Frustrations from the Presidents Cup boiled over as a spat between Robert Allenby and Geoff Ogilvy came close to blows in front of 150 guests at the Hyatt Regency Coolum while celebrating Greg Chalmers Australian PGA victory, reports Steve Orme. Allenby, who went 0-4 without earning the International team a single point at Royal Melbourne, laid the groundwork for the feud when he placed the blame on his teammate for his poor performance.

The 40-year-old hit back at criticism of his own play on Thursday and appeared to deflect the blame onto his playing partners—Retief Goosen, YE Yang and Ogilvy.

He claimed Goosen missed several birdie putts in Thursday's foursomes, insinuated that Yang didn't pull his weight in Friday's fourball and claimed Ogilvy 'hit me in the tree three times off the tee and I had to chip out three times', in Saturday's foursomes.

Ogilvy, who was playing alongside Allenby at the Australian PGA, responded to his fellow Victorian's comments via Twitter:

While Ogilvy maintained that the tweet was genuine when questioned by the media, Allenby took offense to what he believed to be a sarcastic retort and confronted Ogilvy.

When Allenby sauntered over to Ogilvy's table and sat down at around 9:15 PM on Sunday night, the 2006 US Open champion immediately made his dissatisfaction known.

He was overheard accusing Allenby of throwing him under the bus and openly questioned his character, which sent the four-time PGA winner into a rage.

Allenby inadvertently broke a wine glass and screamed 'do you want to go?', prompting Ogilvy, who was surrounded by seven friends, to get out of his chair in front of a captivated and stunned audience.

However, Allenby's temper struck again when Ogilvy sought out an apology later in the evening. 

The ugly stoush escalated once again as Allenby invited his adversary to meet him outside of the main square, to which Ogilvy quipped 'I'd like that'.

The squabbling finally came to an end as Allenby stormed out while Ogilvy watched on calmly. If only Allenby had shown this much fight during the Presidents Cup...

Kaymer won't join McIlroy, Westwood on PGA Tour

After declining membership a year ago, both Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood will take their talents to South Beach the PGA Tour. Martin Kaymer, however, has no intentions of joining his peers, according to Waggleroom's Emily Kay.

"I have no intention of joining Lee and Rory because it means playing just too many tournaments," said Kaymer, who noted that playing 12 European and 15 U.S. events would require "just far too much traveling." 

Kaymer sounded bemused by McIlroy and Westwood’s seesaw relationship with the PGA Tour. 

"I just don't know why Rory and Lee go back and forth and that to me seems a little strange. One year they are on the PGA Tour and next they're not." 

Omega president calls PGA Tour and European Tour "greedy"

Stephen Urquhart, president of Swiss watchmaker Omega, said the PGA Tour and European Tour are "greedy" for continually adding more and more tournaments to their schedules, according to Reuters' Bernie McGuire. 

"The big problem with golf at present is a calendar issue and we've told all the Tours that they have to stop being so greedy," Urquhart told reporters. "There are too many tournaments and they are adding tournaments all the time.” 

Urquhart followed up his remarks by asserting that the two tours have shown little respect to Asia. 

"And to treat Asia as the stopgap as they do with this week's World Cup is not right. It's wrong and the Tours are not going to win if they keep treating Asia as a stopgap. They need to show Asia more respect.” 

"Why can't there be a big event like the World Cup here in Asia in June? What's the difference in taking a flight from London to Beijing or London to Los Angeles?” 

Urquhart also confirmed that Omega has ended their sponsorship of golf’s World Cup and will return to sponsoring the Hong Kong Open, questioning the Federations of Golf Tours decision to award Mission Hills hosting rights to the World Cup for the next 10 years. 

"The Federation and Mission Hills know my feeling on this because before this year I was not happy with the fields we were getting, but we've got three Major winners here this year and there's been a lot more respect shown to the event," he said. "While there are not too many countries in the world who could organize an event like China, the tournament needs to travel around the world." 

"Done properly and packaged properly, and staged at a better time of year, no one ... would go anywhere else in the world that given week but to play in the World Cup.” 

World Cup to mirror Olympic format in 2013

Golf’s return to the Olympics in 2016 has inspired the World Cup to change its format next year from a two-man team competition to 72 holes of stroke play. Ken Chu, the chairman and CEO of Mission Hills, confirmed that these changes will be implemented in 2013, also noting that the World Cup will command world ranking points. Again, Reuters' Bernie McGuire has the story: 

"The World Cup will change format, and it will begin enjoying world rankings points, and it will still be held biennially and at around this time of year,” said Chu. 

The tournament will bring back an individual four-round trophy for the first time since 1999, when Tiger Woods won the individual award in Malaysia. 

"But with golf to be in the 2016 Olympics the equation in golf changes, and these changes to the World Cup will be having the Olympics in mind.”

Tweet of the Day

After becoming the youngest player to win an LPGA event, 16-year-old Lexi Thompson emerged as the great hope for an LPGA Tour in need of a star. And although the tour approved Thompson's petition to forgo Q-school, granting her membership for the 2012 season, commissioner Michael Whan doesn't believe Lexi needs to be the LPGA's knight in shining armor.  

"This is no offense to her, but we don't need Lexi to be the one any time soon," Whan says. "If she does become the one, great, we'll fan that flame. But when I see reporters say that, finally, Lexi is the great young American the LPGA needs, I find that hard to stomach. Do we just discount Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie, Morgan Pressel, Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Angela Stanford and Brittany Lincicome? And there are so many others.

We have never been as stocked with talent as we are right now. The talent pool from all over the world is stunning. And the fact people are looking for the next one while Yani (Tseng) is currently rewriting the record books is strange to me. I think it's fantastic that Lexi may turn out to be one of those true unique superstars. But I don't have to wait to write that story.

Yani is already writing it."

Thompson shares Whan's sentiments. Sitting down with Steve DiMeglio of USA Today, Lexi revealed that she is more focused on playing her best and learning the ropes during her first professional season, not trying to play the role of hero.

"There are so many great players out on the tour. There are so many great players the fans want to watch. I'm just going to go out there and do what I love and try and do my best."

"It's all going to be a learning process for me — where to stay, where to eat, how to play practice rounds. I just want to learn. I think I'm pretty prepared for it, but I know I'll be learning as I go."

As for the crown that has been placed upon her head by the fans and media?

"I'm not the savior. I don't even think about being a savior."

Adam Scott reunites with Ana Ivanovic

After splitting in 2010, Adam Scott and Ana Ivanovic have rekindled the flame. Not only was Ivanovic in Sydney last week to lend her support during the Australian Open, but the tennis star stepped out with Scott at the Presidents Cup gala dinner. Prior to the event, Scott's teammate Geoff Ogilvy tweeted the following picture, dubbing the pairing as "the glamour couple.

Wozzilroy has yet to comment on another golf/tennis power couple stepping into the spotlight.

Tweet of the Day

Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson are good friends whose practice-round money matches are often as entertaining as the tournament, but they won’t be paired together at this week’s Presidents Cup, Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday. Johnson and Mickelson lost both times they played together at the 2010 Ryder Cup.

Q. People were expecting more out of you and Phil, your partnership at The Ryder Cup; what happened there and did you expect to play with him again this week?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Me and Phil will not be playing together this week. We do better playing against each other than with each other. We are good buddies, we love playing with each other. But as far as -- you know, some people, you just don't -- as Phil put it, we didn't have that good energy.

Q. Is that because you're too similar do you think?

 DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, we are, we are very similar. Especially the way we play and stuff. So we just didn't quite mesh well. Best-ball format or something, I think we are all right, you know, we do better when we are playing against each other.

Q. Tiger said the same thing.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: (Laughing). He probably would. I think you've got to have fun. That's the biggest thing is you've got to have fun out there. You've got to enjoy yourself, whether you're winning or whether you're down, you've still got to have fun and you've still got to just -- you've got to get along with the guy you're playing with. You know, kind of keep your head up, no matter if you're winning or losing, you need to go out and have a good time. I think that's the biggest thing in having a partner, we are all very good and we can all play with each other. If you don't necessarily have fun with the guy you're playing with, then it's just not going to be a good day.

Q. Do you have fun together?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, we do, we have fun together, but we just didn't mesh well as partners. We mesh well as opponents.

Q. Any chance of being paired with Tiger?

  DUSTIN JOHNSON: That is a possibility. I don't know if we are supposed to be saying who we are playing with yet.

Q. What do you think that would be like?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Oh, it would be good. Obviously me and Tiger will be a great team if we do play together. It's up to Captain Couples whether he wants to put us together. But you know, anybody that plays with Tiger is going to be pretty good. He's playing well right now, hitting the ball great and driving it pretty straight. That's kind of what you have to do out here.

Steve Williams says his relationship with Tiger chilled after scandals
In an online video interview with Graham Bensinger, caddie Steve Williams said his friendship with Tiger Woods deteriorated quickly following Woods’s sex scandals in late 2009 and 2010.

“When we got back together at Augusta we didn’t click like we used to,” Williams said.

Woods fired Williams during the summer of 2011. Woods claimed he fired Williams in person, while Williams said Woods fired him over the phone. Asked about the different versions, Williams said, “I had my take on how it unfolded and he had his take on how it unfolded.”

You can watch the full interview below, but it took place before Williams's recent racial remarks about Woods at a Shanghai caddie banquet:

International Team bonds over bus breakdown
One of the disadvantages the International Team has in the Presidents Cup is that the team lacks the cohesion of the American side because the players come from so many different countries and they only play together once every two years. That’s why something like a team bus breaking down can help the players come together as a team. International team member Geoff Ogilvy explains:

Q. Just on one note away from that. Last night the restaurant bus, did you help direct traffic with Greg?

GEOFF OGILVY: Greg was out there, K.J. was out there. There were a few guys out there. It was very impressive. Quite a busy road near the city, Bridge Road. So you know where we were?

Q. Yeah.

GEOFF OGILVY: He was backing it out onto Bridge Road, which is quite impressive, and K.J. and Greg took control and played policeman and stood out in the road. The bus got out. It was very impressive, actually.

Q. How long did it go on for? Greg mentioned it in his press conference.

GEOFF OGILVY: 10 or 15 minutes it was one of those cool things that it was cool that it happened earlier in the week because everyone on the bus was laughing, and it's just going to be a funny story to tell along with a lot of other stuff that happens this week. It's fun that it happened early in the week, because it was a fun little incident.

Q. Team bonding too?

GEOFF OGILVY: I guess that's what happens when everyone gets out of the bus and kind of looks what's going on, and everyone gets back in the bus, and you back the bus up a 300 meter street back out onto a busy road. Guys jumping out of the bus and controlling traffic, it's a story to tell, isn't it?

Tweet of the Day

Did you hear about Rickie's big shot, which he holed out at a Red Bull event at an outdoor D.C. shopping mall? Check it out here: 

Looking at U.S. Open contenders

Here are the U.S. Open odds, via Ladbroke's, the UK oddsmakers, plus our take on each player's chances. Keep in mind that these are not the odds you'll see in Las Vegas, where American Phil Mickelson is the favorite at 10 to 1.

Lee Westwood: 12/1 - It would seem the world's former No. 1 would be a good bet, but he hasn't shown the putting prowess or the mental toughness to get it done. Might not be a lot of good opportunities left for him to snag a major, so this week is big. 

Luke Donald: 14/1 - The world's current No. 1 has to be this week's favorite. Playing the best golf of his career and particularly hot right now. Length will be a challenge and his lack of driving accuracy could hold him back. Regardless, this is his time. 

Phil Mickelson: 16/1 - Hard to believe he's had five second-place finishes in this tournament, but he has. Phil's about to turn 41 and there probably aren't a lot more U.S. Open charges left in him. Like Westwood, Phil needs to get it done this week.  

Rory McIlroy: 20/1 - His final round blowup in the Masters has been overblown. With the exception of Tiger, every great player struggled to overcome major pressure early in their career. McIlroy's got all the tools, but it's probably not going to happen at Congressional. 

Dustin Johnson: 25/1 - His length will be a major help, but his inability to close at last year's U.S. Open and PGA Championship won't. Congressional's long and so is its rough, and DJ's lack of accuracy off the tee will do him in. 

Martin Kaymer: 25/1 - Fantastic golf swing and great all-around player who's due to win more majors. Not playing his best at the moment, but capable of winning any tournament he enters. 

Nick Watney: 25/1 - Like Dustin Johnson, he's got plenty of length and lots of all-around game, and could very likely be a major winner some day. Unfortunately U.S. Open rough and a tough mental challenge will be too much for him this week. 

Hunter Mahan: 25/1 - Showed good resiliency by coming back from Ryder Cup disappointment quickly. Is he ready to win a major? Seems possible, but he's going to have to kick up his putting game a notch. 

Matt Kuchar: 25/1 - One of the more consistent players out there in the last couple of years, but putter has always been balky. Has as good a chance as anyone this week if his game's firing on all cylinders. 

Steve Stricker: 25/1 - One of the quietest players on Tour is also one of the best, and this is probably his best chance to win a major before it gets too late. He's been playing very well, but stumbles down the stretch at Memorial don't say a lot about his ability to close out a big event. 

KJ Choi: 33/1 - He's got what seems like the perfect game for the U.S. Open and feels comfortable at Congressional. If he's going to take the next step after winning the Players, this is the time to do it. A good bet. 

Justin Rose: 50/1 - Another very talented player who should be coming into his prime. Hasn't shown the grit to get it done in a major as of yet and probably won't this week. 

Graeme McDowell: 50/1 - Other than Curtis Strange, no player has won back-to-back U.S. Opens in more than 50 years. Given the way G-Mac's been playing, it's too much to expect another performance like he had at Pebble. 

Bubba Watson: 50/1 - Definitely has the length for one of the longest U.S. Open venues in history, but you have to question his ability to handle the pressure. Regardless, he'll be fun to watch. 

Jim Furyk: 50/1 - Can't ever count his consistency out at a U.S. Open, but Olympia Fields was a long time ago and his time for winning majors might have passed. 

Tweet of the Day

From Bubba Watson:

Tiger in Boots
With the news that Tiger Woods is in a boot and on the shelf, there has been quite a bit of back and forth as to how serious his injury really is. NBC's Ryan Ballangee has been putting the pieces together, and while Woods' spin machine may have gotten a little overzealous, everything seems to add up to decent  news on Tiger's health.

Tiger Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg spoke on Tuesday afternoon with AP’s Doug Ferguson to provide additional information about Woods’ announcement that minor injuries to his left knee and Achilles tendon would prevent him from playing in the Wells Fargo Championship next week. Steinberg said Woods’ has been in a protective boot and was taking it easy on the golf...

Well, that’s not quite true (and, actually, Ferguson acknowledges this later in his piece). Woods conducted clinics during his trip to Asia on behalf of Nike Golf, which were directly after The Masters. That involved hitting golf shots, as was quickly figured out on the Interwebs.

This is probably a case of semantics rather than a "Gotcha" situation, but, as Ballangee notes, the takeaway here is that Tiger's injury probably isn't that debilitating, and that the extra time off and the boot are likely precautionary measures meant to keep his leg in shape for the summer's major run.

Is Rory backing local rugby team?
There has been some talk in the local news that Northern Ireland's own Rory McIlroy has been behind recent big-time acquisitions by his hometown rugby club. But, according to Ruaidhri O'Connor and Hugh Farelly at Ireland's Independent, the young Tour star is definitely a supporter, but not yet a financial one.

Ulster Rugby have denied that Rory McIlroy is the mystery backer behind the club's big-money signings.

Rumours have abounded that the golfer has been contributing to the financial cause at Ravenhill, after the club signed New Zealanders John Afoa and Jared Payne on estimated €415,000-a-year deals.

The Holywood, Co Down native is a huge supporter of Ulster and watched their Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat to Northampton Saints before his final-day meltdown at the US Masters.

But the 21-year-old--who has earned more than €6m on the course during his career--"is not putting any money into Ulster", a spokesperson said yesterday.

"Not at all, Rory McIlroy's a massive supporter and while I'm not sure if he pays into Ravenhill, he is not putting money in. There are rumours about him paying some players' wages, but they are not true."

So I guess that puts that rumor to bed for now, but if Rory isn't already invested in Ulster, it would be a pretty cool story if he got in on the action now. It'll also be a good investment in case this whole golf thing doesn't work out for him.

Tweet of the Day

Looks like Geoff Ogilvy is trying to sprout a miracle. Good luck, we're all counting on you.

Demolition at Doral
The powerful thunderstorms that went through Miami on Thursday morning did a number on the Blue Monster, as the players in the WGC-Cadillac Championship showed their followers on Twitter. Here's what Lee Westwood saw.

Ian Poulter wrote:

Geoff Ogilvy didn't know whether to laugh or cry as the storm hit ...

Nature Lovers
Darren Clarke didn't qualify for the WGC-Cadillac Championship, which gave him a chance to do a little fly fishing for elusive bonefish.

Meanwhile, Stewart Cink was busy competing in the Puerto Rico Open and hoping nothing decided to nibble his golf ball.

Game On!
Zach Johnson won the 2007 Masters and is one of the pros featured in the next version of EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour '12, which features Augusta National Golf Club as one of the courses you can play. He showed his followers some images of what he looks like in the game. (Because the picture is so cool, we'll forgive Zach's typo.)

Remembering Frank Chirkinian
Peter Kostis, a long-time golf analyst on CBS and a contributing writer for Golf Magazine, shared several thoughts about Frank Chirkinian, the innovative executive producer and director for CBS's coverage of the Masters for 38 years, who passed away on March 4.

 
Related: Follow David Dusek on Twitter | Facebook

The Comforts of Home
Just because golf's best players often stay in fancy hotels or rented homes, don't assume that everything is bon-bons and lounging poolside, as Geoff Ogilvy can attest.

Stuck in the '70s
Likewise, being a golf writer like SI's Gary Van Sickle often means you travel to great locations, but your work doesn't allow you to keep up with things happening outside the ropes.

Definitely not trash
Mark Wilson, who won this season's Waste Management Phoenix Open, proves that you can have your cake and eat it too.

Beware of the Bear Trap
Ian Poulter gets a lot of attention for his clothing choices and his game, but Twitter has allowed fans to see his humorous side too.

Ripping on Rory
Before the start of the Honda Classic, Rory McIlroy and a few of his friends went out to dinner. Afterward, McIlroy decided to have a dessert called a Mortal Sin. In the photo below it looks more like a runny egg yolk over a brownie, but we'll assume that it's better than that. Regardless, Lee Westwood and WGC-Accenture Match Play champ Luke Donald couldn't resist needling McIlroy about it.

Related: Follow David Dusek on Twitter | Facebook

Casey's Ryder Cup Plans
The pressure of the Ryder Cup will send Paul Casey to Canada. Casey, ranked among the top 10 in the world, was famously passed over for a spot on the European team this year. To get away from it all and avoid the matches, he'll spend next week biking in the Canadian wildnerness.

Casey could be going to Canada with $10 million in his bank account if he wins the FedEx Cup this weekend at the Tour Championship, and he's in great position to do that, starting from the fifth spot in the FedEx Cup points list, writes Jeff Shain in the Orlando Sentinel. If he wins the Tour Championship, he'll win the FedEx Cup title, too. Two trophies, all that cash--Canada would never look so good, would it?

Think of it: While Europe's "finest" are slugging it out, the FedEx Cup champion is making like Lance Armstrong eight time zones away.

"It's the nightmare scenario for Colin Montgomerie," opined the Irish Independent.

A little ironic, too. It was five years ago that Casey –- who has made his home in Phoenix since coming to play collegiately at Arizona State -– was savaged on these shores for saying the Euros "properly hate" their American rivals. You know, much like Ohio State properly hates Michigan. Or Alabama properly hates Auburn. Rivalry. Some fans didn't get it, and Casey paid a price.

Now plenty of Yanks have come rushing to Casey's defense. Upon seeing Casey hole a long putt at the BMW Championship, one patron joked that maybe it was a good thing Montgomerie left him off. A fan in Boston offered to help Casey expedite a green card.

Casey admits it took him two days to get over the snub, soothed eventually by a round of golf with friends at stately Pine Valley. Now he's simply focused on the FedEx Cup –- and not that it's a consolation prize.

"There's not a hole to fill," he said. "This is now a whole separate thing."

If Casey wins this week, he could laugh all the way to the bank. But from where he'll be in the wilds of Canada, it could be a long ride.

More Money, More Problems?
The real relevant question regarding the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup was asked by Andrew Both of the Australian Associated Press: Is $10 million enough to make a player choke? Aussie Geoff Ogilvy's answer was a cautious yes:

"If we get someone to whom $10 million means a lot, we might see the effect on a guy," Ogilvy said. "To Tiger, Phil and Vijay it probably doesn't matter. Pretty much everyone else is probably going to notice 10 million going into their bank account.

"It's not my motivating factor but you'd definitely be thinking about it on Sunday if you were in (contention) for it. That's a lot of money ... I don't go to the range during the year to win that 10 million. I go to the range to become a better golfer. If I do, then money will take care of itself. If you play good enough golf, you make so much money in this game it doesn't matter anyway, so that would be just a really good bonus."

The outlandish payout is the main attraction of the FedEx Cup. Ten million bucks had better be enough to make the players think during their backswings. The players should be happy to be playing for it because when the FedEx deal expires in two years, the PGA Tour will be hard pressed to find another deal as lucrative.

Ryder Ramifications
Maybe the big question at next week's Ryder Cup shouldn't be, who's going to win? Maybe it should be, what happens after the victory? Philip Walton, 48, scored the crucial point for Europe's 1995 victory at Oak Hill, its second on U.S. soil. That moment, writes Liam Kelly for the Irish Independent, may have started a slide for Walton, who iced the victory with his singles win over Jay Haas on the 18th green.

Walton doesn't exactly know how or why, but somehow the 1995 Ryder Cup caused the inner rhythm of his golf game to stutter and fade; slowly, incrementally, but the demise was unstoppable.

"In some ways Oak Hill 1995 probably wasn't the best thing that ever happened me. I played okay in 1996, but the real effect began to show in 1997. Something went from me. I felt it, but it's very hard to explain. Definitely that Ryder Cup did take something from me," he says.

"Maybe it's that I'm not one for the limelight and I couldn't easily go for all that stuff. In 1997 I said to myself, 'I'd love to take a year out', but I couldn't do that, so I went on.

"The following year, 1998, I made 13 cuts, all of them in the big-money tournaments, and I made only €25,000. That was the turning point, and once you start slipping in this game, it's very hard to stop it."

Walton played on a handful of sponsors' invitations in 1999 but didn't make enough to regain his playing rights on the European Tour.

The early to mid-2000s were spent going to Tour school and in 2005, finally, he won his card back.

"In 2006 I got 15 starts, went to South Africa, China, Malaysia, but didn't make enough money. I went back to Tour School a couple of times but that's not for me at this stage.

"I'm playing the Irish Region. Mainly it's Pro-Ams, and when I'm 50 in a year and a half, I'll look at the Seniors Tour. It's something to aim at," adds Walton.

Will winning the crucial point cause a career letdown for another Ryder Cup player next week?

Funny how the World Series is played even if the Yankees aren't in it, and it always turns out to be a big deal. The Accenture World Match Play Championship finds itself in a similar awkward spot this week with golf's top attractions--cynics might say only attractions--missing in action.

The critics miss the point. With or without Tiger and Phil, this is still the biggest, best and most important match-play event played anywhere in the world. And besides, in the vagaries of match play, how often do Phil and Tiger survive past the third round, anyway? Not as often as you might think, although Woods has won this event. 

So the folks in Tucson have a bag of lemons and they have a choice: They can throw the lemons at a passing school bus and shout, "Spartans suck!" Or they can make lemon soup, since making lemonade would be a total cliche. Greg Hansen and the Arizona Daily Star opted for the latter with an interesting headline on an advance story for the event: "Unfamiliar names heighten our curiosity."

That's a possibility. Another would be, "Unfamiliar names dampen any and all interest." (Say, how's that four-man bobsled event going, by the way?)

There's a plus side to missing superstars, though, and that's the opportunity for future stars to build their names and their resumes. Like Dustin Johnson did last week by winning at Pebble Beach for a second straight time. Stars are made, not born. Hansen points this out with an anecdote about Andrew Magee winning the 1994 Northern Telecom Tucson Open and staying away from one guy in his group because he didn't know how to pronounce his name. That guy was Jim Furyk. One of the contenders that Magee beat that week was Steve Stricker, who hadn't cracked the top 175 in two previous seasons on the PGA Tour. Stricker comes to town this week as the No. 1 seed. Furyk is No. 3. From Hansen:

In many ways, pro golf is as much a Futures Tour as anything else. Last year, at 19, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Japan's then-17-year-old Ryo Ishikawa were considered novelties. Ishikawa was here, as an alternate, but he didn't do much more than hit some range balls. Today, older and wiser, we know better. McIlroy, No. 7 in the world, and Ishikawa, No. 34, appear destined to become golf's next big things.

So don't be discouraged if you don't recognize all the names on the massive scoreboards at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. That's just golf.

If the PGA Tour event in your city has more than 40 recognizable names, you are either in a golf fantasy league or you need to get off the sofa more on Sunday afternoons. 

Hansen digs up some stats to make his lemon soup go down easier, pointing out that the Bob Hope Classic field had no players ranked among the top 30 in the world, the Farmers Insurance Open had only five of the top 30, and the Northern Trust Open and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am had 11 and nine, respectively. This week's match play has 28 of the top 30, and you already know which two are absent, making this the strongest field of 2010. And luckily, defending champion and Scottsdale resident Geoff Ogilvy will be able to play since his wife gave birth to a boy last Thursday.

The point is, match play golf is the game's most exciting an entertaining format. Some observers wrote how boring the event was the year Magee faced off against Jeff Maggert in the final, because neither player was well known by the public or the media. Yeah, that event was so boring Maggert chipped in to win on the 38th hole. A real snoozer. More from Hansen:

Y.E. Yang won the PGA Championship last year and golf didn't implode. Sixteen of the top 18 from that event will be at Dove Mountain this week, including Yang, who beat Tiger in an epic finish. The John Deere Classic it ain't.

Moral of the story: The golf is always exciting in match play, even if the names aren't.

Follow Alan Shipnuck on Twitter

It's so edifying to once again be exchanging ideas and enjoying a high-minded discourse with my readers. Here is a sampling of the comments about my work from Kapalua: "I think you are mediocre writer without an ounce of investigative backbone in your character.. This is a waste of electricity... Sorry, this is just a very weak effort... You're NOT fit to write any sort of column, your judgment is completely flawed... With a haircut like that and you have the cheek to call Monty 'smarmy'!!"

Before we get to this week's repartee — which is sure to elicit more love letters from the readers — I wanted to tell all of you about my breakfast the other day with Mike Whan, the new LPGA commissioner. I was in Southern California working on a story, so we met in a hotel lobby not far from his home. (He and his family are still in the process of relocating to Daytona Beach, Fla., where the LPGA has its headquarters.)  My first impression of the Commish is that he has a welcoming down-home demeanor and tremendous energy. Both qualities will serve him well as he tries to please the competing constituencies of a global tour. We didn't talk a lot about the nitty-gritty of tour operations because Whan is pleasantly honest regarding how much he still has to learn. He was quite funny musing on his boyhood in Cincinnati. He played football and baseball, and in his ill-fated stint as a relief pitcher has the distinction of having served up home runs to future major leaguers Barry Larkin and Jim Leyritz, the latter blasting a Grand Slam that Whan says, "might still be in orbit."

Whan has a palpable passion for golf, having spent his teens working at a couple of Cincinnati clubs. As a personable, clean-cut youngster he was recruited for the pro shop, but he steadfastly remained on the greenskeeping staff. "That way I could finish my workday early and still have time for 18 holes," says Whan. "Maybe 36."

For all the golf talk, the best tale told by the new commissioner was from his football days as a wee lad of 8 or 9. It's an easy metaphor for how he will preside over the most high-profile women's sports league on the planet. "One day at practice I heard the coach talking to my dad," says Whan. "He says, 'Well, your son isn't tough enough to play linebacker. He's not fast enough to play running back. He's not big enough to be a receiver. But no kid has ever learned the playbook so fast, so we're going to make him quarterback.' I was crushed. I thought it was the ultimate demotion. But my dad explained that I'd be the guy with the ball in my hands — it was my job to run the team and make everybody around me better. That's still a role I'm comfortable with. And I can still take a hit, too."

To the questions:

"Alan, please, who do you think has a better chance to make it to the Ryder Cup - Ryan Moore or Rickie Fowler?" — Peter
I think Ryan Moore is going to have a big year, and I expect him to make the Ryder Cup team. There's no way there are 12 Americans with more talent than this guy. I watched him play a bunch at Kapalua, and he has an awesome combination of power and touch. He showed a lot of flair and imagination navigating the Plantation Course, which will serve him well on any venue. Most importantly, he's finally figured out life on tour and what he needs to do to play his best at every tournament. There's definitely a learning curve to being a touring pro, as Rickie Fowler is finding out. (He opened the first round of the Sony with a double bogey. Welcome to the bigs, kid.) Like everybody else, I love Fowler's potential, but expect him to struggle at times this year, like every other rookie. He certainly has enough game to play his way onto the team but I think it's a longshot. But come 2012, he should begin a stellar Ryder career.

"Is there no sensitivity in writing a book together with one of the pros you are employed to cover as a journalist? Also, What's the deal with the Pavins?" — Petter
The book in question is my collaboration with Christina Kim, which comes out this spring. It's a valid question — can I be totally objective covering her in the future? We'll see. If she misses a two-footer on the 72nd hole to blow the Dinah Shore, I'll have no trouble ripping her. But we also have a deep kinship, which would certainly make me more sympathetic to her side of things. Whatever mild conflict of interest may or may not exist, the tradeoff is that through Christina I have learned so much about the tour, her colleagues and the many nuances and challenges of being a touring pro. It's certainly made me a better reporter. Also, because Christina trusts me so much some of her fellow players have become more inclined to do so, too. You may have seen my December story on Michelle Wie — no reporter has ever gotten that kind of access with her, and I believe a small factor in Michelle opening up was all the nice things Christina told her about me, some of which were true.

As for the Pavins, I've recently had a little tongue-in-cheek fun pretending to be upset that I'm being blocked on Twitter by both Corey and his wife Lisa. Turns out mock indignation makes good fodder for tweeting. But despite what they think, it's all good. I've always admired Corey, going back to 1995 when I wrote a long feature about him for SI. In the course of reporting that story, we went fishing, hit balls at a driving range and took in an Orlando Magic game. (To give you a sense of how many epochs ago this was, Penny Hardaway was the best player on the floor and hit a shot at the horn to win it for Orlando.) So if Kofi Annan wants to broker a truce, I'm amenable.

"Why is Pebble constantly being referred to as Tiger's home turf, one of his favorites, etc., etc.? He won there twice (in the same season) 10 years ago, but I would be surprised if he has played there four times since." — Brian
In fact, Tiger hasn't shown up at Pebble since 2002. I have it on very good authority he was going to play this year, as Open scouting but also because the guy is a mercenary and this was to be his first Clambake since he signed his new endorsement deal with AT&T. It's a big loss for the tournament but only strengthens Phil Mickelson's case as the new sheriff in the Del Monte Forest. During Tiger's self-imposed Pebble exile, Mickelson has twice prevailed at the tourney ('05, '07), to go along with his title from 1998. Even before Woods dropped out of sight I felt like Phil deserved to be co-favorite at this year's U.S. Open. It's the tournament he wants more than any other, on one of his favorite courses. Winning this Open won't erase his crushing near-misses at Winged Foot, or Pinehurst, or Shinnecock, or Bethpage, or Bethpage, but if Phil takes this Open it will be the second-sweetest achievement of his career.

"Alan, Paddy grabbed two majors during Tiger's medical leave from the tour. Who is best poised to win during Tiger's current leave from the tour?"
Phil, obviously. I've always been bullish on Geoff Ogilvy, and I think this is the year he'll add another major. He's figured out his scheduling and preparation, and having a baby in mid-February will force him to take some time off and thus be fresher in the summer. I also think Padraig Harrington will be a force again. But those three guys are already major champions. Other, lesser players may benefit the most if Tiger's leave is prolonged. There are a lot of guys who have long-standing inferiority complexes when sharing a leaderboard with Woods: Sergio Garcia, Steve Stricker, Sean O'Hair, Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott. Any or all of these guys could have a breakthrough this year.

"Will someone ask the Tour if Tiger will face any kind of suspension for 'conduct unbecoming'?" — John
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has already addressed this and said that he doesn't believe the Tour penalties are appropriate for Tiger's infidelities. Had the Keystone Cops, er, Florida Highway Patrol, tested Woods and discovered the accident was alcohol- or drug-related, this would be a much harder sell for Finchem. But in the absence of any of this kind evidence, Tiger is guilty of horrible judgement, questionable taste, utter stupidity, and mind-boggling recklessness, but ultimately he has not been charged with a crime or done anything untoward between the ropes. I'm quite sure Finchem does not want to begin policing his player's sex lives, however entertaining that might be.

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(Photos: Scott Halleran/Getty Images; Michael Cohen/WireImage.com)