As we approach the Open Championship at Carnoustie, prepare to hear a great deal about two golfers: John Van de Velde and Ben Hogan. Neither will be there, but each has left his signature on Carnoustie. Since you'll have no shortage of Van de Velde replays in the days to come, let us point you to Tom English's piece this weekend in the Scotsman, which is worth a read ... and a registration.

After recounting how Hogan almost decided not to make his one British Open trip, English describes the reception when he finally made the trip:

Whatever the reasons, the visit has gone down in the history of Scottish golf, Carnoustie showing him more adoration in the space of a fortnight than America had done in all the years that went before. In Scotland, the relationship was unconditional. They took Hogan as they found him and that was good enough.

"I want you only to carry my bag, son, and keep very quiet," he told his caddie at Carnoustie, a 34-year-old local Cecil Timms.

"Aye, Mr Hogan. So you dinnae want me to club ye, Sir?"

"No, son. Keep the clubs clean and your mouth shut. Is that completely understood?"

"Aye. Shall I read the greens for ye, then?"

"No."

Can you imagine a professional golfer giving those instructions today?

-- Bob Carney

Interesting follow by Lewine Mair of the Telegraph on the Sunningdale Open Championship qualifier in which players were made to play 19 holes instead of 18 because the R&A botched a hole location. Mair begins his report with a sentence that has to my knowledge never been uttered about the USGA in similar situations, Shinnecock, say:

The R&A put absolutely no spin on the mistake which led to eight competitors playing 19 holes rather than 18 in the first round of the 2007 Open Championship's international final qualifying at Sunningdale yesterday.

Has a nice ring, doesn't it?

-- Bob Carney

"You listen to all my jokes, and then you go and follow Arnie." Chi Chi Rodriguez

Besides nearly tripling the press population at the ATT National this week, the presence of both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson generated this amusing piece by Eli Saslow in the Times on his preference in that rivalry. Saslow, not a regular golf writer, heads into territory that the tournament press corps usually does not:

LIKE ANY MICKELSON DIEHARD, I INHERENTLY DESPISE TIGER WOODS. Those who follow golf root for either Woods or Mickelson; nobody roots for both. The two fan bases are as diametrically opposed as those for the Yankees and the Red Sox. By choosing between Tiger and Phil, one aligns with more than a golfer. He picks a philosophy and a worldview. When Woods walks the fairways, he glares straight ahead. His posture is pristine, his outfits professionally coordinated. Only brilliant shots satisfy his standards, so he remains unflinchingly stoic. On the rare occasion Woods displays emotion, it almost always manifests as irritation. He bangs his clubs against the ground and curses. Even his rare celebrations are stamped with the anger of an aggressive alpha male: Woods pumps his fist fiercely, and his eyes lock in a distant, defiant stare..... When Mickelson, 37, walks the fairways, he looks directly at fans in the gallery. He nods his head, smiles bashfully and waves with his right hand. Give Mickelson a Budweiser and a lawn chair, and he'd look like any regular old schlub in the gallery. He sweats so much that he sometimes changes shirts twice during a five-hour round. Blubber jiggles around Mickelson's chest when he walks. After even his most incomprehensible shots -- and, yes, with Mickelson there are many -- he leaves the tee box with his hand stretched into the crowd. Mickelson might give 1,000 high-fives in a round because, he once wrote on his Web site, "fans pay a lot of money to be here, and I'm not just going to ignore them."

Not sure I buy all of that, and since both Tiger and Lefty are Golf Digest Playing Editors, I'll remain neutral here. But Saslow's piece is worth a read. ...

-- Bob Carney

You have to do testing. It's a perception thing. -- Tommy John

One of the Tour’s good guys, J.J. Henry, did a fundraising clinic for the new First Tee of Fairfield County at Fairchild Wheeler in Bridgeport the other day and there to watch and sign a few autographs was one of baseball’s good guys, the great left-handed thrower Tommy John, who now manages the local Bridgeport Bluefish. John, an avid golfer who plays to about a ten (right-handed), loved Henry’s rhythm on the tee, especially the acceleration through the ball. Just like pitching, said John. “It’s what I tell my pitchers one…………….(drawing his arm back slowly)….. and two!"

With Tim Finchem and Rick George announcing drug testing programs for the PGA and Champions Tour, Tommy recalled a conversation with then-commissioner Deane Beman years ago. “Back then it was about drugs like cocaine, not steroids. Beman told me, 'We have drug-testing on the tour. It’s called the four-footer. Guys that do that stuff can’t make those.'" Tommy wasn't buying it, then or now.

“You have to do testing. It’s a perception thing. If someone does something great, you want to know if it’s legit or it’s not legit.” Like Barry Bonds? The thing about Bonds, says John, is that the same sportswriters who are questioning the legitimacy of his home run record had no problem giving awards to players who the writers knew were doing amphetamines. "When did they get religion?" asked Tommy. “Did Oral Roberts come down and tap ‘em on the shoulder or something?” Can I get an "Amen" ? For a strong statement on the need for drug-testing, check out John Hawkins' column in the new Golf World.

—Bob Carney

(Photo of John: Bridgeport Bluefish; photo of Henry: First Tee of Metropolitan New York)