The 2016 Rio Olympics are still more than four years away, but Rory McIlroy has already discussed his dilemma of choosing which nation to represent at the Games -- Ireland or Great Britain. McIlroy's countryman Padraig Harrington is the latest to weigh in, and the three-time major-winner says the most pro-Irish thing McIlroy can do is to play for Great Britain. Here's Harrington's rationale, according to the Irish Times.

"I'm fascinated with all this conversation about who we declare for," the Dubliner told Setanta Sports in a new program called The Cut Line, to be aired at 10 p.m. on Saturday evening.

"If Rory and Graeme declare for Great Britain, it means we get two more Irish guys into it - as in myself and Darren Clarke get to play. You see the system works if you're in the top fifteen, you can have more than two from the country.

"So, if somebody wants Rory to be as Irish as he can be, he better declare for GB and we get two more guys in. When it comes down to it, it will be a complete no brainer because nobody is losing out, you're actually just gaining a couple of more spots for Irish guys."

An Olympic gold, he says, could be a "career-defining" moment, that "will have relevance in time".

Is Harrington's opinion patriotic or self-serving? And is there any guarantee that in four years he and Clarke would be the two best Irishmen after McIlroy and McDowell? Let us hear it in the comments section below.

It's Never Too Early...
...to start talking Masters. This week Golfodds.com released its odds on the Masters. Looks like some insiders believe that Tiger is back. Here are the favorites, according to the site.

Odds to Win 2012 Masters:

Tiger Woods 9/2
Rory McIlroy 8/1
Phil Mickelson 15/1
Lee Westwood 20/1
Luke Donald 20/1
Adam Scott 25/1
Jason Day 30/1
Dustin Johnson 30/1
Nick Watney 40/1
Rickie Fowler 40/1
Martin Kaymer 40/1
Charl Schwartzel 40/1
Sergio Garcia 30/1
Matt Kuchar 40/1
Hunter Mahan 40/1
Steve Stricker 40/1
Anthony Kim 40/1
Webb Simpson 40/1
Bubba Watson 50/1
Justin Rose 60/1
Geoff Ogilvy 60/1
K.J. Choi 50/1
Graeme McDowell 60/1
Padraig Harrington 80/1
Retief Goosen 80/1
Paul Casey 50/1
Ian Poulter 60/1
Jim Furyk 60/1
Zach Johnson 80/1
Keegan Bradley 60/1
Angel Cabrera 100/1
Y.E. Yang 80/1
Gary Woodland 80/1
Ryo Ishikawa 100/1
Ryan Moore 100/1
Ernie Els 80/1
Brandt Snedeker 60/1
Bill Haas 80/1
Bo Van Pelt 80/1
Field (All Others) 15/1

Where would you place your money? Our favorite picks off this board are McIlroy, Watney and Choi.

Hallway Golf Video of the Day
NBC released a new video of Samuel L. Jackson's appearance on Jimmy Fallon, where the two celebs clash in a round of "Hallway Golf." (Fallon is actually a big golf fan, in case you missed it on Golf.com.)

Tweet of the Day

1. David Feherty learns the true meaning of a “stinger”

2. Wildlife at the Players Championship doesn’t mean a night out in Jax Beach with Anthony Kim

3. Charles Barkley fixes his swing

In that second clip, Barkley apparently out-drove Michael Jordan. (According to Hank Haney's wife, Suzanne.)

4. Miguel Angel Jimenez has the most interesting stretching routine in the world

5. Shakira golfs? Shakira golfs!

6. 8-year-old Rory McIlroy chips into washing machine on TV

7. Tiger’s biggest fan cheers recovery shot at PGA Championship

8. Sharks at Australia golf course are the ultimate water hazard

9. Sergio throws a 5-iron farther than you can hit it

10. ‘Mama, take this mic from me.’ John Daly performs Dylan song in Thailand

Fresh off becoming the career money-earner on the European Tour, Lee Westwood revealed to James Corrigan of The Independent that money is not what motivates him to win. In fact, Westwood believes that there is too much money being thrown at the players.

"When you first come out on tour, you play for the money because you need a certain amount to keep your card," he said. "But gradually as you win more, get exemptions and things like that, you get more confidence in your ability and you turn up to tournaments with the mindset of trying to win the trophy ... you know the money's just going to come along with it."

"We play for a staggering amount of money, no doubt about it and I've always stressed we are very very fortunate. I think we are paid too much money –- compared to police and teachers and nurses. But then compare it to footballers. I think the only thing you can probably justify it by is that when golfers have a bad day, we don't get paid anything, but when we have a great day we get paid a lot. It's part of the pressure involved. There isn't a wage as such."

Rather than winning money titles, Westwood is more focused on grabbing his first major. But what drives him even more than winning majors is providing for his family.

"Careers are defined by major championships. I get constantly asked about it so they must. And I'd love to win a major; it's the reason why I keep practicing and driving myself on. But the security of my family, my kids means more to me than that. I wouldn't sacrifice all I had for a major, no.”

While Westwood would love to claim his first major, he doesn’t feel that he deserves some of the flack he receives for the hole in his resume.

"I'm sometimes amazed when I get criticized. I look back at my career and I think I'm an over-achiever. I've always worked fairly hard. I've won 36 tournaments in five continents."

Rory McIlroy says he 'choked' at Masters

Rory McIlroy’s collapse at the Masters has been well documented, but the Irishman is letting on to the emotions he felt after losing out on the green jacket, opening up to Karl MacGinty of the Belfast Telegraph. According to McIlroy, he did choke at Augusta National. 

"I hate using the word 'choke', but that's exactly what happened," he concedes.

While clearly emotional out on the course during the back nine of his final round, McIlroy reveals that he didn’t actually shed any tears until he spoke to his parents the following day.

"It all just came pouring out," he recalls. "I hadn't spoken to my mum and dad until then. It might have been something they said -- you know, 'it'll be okay' or something like that.

"I remember thinking, 'no, it won't be okay'. At the time I felt I'd blown my only chance of winning the Masters; so many thoughts and feelings were going through my head."

Don’t expect McIlroy to be dwelling on his meltdown at the Masters when he returns to Augusta in 2012, though.

"What happened at Augusta won't happen again. There's no demons waiting for me there, just extra motivation to perform well and, maybe even a little redemption."

"It's not worth crying over, it's only a game."

John Daly performs 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' in Thailand (and writes new verse)

While John Daly may be living in his own fantasy world when it comes to his suspension by the Australian PGA, he did take the time to memorize a couple chords and serenade guests at the Thailand Golf Championship, performing Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door," with a special golf verse:

Momma, I can't hit my wedge no more,

It's getting really hard to score,

I haven't made a cut in weeks,

My career looks so bleak.

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door.

Daly’s American flag-blazer has officially crept its way into my Christmas list this year.

Tweet of the Day

John Daly caused a stir when he walked off the 11th tee in the first round of the Australian Open earlier this month after hitting six balls in the water. Reuters’ Bernie McGuire reports that Daly defended his walk-off at a media conference in Hong Kong this week. According to McGuire, Daly said he was frustrated by a penalty he incurred on the 10th hole for hitting the wrong ball out of a bunker, and then didn’t realize how many balls he had before sending them all into the lake.

"I had found the bunker with my tee shot and then when I got up there I hit a great bunker shot, and when I threw my caddy the ball to wipe it, I find it's not my ball.

"Then on the 11th it was my ego that got in the way and I thought we had plenty of golf balls.

"But the question I keep asking is what were range balls doing in the bunkers out on the championship golf course?

Daly took issue with reports that he “stormed off” the course.

"I shook hands with Craig and Hunter and said that I've run out of balls, and I said that also to an official and he said to me that was unfortunate," Daly added. "But what hurts me is that it was then reported I stormed off. Well, I never stormed off. I just walked back to the clubhouse."

He added that he wasn’t "banned" from Australia, so he has that going for him.

Daly was fined an undisclosed sum over the incident and while his Australian PGA invite was revoked the American is still free to compete in Australia.

"I didn't get banned from Australia but I really don't know what is going to happen in the future," he said.

U.S. Open champ Michael Campbell almost quit game
Michael Campbell, the New Zealander who beat out Tiger Woods to win the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst and has since fallen into the slump of all slumps, said he came close to giving up golf last year, according to Stuff New Zealand.

Campbell made his remarks in his home country, where he is playing in the New Zealand Open:

In his first extraordinary performance, albeit in the media centre at Clearwater yesterday, Campbell revealed in an all too rare interview interlaced with candour and honesty, he was on the verge of chucking it all in last year.

He had not banked a cheque for months.

He was hitting balls like a club hack.

Yesterday, he said: "I remember one time I went to bed and I said to myself `OK, this is it, Michael'.

"I said `look, go to bed with an open mind and say to yourself when I wake up tomorrow you'll have an answer to this question. The question is, do you still want to play golf tournaments?' I woke up the next day and I said, `yeah, I do'. So that was the answer."

Tiger returns to cover of his own video game
Tiger Woods played second fiddle to Augusta National on the cover of EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters, but he’s back on the cover of the 2013 edition, along with Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy, according to EA Sports’ Facebook page. 

Tweet of the Day

The Bethany College golf team is in trouble because of an unofficial - and undressed - team photo. (We'll let you supply the double entendres.) Officials at the Kansas college suspended the team for three tournaments over the photo of naked players, which was posted on Facebook, according to The Wichita Eagle.

All 15 members of the team at the small, Lutheran school in Lindsborg posed naked for an unofficial team picture, with strategically placed golf clubs to cover their genitals.

Athletic director and golf coach Jon Daniels suspended the team for three tournaments - two that would have occurred on the same day - because of the picture...

Team captain Jack Hiscock told KAKE News that the team would appeal the suspension to school president .

And yes, it appears that is the player's real name.

Big names - Uihlein, Cantlay - off to good start at U.S. Amateur
The U.S. Amateur has some extra star power this year in Oklahoma State's Peter Uihlein, the defending champion, and UCLA's Patrick Cantlay, who followed his T21 finish at the U.S. Open with a second-round 60 at the Travelers Championship. According to Gary D'Amato of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, both Uihlein and Cantlay got off to a good start at the U.S. Amateur on Monday at Wisconsin's Erin Hills.

Uihlein's short-term goal is the same as the goal of the other 311 players in the field: Get through qualifying and earn one of 64 spots in match play.

He was in good shape after opening with a 4-under-par 68 at Erin Hills Golf Course on Monday.

"It was a good day," Uihlein said. "I felt very free, very relaxed out there. I made a couple really greasy pars, which I probably never should have, but then I missed a couple easy birdie putts.

"So, all in all, it was kind of what I felt like I should have shot."

Cantlay is also in decent position, D'Amato reports.

Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos, Calif., the top-ranked amateur in the world, wasn't among the leaders but was in good shape after shooting a 1-under 71 at Erin Hills.

Cantlay is the first amateur in history to finish among the top 25 in his first four starts on the PGA Tour. He shot a 60, the lowest score ever by an amateur on Tour, en route to a tie for ninth at the Travelers Championship.

Note: Cantlay actually tied for 24th at the Travelers.

Daly, Rocco to play Nationwide event in Pittsburgh
If Tiger Woods is serious about adding a pre-Presidents Cup event to his schedule, he should check out the Nationwide Tour's Mylan Classic in suburban Pittsburgh on Sept. 1-4. His old pals John Daly and Rocco Mediate will be there, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Now, in a career that has included two major championships but also any number of personal missteps, Daly will make a return appearance to the region when he plays in the Nationwide Tour's Mylan Classic Sept. 1-4 at Southpointe Golf Club, Canonsburg.

Daly, who won the 1991 PGA Championship and the '95 British Open, will compete in the 72-hole event. He will be joined by Greensburg native Rocco Mediate, a six-time winner on the PGA Tour who played in the inaugural Mylan Classic a year ago.

"I love Pittsburgh," Daly said Monday from Knoxville, Tenn., where he is playing in a Nationwide Tour event this week. "Joe and Maggie [Hardy] have always been like family to me. I know I'm not represented by them anymore, but I still have 84 Lumber customers who come out and watch me play. So I feel like an adopted cousin back there."

Stray Shots: Some things we saw while trying to fit our new long putter into the trunk...

The New York Times' Lens Blog has a photo gallery of golf-course groundskeepers. Sadly, Carl Spackler is not involved. (Via The New York Times)

Tennis player Rafa Nadal considered a career in golf after a 2005 injury. He probably figured, "Hey, if Sergio can do it..." (Via The Guardian)

U.S. Amateur players to Erin Hills course: 7,700 yards, is that all you've got? (Via Golfweek) 

Tweet of the Day
From original tweeter Stewart Cink...

Swing Tips

While there are several rules of thumb, everyone has a different policy on how to tip a server. (Some people take these policies more seriously than others.) When it comes to celebrities, however, tipping is often used as a gauge of their generosity or lack there of. With that in mind, The Miami New Times scoured every bit of info they could get their digital hands on and used it to put together a definitive list of the worst celebrity tippers. And you'll never believe who "won"...

Tiger Woods came in number four on Zimbio's scrooge compilation and was cited on every single list. The reason he doesn't tip: The man worth more than $500 million says it's because he never carries cash. The Frisky reports Tiger dated "a gal in Las Vegas who had to tip for him whenever they went out." And according to List of the Day ,Tiger once "pulled a mulligan on a $5 tip, repocketing the money meant for a waitress after realizing he had tipped her earlier in the evening.

In Tiger's defense, how much can you really leave on a $15.20 tab at Perkins without it seeming suspicious?

Five years later, Ames still talking about Tiger's swing

Speaking of the former World No. 1, there have been a lot of unflattering things said about Tiger's seemingly insatiable need to keep changing his swing. According to Canada.com, however, at least one fellow Tour player sees hope on the horizon for Tiger--affable pro (and Woods' former Match Play victim) Stephen Ames, who is (shockingly) still willing to talk about Tiger's swing.

“It’s quite incredible to be honest if you ask me because I wouldn’t be back out there after what he went through with the media, losing his wife. It’s tough. It’s just going to take him awhile to get back.”

One thing Woods did was switch swing coaches from Hank Haney to Sean Foley, who also just happens to be Ames’ swing coach.

“Swing-wise it looks 10 times better than it was before,” said Ames. “Sean’s done a wonderful job and, as Sean has mentioned before, he’s not clear upstairs right now. I think it’s going to be awhile before he gets there.”

Part of this may just be the continuing mea culpa that is likely to make up the remainder of Ames' golf career, but we can't discount the possibility that there's truth to it. Tiger came away from the last two weekends claiming to be happy with his results, so maybe he and his fellow Tour pros are seeing something that the rest of us aren't.

Tweet of the Day

This is great, because when I think extra cheese, I think John Daly.

That man-to-man talk Tiger Woods and Stevie Williams had at Aronimink Golf Club on Sunday of the AT&T National when Woods gave his caddie the pink slip? Williams said he was actually fired via telephone when he asked to caddie for Adam Scott, according to Sports Illustrated’s Gary Van Sickle.

Williams didn't editorialize much about their parting. He mostly reiterated the facts, but he did say, "I was absolutely shocked that I got the boot. I caddied for the guy for 11 years. I've been incredibly loyal, and I got short-shrifted. Very disappointed."

He then detailed how he got the news, saying it was during a phone call with Woods when Williams asked to caddie for Scott. Woods didn't agree, Williams said, and told him it was time to take a break. "In caddie lingo, that means you're fired, simple as that," Williams said.

In an interview with ESPN’s Bob Harig, Woods’s agent Mark Steinberg said Woods delivered the bad news to Williams in person and denied that Woods fired Williams for caddying for Scott.

"Tiger flew from Florida to Philly to visit AT&T National and also for the express purpose of PERSONALLY and officially telling Steve that they would no longer be working together," Steinberg said in the email. "Tiger felt strongly about meeting face to face. Any assertions to the contrary are simply false."

Asked specifically if Woods dismissed Williams when the caddie asked to work for Scott, Steinberg said no.

"Steve might have thought things were not going to work out, but it did not happen until that Sunday,'' Steinberg told ESPN.com by phone.

Still Daly after all these years

The Guardian’s Lawrence Donegan checks in with John Daly on the 20th anniversary of his storied PGA Championship win at Crooked Stick.

Weight problems, drinking problems, money problems and women problems. Daly has had them all over the course of the last two decades – a living, breathing embodiment of the country music laments that he so loves. The destructive powers of his lifestyle are obvious in his appearance – he looks 10 years older than his 45 years – and on his place in the golfing firmament.

"I've been up and down, up and down. And that's how life is," he says. "But I keep coming back. I've had troubles in my career, but the fans can relate. I don't have any skeletons in my closet. One thing I can say about my life is that I wake up every morning and don't have to worry about whether anybody is going to find something out about me."

Donegan notes that Darren Clarke’s win at the British Open might give hard-living fortysomethings like Daly hope at this year’s PGA Championship, but adds that Atlantic Athletic Club in Georgia heat is not rainy, gusty Royal St. George’s.

Clarke is a links golfer par excellence and his unique skills were ideally suited to the bad weather and hardcore challenge of Royal St George's.

Atlanta Country Club presents a more predictable challenge and, like most PGA Championships, it will, in all likelihood, produce a more predictable winner.

Ryo Ishikawa’s secret strategy for PGA Championship

Entering Sunday’s round at the Bridgestone just one stroke behind leader Adam Scott, 19-year-old Ryo Ishikawa had a chance to be the youngest PGA Tour winner in 100 years. (He finished fourth.) After his round, Ishikawa shared his strategy for this week's PGA Championship. You can definitely try this one at home.

 Q. It's going to be very hot next week. It was hot today, but it will be even hotter next week. How will you cope with that heat?

RYO ISHIKAWA: It has to do a lot with the food. You know, the hot temperature takes away the appetite a whole lot, so I think I should force myself to eat a whole lot in order to be able to play well on the course.

Shouldn’t be a problem for Rory McIlroy...

Tweet of the Day

Congrats, Kevin Na. Your record is safe for now.

During the second round of the John Deere Classic, John Daly recorded a 13 on the par-4 fourth hole. Daly eventually signed for an 81 and will miss the cut for the eighth time this season.

Initially Daly's scorecard showed he'd made an 18, and then an 11. After his round was posted, Daly's score changed again to a 13.

"I heeled it really bad way right, and I really was hoping they wouldn't find it so I'd have to go back to the tee," Daly said. "Because I got stuck on my first approach when they did find it, I'm going how can I get it left so I can take an unplayable, because where it was there I would have to go all the way to the maintenance shed, which would probably be out of bounds.

"So I hit it a couple times and then took an unplayable, couldn't get it out, hit it again, took an unplayable, couldn't get it out. Then I got it far enough left that I could drop, you know, and then get in the bunker and two-putted for a 13."

Daly's 13 isn't the highest score recorded on tour this year. Na made a 16 at the Valero Texas Open after he hit into the woods and couldn't get out. In 1998, Daly made an 18 on No. 6 at Bay Hill when he hit six shots in the water.

Below is a screenshot of Daly's adventure at No. 4 from PGATour.com's Shot Tracker.

If it weren't for Tiger's fall from grace, not to mention the number one spot in the world rankings, the biggest story in golf might be the plight of Sergio Garcia. Undoubtedly one of the most talented players the game has seen in recent years, El Nino has gone from being the second ranked player in the world in '09 to currently sitting at 73rd, a spot that fails to qualify him for the upcoming U.S. Open at Congressional. If he misses the event it will break his current streak of 47 majors in-a-row, which began at the Open Championship at Carnoustie in 1999.

Garcia, who hasn't won a PGA Tour event in three years and failed to make the 2010 European Ryder Cup team, must make it into the top 50 in the world rankings by June 13th or be in the top 10 on the PGA Tour money list by May 23rd if he wants to avoid playing in a 36-hole U.S. Open qualifier. According to the Spaniard, slogging through one of the toughest tests in golf in an attempt to earn a spot at Congressional is unlikely.

"I don't think so," he said. "If I don't qualify [through the rankings], then I don't deserve to play."

In regard to the streak of majors played, Garcia doesn't seem overly concerned.

"I don't care about the streak," he said. "I don't care about records and things like that. I worry about enjoying it and doing what I love and doing the best I can. I'm not going to look back when I'm 55 and say I should have tried to play 100 million in a row instead of 99."

Another issue for Garcia is that he currently is not exempt for this year's British Open at Royal St. George's either. However he has indicated that he will play in a British Open qualifier on May 23rd in Texas.

Note: Sean O'Hair, who finished 12th at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, is also not exempt for Congressional - the USGA recently changed the exemption from top 15 to top 10 finishers from the previous year.

Rory Sabbatini and Sean O'Hair apologize and move on
While replacing his swing coach and caddie are surely stressful for Sean O'Hair, at least the tension between he and fiery Rory Sabbatini seems to be over. According to O'Hair, he and Sabbatini had a phone conversation shortly after their heated on-course argument at The Zurich Classic of New Orleans and straightened things out.

"He apologized and I apologized," O'Hair said. "Life goes on."

This was the second publicized incident in which Sabbatini's behavior has caused problems in 2011 - at the Northern Trust in L.A. he reportedly used profanity while addressing a young volunteer who was helping him look for a lost ball. O'Hair declined to say what the argument was about, but did mention that it was not about slow play.

Darren Clarke eyes return to Ryder Cup
After putting an end to a three-year winless drought at The Iberdrola Open in Mallorca last weekend, Northern Irishman Darren Clarke is setting his sights on the next Ryder Cup.

"I feel there is a lot of golf left in me. I need to get the consistency back again. I would like to qualify for another Ryder Cup team and another win would take me back into the top 50. It was nice to win again but I want to be doing it more frequently."

Though Clarke has not played in a Ryder Cup since The K Club in '06 (which Europe won), his big win over up-and-coming Englishman Chris Wood apparently has him brimming with confidence.

"My swing is getting better and better. If I can get myself into contention to win, then great, and I can get up the world rankings again."

Here's a glimpse of DC's post-win press conference in Spain:

Tweet of the Day

@PGA_JohnDaly: yes, please call my table "THE FORE EX'S" RT @micknwalsh: Hi getting wed July 2 golf theme wedding Naming a table after you Any chance of a quote on marriage First thing u think of?

Steve Elling of CBSSports.com listened to John Daly’s interview with Atlanta's Mayhem in the AM morning show at 790 The Zone so you didn’t have to. The hot topic? Tiger, of course:

"But I told him, ‘If you would have come out that night after the [Thanksgiving] incident and told the world what was going on — not listened to your agents, not listened to anybody else, just what your heart said and thought what you just told me — this story would have ended in one day.’ And he said ‘I know, I know. I just had to listen to everybody.’ "I said, ‘That’s the thing you’ve got to understand, Tiger, you’re the greatest player that’s ever played, you don’t have to listen to anybody, you have to listen to what your heart tells you to do.’ And he says, ‘I thought about talking to the media right after it all happened, I really did, and told them the truth and told them what was going on. But I was told not to.’ So, I don’t blame him in that aspect of listening to the bad advice, which I totally think he got throughout the whole situation.”

And what was the situation, John?

“Well you should [be loyal] if your wife’s good and makes love to you when you want to be made love to, and does things with you and wants to do things with you, and wants to support you, and wants to be with you in your career, wants to take the selfish side of the player. I mean, in this sport, in major sports no matter what, even a guy that runs a multi-billion dollar corporation — a woman has to understand that it’s a lot on a person’s shoulders to deal with."

Golf Channel denies knowledge of alleged Ponzi scheme

We thought Morning Drive was adding enough excitement to the Golf Channel. Now Bloomberg News’ Laurel Brubaker Calkins reports that the Golf Channel is facing questions about F. Allen Stanford’s alleged Ponzi scam:

The Golf Channel said $5.9 million received from companies run by indicted financier R. Allen Stanford was for media services and not proceeds from an alleged Ponzi scheme as the receiver for Stanford’s businesses claims.

TGC LLC, known as the Golf Channel, said in response to the receiver’s lawsuit that it had no knowledge of what the government charges was a $7 billion fraud scheme. Golf Channel officials also threatened to counter-sue the receiver for $14.3 million for breach of contract if the judge presiding over Stanford’s civil fraud trial grants permission.

“The payments at the center of this case have nothing to do with a Ponzi scheme,’’ Theodore Daniel, the Golf Channel’s lawyer, said in papers filed yesterday in federal court in Dallas. Payments received from the Stanford Financial Group in 2007 and 2008 “were entirely legal’’ and the result of “arm’s- length, market-based, written contracts,’’ he said. 

John Mayer, Keith Urban headline Tabloid Jam in Vegas this weekend

Say what you want about him, Tiger Woods knows how to put on a show and this weekend’s Tiger Jam benefit in Las Vegas is no exception. Woods landed John Mayer and Keith Urban as headliners. However, Corey Levitan of The Las Vegas Review-Journal notes the irony of having Urban and Mayer, no strangers to tabloid gossip, headline the event for Woods, who is hoping the public will receive him favorably after his sex scandals:

Woods' predicament makes the choice of Urban and Mayer seem interesting. Both headliners have occupied unwanted tabloid covers alongside Woods -- Mayer for publicly disrespecting ex-girlfriends Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Simpson and using the N-word during a magazine interview, Urban for allegedly cheating on wife Nicole Kidman. In fact, last year, Mayer -- known then for commenting on just about everything he was asked to -- took on the Woods scandal. He jokingly told the U.K.'s The Independent newspaper that it made him feel hopeful.

"With this whole Tiger Woods situation," he said, "I wish more people would be like, 'You know what, Mayer? You didn't (expletive) up at all.' "

In contrast, if you follow the statements issued by the Tiger Woods Foundation, nothing significant ever occurred. For example, when the charity concert sat out last year, for the first time in a dozen years, foundation president Greg McLaughlin blamed the schedules of artists, saying that they could not be coordinated with Mandalay Bay's availability.

Tweet of the Day

Luke Donald on the royal wedding: