than the LPGA. While the LPGA says it expects to have 24 tournaments in 2010, it began the 2009 season with 31 but played only 27, losing the Ginn Open, Kapalua and China along the way with the Bell Micro being pushed to next year.

Purses on the JLPGA have been about two-thirds those of the LPGA in recent years, but that gap will narrow significantly next year when the total LPGA purse drops from $60 million in 2008 to a little more than $40 million in 2010. And if Kung, Lee and Park play both tours they will have ample opportunity. There are 17 off-weeks on the 2010 LPGA schedule between its mid-February start and finish the third week of November.

-- Ron Sirak

Just how important Michelle Wie in a starring role is to the LPGA can't be appraised until we know that she can fulfill the role consistently and should she do so that enough time has passed to accurately gauge her impact.

But for a glimpse we need look no further than a charitable auction that was part of the pro-am party at the LPGA Tour Championship in Richmond, Texas, on Tuesday. The high bid to play a round of golf with her was $25,000.

It got the attention of new Commissioner Mike Whan. "I came in late and when I walked in, I noticed the bidding was up to $22,000," Whan said. "I asked somebody what they were bidding on and they said, 'They're bidding to play golf with Michelle Wie.'

"Now, that's star power right there. It's going to be a very exciting week, and it could be a very exciting couple of years."

-- John Strege

The LPGA, at least, has stopped the bleeding, with the return of the ShopRite LPGA Classic, but there remain gaping holes in its 2010 schedule, as Ron Sirak of Golf World notes here.

What is especially startling is that Thailand (among other countries) has more LPGA events than Arizona, Florida and Texas combined. The score: One for Thailand (the Honda PTT LPGA Championship), zero for Arizona, Florida and Texas, each a golf hotbed.

-- John Strege

Las Vegas Review-Journal gossip columnist Norm Clarke reported that Vice President Joe Biden played golf at The Golf Club at South Shore, at Lake Las Vegas, on Sunday, though his people initially were told that he wouldn't be allowed to play. Members only, the club informed them.

After a second call, the club acquiesced and Biden got in 17 holes before having to leave to attend a fundraiser for Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-Nev.).

-- John Strege

There have been some miserable years in professional golf. Recall Ian Baker-Finch in 1995, when he made 18 starts, missed the cut in 14 of them, withdrew from three of them and was disqualified from one. He was 0 for 18.

In 1997, Chip Beck played in 32 tournaments and made only three cuts and $10,653. The following year, he made two cuts in 29 starts. In 2005, David Duval made 20 starts, missed the cut in 18 of them and withdrew from one. He made one cut and $7,630.

But can any of these can top Doug Barron's year this year? Barron played four Nationwide Tour events, missed the cut in three of them and was disqualified in the fourth. He played one PGA Tour event, the St. Jude Classic, at which he was administered a drug test. He missed the cut there, too, then failed the drug test and was suspended for a year.

No judgment is made here on the merits of his case against the PGA Tour. Maybe he has a strong one. This is just an examination of his year in golf and it warrants strong consideration for inclusion among the worst ever.

He should have stayed in bed, as they say.

-- John Strege

From a news release on Sergio Garcia's new mode of transportation, a Hawker 4000 business jet:

"I couldn't expect to compete at a championship level on the golf course if I didn't have a championship level airplane to get me there," Garcia said. "I am a firm believer in the value of Hawker products because with my previous airplane, a Hawker 850XP, I never missed a tournament. This made it a simple decision to purchase a Hawker 4000 and it too is proving to be an exceptional airplane. In addition to its comfort and performance, my lofty expectations continue to be surpassed by the support and customer-centered focus of the company."

Those who travel commercially never miss a tournament, either, do they?