Can’t you two just get along?

That plaintive plea for peace comes from country crooner and tender-souled two-time major champion, John Daly, who weighed in this week on the undying Sergio Garcia-Tiger Woods kerfuffle.

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, Daly dispatched this imploring message:

Tiger and Sergio I respect both of you and your golf so much plz end this y'all are so good for golf #justgetalongmyfriends

— John Daly (@PGA_JohnDaly) May 23, 2013

Daly’s Kumbaya request came around the same time as another feel-good message, this one from former European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal, who referenced his own spat with Padraig Harrington as a model for what Sergio and Tiger might do. Olazabal and Harrington had a testy exchange 10 years ago over the repair of pitch marks on a green during the Seve Trophy match between Continental Europe and Britain/Ireland. Olazabal said the two men had put that matter in the past.

“I had my incident with Harrington at the Seve Trophy in Valencia,” Olazabal said. “We had some issues. Certain things hurt you but in time you tend to forget and you eventually put things in perspective. Nowadays there is no issue between Padraig and me and that’s the way it should be.”

It has now been nearly two weeks since things went sideways between Woods and Garcia during the third round at The Players Championship, and Woods, at least, appears to have moved on.

For Garcia, meanwhile, the matter has evolved into a kind of public therapy session, one that took an unfortunately twist this past week with his “fried chicken” comments at a European Tour function.

On his own Twitter feed, Woods called Garcia’s remark “hurtful” but said that it was “long past time to move on.”

Easier said than done. How can two men put a spat behind them when people keep reminding them that they don’t get along?

(Photo: David Walberg/Sports Illustrated)

Lee Westwood just wants to talk about his beard [in embryonic state at right].

In his Wednesday press conference before the BMW PGA Championship, Westwood was peppered with questions regarding Sergio Garcia's comments about Tiger Woods made at a European Tour gala awards evening earlier this week.

Westwood initially said Tiger wouldn't be bothered by Sergio's comments. He followed by saying he didn't even know what Sergio said. The next logical question should have been: "How can you know Tiger won't be bothered then?" But it wasn't. It only led to a reporter trying to explain Sergio's comments while simultaneously interrupted by Westwood.

The former world's No. 1 player summed up his thoughts on the matter with: "It's just an awkward situation where they just obviously don't get on. You know, you guys all stoke it up as much you can and sometimes you don't need to. Not really any of my business. I fortunately get on well with both of them. But I have no interest in getting in the middle of that relationship, if there is one."

He was pressed to comment. "You didn't hear what I said then," Westwood said. "Said I had no interest in getting in the middle of that relationship. There is no follow‑up to that answer.  Can we move on to the beard?"

But no one wants to talk about the beard. We just need to know Westwood's thoughts on Sergio's fried chicken "joke."

"McGregor (Westwood's fitness coach) has not let me eat fried chicken for three or four years because it goes straight on my hips," Westwood said. "Now I'm 40, I have to now seriously think about what I'm eating."

Such a graceful side-step.

"I just said two answers ago -– quite sure I said I'm not getting in the middle of that relationship. It's got absolutely nothing to do with me because I get on well with both of them. Any golf questions?"

Better yet, any beard questions?

(Photo: Getty)

Foot-in-mouth disease appears to be contagious on the European Tour.

A day after Sergio Garcia caused a major row by making a racially insensitive joke about Tiger Woods, European Tour chief executive George O'Grady used the dated and racially insensitive term "colored" while saying that the European Tour accepts Garcia's apology for saying that he'd serve Woods "fried chicken" for dinner at the U.S. Open.

The Daily Mail UK has the details:

O'Grady has sparked fresh anger with his comments on Sky Sports 1: "It's very unfortunate and we are in the middle of it, but we made a statement that both together with commissioner Tim Finchem from the PGA Tour we spoke to Sergio and after what was really a very full and frank discussion on the whole issue that we'd accept his really heartfelt apology and we were convinced that he was trying to be funny -- that it was a lighthearted remark."

"We know the connotation in the United States. We accept all races on the European Tour, we take it very strongly. Most of Sergio's friends are colored athletes in the United States and he is absolutely abject in his apology and we accepted it."

UPDATE: O'Grady has apologized for his remarks, according to the BBC: "I deeply regret using an inappropriate word in a live interview for Sky Sports for which I unreservedly apologize."  

Photo: Getty Images

Tour pros were vocal when the anchored putting ban was proposed in December. When the ban became official Tuesday morning, players didn't have quite as much to say, but some golfers still voiced their support, displeasure and confusion over the ruling.

Tiger Woods made his feelings on the proposed anchoring ban known in a press conference previewing the AT&T National on Monday. 

Well, I hope they go with the ban.  That's something that I've said, that anchoring should not be a part of the game.  It should be mandatory to have to swing all 14 clubs.  There are different ways of making the butt end of the club move.  You've seen it with Bernhard Langer when he won the Masters putting against his forearm, what Kuch does putting against his forearm, as well.  But it's not a fixed point; the butt end does travel.  So I think that's where guys are going to try and ‑‑ will figure it out if that's the ban and that's where they go, I think it's great.

And as far as the PGA TOUR, I hope they do it as soon as possible to be honest with you.  I've always said that.  I've always felt that golf you should have to swing the club, control your nerves and swing all 14 clubs, not just 13.

Immediately following the ruling, the Golf Channel said that Adam Scott, Webb Simpson and Carl Pettersson, all high-profile anchorers, politely declined to comment.

Brenden Steele, who has anchored his putter since 2006, did comment, saying, "I’m going to putt however I can best get the ball into the hole this week and then deal with it moving forward. I’m using the [Matt] Kuchar-style because I feel like it’s the best chance for me to hole putts this week."

Corey Pavin said he didn't know if anchoring was a pressing matter for the USGA, but was glad the ban won't take place until 2016.

“I'm glad it wasn't made across the board where they just banned them,” said Pavin, who is competing this week in the Crowne Plaza Invitational for the 30th time. “They have been around too long, well, forever, I guess – the last 30 years or 20 years. It's a long time to have something legal and then make it illegal. So I think keeping the putter in play is a good thing. I'm not so sure that stopping anchoring is really that big of a deal as far as a change of a rule. I'm not sure if it was necessary. But that's the way they went and that's what the rules are now. Well, they are in 2016," Pavin said.

Other pros took to Twitter to give their opinion.

John Daly offered: "It's time that the Club Pros & PGAPros stop being pushed around by amateur companies when it only matters to 2 tourn British/USOpen why should we change our rules--again that's IMO. NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL....all professional organizations create their rules, PGA should also create rules as professionals in our organization."

If only 2-4% of worldwide golfers use anchored putters, why do they feel this is "bad" for the game?

— Rich Beem (@beemerpga) May 21, 2013

I could not disagree more with the USGA's decision today. #respectfullytheygotitwrong

— Meg Mallon (@MegMallonUSA) May 21, 2013

USGA/R&A have methodically thought through this issue. Consensus and adherence will be key. Two years offers time for litigation to play out

— Olin Browne (@OlinBrowne) May 21, 2013

Can only imagine where all the Media at Colonial will be today....putting Green anyone?#anchorban

— Ricky Barnes (@RealRickyBarnes) May 21, 2013

The USGA just cut down a mole hill. Can they now get to the mountain? Which mountain? Driver, ball, slow play,access. You choose.

— Arron Oberholser (@ArronOberholser) May 21, 2013

I'm in support of the ban on anchoring for tournament golf. It should have been done a long time ago though @usga.

— Parker McLachlin (@ParkerMcLachlin) May 21, 2013

Forget Tiger Woods winning the U.S. Open by 15 strokes. The Marist War Eagles saw Tiger's winning margin and raised it by three.

In the state championship of the Georgia Class AAAA boys' state golf tournament, Marist, a private school located in the suburbs of Atlanta, won its second-consecutive state title by 18 strokes with a team nine-under 279. Only a mere 21 strokes better than last year's total, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.

How good was Marist's day? The War Eagles claimed the first (Will Chandler–66), second (Jack Larkin–71), third (Joe Quirk–71), fourth (Sean Murphy–71) and fifth (Will Duma–71) lowest rounds of the tournament on a rain-soaked Dalton Golf and Country Club in north Georgia. A round of 73 by Mitchell Yates completed the War Eagles' day.

And they couldn't even officially count one of those 71s.

In high school tournaments, teams send out their six best golfers seeded from one to six with the same seeds from opposing teams grouped together, and the highest score gets tossed out of the team total. Marist had five golfers under-par on a day where not one of their opponents did, including Chandler, who claimed medalist honors with his six-under 66. That's correct, the team's dropped score would have been every other team's low round.

“It was just one of those crazy days where everything came together more perfectly than you could have planned it,” said Marist coach Jeff Decker. “Four of them had their career bests today, and all six came together like a perfect storm.”

If you regret having spent time in the theater to watch it, just think how Leo Trevino feels: he says he wishes he hadn’t been in the movie itself.

Speaking this week during an appearance at the University of Texas at Tyler’s Patriot Golf Classic, the 73-year-old icon said that if he could take a cinematic mulligan, he would have read the script before agreeing to appear in the Adam Sandler golf comedy, "Happy Gilmore."

“If I knew they were going to use all those foul words in there,” Trevino said, “I never would have done it.”

Trevino makes several brief appearances in the film, mostly to shake his head in silent disapproval at the main character’s antics. His one line comes during an exchange between Sandler’s Gilmore and his golf pro rival, Shooter McGavin.

Gilmore: "That's right, I'm gonna beat your ass on the course!"
McGavin: "Yeah, right. And Grizzly Adams had a beard."
Trevino: "Grizzly Adams DID have a beard."

You can watch it here:

Not exactly Oscar material.

But whatever. At least he didn’t appear in "Caddyshack II."

(Credit: AP)

Tiger Woods didn't mince words when asked if he considered calling Sergio Garcia after "The Pulled 5-Wood Heard Around The World" at The Players Championship to finally make up, put their rivalry to bed and just "chill."

"No," Woods replied with a slight smile after a short pause (watch the video below).

The incident in question has been dissected since the Players ended with Woods claiming his fourth win this season. Sergio said the crowd noise after Tiger pulled a club from his bag caused Garcia's mishit on the par-5 2nd hole at TPC Sawgrass. Woods said a marshal told him Sergio had already hit. Two marshals said that never happened. Two different marshals spoke otherwise.

Whatever the truth is, Woods has his story. And he is sticking to it.

"Obviously, the matter has been put behind me. The truth came out. As I was saying the entire time, I told people what I had heard and what had happened," Woods told the USA Today's Steve DiMeglio after a press conference promoting the AT&T National on Monday.

You can watch video of Tiger's press conference below. We're eagerly awaiting Sergio's response.

(Photo: AP)

Tiger Woods with Tiger Jam headliner Kid Rock in Las Vegas (Getty Images).

Tiger Woods' 15th annual Tiger Jam concert and fundraiser in Las Vegas over the weekend had everything -- Kid Rock, Chris Paul, a poker tournament with Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth -- except a photo opportunity with Woods and girlfriend Lindsey Vonn. Robin Leach of the Las Vegas Sun has the details:

Try as I could, there were no photos of the duo arm-in-arm and cheek-to-cheek. I asked Tiger politely. He ignored me — looked straight through me like I was a ghost. Not one word from him. I asked his PR people, and they did try but were rebuffed.

Tiger made certain Lindsey was whisked into a stage-side dressing room in a phalanx of security bodyguards and kept away from the small contingent of photographers, including our contributing photographer Tom Donoghue. Lindsey was a guest at last year’s Tiger Jam before they began dating.

Leach said that Woods looked happy during the weekend event, which raises money for the Tiger Woods Foundation:

Tiger was in great spirits over the weekend despite his poker loss. It’s obvious to all that he’s happy and in love again with Lindsey, but why he keeps her hidden from photographers to capture a happy photo of the duo remains a mystery.

If it’s OK to smile with Kid Rock — and in past years Jon Bon Jovi, John Mayer and Keith Urban — I just can’t fathom why not Lindsey. Hopefully, though, with or without the engagement rumors , it will happen in due course. 

Woods posted pictures from the event on his Facebook page.

Nicolas Colsaerts' match against Graeme McDowell went right down the drain.

On the par-4 10th hole at the World Match Play, the Belgian hit his tee shot over a concrete restroom and into the trees. An official on the scene made the surprise ruling that the building itself represented the nearest point of relief (no pun intended). After Colsaerts dropped near the toilet, he was given a free drop outside the restroom because the structure was classified as an immovable obstruction. He went on to make a par, halve the hole and eventually lose the match.

Anchored putters, your time may be up.

The USGA will announce its final decision on whether to ban anchored putting -- in other words, belly putter and long putters that are "anchored" against the body -- at a news conference Tuesday at USGA headquarters in Far Hills, N.J. The 8 a.m. press conference will be broadcast live on Golf Channel. The USGA will also provide a live webcast of the press conference here.

In November, the USGA and the R&A proposed a rule change to ban anchored putting strokes after three of the previous five major champions used either belly putters or long putters, including Keegan Bradley [right] at the 2011 PGA Championship. After the USGA and R&A proposed to ban anchored putting, Adam Scott won the Masters with a long putter in April. (The R&A -- the Royal & Ancient Golf Club -- administers the game outside the United States and Mexico.)

The proposed rule change has been controversial; the PGA Tour and the PGA of America have both told the USGA that they are against the proposed change. However, the European Tour, the LPGA and several prominent former and current players -- including Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer -- support the ban.

In a written statement in November, the USGA executive Mike Davis said that anchored putting is at odds with the essence of the game:  “Throughout the 600-year history of golf, the essence of playing the game has been to grip the club with the hands and swing it freely at the ball,” said USGA Executive Director Mike Davis. “The player’s challenge is to control the movement of the entire club in striking the ball, and anchoring the club alters the nature of that challenge. Our conclusion is that the Rules of Golf should be amended to preserve the traditional character of the golf swing by eliminating the growing practice of anchoring the club.”

Supports of anchored putting have argued that the rule change is not fair to players who use anchoring, which has been legal for 30 years, that the ban would limit the enjoyment of recreational players, and that anchored putting is not an advantage.

USGA do not appear to have changed their mind. In an interview in the June issue of Golf Magazine, Davis defended the proposed rule change.

"We weren't trying to hurt anybody," Davis said. "It's a divisive issue and it's been divisive ever since the long putter has been around. We're simply trying to clarify it and put it to bed."

If the USGA and R&A adopt the rule change, then it would most likely take effect in the next scheduled rules update: Jan 1. 2016. PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has declined to say whether the PGA Tour would go along with the USGA and ban anchored putting on the PGA Tour.

Photo of Keegan Bradley at the 2013 Byron Nelson Championship (Getty Images).

Maybe Sergio was right. Maybe Tiger Woods really “isn’t one of the nicest guys on Tour.”?

The latest evidence comes from well-established Tour nice-guy Rocco Mediate, who, during a recent appearance on Golf Channel’s “Feherty,” recalled a Tiger memory from the 2009 Players Championship. At the time, Mediate was roughly a year removed from his playoff loss to Woods at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, so he thought he’d ask Tiger for a memento.

According to Mediate, he left in Woods’ locker a photo of the two of them from the playoff, along with a pin sheet from their fifth-round match. He also left a note, requesting an autograph and an inscription.

“Look, sign these for me, write something on there, and personalize it and then sign the pin sheet,” Mediate told David Feherty, summing up his note to Tiger. “Because I’m going to put them on my wall somewhere.”

Well, Mediate got the autograph, but that was it. As Rocco tells it, Woods returned the materials later that day, having signed the photo but without writing an inscription. The pin sheet came back to Rocco untouched.

Mediate says he threw everything in the trash.

“That tells the story,” Mediate said. “Why wouldn’t he ... just mess with me, and the sign my pin sheet, so I could put the damn thing on my wall and say, ‘I almost got the guy that day.’”

Mediate emphasized that he’s still a Tiger fan.

“I’ve been a big fan of Tiger since I met him,” he said. “I love the way he does his job. I don’t care what anybody thinks or anybody says; we ain’t gonna see this kid come about again.”

You get the feeling that Sergio Garcia -- among many others -- would be just fine with that.

Tip of the cap to Golf Monthly for shooting this amazing video of Miguel Angel Jimenez demonstrating his fascinating pre-round stretching routine.

Quick backstory: ESPN filmed Jimenez going through his warm-up at the 2011 British Open, and the oddly hypnotic routine quickly went viral.

We're not just talking simple jumping jacks and calf stretches. Oh, no. This is "The Most Interesting Golfer in the World," after all. Jimenez gets loose with his signature "little dancing moves," usually with his trademark cigar.

Stay flexible, my friends!

After Sergio Garcia complained about Tiger Woods pulling a club before Garcia had played his shot on the par-5 second hole of the Players Championship on Saturday, Woods said that a marshal had told him Garcia had already played his shot. One marshal on the hole told Sports Illustrated that he did not tell Woods that Garcia had played the shot, but another marshal told the Florida Times-Union that he did talk to Woods about Garcia’s shot, although he talked to Woods after – not before – Garcia played his shot. From the Florida Times-Union:

Two Players Championship marshals who are part of the walking escort team for Tiger Woods are disputing an account in Sports Illustrated of the incident involving Woods and Sergio Garcia during the third round last Saturday.

Garcia claimed that Woods distracted him during his second shot at the second hole when Woods pulled a fairway metal out of his bag to hit out of the left trees, drawing a response from the crowd.

Woods said he was told by a marshal that Garcia, on the far right side of the fairway, about 50 yards away and obscured from Woods’ view, had already hit before he selected a club. Replays have since shown that the crowd made noise when Garcia was over his ball, but not in his backswing.

Two Players marshals, John North and Gary Anderson, were quoted by SI as saying that Woods didn’t ask any marshals about Garcia's status, and none was given.

But two volunteers -- marshal Brian Nedrich and escort Lance Paczkowski -- told the Times-Union that they did communicate with Woods about Garcia's shot.

Both said the claims there was no communication between Woods and volunteers are wrong and said that Woods was only mistaken about the sequence of events.

“It is not true and definitely unfair to Tiger,” said Nedrich, who was a marshal at the second hole. “That’s because I was the one Tiger heard say that Sergio had hit.”

While Woods was mistaken in his post-round comments about when he was told about Garcia's shot, Woods was not being intentionally misleading, the volunteers said.

“It’s disingenuous to suggest that Tiger is a liar because he got a minor detail wrong,” Nedrich said. “Basically, he told the truth.”

“Tiger Woods did not lie,” Paczkowski said. “Was there a small mistake in what he remembered? Yes. But I don't think it rises to the level of lying.”

"The comments from the marshals in today's [Times-Union] story definitively show that Tiger was telling the truth about being told Sergio had hit," said Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent, in a statement. "I hope this demonstrates to some reporters the importance of accuracy and not jumping to misplace conclusions."

 

Tiger Woods is the No. 1-ranked player in golf again, but he hasn’t been able to reclaim his spot at the top of Sports Illustrated’s annual “Fortunate 50” ranking of the highest earners in sports because he lost more than $20,000,000 in endorsements last year.

Woods had been No. 1 on the list since its inception in 2004 until last year, when he finished third behind boxer Floyd Mayweather and Woods’ old rival Phil Mickelson. In 2013, the resurgent Woods has overtaken Mickelson but is now fifth on the list, with an estimated $40,839,027 in income. Mayweather remains No. 1, followed by LeBron James, Drew Brees and Kobe Bryant. SI determines income solely through salary, winnings, bonuses and endorsements based on players’ associations, tour records, online databases and media reports. (Golf earnings are from July 1, 2012 through April 21, 2013.)

Here’s the SI breakdown of Woods’ income:

No. 5: Tiger Woods

Salary/Winnings: $7,839,027

Endorsements: $33,000,000

Total: $40,839,027

Tiger is back -- he earned more than anyone on Tour over the past 12 months -- but sponsors have been slower to return. Woods’s current deals are with Nike, EA, Rolex, Kowa (a heat rub), Fuse Science, Upper Deck and NetJets. In the past two years various lists have put Tiger’s portfolio in the $50 million range; don’t believe them. Marketing experts say that even $33 million is generous, but no one really knows how much his deal with Nike is worth. (The best estimates put it at $20 million per year.) And now that Nike is using him in TV ads again (with the ascendant Rory McIlroy), you can bet the Swoosh sees fresh value in its biggest golf star. Phil Mickelson makes more in endorsements, but the 37-year-old Woods made double on the links.

Despite playing much better, Woods lost more than $20 million in endorsement than the previous year. (In 2012, Woods earned $54.5 million in endorsement income, according to SI.) Mickelson, whose play has been uneven, still made more money off the course than Woods.

Here’s SI’s breakdown of Mickelson’s income:

No. 6: Phil Mickelson

Salary/Winnings: $3,528,000

Endorsements: $36,000,000

Total: $39,528,000

In golf (and tennis), more than in other sports, endorsement contracts are heavily rankings-based and full of performance bonuses. At 42, Mickelson isn’t winning as much, but he’s still a sponsor’s dream because of his likability. In an ad for arthritis medicine Enbrel (for which he likely earns $7 million a year), he’s decked out in sponsorships: KPMG on his visor, Barclays on the chest of his polo, Callaway on the sleeve.

Rory McIlroy, the third pillar of golf’s latest Big Three, was listed in the International 20, not the Fortunate 50, but his earnings would have easily placed him in the top 10.

No. 7: Rory McIlroy

Total: $33,336,796

The widely reported Nike deal is bringing McIlroy at least $20 million a year, but it’s also likely a rankings-based contract, full of many bonuses that Rory hasn’t earned so far. Nike took a huge, long-term gamble on him that doesn’t yet look so wise, but he’s got quite a while to prove himself worthy. And to be third in the world among active golfers for endorsement earnings, at age 23, that’s pretty impressive. Other brands that all came calling in the very recent months include Bose and Omega watches.

Woods, Mickelson and McIlroy were the only professional golfers to crack the Fortunate 50 (or the International 20); however, Brandt Snedeker, winner of the $10 million FedEx Cup in 2012, was listed as a "Future Fortunate."

Photo: Tiger Woods celebrates winning the 2013 Players Championship, a victory worth $1,710,000 (Getty Images).

Chances are, your weekend wasn't as good as Bearden High School student Alex Notte's. The Special Olympics golfer from Knoxville, Tenn., attended his prom with some serious arm candy: 24-year-old LPGA beauty, Belen Mozo.

After meeting Mozo at the 2011 Wegmans LPGA Championship, Notte became such a big fan that he decided to take up the game himself. He now plays three times a week at Gettysvue Golf Club.

Notte enlisted the assistance of his older sister Arielle to help him craft a YouTube video so he could ask Mozo to be his date to prom by using sign language.

The power of social media propelled the video to Mozo's Twitter page, and she was able to clear her schedule to attend.

On the morning of the prom, Mozo hosted a clinic at Gettysvue to raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics golf in Tennessee.

After the clinic, Mozo and Notte had dinner together at Gettysvue before heading to the prom. Notte was nominated for prom king, and when he was named runner-up, the winner took off the crown to give it to Notte, but he refused to take it and returned it right away.

Needless to say, it was a weekend to remember.

RELATED: Belen Mozo's slo-mo swing sequence

Photo courtesy of Soboroff Sports Partners