Looks like Donald Trump's Bronx project is going to get somebody fired. And the more the New York Daily News digs, the higher up that person is going to be.

First, the Daily News reported that the contractor hired to build the course had ties to a company under bribery investigation. Then came the news that the course was spewing potentially explosive amounts of methane into the surrounding houses.

Now comes something that will really get the city's attention. According to Greg B. Smith, Ferry Point is coming in at least $74.5 million dollars over budget. And, since money talks, and $74.5 million screams bloody murder, city Comptroller (and mayoral candidate) John Liu has sent the parks department a notice announcing he is "reexamining" the project.

The project was initially budgeted to cost $22.5 million. The Parks Department, which is building the course, now expects it to cost $97 million. The Daily News, though, "found contracts assigned to the Ferry Point golf course totaling $120 million," according to Smith's article.

The name Trump is often associated with the spewing of hot air. But rarely is it as smelly -- or combustible -- as this.

We're talking about methane, which, according to the New York Daily News, has been gushing from the ground at Trump's Ferry Point project in the Bronx, which is being built on a reclaimed city dump.

Test results that register as more than 100% LEL mean the air in the wells contains 5% or more methane — enough to make the air explosive.

Since January, levels of more than 5% methane have been recorded 41 times at more than a dozen wells at the edge of the site across the street from homes, The News found…

…The hottest spot is along Butrick and Schley Aves., about 20 yards from senior citizen housing run by the city Housing Authority called the Randall-Balcolm Houses. There, levels of methane in concentrations well above 5% have been recorded 22 times from January through July.

In fact, concentrations of methane in the wells at Buttrick Ave. reached levels ranging from 28% to 34% in July — far above the level deemed safe.

No word on what the city plans to do about these findings, but the more the Daily News digs into Ferry Point, the more it…well…stinks. Earlier this week, the News reported that the firm contracted to build the course has ties with a company at the heart of a large-scale bribery scandal two years back.

Can't wait to play it, though.

A new documentary on Donald Trump is set to open in limited release Friday.

"You've Been Trumped" by Anthony Baxter covers the development of The Donald's $1.5 billion Scottish resort (the first 18 holes of which opened last month). From what we've heard, it's no rosy portrait. As Stephen Holden of the New York Times writes in his review:

In this unabashedly hostile portrait of a billionaire developer in action as he embarks on a grandiose new project in Scotland, Mr. Trump comes across as an insensitive, lying bully who will do whatever it takes to realize his dream of creating what he promises will be the world’s greatest golf resort.

That's the sense we get from the trailer, too:

Of course, if you're looking for less controversy (and more course porn), maybe you're better off checking out our gallery of Trump International Golf Links - Scotland instead.

Ah, the ESPY Awards. That annual celebration of sporting excellence, humble deferral to teammates ("you know, without them none of this would be possible...), and slick montages set to dramatic modern rock. The People's Choice Awards, except for sports.

Golf, in its capacity as a professional sport, gets some play each year. And this year, your choices for Best Golfer are...(drum roll for those who didn't read the title)...Bubba Watson and Cristie Kerr! Congrats.

Watson was also up for best moment, but lost out to Tim Tebow, who won for his overtime TD pass to knock Pittsburgh out of the NFL Playoffs. Fair is fair, I guess: Bubba won Tebow's charity outing back in April.

Of course, the real entertainment was just inviting Watson to a formal event. Pretty sure the only jacket he owns is green. He did, though, add a little flair to his buttoned-up look, judging from this photo, via John Piazza at BeerMugSports.com:

Yes, he appears to be wearing golf shoes and green argyle socks. You can take a Bubba off the golf course...but he'll still dress like he's on it.

Trump Card
By the time Donald Trump played half of his new course in Scotland Tuesday, he had seen enough. Enough, that is, to declare Trump International the greatest of the thirty-odd thousand golf courses that pock the planet. According to the Scotsman:

After completing the first nine holes with George O'Grady and Sandy Jones, the chief executives of the European Tour and the UK PGA respectively, Mr. Trump called it the "greatest golf course anywhere in the world".

"We're having a great time, the course is playing great and the weather has held up," he said. "Colin [Montgomerie] loves the course and he's playing really well, he's a great player and a great guy."

Trump went on, in the interview below, to mention that "everyone knows" Trump International is the greatest golf course in the world, and that "most people are saying it," too. Watch the whole video to hear it straight from the boss's mouth. And to play a little game called "Monty or Donald." It's as tough as it sounds.

Aussie golfer Brendan Jones says golf shouldn't be in the Olympics
The run-up to the London Olympics is in full effect, but for golf -- which is only 16 majors away from returning to the competition -- the focus is on Rio 2016. But the chatter isn't all positive. Australian pro Brendan Jones is already talking about skipping the games, saying golf doesn't belong at the Olympics. As David Polkinghorne of Australia's Great Lakes Advocate reports:

Jones said an Olympic gold medal was a distant fifth behind winning one of the four major golf tournaments – the British Open, US Masters, US Open and US PGA.

He felt it should be the sole domain of sports like athletics where their main focus was the four-yearly cycle of the Games.

‘‘I don’t agree that golf should be in the Olympics,’’ Jones told The Canberra Times today.

‘‘It’s like the tennis, who even knows who won the gold medal in the tennis?

‘‘These guys are playing every week for millions of dollars and an Olympic gold medal in their house isn’t going to take pride of place.

Jones is ranked 106th in the Official World Golf Rankings. He is playing in the Open Championship next week.

Tweet of the Day

.@BubbaWatson looks good in a Green Jacket. However, he might look even better in a sombrero -> twitter.com/ESPYS/status/2…

— 2012 ESPYS (@ESPYS) July 12, 2012

Dustin Johnson said via Twitter that he plans to play at next week's Players Championships if his doctors approve.

The back rehab is REALLY good and hoping for next week pending medical clearance! "@BlakeGrahamPGA how's the back?? When you playing next?"

— Dustin Johnson (@DJohnsonPGA) May 2, 2012

Johnson missed the Masters due to a back injury he aggravated while lifting a jet ski (we hate it when we do that). He has three top 10 finishes this season and is currently ranked 17th in the world.

Johnson also weighed in on Tiger Woods's controversial no-press press conference where Woods bypassed the traditional media tent interrogation to take questions directly from fans.

People love or hate Mr. @TigerWoods - I like that he's taking to the internet to reach his fans!! Not every time, but its OK!! #ItsTheFuture

— Dustin Johnson (@DJohnsonPGA) May 2, 2012

Report: Trump's New Jersey course to host 2017 U.S. Women's Open
Donald Trump's Bedminster N.J. course will host the 2017, according to Mike Buteau of Bloomberg News.

Donald Trump's Bedminster, NJ (old) course to host 2017 U.S. Women's Open, person familiar with decision confirms#Golf

— Mike Buteau (@MikeButeau) May 2, 2012

The official USGA announcement is scheduled for Thursday, but Trump actually let the news slip to Sports Illustrated's Gary Van Sickle in an interview last month.

I covered the LPGA event that was there several times. During the PGA at Baltusrol, I played your course in Bedminster.

We just got the Women's U.S. Open at that one, which is phenomenal.

Trump has never been shy about his desire to host a men's U.S. Open at his Bedminster course, which is near USGA headquarters in rural New Jersey, and an agreement with the USGA to host a women's Open is a step in the right direction.

Seeking endorsement, Biden plays golf with Bloomberg
Both President Obama and likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney want New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's endorsement and, according to Politico, Biden took the old-fashioned route toward asking for a favor: he played golf with Bloomberg.

Mike Bloomberg, who was wooed earlier today by Mitt Romney for an endorsement, also got in a round of golf last Friday with Vice President Joe Biden, sources told POLITICO.

The pair was played at a course somewhere in the Washington area, the sources said.

Bloomberg played golf with President Obama in 2010 and recently had lunch with him at the White House.

Calvin Peete says he has no problem not being in Hall of Fame
Calvin Peete, the trail-blazing African-American golfer who won 12 times on the PGA Tour, said he understands why he's not in the World Golf Hall of Fame because he never won a major, according to Seth Soffian of the [Fort Myers] News-Press.

Peete, 68, spoke at a Fort Myers golf course last week to support mental-health services for veterans.

“Deane Beman wrote that I was the best ball-striker of all time,” Peete said of the former U.S. Amateur champion and long-time PGA Tour commissioner. “Coming from him I thought that was probably the best compliment I could get.”

Peete, who turned professional in 1975 and won for the first time in 1979, had four victories in 1982, played on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1981 and ’83, won the PGA Tour’s Vardon Trophy in 1984 for the lowest scoring average and punctuated his career in 1985 with his win in the Players Championship, golf’s unofficial “fifth major.”

Despite so strong a decade, though, he has no qualms with not being in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

“They don’t really want to accept anybody in there unless he’s won a major,” said Peete, noting his inclusion in the African American Golfers Hall of Fame in West Palm Beach. “I don’t want them to just give me something just because I’m black. I want to feel when that happens that I earned it.”

Tweet of the Day

Watch out for the Boston #celtics. P Pierce is the most underrated player the NBA. #stud. Maybe the knicks will come back!! #not @Sevegolf1

— Keegan Bradley (@Keegan_Bradley) May 2, 2012

The Merry Mex isn't so merry these days—at least not when it comes to the state of golf-course design and its impact on the game. In an interview with Mike Bailey of GolfChannel.com, Lee Trevino painted a grim picture of, well, just about every topic Bailey broached:

Bailey: Do you think we should go more toward what they do in Great Britain, just a couple of sets of tees that everyone plays?

Trevino: Yes. And the greens are open in the front and you can run the ball up. In other words, a high handicapper can bump and run the ball on the green. These new modern courses they've built in the last 30 years are all carry. There are a lot of people who can't get it in the air or they get it in the air and it's low, and they don't have a chance to run the ball to the green. They've got to carry bunkers and false fronts. We've really gone the wrong way.

Bailey: But don't you think modern equipment combined with great athletes is making many of these golf courses obsolete?

Trevino: The guy with the lowest score wins, whether it's 9-under, 12-under or 22-under. Who gives a damn? The problem is, who pays for that course and the maintenance of that course? It's the member, and thousands and thousands are dropping out.

Even the seemingly benign Tee it Forward program, which encourages Sunday hackers to play from shorter tees, came under the Mex’s fire.

Trevino: Guys feel like they're going to the ladies tees when you push them up forward. They don't like that. Golfers want to be macho, play it from the tips. Why they're building these golf courses longer than 6,900 yards is beyond me.

'World's greatest golf course' may not be world's greatest golf course

It's not like Donald Trump to throw around superlatives, so when he promised that his new links in Aberdeen, Scotland, would be "the world's greatest golf course," there was reason for great optimism. Now, however, it seems the Donald might have been a hair overzealous with his prediciton. "The dunes are superb, the views are often beautiful and those who enjoy being pampered will find the grooming a step up from most other links in Scotland,” writes Darius Oliver at planetgolfusa.com, in one of the most incisive reviews yet of the Donald’s new playground. But the course, Oliver says, also has its flaws:

The main issue with the playability of the Trump International Scotland course, is that fairways are relatively tight given the frequent high winds here and the off fairway areas are quite penal. There is no doubt that over time the maintenance crew will have to soften some of the problem areas, and likely learn to keep the marram grass in the immediate surrounds under control.

While there is obvious quality here and literally dozens of gorgeous vantage points across Trump Scotland, the big issue purists will have with this layout is the lack of truly outstanding design and the number of awkward architectural features. The small revetted bunkers, for example, are well built and formidable as hazards, but they are often placed in formations that lack elegance or genuine strategic merit, particularly on the par fives. The use of 18 scattered traps to defend the 18th hole seems curious, as does the apparently random structure of the diagonal bunkers short of the 4th green.

More bizarre still is the 200-foot manmade wonder—known as “Cristal Falls”—that dumps champagne into a pond behind the 18th green.

Boom times for golf stocks

Can’t get a piece of the Facebook IPO? Then you might consider sinking some clams into the suddenly resurgent golf industry. So says John Udovich of smallcapnetwork.com, who offers a bullish outlook on the equipment sector:  

Since the start of the year, golf stocks Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY), Adams Golf (NASDAQ: ADGF) and Golfsmith International Holdings (NASDAQ: GOLF) have all given double digit returns to investors. Moreover, it's being reported that the number of rounds played on American golf courses has climbed for four straight months as of February after the number of golfers fell from 30 million in the middle of the last decade to 26.1 million in 2011 due to the recession. More attention is also being played to the PGA Tour this year which should also help increase spending on golf which currently stands at $4 billion a year on equipment, $1 billion a year on golf apparel and $20 billion a year on greens fees according to the National Golf Foundation.

Tweet of the day

Roger Goodell is dapping up draft picks left and right. I can't imagine Tim Finchem hugging a warm puppy, much less an N'Wide grad.

— Ryan Ballengee (@RyanBallengeeGC) April 27, 2012

Kil Jun Lee, a 71-year-old former Korean law enforcement officer who now lives in Los Angeles was arrested for trying to smuggle nearly 40,000 counterfeit erectile dysfunction pills worth $700,000 in his golf bag. 

Lee's arrest comes after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at LAX discovered more than $700,000 worth of phony erectile dysfunction pills in his luggage when he returned from a trip to Korea Feb. 25. Specifically, the criminal complaint states that Lee's luggage contained 29,827 counterfeit Viagra tablets, 8,993 counterfeit Cialis pills and 793 phony Levitra tablets, all concealed in aluminum foil wrapped packets.

According to the complaint, when HSI agents at LAX questioned Lee about whether the medication was for his personal use, he said if he used all of the pills it would kill him because he had a heart condition. 

Call me crazy, but I think 40,000 fake Viagra’s would kill you, regardless of any prior heart conditions. Maybe we should run a Facebook contest: How many fake Viagras can you fit in your golf bag? Winner gets the new Callaway RAZR Fit driver sitting at my desk? Please feel free to make your own jokes in the comments below. 

I want to mini golf all night… 

If you’re looking for a killer golf deal, look no further than the KISS by Monster Mini Golf on the Las Vegas strip, set to open next Thursday. For $14.95, you not only get a round of 18 on the unique, rock ‘n’ roll-themed mini golf course, but you’ll have the chance to rub shoulders with the band, who will be in attendance for the grand opening. 

"Our challenge is to continue to find ways to weave KISS into the very fabric of Americana," said Kiss guitarist Paul Stanley. "We'll be there to celebrate the first-ever KISS By Monster Mini Golf grand opening in Las Vegas. This is miniature golf KISS style and another part of our KISS world. We've big plans for this, and in this case what happens in Vegas won't stay in Vegas." 

"This venue is perfect for Las Vegas,” added bassist Gene Simmons. “Where else can you go play a round of Kiss By Monster Mini Golf and then renew your wedding vows in an official KISS 'Hotter Than Hell' Wedding Chapel? Only in Vegas." 

More information on the grand opening event can be found here. 

Hanse’s busy schedule 

If you aren’t familiar with the name Gil Hanse, it’s time to start doing your homework because it’s a name you will be hearing a lot in the next few years. Yesterday it was announced that the American architect has been selected to design the 2016 Olympic golf course in Rio de Janeiro, beating out the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman and Gary Player. 

Teaming up with Hall of Famer Amy Alcott, Hanse gave a sneak peek via his website of what we can expect from their collaboration come 2016. 

The Olympic course design isn’t the only thing on Hanse’s plate, though. Beginning after the 2013 WGC-Cadillac Championship, Hanse will head the redesign effort of the Blue Monster, now owned by Donald Trump, according to Rex Hoggard. 

“It needs a lot of work. It’s a little tired, but that’s OK,” said Donald Trump, whose organization purchased Doral for $150 million last month and plans a $200 million renovation of the entire property, including the golf course and resort. 

Among the highlights of Hanse’s proposed redesign is additional length across the 7,334-yard layout and the creation of a peninsula green at the par-4 16th hole.

“What we thought to do was to stretch it to its maximum distance, which would be about 7,600 yards,” Hanse said. “We’ve talked to Tour officials who have talked to Tiger (Woods) and Geoff (Ogilvy). We’ll try to talk to Phil (Mickelson) today to get an idea what they feel is appropriate.” 

“Doral can be the absolute best,” Trump said. “The bones of the place are phenomenal. It was laid out brilliantly.” 

The refashioned course will be tested for the first time when the PGA Tour heads to Doral in 2014.

Tweet of the Day

I'm going to slap the next person that tells me "hey this weathers just like home!" Note, it's never 80 degrees when wet and windy in ENG!

— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) March 8, 2012

DORAL, Fla. -- Donald Trump says he has friends who like to garden. He does, too, just in a much bigger way.

Trump, along with his daughter, Ivanka, and golf course architect Gil Hanse, met with the media Thursday morning to discuss his plans for renovating the Doral Resort and Spa, which the Donald recently purchased for $150 million, which is practically a steal considering Morgan Stanley bought the property for $501 million in 2007.

After the 2013 WGC-Cadillac Championship is complete, Trump said they'll close the course for six months and begin renovating the Blue Monster.

"I only buy if it's either the best or can be the best," Trump said. "And this is an example. I mean, Doral can be the absolute best."

The Doral name will be kept, but will Trump add his name to the resort?

"When we have spent the money, and when it's at the highest level of luxury, and the highest levels of golf ... then we are going to make the decision," Trump said.

Translation: Are you kidding me? Of course!

 Hanse, who was also selected to design the 2016 Olympic course in Brazil, will try to bring back the original design elements to the course that have been made obsolete by today's power players.

"We'll try to create a golf course where angles are relevant again, and where it's important to get to a proper side to score as opposed to just hitting it as far as you possibly can," he said. "I think if you talk to a lot of players, that seems to be the strategy, or lack thereof, on this golf course now is to try to overpower it."

In addition to the Blue Monster there are four other courses at Doral. Trump said at a minimum he plans to fix them all up, and he even teased that he might do something bigger.

"It's possible that we'll make them into one great course at some point down the road," he said.

More on Trump taking over Doral: Detailed map of Hanse's plans | Q&A with Trump

(Photo: Lynne Sladky/AP)

Michelle Wie apologized for her on-course behavior during the final round of the HSBC Women's Champions LPGA event in Singapore last week, according to Spencer Robinson of the Asia Pacific Golf Group.

To the embarrassment of dozens of men, women and children gathered around the tee-box at the Tanah Merah Country Club, Wie slammed her hybrid club into the ground after watching the shot veer way right. She then screamed out a four-letter expletive.

As she strode off the tee ahead of her playing partners Christina Kim and Singaporean Koh Sock Hwee, barely under her breath Wie muttered ‘f ___ing idiot’.

Following her round, Wie was contrite. She said: “I absolutely apologise for that. It’s unacceptable behaviour. Sometimes it’s just really frustrating and I was at the point where everything kind of boiled up. But you know, obviously I apologise. It was unacceptable.”

Wie finished the tournament 59th in a 60-woman field, shooing 22-over.  

Butch Harmon says Tiger Woods doesn't have the yips

ESPN's Rick Reilly talks to putting Daves, Pelz and Stockton, for a State of the Tiger column, but the most telling comment comes from Tiger Woods's former coach Butch Harmon.

I hate to even broach this, but is it possible we're seeing the start of the yips?

"I wouldn't say the yips, no," says Harmon. "But I definitely see nerves. It started at Augusta last year, on the back nine. He had a chance to win and he suddenly started missing short putts. They weren't on line, they didn't touch the hole. It's understandable with everything he's been through off the course. I'm not making excuses for him. He brought that on himself. But his confidence just seems gone on the greens."

It's happened to great players before: Bernhard Langer, Tom Watson, Ben Hogan. They were never the same afterward.

Gulp.

Meet the new boss: Trump to attend WCG-Cadillac Championship at Doral

"Rory, you're fired."

Anything's possible now that Donald Trump owns Miami's Doral resort, the site of next week's WGC-Cadillac Championship. The Miami Herald says that Trump is expected to attend the tournament:

Trump, an avid golf fan and golfer, will be hob-nobbing with some of the best golfers in the world because the Cadillac Championship begins its field by offering invitations to the top 50 golfers in the world — and seldom do any of them turn down a chance to play in this prestigious event.

One of the reasons for almost-universal acceptance to play at Doral: Money speaks, with the total purse being $8.5 million and the winner getting $1.4 million.

Padraig Harrington to give sponsorship money to cousin injured in accident

Good guy Padraig Harrington has come up with a creative way to raise money for the husband of his wife's cousin, Gerald Byrne, who was left paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident. The Irish Times has the story:

“This is why I never want to complain about golf,” Harrington said in Palm Beach Gardens yesterday, where is playing alongside Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods in this week’s Honda Classic on the US Tour. “Obviously Gerard will need a lot of assistance in his life – a wheelchair-enabled car, renovations to his home and other things – so my current sponsors have agreed to allow me to offer all the branding on my clothing and bag to the highest bidder for three tournaments in March and April.

“If somebody wants to have their branding on the front on my hat or if they want the golf bag or any other place, it’s up for auction for that three-week spell when I am playing the Shell Houston Open, the Masters Tournament and the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head."

If you're interested in contacting Harrington to advertise your new social media company, be prepared to pay.

"We already have a bid of €100,000 ($134,430) for the front of my cap and €50,000 for the space on my chest. I am auctioning all my spots for that period and all my sponsors have agreed to give them up. It’s all for charity.”

Tweet of the Day

@si_golfknew there would be different opinions on my writing The book but the memories of the 6 yrs I coached Tiger aren't his exclusively

— Hank Haney (@HankDHaney) February 29, 2012

Could the U.S. Women’s Open be coming to Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.?

Donald Trump mentioned the possibility in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Gary Van Sickle on Golf.com on Monday. Trump had just announced his purchase of the Doral golf resort in Miami for $150 million, and he was talking to Golf.com about his plans to renovate the longtime PGA Tour stop, as well as the success of his other golf clubs.

During the PGA at Baltusrol, I played your course in Bedminster.
We just got the Women's U.S. Open at that one, which is phenomenal. The one in Florida is great. One of the other things I'll be having is a brand new Sikorsky helicopter that'll go between my course in Palm Beach and my course in Miami. ...

However, there is no official agreement between Trump National and the USGA about hosting a U.S. Women’s Open, according to representatives of the USGA and the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster.

“The USGA has an invitation from Trump National to host a future U.S. Women’s Open championship,” the USGA said in a statement. "Discussions are ongoing, however it would be premature to comment further.”

The USGA has announced its sites for the U.S. Women’s Open through 2015. This year’s U.S. Women’s Open will take place at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisc., followed by Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y. In 2014, the U.S. Women’s Open will be played at Pinehurst one week after the men’s U.S. Open, and in 2015 the Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pa., will host the event. If Trump National is awarded a  U.S. Women’s Open, it would likely be in 2017. Representatives from Trump National said the Bedminster course was unlikely to be chosen in 2016 because the area already has a major championship that year, the PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in nearby Springfield, N.J.

A representative of Trump National in Bedminster confirmed that the club had made a formal invitation to host the U.S. Women’s Open but stressed that the club had no formal agreement with the USGA about the event.