Couples, Norman announce Presidents Cup picks

Captains Fred Couples and Greg Norman announced their picks for the 2009 Presidents Cup on Tuesday.

As expected, Couples chose U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover and Hunter Mahan for the U.S. team. Greg Norman made a more surprising choice, going with fellow Australian Adam Scott, who has missed the cut in 10 of the 18 tournaments he's played in this year and has only one top 10 finish. Norman's second choice was Japan's young phemon Ryo Ishikawa.

"Maybe somewhat unexpected. Obviously it's been a tough year," Scott said. "But I really am humbled. I feel like I can contribute points and contribute in the team room, as well."

Norman backed up his Scott selection. "When you look back a year ago, Adam was the No. 3 player in the world. So everybody goes through a slump," Norman said. "At the end of the day, he's got the playing skills, and as Adam said, the team camaraderie, what he can bring to the locker room, the support he gives to the other players, the connection and the experience that he's had playing on the Presidents Cup team. He was really a logical choice."

What gave 17-year-old Ishikawa the edge? "Enthusiasm," Norman said. Citing Ishikawa's credentials, ability to stand up to Tiger and experience dealing with crowds of media, the International captain said, "You've got to have faith in that ability, and I have a lot of faith in him."

Glover played on the 2007 U.S. Presidents Cup team, which won by five points. Mahan was part of the successful 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Couples struggled with his picks, also considering players like Dustin Johnson and Brian Gay, but in the end went with his gut. "For Hunter Mahan and Lucas, I think it's a no-brainer, I really do," he said. "I chose the two guys, and that's the toughest thing I'll have to do the whole time, and hopefully they'll go to San Francisco and play well."

The rest of the U.S. Team consists of: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Kenny Perry, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, Sean O'Hair, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim and Justin Leonard.

The rest of the International Team is made up of: Geoff Ogilvy, Vijay Singh, Camilo Villegas, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, Angel Cabrera, Mike Weir, Robert Allenby, Y.E. Yang and Tim Clark.

The Presidents Cup will be played on Oct. 8-11 at Harding Park in San Francisco.

Watch Watson, Norman, Roberts and Langer at U.S. Senior Open

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

More Greg Norman is great for golf, bad for the economy

If you want to know when the economy is going to make a turnaround, forget about the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the Fortune 500. The most accurate barometer of the worldwide business outlook is Greg Norman's playing schedule, and unfortunately the news is pretty bleak.

Take a look back at the past 12 months since Norman's improbable run at Birkdale in last year's British Open, where he nearly became the oldest major winner ever at age 53. Sure, the economy was not great at the time, but it hadn't gone into free fall yet. Norman treated his appearance at Birkdale as a lark. It was his honeymoon, he laughed, as his recent bride Chris Evert followed his every shot, and he was just using it as practice session for the Senior British Open the following week.

We all knew that Norman was into business now, not golf. Of all the ex-jocks who moved into the corporate suite, Norman was the most successful. He owned golf-club manufacturers, wineries, restaurant chains, housing developments, courses and even developed new strains of grass. Norman found a whole new arena for his competitiveness in business and he wasn't going to be a has-been grasping for lesser glory on the senior tour.

That was last year. Now, Norman appears to be playing everywhere. He was at the Masters, he'll be at the Open this week, he's playing a Champions Tour event in Oregon next month, and he recently committed to playing in the next three Australian Opens. Did he rediscover his love for the game? Doubtful. More likely, in the current business climate, he can't make any deals, so he's decided to pursue the one thing he still can do to make money: play golf.

Norman revealed as much in an interview this week with The Daily Mail's Derek Lawrenson, saying that laying off workers was much more painful than losing a golf tournament. Norman doesn't see much hope on the horizon either.

"[The American economy is] dead and it's a long time before it's coming back," Norman told the Daily Mail. "Run what's considered a small to medium business like mine, in the $200 million to $500 million turnover range and there's no incentives to grow. It's going to take a long time for business to recover and the rest of the world is going to recover quicker than America."

Let's hope he's wrong, but we'll know things have turned around when Norman is off the golf course and back in the boardroom. That's the sign to call your broker, and say, "Buy!"

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For Greg Norman, Tiger Woods has the edge on Jack Nicklaus in the clutch

 For almost 40 years, anytime someone was asked, "Who would you want putting if your life depended on it," the obvious answer was Jack Nicklaus. But over the years, Tiger Woods has earned a reputation as one of the greatest clutch putters of all time.

On Sunday, as the skies in Orlando grew dark, Woods drained a 15-footer to win the Arnold Palmer invitational on the 72nd hole for the second consecutive year. This time his victim was Sean O'Hair. Last season Woods broke the heart of Bart Bryant on the same hole.

On Monday afternoon, I spoke with Greg Norman, who like Nicklaus and Woods knows what it's like to be No. 1 in the world. I couldn't resist asking The Shark where he falls in the clutch putting debate — Nicklaus or Woods?

"He and Nicklaus are even inside eight feet," Norman said after some consideration. "I think Woods is better than Nicklaus 10 feet to 20 feet."

Norman, who will compete this week at the Shell Houston Open in preparation for next week's Masters, said that while Woods' ballstriking is good, his putting is better.

"If his ballstriking matched his putting, oh my God," he said with a laugh. "If you took what he was like in 2000 — I think he swung the golf club and hit the golf ball the best when he won at Pebble Beach by 15 shots — with his putting ability now, then you would expect the guy to win every golf tournament."

So where do you stand on this debate? If your life was on the line, would you rather have Tiger or Jack putting? Write your answer in the comment area below.

(Photo by Fred Vuich/SI)

Can Mark O'Meara handle his nerves Sunday at the Cap Cana Championship?

Mark O'Meara always could golf his ball along the ocean. In his prime, he won five PGA Tour titles at Pebble Beach. Now, playing in the breezes off the Caribbean Sea, he's in position to notch his first-ever Champions Tour title at the Cap Cana Championship.

On Saturday, he shot a no-fuss 65 (eight birdies, one bogey, sweet little draws all day). On Sunday, he will share the final group with Keith Fergus (68) and Eduardo Romero (68). Romero edged O'Meara by a shot at Newport Beach earlier in the season.  I'll be watching to see how O'Meara handles his nerves being so close to victory again. Romero has four victories since the start of the 2008 season. Fergus won a Champions Tour title in 2007 and won three times on the PGA Tour. They say it's hard to follow up one low round with another low round, but O'Meara may need it Sunday. He said it himself. He's going to have to play well to win.

I'll also be watching to see if Greg Norman can finish out in some style. His play has been uninspired at Punta Espada (73-72) and he doesn't trust his putting stroke right now. (He says he's having trouble reading the greens). With one more competitive round before he tees it up on the PGA Tour next week in Houston, Norman needs to see some putts fall. Plus, his return to the Masters is right around the corner.

What to Watch for: Saturday at the Cap Cana Championship

The 50-and-over set might have trouble winning on the PGA Tour, but these Champions Tour guys are tougher than their younger counterparts. In almost any endeavor but golf -- throwing darts, talking trash, boxing, arm wrestling -- my money would be on the seniors. Check out this lineup that was practicing on the range this morning at the Cap Cana Championship: Jim Thorpe. Craig Stadler. Curtis Strange. Greg Norman. Eduardo Romero. Other than Tiger and Vijay, who's messing with that fivesome?

Not me.

I'm going to be watching Norman on Saturday because his Friday round at the seaside Punta Espada Golf Club was disappointing. After splitting the fairway with his opening tee shot, Norman pulled his approach into the bushes and rocks to the left of the green. With no shot, he took an unplayable, walked back to the fairway, hit his fourth shot onto the green and two-putted for a double-bogey six. He finished the day at 1-over 73, six off the lead. Not exactly ideal Masters preparation.

I'll be checking out Nick Price (4-under-par 68, one behind David Eger's 67) because he's been on the Champions Tour for two years and still hasn't won. Price won 18 PGA Tour events (including three majors) and 42 times around the world. He's due to win one and his crisp ballstriking plays well in these 15-mile per hour winds.

I'll also be camping out at the 18th green because that's where land meets the gurgling sea. As dramatic finishing holes go, this one has a place in my Top 10.

Norman and Evert: We're not home wreckers!

"Why is divorce so expensive?" the old jokes goes. "Because it's worth it."

Greg Norman didn't actually tell that one on the Australian TV show 60 Minutes last Sunday, but he came pretty close. Appearing with new wife Chris Evert, Norman took aim at his ex-wife Laura Andrassy's allegations that Evert was a "predator" and her hints that Evert and Norman began their affair while they were both in previous marriages, or, as the host puts it to Norman in the expressive Aussie vernacular, "She said you cut your mate's lunch."

Not so, Norman said, it was actually Andrassy who asked for a divorce.
"In December 2005 we were at a ranch and Laura asked for a divorce," he said.

"She packed her bags.

"My parents were at the ranch (with them) and Laura said, 'Aren't you going to tell them?', right in front of them, and I was, 'OK, Laura's asked for a divorce and she's leaving'. That was it. I drove her to the airport, and that was it.

"That's a fact.

"That's how the situation started unraveling."

The real "Wow!" moment of the interview came when Norman described what it's like to write a check for $100 million, the amount of Andrassy's divorce settlement. "It's good to know you have it," Norman said. "It's the price you pay for freedom."

Evert strikes back too, saying that Andrassy's accusations are untrue and "come from a place of pain." She then suggests that Andrassy "get a job."

The program shows video of Andrassy drinking wine with her friends in what could be an outtake from The Real Housewives of New South Wales, but when asked about Norman and Evert's interview, she takes the high road.

"In respect for my marriage of 25 years, I have no comment on the interview," Andrassy said in a statement.

Seen and Heard at the PGA Show

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Among the chatter on the floor of the PGA Merchandise Show Friday was news that the Greg Norman collection is about to change hands. A group of investors led by Michael J. Setola, the current CEO and president of Greg Norman, is poised to buy the apparel company from MacGregor Golf. Mr. Norman, who is a stakeholder in the apparel company, has been spotted at the show. The company is said to have sales upward of $100 million. An announcement is expected shortly. "It's a better move for the company," said an executive familiar with the negotiation.

DOOM OR BOOM?

Not everyone is talking about the bleak economic landscape. While foot traffic at the convention, in which more than one thousand vendors show and tell about their wares -- from the newest clubs to novelty tees to golf carts and hats -- has been down over previous years, those who came were placing orders for merchandise. At the booth for Cleveland Golf/Srixon, Greg Hopkins, the company CEO, was positively ebullient.

"We wrote as much in orders Thursday as we did last year," Mr. Hopkins said. "It shocked me, given what everyone knows about the economy. If it had been half of last year, I would have been pleased."

At Cutter & Buck, a key golf apparel supplier, traffic to the booth has been steady and heavy, particularly Thursday night, when Annika Sorenstam, their star sponsored golfer, made a personal appearance. "It's been good for us," said Meghan Graves, a company spokeswoman. "There is an air of uncertainty, but we are still getting orders. People may be scaling back, but they are still buying."

MYSTERY SOLVED

At the "Demo Day" events on Wednesday, where clubmakers display their newest killer technologies and allow amateurs and pros to sample the goods, some over-the-top long hitters were hammering balls with the latest equipment.  On the tee outside the Callaway tent a huge fellow -- around 6' 5", maybe 270-280 pounds with biceps like Schwarzenegger's -- was sending rockets into the stratosphere. A small crowd watched the man in awe.  He seemed to be hitting balls 500 yards -- and he didn't even have that below-horizontal backswing typical of long-drive contestants.

It's not possible to hit the ball 500 yards, is it? At long drive competitions, the maximum distance is usually around 410 yards.

Later, at the convention booth for Bang Golf, a purveyor of long-distance drivers, an large poster proclaimed that its contract golfer/hitter, Scott Smith, held the record for longest ball hit, at 539 yards. Mr. Smith, who was on hand, explained that his titanic drive was accomplished in Albuquerque, NM -- in high desert conditions. In other words, he had been aided by thin air. As for the brute at Callaway earlier in the week, Mr. Smith, who is regular sized (about 6', 200 lbs.), said: "Oh, that's Mike Dobbins. He wasn't hitting it 500. We were all only hitting them 400 or so on Wednesday."

Only ...

Nicklaus says Norman can contend at 2009 Masters

When Greg Norman emerged from his time machine to lead this year’s British Open on Sunday, ultimately finishing third, he did more than electrify fans and impress his new wife, Chris Evert. He also earned himself an invitation to the 2009 Masters Tournament.

But can a 53-year-old part-time player really win at Augusta National? Jack Nicklaus, who won the Masters at age 46 in 1986, says Norman’s physical fitness will allow him to contend.

“[Norman’s] talent is still there,” Nicklaus said at the Merrill Lynch Shootout in Naples, Fla., Thursday. “He's always kept himself in great shape. I think he'll have a great time going back and have a lot of fun. He's always played well at Augusta, and there's no reason why at age 53 -- I mean, I almost won it on one leg at '58.

“So certainly a man who's in a lot better shape than I was and five years younger can certainly do pretty well,” Nicklaus said.

When he watched Norman at Royal Birkdale this summer, Nicklaus was reminded of his Masters victory in 1986. Like Norman at Birkdale, he hadn’t played much competitive golf prior to the Masters but during the tournament everything came together.

“You know, Greg's a champion,” Nicklaus said. “When you get yourself playing, and all of a sudden you play a good first round and you say, ‘Gee, that was nice. That was fun. Maybe I can do that again tomorrow.’ Then you play a good second round, and all of a sudden you're, ‘Gee, I'm really doing pretty well.’

“You remember how to play. You remember -- it sort of lights a fire under you and you get excited. You have fun with it and say, ‘Man, this is what I used to do,’” Nicklaus said.

Wedding bells for Sergio?

Sergio Garcia appears to have it all: cool and glamorous job, dark and brooding good looks, and a fat bank account ($32,177,105 in career earnings). Now, the 28-year-old Spaniard might be considering marriage, to Greg Norman’s daughter, according to the Australian Herald Sun newspaper.

In a post-tournament press conference after winning the HSBC tournament in Shanghai, Garcia was asked if getting married to girlfriend Morgan-Leigh Norman was on the cards.

"Marriage is definitely something I am looking forward to in the future," he said.

"I'm very happy to be dating a great girl at the moment. I guess it's happy days for me."

As if having the Shark as a father-in-law isn’t daunting enough, Sergio also is taking aim at another goal: unseating Tiger Woods from the No. 1 spot in the World Rankings.

Garcia was careful not to say definitively he would be able to overtake injured world number one Tiger Woods, but declared that anything was possible given his current form.

"If I play the way I'm playing, I probably can," he said when asked about knocking Woods off the top ranking.

"(But) you've got to realise that when we talk about Tiger, we're looking at the kind of player you don't see very often in history."

Garcia said attacking the number one ranking depended not only on his own form, but how long Woods remained out of the game.