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Phil Mickelson Puts Himself Back In Play

Ron Sirak — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Phil Mickelson learns a lesson in off-course management following his statements about taxes.

The Grind: Celebrity golfers, Tiger's Torrey return, Phil's taxes & more

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:07:00 GMT

Editor's note: GolfDigest.com's new weekly column sifts through everything happening in golf (and beyond), and looks ahead with upcoming tournament facts and predictions.

Now that's product placement! (Getty Images)

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we're willing to forget about last week if you are. The 2013 debuts of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson? Busts. Our fantasy picks? Busts. Even Michael Bolton couldn't come through on Saturday to capture the Humana Challenge Pro-Am. Yes, it was a disappointing week. But on the bright side, there's plenty more to come this week. Let's get to it.

WE'RE BUYING

Humana Challenge. The second year of being partnered with Bill Clinton's foundation helped bring in more talent (nine players from last year's Tour Championship) and the event continued to push its important health message. It's too bad Gary Player, who has an endorsement deal with the healthcare company, can't be at every golf course in America chastising people for riding carts.

Brian Gay. A final-round 63 and a playoff victory to end a three-and-a-half year winless drought? It doesn't get much sweeter than that. He also proved that someone other than Rickie Fowler is brave enough to wear bright orange on Sunday.

Closing par 5s. It didn't matter who was on the leader board, having the Humana Challenge come down to PGA West's par-5 18th guaranteed excitement. Charles Howell III had a chance to win in regulation, but three-putted for par, which is basically like making a bogey. Then Scott Stallings had a chance to win and he made a bogey, which is basically like making a double bogey. Speaking of Stallings, he didn't make a bogey all week until the 14th hole on Sunday. He then bogeyed three of his final five holes. Did Gary Player make him do a few laps around the course as punishment?

WE'RE SELLING

Nike Golf. The Swoosh has seen better weeks. Both Tiger Woods and new pitch man Rory McIlroy hit some awful shots on their way to missed cuts in Abu Dhabi, and McIlroy even switched back to his Scotty Cameron putter from his new Nike Method. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. . .

Celebrity golfer handicaps. One of the best parts of seeing a pro-am is seeing the handicaps of celebrities. The one that jumped out at me this time was that of Alfonso Ribeiro, aka Carlton Banks from "The Fresh Prince." Apparently, he is a scratch golfer. Really?! This guy (left)?! Take a look again. This guy?! Sigh. Well, I guess there's hope for all of us hackers.

Phil's tax problems. Mickelson made some odd comments after his round Sunday, complaining about his new, higher taxes and hinting he might move or even seek retirement as a result. He later apologized, but his whining didn't sit well with most people. You know, those people WHO DON'T MAKE $45 MILLION A YEAR!

ON TAP

The PGA Tour stays in California for the Farmers Insurance Open, aka that event that Tiger Woods usually starts his U.S. season with. This year, Woods will tee it up, as will Mickelson, unless California issues a new tax on golfers playing at public courses in the next couple of days.

Random tournament fact: Last year, Brandt Snedeker shot a final-round 67 on a difficult Torrey Pines South Course to get into a playoff, which he would eventually win. Why is that random? Because all anyone remembers is Kyle Stanley's disastrous triple bogey on the final hole of regulation.

WEEKLY YAHOO! FANTASY LINEUP

Starters -- (A-List): Tiger Woods. He's won this event six times. Plus, we seem to remember him winning another pretty big tournament at Torrey Pines. . .

(B-List): Hunter Mahan. The two-time winner in 2012 has back-to-back T-6s in this event.

(B-List): Nick Watney. The Californian has top 10s here four of the past six years, including a win in 2009. He's my one-and-done pick as well.

(C-List): Rickie Fowler. Can the 24-year-old make it back-to-back weeks of golfers winning in orange? Our Mr. Style might not be able to handle it.

Bench -- Brandt Snedeker, Ben Crane, Bud Cauley, and Robert Garrigus.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- Phil Mickelson will whip out a calculator to crunch numbers regarding his finances during lengthy waits on tee boxes: 10-to-1 odds

-- The Tiger Woods birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the 2008 U.S. Open will be shown fewer than 117 times during TV coverage: 10-to-1 odds

-- Kyle Stanley and Rocco Mediate will meet to discuss their ongoing nightmares about Torrey Pines South's finishing hole: Even money

CELEBRITY/ATHLETE WE'D LIKE TO PLAY GOLF WITH

Manti Te'o. One of the strangest sports stories ever is still playing itself out, but we're sure we could get to the bottom of it after four hours of bonding with the Notre Dame linebacker on a golf course. Come on, Te'o, let's tee it up! And yes, I promise to actually show up at the course if we arrange to meet.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

With the PGA Tour being in San Diego this week, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that the city is the setting for "Anchorman," our favorite comedy, sorry, the GREATEST comedy of ALL TIME. As Will Ferrell's classic character, Ron Burgundy, would say, "It's science." In honor of that fact -- and with an eager eye toward the release of a much-anticipated sequel in the fall -- here are a couple legendary clips:

To be fair, the only way to properly honor this masterpiece would be to embed the entire movie. But we don't have the rights -- or the bandwidth.

THIS AND THAT

Jamie Donaldson won in Abu Dhabi for his second career European Tour victory. However, both have come in the past six months for the 37-year-old journeyman. . . . USGA executive director Mike Davis will address the anchoring ban at the PGA Tour players' meeting in San Diego this week. Ron Burgundy might need to make an appearance to tell those in attendance to "stay classy". . . . Making a last-minute run to a casino is almost never a good idea. At least Mohegan Sun serves chocolate milkshakes at the tables. . .

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Can someone please write a golf movie that Daniel Day Lewis can star in?

Do we really have to wait until October for "Anchorman 2"?

-- Alex Myers is a contributing editor for GolfDigest.com. Feel free to email him and please follow him on Twitter since he has self-esteem issues.

The Grind: Russell Henley's debut, Tiger & Rory's return, & Palm Springs picks

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 13:48:00 GMT

By Alex Myers

Editor's note: GolfDigest.com's new weekly column looks back at the week in golf (and beyond), and ahead to the next event.

Uhh, so at which end is the pot of gold? (Photo: Getty Images)

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we enjoyed almost as successful debut as Russell Henley, in no small part thanks to our new favorite person in golf, Paulina Gretzky. Hmm, perhaps we should make her a weekly feature. . . What's that, you say? "Good idea?" Oh wait, "Great idea?" Duly noted. Maybe something like "Gretzky on Golf" or "Paulina's Picks." We'll keep thinking about it. In the meantime. . .

WE'RE BUYING

Rookies. First-year quarterbacks have taken the NFL by storm this season and now, young whippersnappers are already making their mark on the PGA Tour. What an impressive performance by Henley at the Sony Open, who won in his first start as a tour member and set the rookie and tournament scoring record. But he wasn't alone, as Scott Langley fired a 62 in his first round as a tour pro and finished third. Remember the days when golfers didn't "hit their primes" until they were in their 30s? If you do, then no offense, but you're probably pretty old.

Tiger & Rory. The bromance returns! First, a new Nike commercial of the two airs as part of the company's unveiling of its newest star athlete. Second, the dynamic duo starts its season in Abu Dhabi. Here's hoping they break out into a coordinated song and dance during the first round.

Tim Clark. We highlighted him as a sleeper before the year started (Shush, we make our own criteria) and plugged him as a starter in our fantasy lineup last week. He paid us back with a runner-up finish. A former Fantasy Fix favorite is now an official, um, "Grind Guy." OK, we might have to work on that one. . .

WE'RE SELLING

Dustin Johnson's "flu". Above are three photos posted to Paulina Gretzky's Instagram account the day before, of and after DJ withdrew from the Sony Open. Was Johnson really sick or simply playing hooky? We'll let you be the judge.

Phil Mickelson. It's great to see Lefty making his debut this week, but we're not expecting too much due to his struggles in recent season openers. We're also still trying to figure out why he didn't buy a piece of his hometown Padres. We were really looking forward to seeing a lot of awkward thumbs up coming from the owner's box.

Euro Ryder Cup drama. Darren Clarke withdrew his name from consideration, Colin Montgomerie seemed to nominate himself, but after a final three-hour meeting that drew comparisons to a papal conclave, Paul McGinley got the nod as Europe's captain for 2014. Next up, he'll have the arduous task of selecting far too many unnecessary assistants to help him fill out a lineup card.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to the mainland for the Humana Challenge in Palm Springs. Last year, Mark Wilson, aka "Little Cheese," held off a trio of players by two shots to win. For a second year, former President Bill Clinton and his foundation will partner with Humana to put on the event.

Random tournament fact: Arnold Palmer is the only five-time winner of this event, but that pales in comparison to his most noteworthy accomplishment in Palm Springs. You see, it was here where he ordered his first "Arnold Palmer" beverage. This desert oasis is holy ground, indeed.

WEEKLY YAHOO! FANTASY LINEUP

Starters -- (A-List): Tim Clark. After a runner-up at the Sony, we're going with the guy who has two runner-ups in this event to get back into the winner's circle.

(B-List): Kevin Na. Mr. Pre-shot Routine has a T-5 and a T-8 in the past three years in this event.

(B-List): Matt Kuchar. We'll keep Kuch in this slot after a T-5 at Waialee.

(C-List): Harris English. Can another 23-year-old University of Georgia product win on the PGA Tour this week? Why not?

Bench -- Bill Haas, Webb Simpson, John Senden, and Pat Perez.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- Phil Mickelson won't hit an amazing recovery shot from somewhere in the desert: 10-to-1 odds

-- Bill Clinton, playing in the pro-am, will have more of his golf shots shown during the TV coverage than defending champion, Mark Wilson: 1-to-10

-- Phil Mickelson and Bill Clinton will actually make some sort of prop bet between each other: Even money

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

I just got back from a wedding in Houston and it's official: Psy's "Gangnam Style" is now the top party pleaser at any wedding reception. In honor of that, here's a look at Jesper Parnevik's music video of the song:

Parnevik also happened to be in the news last week, inking a new deal with Cobra Puma Golf and he'll make his 2013 debut in Palm Springs, where he won this event in 2000. Company execs must have really dug that pink suit.

CELEBRITY/ATHLETE WE'D LIKE TO PLAY GOLF WITH

Jamie Foxx. He may not have gotten any Golden Globes love for starring in "Django Unchained," but the multi-talented artist still has an Oscar and and a Grammy. And then there's his work in the legendary TV shows "In Living Color" and "The Jamie Foxx Show". If he was able to make a WB Network sitcom funny, then he has to have some game on the course.

THIS AND THAT

Notah Begay has replaced Dottie Pepper as NBC Sports/Golf Channel's latest reporter. It's good to be a friend of Tiger's again. . . Baseball didn't vote anyone into its Hall of Fame this year, while golf will admit two guys (Fred Couples and Colin Montgomerie) who recently received a hearty 51 percent of the vote. . . . The rocking chairs (left) make Charlotte International my favorite airport. That, and the conveniently-located Chili's, of course.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

When will the Golf Channel run out of locations to shoot the Big Break? Are we getting close to a "Big Break Cedar Rapids"?

Is Tiger's love life the best kept secret since the identity of "Deep Throat"?

Why do pilots say "Welcome to New York" when the plane is still 30,000 feet in the air?

-- Alex Myers is a contributing editor for GolfDigest.com. Feel free to email him and please follow him on Twitter since he has self-esteem issues.

PGA Tour Stars Should Follow Bill Clinton's Lead

Ron Sirak — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Former president Bill Clinton has breathed life into an event that goes well beyond golf. Now the game's stars need to support his cause.

Video: Golfers Who Give Back

GolfDigest.com — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Golf Digest Photographer-at-Large Walter Iooss Jr. photographs Michael Phelps, Michael J. Fox, Bill Clinton, and Morgan Freeman for four covers of the December 2012 issue, which celebrates the men and women who use golf as a vehicle for giving back.

December 2012 Table of Contents

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

When it comes to politics, most tour players lean right

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:16:00 GMT

By Sam Weinman

President Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte will draw millions of viewers Thursday night. How many of those viewers will be members of the PGA Tour? Probably not many.

That golf is believed to skew Republican is nothing new, a stereotype reinforced most memorably by that hardliner Judge Smails of Bushwood Country Club fame. (Sample quote: "I've sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber. . . ") But it's on tour where Democrats are said to be about as popular as Top-Flites.

The reasons for this vary. The tour has a strong devout Christian contingent. It also has a number of players who, though not maybe necessarily religious, hail from Southern states that traditionally lean right. And yes, a lot of it has to do with money, a sentiment summed up by the tour player Joe Ogilvie on Twitter.

"My vote=Romney," Ogilvie wrote. "I'm a social Democrat & fiscal Republican. Fiscal issues far outweigh the social issues, for now. Obama clueless fiscally."

Related: Golf + Politics, A Delicate Dance

What's important to remember is that this is hardly a new phenomenon. Back in 1993, when there was another golf-loving Democrat in the office, and another Ryder Cup was imminent, a mini-controversy erupted when many players on the U.S. team refused to meet with President Clinton before the matches. The episode was chronicled in John Feinstein's landmark account of the PGA Tour, A Good Walk Spoiled:

"There wasn't a single member of the team who had voted for Bill Clinton in 1992. None of them liked the Clinton plan to tax the wealthy one bit. The politics of the team were probably best summed up by U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen, who said, 'Where I grew up you were better off telling people you were a garbage man than a Democrat.' "

Related: Golf brings Obama and Clinton together

It finally took the intervention of U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson, who insisted that the team respect Clinton as the country's "First Golfer" for the players to accede to a meeting. But it hardly changed which way the tour leaned.

In 2004, Golf Digest polled 34 tour players about who they'd be voting for in the election between George W. Bush and John Kerry. Eight were undecided or didn't want to say. The other 26 said they were going with Bush.

Follow @SamWeinman

Did Obama and Clinton find common ground on the golf course?

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:29:00 GMT

By Sam Weinman

We have heard often during President Obama's tumultuous first term how he has sought refuge on the golf course, with his frequent rounds at Andrews Air Force Base a popular target of his Republican opponents. Imagine what those critics must think knowing Obama uses golf for political gain as well.

Obama beat Clinton "fair and square" when they played together last September. In the process, a partnership was forged. Photo by Getty Images.

First there was the well-documented "Golf Summit" between Obama and House Speaker John Boehner in June 2011. But even more intriguing is a round Obama played with former President Bill Clinton last September that has repercussions still felt today. In a story in the Sept. 10 issue of The New Yorker about the complicated partnership between Clinton and Obama, political correspondent Ryan Lizza describes the pivotal role a round at Andrews played in bringing the two Presidents together. This is particularly appropriate this week with Clinton set to give a major address on Obama's behalf at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night.

As Lizza writes, it took a golf invitation from Obama that helped the two men move past a bitter 2008 Democratic primary battle between Obama and Clinton's wife, Hillary, and turn their attention to winning the 2012 election:

"The reconciliation began in earnest late last summer. Patrick Gaspard, the former White House political director, who has moved to the Democratic National Committee, approached Douglas Band, Clinton's closest political adviser and longtime gatekeeper, with some suggestions about how the former President might help with Obama's 2012 reelection campaign. Band, who, by reputation, has an acute sense for moments of political advantage, tried to explain that you don't just call up Bill Clinton and tell him to raise money and campaign for you. Band recommended that the two Presidents begin by playing golf. The next day, Obama phoned Clinton and invited him out for a round. Several Clinton associates say that this was the moment they realized that Obama truly wanted to win in 2012. Why else would he spend hours on a golf course being lectured by Clinton?

"The Presidential round was played at Andrews Air Force Base on September 24, 2011, and since then Clinton has become a visible and vigorous champion of Obama's reelection."

Related: Washington's Top 150 Golfers

As part of an interview with Thomas L. Friedman for last February's Golf Digest, Clinton discussed the round with the President, saying that though he should be a few strokes better than Obama (Clinton is believed to about a 15-handicap), "he beat me fair and square that day."

It appears now that wasn't the only victory Obama had in mind.

Follow @SamWeinman

Trending: Top 10 presidents who play(ed) golf

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:20:00 GMT

There's always room for debate in top 10 lists, but when it comes to the Presidents who have (or had) the best golf games, most can agree on number one. After that, however, it's subjective at best. Our rank-and-file of the best sitting Commander-in-Chiefs doesn't differ too much from this video the PGA Tour recently put together. It seems the order depends on how many strokes Clinton is counting.

-- Derek Evers
Follow @DerekEvers

Golf World: What's up with your covers?

Bob Carney — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:49:00 GMT

The Golf World cover never ceases to be a subject of debate. But 2012 covers seem peculiarly controversial. We've received a ton of mail on our choices already, some relating to our Sophie Gustafson cover,...