Love, Wadkins, Couples, Montgomerie among players nominated for World Golf Hall of Fame

By Gary Van Sickle
Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated
Published: January 23, 2009

The presidential election was held in November, but the really important election is starting now. That would be the election for the World Golf Hall of Fame.

There are worthy candidates, as usual, just not as many as there used to be. In an effort to turn the induction ceremony into a big event (translation: television show), Hall of Famers are being anointed at an alarming rate — 22 in the last four years, 50 in the last nine (50!). The inductions are bound to slow to a trickle, or the standard for a Hall of Fame career will drop faster than my 401k.

Hall of Fame voting is generally a topic reserved for old, grizzled writers and editors. I might go out to get grizzled later, so I thought I’d offer my two cents.

There are two ballots, due back by March. One includes a dozen international candidates, men whose careers were played mostly outside the United States. The other is the PGA Tour ballot, featuring 15 names, including Fred Couples, Davis Love, Mark O’Meara, Lanny Wadkins and Fuzzy Zoeller.

In a not very subtle attempt to push the nomination of Japan’s Masashi (Jumbo) Ozaki, the international ballot included a makeshift point system to guide voters. It assigns a value of three points for every PGA or European tour victory, four for a Players Championship and six for a major championship. A victory on the Japanese, South African, Australian or Champions tours is worth two points. One point is awarded for any other national championship, Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup appearance.

To help out the voters, the international nominees have their point totals listed. (In my opinion, if they need this much help, they shouldn’t have a ballot.) The numbers look like this: Ozaki 225; Graham Marsh 114; Colin Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam, 106; Christy O’Connor Sr. 100; Jose Maria Olazabal 98; Sandy Lyle 82; Norman Von Nida 78; Peter Allis 73, and the rest.

There are several serious flaws in this points system. Since when is winning on the Champions tour equal to winning in Japan, South Africa or Australia? Regular Champions tour events are limited to 78 players, at least a third of whom are there for nostalgia and not truly competitive. A win at the Bruno’s Classic is equal to winning the Australian PGA? Wrong, wrong, wrong. You don’t make it into the Hall based on your senior golf record. Champions tour results shouldn’t count, period. They are not relevant.

In addition, those points unfairly tilt the scales toward modern players. Von Nida, an Australian great, and Allis, one of England’s finest players for two decades, didn’t have a senior tour to play on, nor did they have a Presidents Cup. Somehow, Graham Marsh winds up second on this list despite no major championships and only one PGA Tour win to go with 11 in Europe. He had another 30 in Japan and Asia, six in senior golf. It is impossible to see him as more Hall-worthy than major champs such as Woosnam, Olazabal and Lyle, or eight-time European Order of Merit winner Montgomerie.

Ozaki has been overlooked in past balloting. He has 111 victories in Japan and led the Japanese tour in money 12 times between 1973 and 1998. His stats make him a slam dunk for the Hall except for two things: he only won once outside Japan, at the 1972 New Zealand PGA; and the quality of Japanese competition was weak for decades.

Oddly, this points system wasn’t mentioned in the voting booklet for the regular nominees, thus furthering my suspicion that it was designed to win support for Ozaki. So, I applied the points system to the regular nominees, but I leveled the playing field by eliminating points for Champions tour wins and Presidents Cup appearances. Here are the totals: Wadkins 75; Macdonald Smith 72; Love 71; Doug Ford 67; O’Meara 60; Couples 55; Jug McSpaden 51; Ken Venturi 46; Fuzzy Zoeller 39; Kenny Perry and Dave Stockton 38; Tony Lema 37. (John Daly and David Toms are among eligible players not on the ballot because they went consecutive years without receiving at least five percent of the votes.)

The career stats make Wadkins an obvious choice. He has 21 PGA Tour wins, one more than Love. Both won a PGA Championship. Wadkins won a Players; Love won two. Wadkins made eight Ryder Cup teams during a 16-year span; Love made six, giving Lanny a big edge in longevity. Wadkins was also one of the most feared competitors of his era. Love may indeed be Hall-worthy, but he shouldn’t get there before Wadkins.

Smith, a Scot, won 24 times without a modern major championship. However, the Western Open, which he won three times, was a major in his day. Credit him with three majors, and he is a strong candidate. So, too, is Lema, who had 11 victories, including a British Open, before he was killed in a plane crash at 32. If Champagne Tony had 10 more years, how many trophies would he have added? Plenty. But Smith and Lema were named on just 18 percent of last year’s ballots.

Doug Ford won 19 times, including a PGA and a Masters, a resume that matches or exceeds those of Hall enshrinees such as Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Curtis Strange and Hubert Green. There’s hope for Ford, who was fourth in last year’s voting with 35%. Wadkins, with 52%, had the highest vote total among those who weren’t inducted.

One thing is sure: the voting in both categories is going to be interesting and unpredictable. Is majorless Monty going to make the Hall? Will Lyle, snubbed for the European Ryder Cup captaincy, be snubbed by Hall voters, too? Will voters ever take Ozaki’s record seriously? Does anyone remember the great Lema? Will Wadkins, Love or anyone on the regular ballot get the necessary 65 percent, or will there be a Hall of Fame shutout?

I don’t have any answers, just a ballot. As they used to say in Chicago, vote early and often.

What makes Tiger great?

Talent, sure, but every Tour pro has talent. What puts Eldrick Woods miles above the rest is visceral — heart and guts — as well as what he calls his greatest weapon: “my creative mind.”

To know Tiger’s mind, you need only decode his signals. In February, Golf Magazine followed Woods during his dramatic victory over huge-hitter J.B. Holmes at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

We then asked body-language expert Jan Hargrave to analyze Woods’ moves during his roller-coaster round.

According to Hargrave, who advises Merrill Lynch, Exxon and NASA, our words make up only 7 percent of what we communicate to others. The remaining 93 percent is nonverbal information. Our bodies don’t lie. The key to Tiger’s secret signals is that they don’t just express his dominance — they propel it.

That’s bad news for Phil and Ernie but good news for the rest of us, since it’s easier to copy Woods’ mannerisms than his stinger.

“Emulating Tiger’s body language could help any golfer,” says Hargrave, who trains phobic clients to be confident by acting confident. “To overcome fear or worry on the course, golfers should match and mirror what he does.”

The message: If you want to play more like Tiger, act more like Tiger. After a while, it might not be an act.

Credit: Robert Beck

Perez holds lead after record-setting 36 holes

LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) Pat Perez shot a 9-under 63 on Thursday to become the first player in PGA Tour history to play a 36-hole stretch in a tournament in 20 under, keeping him two strokes in front in the Bob Hope Classic.

After opening with a 61, Perez had nine birdies during a bogey-free second round and was at 124 through the first two days of the 90-hole tournament. Along with setting a PGA Tour low against par for consecutive rounds, his 36-hole total was the lowest ever to begin a tournament.

Mark Calcavecchia was at 124 through two rounds of the 2001 Phoenix Open, but that was on a par-71 course. Perez had his opening 61 at the Palmer Course at PGA West, and followed it with the 63 on the Nicklaus Course at PGA West.

On another mild, still day in the desert, Perez’s sizzling scoring still wasn’t enough to give him a pad – six players were within four shots. Briny Baird aced the par-3, 140-yard seventh at the Nicklaus Course with a 9-iron on the way to his second 63 and an 18-under 126 total.

David Berganio Jr. had a 64 and was another shot behind. Tom Pernice Jr. (63) Chris Stroud (63), Richard Johnson (65) and Jason Dufner (65) were 16 under.

The 32-year-old Perez, still chasing his first tour win, followed his sparkling opening round with another day of well-placed drives, pinpoint iron play and deadly accurate putting. He rolled in a 15-footer on No. 7, a 40-footer from the fringe on No. 11, a 20-footer on No. 14, and other birdie putts from 10 feet and in.

For the second straight day, he putted only 25 times.

“I’ve played two unbelievable rounds and I’m very happy where I’m at,” said Perez, enjoying the moment but fully realizing that two rounds won’t get the job done in the 90-hole Hope.

Asked about setting a standard, Perez said, “It means you can get hot for two days. I would like to have all kinds of records at the end of the week – three-day, four-day, five-day, trophy, Vegas, booze, all that stuff. That’s what I want.”

The tour records for three, four and five rounds certainly don’t seem out of reach if the wind doesn’t kick up over the next three days. The record for 54 holes is 189, a mark shared by a group including Calcavecchia. Tommy Armour III set the 72-hole mark of 254 in the 2003 Texas Open, and the 90-hole record is Joe Durant’s 36-under 324 at the 2001 Hope.

Even if Perez falters, some of the players trailing him may have a shot at records.

“The course is set up for it, the pin placements aren’t the hardest, and the weather’s been perfect,” Perez said. “Everything has to factor in when everybody’s shooting low scores. It’s not a mystery.”

Said Baird: “Yeah, it’s the conditions. There’s the wind; when the wind howled today, it howled two miles an hour. The greens aren’t very firm, yet they are. If you’re hitting a wedge, you’re sucking them back. It’s as easy as you could ask for.”

He still was a bit awed by the numbers, especially Perez’s.

“I don’t care how easy the conditions are or how easy they can set up a golf course, that’s a heck of a lot of birdies and you’re doing a heck of a lot of things right,” Baird said.

Four players went 19 under in consecutive rounds in the past, with Tim Herron the most recent, in the 2003 Hope. Five players were at 125 for the first two days, with Tiger Woods the first, in the 2000 WGC-NEC Invitational, and Carl Pettersson the most recent, in the 2008 Wyndham Championship.

Two years and out for Toms on Hall of Fame ballot

HONOLOLU (AP) — For those who believe 40 is too young to be considered for the Hall of Fame, consider the plight of David Toms.

He was put on the PGA Tour ballot when he turned 40 because of his 12 victories (one of them a major) and 10 years on the PGA Tour. Toms received 1 percent of the vote in 2007, and he didn’t receive any votes last year.

Because he did not receive at least 5 percent of the vote in consecutive years, he was taken off the ballot this year.

“I don’t even think of the Hall of Fame until a guy turns 50, until he’s almost done in golf,” Toms said. “That’s more fair than throwing someone like me on the ballot just because I meet the criteria.”

Toms does not have Hall of Fame credentials – not yet, maybe not ever.

With his experience, and feeling healthier than he has in recent years, he believes he is capable of winning at least another major and three more victories. “Two majors and 15 wins would be more than I could have hoped for when I started,” he said.

What if he achieves more? After turning 42, Kenny Perry went on to win eight times.

“Can they put you back on?” Toms said.

Yes.

Jack Peter, the chief operating officer of the World Golf Hall of Fame, said the board of directors has the authority to place a golfer back on the ballot once removed. Even so, this might be more ammunition for those who believe a player should not be on the ballot until he is closer to the end of his career.

HOWELL’S LOSS: Charles Howell III made a strong charge on the back nine of the Sony Open that ended when he failed to make birdie on the par-5 18th and wound up alone in fourth.

And moments after he finished, Howell received word that his maternal grandfather had died.

Instead of heading to Palm Springs for the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Howell withdrew from the tournament and was headed home to Georgia for the funeral.

WINTER ELECTION: PGA Tour members are gearing up for their own election, this one absent of mudslinging, stumping or any other form of campaigning. The new 16-man Players Advisory Council has been selected, and now it’s time to pick a chairman, who next year will graduate to the tour’s policy board.

The candidates for PAC chairman are Davis Love III, who has previously served on the board, and Paul Goydos.

“I’m running on the platform that anyone whose last name begins with a ‘G’ gets a lifetime exemption,” Goydos said.

Goydos isn’t sure how he was picked to be a candidate (they are chosen by the four players on the board), but he agreed to have his name on the ballot.

“It’s a quest for knowledge,” Goydos said. “I think it’s important to know the inner-workings of the sport I play.”

The other PAC members this year are Stuart Appleby, Steve Flesch, Harrison Frazar, Ryuji Imada, Jerry Kelly, George McNeill, Joe Ogilvie, Tom Pernice Jr., D.A. Points, Ted Purdy, Brett Quigley, Vijay Singh and Mark Wilson.

Along with his reputation for being insightful, Goydos has a dry sense of humor that borders on arid. He was asked if elected as PAC chairman, what he would bring to a board meeting.

“A Coke,” he said.

LIFE MEMBERS: When Davis Love III won for the 20th time to become a life member of the PGA Tour, he received notoriety for his achievement everywhere but the PGA Tour media guide.

In his bio, it lists his exempt status as through 2010 because of his victory at Disney.

But there’s a reason for that.

The tour matches exempt status with its priority ranking system. That starts with U.S. Open and PGA Championship winners (lifetime exemption before 1970, now a five-year exemption), then goes through categories such as winning the other two majors, The Players Championship, the Tour Championship, any PGA Tour event, career money, etc.

Life members – 20 victories and active members for 15 years – is No. 17 on the priority list.

There’s a reason for that, too.

According to Andy Pazder, the tour’s senior vice president of tournament administration, the lifetime tournament exemption is effective only as long as the player maintains a proper scoring average (three strokes above the field average for the tournaments he plays) and competes in at least one PGA Tour event each calendar year.

Pazder said the scoring average requirement is what caused Lanny Wadkins and Hale Irwin to be moved out of the “Life Member” category and into the past champions category.

A player can regain lifetime membership if he meets the scoring requirement in a subsequent year.

DRUG TESTING: Even though he hasn’t played since the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods is eligible for drug testing. He said last month the PGA Tour did not come to his house for the test, even though he was expecting a visit.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem would not say who was tested. Finchem said the tour has random testing, selective testing (when it singles out players to be tested) and regular testing for those who might have a history of substance abuse.

“If, in fact, Tiger has not been tested – and I’m not in a position to say whether he has or hasn’t – it would mean that he didn’t pop up in the random poll, I think before he got hurt,” Finchem said. “And if he was on the selected list, which he may or may not have been… we reserved the right in certain situations to go outside the scope of the tournament and test, and we may or may not have done that. But if he says he wasn’t tested, it’s one of those reasons.”

Tiger Woods pays tribute to military in speech at Obama celebration

Posted at 10:58 PM by Charlie Hanger

In an inaugural celebration at the Lincoln Memorial today, Tiger Woods praised his father and “the men and women in uniform who serve our country and protect our freedom.”

Woods was one of many prominent figures at Sunday’s celebration, which was broadcast on HBO and featured a star-studded lineup of movie stars and musical acts. Woods has tended to stay away from political issues throughout his career, but he used his moment on stage Sunday to speak about his father, Earl Woods, who he called a role model, and the military in general. Here is the text of his remarks, as recorded at tigerwoods.com.

“I grew up in a military family, and my role models in life were my mom and dad, Lt. Colonel Earl Woods.

My dad was a special forces operator and many nights friends would visit our home. They represented every branch of the service, and every rank. In my Dad, and in those guests, I saw firsthand the dedication and commitment of those who serve. They come from every walk of life. From every part of our country. Time and again, across generations, they have defended our safety in the dark of night and far from home.

Each day, and particularly on this historic day, we honor the men and women in uniform who serve our country and protect our freedom. They travel to the dangerous corners of the world, and we must remember that for every person who is in uniform, there are families who wait for them to come home safely.

I am honored that the military is such an important part, not just of my personal life, but of my professional one as well. The golf tournament we do each year here in Washington is a testament to those unsung heroes. I am the son of a man who dedicated his life to his country, family and the military, and I am a better person for it.

In the summer of 1864, Abraham Lincoln, the man at whose memorial we stand, spoke to the 164th Ohio Regiment and said: ‘I am greatly obliged to you, and to all who have come forward at the call of their country.’

Just as they have stood tall for our country, we must always stand by and support the men and women in uniform and their families. Thank you.”

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Perez takes Hope lead with opening 61

LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) — Pat Perez shot a 61 on Wednesday to take the lead in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic on a warm, still day in the desert resort area when his sparkling 11-under round was only good enough for a one-shot lead.

With playing conditions ideal, 2003 tournament champion Mike Weir and Bubba Watson opened the five-day tournament with 62s, and six players were another shot behind on the jam-packed leaderboard.

Perez, intimately familiar with how things can go in the low-scoring Hope, wasn’t exactly doing handsprings over his round that was just two shots off the PGA Tour record of 59, last matched by David Duval in the final round of his 1999 victory on the same Palmer Course at PGA West.

After all, Perez shot a first-round 60 in the tournament three years ago only to wind up 73rd, and had a second-round 61 in 2003, when he tied for sixth.

So he said he can’t be too excited about his opening number this time.

“Because the number is 30 under, 30 plus,” Perez said, noting what it often takes to win the Hope when conditions are good. “You don’t try to get there too fast, you try to get there over five days.

“So yeah, it’s nice, it’s a good round, the conditions are perfect. That’s all.”

He acknowledged, though, that after a 28 on his front nine, the record was on his mind.

“I was thinking 58 for sure,” Perez said. “I can’t believe it. It’s the second year now I’ve been right there and I haven’t been able to do it.”

Weir and Watson also played the Palmer Course, one of four used for the pro-am portion of the tournament the first four days. The players rotate among the courses, and the low-scoring 70 pros and ties play Sunday’s final round on the Palmer Course.

Briny Baird, Ben Crane, Jason Dufner, Richard Johnson, Taylor Vaughn and David Berganio Jr. shot 63s. Chris DiMarco was in a three-way tie for 10th at 8 under. Defending champion D.J. Trahan and Steve Stricker, whose No. 16 world ranking makes him the highest-ranked player in the field, were in a group tied for 13th at 7 under.

The 32-year-old Perez, still looking for his first PGA Tour win, has a spotty history at the Hope, with the tie for sixth his best showing in five previous appearances. He missed the cut in 2002 and 2004, and skipped the event the past two years.

He said he was back because The Classic Club, a course a few miles from La Quinta in an area where the wind can be brutal, was dropped from the Hope rotation after being used for three years.

In 2006, Perez followed his first-round 60 at Bermuda Dunes with a wind-swept 73 at The Classic Club, then shot a 78 on a chilly, gusty day there in the final round.

“I shot 60 that year and I had the first tee time the next morning and it was blowing a hundred,” Perez said. “I said, ‘How the heck can you put a golf course where a thousand windmills are?’ I hit the first ball in the water and almost got in the car and drove home.”

He said he wasn’t even trying to score well during the final round at the Classic Club that year.

“I actually was going to try and be the first guy ever in a tournament to shoot 60, 70 and 80, right on the button,” Perez quipped. “(But) I actually hit a good shot finally in the middle of the green and made a birdie and shot 78.

“I just wanted to get out of there.”

Tadd Fujikawa talks about the Sony, his dad’s legal troubles and his goals for 2009

By Jeff Ritter
Producer, SI.com
Published: January 21, 2009

History may say that Zach Johnson was the winner of last week’s Sony Open, but it was Tadd Fujikawa who stole the event.

It might all sound familiar. In 2007, the Hawaiian native lit up the Sony with a 20th-place finish while becoming, at age 16, the youngest player to make a PGA cut. Last week those positive island vibes returned to Waialae Country Club as Fujikawa, now an 18-year-old high school senior, qualified once again to play on the weekend. He then fired a Saturday 62, temporarily reaching the summit of the leaderboard – and elevating Tadd-mania to new heights. On Sunday he scratched out a 73 in front of the loudest galleries of the day, finishing T-32 and earning $29,237. For the second time in three years, the Sony Open was unquestionably the Tadd Fujikawa show.

Compare your experience last weekend with the 2007 event.
TF: My mind going into this week was extremely different. Two years ago I qualified, but it wasn’t a Monday qualifier. For this week I worked a lot harder. I’ve made some changes in my swing and I’m feeling more confident about my game. I was going out there to win. Two years ago I was just trying to go out there and have fun.

Did you surprise yourself with that 62?
TF: A little bit, but I’ve been playing well recently. The first day I putted well, but I didn’t hit the ball well. The second day I hit the ball great, but I didn’t putt well. I just wanted to bring them all together and it happened on Saturday. It’s a great feeling when everything gels and all my hard work is paying off.

Do you enjoy being the fan favorite?
TF: I really, really enjoy it. It’s a lot of fun for me. I like the atmosphere. Having the support of family and friends and fans is just really fun.

You made a tough choice by electing to turn professional at age 16. What’s the best tip you’ve been given since then?
TF: I’ve gotten a lot of advice from pros and from friends. The best is probably to go out there and have fun. You want to stay focused, but you really need to enjoy what you do. I hear that a lot, and it really helps me.

Your father, Derrick, is involved in some serious legal trouble. How has it affected you in this early phase of your pro golf career?
TF: It’s a tough situation. It’s not easy, but with the support of my family and my friends, and everyone form Hawaii it makes life easier. But what’s done is done, and I can’t do anything about that. I still have school and golf to worry about and work at to achieve my dreams. In the end it will make me a stronger person.”

You’re not a member of the PGA Tour, or any tour. Any idea what your next tournament will be?
TF: Not sure. I’m trying to get into a few more PGA events through sponsors’ exemptions. Hopefully how I did this week will help with that. I’m still going to be working hard. I just want to get out there and play as much as I can. I want to get back in contention.

What are your goals for the rest of the year?
TF: First of all I want to graduate by May. On the golf course, I just want to go out there and play as much as I can. I want to get in contention as much as possible. The more I can get in that situation the better I’ll be. I’m going to try to get my card-I’m not sure which Tour it would be. It depends where I feel my game is ready for. I may play in Japan, or I may play in the States, or maybe even Europe. Obviously I’d like to play on the PGA Tour, but it all depends on how my game feels.

Fair to say you intend to play in the Sony again in 2010?
TF: Yes. [laughs] This year I didn’t get an exemption, but hopefully next year I’ll have my card. If I have to Monday-qualify again, then so be it.

Ballesteros test results are ‘quite good’

MADRID, Spain (AP) — Seve Ballesteros said test results following his first course of chemotherapy came back “quite good,” an encouraging sign for the 51-year-old golf great.

The five-time major winner underwent four surgeries to remove a cancerous brain tumor after being admitted to a hospital on Oct. 6, when he fainted at Madrid’s international airport.

“Fortunately the results were quite good,” Ballesteros said Wednesday, in a statement posted on his Web site. “This Friday I shall begin my second chemotherapy course, which I hope and wish will be as effective as the first one.”

Ballesteros, who underwent three operations in eight days at one point, said he was feeling better “day by day” thanks to the work of his physiotherapists.

“I am very motivated and working hard, although I am aware that my recovery will be slow and therefore I need to be patient and have a lot of determination,” Ballesteros said. “For these reasons I am following strictly all the indications that the doctors are giving me.”

Ballesteros said he continued to receive hundreds of letters, messages, cards and e-mails in support of what he has called “the hardest challenge of my life.”

“I want to take this opportunity to thank them for their support and energy that is coming to me from all over the world and which is proving so good,” he said.

Ballesteros is known for spectacular shots and fearless play that won him three British Opens and two Masters. He also recorded 50 career victories on the European Tour and is widely recognized as having transformed European golf.

After lobbying to have the Ryder Cup expanded to include continental Europe in 1979, Ballesteros helped beat the United States in 1985 to begin two decades of dominance. He also captained Europe to victory in 1997 at Valderrama, Spain.

Ballesteros retired in 2007 because of a long history of back pain and has since concentrated on golf course design.

What professional golfer will end up in Barack Obama’s orbit?

By Michael Bamberger
Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated
Published: January 21, 2009

Most every golfing president can be identified with one star professional. Sometimes the president and the pro come out of the same mold (JFK and Arnold Palmer). Sometimes the president finds his alter ego (Ike and Arnold Palmer). It’s easy to see Jerry Ford as a Jack Nicklaus man, two pass-the-gravy Midwesterners with no use for irony. George W. Bush, with his Texas squint, is close to Ben Crenshaw, a man fluent in the ways of Texas.

Forty-three’s father, George Herbert Walker Bush, has played a lot of golf with another well-mannered golfer, Davis M. Love III. Trip was a Walker Cup star, an event named for a Bush progenitor. LBJ played golf only to further his political agenda and played happily with members of Congress, but he had no need to tee it up with, say, Gary Player, or other stars of the ’60s. Johnson’s successor, Richard Nixon, had a favorite pro who was unlike him in every way: Slammin’ Sam Snead. Snead was as relaxed as Nixon was uptight, with a swing as free as Nixon’s was constricted. A perfect match.

As a golfing president, Bill Clinton will forever be linked to Greg Norman. You may recall how Clinton, in the wee small hours of a Florida night, slipped on the steps of Shark’s guest house, putting his presidential golf game on hold for some weeks as he got around on presidential crutches. Both golfers, you could say, had outsized appetites, and were damn fun to watch.

And now we have a new president of the United States, Barack Obama, urged to play golf by his wife, Michelle, who felt that his other sporting hobby, basketball, was too dangerous for a man of his advancing years. (He got golf and was able to keep basketball — nicely done, sir.) And a question inquiring golfers want to have answered is this: What star golfer will wind up in his orbit?

One might think Michelle Wie, who, like Obama, graduated from the Punahou School, in Honolulu, would get a game with the 44th president at some point. Ditto for PGA Tour winner Parker McLachlin, who played pick-up basketball with Obama this month and whose father, Chris, was Obama’s high school basketball coach.

But as Kennedy was drawn to Palmer, there is one and only one obvious star playing partner for BHO: his excellency, Tiger Woods. As a young boy, Tiger played his golf on the public courses and the military courses of southern California. Obama, relatively new to golf, has spoken of his desire to play Bethpage Black, Pebble Beach and the Old Course — all three public courses. Both men, of course, are biracial, both are prodigies, both can articulate complex thoughts with great economy, both are disciplined in the extreme, both are superstars.

On the day before Martin Luther King Day, from the Lincoln Memorial, in a ceremony that celebrated both King’s legacy and the inauguration of a new president, Woods spoke briefly about the role that the military played in his life, and in all of our lives. He did not mention King, or even Obama, but he spoke of soldiers who fight “in the dark of night and far from home.” He quoted Lincoln. He referred to his father, “Lieutenant Colonel Earl Woods.” He introduced the U.S. Naval Glee Club.

Don Van Natta, a reporter for The New York Times and the author of a book on presidential golfing habits, “First Off the Tee,” found Woods’s comments moving and filled with context. “He didn’t have to mention Obama,” Van Natta said in a telephone interview. “When he talked about his father’s experiences, he was talking about Obama’s experiences.” Before there could be a first black president, there had to be a first black baseball player in the Big Eight, and Earl Woods was a catcher at Kansas State, way back when.

Van Natta could see Obama and Woods getting along famously, on the course and off. When Obama talks about fixing the economy, he says there will be no short-cuts; Woods the golfer is dismissive of short-cuts, too.

Woods has been famously apolitical for his professional career, and he may continue to be so. Still, he may find the draw of presidential golf with Barack Obama irresistible. Not just because of the power the man now has, but for his intelligence and his passion and because of their gross similarities.

As for Obama, consider this: your scheduler gives you a choice. You can go to a security briefing with Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, or get in quick game — not waiting — at Congressional with Tiger and watch him hit stingers and cut 3-woods off hanging lies and bounce balls off the face of his Nike driver blindfolded?

Surely, President Obama knows the phrase, “It’s a no-brainer.”

Woods and Obama, golf partners, could be the best thing to happen to golf since Ike started playing with Arnie. Or even better.

PGA Tour Confidential: Sony Open

Gary Van Sickle, senior writer, Sports Illustrated:

Welcome to PGA Tour Confidential, Volume 2. Want proof of my dedication to the cause? I worked on this little e-mail exchange from the one living room in the Pittsburgh area that did not have the Steelers-Ravens game on. Let’s start with two items on the Golf Channel. First, Kelly Tilghman and Nick Faldo seemed awfully disinterested for a final round on Sunday. On a replay of George McNeill holing a bunker shot, they barely said a word. A few moments later, Zach Johnson drained a 30-footer for birdie. Again, not much reaction. Hello, anybody home? Words I never thought I’d say: Mark Rolfing is the bright spot on this week’s telecast.

Second, some of us roasted Rich Lerner last week when he failed to ask Adam Scott about the Kate Hudson rumors. But you have to give Lerner a big tip of the journalistic cap this week for asking Tadd Fujikawa’s grandfather, during an interview, about Tadd’s father and his drug-dealing arrest. Maybe Golf Channel isn’t going to be all marshmallows and softballs this year after all.

Dick Friedman, senior editor, Sports Illustrated: Vans, to the point you make about Lerner showing some spine in his interview with Fujikawa’s grandfather, it may be a product of the weekly critiques that Golf Channel’s Tom Stathakes has pledged to hold with all staffers, as described by Jim Gorant in this week’s Backspin. Stathakes: “We’re going to work with the talent, sit down with them and say, What were you thinking here? … They’re not used to that here, but I think it’s good. People like to get feedback.”

James Herre, editor, Sports Illustrated Golf Plus: Had a beer with Stathakes not long ago, and I was impressed with his energy and professed journalistic aggressiveness. I think he’ll press the Golf Channel talent to ask the tough question, which should be quite the balancing act considering that the network is in bed with the Tour. I bet Tom and Ty Votaw have some interesting conversations this year.

Alan Shipnuck, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: In his Web column, Lerner said a member of the host club got in his grill about that interview. The GC needs more of that kind of reporting — the channel offers way more boosterism than actual journalism, and adding a harder edge can only help their talent establish a little more credibility.

Van Sickle: Speaking of credibility, a lot of players seemed to re-establish themselves at the Sony. It turned into a weekend of comeback specials, with strong showings by Zach Johnson, who was back on his game and won; David Toms (T2), who has fought back problems, a heart issue, the distractions of Hurricane Katrina, and who told the Golf Channel that he had lost interest in his golf game; and Adam Scott (T2), who so far hasn’t won enough to satisfy all those demanding journalists. There was also Charles Howell III, who has switched to a new teacher, Todd Anderson, after years with David Leadbetter. Three of those four guys weren’t in anybody’s pre-season previews for ‘09. Guess we’ll have to reconsider.

Michael Bamberger, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: Yo, Gary, so we are not going to get a Pittsburgh-Philadelphia Super Bowl. On my side of the Keystone State, there will be mild depression over the Eagles’ loss, but the good news is that pitchers and catchers report in a couple weeks, and in the meantime golf’s one-week spring training was on the tube. The Sony Open — the Hawaiian Open for you old-schoolers — really is one of the best events on the PGA Tour schedule. It’s the first full-field event of the year; guys shaking off the rust, trying new clubs and gizmos and caddies; hot drives sailing in the trade winds into groves of palm trees. We can turn up the electric heater, adjust the color and let the good vibes in. Charlie Howell was all beefed up, little Tadd Fujikawa came close to making a really big check and David Toms nearly won again. Don’t forget Brad Faxon, who missed the cut and is trying to come back from surgery. Welcome to 2009.

Herre: Nice week for Howell, who is one of the good guys on Tour. But I cringe every time I see him hit a shot and then immediately start checking positions on his takeaway. Faldo, another player fixated on mechanics, had some interesting things to say about how a mechanical player like Howell can “learn” feel. Frankly, I don’t believe it.

Van Sickle: Great point, Chief. I’m not sure Charlie Howell even believes in feel.

John Garrity, contributing writer, Sports Illustrated: I’m with Jim on Howell. I followed him around at the Masters two years ago, and it was painful to watch him finish a round and then spend 45 minutes working on putting drills, smoke curling out of his ears. His work ethic is admirable, but he makes golf look like a penance.

David Dusek, deputy editor, Golf.com: At last season’s Players Championship I spoke with Howell about his equipment changes. He parted ways with Callaway after 2007 and signed on with Bridgestone. However, he used drivers last season from four different companies — TaylorMade, Bridgestone, Nickent and Adams. So, he’s been tinkering with his gear as well as his swing.

Rick Lipsey, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: If Howell isn’t the most underachieving Tour player, who is?

Herre: I don’t view Howell as an underachiever. He is what he is, and he was probably overrated coming out of college. We saw how far he could hit a sand wedge and how long he had worked with David Leadbetter, and we came to the mistaken conclusion that he was a great player.

Van Sickle: Howell hasn’t been a financial underachiever. He’s near the $8 million mark in career earnings. I’d like to underachieve like that. But yes, Charles would be first to agree that he has yet to accomplish anything close to what he hopes to accomplish on tour.

Shipnuck: I agree Howell is robotic to a fault. He played nicely Sunday, but he needs a win more than anybody else on Tour. Even he’s labeled himself an “underachiever.” That’s the kind of insight and self-analysis that make him popular with scribes, and it probably holds him back, too. He’s definitely one of the top-5 quotes on Tour.

Bamberger: Charlie’s really very funny. Last year at the Masters, I was looking at the tee times in the players’ locker room. CH3 comes up and says, “Lemme see here, who am I going to rip today?”

Van Sickle: Howell had a good week, but that was a bad three-putt on the 18th on Sunday. He was so busy with his theatrics after missing the birdie putt that he didn’t watch his ball run past the hole. Then it looked as if he misread his par putt completely. Therein lies a lesson for all you players our there: Always watch a missed putt finish. But enough about him. Let’s talk Tadd.

Jim Gorant, senior editor, Sports Illustrated: Well, he limped in with a three-over 73 after Saturday’s 62. Isn’t that the first law of pro golf? A player who goes obscenely low one day almost always struggles to break par the next.

Shipnuck: I was sorry to see Tadd go backward. He’s definitely the sweetest person in professional sports, and it’s been a tough road for him, even before his dad’s legal entanglements. A victory was always a longshot, but I was hoping he’d stay in the top 10 and earn a spot in the field in Phoenix. He’s got plenty of heart and game, but he’s never been able to play enough tournaments to generate any kind of momentum. But that 62 was a thrill and should at least get him a few needed sponsors’ exemptions.

Cameron Morfit, senior writer, Golf Magazine: I just hope smilin’ Tadd is the next Justin Rose and not the next Ty Tryon. Fujikawa is good theater. Or, he could just be a sophisticated hologram produced annually by Sony Pictures, which keeps giving its quaint little Hawaiian golf event charming stories of teen precocity.

Dusek: When is Adam Scott going to get angry enough, or frustrated enough, to say to himself, “I’m not going to lose this tournament to these guys!” His talent is off the charts, but he seems to lack a killer instinct. Leaving that birdie putt short on 17 and making a tentative effort from the fringe on 18 were inexcusable errors. I wonder if losing doesn’t bother him enough.

Van Sickle: Scott did shoot 64 in the final round. I forget, why were we criticizing him again?

Shipnuck: Sure, he shot 64, but he needs another top-10 finish like he needs another date. He’s at that point in his career where victories are the only results that matter. Tough standard, but he would probably agree.

Bamberger: As usual, Tiger Woods made more headlines this weekend for not playing than anyone who teed it up in Hawaii. We should talk about his remarks in Washington on Sunday at the Obama celebration. He was brief but impressive: a golfer, speaking from the Lincoln Memorial, days before a historic presidential inauguration, introducing a Navy choir. Tiger didn’t talk about politics; he talked about the military. He already has his Boston event and his Washington event, and I understand that he’d like to have a hand in a third event, possibly in northern California, and involve a military charity.

Van Sickle: Maybe Tiger can take over Torrey Pines for his California event after Buick drops its sponsorships and/or ceases operations.

Lipsey: How in the name of TARP do Buick’s PGA Tour events get played this year? If the CEO gets shamed into driving back to D.C. and dropping Tiger from the payroll, shouldn’t he get shamed into killing the golf-sponsorship budget?

Gorant: It’s called contractual obligation. Short of declaring bankruptcy, they have no way out of the deal. They were lucky Tiger let them off the hook.

Van Sickle: The tour can prop up the Buick events. More amazing is this week’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. After announcing that it was dropping the once-popular PT Cruiser, Chrysler is now down to making only three cars — a minivan, a 300C and I forget the third. They may not be in business much longer. I don’t think the Hope will be on the Tour schedule in 2010. The 50th may well be the final, unfortunately.

Friedman: That’ll teach ‘em for ditching George Lopez.

Van Sickle: Alan, any cause for optimism for Retief Goosen, who won the Africa Open? Or is the fact that he wasn’t playing in Abu Dhabi, where they actually had some players, a mitigating factor?

Shipnuck: Last fall he won some small-time event in Malaysia, his first win in nearly two years. He seems to be trying to bolster his confidence against B-teamers, which isn’t a bad strategy, I guess.

Van Sickle: How about our Hawaiian Open champion, Mr. Iowa, Zach Johnson?

Gorant: Zach stomped on any journalistic goodwill Lerner had built by rattling off a Nascar-like list of sponsors to thank. I get what he’s doing, recession and all, but if this is going to become a trend in golf interviews, we got trouble.

Van Sickle: Looks like this conversation has run out of steam. One final note on Johnson’s win. I hereby decree two demerits for every Website and newspaper that uses “Zach Attack” in a headline, and that will be alot of them, because AP was guilty of the crime. (The Golf Channel’s Kraig Kann used the phrase less than two minutes into the recap show.)