golf

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.

So, how much golf have you watched these past eight months? The British Open, perhaps? The last couple of rounds of the PGA Championship? Maybe a few hours of the Ryder Cup? The game just hasn't been the same without the world's best player -- hasn't been as interesting, hasn't been as compelling, hasn't been nearly as much fun.
That's not just my opinion.

The magic number surrounding Tiger Woods has long been 18. With 14 major championships, he is four away from Jack Nicklaus' record, and as Woods re-enters the world of competitive golf this week, his game and left knee will be closely inspected for assurances that he can reach that level as safely as expected.

They both roared down golf's superhighway in the past few days -- one player nearly shaking a burdensome trail of scrutiny and skepticism at age 19, the other bursting into the entertainment capital of the world at 17 and chirping, "Hello, America!"
Maybe, if we're lucky, Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa will slow down and learn from Michelle Wie.

It was pretty refreshing to see a relatively new face in golf play really clutch down the stretch at Torrey Pines and win.
Nick Watney made a bomb on No. 16, and then ripped a drive on No. 18 like all these kids seem to. He proceeded to launch a hybrid into orbit, landing safely on the green in two. A ho-hum two-putt for birdie, and victory was his.

Nothing like a February day at the Monterey Peninsula, which, until golf architects went to work 100 years ago, was God's fixer-upper.

Masashi Yamada holds a dubious place in the lore of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Yamada, a Japanese businessman, teamed with Bruce Vaughan to win the pro-am competition in 1995 -- until tournament officials belatedly learned Yamada's handicap (15) was well north of accurate. They stripped him of the title.

Golfers all have different swing, but the set-up fundamentals seem to be pretty standard from golfer to golfer.

Youth is all the rage in golf these days. Anthony Kim, 23, wades in hype as the next great challenger to Tiger Woods. Lorena Ochoa's two biggest threats, according to the women's world rankings, are Yani Tseng (age 20) and Paula Creamer (22).

Now making his 2009 debut on the PGA Tour, ready to march toward the raucous 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale and eager to sharpen his game before he reaches Magnolia Lane in April ...
No, not him.