Kerr's major achievement a TV casualty

Cristie Kerr's 12-stroke victory in the LPGA Championship yesterday should have been a major victory for her tour, but it wasn't. Unable to land a television deal for the tournament with one of the major networks, the LPGA Tour blew a major opportunity to promote its product to a larger American audience at a time when it finally had something to brag about.

Oldgolfdawg suspects many TV viewers watching the LPGA Championship on the Golf Channel switched to CBS' coverage of the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship when it became apparent that Kerr was going to keep pulling away from the field. Sadly for the LPGA Tour, the opportunity to watch the most dominate victory in golf since Tiger Woods' 15-shot victory in the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach couldn't compete with the demolition derby going on in the Travelers Championship.

Normally the excuse for not watching LPGA Tour events is that no Americans are in the hunt. That wasn't the case yesterday. With a closing round of 6-under-par 66, Kerr finished at 19-under 269 after leading all four rounds. Her dominating performance gave her a second major title and left her in position to become the first American woman ranked No. 1 since the current ranking system was introduced in 2006. But that still didn't stop Oldgolfdawg from switching channels and watching the final twosome of Justin Rose and Ben Curtis implode in the final round to open the door for a three-way playoff between Corey Pavin, Scott Verplank and Bubba Watson in the Travelers.

It seems like the LPGA Tour just can't catch a break, even when an American grabs the spotlight. By winning the $337,500 purse at the $2.25 million tournament, Kerr was projected by the LPGA to overtake Japan's Ai Miyazato when the world rankings are released today. Kerr is the first American to win the LPGA Championship since Juli Inkster in 2000. Americans have won only four of the past 14 majors, with Kerr winning two of them. Americans also have won only six of the past 34 LPGA Tour events, with Kerr winning three times.

Kerr's margin of victory beat the previous LPGA Championship record by one stroke set by Betsy King in 1992. Among all LPGA majors, the 12-stroke advantage is tied for second on the list with Babe Zaharias' victory at the 1954 U.S. Open. Louise Suggs holds the record with a 14-stroke victory at the 1949 U.S. Women's Open.

The best thing that could happen to the LPGA Tour now would be for Kerr to follow up her dominating victory up with a win in the U.S. Women's Open at Oakmont Country Club in two weeks when it will be televised by ESPN and NBC. A victory at Oakmont by Kerr would solidify her grip on the No. 1 ranking and draw attention to a tour that has been going through a changing of the guard. In April, Lorena Ochoa followed Annika Sorenstam into retirement, leaving a vacuum at the top. Today, Kerr will become the third player at No. 1 in the past three weeks. Miyazato supplanted Jiyai Shin last week by winning the ShopRite LPGA Classic, her fourth victory of the year.

Kerr, 32, has been the most consistent American player for several years, staying in the top 10 for the past 323 weeks and making 74 consecutive cuts dating to May 2007. After finishing second on the money list in 2009, she accelerated her off-season conditioning routine with an eye toward a run at the top ranking.

She came into the LPGA Championship as the only American player with a victory on the tour in 2010, her 13th LPGA title coming earlier in the month at the State Farm Classic. And yet, for all her consistency, Kerr was seldom the first American mentioned in the conversation about the No. 1 spot. That burden usually fell on Michelle Wie, who finished in a tie for 19th yesterday.

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Watson, a four-time runner-up, secured his first PGA Tour victory with a par on the second playoff hole at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., after Pavin was eliminated on the first playoff hole and Verplank bogeyed the second. Watson, who trailed by six shots entering the final round, had a tough time hiding his emotions after his hard-fought victory.

After he watched his 3-footer for par roll into the cup on the second playoff hole, Watson removed his visor, hugged his wife, Angie, who had quickly joined him on the green, and began to cry.

"I just want to thank my mom and dad," Watson said, his voice breaking, during an television interview moments after his victory. "Without them, I'm nothing. My dad is battling cancer right now. Dad, I'm praying for you. I love you."

He then turned and walked away from CBS announcer David Feherty. The moment possessed such honest emotion that it rendered normally wisecracking Feherty momentarily speechless. After a brief pause, Feherty responded, "The rest of us will, too. Congratulations on your first win."

A victory by Watson seemed unlikely at the start of the day when Rose, coming off a victory in the Memorial three weeks ago, carried a three-shot lead into the final 18 holes. But Rose fell apart, shooting a 5-over 75. Curtis, the Ostrander native who bogeyed just two holes in the tournament coming into yesterday, hit his tee-shot on 12 out of bounds to the left, and made double bogey from there. Both he and Rose bogeyed 16 to drop out of contention. Curtis finished with a 73 and in a tie for 13th after missing two short birdie putts early in the final round that would have given him a tie for the lead.

Information from GolfObserver.com, LPGA.com, Golf.com and the Associated Press contributed to this post.

Miyazato starts LPGA Championship from top spot

Ai Miyazato of Japan will be putting her new No. 1 ranking on the line and shooting for her first major title today when the LPGA Championship gets underway at Locust Hill Country Club in suburban Rochester, N.Y.

The LPGA Tour's second major of the year will have 15 of the top 15 players in the Rolex Ratings in the field, but you can bet that tournament organizers are hoping an American player such as Cristie Kerr, Michelle Wie or Paula Creamer can mount a challenge and boost television ratings.

Taiwan's Yani Tseng won this year's first major, the Kraft-Nabisco. Miyazato became Japan's first world No. 1-ranked golfer after winning last week's ShopRite Classic in Galloway, N.J., for her fourth victory in nine events this season.

Jiyai Shin, the former No. 1-ranked player, returns to action after an emergency appendectomy two weeks ago. A field of 150 players will vie for a $2.25 million purse on a course that has held regular LPGA events since 1977 but has been lengthened and toughened for this week's major. Shin last year won the Wegmans LPGA at Locust Hill so along with defending LPGA Championship winner Anna Nordqvist it's like two players will be defending their title. Nordqvist won the LPGA Championship last year when it was held at Bulle Rock.

The tournament is being televised by the Golf Channel (today: 12:30-2:30 p.m.; Friday: 12:30-2:30 p.m.; Saturday: 4-7 p.m.; Sunday: 4-7 p.m.).

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PGA Tour fans who missed seeing birdies by the bunches at last week's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach will be able to feast on such offerings today when the Travelers Championship gets underway at the TPC River Highlands in Hartford, Conn.

Defending champion Kenny Perry, who shot a 63 in the final round last year for a 22-under 258 total, is back as 11 of the top 30 from the money list are in the field. Perry's 63 was good enough to forge a three-shot victory over David Toms and Paul Goydos.

TPC River Highlands is a par-70 course that measures 6,841 yards and has a course rating of 72.7 and a slope rating of 131. The most famous portion of the course, a three-hole stretch from No. 15 to No. 17, incorporates a 4-acre lake that has been nicknamed the "Golden Triangle." Those three holes, along with the 18th, make up one of the top finishing stretches on the PGA Tour.

The tournament will be televised by the Golf Channel (today: 3-6 p.m., 8:30-11:30 p.m.; Friday: 3-6 p.m., 8:30-11:30 p.m.; Saturday: 1-4 p.m.; Sunday: 1-4 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday: 3-6 p.m.; Sunday: 3-6 p.m.).

Information from Reuters.com, GolfObserver.com, and PGATOUR.com contributed to this post.

Drama critics' indifference unfair to McDowell

Caught some grief from a few Chase The Pea followers for giving last weekend's U.S. Open 4 1/2 dog biscuits on my 1-to-5 entertainment scale. It would seem the majority of golf writers who follow the PGA Tour on a regular basis are in agreement with those critics. See my latest Suggested reading entry "How will McDowell's victory be remembered" for more context on the matter.

While it's true that Graeme McDowell's one-shot victory at Pebble Beach will not go down as one of the greatest in U.S. Open history, I still found it very interesting to watch. Maybe it was the hangover effect of Robert Garrigus' train wreck in the St. Jude Classic the week before, but I kept expecting McDowell to wilt under the pressure and he didn't. Watching 54-hole leader Dustin Johnson slide off the tracks early in his round en route to an ugly 82 was a quick reminder of how a land mine could go off at any time before McDowell made his way back to the clubhouse.

But the gutsy 30-year-old golfer from Northern Ireland, with five European tour victories to his credit, kept his head on straight while others around him didn't. And the fact that he had marquee names such as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els nipping at his heels made his ability to grind out a victory all the more impressive.

I think the reason some were turned off by McDowell's victory is we've been spoiled by dramatic finishes in U.S. Opens at Pebble Beach. Jack Nicklaus' epic 1-iron that struck the flag stick on No. 17 in the final round of his victory in 1972 stands as one of golf's greatest shots. And Tom Watson's chip-in from the rough on No. 17 in the final round that propelled him to a victory over Nicklaus in 1982 stands right with it. You could even add to that list Tom Kite's memorable chip-in on No. 7 that propelled him to victory in 1992.

It's true that oftentimes there's a turning point during the final round of a major that decides the championship. This year's Masters had just such a moment when Mickelson hit a bold 6-iron shot from the pine straw between two trees on No. 13 on his way to a three-shot victory over Lee Westwood. But to dismiss McDowell's victory as boring makes light of how well he handled a very difficult situation. The lasting image I'll carry from the tournament will be the way McDowell turned his eyes to the heavens in relief and celebration on the 18th green after his richly deserved victory.

While others say the tournament will be remembered for the great story lines that Woods, Mickelson and Els let get away from them for not winning, I'll remember how a relatively unheralded golfer bagged one of golf's biggest prizes on its most scenic stage against the game's best by being the only player to finish 72 holes at even par. That's no small task when the course is set up by the U.S.G.A., which no doubt is patting itself on its back for keeping the rest of the field in black numbers. I guess it just comes down to the fact that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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Played Cumberland Trail today with friend and former Dispatch colleague Jeremy Lynch. The Lynch Mob, as Jeremy is known in many circles, went on Golfnow.com and got two greens fees for $14 a piece. It's hard to beat a price like that for a course as good as Cumberland Trail. I'm listing Golfnow.com as one of my favorite links for future reference. Some real bargains can be had on that website and I highly encourage anyone to check it out for bargain rates.

The course, which I played on a regular basis for two years, was in good shape. The greens, probably the best of any public course in the Columbus area, were smooth and fast. The only thing I didn't like about the course was the condition of the sand traps, which is a misnomer of sorts because there was little sand in them. They played more like dirt traps. They were playable just the same, but it's too bad a course that good can't go the extra mile to make the traps better.

For that reason, I'm going to stick with my current rating of 4 dog biscuits on the course. Here's my latest best-places-to-play-in-central-Ohio list:

5 dog biscuits: Longaberger (the alpha dog)
4 1/2 dog biscuits: Cooks Creek, East Golf Club
4 dog biscuits: Cumberland Trail, EagleSticks, Deer Ridge, Golf Club of Dublin, The Players Club at Foxfire
3 1/2 dog biscuits: *Apple Valley, Bent Tree, Blacklick Woods, Chapel Hill, Champions, Granville, Indian Springs, New Albany Links, The Links at Echo Springs, Royal American Links
3 dog biscuits: Darby Creek, Glenross, Mill Creek, Turnberry, Westchester
2 1/2 dog biscuits: Blackhawk, Crystal Springs Golf Club, Mentel Memorial, National Golf Links, *Licking Springs, Raymond Memorial, Safari Golf Club, *St. Albans, *Table Rock
2 dog biscuits: *Airport, *Oakhaven, *Bridgeview, Marysville Golf Club, *Minerva Lake
1 1/2 dog biscuits: Wilson Road, *Big Walnut (executive courses)
1 dog biscuit: Let's not go there
* Indicates Oldgolfdawg has not played the course in more than five years and needs feedback from others to adjust any ranking.

McDowell ends Europe's 40-year drought

Pebble Beach Golf Links and the pressure of a major championship prevailed over some of golf's biggest names in the final round of the 110th U.S. Open yesterday, but that dangerous combination didn't keep Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland from being the last man standing at par 284 and ending a 40-year dry spell.

His closing 3-over-par 74 was good enough to make him the first European to winner of the event since Tony Jacklin in 1970. McDowell took advantage of an unexpected collapse by 54-hole leader Dustin Johnson, and then did just enough to hang on for a one-shot victory over unheralded Frenchman Gregory Havret.

Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods had chances to challenge McDowell but were unable to close the gap. Johnson triple bogeyed the second hole and double bogeyed the third on his way to an ugly 82 while playing in the final group with McDowell.

Havret, who shot a closing 72 while the marquee names faltered, made the strongest challenge and had a chance to force a playoff before he missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole. Els, who finished alone in third at 286, played the first eight holes 3 under before going 5 over on the last 10 on his way to a 73. Mickelson, struggling with his putter, fell back after a good start with a 73 and tied for fourth with Woods, who stumbled out of the gate and never really recovered on his way to a 75.

Oldgolfdawg returned from a three-day golf junket with friends in time to take in the entire final round and would throw the NBC's broadcast of the drama 4 1/2 dog biscuits from an entertainment of scale of 1 to 5. If anyone would have told you before the round that McDowell would have to stave off a challenge from Havret, the 391st-ranked golfer in the world, you would have thought they were crazy. Watching all of the great story lines of the marquee players get shipwrecked on a beautiful canvas made things interesting, especially watching them negotiate Nos. 8 through 10 and the ridiculously difficult No. 14. It also was neat to see McDowell's father take part in the post-victory celebration on Father's Day.

The fact that an American didn't win the event shouldn't come as a surprise. McDowell is the fifth non-American to win it in the last seven seasons, joining Angel Cabrera in 2007, Geoff Ogilvy in 2006, Michael Campbell in 2005 and Retief Goosen in 2004.

Most experts expected the event to continue its lineage of great champions at Pebble Beach: Jack Nicklaus in '72, Tom Watson in '82, Tom Kite in '92 and Woods in 2000. After all, McDowell only made one birdie -- an 8-foot putt on the fifth hole -- and his final round was the highest score by a U.S. Open champion since Andy North in 1985. But it didn't matter.

"I can't believe I'm standing with this right now," McDowell said, posing with silver trophy. "It's a dream come true. I've been dreaming it all my life. Two putts to win the U.S. Open. Can't believe it happened."

It's likely that Johnson, who held a three-shot lead over McDowell at the start of the day's play, is also in a state of disbelief. It was hard to watch him self-destruct early in his round and to miss a 2-foot birdie putt on the final hole. His 82 as the highest closing round by a 54-hole leader in the U.S. Open since Fred McLeod shot 83 in 1911. Ouch!

McDowell, 30, got into the U.S. Open by narrowly getting into the top 50 in the world at the deadline. He wound up with his first victory in America to go along with five European Tour victories, most recently the Wales Open last month at the home course for this year's Ryder Cup in October. He is almost sure to be part of the European team now, moving up to No. 13 in the world.

Information from ESPN.com, PGATour.com and GolfObserver.com contributed to this post.

U.S. Open at Pebble spurs great expectations

All the ingredients needed for a memorable U.S. Open will begin being added to the mix today at Pebble Beach Golf Links when golf's most demanding championship gets underway on one of the world's most scenic courses.

The cake this mixture produces will be tasty, with its numerous interesting story lines unfolding on a majestic canvas. Masters champion Phil Mickelson has a chance to extend his majors win streak to two and would overtake Tiger Woods as the world's top-ranked player if he can pull it off. Woods returns to the site of his 15-shot victory in the 2000 U.S. Open, considered by many as the greatest in the history of the game. And Englishman Lee Westwood, fresh from a playoff victory in Memphis, will lead the charge of Europeans, who are hoping to end a 40-yard dry spell in the event that dates to Tony Jacklin's victory at Hazeltine.

Mickelson's story is interesting because he's so close to overtaking Woods and earning the world's No. 1 ranking for the first time in his career. The fact that he also holds the record for most second-place finishes in the U.S. Open with five leads many to expect a breakthrough. No one questions Mickelson's skills. His game has everything needed to win this week, but there's still that lingering question of whether he'll find another way to shoot himself in the foot if he's in a position to win, as he did at Winged Foot in 2006.

Fans and detractors will be watching Woods to see if he can resurrect his tarnished career and take a step closer to Jack Nicklaus' 18 major championships record. Ten years ago, Woods arrived at Pebble having won 12 times in the previous nine months. This year, because of revelations about his marital infidelities and a self-imposed hiatus to deal with the fallout, he has finished only 13 rounds in the previous seven months. Though he did manage to finish tied for the fourth at the Masters, his game did not appear to be sharp at the Memorial two weeks ago when he finished tied for 19th. Only time will tell if he was able to home school his game back into winning form in the short time since.

Westwood, coming off his first victory on the PGA Tour since 1998, has finished in the top three of the last three majors and finished third in the 2008 U.S. Open. He comes into this tournament with confidence and momentum on his side. He also believes that Pebble Beach is perfectly suited for his game.

"I was fifth the last time the U.S. Open was played at Pebble, in 2000. I left a few shots out there in 2000 with some bad decision-making, so I know I can play the course. And my course management is far better these days," he told his official Web site. "I love the way the USGA sets up their courses to test your accuracy and your long game. The rough is pretty severe again and that should work in my favor. I like the course, the set-up -- and I like the way I'm playing."

Pebble Beach is not a long course at 7,040 yards, but it will play much more difficult than it did in February when Dustin Johnson won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am at 16 under. During the winter playing of the AT&T, the air is heavy, the ground is wet and balls hold, even when hit from the rough. That won't be the case this week in drier conditions.

This will also be the first U.S. Open to be played with smaller-volume, less-spinning iron grooves since U-shaped grooves have been outlawed, and players will find the greens hard to hold. At 3,500 square feet in average size, the Poa annua greens at Pebble are among the smallest in championship golf.

Fairway widths on average will run about 26-28 yards. But on the coastal holes (Nos. 4 and 8-10, all par 4s, and Nos. 6 and 18, both par 5s), the fairway cut has been pushed out to the shoreline, so golf balls won’t be as cushioned by protective rough and are more likely to find disaster.

The last four U.S. Open winners at Pebble Beach -- Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Tom Kite and Woods -- are marquee names, and Oldgolfdawg would be surprised if a lesser light came along and forged an unexpected victory. My dark-horse pick is Zach Johnson. But if I were placing a bet, it would be on Mickelson.

ESPN (today: 1-3 p.m., 5-10 p.m; Friday: 1-3 p.m., 5-10 p.m.) and NBC (today: 3-5 p.m.; Friday: 3-5 p.m.; Saturday: 4:30-11 p.m.; and Sunday: 3-9 p.m.) will be televising the action.


Information from Golf.com, ESPN.com and PGATOUR.com contributed to this post.

Mickelson worried about runaway greens

Phil Mickelson seemed more concerned about the condition of the greens at Pebble Beach Golf Links than his chances of overtaking Tiger Woods in the world golf rankings at a pre-tournament news conference yesterday.

On the eve of his 40th birthday, Mickelson said the course is "the best U.S. Open setup I've seen," but suggested that without rain or a little more watering the small and firm greens could easily become unplayable. That is something Mickelson, who has finished second five times in the U.S. Open over the last 11 years, hopes the United States Golf Association can avoid. He doesn't want to see a repeat of the farce that took place in the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock where players could not stop the ball on the seventh green.

"I'm certainly concerned we could have 14 potential seventh holes at Shinnecock if we're not careful," Mickelson said.

It's not hard to understand Mickelson's concern. One of his record five second-place finishes in the event came at Shinnecock in 2004. The others came in 1999 at Pinehurst, 2002 at Bethpage Black, 2006 at Winged Foot and 2009 at Bethpage Black.

Whether USGA officials listen to Mickelson or not, there already is potential for problems on the par-5 14th, especially with the front left hole location. That’s where Paul Goydos lost a one-shot lead in the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February with a quadruple-bogey 9, when his wedge went down the slope to the left. His first chip came back at his feet. The next one rolled down the slope on the front of the green.

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Mickelson can reach No. 1 for the first time in his career by winning at Pebble Beach. But there are more scenarios in Mickelson's favor, according to the Associated Press:

He would go to No. 1 by finishing runner-up as long as Woods finishes out of the top four. Mickelson could finish third at the U.S. Open and go to No. 1 if Woods were to finish out of the top 18.

If Woods misses the cut, Mickelson would need no worse than a two-way tie for third.

Woods has been No. 1 for the last five years.

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Golf.com reports that people don't always agree with "the experts" when it comes time to place bets:

Las Vegas sportsbooks have Woods as a 4-1 favorite to win this week's tournament, followed closely by Mickelson at 5-1. Lee Westwood is the third choice at 10-1, according to Chuck Esposito, casino operations manager at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas.

That means that a $1 bet on Woods will pay $4 if he wins the tournament. It sounds like short odds, but Esposito said 4 to 1 is actually a value bet for Woods at a major.

"That's not short on him," Esposito said. " At a major, he's usually even money or even laying money at 5 to 6 or 5 to 7."

Woods was a 4-to-1 favorite at this year's Masters, which was his first event following his sex scandals and ensuing five-month layoff. Woods finished tied for fourth at the Masters, and his inconsistent play since then has most golf observers calling Mickelson, not Woods, the favorite at Pebble.

Esposito said that casinos set their odds based on how they think the public will bet, which doesn't always match the so-called experts' picks.

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Speaking to media members yesterday, Woods said that Mickelson's second-place finishes show that he knows how to play a U.S. Open venue. "This is the toughest event to win and he's been there so many times, it's just a matter of time before he wins," Woods said. "He understands how to put himself there and what it takes over the long haul to be in that position, and that's not easy to do."

Still one wonders how Mickelson will react if he reaches the 72nd hole this week in the lead. He was in that position in 2006 at Winged Foot when a meltdown off the tee of epic proportions opened the door for a Geoff Ogilvy victory. The 18th hole at Pebble Beach, guarded along the left by Stillwater Cove, could provide some real drama if a similar situation arises.

Information from Golf.com, ESPN.com, PGATOUR.com and GolfOberver.com contributed to this post.

Westwood takes advantage of ugly meltdown

Walking in Memphis on a sultry summer afternoon led the PGA Tour into the Twilight Zone yesterday at the St. Jude Classic, producing the weirdest finish of the year. Englishman Lee Westwood birdied the fourth hole of a playoff to edge Swede Robert Karlsson and become the first European to win the event. But it took a series of bizarre events for it to happen.

Played in 110 heat index conditions, the final round appeared ready to produce the tour's eighth first-time winner of the season when Robert Garrigus stepped to the 18th tee with a three-shot lead. Then things turned so strange that what unfolded brought back memories of Jean Van de Velde's collapse in the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie.

Garrigus, a 32-year-old pro from Scottsdale, Ariz., came into this event 377th in the world rankings and had never led a PGA event on the final day. The inexperience showed on the 72nd hole when he experienced a horrific collapse. CBS analyst David Feherty described the gut-wrenching meltdown as watching a psychotic horse galloping into a barn on fire.

Garrigus looked and sounded like Homer Simpson after putting his tee shot into the lake lining the 18th fairway. Then he made matters worse by taking a drop and yanking his next shot into the trees left of the lake before punching out over the lake. He two-putted for triple bogey to make a three-man playoff, but it seemed as if the golf gods had already made up their minds about his fate.

Things stayed in the Twilight Zone for Garrigus when the playoff began with a replay of the 18th hole and his 338-yard tee shot with a 3-wood landed in pine straw behind a tree, leaving him no choice but to punch out back into the fairway. With Westwood and Karlsson parring the fourth-toughest hole, Garrigus needed to sink a 13-footer to save par. The putt just brushed the right edge of the cup for bogey, ending his best chance for a victory in stunning fashion. After outplaying the field for 71 holes, he was left to lick his wounds in a place Elvis wrote a song about: "Heartbreak Hotel." Ouch!

Westwood and Karlsson went par-par-bogey as the playoff neither seemed ready to win continued. Karlsson had a chance to win on the third playoff hole with a par putt from 5 1/2 feet only to miss. Strangely, he didn't seem to watch Westwood miss a similar putt that could have given him a better read, standing off in the distance more intent on cleaning debris from his spikes. Anyway, Karlsson's lost opportunity came back to haunt him when the playoff returned to No. 18 once again. Westwood stuck his approach 6 feet from the pin. Karlsson left his birdie putt from 43 feet away about a foot short.

Then Westwood, who went 17 straight holes between birdies, rolled in the 6-footer for his first PGA win since New Orleans in 1998. He dropped his putter and celebrated with a fist pump. On an entertainment scale of 1 to 5, Oldgolfdawg would throw Westwood's victory 4 dog biscuits, mostly on its weird factor. Train wrecks tend to be mesmerizing, and Garrigus' was one of ugliest ones Oldgolfdawg can remember watching since Van de Velde's debacle.

Going it alone might be best for Woods

Golf club manufacturer TaylorMade used to pitch its sticks with the suggestion that one must "Find your game." If that is true, than Tiger Woods is no doubt in search mode this week back in his Orlando, Fla., lair trying to get ready for next week's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

When last seen on the PGA Tour at Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament, Woods said felt he had made some progress with his swing despite finishing tied for 19th and 12 shots back of Justin Rose, the winner. Even so, the July issue of Golf Magazine has an article that breaks down "Tiger's broken swing." After reading it, Oldgolfdawg began to wonder how Woods can even pull the trigger on his swing with so many things to fix.

The article goes on to suggests that Woods' takeaway is too outside and too flat, he's laid-off at the top, he's too steep on his downswing and he's not exiting on plane. All of these errors in combination explain why he doesn't really know where his shots are going to end up, not a place were someone in pursuit of his 15th major championship wants to be.

Woods himself might be in denial about how bad things have gotten from how good they once were, but the article backs up its assumptions with statistical proof:

In 2010, Tiger is driving the ball 10.5% shorter (32 yards) than his peak distance average of 316.1 yards set in 2005. More troubling is the fact that the gap between Tiger and the 10 longest drivers on tour is increasing while the gap between Tiger and the average tour player is shrinking. So far this season, Tiger is a middle-of-the-pack bomber.

While Tiger has always struggled with hitting fairways, he's missing them more frequently, and not in the traditional Tiger way. In past seasons, his bad miss was a block to the right. In 2010, the left rough is getting equal billing. (The numbers don't lie. In 2000, Woods found the fairway with 71% of his drives. So far this year, he's found the fairway just 52% of the time.)

Not only is Tiger missing fairways at a personal-record pace, he's missing them by greater distances than ever. The PGA Tour Shotlink system tracks how far into the rough a player's ball lands when it misses the short stuff (measured from the fairway edge). In 2010, Tiger's misses are landing 24.7% deeper in the junk that the tour average.

So the big question now is how long will it take for Tiger to "find his game."

Senior writer Randal Mell of GolfChannel.com wrote Thursday about Steve Stricker's thoughts on the matter. Stricker, who played with Woods at the Memorial and who re-made his swing on his own a few years ago in staging a career comeback, doesn't think Tiger needs a swing coach. Sticker said what he needs is a set of eyes to be his mirror. Mell wrote:

"It sounds like he's going to do it on his own," Stricker said at the John Deere Classic media day this week. "We were talking swing last week. If he listens or not is one thing, but he's got the capabilities or the abilities, I would say, to handle it better than anybody on his own.

“I don't think there's a teacher in this world that could probably teach the guy what he probably already knows. What you need is probably some good set of eyes to watch to see what he's doing, but it looks like he's going to do it on his own. He's got his camera, his iPhone out, he knows the positions he wants to be in. He knows he has some problems that he wants to fix. He's working at it.”

Stricker also made this observation about his time with Woods: “I haven't seen a happier Tiger Woods than I had this last week. He seems like he's in a good place as far as what I saw last week.”

Woods acknowledged after the Memorial Tournament that he will be working on his game alone after swing coach Hank Haney decided to move on and that he would "retrace'' steps with his swing as he tries to get ready for next week.

"Just like what I've always done when I was working with Hank and Butch [Harmon],'' he said.

Nicklaus, watching the Memorial unfold from the TV booth, said Woods working on his own is not a bad thing.

"I pretty much did that most of my career, but I think you've got to have somebody every once in a while to go back to have an eye,'' Nicklaus said. "I was always a better player when I was making my own decisions as far as what I had to do with my golf swing. Even if it was wrong, I learned how to play with it, and if I learned how to play with it then I knew what I could do.

"Sometimes someone will ask you to do something and even though it may be dead correct, you have a horrible time doing it and you don't have confidence doing it under pressure.

"I think he'll still need somebody every once in a while to look at him, but from the standpoint of controlling your own game and managing your own game. Going into Pebble Beach he'll know how he wants to hit the ball, he won't have somebody telling him how to hit the ball and I think it's ultimately for the better.''

Information from Golf Magazine, GolfChannel.com and ESPN.com contributed to this post.

Top Europeans invading land of Elvis

Top European players Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington and Ian Poulter are using the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn., as a tune-up for next week's U.S. Open while most of the top Americans are taking the week off.

The TPC Southwind course they'll play bears little resemblance to what they'll face at Pebble Beach, but they will face a strong field when play begins today with eight of the world's top 20 players on hand. Other notables in the field include Robert Allenby, Camilo Villegas, Zach Johnson, Justin Leonard and Retief Goosen. Perhaps the lure of getting some ribs at the Rendezvous, a famous downtown restaurant, acted as an extra attraction.

Brian Gay, who won the event last year by five shots, will be defending his title, and David Toms, who won the St. Jude Classic in 2003 and 2004, also is back after finishing tied for second a year ago. Adding a little flavor to the field will be Jordan Spieth, the 16-year-old Texas amateur who made a strong showing in the Byron Nelson Championship last month. You can expect McIlroy and Spieth to get plenty of face-time on the CBS broadcast this weekend if either is a factor. The tournament will be telecast by the Golf Channel (today 3-6 p.m., Friday 3-6 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday 3-6 p.m., Sunday 3 -6 p.m.).

Last year Gay was last in driving distance but needed only 100 puts on his way to a convincing victory, the third of his career. He enters this year's tournament having made 12 of 15 cuts with two top-10 finishes.

The par-70, 7,239-yard course will force players to work hard this week as 11 of the 17 holes played over par last year. The difficulty of the back nine reaches a crescendo with holes 17 and 18 and could provide an exciting finish. The 17th is a 490-yard par 4 that was the 99th toughest hole on the PGA Tour playing to a 4.228 average. The 18th, playing to a 4.254 average, was the 69th toughest hole on the PGA Tour in 2009. Plenty of recent rain has softened the fairways along with the Bermuda greens. Scattered thunderstorms could bring more rain today and Friday for the first two rounds.

This year's tournament has a presenting sponsor in health care company Smith & Nephew but needs the cash infusion a title sponsor brings. Memphis lost its title sponsor in February 2009 when Stanford Financial was accused of massive fraud by federal officials. Stanford was only in the third year of a 10-year deal. Without a replacement title sponsor, the tournament could become a tour casualty. Only one other tour stop this year -- the Bob Hope Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. -- is operating without a title sponsor.

It would be a shame to see a tournament in its 53rd year fall by the wayside. The tournament has benefited the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital since 1970 and has plenty of history with winners like Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Nick Price and Greg Norman. Al Geiberger shot his legendary 59 in the second round on his way to winning the event in 1977 at Colonial Country Club, an earlier site for the tournament.

Information from Golf.com, ESPN.com, GolfObserver.com and PGATOUR.com contributed to this post.

Nicklaus voices far-reaching concern

Tournament host Jack Nicklaus spent a lot of time in the television booth with Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo during the Memorial. His insights during play and during numerous weather delays were entertaining and thought provoking.

Watching the telecasts while Nicklaus was in the booth, Oldgolfdawg came away with many impressions. One was that Nicklaus is confident that Tiger Woods will tame his wild swing and return to his winning form before too long. Another was that Nicklaus prefers golf course designs that feature downhill holes because they allow golfers to see what they must do. The difficult 18th hole at Muirfield Village is an exception to that rule. But for the most, Nicklaus doesn't care for a lot of blind uphill shots.

Finally, the biggest theme that Nicklaus seemed to comment on was how today's golf ball is going farther than ever and is threatening to change the game. Nicklaus played with Phil Mickelson during the pre-tournament Skins Game and watched the long-hitting left-hander shoot a 30 on the back nine. During the tournament itself, Mickelson repeatedly blasted tee shots over bunkers built to discourage such boldness as if they weren't even there. He also used driver on the 360-yard par-4 14th hole during the third and fourth rounds, unafraid of the risk/reward ramifications.

During the final round, Mickelson hit a drive on the 444-yard par-4 18th hole that left him with a 9-iron into the green. Nicklaus, upon seeing the drive, was in a state of disbelief, lamenting how the length of the drive had destroyed the challenge of the hole. It should be noted that Nicklaus also doffed his cap to Mickelson, calling him a unbelievably talented player. During the Memorial, it didn't seem like anyone was bombing the ball farther than Mickelson, perhaps explaining his penchant from providing thrills to onlookers despite the wisdom of such endeavors.

It's easy to understand why Nicklaus is upset. As a course designer, he sees the continuing advances in golf technology as a threat to a lot of classic layouts. It also has to grate on the game's most successful player to date that he played in an era without the benefit of today's technology. Ball-fitting and club-fitting weren't big considerations during his prime, and the distances players were hitting the ball were considerably shorter.

Even so, a look at Vardon Trophy scoring averages over the years indicates that all that technology hasn't significantly lowered scoring. Woods won six tournaments in 2009 and posted a Vardon Trophy scoring average of 68.05 while going 0 for 4 in majors. The all-time best average for a Vardon Trophy winner of 67.79 was recorded in 2000 and 2007 by Woods. Considering how Woods is swinging his clubs these days, that probably seems like a lifetime ago.

The Vardon Trophy is awarded annually by the PGA of America to the PGA Tour's leader in scoring average. When the award was first given, in 1937, it was awarded on the basis of a points system. But in 1947, the PGA began awarding it for low scoring average. In 1988, the trophy began going to the golfer with the lowest adjusted scoring average over a minimum of 60 rounds. In 1947, Jimmy Demaret won with a 69.90 average. In 1988, Chip Beck won with a 69.46 average.

The PGA Tour recognizes only scoring averages that were eligible for the Vardon Trophy in determining the tour record for best seasonal scoring average. For that reason, Byron Nelson's 1945 scoring average of 68.34 does not appear on its Vardon Trophy scoring averages list. This is also why Nicklaus, who had the lowest scoring average eight times during his career, isn't recognized. His averages were considered unofficial because he played to few rounds to be eligible for consideration.

Luckily, for Nicklaus, he can be comforted by his 18 majors titles instead and the knowledge that before golf entered into the age of technology, he dominated it like no player had to date. But don't expect him to stop lamenting the length of today's drives. If the PGA Tour can outlaw U-shaped grooves in irons, there's a chance it will take a harder stance against hyperactive golf balls in the future. If such a movement ever needs a spokesman, Nicklaus would be the perfect candidate to lead the charge.

Information from About.com contributed to this post.

Memorial unfolds as Rose predicted

Turns out Justin Rose knew what he was talking about when he said he thought he was in good position despite trailing front-running Rickie Fowler by four shots going into the final round of the Memorial.

Bolstered by that positive mindset, Rose shot a near flawless 6-under-par 66 yesterday to overtake Fowler and record a three-shot victory, his first on American soil. Rose, propelled by one-putt greens on eight consecutive holes, became the 10th player under 30 to win on the PGA Tour this season.

Afterward, Rose quipped that he was glad to make it into that category just in time, with his 30th birthday looming in late July.

"I have always been described as a young gun, but now I'm certainly not," he said. "Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy, these guys are the true young guys out here. I think golf's in great hands, with more than those two, but with those two especially."

Rose ran off three straight birdies before the turn, made a 20-foot par putt on No. 10 to maintain his momentum and then seized control of the tournament when Fowler hit his tee shot into water on No. 12 on his way to a double bogey.

Any chance Fowler, who finished with a 73, had of catching Rose evaporated when the former Oklahoma State standout hit a poor bunker shot on No. 16 that led to a bogey. So the closing holes lacked the drama of some other tournaments this year. On an entertainment scale of 1 to 5, Oldgolfdawg would throw Rose's victory 3 1/2 dog biscuits.

Fowler, a 21-year-old PGA Tour rookie trying to become the youngest winner at Muirfield Village, was atop the leader board for 48 consecutive holes until his ill-fated 5-iron on No. 12 found a watery grave.

"I just made a bad swing and paid for it," said Fowler, who also finished second in February in the Phoenix Open.

It was a tall order to expect a 21-year-old to win his first PGA Tour event at the Memorial and to do so in wire-to-wire fashion. Maybe that is why Rose, a more seasoned 20-something, wasn't worried about trailing by four shots entering yesterday's play. He knew it's easier to come from behind than it is to hold onto a lead and the final round played out just like he thought it might.

When Rose tapped in for a par on the 18th hole, he thrust his fist into the air and slammed it down, almost as joyful as when he burst onto the golf scene as a 17-year-old amateur with his fourth-place finish in the 1998 British Open.

"To win here at the Memorial, at Jack's tournament, I couldn't think of a better place to win my first (on U.S. soil) tournament," he said.

Rose, with six other victories worldwide to his credit, entered the Memorial ranked 66th in the world but feeling like a forgotten man in English golf because of the recent success of countrymen Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Luke Donald. That won't be the case any longer, especially because Rose joined Sweden's Carl Pettersson (2006) as the only two Europeans to win the Memorial.

Fowler should be comforted by the realization that Rose had played in 161 tournaments on the PGA Tour before earning his breakout victory. It's doubtful that Fowler will have to wait that long. His future is as bright as the orange outfit he wore in the final round in honor of his Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Information from ESPN.com, Golf.com and PGATOUR.com contributed to this post.

Fowler won't stray from game plan

After yesterday's marathon third round of the Memorial finally ended a little past 8:30 p.m., Jack Nicklaus said his tournament will be Rickie Fowler's to win or lose when final-round play begins today.

It's not hard to understand Nicklaus' thinking. While Ricky Barnes made the biggest move on moving day with a stellar 10-under 62, it was Fowler who dealt with the pressure of being in the lead and who refused to wilt when he got off to a slow start. The 21-year-old PGA Tour rookie shot a bogey-free 69, punctuated by birdies on Nos. 9, 12 and 17, to build a three-shot lead over Barnes and veteran Tim Petrovic, who shot a 68. Fowler did so while dealing with six hours of rain delays. Justin Rose shot a 70 and is four shots off the pace, followed by Brendon de Jonge (65) at 11 under.

At 16-under 200, Fowler enjoys the largest 54-hole lead at the Memorial since Tiger Woods led by six shots in 2000. Not bad for a former Oklahoma State standout who turned pro just late last summer. Nicklaus, sharing the Golf Channel broadcasting booth with Nick Faldo and Jim Nantz, was impressed by Fowler's play and wished him well in his bid to become the third PGA Tour winner in the last six weeks at age 22 or under, joining Rory McIlroy, who won Quail Hollow two days before his 21st birthday, and Jason Day, who was 22 when he won the Byron Nelson Championship.

Fowler managed to keep his cool despite mounting challenges from Barnes, Petrovic and Rose throughout the day. Fowler's three-shot lead at the start of the day was whittled to one shot by Petrovic as the final threesome reached the 17th hole. But Petrovic missed the 17th green short left on his way to a bogey and Fowler drained a 20-foot birdie putt to rebuild a three-shot cushion.

"I'm hitting the ball well," Fowler said. "I kept it out of trouble, and I knew opportunities were coming around. It was just a matter of waiting for them."

Fowler showed the savvy of a veteran with his approach shot on the ninth hole, hitting a knocked-down 9 iron instead of a pitching wedge to avoid having his ball backspin into the water guarding the front of the green. It led to a 6-foot birdie that seemed to steady his play for the rest of day.

Of the top five players on the leader board, only Petrovic, who is 43, has a tour victory to his credit. It came five years ago in New Orleans. With nine tour events this season having already been won by players in their 20s, the odds are favorable that another 20-something will make that an even 10 today. With Barnes, Rose and de Jonge all being 29, it seems as though Petrovic will be playing against a stacked deck.

"It will play on everyone's minds tomorrow for sure," Rose said. "That's why being four back isn't such a bad thing. Go out there and play aggressive. I've got nothing to lose. That will be my mindset tomorrow."

Meanwhile, you can expect Fowler, who had never seen Muirfield Village until Tuesday, to stick with his current game plan come hell or high water. As he said yesterday after his round, "It's been working." That's an understatement for someone on the verge of earning a wire-to-wire victory. His only big mistake this week came on the second hole in the first round when he bogeyed. Since then he has played 52 consecutive bogey-free holes, the third-longest stretch in tournament history.

Fowler also had a game plan earlier this year at the Phoenix Open. He was in contention down the stretch and played bogey-free during those last 18 holes. But he took some heat for laying up at the par-5 15th, a decision that might have cost him the title.

"I got a lot of criticism for my layup," Fowler said, "but that was the game plan early on that week. If I didn't have an iron in my hand, I wasn't going for it. So I was happy with my finish there. If I stick to my game plan here this week and it doesn't work out, so be it. We'll get another one later on."

Spoken like a 21-year-old who is mature beyond his years.

Information from PGATOUR.com and Golf.com contributed to this post.

Fowler pulls away from Memorial field

Dirt bike racing enthusiast Rickie Fowler is in position to leave the rest of the Memorial field in his dust after shooting a 6-under-par 66 in the second round yesterday at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

By following up his first-round 65, the 21-year-old former Oklahoma State standout built a three-shot lead over Justin Rose and tied the tournament's 36-hole scoring record set by Scott Hoch in 1987. By the time the Golf Channel began its 3 p.m. coverage, Fowler already had posted his score, which included an eagle on No. 15. Now he's looking forward to what could be a very big weekend for an emerging talent in search of his first PGA Tour victory.

First-time winners are a rarity at the Memorial, the last one being Tom Lehman in 1994. But that doesn't mean Fowler should be ruled out, especially because young first-time winners have been in vogue of late, with Rory McIlroy winning at Quail Hollow two days before his 21st birthday and Jason Day winning the Byron Nelson Championship at age 22 two weeks ago.

After his round, Fowler didn't seemed nervous about his position, saying: "Just being in contention the few times I have over the last eight months, this if by far the best I've felt."

Fowler, who ran off three straight birdies late in his round yesterday, didn't turn pro until last summer, but he doesn't play like a PGA Tour rookie. He lost a playoff last fall and finished one shot back in the Phoenix Open in February. Though he drew a lot of criticism for laying up at a crucial point in the Phoenix tournament, most people who have followed his career describe him as fearless.

That will make watching him this weekend a lot of fun. Many people have likened his aggressive swing to that of Lanny Wadkins. But Fowler, who plays at a fast pace and doesn't like to get too analytical about his swing, has his own sense of style, accentuated by an oversized Puma cap and baggy pants. He's definitely his own man and has the ability to attract a lot of fans if he can ring up a few victories. No doubt there's nothing he would rather do than nail down his first victory this weekend.

* * * * *

Phil Mickelson's second-round 71 was a roller-coaster ride that might have cost him a chance to overtake Tiger Woods for the No. 1 ranking. Mickelson needs a victory and a less-than-fourth-place finish by Woods to grab the top spot. But Mickelson finds himself seven shots off the pace after falling victim to a bogey binge in the middle of his round.

He appeared to be headed for a good score after a birdie-birdie-eagle stretch on the front nine before missing four par putts through the 16th hole. He drained an unlikely birdie putt on No. 17 after hooking his drive into the rough to turn things around. After a weather delay, he returned to the course and closed with a birdie to put himself in a better frame of mind entering today's play.

Still he was left lamenting a lost opportunity, saying: "It's frustrating for me because I played very well and didn't shoot the number I thought I should."

Most of yesterday's coverage on the Golf Channel focused on Mickelson, and he opened himself to some second-guessing when he decided to go for the green on the 363-yard par-4 14th hole. His 337-yard drive came up about 76 feet short of the pin just off the green. But he eventually settled for par after missing a 6-foot birdie putt.

Mickelson said after his round that he would not have taken that aggressive approach had he not missed the fairway with his previous tee shot on the par-4 13th.

Welcome to Phil's World. But good luck trying to figure it out

“I have never gone an entire round hitting every fairway,” Mickelson said, “and I hit every fairway through 11, 12 holes. When I missed it on 13, I thought I’d hit driver on 14 because it didn’t matter. If I had hit that fairway on 13, I would have hit iron on 14. I know it sounds crazy, but that’s the way I was thinking.”

Uh, OK. Whatever you say, Phil.

Information from PGATOUR.com, Golf.com and the Associated Press contributed to this post.

Woods should take lessons from Faldo

Tiger Woods righted a ship in danger of sinking yesterday during the Golf Channel's coverage of the Memorial Tournament. After stumbling out of the gate and going 2 over through six holes, he did what he does better than anyone who has ever played the game: He put up a decent score despite not having his swing helping the effort.

Through sure will, great sand play and a solid putting performance, Woods managed to shoot a par 72 in the first round that left him seven shots off the pace but in position to play this weekend if he can get in red numbers today.

His bogey on the first hole was simply a case of hitting his second shot over the green on the par 4 and not being able to scramble for a par. His bogey on the sixth hole came only after he sank a clutch 15-foot putt. It was at that point that it looked like Woods might not be around for the weekend. He hit a poor tee shot on No. 4, a terrible pulled second shot on No. 5 and an awful tee shot on No. 6, which led to his near miraculous bogey after he had the bad luck of having his second shot hit a sprinkler head and bounce through the green.

After losing a drive right on No. 7, Woods gathered his forces and stopped the bleeding. With back-to-back birdies on Nos. 9 and 10. He got back to even and then proceeded to string together pars the rest of the way into the clubhouse. The round included fantastic bunker shots on Nos. 10 and 18, a solid iron shot on No. 12 and a creative lag chip/putt on No. 17 from the edge of the fringe. Still, anyone watching the action would have to say all is not right with Woods these days even if he seemed to be in denial, as usual, after the round.

It was the first time since 2004 that Woods failed to break par at the Memorial, which he has won four times. Still, afterward, he said all he had to do to get back into contention was to play the par 5s better. That will mean he'll have to start driving the ball straighter.

During a stretch from the fourth hole through the seventh hole, tournament host Jack Nicklaus joined Golf Channel broadcasters Nick Faldo and Kelly Tilghman in following the action. As they watched Woods struggle it was interesting to hear Nicklaus say Woods' swing faults could probably be fixed in 10 minutes with the right instruction.

After Woods hit his drive into a bunker on the 10th hole, Faldo said he expected to see Woods hit a good shot because long shots from bunkers demand a level swing. Faldo was right with his call. Woods hit a great shot from the bunker to set up a 12-foot birdie putt. Then Faldo and TV analyst Gary McCord suggested that Woods' problems off the tee were the result of him trying to do too much and moving his head up and down too much during his swing.

Woods hit another solid shot from a fairway bunker on No. 13, where again it was pointed out that when he's in a trap he keeps his swing more simple and level. It was suggested that such a tact in his swings sans the beach might prove beneficial. Woods' spectacular fairway bunker shot on No. 18 seemed to further cement that point.

Oldgolfdawg hopes Woods records telecasts of his play in tournaments and listens to analysts like Faldo who know what they are talking about. It's hard to watch Woods struggle with his swing when as Nicklaus suggested it could probably be fixed in 10 minutes.

* * * * * *

It was fun to watch PGA Tour rookie Rickie Fowler grab a share of the lead with his 7-under-par 65 during yesterday's TV coverage. The former standout at Oklahoma State is having a solid season and once again showed why many expect great things out of him.

It was noteworthy to see him pour in several clutch par putts, and his 25-footer for birdie on the final hole was a thing of beauty. Ironically, putting hasn't been his strength this season. He ranked 143rd in putting coming into the tournament, averaging 29.56 putts a round while the tour average is 29.14. Yesterday he needed 24 putts to make a loop at Muirfield, tied for first in that category. Apparently he likes the fast greens that remained that way despite a drenching the course received on the eve of the tournament. After his round, in an interview with the Golf Channel's Rich Lerner, Fowler sounded confident but not overly cocky. If his putting continues to improve, his ball-striking ability will no doubt make him a force to contend with in the future.

Information from Golf.com contributed to his post.

Hopes for fiery Memorial washed away

A heavy rainstorm last evening will level the playing field at Muirfield Village Golf Club today for the start of the 35th Memorial Tournament.

It wouldn't be surprising to see a lot of low scores in the first two rounds now that the greens have been softened and slowed by the rain. After yesterday's Skins Game, Ernie Els remarked he thought the greens were faster than at Augusta National for the Masters. But the rain no doubt will have taken a lot of the fire out of the greens and changed the complexion of the tournament. Muirfield Village ranked as the sixth most difficult course on the PGA Tour in 2009, and the third most difficult in non-major events. Those are statistics tournament host Jack Nicklaus would like to see matched or topped. But that probably won't be the case this year unless the course dries out considerably for the third and four rounds.

If the Skins Game is any indication of what will unfold this weekend, then a shootout between the game's No. 1- and No. 2-ranked players might transpire. Woods picked up six skins out of possible nine and Mickelson picked up all nine while playing in separate groupings. Both appeared to be playing in top form in the just-for-fun event. Mickelson, in particular, looked sharp in shooting a 30 on the back nine.

Mickelson has had the upper hand in his rivalry with Woods of late, finishing better the last five times they've played in the same event, including three wins and a second-place finish. From the 2009 Tour Championship through the 2010 Masters, Mickelson won all three of the events he and Woods played together.

Over a longer period of time, Woods still holds an edge in a telling category. He has missed just six cuts in 242 PGA Tour starts as a pro, or just 2.5 percent of the time. Mickelson has missed 59 PGA Tour cuts as a professional in 395 career starts, or 14.9 percent of the time he's teed it up.

Mickelson, who missed the cut last week in Fort Worth, usually bounces back strong from early exits. In his last five starts following missed cuts, he has finished sixth or better three times, including winning at Riviera in 2008. Mickelson's best career finish at the Memorial is a tie for fourth in 2006. Woods is the defending champ and has won the title four times.

Besides wanting to win the Memorial for the first time in his career, Mickelson thinks Muirfield Village is a good place to prepare for the U.S. Open in two weeks at Pebble Beach. "I think course management is critical here," he said. "I think the short game and the opportunity to hit shots into these greens, it's one of the best golf courses, best shot values that we play. Because of that, it really couldn't be a better spot to get ready for a major championship like the U.S. Open."

Looking beyond the Woods-Mickelson angle, one can see many contenders in the field who could wind up stealing the spotlight. Zach Johnson is coming off a 64-64 finish at Colonial Country Club where he won the Crowne Plaza Invitational by three shots, and Jim Furyk, who won the Memorial in 2002, is returning to a course where he has four top-10 finishes in his career.

If you're looking for a youthful candidate, look no further than Rory McIlroy, who is back in America for the first time since following his stunning Quail Hollow victory with a missed cut at The Players Championship. If you're looking for a seasoned veteran, Kenny Perry is a good bet. No player in the field has more rounds at Muirfield Village at par or below than Perry. His 51 rounds at par or better at the Memorial ranks second to Jay Haas' 68. Should Perry win this week, he would tie Woods with most Memorial wins.

Tournament television coverage can be seen on the Golf Channel (today: 3-6 p.m.; Friday: 3-6 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday: 3-6 p.m.; Sunday: 1:30-6 p.m.).

Information from PGATOUR.com and ESPN.com contributed to this post.

Woods-Mickelson rivalry sailing in murky waters

The drumroll for this week's resumption of the Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson rivalry is somewhat muffled by the fact that no one knows what to expect when the 35th Memorial at Muirfield Village Golf Club is teed up for real on Thursday.

Woods is trying to regain his top form in time for the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in two weeks. He has played in only three tournaments since returning from a self-imposed hiatus from competition to deal with the fallout of his highly publicized marital infidelities. Despite struggling with his swing, Woods managed to finish tied for fourth in the Masters. But he missed the cut at the Quail Hollow Championship in April and withdrew from the final round of The Players Championship with neck pain diagnosed as an inflamed facet joint.

Since then, Woods has also parted with his longtime swing coach Hank Haney. Although he says he's not 100 percent healthy, the defending Memorial champion and four-time winner of Jack Nicklaus' tournament apparently is ready to see what will happen, just like the rest of us. Rob Oller of The Columbus Dispatch wrote a great column on the state of Woods' game last week that should be checked out under my Suggested reading slug: For better or worse, all eyes will be on Tiger.

Mickelson is coming off a poor showing in the Crowne Plaza Invitational, missing the cut in a tournament he won in dramatic fashion in 2008. Perhaps Larry Dorman of the New York Times is right when he suggests Mickelson needs Woods to be in a field to perform at his best level. After Mickelson shot a sloppy 1-over-par 71 in the first round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational last week, Dorman wrote:

In a trend that started at the Tour Championship last season, Mickelson seems to have been saving his best performances for tournaments in which Woods was also playing. In fact, of the last five tournaments in which both were in the field, Mickelson won three, finished second in one and tied for 17th in another. He finished first at the 2009 Tour Championship, first at the ’09 WGC-HSBC Champions, first at the Masters, second at the Quail Hollow Championship and tied for 17th at the Players Championship, fading to a closing 74 after starting the day five strokes off the pace before Woods had to withdraw with a neck problem.

Before the Woods as Motivation theme is dismissed, it should be mentioned that in Mickelson’s first seven events preceding this year’s Masters, during which Woods was absent, Mickelson had only one top-10 finish (tied for eighth at AT&T Pebble Beach) and no other finishes higher than 19th.

It certainly is food for thought. Although Mickelson probably decided to play in the Memorial more to fine tune his game in preparation for the U.S. Open than anything else, it certainly adds to his motivation that Tiger is in the field hoping to keep his status as the game's No. 1 ranked player in the world.

Mickelson's presence at Muirfield Village this week is a big plus for the Memorial. It should be noted that tournament host Nicklaus will be playing with Mickelson in this year's pre-tournament Skins Game along with Sean O'Hair, Kenny Perry and Ernie Els. Perhaps as part of his attempt to shine a tarnished image, Woods also has agreed to play in the just-for-fun format. He'll be grouped with Zach Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk.

The pairings might be Nicklaus' way to show Mickelson appreciation for attending this year's event. Mickelson skipped last year's edition of the tournament for personal reasons. But Mickelson also indicated after the 2008 Memorial that he didn't like the high rough setup of the course and hinted he might not be eager to return if his flop-shot wedges were going to be taken out of play in the future. Apparently, that's all water under the bridge.

Information from Golf.com and ESPN.com contributed to this post.