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.PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Jack Nicklaus’ records, of course, have been on Tiger Woods’ radar since Woods was a junior golfer who taped the Golden Bear’s feats to a bedroom wall. That in mind, I asked Nicklaus the other day what his carrot was.
One, Nicklaus said he couldn’t recall what was on his bedroom walls as a kid. Two, he said he didn’t know how many majors he had won until he reached 10 and Associated Press golfer writer Bob Green informed him that he was three behind Bobby Jones.
You didn’t count majors until then? Really?
“I swear,” the Golden Bear said.
• Yeah, I know Sergio Garcia has had putting problems for years. I know he hasn’t finished in the top 15 this year. But it wouldn’t surprise me if he goes wire-to-wire at the Players.
A few reasons: Dye’s target-golf masterpiece is suited to the ball-striker, and Garcia has never had much of a problem controlling his ball. Garcia is working with short-game guru Stan Utley. What’s more, he’s 17 under par in his last three rounds at TPC Sawgrass’ Players Stadium Course.
• Asked newly named Hall of Famer Pete Dye the other day what changes he would make to Augusta National if given carte blanche. You might say his answer was interesting. After complimenting the Masters course, he said his wife Alice would divorce him if he designed par-5 holes like Nos. 13 and 15.
The reason: Alice Dye sometimes plays with women who shoot 120 and those women could have a hard time avoiding the greenside hazards and hitting shots on those greens.
• The readers always write: One reader named Kirk sent in this interesting take: “It seems to me that the PGA (Tour) should be more concerned about covering Tiger Woods’ mouth than it is about covering John Daly’s belly.”
Hence the debate on what’s worse: Tongue or tummy?
Your thoughts?
• The Players Championship winner gets $1.71 million. That’s $1.638 million more than the then-ballyhooed amount 1979 champion Lanny Wadkins received.
I don’t know if $1.71M is too much, but that figure hit me in an odd way. That’s nearly as much as the total purse for the
season in 1962, Nicklaus’ rookie year. And that’s more than any season’s leading money winner until 1996, which not coincidentally was the year Woods turned pro.
The late Payne Stewart used to say often that professional golfers are underpaid.
No more.
• Speaking of prize escalation, Nicklaus figures his three Players titles brought him about 1/10th of this year’s top prize.
“We’ve come a long way, baby,” he said while accepting the Tour Lifetime Achievement Award. “I think maybe I played in the wrong era. But I like when I played.”
• Perhaps the most interesting piece of fabric involving the Players Championship field is that 101 entrants have won on the PGA Tour. That’s about two-thirds.
That being said, the field would be, what, twice as strong if there were 102 past winners? Think wounded knee.
• First tired and now ill, slumping Trevor Immelman is 18 over par in four rounds since his Masters victory. He pulled out of the Players on Thursday morning after vomiting early that morning.
Usually winning a major gives a player confidence. For the latest champion, the specter of victory sapped energy.
Not to practice medicine without a license, but his best prescription might be R&R&R: Rest, relaxation and remembrance.
• Oddball fact of the week: The first two players to ace the famed 17th island hole in the Players – Brad Fabel in 1986 and Brian Claar in 1991 – are now Tour rules officials.
• I can’t get enough of Boo Weekley. That goes for watching him hit a golf ball (notice his right heel on the ground at impact) and his playful, country view on things.
So we give you Boo’s take on Woods’ knee surgery: “It’s unfortunate he’s having to go through (that) ... but at the same time maybe he’ll take five years off and give us a chance out here.”
Somewhere a dissenting Tim Finchem is shaking his head.
Posted: 5/9/2008
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