golf

The big sporting event in these parts is Saturday's 72nd Santa Anita Derby, for which Pioneer of the Nile and The Pamplemousse are the favorites in one of the major stepping stones to the Kentucky Derby.

Why should the bunker shot be so hard for the average amateur golfer?
You would think that it would be easier since you don't even have to hit the ball, but only the sand behind the ball. I suppose just the fear of being in the bunker is half the problem.

This winter has all but flown by. Where does the time go?
So once again, I'm on my soapbox about why the average amateur golfer doesn't improve.
First, in general, they don't practice. Second, those who do practice to some extent don't practice with any certain purpose.

For the first time in nearly nine months on Thursday, Tiger Woods played 18 holes in a PGA Tour event and signed a scorecard showing his total number of strokes. Gone is the pop-culture hoopla surrounding his return in Arizona and the uncommon rhythm of match play, which sent Woods home after two days.

You know what was missing from last week's Honda Classic? Other than Tiger Woods? A statement.
A loud, unmistakable statement to the world's No. 1 player from any of his supposed challengers, guys like Sergio Garcia and Ernie Els and Camillo Villegas, even Rory McIlroy, the 19-year-old phenom who is being hyped as golf's next great thing.

As Sergio Garcia waded through a sea of autograph hounds at PGA National, where he played his way onto the Honda Classic leader board Thursday's wind-blown first round, he looked entirely comfortable with his lofty place in the game.

Kenny G isn't just a world-renowned saxophonist -- he's also a scratch golfer.
Really.
But playing golf in front of a small crowd of fans, he said, is more nerve-wracking than performing before a sold-out arena.

A few weeks back, when talking about his son's autism, Ernie Els said the challenges of raising a child with the brain development disorder often rips apart marriages.

Now that Tiger Woods is back, the rest of the PGA Tour is playing for second. The Tour's television ratings will skyrocket, sponsors will jump back on board and the economy will right itself. Well, maybe that's expecting too much. But here are some things you can expect now that golf's best player is competing again.

-- He will be good right away

Working just from memory, this must be at least the fourth edition of Tiger Woods, the consistent theme being that in each he has been terrific.
The young Tiger, the revamped Tiger, the Tiger Slam Tiger, the married Tiger, the post-funeral Tiger, the new father Tiger, the limping Tiger. So many Tigers.