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13 Horribly-Timed Water Balls

Luke Kerr-Dineen — Mon, 13 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Recounting shots that found the drink at inopportune moments

Ecco's Life Street Bootie (yes, it's a golf shoe)

John Strege — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:04:00 GMT

By John Strege The company that launched the hybrid golf shoe revolution with Fred Couples wearing Ecco Street Premiere shoes at the 2010 Masters continues to take golf shoes to places they haven't been before....

The Players Championship: Golf's Biggest Toss-up

Alex Myers — Fri, 03 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Why the Players is golf's most unpredictable event.

Mystery Masters TV caller in Tiger Woods rules fiasco revealed

Wed, 01 May 2013 16:40:00 GMT

By Alex Myers

The saga of Tiger Woods' infamous drop at the Masters, an incident that wound up stealing the spotlight from 14-year-old Tianlang Guan making the cut and even Adam Scott's thrilling win for Australia, has a new twist. We now know the identity of the man who got the ball, um, rolling in the whole situation.

Sports Illustrated's Michael Bamberger reported Wednesday that Champions Tour player David Eger (below) was the person who first contacted tournament officials to inform them of Woods' illegal drop. Bamberger notes that, "Before joining the senior circuit, Eger had a long career as a tournament director with both the PGA Tour and the USGA. Along with Mark Russell of the PGA Tour and Kerry Haigh of the PGA of America, Eger is one of the most experienced tournament officials in U.S. golf and an expert on the rules."

In other words, this isn't your average guy who cut out of work early that day to watch a little golf.

The 61-year-old Eger was at home, but his trained eye caught the infraction right away. Convinced Woods had violated rule 26-1a, Eger, a four-time winner on the Champions Tour, watched and re-watched Woods take a drop and hit his fifth shot on the par-5 15th hole during the second round after his third shot had caromed off the flagstick and into the water. Without a direct line to Fred Ridley, the tournament's competition committee chairman, Eger frantically reached out to Mickey Bradley, "a veteran PGA Tour official who he knew was working the Masters."

That started a chain of events, which Bamberger describes further: "Bradley immediately called Ridley and Russell, the veteran PGA Tour administrator who is on the three-man Masters competition committee that is chaired by Ridley, a former U.S. Amateur champion and USGA president. Bradley also forwarded Eger's text to Russell and Ridley. In his text, Eger wrote that Woods 'didn't appear to play by Rule 26-1-a.' He wrote that he 'appeared to be 3-4 feet back' from his divot mark."

According to the story, Bradley forwarded Eger's text message at 6:59 p.m, when Tiger was still on the course.

Of course, we know what happened from there. Ridley looked into the matter and decided Woods hadn't broken a rule. He then decided not to discuss the matter with Woods before he signed his scorecard and left the course, thinking the matter was over. It wasn't.

In a post-round TV interview with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi, Woods informed viewers he had dropped "two yards" farther back for a better yardage. Eventually, that led to CBS' Jim Nantz calling Ridley later that night to ask about the situation. Woods was brought in to discuss the matter the next day, but Ridley and the tournament committee decided to assess him a two-shot penalty after the fact instead of disqualifying him since no one had notified Woods of a possible violation before he left the course on Friday.

It seems everyone, including Jack Nicklaus, who thought Augusta National acted appropriately, has weighed in on the situation since. But with new information coming to light, "Dropgate" remains an issue that still hasn't been dropped from golf's conversation.

Bamberger summed up Eger's role in the fiasco:

"It should be noted that Eger's call saved Woods from disqualification, because it spurred Ridley's incorrect interpretation, which was challenged by Woods's own comments to ESPN, which enabled Ridley to invoke rule 33-7, the one that allows wrongs to be righted."

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Without Fear Or Favor

Jerry Tarde — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

How Tiger Woods could have turned a misstep into a positive step forward.

With Muirfield on the horizon, the debate over all-male golf clubs rages on

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:26:00 GMT

By Alex Myers

Augusta National Golf Club waited until it was ready to have its first female members. Apparently, it will be up to the three all-male clubs in the British Open's rota of courses to do the same.

At a Tuesday press conference, the R&A's chief executive, Peter Dawson, made it clear that the governing body of golf for most of the world won't "bully" clubs into taking women members. In fact, he said he doesn't think it's the R&A's place to get involved.

All-male clubs are once again a hot topic with this year's Open Championship being held at Muirfield, one of three courses used for golf's oldest major that still adheres to an all-male membership policy. The other two courses are Royal St. George's and Royal Troon.

Dawson noted that, "There is nothing wrong under UK legislation with a single-sex club as long as they behave under the equality act as far as guest access is concerned, which Muirfield certainly does."

Dawson went on to say, "Muirfield has a huge history when it comes to the Open Championship and this will be the 16th time that is has been played there, and who are we to say what they should do as they are behaving perfectly legally."

This conversation has also come to the forefront once again on the heels of the first Masters since Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore were invited to be the first women members of Augusta National, something that club chairman Billy Payne addressed in his pre-tournament press conference:

"I hope the experience for Condi and Darla, as members of our club, has been every bit as rewarding and enjoyable for them over the last eight months as it has been for their fellow members," Payne said. "It's just awesome."

It took 80 years for Augusta National to change its policy regarding women members, but it seems, at least, ostensibly, to be happy with the decision. Should Muirfield, Royal St. George's and Royal Troon follow suit?

And that's just one question this conversation raises. If golf wants to continue to grow, does having one of its most prestigious events being played at a site that isn't inclusive of women send the right message? Just because it's legal, does that mean it's the right thing to do? Does the R&A, perhaps the sport's most powerful organization, deserve a say in the situation? And if so, should it intervene?

For now, it appears as if those questions will remain unanswered. As this year's Open approaches, though, don't expect them to go away.

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The 10 Best Golfers Without A Major

Alex Myers — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Now that Adam Scott has broken through, who is the best remaining golfer without a major championship? Our formula finds out.

Golf World Monday: Why New Orleans is a good fit for Guan

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:11:00 GMT

By Tim Rosaforte

From the April 22 edition of Golf World Monday:

The flag of China waves alongside the Stars and Stripes at Lakewood GC in New Orleans--and for good reason. This former home to the tour stop now known as the Zurich Classic has become a home away from home for Tianlang Guan.

The golfer's connection with the Big Easy started with a family friend who hosted the Guans when the youngster tried to locally qualify for the U.S. Open at Lakewood. The 14-year-old has been in New Orleans since spending a week in the Masters spotlight. On Saturday he led a junior golf clinic while prepping for the Zurich, to which he was given a sponsor exemption.

In fact, he has become such a fixture around Lakewood that he now has a nickname. "We call him 'Langly,' '' says Jimmy Headrick, director of the club's junior golf program. "That's what Mom and Dad call him, so we call him that too."

From director of golf Brad Weaver welcoming him to Headrick's junior program, Langly has been made to feel welcome for all the right reasons. The club's fast greens also don't hurt.

"We're just one small spoke in the wheel," Headrick said. "What started out as friendship grew for all the right reasons. I think they saw we were real, that we were all about Langly being a young man who grows into the best he can be, not how we were benefiting from his presence."

Headrick is not Guan's swing coach; nor has he become a life coach. He won the PGA's Junior Golf Leader Award in 2008, three years after Hurricane Katrina wiped out his jobs as director of golf at Eastover CC and coach of the University of New Orleans' women's golf team. Already in his 50s, Headrick reinvented himself as part of the New Orleans golf revival, first helping the city get its First Tee Program back off the ground and now running a thriving junior program at Lakewood.

His diversified program features over 300 kids of Asian, Indian and African-American descent. He points out that 35 percent are girls, so in essence, this is a feeder program into Augusta National's new Drive, Pitch & Putt competition, along with the next generation of golfers.

On Saturday, Langly was the only golfer from China on the practice ground at Lakewood. As part of his role as golf ambassador, he gave a 90-minute junior golf clinic to his contemporaries. He was asked about being in the Butler Cabin, playing with Tiger Woods and his first-tee nerves.

"The key is when a child takes ownership of his or her love of the game," Headrick said. "When it becomes their golf game, the motivations come from themselves. They see that in this young man, and it inspires them. Langly has taught us more than we can ever teach him."

Yes, he spent three weeks at Augusta prior to the Masters and was the only amateur to make the cut. And yes, he's going to be playing his first non-major U.S. tour event on a 7,425-yard TPC Louisiana. But when you get right down to it ...

"He is still a junior golfer," Headrick said. "No matter what everybody says, he's just a kid."

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Inside Golf World Podcast: How We Cover The Masters

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:20:00 GMT

By Ryan Herrington

Dorothy Parker famously professed, "I hate writing. I love having written."

Trust us when we say we know the feeling.

A blank computer screen can be one of the scarier sights for any journalist, particularly when you're assigned the main piece at the year's biggest tournament. In this week's Inside Golf World Podcast, Golf World contributing writer Jim Moriarty discusses what went in to reporting and writing the game story from the 77th Masters, which chronicled Adam Scott's playoff victory over Angel Cabrera.

Of course, the week that was at Augusta National saw more storylines play out than simply Scott becoming the first Australian to win a green jacket.

Moriarty details how he went about keeping the various subplots (slow-play warnings, illegal ball drops, etc.) organized so that come Sunday night--and into Monday morning--he was able to craft a cogent, entertaining look at the year's first major.

Listen to the podcast
Subscribe to the Inside Golf World series in iTunes

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Winner's Bag: What Adam Scott used to capture Australia's first Masters

Derek Evers — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:58:00 GMT

By E. Michael Johnson By winning at Augusta National, Adam Scott became the first golfer from Australia to win the Masters, but he also became the first player to win a major using the...