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NOW ON GOLFWEEK TV: Hate to be Rude: Celeb hodge-podge
Jeff Rude’s “I Hate To Be Rude” column appears on Golfweek.com on Friday, the same day as his video show of the same name.• Newly named 2009 Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples says he wants comedian Robin Williams as an assistant captain to help keep the team loose. What, Woody Austin isn’t available that week?
• Big question in golf these days is, When will the big wheel stop? Tiger Woods has won six consecutive starts worldwide and curious minds wonder how far his latest streak might extend. No one knows the answer, but a once unthinkable 13 seems possible. What, you can’t see him winning again at Bay Hill, Doral, Augusta, Wachovia, the Players, the Memorial and at Torrey Pines?
• The Players figures to be Woods’ toughest test. It’s one of the few pieces of kryptonite on his Tour schedule because the target golf course brings so many non-bombers into the mix. But the current Woods – the one who lasered Hoylake and Southern Hills with long irons – is more equipped than ever to handle TPC Sawgrass because his game is better than ever. He focused largely on his short game during the offseason, and it shows.
• Though Woods’ driving accuracy has been criticized from time to time the last few years, consider this the next time you see him spray a tee ball: I can’t recall a drive down the stretch costing him a tournament. With a trophy on the line, he’s Larry the Cable Guy. He tends to get ‘er done.
• Watching Arron Oberholser play golf is painful these days. Hit shot, grab injured shoulder. You see that over and over and think the affable AO needs a physical therapist more than a caddie out there.
• Best-case scenario for the LPGA? It’s living it. Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer win out of the chute and Lorena Ochoa takes a seven-shot lead after her first two rounds of the year. The product peaks when Michelle Wie becomes Michelle Wie again.
• Speaking of banner weeks, Camp Ponte Vedra's decision-makers had one, and not a minute too soon. After a couple of months of players carping about the new cut rule and drug testing, the PGA Tour hit the trifiecta by naming Greg Norman and Couples Presidents Cup captains and by adjusting Rule 78 and the FedEx Cup playoff points structure to enhance opportunity and movement.
• True story: Boo Weekley, admittedly no golf historian, had planned to play through the Shell Houston Open in early April and then take two weeks off. Then he discovered the Masters, that little invitational in Georgia, was the week after Houston. So Boo adjusted and, yes, will play in the Masters for the first time. “I didn’t even know when it was,” he said in his aw-shucks manner.
In other words, he views the schedule a little differently than, say, Nicklaus and Woods. In his words, all tournaments carry the same weight. “It’s just golf,” Weekley said.
• Nick Faldo recently criticized Nike equipment and complimented TaylorMade on the air. This is the same Nick Faldo who used to be a Nike staffer and is now with TaylorMade. Two things worth noting: Transparent conflicts of interest are not pretty, particularly in a PGA Tour broadcast booth. Two, it’s usually best to weigh in on commercial products when they impact a player’s rise/fall or affect the outcome of a tournament. And it helps if you’re unattached.
Posted: 2/29/2008
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