What is so unsettling about Greg Norman and Chris Evert is how quickly it came apart. File this one under the nothing-is-what-it-seems category.
Here are more Hooks and Cuts from the Presidents Cup:
– Long before recent converts Phil Mickelson and Michelle Wie rang up the putting maestro Dave Stockton, Matt Kuchar knew the value. I dug up a story I wrote on Kooch eight years ago where he said, “I remember that I loved to watch Dave Stockton so I’m going to more of a broad stance and forward press.” This past weekend at Turning Stone, with left-hand-low but feet still wide, he led the field in putting and drilled a huge 22-footer to stay alive on the fourth playoff hole.
– Who on the International Presidents Cup team besides Ryo Ishikawa could be called ‘hot’ right now?
– Kevin Streelman is putting his Duke education to good use. He’s developed an iPhone app that will allow users to download instant Streelman golf tips. I got a sneak peek and they’re well done, in HD no less.
– Six years ago, how much would you have bet that Michelle Wie would have at least one win by the time she turned 20 years old? Me, I would have wagered a considerable amount. And by this Sunday, Michelle’s 20th birthday, I’d be a lot lighter in the wallet.
– Unheralded officials generally do a terrific job setting up PGA Tour events, but there is really no good reason for a Fall Series event to finish on Monday because they ran out of daylight on Sunday.
– Notah Begay is putting his Stanford education to good use. Begay’s foundation helps underprivileged Native American children. People forget Begay won four times until injuries set him back, including a recent knee surgery. Now, Begay’s immersed in his charity work. “There’s so much to do beyond golf,” he said.
– On the subject of presidents and golf, comedian Bill Maher recently lamented President Obama’s love affair with the game. Maher feels betrayed saying that Obama campaigned as a basketball player, which suggests he’s urban, athletic, hip and a team player. On the other hand, Maher says that golf suggests ‘I like Lipitor.’ Funny. Seriously, though, I love hoops and still play it. But in your late 40s it’s a lot tougher on the body than golf.
– The Presidents Cup will likely be an emotional return to San Francisco for NBC’s Johnny Miller, who grew up there. His dad was a supervisor for RCA who worked the midnight to 8 a.m. shift so that he could mold Johnny. He called his son “champ.”
– Another Dukie Leif Olson jumped from 214 to 148 on the money list with a third place finish at Turning Stone. Olson burned out on golf in his early 20s, flirted with medical school but then rekindled his passion for the sport.
– Norman is hoping this current involvement with Presidential golf goes better than his 1997 encounter. That’s when President Clinton tore up his knee at Norman’s south Florida house.
– Northern California stirs Miller for another reason. As a kid he lost his older teen-aged brother, who drowned while fishing off the coast of the Pacific.
– I’m curious to see if Ryo Ishikawa and Y.E. Yang draw fans from the sizable Asian community in San Francisco.
– Captains Norman and Fred Couples have been blessed in a number of obvious ways but they’ve clearly been unlucky in love. If you’re told your whole life how beautiful you are, what’s the impact? I would not know.
– It’s a good thing Southeastern Conference officials aren’t working the Presidents Cup. Tiger Woods could be flagged for excessive celebration.
