Here are the best shots from last week in the world of golf, including one amazing break for Nick Flanagan on the Nationwide tour.

After a sterling golf career at Wake Forest, Cheyenne Woods has signed on with her famous uncle's famous agent, Mark Steinberg. The Orlando Sentinel's Jeff Shain has more.

The Wake Forest graduate signed Monday with Excel Sports Management, where Tiger Woods is the headliner of the agency's golf division under Mark Steinberg.

"We are excited about the opportunity to represent Cheyenne," Steinberg said in a statement. "She had an outstanding career at Wake Forest and has the chance to be a major star on the women's golf scene."

Steinberg has managed Tiger Woods since 1999, including a jump to Excel last summer after IMG cut Steinberg loose.

Cheyenne Woods completed her college career as Wake Forest's all-time top scorer, averaging 73.31 over her four years with the Demon Deacons. She also set the school's lowest single-season average (73.47) as a sophomore and won the 2011 ACC Tournament individual title by seven strokes.

Brian Wacker at pgatour.com has more on Woods, who was a two-time all-American at Wake Forest.

R&A testing a shorter golf ball in Sweden
With so many classic tracks becoming obsolete due to the insane distances Tour pros now hit the ball, it's no wonder that the ongoing conversation about dialing back equipment won't die. Of course, telling equipment manufacturers that they have to try and sell clubs and golf balls to the public with the selling point being, "now 10 yards shorter," is not likely to happen any time soon.

But Geoff Shackleford dug up a story from a Swedish golf site about a tournament in Sweden where the R&A will test a new, shorter golf ball. Here are some interesting tidbits from an interview (as translated by Google) with Anders Jonsson, an equipment expert and member of the Swedish Golf Federation: 

Want to test the future of golf ball? In early June, played two tournaments on Österåker and Åkersberga where everyone plays on the R & A's prototype that can put a new ball standard. - It has developed a ball that is about eight percent less, said Anders Jonsson, equipment expert in SGF's regulatory committee.

For several years the R & A has worked on developing a framework for a ball to go shorter. Many believe that even the modern courses in the near future be played for short. Work on a new standard ball is in the experimental stage but the ball should have the same flight characteristics, the only difference being that it goes a little shorter.

Test competitions have already been implemented in the UK but now the R & A have a broader investigative material in order to make such a good decision as possible in the future. Therefore, they have been inquiring about Swedish interest.

Work on prototype is relatively secret and few actually know what the type of ball. But according to information, it will be modern and only differ pure length wise. I know nothing about the ball more than it is developed together with a renowned manufacturer, said Jonsson.

The Swedish test competitions will be played on Österåker June 2 and Åkersberga June 3. Nikon sponsors the event and representatives from the R & A will be in place. It is open to all to take this opportunity to become a test pilot.

Top English pros demand more events in England
Luke Donald, Paul Casey and Lee Westwood have set up a "task force," with the mission of bringing more top-notch tournaments to England, according to James Corrigan of The Telegraph. Considering that this week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth is the only European Tour event of the season held in England, it's sort of hard to disagree with them, particularly when there are so many English players near the top of the world rankings (Donald, Westwood, Casey, Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Robert Rock, etc.). 

This wasn't always the case. In 2000, there were six Tour events in England, but the recession has forced many formerly prominent tournaments like the English Open and the British Masters to seek sponsors, and locations, in other parts of the globe. But the English trio of Donald, Casey, and Westwood are determined to see that change. 

“We want to know what we can do as players to help make it happen; as we plainly need to do more than talk about it,” said Casey. “Maybe what could help is if we write a collective letter to the right people, to prospective sponsors, guaranteeing that we would all be there and would all help promote the tournament. If we started another event in England, featuring Lee, Luke, Ian, Justin, etc, wouldn’t that have great appeal?”

Luke Donald, who's been trading the No. 1 spot in the world rankings with Rory McIlroy throughout 2012, agrees with Casey. 

“This is a great opportunity when you look at the world rankings at the moment,” said the world No 2. “This is the time to cultivate more interest. We’ve got great golfing ambassadors and need another event in England that can inspire the younger generation. We’re about to lose TV viewers whose parents don’t have Sky, with the BBC dropping out from golf, so we need more events in England full stop. I’d be happy to lend my name and time and help promote golf more in England.”

Here's a quick video from last year's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Seems like the conditions are actually pretty tough for the players in England:

Tweet of the Day

Sorted Ferrari is back in action... Job done. Off to Wentworth. #TwitPict twitpic.com/9nzrr3

— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) May 22, 2012

Each week, 15 staffers from SI Golf+, Golf Magazine and GOLF.com vote for their top 10, awarding 10 points to their first choice and proceeding in descending order to the 10th player, who gets one point. The points are then added and the ranking calculated. This ranking aims to be an of-the-moment measure of who’s playing the best right now. Tell us your top 10 in the comments field below.

RANK (TOTAL VOTES, FIRST PLACE VOTES, LAST WEEK'S RANK)

1. Jason Dufner (128, 7, NR) - Last three finishes: 1, HP Byron Nelson Championship; T68 The Players Championship; 1, Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
- Official World Golf Ranking: 14

2.  Rory McIlroy (126, 4, 1)  - Last three finishes: MC, The Players Championship; T2, Wells Fargo Championship; T40, Masters
- Official World Golf Ranking: 1

3. Matt Kuchar (96, 0, 6) - Last three finishes: T15, HP Byron Nelson Championship; 1, The Players Championship; T13, Valero Texas Open
-Official World Golf Ranking: 5

4. Bubba Watson (90, 2, 2) - Last three finishes: T18, Zurich Classic of New Orleans; 1, Masters; T4 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Official World Golf Ranking: 4

5. Luke Donald (86, 2, 3) - Last three finishes: 6, The Players Championship; 3, Zurich Classic of New Orleans; T37, RBC Heritage
- Official World Golf Ranking: 2

6. Phil Mickelson (77, 0, 4) - Last three finishes: T7, HP Byron Nelson Championship; T25, The Players Championship; T26, Wells Fargo Championship
- Official World Golf Ranking: 9

7. Rickie Fowler (71, 0, 5) - Last three finishes: T2, The Players Championship; 1, Wells Fargo Championship; T10, Zurich Classic of New Orleans
- Official World Golf Ranking: 20

8. Lee Westwood (62, 0, 7) - Last three finishes: T61, The Players Championship; T5, Wells Fargo Championship; 1, CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters
- Official World Golf Ranking: 3

9. Hunter Mahan (39, 0, 8) - Last three finishes: MC, The Players Championship; T53, Wells Fargo Championship; T12, Masters
- Official World Golf Ranking: 6

10. Ben Curtis (22, 0, 10)- Last three finishes: T2, The Players Championship; T5, Wells Fargo Championship; T13, Zurich Classic of New Orleans
-Official World Golf Ranking: 73

Others receiving votes:
Louis Oosthuizen (12)
Graeme McDowell (6)
Webb Simpson (4)
Keegan Bradley (2)
Branden Grace (2)
Zach Johnson (1)
Tiger Woods (1)

Jason Dufner earned his second tournament win of 2012 -- and second in the past month -- at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

Congrats to Duff on the win...nice fist pump too!!

— Rickie Fowler (@RickieFowlerPGA) May 20, 2012

Wow, what a month for Jason Dufner. First two career wins, got married, and just moved up to No. 14 in OWGR and No. 3 in US Ryder points.

— Steve Elling (@EllingYelling) May 21, 2012

LPGA Pro Azahara Munoz won the 2012 Sybase Match Play Championship, her first LPGA tournament winl.

Thanks so much for all ur support!!!!! It's been an amazing week for me. Nice to finally get the W!!!! I'll try to get back to u guys

— Azahara Munoz (@AzaharaGOLF) May 21, 2012

I woke to find this in my mail! What a kind gesture form the Spanish media! @SybaseMatchPlay @AzaharaGOLF twitter.com/BelenMozo/stat…

— Belén Mozo (@BelenMozo) May 21, 2012

Azahara Munoz of Spain beats Candie Kung in the Sybase Match Play Championship in New Jersey. Very well done & congratulations @AzaharaGOLF.

— Gary Player (@garyplayer) May 21, 2012

So excited for @AzaharaGOLF winning her 1st LPGA tournament!!! #HighV

— Paige Mackenzie (@Paige_Mackenzie) May 20, 2012

Bubba Watson took his son to the golf course for the first time.

His 1st trip to church & now his 1st golf course trip #bigweekendforcaleb lockerz.com/s/210599377

— bubba watson (@bubbawatson) May 20, 2012

Natalie Gulbis stopped by NBC studio to talk golf and help with the weather on the set of "Wake Up with Al," starring Al Roker and Stephanie Abrams.

4am wake up call... Excited to go on the Weather Channel this Morning withAl Roker and Stephanie Abrams

— Natalie Gulbis (@natalie_gulbis) May 21, 2012

Lexi Thompson attended her prom over the weekend with her date, Mark Scott. Thompson held a contest for U.S. servicemen to enter for a chance to be her date.

Mark Scott and I with our prom pics:) #somanyofthem twitter.com/Lexi/status/20…

— Lexi Thompson (@Lexi) May 20, 2012

Check out this video clip of Lexi and the lucky winner.

Anthony Kim's miserable season is getting even worse, as PGATour.com's Brian Wacker reports that the three-time PGA Tour-winner will miss 4-5 months after hitting a rock while playing out of the rough in his opening round at TPC San Antonio last month.

He will undergo treatment and rehabilitation for the injuries and hopes to be back in time to play the Fall Series. Surgery is not expected to be needed.

"I’m obviously disappointed because I’ve been fighting to get my game back on the right track and having an injury hold me back is frustrating,” Kim said in a statement. “I’ve been through this process before, though, and know that you have to put in your work with treatments to get healthy. That will be my focus for the next four or five months so I’m in a position to return healthy towards the end of the year and be fully ready for 2013.”

Kim was examined by Dr. Thomas Graham of the Cleveland Clinic — the same doctor who reconstructed his left thumb two years ago — following his withdrawal from the Wells Fargo Championship.

This marks the second time in the last two years Kim will miss significant time due to injury.

It's the latest blow in an almost stunningly poor season for the 26-year-old, who in 10 events has rung up four missed cuts, three WDs and one DQ. Larry Bohannen of the Palm Springs Desert-Sun has more on Kim's future.

But the four or five months Kim will take off now still doesn’t explain why he has played so poorly the rest of this season after a strong finish to the 2011 season. Before the Texas Open, Kim had played eight tournament, made two cuts, withdrawn from one tournament and been disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

The injury and the rehab from it (there is no surgery planned) will take Kim out of tournaments for a while. The question now is what will be look like when he comes back. Will he be the player who battled Rory McIlroy in Asia in a playoff last fall, the player who was a Ryder Cup hero in 2009, or the player who couldn’t seem to make a cut this year?

For now, we’ll go with “Kim has an injured right wrist and elbow,” and go from there.

The last time the U.S. Open visited the Olympic Club in San Francisco it was 1998 and Casey Martin rode in his golf cart all the way to a T23 finish. Now, in between coaching at the University of Oregon, he is on the cusp of making his grand return fourteen years later, reports Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Martin, who suffers from a birth defect known as Klippel Trenaunay Weber syndrome in his right leg, created buzz as he filed a lawsuit against the PGA Tour in 1997 that would allow him to use a cart in competition. 

As the appeals process began its three-year odyssey - the tour argued that walking is a fundamental part of the game and that no player should be permitted to use a cart - media attention engulfed Martin. It crested at the Olympic Club, from his Monday practice round with Woods to his first two rounds alongside 1994 Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal.

In 2001, Martin successfully won his Supreme Court decision against the PGA Tour and is now only 36 holes away from bringing his golf cart back to Olympic.

It remains a wild longshot, but he could create one of the coolest stories of this 112th U.S. Open. Martin hadn't even entered Open qualifying in five years, because his coaching duties leave him little time to practice or play, but he couldn't resist the nostalgic lure of Olympic.

He went out and shot 2-under-par 70 in local qualifying May 7 in Vancouver, Wash., good enough to advance to the next stage. Martin will take his crack at sectional qualifying - a grueling, 36-hole test - June 4 in Creswell, Ore.

"It's going to have to be an act of God," he said before advancing through locals. "I'm doing this to see if you can catch lightning in a bottle."

Just imagine the circus Martin will generate if he really does qualify for next month's Open. His story would come full circle - from one U.S. Open at the Olympic Club to the next, from aspiring tour pro and legal crusader to content college coach and improbable Open qualifier.

While the pressure is now fully on Martin, he did get a bit of a reprieve from the USGA while filling out his entry form for the U.S. Open and the elaborate application requesting a cart for competition.

Given his history - more than a bit well-documented - Martin asked some folks at the USGA if he really needed to complete all the paperwork. They told him to skip it.

OSU misses the cut

For the first time in school history, Oklahoma State University's men's golf team has failed to advance to the NCAA Championship, reports Golf Channel.

The Cowboys failed to qualify for the finals at Riviera C.C. when they finished eighth out of 13 teams in the Ann Arbor (Mich.) regional tournament on Saturday. The five-man team finished at 11 over par in the 54-hole event. The team was 14 shots shy of the fifth-place cutoff to advance to the finals, to be played May 29-June 3.

Oklahoma State had advanced to the NCAA championship in each year of the program's existence, dating back to 1947.

During the last 60 seasons, OSU's golf program has notched 10 national championships, 8 individual national championships and 49 conference championships while claiming alumni such as Hunter Mahan, Rickie Fowler, Charles Howell III, Bob Tway and Trip Kuehne.

Two-time defending champs Augusta State also missed out on the opportunity to claim a third consecutive title, finishing four shots out of qualifying through the Athens, Ga. regional.

Deron Williams hits Chelsea Piers

Because the New Jersey Nets are absolutely terrible, Deron Williams has a lot of time on his hands these days before he is inevitably traded to either the Mavericks or the Heat. So, like any golf aficionado in New York City with some time to kill, Williams made his way to Chelsea Piers. 

Color me impressed. Hank Haney, on the other hand? 

Not bad, hit it like u mean it, too slowRT @DeronWilliams: Working on my swing last night at Chelsea Pier's twitvid.com/XUF9M

— Hank Haney (@HankDHaney) May 21, 2012

Looks like D.A. Points is reaching for a dinner date, though.

Nice action. Be in Soho on Thurs. RT @DeronWilliams: Working on my swing last night at Chelsea Pier's. twitvid.com/XUF9M

— D.A. Points (@DAPoints) May 21, 2012

On-course rivals

Though the exact details are uncertain, a reader sent in this photo to Deadspin of two newlyweds posing in their Miami Dolphins garb with New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan while he enjoyed a round of golf.

It's unclear whether or not the couple were married while wearing their Miami Dolphin jerseys or just had them on hand because that's the sort of thing Miami fans do. Either way, good on Ryan to take the time to pose with his fierce rivals. What was not documented, however, was Sal Alosi tripping the bride as she made her way down the aisle. 

Tweet of the Day

Bubba Watson is set to make his return at the Memorial Tournament, but that's only if he doesn't get a better offer in the meantime.

I want to work with Nick Cannon on the "America's Got Talent" show. I could wear my overalls & sweep off the bad talents!! #AGT

— bubba watson (@bubbawatson) May 21, 2012

At the Sybase Match Play, Azahara Munoz defeated Candie Kung, 2 and 1, in the championship match, and Morgan Pressel defeated Vicky Hurst, also 2 and 1, in an all-American consolation match. Earlier, Pressel lost to Munoz after being penalized for slow play.

Leaderboard: Final match at Sybase Match Play

Rhein Gibson made 12 birdies, two eagles and 4 pars on the way to shooting 55 at River Oaks last weekend in Edmond, Okla.

Teeing off the 10th hole, he followed an opening par with an eagle, a birdie, another eagle, and then five straight birdies for a 26. He cooled off on the back with pars at the first and second holes, three straight birdies, another par, and then three more birdies - a lousy 29.

Gibson, 26, is Australian and played college golf at Oklahoma Christian. Here's more from Australia's ABC News site:

Only one other player has ever shot a 55 before -- Homero Blancas, a PGA Tour player from the 1960s, managed the feat on a par-70 course of just 5,000 yards. 

But that score was taken out of the record books after harder qualifying rules were set.  Gibson's round falls in line with the new rules and is set to become a new world mark once it is cleared. 

... "I just kind of got hot I guess and every putt I hit went in, that's the best I can explain it to be honest," Gibson said.  As he faced an eight-foot birdie putt on his final hole, Gibson knew history was in the offing but felt calm. 

"I wasn't nervous," he said.  "I had this song playing in my head. It is that new one from the Eli Young Band. It was in there all day."

One of Gibson's playing partners was Ryan Munson, a financial adviser in Edmond who wrote about the round: 

Nobody really knew what was in Rhein's head, but I was as nervous as if it was my own round. He had a fantastic error-free round going. I just hated the idea of his only bogey coming on the last hole. Eric saw Rhein's swing and the ball taking flight. He said later the swing was perfect. The ball landed on the green behind the hole and stopped dead at about eight feet. Rhein had a putt for 55! Par was locked up. This would be a bogey free round of historic proportion. 

The buzzing from the crowd around the green resembled crackling electric lines. Other golfers, club staff, and even a group of ten year-olds, brought by the teaching pro to watch, were all eager to see a course record for the ages being set. Eric and I were doing everything we could do to avoid being a distraction but the emotion in the air was palpable. Rhein knew it. We knew it. We were part of something special.  

Time stood still. The ball left the putter on an aggressive roll - especially considering the fact that this putt was downhill and turning hard to the left. When it dropped out of sight, it had rolled over the exact center of the hole! Everybody went nuts!

Oh by the way, I had just shot 69 and lost by 14 strokes.

Back in April, LPGA Tour phenom and soon-to-be high school graduate Lexi Thompson made a video plea to members of the military asking to take her to senior prom.

Well the waiting is over, folks. After fielding a plethora of requests, Lexi found her man: Marine reservist Lance Corporal Mark Scott.

The pair made an (awkward) appearance on Fox News's daytime show "Fox & Friends," decked out in -- what else? -- Puma Golf gear. Here is the result.

Tiger Woods may not be pulling in as much dough as he did a few years ago, but he's still the top athlete on Forbes's annual list of the most powerful celebs. According to Forbes, Woods pocketed $58 million last year, down from $75 million in 2011, but the list also factors in "media visibility" -- TV/radio, web and print -- and social media.

Woods ranked ahead of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer, David Beckham and Manny Pacquiao.

Among all celebs, Woods came in at No. 12, down from No. 6 in 2011. Phil Mickelson ($48 million) landed at No. 48, ahead of Toby Keith and Lionel Messi.

Jennifer Lopez topped the list, followed by Oprah, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg.

Strange but true
Golf Channel's Jason Sobel has the bizarre tale of Joey Snyder III, who's technically been on the PGA Tour for the last six years, but he's hardly played any golf. Due to an injury and several doctors who misdiagnosed his problem, Snyder has been sitting at home, but he's been able to keep his PGA Tour status.

Four months of that. Three months with another doctor. There were even procedures done to potentially alleviate the pain. In late-2009, Snyder underwent surgery for a sports hernia, and then was told immediately afterward that he needed to have surgery on his right hip, as well. Neither solved the problem. He still couldn’t swing the golf club.

All during this time, he heard the whispers from fellow PGA Tour members. When a player with full status is injured, he not only receives a medical extension which allows him to resume playing privileges once healthy, but also a monthly stipend during that absence.

And this could be the craziest part of the story. During the six years he's been off the Tour, he and his wife had two children, and they've never seen him go to work.

“I’ve been at home every single day of their lives. It’s been great. It’s been the only thing that’s kept me sane,” he explains. “They said, ‘Daddy, why do you have to go?’ I told them, ‘This is what Daddy does for a living. I know you haven’t seen it, but hopefully you’ll get to see what Daddy does.’”

Quacking up
Golfweek's Sean Martin tweeted this video of the Oregon Ducks men's golf team, and it's a doozy. Apparently taking a cue from Oregon alum Ben Crane, the boys in Eugene did a whopping 15 minute video on what it's like to be a part of the golf team. I got a few laughs from the first two minutes, but they lost me at about the five-minute mark.

Tweet of the Day

Among those who made it through local qualifying for the US Open: Arnold's grandson, Jack's son and Mickelson's brother.

— Doug Ferguson (@dougferguson405) May 17, 2012

Keep your membership policy, but host an LPGA event at your course.

That appears to be LPGA commissioner Mike Whan's stance on the controversial, men-only membership policy at Augusta National, according to a recent interview with Forbes, in which Whan said he asks the club every year to host an LPGA event.

Forbes: Should Augusta National admit female members?

Whan: As the commissioner of the LPGA, I think Augusta should have a women’s tournament. I don’t care if they have female members.

Forbes: Really?

Whan: Well, at the end of the day I would have a difficult time explaining to my kids why dad was a member of all men’s club. [Whan is not a member at Augusta.] And I really doubt by the time my kids are my age this will even be a topic. They’ll have female members by then. It’s a private club they can do what they want. It’s worth noting that Augusta National is an incredible supporter of some of our initiatives. They write us a six-figure check every year for Girls Golf, which helps gets girls into the sport. I don’t think it’s a guilt check. Maybe it is. What’s frustrating is that the best players now on our tour can’t play there. I ask every year.

Players champion Matt Kuchar got an up-close look at the PGA Tour's slow-play problem when he was paired with endless waggler Kevin Na on Sunday, and now he's got a solution: a 40-second clock.

MATT KUCHAR: It might be interesting to have a tournament with a shot clock. I think I read an article where there was a throw in an event where there is a full on shot clock on everybody on every shot. You would hope it wouldn't be a hard course. (Chuckles.) On a hard course you're going to find yourself in scenarios, I think in a couple of places, Charlotte, Memorial, the Master's, greens are fast, you have challenging shots. Three footers, it's easy to tap in. In certain places if you have three footers, and you miss, it's seven foot coming back. I would be interested to see a shot clock thrown out there.

Q. What would be a reasonable time?

MATT KUCHAR: Just the rules of golf, 40 seconds.

Always the nice guy, Kuchar said that Na's slow play didn't affect him, but he did watch Na's painful starts and stops instead of looking away as some advised.

"It did not have any affect on me," Kuchar said. "I watched Kevin, some people told me not to watch him, to turn my back to him, but I think even if I decided to turn my back I would still hear him [laughs]."

The USGA has identified the objects stolen from its Far Hills, N.J., museum early Wednesday morning. The missing artifacts are the U.S. Amateur Trophy (top right) and a replica of Ben Hogan’s 1953 Hickok Belt, which was awarded to the top professional athlete in the U.S. for 27 years, from 1950-1976. (Turns out the award is being revived this year.)

Here is the official statement from the USGA:

The United States Golf Association today issued the following statement regarding an overnight burglary at the USGA Museum, in which two historical artifacts were stolen. The artifacts include the U.S. Amateur Trophy, which was created in 1926 and retired in 1992, and a replica of Ben Hogan’s 1953 Hickok Belt award, which the USGA acquired from the Hogan estate in 1998 and has displayed in the Museum since 1999.

“This is a deplorable incident, but we are thankful for the safety of our staff. These historical artifacts are an important part of our collection and their loss is a great disappointment. We are working closely with the Bernards Township Police Department to aid in their recovery.”

The burglary was first reported by Beth Ann Baldry of Golfweek.

Hank Haney says Tiger has 'holes in his game'

Tiger Woods's former coach and unwelcome biographer Hank Haney talked with Michigan Live's Kyle Austin about the state of Woods's game following his missed cut at Quail Hollow and his T40 at the Players Championship, and identified Woods's putting and wedge play as problems.

“Tiger’s kind of held to a different standard, a standard he helped create himself, and obviously his game is not where it was. But by the same token, where it was was someplace we might never see again. Tiger’s going to win plenty of golf tournaments. He certainly hasn’t forgot how to play, but there’s also some holes in his game.

“His putting isn’t as good as it used to be, and it’s been that way for a while now.

“His driving instincts are better, but he’s shying away from the driver a lot, he’s not hitting a lot of drivers. He has a miss that goes both ways. When I helped him, most of his misses went to the right, now they’re going right and left, it’s about 50/50. It was about 75 or 80 percent to the right when I helped.

“He’s not as good with wedges. From 50 to 125 yards, he’s I think ranked 150 on the tour or somewhere in that range. So that’s not as good as it used to be."

Westwood hires temp while his caddie recovers from injury

Lee Westwood's caddie Billy Foster is out six months with a knee injury, so Westwood picked up Michael Campbell's caddie Mike Waite as a temporary replacement, according to The Independent (UK).

With Foster out for up to six months, England's world No 3 used American Cayce Kerr over the last two weeks but will start working with Waite in next week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Waite is best known for his long partnership with New Zealander Michael Campbell, which included his US Open triumph in 2005.

That U.S. Open experience might be helpful at Olympic next month, where Westwood will try again for that elusive first major. Also, the Australian Waite has the ultimate caddie badge of honor: a cool nickname. They call him "the Sponge."

Arnold Palmer gets honorary degree from Allegheny College

Allegheny College's Class of 2012 had a special honorary member this past weekend: Arnold Palmer. The college awarded Palmer an honorary doctorate, according to The Downswing golf blog:

Allegheny College on became the eighth institution to present Palmer with an honorary doctorate, bestowing the honor upon the 82-year-old icon during Saturday’s commencement ceremonies in Meadville, Pa.

Adding to the distinction was the presence of former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, a close friend who also was bestowed an honorary doctorate.

“They are Pennsylvanians who have achieved the highest levels of national and international greatness while always remaining true to their Pennsylvania roots,” said college president James H. Mullen Jr.

Palmer was an outstanding college golfer at Wake Forest, but he never actually graduated.

Palmer left Wake Forest midway through his senior year, shaken by the death of close friend Bud Worsham in an auto accident. Wake Forest later bestowed upon him an honorary Doctorate of Laws. Other honorary degrees have come from St. Vincent College (in his hometown of Latrobe, Pa.,), Florida Southern and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Tweet of the Day

Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle often caddies for his son, aspiring tour pro Mike Van Sickle, but today their roles are reversed.

Caddying for Papa GVS today in us open local qualifying. Clean clubs + perfect reads = Qualifier #NoExcuses #LetsGo

— Mike Van Sickle (@MVS_Golf) May 16, 2012

Dustin Johnson hasn't played a Tour event since mid-March, and he surprised everyone when he withdrew from the Masters with what Johnson said was a back injury sustained while lifting a jet ski. Speculation on DJ's situation has run rampant in the interim, with a variety of conspiracy theorists suggesting he eloped, or more commonly, that he was serving a drug-related suspension. However, according to his agent, David Winkle, Johnson is legitimately injured and getting ready to resume play, according to Steve Elling at CBS Sports.

“Dustin is not serving a drug suspension,” Winkle said evenly. “I will make it clear -- he has been injured. He is playing golf again, he is very rusty but champing at the bit to get back out there.”

As of now, Johnson has committed to play the Memorial in two weeks, then Memphis, and then the U.S. Open in San Francisco. He currently ranks 21st in U.S. Ryder Cup points.

Players grabs big attendance and ratings
While TV ratings weren't through the roof for The Players Championship this past weekend, attendance went up big. According to tournament officials attendance numbers reached more than 162,000 for the week, up about 20 percent from last year's event. About 35,000 came to watch the Sunday action alone. 

"A lot of things went right for us to have the week we did," Players executive director Matt Rapp said. "The temperatures were moderate, and we didn’t have the rain delay we had last year [on Saturday]. The hospitality areas we created or upgraded were huge hits. Military Appreciation Day was very popular once again [around 20,000 people were on the course Wednesday]. And we had a very popular guy with strong local ties in contention every day and eventually winning the tournament, and that always helps local interest."

TV ratings, while not nearly as impressive, looked to be pretty solid as well. Thursday's viewership was up about 5 percent over 2011, and ratings for Friday's telecast, which featured Tiger Woods playing late in the day, increased 86 percent over last year, making it the most watched early-round telecast since The Golf Channel started covering the tournament. Saturday's numbers were also up more than 50 percent over last year. 

Feherty and the President
David Feherty sat down recently with President Bill Clinton. Check out this preview clip where Feherty asks Clinton, "What the hell would possess you to do this?"

Kaymer, Rose, Schwartzel and McDowell are top seeds in Euro Tour Match Play event
The Volvo World Match Play Championship at Finca Cortesin near Marbella has some big names raring to take each other on this week including Sergio Garcia battling Alvaro Quiros, and Justin Rose taking on Robert Rock. The top ranked player in the event, Martin Kaymer, will play Rafael Cabrera-Bello in the first round. The unusual event features eight groups consisting of three players each. After a round robin the two top players in each group go on to a knock out round. Here's more salient info on the tournament: 

The top 16 seeds are as follows (in group order):

(1) Martin Kaymer and (16) Rafael Cabrera Bello

(2) Justin Rose and (15) Robert Rock

(3) Charl Schwartzel and (14) Nicolas Colsaerts

(4) Graeme McDowell and (13) Robert Karlsson

(5) Sergio Garcia and (12) Alvaro Quiros

(6) Peter Hanson and (11) Paul Lawrie

(7) Brandt Snedeker and (10) Thomas Bjorn

(8) Ian Poulter and (9) John Senden

The remaining eight players (with world ranking positions in brackets) are: (65) Branden Grace, (66) Retief Goosen, (70) Darren Clarke, (119) Jbe Kruger, (126) Camilo Villegas, (133) Tetsuji Hiratsuka, (175) Tom Lewis, (218) Richard Finch.

The top 16 seeds are the only ones involved on Thursday and holder Poulter will start the action off against Senden at 12.05pm local time (1105 BST). The other eight players then have two games on Friday to decide the last 16.

Tweet of the Day

Media room at @hpbnc includes ping-pong table, foosball, Wii and a slushie machine. In related news, I'm moving in.

— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelGC) May 15, 2012

Each week, 15 staffers from SI Golf+, Golf Magazine and GOLF.com vote for their top 10, awarding 10 points to their first choice and proceeding in descending order to the 10th player, who gets one point. The points are then added and the ranking calculated. This ranking aims to be an of-the-moment measure of who’s playing the best right now. Tell us your top 10 in the comments field below.

RANK (TOTAL VOTES, FIRST PLACE VOTES, LAST WEEK'S RANK)

1.  Rory McIlroy (140, 9, 1)  - Last three finishes: MC, The Players Championship; T2, Wells Fargo Championship; T40, Masters
- Official World Golf Ranking: 1

2. Bubba Watson (120, 1, 2) - Last three finishes: T18, Zurich Classic of New Orleans; 1, Masters; T4 Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Official World Golf Ranking: 4

3. Luke Donald (100, 4, 5) - Last three finishes: 6, The Players Championship; 3, Zurich Classic of New Orleans; T37, RBC Heritage
- Official World Golf Ranking: 2

4. Phil Mickelson (87, 1, 4) - Last three finishes: T25, The Players Championship; T26, Wells Fargo Championship; T3, Masters
- Official World Golf Ranking: 10

5. Rickie Fowler (83, 0, 7) - Last three finishes: T2, The Players Championship; 1, Wells Fargo Championship; T10, Zurich Classic of New Orleans
- Official World Golf Ranking: 18

6. Matt Kuchar (83, 0, NR) - Last three finishes: 1, The Players Championship; T13, Valero Texas Open; T44, RBC Heritage
-Official World Golf Ranking: 5

7. Lee Westwood (71, 0, 3) - Last three finishes: T61, The Players Championship; T5, Wells Fargo Championship; 1, CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters
- Official World Golf Ranking: 3

8. Hunter Mahan (43, 0, 8) - Last three finishes: MC, The Players Championship; T53, Wells Fargo Championship; T12, Masters
- Official World Golf Ranking: 6

9. Louis Oosthuizen (42, 0, 6) - Last three finishes: MC, The Players Championship; 1, Maybank Malaysian Open; 2, Masters
- Official World Golf Ranking: 14

10. Ben Curtis (17, 0, NR)- Last three finishes: T2, The Players Championship; T5, Wells Fargo Championship; T13, Zurich Classic of New Orleans
-Official World Golf Ranking: 72

Others receiving votes:
Jason Dufner (15)
Branden Grace (11)
Justin Rose (4)
Webb Simpson (3)
Keegan Bradley (2)
Zach Johnson (2)
Adam Scott (1)
Tiger Woods (1)