Alan Bastable, senior editor at GOLF Magazine, live blogged Tiger Woods's 63 on Friday at the Buick Open.

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One of the defining web columns of our time, the Hot List, is taking a sabbatical. Its lonely author is hoping to do something more interactive, a weekly conversation among, well, not exactly friends, but definitely fellow golf fanatics. For lack of more original thinking, we shall call this the Golf Mailbag. (Ship’s Nuts barely missed the cut.)

It will be published on Tuesdays, beginning Aug. 4, except for the weeks when said author turns it in late, or is on vacation, or is faking “computer trouble." No subject will be out of bounds, though hopefully the author will refrain from such obvious wordplay in the actual column. From perusing the comments that already litter GOLF.com, the author expects to be mocked, belittled, and made the object of unrelenting scorn, and really that’s part of the appeal in doing this. You, the valued reader, shall be treated with exactly the amount of respect you deserve. (Take that for what it’s worth.)

Hopefully there can be some enlightening exchanges and the author can provide penetrating analysis and keen insider’s observations. (And no, not just on the topic of Tour wives.) Ideally we can look back at the week that was and ahead to the week that is. The author will sprinkle his gold dust upon his keyboard on Monday afternoons, so do try to post relevant questions in the comments section below before then.

For those readers whose musing are not validated with a response by the esteemed author, surely this will induce flashbacks to the 8th grade dance, when you sat alone in the bleachers, feeling rejected, but remember this: only the Mailbag offers the promise of weekly redemption. In other words, post away.

A week after Loren Roberts captured the Senior British Open, the 50-and-older crowd is at Crooked Stick for the U.S. Senior Open. Check back for updates throughout the day.

5:08 pm -- Tom Watson only one under through 10.

5:06 pm -- Bean is at 5 under through 14 holes, one behind leaders Norman, Forsman and Sindelar.

3:48 pm -- Andy Bean, 4 under through nine holes, only player making a move so far this afternoon

2:48 pm -- Tom Watson is 1 under through three holes.

2:46 pm -- Ian Woosnam, Bob Tway and Mark O'Meara are all at 2 under.

1:41 pm Norman finishes with a bogey, but he is tied for the lead with Sindelar and Forsman.

11:42 am -- Tom Watson, Fred Funk and Mark O'Meara are among the names teeing off in the afternoon.

11:37 am -- Joey Sindelar, Greg Norman and Dan Forsman are your leaders at 4-under par through nine holes. Tom Lehman, Loren Roberts and Bernhard Langer are also in the mix.

More on U.S. Senior Open
Scores at ussenioropen.com | Norman shares early lead

CARMEL, Ind. -- Here's who I'll be watching in Thursday's first round of the U.S. Senior Open at Crooked Stick.

Tom Watson It's not like we're greedy or anything, but we just want to see another miracle like the one he nearly pulled off at Turnberry. That's all.

Greg Norman He's the best player who's never won a major on the senior circuit, or any event on the senior circuit. He's a part-time player at this point, but he's due to break out. And before you ask, his wife, Chris Evert, isn't arriving until the weekend.

Loren Roberts The Boss of the Moss is coming off a Senior British win, but Crooked Stick is a big hitter's park and he's a big putter. Still, you never know.

Bernhard Langer He's only the best senior player out there now, and always the man to beat.

More on U.S. Senior Open
Scores at ussenioropen.com | Watson practices after illness

The PGA Tour announced news today that golf fans have been waiting for:

"Bridgestone Invitational fans will be excited to learn that Phil Mickelson will return to action at Firestone Country Club, his first tournament start since the U.S. Open in June."

His wife, Amy, and mother, Mary, are both being treated for for breast cancer. Mickelson withdrew from the British Open, citing his wife's health, and was taking a break from competitive golf to focus on his family.

Coming just a week before the PGA Championship at Hazeltine, it will be interesting to see if Mickelson now commits to playing that event as well. At Bethpage, before competing in the U.S. Open, Phil said that he didn't foresee coming back to competitive golf before August. "We won't know our treatment schedule after surgery until about a week or two, until we have some other tests done."

Mickelson has played in each of the 10 previous Bridgestone Invitational events and his best performance at Firestone was a tie for second in 1999.

Shank. You know that dreaded word well, no? I sure do. We've all hit one, or many, of those vile shots, and we've seen our fellow hackers suffer. Sometimes tour pros even bang one sideways off the hosel.

I guess my bosses don't like me, because they gave me the inglorious job of creating a feature for Golf Magazine about shanks, and the story will include shank tales from our loyal readers.

That's where you come in. I'd love to hear your horror stories. Where have you shanked? With what club? Are you prone to shanks, and do you therefore always think about them? Have you been able to shank-proof your swing or find a shank-proof club? Have you hit somebody, broken something, sought the help of a pro?

Please be sure to use a valid e-mail address when leaving a comment so we can follow up.

Shank you very much,
Rick Lipsey

Despite the LPGA's recent turbulence, one thing seems certain: The women's game is a growing concern in Asia. The latest evidence is the web traffic stimulated by the victory of Japan's Ai Miyazato at last week's Evian Masters. As Jon Show of Sports Business Journal reported, LPGA.com attracted 6.5 million pageviews this past week, up 45% from the 4.47 million that visited the site during last year’s event.  Approximately 35% of all visitors were from Japan. The scoring section at LPGA.com drew 1.4 million pageviews, up 93% from 727,000 during last year’s tournament. Pageviews at USLPGA.jp, the tour’s Japanese-language site, more than doubled an average week on tour, to 270,000.  

The tour is scheduled to visit Japan for the Mizuno Classic, on Nov. 6-8.

There were a record eight holes-in-one during the rainy Canadian Open this past weekend, but Leif Olson's bank shot was probably the best. He aced the par-3 15th at Glen Abbey Golf Club, winning a BMW Z4 Roadster.

And that was one profitable shot. Not including his earnings at the Canadian Open, Olson had earned less than $20,000 on Tour this year. The Z4 retails for around $51,000.

Lefty stopped by Fox & Friends Friday and answered some questions about Tiger's on-course temper ("If he's struggling while we're playing together, it's okay.") and Tom Watson's British Open run ("It would have been one of the most inspirational stories in all of sports.").  And while he hasn't played recently, he says his wife is doing well, and he should be able to return to golf soon. 

At the very least, you have to watch to check out his seriously snazzy suit.

Some LPGA players in France for the Evian Masters got a scare on Wednesday night when their hotel caught fire.

AFP reported: "Several players were staying at the Hotel Pavillons du Golf, and South Korean Amy Yang threw out her mattress and jumped to the ground from the balcony. Her father suffered burns to his arm."

Christina Kim, who is staying at a different hotel, also tweeted, "Thankfully no one was seriously hurt. Catriona Matthew's hubby suffered a hurt ankle but was able to caddy/walk today thankfully!!!"