We'll charitably call Nike's new Rory McIlroy commercial an "homage" to Tiger Woods bouncing a ball off his wedge in Nike's famous 1999 commercial. The video features McIlroy's Nike stablemates Kyle Stanley, Nick Watney, Suzann Pettersen and Paul Casey, but not Woods, whose absence is conspicuous. Take a look:
Now watch Tiger's 1999 Nike commercial, aka, the greatest sports commercial ever:
Paul Casey asks 'Digby' to return his golf ball at the Dunhill Links Championship Friday. (Getty Images)
Paul Casey knows that professional golf is a dog-eat-dog world, but this is ridiculous.
Casey was lining up an eagle putt on the 12th hole of Kingsbarns Golf Links in St. Andrews during the second round of the Dunhill Links Championship on Friday when a dog rushed onto the green and then raced off with Casey's ball. The Guardian UK has the details:
Paul Casey found himself unable to play on for a while in the Dunhill Links Championship on Friday after a dog came on to a green and had some fun with his ball.
The incident came on the 12th at Kingsbarns as Casey continued his partnership in the celebrity pro-am with the retired USA swimmer and golf enthusiast Michael Phelps.
Eventually the dog decided to move on and the former world No. 3, on in two at the par five, two-putted for a birdie that lifted him to one-under par.
That was, however, still 11 adrift of the South African Branden Grace, who on Thursday equalled the European Tour record with a 12-under-par 60 on the course.
According to the Associated Press, Casey was going to play a new ball, but a spectator retrieved his original ball from the dog near the 13th tee. After conferring with a rules official, Casey played the original ball. Tournament officials said Casey gave the ball back to the dog--later identified as "Digby"--after finishing the hole.
Related Photos: Dog steals Paul Casey's golf ball | Celebs at Dunhill Links
''It's the weirdest thing I've ever had happen on a golf course,'' Casey told the AP. ''I noticed the dog on the 12th tee and he sort of followed us down the fairway before taking a real liking to my golf ball.''
Here's the report from the Dunhill Links Championship's official Twitter feed.
A dog runs onto the 12th and picks up @paul_casey's ball and runs off with it. Casey tried to tell the dog to take it closer to the hole.
— Alfred Dunhill Links (@dunhilllinks) October 5, 2012
The dog episode ends well as @paul_casey makes birdie, he tosses the ball back to the dog to keep. "Dogleg?" he asks the crowd #dunhilllinks
— Alfred Dunhill Links (@dunhilllinks) October 5, 2012
RT @tambett: This is Digby, who just stole @paul_casey's ball at the 12th green, Kingsbarns #dunhilllinks twitter.com/Tambett/status…
— Alfred Dunhill Links (@dunhilllinks) October 5, 2012
Digby races off the 12th green at Kingsbarns Golf Links in St. Andrews with Paul Casey's ball. (Getty Images)
It's U.S. Open time, and golf's style icons like Rickie Fowler have their look selected well in advance of the tourney. According to Puma's preview of Fowler's clothes for the U.S. Open, it looks like Fowler is planning to wear shorts on Sunday, but he will actually be sporting a custom pants version instead.
Check out what Tiger Woods will be wearing all week.
Here are some other players who will be sporting a more traditional look at this year's U.S. Open.
After a sterling golf career at Wake Forest, Cheyenne Woods has signed on with her famous uncle's famous agent, Mark Steinberg. The Orlando Sentinel's Jeff Shain has more.
The Wake Forest graduate signed Monday with Excel Sports Management, where Tiger Woods is the headliner of the agency's golf division under Mark Steinberg.
"We are excited about the opportunity to represent Cheyenne," Steinberg said in a statement. "She had an outstanding career at Wake Forest and has the chance to be a major star on the women's golf scene."
Steinberg has managed Tiger Woods since 1999, including a jump to Excel last summer after IMG cut Steinberg loose.
Cheyenne Woods completed her college career as Wake Forest's all-time top scorer, averaging 73.31 over her four years with the Demon Deacons. She also set the school's lowest single-season average (73.47) as a sophomore and won the 2011 ACC Tournament individual title by seven strokes.
Brian Wacker at pgatour.com has more on Woods, who was a two-time all-American at Wake Forest.
R&A testing a shorter golf ball in Sweden
With so many classic tracks becoming obsolete due to the insane distances Tour pros now hit the ball, it's no wonder that the ongoing conversation about dialing back equipment won't die. Of course, telling equipment manufacturers that they have to try and sell clubs and golf balls to the public with the selling point being, "now 10 yards shorter," is not likely to happen any time soon.
But Geoff Shackleford dug up a story from a Swedish golf site about a tournament in Sweden where the R&A will test a new, shorter golf ball. Here are some interesting tidbits from an interview (as translated by Google) with Anders Jonsson, an equipment expert and member of the Swedish Golf Federation:
Want to test the future of golf ball? In early June, played two tournaments on Österåker and Åkersberga where everyone plays on the R & A's prototype that can put a new ball standard. - It has developed a ball that is about eight percent less, said Anders Jonsson, equipment expert in SGF's regulatory committee.
For several years the R & A has worked on developing a framework for a ball to go shorter. Many believe that even the modern courses in the near future be played for short. Work on a new standard ball is in the experimental stage but the ball should have the same flight characteristics, the only difference being that it goes a little shorter.
Test competitions have already been implemented in the UK but now the R & A have a broader investigative material in order to make such a good decision as possible in the future. Therefore, they have been inquiring about Swedish interest.
Work on prototype is relatively secret and few actually know what the type of ball. But according to information, it will be modern and only differ pure length wise. I know nothing about the ball more than it is developed together with a renowned manufacturer, said Jonsson.
The Swedish test competitions will be played on Österåker June 2 and Åkersberga June 3. Nikon sponsors the event and representatives from the R & A will be in place. It is open to all to take this opportunity to become a test pilot.
Top English pros demand more events in England
Luke Donald, Paul Casey and Lee Westwood have set up a "task force," with the mission of bringing more top-notch tournaments to England, according to James Corrigan of The Telegraph. Considering that this week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth is the only European Tour event of the season held in England, it's sort of hard to disagree with them, particularly when there are so many English players near the top of the world rankings (Donald, Westwood, Casey, Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Robert Rock, etc.).
This wasn't always the case. In 2000, there were six Tour events in England, but the recession has forced many formerly prominent tournaments like the English Open and the British Masters to seek sponsors, and locations, in other parts of the globe. But the English trio of Donald, Casey, and Westwood are determined to see that change.
“We want to know what we can do as players to help make it happen; as we plainly need to do more than talk about it,” said Casey. “Maybe what could help is if we write a collective letter to the right people, to prospective sponsors, guaranteeing that we would all be there and would all help promote the tournament. If we started another event in England, featuring Lee, Luke, Ian, Justin, etc, wouldn’t that have great appeal?”
Luke Donald, who's been trading the No. 1 spot in the world rankings with Rory McIlroy throughout 2012, agrees with Casey.
“This is a great opportunity when you look at the world rankings at the moment,” said the world No 2. “This is the time to cultivate more interest. We’ve got great golfing ambassadors and need another event in England that can inspire the younger generation. We’re about to lose TV viewers whose parents don’t have Sky, with the BBC dropping out from golf, so we need more events in England full stop. I’d be happy to lend my name and time and help promote golf more in England.”
Here's a quick video from last year's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Seems like the conditions are actually pretty tough for the players in England:
Tweet of the Day
Sorted Ferrari is back in action... Job done. Off to Wentworth. #TwitPict twitpic.com/9nzrr3
— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) May 22, 2012
In his first event of the season following a snowboarding accident, Paul Casey highlighted his final round at Doral with a hole in one on the par-3 15th, prompting his caddie to believe that he had won the Cadillac on display and doing his best Peter Griffin impersonation.
Unfortunately, the Cadillac was on display for the 13th hole, not No. 15, and Casey’s caddie’s downturn from complete elation to total disappointment might be one of the saddest things I have seen since the Big East Championship game.
Sergio's 12
Even professional golfers are prone to an on-course meltdown every now and then (see Kevin Na, Gary McCord, John Daly) and Sergio Garcia is no exception, racking up a 12 on the par-4 3rd.
Following his round, Garcia could only muster this gem, according to the Belfast Telegraph:
"I don't have the energy today, sorry guys."
What's worse? TaylorMade didn't even get the right number on Sergio's new hat.
Rick Reilly vs. Norm Macdonald: A Twitter throwdown
During the third round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship, comedian and Saturday Night Live-alum Norm Macdonald live-tweeted all the action from Doral for his 356,000 plus followers. One of those followers just so happens to be Rick Reilly and he was not a fan of Macdonald’s commentary. Thankfully, Deadspin documented the entire tirade for all our entertainment:
Norm's timeline begins to be flooded with Reilly attacks. Norm then retweets a Reilly "joke."
Norm then puts it into full troll mode. He starts retweeting users wondering aloud if Reilly is a racist, among other things.
And perhaps worst of all, for a writer of words and "comedy," Norm goes in for the kill.
Australian golfers offer support to Lyle
Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle was recently diagnosed with a recurrence of leukemia prior to the birth of his first child, Lusi Joy. Set to begin chemotherapy treatments Monday, Lyle, who spent nine months in the hospital with acute myeloid leukemia as a 17-year-old prior to becoming a PGA Tour professional, has the support of his peers, according to Ben Everill and Melissa Woods of the Sydney Morning Herald.
Close friend and fellow Australian golfer Robert Allenby, who befriended Lyle during his first stint with cancer, was shocked.
"It's a complete tragedy," Allenby said.
"But I told him he has beaten it before and he can beat it again.
"He has a big fight on his hands but he has the motivation of being the father and husband he wants to be which will give him strength.
"My heart goes out to him and his family and we all need to get behind him and support him."
2011 Australian Open winner Greg Chalmers also gave his support to Lyle in a statement:
"All Jarrod needs to know is everyone over here on this side of the world are thinking about him and wishing him well.”
Backing Allenby and Chalmer’s sentiments, Adam Scott voiced his own support to his fellow countryman:
"My thoughts go out to Jarrod and his family. He is a tough bloke and I wish him all the best in his fight. We all do."
Lyle matched his best finish on the PGA Tour three weeks ago at Riviera, where he missed a playoff by two shots and tied for fourth.
Tweet of the Day
Hope Baba Booey shout out didn't throw @Keegan_Bradley off his game.He seems like a nice guy...and he's a Stern Fan.
— Gary Dell'Abate (@robertAbooey) March 12, 2012
Hey @robertAbooey no worries.I love all that is the stern show.Huge fan. Thanks for the tweet #fafafooey.
— Keegan Bradley (@Keegan_Bradley) March 12, 2012
SANDWICH, England — It's not often that Ian Poulter and Paul Casey are demoted to the undercard in their native England. But make no mistake about it, the headliner at Royal St. George's this morning was not in Poulter's 8:42 group or Casey's 8:58 group.
As Rory McIlroy walked from the practice green through the crowd to the first tee for his 9:09 start, a chorus of “Go Rory” rose through the damp, chilly air.
Ivor Robson, the famous Open Championship starter whose sing-song introduction of the players has become a tournament tradition, beamed as he shook Rory's hand for what seemed like hours. His eyes looked like a teenage girl's gazing at Justin Bieber.
At the same time, a mob of teenagers galloped across the nearby 18th fairway hoping to get a glimpse of McIlroy. Never mind that the Northern Irishman was playing with 2002 winner Ernie Els or American heartthrob Rickie Fowler. On Thursday they were just an aging South African and a kid in an oversized black cap.
After McIlroy, Els and Fowler hit their tee shots and started walking down the fairway, the grandstands started to empty. The fans who had been standing 10-deep along the ropes started marching down the fairway.
Moments later Sergio Garcia walked to the first tee and was greeted with cheers from the much smaller audience. Shouts of "Luuuuke" signaled that Luke Donald, the game's No. 1 player and another Englishman, was arriving.
But the most popular story in Europe that doesn't involve Rupert Murdoch was already moving on, and so were most of the fans.
(Photo by Robert Beck/SI)
Each week, 15 staffers from SI Golf+, Golf Magazine and GOLF.com will vote for their top 10, awarding 10 points to their first choice and proceeding in descending order to the 10th player, who gets one point. The points will then be added and the ranking calculated.
RANK (FIRST PLACE VOTES, TOTAL VOTES, LAST WEEK'S RANK)
1. Martin Kaymer (15, 150, 1st)
- Last Three Events: T20, Transitions Championship; T24, WCG-Cadillac Championship; 2nd, WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
- Official World Golf Ranking: 1
2. Graeme McDowell (115, 3rd)
- Last Three Events: T20, Transitions Championship; T24, WCG-Cadillac Championship; 2nd, WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
- Official World Golf Ranking: 4
3. Luke Donald (110, 2nd)
-Last Three Events: T6, WCG-Cadillac Championship; T10, Honda Classic; 1st, WCG-Accenture Match Play Championship
-Official World Golf Ranking: 3
4. Lee Westwood (96, 4th)
-Last Three Events: T18, WCG-Cadillac Championship; T29, Honda Classic; T17, WCG-Accenture Match Play Championship
-Official World Golf Ranking: 2
5. Matt Kuchar (70, 5th)
-Last Three Events: 5th, WCG-Cadillac Championship; T17, Honda Classic; 3rd, WCG-Accenture Match Play Championship
-Official World Golf Ranking: 9
6. Nick Watney (61, 6th)
-Last Three Events: T13, Transitions Championship; 1st, WCG-Cadillac Championship; T9, WCG-Accenture Match Play Championship
-Official World Golf Ranking: 14
7. Bubba Watson (52, 9th)
-Last Three Events: T24, Arnold Palmer Invitational; T28, Transitions Championship; 4th, WCG-Accenture Match Play Championship
-Official World Golf Ranking: 17th
8. Dustin Johnson (43, 7th)
-Last Three Events: CUT, Arnold Palmer Invitational; 2nd, WGC-Cadillac Championship; T33, WCG-Accenture Match Play Championship
-Official World Golf Ranking: 12th
9. Rory McIlroy (41, 8th)
-Last Three Events: T10, WCG-Cadillac Championship; T70, Honda Classic; T17, WCG-Accenture Match Play Championship
-Official World Golf Ranking: 8
10. Paul Casey (32, 10th)
-Last Three Events: T37, Transitions Championship; T18, WCG-Cadillac Championship; T17, WCG-Accenture Match Play Championship
-Official World Golf Ranking: 7
Other receiving votes:
Phil Mickelson (28)
Mark Wilson (8)
Jim Furyk (6)
Hunter Mahan (4)
Steve Stricker (4)
Justin Rose (2)
Martin Laird (1)
Francesco Molinari (1)
Tiger Woods (1)
Each week, 15 staffers from SI Golf+, Golf Magazine and GOLF.com will vote for their top 10, awarding 10 points to their first choice and proceeding in descending order to the 10th player, who gets one point. The points will then be added and the ranking calculated.
| Rank (first-place votes) | Total points | Last Week's Rank |
| 1. Martin Kaymer (15) | 150 | 1 |
| 2. Graeme McDowell | 126 | 2 |
| 3. Lee Westwood | 105 | 3 |
| 4. Luke Donald | 82 | 5 |
| 5. Phil Mickelson | 71 | 4 |
| 6. Bubba Watson | 60 | 6 |
| 7. Matt Kuchar | 59 | 7 |
| 8. Rory McIlroy | 52 | 8 |
| 9. Paul Casey | 45 | 9 |
| 10. Dustin Johnson | 23 | 10 |
Others Receiving Votes
Steve Stricker (17)
Mark Wilson (16)
Jim Furyk (7)
Each week, 15 staffers from SI Golf+, Golf Magazine and GOLF.com will vote for their top 10, awarding 10 points to their first choice and proceeding in descending order to the 10th player, who gets one point. The points will then be added and the ranking calculated.
| Rank (first-place votes) | Total points | Last Week's Rank |
| 1. Martin Kaymer (11) | 146 | 1 |
| 3. Graeme McDowell (2) | 124 | 3 |
| 2. Lee Westwood (2) | 123 | 2 |
| 4. Phil Mickelson | 92 | 4 |
| 5. Rory McIlroy | 69 | 5 |
| 6. Paul Casey | 68 | 7 |
| 7. Dustin Johnson | 46 | 6 |
| 8. Steve Stricker | 40 | 8 |
| 9. Matt Kuchar | 28 | 10 |
| 10. Jim Furyk | 21 | 9 |
Others Receiving Votes
Mark Wilson (17)
Ian Poulter (12)
Bubba Watson (8)
Tiger Woods (8)
Ernie Els (6)
Jhonattan Vegas (6)
Bill Haas (5)
Hunter Mahan (4)
Aaron Baddeley (1)
Jonathan Byrd (1)
Each week, 15 staffers from SI Golf+, Golf Magazine and GOLF.com will vote for their top 10, awarding 10 points to their first choice and proceeding in descending order to the 10th player, who gets one point. The points will then be added and the ranking calculated.
| Rank (first-place votes) | Total points | Last Week's Rank |
| 1. Martin Kaymer (13) | 148 | 1 |
| 2. Lee Westwood (1) | 122 | 3 |
| 3. Graeme McDowell (1) | 120 | 2 |
| 4. Phil Mickelson | 98 | 4 |
| 5. Rory McIlroy | 66 | 5 |
| 6. Dustin Johnson | 50 | 7 |
| 7. Paul Casey | 46 | 6 |
| 8. Steve Stricker | 36 | 8 (Tie) |
| 9. Jim Furyk | 27 | 8 (Tie) |
| 10. Matt Kuchar | 25 | NR |
Others Receiving Votes
Tiger Woods (22)
Mark Wilson (17)
Bubba Watson (13)
Ian Poulter (10)
Ernie Els (8)
Jhonnatan Vegas (8)
Thomas Bjorn (4)
Hunter Mahan (3)
Luke Donald (1)
D.A. Points (1)
Alvaro Quiros (1)
