Former World No. 1 and Twitter newbie Tiger Woods gave his online fans a treat Tuesday afternoon when he spent about 45 minutes answering fans’ questions on Twitter. Lest anyone think it wasn’t actually Woods answering the questions, he even posted a picture of himself at the computer.

Here are some highlights from the session. ‘RT’ means re-tweet, so Woods is giving his answer followed by his re-tweet of the original question. Yup, he’s a fast learner. The famously terse Woods also appears to have no problem keeping his responses within Twitter's 140-character limit.

During round I eat peanut&banana sandwich & almonds RT: @macrod01 Hey -- What's the best pre-round meal and "in the bag" snacks/food? Thnx.

Steep and deep. RT: @HunterMahan @TigerWoods Hahahaha. Have you made a complete turn yet?

As Al Davis said "Just win baby" RT: @mwheeler22 @TigerWoods ..yo tiger, what are your 2011 goals on the PGA tour?

St. Andrews. RT: @Justin_PRGuy @TigerWoods what's your favorite course and why?

Single digit handicap with a nasty hook. RT: @billyfennelly I know that you have caddied for Stevie before, how good of a golfer is he?

More majors than the other. RT: @FMinorLP U and Roger Federer are competing to see who wins the most majors, what does the winner get?

Stanford in the National Championship Game RT: @Michelleannette so what does the man who can buy anything want for Christmas

Basketball. RT: @WeberN @TigerWoods if you could play any other sport, what would it be?

No movie compares to Caddyshack. RT: @MrCree2 Coming to America or Hangover?

Lakers, Dodgers, Raiders RT: @jmandel2 Favorite team to root for (besides Stanford)?

EVERYTHING. RT: @Michael_Necci What part of your game are looking forward to in 2011?

Woods told his Twitter audience that he had to stop answering questions to attend a press conference at the Chevron World Challenge, the all-star golf tournament he hosts at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif., this week. Afterward, Twitter users were almost uninamous in praising Woods's Q&A session. CNBC business reporter Darren Rovell said that if Woods does this every week “he could be the most relevant athlete on Twitter.”

Even Rory McIlroy was impressed. After Woods finished answering questions, McIlroy tweeted: “Wasn't gonna follow @TigerWoods but now he's tweeting like crazy so I think he'll be well worth a follow!!”

You might have heard that Martin Kaymer, arguably the world's best golfer, pulled out of Tiger's annual tournament at Sherwood CC, but you probably didn't know why. Turns out, Kaymer's comely gal pal, Allison Michelletti, has designs on possibly becoming a professional golfer herself, and she is playing in the Ladies European Tour Pre-Qualifying. Evidently she couldn't find a decent caddie for the event, so the world's third-ranked player decided to haul her sticks and read some putts. According to a report on Devil Ball Golf, Michelletti hasn't fared very well so far, with a painful 89 in the first round, but has improved since Kaymer picked up the bag.  

Searching Tiger
For years Tiger Woods has been among the most popular celebrities in the world, but after his well publicized car crash, divorce, and loss of millions in endorsements, you'd think his popularity would slip a bit. No question he's not as well liked as he once was, but by one measure he's still incredibly "popular." According to AOL's Year End Hot Searches, Tiger was tops among celebrity searches, finishing ahead of Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian. When you consider that a professional golfer's private life was as interesting to Internet surfers as the BP oil spill, the new iPad, and bedbugs, it becomes clear just how massive a celebrity the world's former No. 1 player really is. In addition, Softpedia reports that Tiger was the third most searched topic on bing.com (Kim K. beat him out this time), as well as the third most searched person overall (ahead of Lady Gaga and President Obama). Not bad for golfer whose college nickname was Urkel. 

President Clinton sells autographed clubs on eBay
We all have a couple of old putters or a set of irons sitting in the garage that we'd like to get rid of, but it's kind of surprising when the former Commander in Chief decides to unload some sticks on eBay. In this case however, it's to benefit a good cause, the William J. Clinton Foundation. Established with the purpose of alleviating poverty, improving global health, and protecting the environment (among other worthwhile endeavors), the Clinton Foundation is working with eBay to raise money by auctioning off a number of prizes including a private dinner with the President, and you guessed it, a set of Bubba's game-used, autographed clubs. The auction, which is live now, ends on December 2nd, so get your bids in quick. Mulligans not included. 

(Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Sunday was an exciting day in the Rules Guy household, as Ian Poulter lost the Dubai World Championship to Sweden's Robert Karlsson on the second playoff hole, largely due to a one-stroke penalty that the Englishman called on himself. 

After eyeing a 40-foot birdie putt, Poulter dropped his ball onto his "lucky" marker, flipping the mark over. Poulter was penalized one stroke, effectively taking all of the pressure off Karlsson. When Poulter left his par putt short, Karlsson made his three-footer for birdie and nailed down the tournament.

The Rules Guy's inbox was filled with questions from eagle-eyed fans who were SURE that a player who accidently moves his ball marker is not deserving of a penalty. After all, it's a matter of clumsiness, not cheating. It is generally true that you can’t be penalized for accidentally moving your ball marker, but that rule of thumb comes with a big caveat.

According to Rule 20-3a, there is no penalty for a player who accidently moves his marker as long as it is "directly attributable to the specific act of placing or replacing the ball or removing the ball-marker." This is the litmus test that Poulter failed, as he dropped his ball while he was standing over the marker, not while placing or removing it. The penalty may have seemed draconian, but the ruling was correct--a one-stroke penalty for breaching Rule 20-1.

This is one of those freak things that never happens...until it does, and kudos to Mr. Poulter for not only recognizing the infraction, but reporting it immediately. Normally I would recommend that Poulter consider changing to a slightly smaller lucky mark, but with career earnings of more than $21 million, I don't think he's having much trouble in the luck department.

(Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

The date is not yet settled for the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland, however, it will end in September, according to European Tour chief executive George O’Grady.

“It won't be later in the last week of September, anyway; in September, or earlier,” O’Grady said Sunday at the Euro Tour’s season-ending Dubai World Championship.

European Ryder Cup director Richard Hills said that the date was still being negotiated with the PGA of America, but that the rain-soaked 2010 Ryder Cup in Wales, which took place in early October, was a factor in getting an earlier date.

“That's still a work in progress with the PGA of America and the PGA Tour to try and secure an earlier date for the match,” Hills said. “I think they all saw what happened, and the request is being listened to, but it is still a work-in-progress as TV schedules are agreed on that side of the pond.”

The 2012 Ryder Cup will take place at Medinah Golf Club outside Chicago from Sept. 28-30.

Even God can’t hit John Daly’s 1-iron
John Daly had a good reason for his no-show during a practice round at the Australian Open on Monday: he didn’t have the right clubs. Peter Stone of The Sydney Morning Herald has the details:

...the reason Daly decided to stay in his hotel room was the delayed arrival of his favored one and two irons from the United States. Those two clubs are almost as extinct as the dodo for most tour pros, replaced by rescue/hybrid clubs that do pretty much the same job when it comes to distance without the skill required to play the one and two irons.

Australian Open organizer Tony Roosenburg was asked to explain why the slimmed-down American made an urgent call to TaylorMade in the US to provide him with the two required clubs. On Wednesday, Daly played just nine holes - the back nine, which a redesign of the course by Mike Clayton has left most exposed to the elements.

''The wind was brutal here on Wednesday and by the 12th hole [their third] he'd already decided that hybrid wasn't suited for this golf course and, after the game, he immediately organized for the one and two irons to be sent from the US," Roosenburg explained.

Tiger’s proposed Dubai course is bigger bomb than Ishtar
Tiger Woods announced his first course design in Dubai with great fanfare in 2008, but with the economic boomtown gone bust, Woods’s project is literally nowhere, according to The Guardian’s Lawrence Donegan, who took a drive out to the site last week:

Read the three-year-old press releases and gasp at the numbers. Fifty-five million square feet. Two hundred "residences" – £7m villas, £10m mansions and "palaces". A boutique hotel, a spa and a Michelin-starred restaurant. And then the centerpiece: the Al Ruwaya Golf Club. Eleven thousand imported trees; 22m cubic meters of earth to be moved; and 3m square feet of water. An 18-hole masterpiece hewn from the sand. All hail the winner of "best golf development" at the 2008 Arabian Properties Awards. Estimated total cost on completion: $1.1bn.

Now gasp at the tumbleweed reality on the morning of 27 November 2010, the first anniversary of the car crash that led to the world's richest and most famous athlete falling to earth. The Tiger Woods Dubai: a dust-bowl, an empty car park, an "Arabian palace" as real as a Hollywood film set.

Look on his works, ye mighty, and despair.

Michelle Wie has turkey, back rehab for Thanksgiving
Michelle Wie spent her Thanksgiving holiday with her family in Palm Springs, Calif., and she hopes her injured back is well enough to play in the Omega Dubai World Masters, which begins Dec. 6, according to Larry Bohannan of The Desert Sun newspaper.

“This week is good, just being here, being away from all of the distractions,” said Wie in an exclusive interview with The Desert Sun at Bighorn Golf Club, her desert home. “I finished a nine-page paper. I'm finishing up a 20-page paper now. I have finals during Dubai. So I will be going home and then going to school, then to Dubai.”

Wie enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with her family (“I ate so much. I'm stuffed.”) during her week at Bighorn. But she also started some work trying to get back on the golf course after having to withdraw from her last event because of a bulging disc in her back.

The disc, along with some cysts along her spine, have pushed the 21-year-old Wie off the course and out of next week's LPGA Tour Championship. But she believes her rehab work has her on track to play Dubai the following week.

“The one thing I want to do is just slam a driver right now, but there is no way,” Wie said. “I pulled my driver out of my bag and my parents were like, ‘Nooo.'”

Stray Shots: Stories we saw while wishing noted duffer Leslie Nielsen had made a golf movie...

Jack Nicklaus played Augusta National a couple months ago and holed out for eagle on 17. (Via The Palm Beach Post)

Lee Westwood's brother-in-law and fellow pro golfer Andrew Coltart is looking forward to some nice wine at the Westwood home this Christmas. “After the year Lee has had I'm expecting the red wine will be a cut above the £5 bottles he got from Sainsbury's last Christmas!” Coltart joked. (Via The Scottish Daily Record)

Tiger Woods can rest easy about making the Presidents Cup team this year. Captain Fred Couples says he’s a shoe-in. (Via The Hartford Courant)

After reading our extensive interview with Brandel Chamblee, we figured you might have a question of your own for the Golf Channel analyst. Many of you sent in questions, and Brandel answered a select few. Check out your questions and Brandel's answers here.

(Photo: Ben Van Hook)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- So, four days of battle in the desert of Dubai came down to the toss of a coin on the 18th green. And Sweden's Robert Karlsson was eventually declared winner of the $1.25 million first prize at the Dubai World Championship. The coin was Ian Poulter's ball marker, and it flipped over after the Englishman dropped his ball on it. One-shot penalty. Game over. "It was my lucky marker, too," he said taking defeat graciously. "Shame it has just ended the way it has. Hey-ho," he said shrugging his shoulders.

The Swede said he felt sympathy for Poulter. "Those things happen in golf," Karlsson said. "It's not the way you want to win. It's very harsh. In one way, that's the purity of the game. We have harsh rules and actually follow them, compared to some other sports. That's the beauty of the game in one way. But it's not great when these things happen, especially under these circumstances."

This was Karlsson's second victory of the year and a welcome return to form for the 2008 European No.1. He spent much of 2009 and early 2010 suffering with glandular fever and with fluid in his left eye. "My vision was like when you come up from being underwater -- all fuzzy," he said.

He started the final round three shots behind overnight leader Poulter but got off to a flier. He started birdie, birdie, eagle -- holing an 8-iron to take the lead. But it took a holed putt on the 18th and a wait on the range to see if anyone could pass him. "I didn't know if I needed to hole it or anything," Karlsson said. "So it was probably better that way for me." Poulter's birdie chance at the last shaved the hole. Playoff. Poulter's coin clanger. Victory. "It's a strange day," Karlsson said.

The amiable, deep-thinking Karlsson once called himself a quitter. But he has turned into a fighter. "I was an angry golfer for a while, but now I am European No. 1," he said in 2008. "I worked it out." And now he has done it again.

-- Paul Mahoney

There has been a European outbreak of tweeting in the Dubai desert. A tweetwave, if you like. Joining golf’s twitterati this week was World No.1 Lee Westwood. The banter has been sparking between him and Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy. They’ve been winding each other up in a public forum. It’s been like listening to a bunch of mates down in the pub. (And by pub, I mean five-star players’ hotel.)

Westwood’s opening gambit set the tone. His dry wit shone through from the outset with the Twit King Poulter his target. “Couldn’t let Poulter have all the fun on here,” he tweeted. “And when Tiger joined I couldn’t let it just be him and Tiger.” Poulter’s comment a few years ago about taking on Tiger Woods in the world rankings just keeps coming back to haunt him. And Westwood hadn’t quite finished with his fellow countryman. “I'm delighted a Twitter god like yourself follows me so closely! Didn't see you in the gym sparrow legs!”

Next up on Westwood’s hit list was McIlroy. And the Northern Irishman’s new blond hair hadn’t gone unnoticed. “Just pleased I wasn't stood next to you when that flock of sea gulls flew over!” Westwood tweeted.

The Englishman explained why he could no longer resist this 140-character craze. "It’s a good way of interacting. I’ve always had a pretty good sense of humor, but it's impossible to show it on the course."

Westwood’s sardonic way with words is perfect for this bite-sized arena. “Paul Casey has just given me a bear hug! He doesn't know how dangerous that is after the chillis I've had!"

Westwood asked a question and got a deluge of answers, too, from his 31,196 followers (and counting) after 71 tweets. “Can anybody tell me why the moon looks bigger here in Dubai than at home? No I haven’t been drinking before you ask!” he tweeted. Perfect.

What we’ve learned this week is it's possible for someone to be both the best player in the world at his sport as well as a normal person. The new World No.1 has given a life lesson to the old No.1. Woods says he wants to “connect more with the fans.” But he hasn’t made much of an effort. What have we learned so far from his, ahem, four tweets? “Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I just finished a pretty tough cardio session because of all the apple & pumpkin pie.” Oh dear. Advantage Westwood.

And last word, err, tweet, to the World No.1 in Dubai, too. “I think it could be a long night! 1st corona went down quick! Think all the Euro tour tweeters have the same idea!” Cheers.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- You win some; you lose some. Martin Kaymer didn’t win the Dubai World Championship. But he did enough to stay ahead of Graeme McDowell to win the Race to Dubai, the European Tour’s money list, and with it a $1.5 million bonus. Kaymer didn’t beat Lee Westwood in the race to be World No.1 either. The Englishman keeps the No.1 spot for at least another week. So everybody was happy in the desert – even McDowell, who finished the season as European No.2 at the end of the greatest season of his career.

Kaymer has reached the pinnacle in Europe in only his fourth year on tour. He played his part in Europe’s victory in the Ryder Cup and won four tournaments in 2010, including three in a row starting with the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in August.

So what makes the 25-year-old German tick? Westwood hasn’t got a clue. The best he can come up with is this: “He reminds me a lot of Bernhard Langer. I’m not quite sure what’s going on in his head but it looks good,” he said laughing. “He seems very calm and controlled. It must be a German thing.”

Kaymer speaks quietly but confidently. He’s polite, helpful, approachable and charming. Modest but driven. “I never thought I would be in this position so quickly,” he said. When he turned pro in 2005 the plan was to play one year on the German Tour then two on the Challenge Tour (the European equivalent of the Nationwide Tour) before trying to get onto the European Tour. And yet here he is – ahead of schedule, feeling comfortable, part of the scene. After becoming Rookie of the Year in Europe in 2007, his goal for 2008 was to break into the World Top 50. Mission accomplished. For 2009 he targeted the Top 20. Job done. For 2010 he targeted the Top 10. He got there in January. He’s now trying hard not to think about becoming World No.1 to emulate his hero Bernhard Langer. But it’s impossible to block it out because he is constantly asked about it. “I would love to get there,” he admitted.

As well as following in the footsteps of Langer, he names Ernie Els as his role model. “I try to be always calm whether I get eagles, birdies or bogeys,” Kaymer said. “I don’t go crazy like some other players on tour. I try to be more like Ernie.” It seems to be working.

Kaymer said his main goals for 2010 were to win a Ryder Cup and a major and claim the Race to Dubai. All boxes ticked. “What a year. A lot of dreams have come true,” he said. Goals for 2011? "It would be nice to win the British Open.”

But despite such a stellar season, Kaymer is still not the most famous sportsman in Germany. And he knows it. That accolade was wrapped up when Sebastian Vettel won the Formula 1 Grand Prix championship. Kaymer just shrugged and smiled. “Nothing bothers him,” said his best friend Alvaro Quiros. Oh well, you win some; you lose some.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Paul Casey has remained silent for three months since missing out on a place on Europe’s triumphant Ryder Cup team. But he finally aired his frustration and disappointment during the Dubai World Championship.

He said Colin Montgomerie still hasn’t spoken to him to explain why he was snubbed despite being one of the top 10 players in the world. Casey stood behind the 18^th green on Friday night, and he looked and sounded hurt and angry as he explained that he expected Monty to clear the air at a pro-am dinner during the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai three weeks ago.

"I saw him there, but then he was gone," said Casey. "He knew where to find me." The perceived stand-off is all the more bizarre considering Casey was a guest at Monty’s wedding and the Scot expressed that it felt "horribly awful" not to pick his "friend" for the Ryder Cup.

The word in the locker room has been that Casey was left out because there was a perception that he is unpopular among his peers and poor at foursomes. Casey rebuked both accusations. "I've only lost two foursomes matches, and one of those was against Tiger,” he said. "Otherwise my record with David Howell and Luke Donald is 100 per cent. So me not being very good at foursomes is nonsense."

Casey was quick to point out that he has been swapping Twitter banter in Dubai with Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood. So it seems he’s getting on just fine with his Race to Dubai rivals. “If you are talking about popularity in general, that shouldn't count anyway, as it should be all about how many points you put on the board," Casey said.

Despite his disappointment with Monty’s continuing silence, he admitted that he only had himself to blame for missing out on the Ryder Cup. “I just didn’t earn enough points,” he said. “But what did hurt was the way I found out.”

Casey was in the middle of a round with Padraig Harrington at The Barclays tournament in New Jersey when the news filtered through from Gleneagles in Scotland. The Irishman had been picked; the Englishman snubbed. "I felt like shaking Paddy's hand and walking in, to be honest,” Casey said. “That’s got to change. The announcement has to be put back. It's simply unfair. I've always liked to fight back and prove someone wrong," he said.

If Monty looks at the leaderboard in Dubai, he will see Casey just four shots off the lead held by Ian Poulter at 12 under par. And Casey’s cell phone is on message alert. He said it was strange that he and Monty still haven’t spoken. “We have the same manager,” he said. Point made.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- If it’s 27 degrees C (80 F) on the European Tour in November, it must be Dubai. The end-of-season World Championship has a first prize of $1.25 million. But the weekend will also determine who wins the Race to Dubai, Europe’s money list and a nice early Christmas bonus of $1.5 million.

The atmosphere at the Earth Course, designed by Greg Norman, is sports event meets garden party. The spectators are mostly Dubai’s ex-pats: Brits and South Africans, with a smattering of locals to make up crowds that swell on Friday (the first day of the weekend in the United Arab Emirates) and fall away, bizarrely, on Sunday (a working day) for the final round.

The tented village is the social heartbeat of the tournament. Two bars, a giant TV screen and hundreds of golf fans chilling out on scatter cushions on the grass or sitting on pub benches around tables with beers and Bacardis. It’s a cross between the Masters and the British Open. Ladies are resplendent in summer dresses. Men of course are sporting the universal uniform of chino shorts, polo shirts and sports shoes or flip-flop beach sandals. (They’d never allow those at Augusta.)

You know the tournament is catering to a mainly British audience when you look around at the menus: bison burger, Fat Boy Kebab, Foot-Long Euro Tour Dog, and the ubiquitous fish and chips. Of course there’s a Costa coffee bar, too, because the world just hasn’t got enough chain stores, right?

As the last putt drops each day, the band cranks up on the stage next to the giant screen. It’s tribute band heaven (or hell) in the desert. Thursday it was Vertigo murdering U2. Never mind Sunday, this was more Thursday Bloody Thursday. Friday had a Motown showdown. Poor James Brown. I Feel Good. Well, almost. Saturday, Van Morrison’s Moondance kicked off the party. Can I just have one more romance with you? Er, no, thanks.

Life is more laid back in the privileged seats in front of the clubhouse where VIPs have cute picnic tables and waiter service corralled inside a charming whitewashed picket fence. Just like June in an English village. In November in Dubai.

Meanwhile, rather appropriately, England’s Ian Poulter is leading at 12 under par after the third round. You can read all about his day, no, doubt, for the next 24 hours on his Twitter feed at @ianjamespoulter.

Cocktail, anyone?