Not counting the majors and the Ryder Cup, here are the top 10 tournaments to watch in 2012.

1. Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 26-29

Officially replaces Torrey Pines as the unofficial start of the 2012 golf season now that Tiger's playing, although the field would still be pretty strong without him. Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Charl Schwartzel and Jason Day will all make the trip to the desert this year.

2. AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Pebble Beach, Calif., Feb. 9-12

There’s been a lot of buzz that Tiger Woods is considering adding Pebble to his 2012 schedule. If he does show up, he’ll be the third-biggest star here, after the course and a former greenskeeper who became the pro-am champion last year.

3. Accenture World Match Play Championship, Manana, Ariz., Feb. 22-26

March Madness comes early for golf fans. Last year, Luke Donald announced his candidacy for world’s best golfer with a dominating performance. Match play always creates some compelling drama, especially in a Ryder Cup year.

4. WGC-Cadillac Championship, Miami, Fla., March 8-11

The best players in the world are all together in a stroke-play event for the first time all year. The golf season might start at Kapalua, but it gets serious at Doral.

5. Arnold Palmer Invitational, Orlando, Fla., March 22-25

The King's tour stop is one of the crown jewels of the PGA Tour: great field, great atmosphere and great history.

6. Kraft Nabisco Championship, Rancho Mirage, Calif., March 29-April 1

Do you think having the world’s most dominant athlete in any sport (Yani Tseng) and a teenage phenom who’s won twice before even becoming an official LPGA member (Lexi Thompson) could create some stirring battles at the 2012 LPGA major? Yeah, us too.

7. Wells Fargo Championship, Charlotte, N.C., May 3-6

Less than 10 years old, the Wells Fargo Championship is already one of the most important regular events on the schedule. Wells Fargo is back in the tournament name after a couple of years as the Quail Hollow Championship. Let's hope the Michael Jordan-Tiger Woods pro-am pairing returns as well.

8. The Players Championship, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., May 10-13

Forget what the doubters say -- this is still the fifth major, and the finishing holes are as recognizable as any in the game. When Rory McIlroy was at home tweeting during last year’s Players Championship, you could tell he wanted to be there. He’ll be back this year.

9. BMW PGA Championship, Surrey, England, May 24-27

The best final round of 2011 that didn't happen in Augusta, Ga., was the playoff duel between Luke Donald and Lee Westwood at the European PGA Championship with the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking on the line. We can't wait for the rematch.

10. The Barclays Championship, Farmingdale, N.Y., Aug. 23-26

The USGA doesn't sound too keen on returning the Bethpage Black any time soon, so this year's Barclays Championship will be your best chance to see America's greatest municipal golf course, unless you want to sleep in your car.

The Big Ones:

The Masters, Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Ga., April 5-8

U.S. Open, Olympic Club, San Francisco, Calif., June 14-17

British Open, Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Lancashire, England, July 19-22

PGA Championship, Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, S.C., Aug. 9-12

The Ryder Cup, Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Ill., Sept. 28-30

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

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Ian Poulter values his sleep.

Rather than getting stranded on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass as darkness fell Saturday night, necessitating an early call for a 7:45 a.m. restart Sunday, Poulter left playing partner Dustin Johnson and sprinted to his ball on the 17th green, where he quickly two-putted for par and sprinted to the 18th tee. Poulter got the attention of Martin Laird and Phil Mickelson in the group ahead, who got out of the way while Poulter hit his all-important 18th tee shot of the day.

The horn blew at 8:04 p.m., but since players have the option of finishing the hole they've started, not only did Laird, Mickelson and Poulter finish, so did Johnson. Even though he was back putting on the 17th green, he was considered to have started the 18th hole because his playing partner had. 

"Saved us probably a 7:45 restart, I think it is," Poulter said. "So that's a 5:30 wake-up call. That's four hours in bed. A little 300-yard sprint is well worth four hours in bed."

A four-and-a-half-hour rainstorm that scattered patio furniture outside the mammoth clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass led to Poulter's rushed Usain Bolt impression. The jaunty Englishman said he knew well in advance that it was going to be close as to whether he finished his round.

"We were waiting on the 16th tee," Poulter said, "and Phil was waiting and just came over and said to us, 'Listen, if you have to tee off, just give us a shout.'" 

Although he bogeyed 18, Poulter took some satisfaction out of his massive drive, which hugged the water line and left him with only a sand wedge in for his second shot.

"Something to be said about adrenaline," he said.

After his round, Poulter, who has almost 1.2 million followers on Twitter, responded to criticism in the online forum that his sprint was disrespectful to Mickelson and Laird.

Paul Azinger, another player active on Twitter, agreed.

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Wildlife was the star during NBC Sports' broadcast of the Players Championship on Saturday—and we don't mean a night out with Anthony Kim. Cameras caught a large turtle performing a dive off the 16th green at TPC Sawgrass.

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We all know the impact five-time major winner Seve Ballesteros had on the game of golf. His swagger, charisma, incredible shotmaking ability, and competitive toughness went a long way toward elevating European golf, and the Ryder Cup, to present-day standards. But Seve hadn't been the Seve of old in a long time, and prior to his recent death, not many golf fans could probably remember the last time they saw the kid from Pedrena play golf at all, let alone well.

Regardless, professional golfers around the world clearly haven't forgotten the late Hall of Famer, and currently there's a movement to replace Harry Vardon's silhouette on the European Tour's official logo with that of Ballesteros. Supposedly started by multiple major winner Padraig Harrington, the movement has gathered steam and others, including Rory Mcllroy and his agent Chubby Chandler, have recently supported the cause via Twitter. How this all plays out is anyone's guess, but when you consider the mythic stature of Vardon and his six Open Championship victories, it's pretty clear just how much weight Seve's legacy carries with current European Tour pros. 

Secrets to watching The Players Championship

If you're planning on taking in The Players Championship in person you no doubt have a plan to camp out in the massive open area that provides a view of the 16th green, the famed 17th, and the treacherous tee shot on the 18th that forces players to fit their tee shots between water and rough. But there's more to see at Sawgrass than the final three holes, especially if you're going to be there for a couple of days. Here are some insider tips on the best spots to maximize your viewing pleasure: 

Behind the second green and third tee: Here you can watch players try to reach the par-5 second hole in two in hopes of a decent eagle try and then have a good view of their tee shots on the par-3 third. 

Between the fifth green and sixth tee: A great view of approach shots to the incredibly tough green on five as well as tee shots on six that need to avoid an overhanging branch. 

Behind the 11th green: Excellent view of player's second and third shots and a good vantage point to watch the pros wield their flatsticks. 

Behind the 15th green: Check out one of the prettiest holes on the course where contenders will most likely need to make birdie before heading to the final three. 

Behind the 9th green: A shady spot where you can see the best players in the world submit to the short game test of their lives. 

Note: If you do go to Sawgrass make sure you take advantage of the Cool Zones, featuring big screen TVs, plenty of shade, and a chance to get some cold drinks. The newly added, air-conditioned bathrooms are worth a stop as well. 

Mickelson defends Harrington

If you missed the final round of this weekend's Wells Fargo Championship then you didn't get to see one of the dumber rules-related fiascos of the season. After the round, in which Harrington finished in a tie for ninth with playing partner Phil Mickelson after shooting a tidy 68 (worth about $150k in prize money), both players were carted back out to the 13th tee to deal with a marshal's claim that Harrington had teed off in front of the tee markers. Mickelson backed Harrington immediately: 

Padraig has more integrity than anybody out here ... he's constantly checking to make sure he's playing by all the rules. This is not going to be an issue. I'm pretty comfortable with the fact that his ball was behind the marker.

In the end, due to the complete absence of conclusive evidence, video or otherwise, Tour officials Slugger White and Jon Brendle decided to let the situation pass without any official action. However Harrington didn't appear too thrilled by the marshal's accusation. 

It really would be a question of me being a martyr if I took a penalty in this instance. I've done that before but not today ... everything's just too inconclusive.

Note: If the marshal's claim been found valid, Harrington would have been disqualified under Rule 11-4b for playing from outside the teeing ground without going back and playing the hole from the correct position (with a two-stroke penalty) before teeing off on the next hole. 

Tweet of the Day

McIlroyRory - I like Sergio, he's playing good again and has won round there. RT @mjpcrawford @McIlroyRory Rory who do you like for the Players this week?

At Quail Hollow last week, Martin Kaymer was the latest European to voice the opinion that he'd rather win one of the World Golf Championship events than this week's Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy, who are skipping the Players, and their voluble agent Chubby Chandler said the same thing earlier this year. The European perspective is that by creating the WGCs the PGA Tour has bumped its own flagship event, the Players, to somewhere between eighth and 10th in the tournament pecking order.

I disagree, and most American players, fans and media would disagree as well.

The Players really is the "fifth major." The fickle WGC-Accenture Match Play certainly doesn't qualify as such, and the WGC-Cadillac Championship (at Doral) and WGC-Bridgestone (at Firestone) don't, either. They're big events, sure, but they are of equal importance, and they can't be "the fifth major" together. That designation must go to a single tournament.

The "fifth major" is not the European Tour's flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, because practically none of the top Americans bother to show up for it.

Along with the PGA Championship, the Players Championship routinely boasts the best field in golf, better than Arnie's tournament at Bay Hill, better than Jack's at Muirfield Village.

If golf has a fifth major, then it has to be the Players Championship. Maybe all that's missing is a name change to appease the Europeans: the WGC-Players. 

 (Photo: Tim Clark, winner of the 2010 Players Championship; Robert Beck/SI)

Tiger Woods announced Friday that he will play in the Players Championship at the TPC Stadium Course at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., next week.

Woods was unable to compete in this week’s Wells Fargo Championship after hurting his left knee and Achilles' tendon in the third round of the Masters last month.

Woods has not played competitive golf since the Masters, although he did travel to China and South Korea, where he conducted golf clinics and played ping-pong. He wore a protective boot at his Tiger Jam fund-raising event in Las Vegas last week. According to a statement on his web site, Woods treated his injury with rest, cold-water therapy, and soft tissue treatment

In an interview with Comcast Sportsnet in Washington D.C. earlier this week, Woods said that his leg was “healing up nicely” and his lack of playing was a precautionary measure.

“I’ll be back pretty soon, actually,” Woods said in the interview.

Woods won the Players Championship in 2001, but in recent years, he hasn’t had as much success there. Last year, he withdrew with a neck injury six holes into his final round. In 2009, he finished eighth. Woods missed the tournament after knee surgery in 2008 and finished T37 in 2007.

(Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Say what you want about Tiger's personal life and his golf game, but his charitable efforts are still going strong. Last weekend the likes of John Mayer and Keith Urban performed at Tiger Jam 2011 at The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in an effort to raise money for the Tiger Woods Foundation. The night's festivities also featured a silent auction and a chance to chat with none other than MC Hammer. The approximately $750,000 raised at the event will go to help kids in need. Here's a clip from the concert:

McIlroy defends decision to skip Players Championship

There was quite a bit of hubbub over Rory McIlroy's failure to include the suppposed fifth major, The Players Championship, in his schedule this year, but the young superstar recently defended his decision with no reservations. 

"It is a year-on-year thing. If I played the Players, the US Open would be my sixth week in seven. That would be a lot of golf for me. I have said I don't want to play more than three in a row. It is too much golf for me. I get a little lazy and lethargic if I play more than three in a row. I want to prepare well for the US Open so I had to get rid of an event and it is the Players, simple as that.

Though McIlroy gave up his Tour card after just one year of full-time membership, in part because he wanted to be closer to home, he indicated that he sees himself becoming a PGA Tour member again one day: 

I see myself becoming a member of this tour at some point in the future. As my career progresses and I get older I may get a home in this country which would make it easier to play over here.

The Players Director hungry to expand scope of tourney

Matt Rapp has been executive director of The Players Championship for just over a year but is raising some eyebrows with his initiatives to increase the prestige and revenue of the famed tournament. Since the date moved from March to May, Rapp dealt with complaints about he heat and dirty toilets, but also focused on getting major businesses in the Jacksonville area to support the tournament. After reaching out to 22 companies that weren't involved, the result has been twice as many area sponsors, significantly increased ticket sales and millions of extra dollars for charity. 

"This should be Jacksonville's Kentucky Derby," says Rapp. 

As to the previous complaints, Rapp spent $250,000 to provide luxury, air-conditioned restrooms called "crowd pleasers," as well as "cool zones," with big screen TVs and plenty of shade so patrons can relax and enjoy some refreshments. 

TWEET OF THE DAY

@BradFaxon: In 27 yrs on Tour, have never seen this! Players wives toilets! Only at Wells Fargo at Quail Hollow!

Every time Jim Furyk makes a birdie or eagle this year, he’s going to raise money for 170 children’s hospitals across North America thanks to Miracle Birdies, a new fund-raising program.

Can Furyk, who made a clutch putt worth $10 million last fall to win the FedEx Cup title, handle this kind of incredible pressure? The question made Furyk laugh.

“I think I can handle it, we’ll see,” he said. “If I don’t make any birdies at the Heritage, we’ll know there’s a problem.”

Furyk is partnering with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals for the fund-raiser. They hope members of the public—like you—will pledge money for every birdie Furyk makes, starting with next week’s Heritage Classic at Harbour Town. Pledges can be as small as ten cents per birdie or as big as $20—or bigger, there’s no maximum pledge, obviously. You can sign up to pledge support for Furyk at MiracleBirdies.com. The amounts will be determined by how many birdies Furyk makes from the Heritage until the season-ending tournament, the Children's Miracle Network Classic at DisneyWorld.

“It’s funny, I’ve been asked that quite a few times about whether there will be pressure,” Furyk said. “I look at it more as an opportunity. I think it will be fun. Whether there are 100 or 2,000 pledges, it’s a positive. One of my partners, RBC, is going to run a big campaign around the PGA Championship this year. I’m proud to be part of all this.”

The money raised by people who make pledges will go to their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.

“What I like so much is that the money will stay in your local area,” Furyk said. “If you live in Orlando, for example, it would go to the Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital. It’s easy to get people involved when they see the money is going to stay in their own community.”

Since 1983, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals have raised more than $4 billion, used for research and training, equipment and uncompensated care in support of children with health issues.

Furyk was already involved in fund-raising for children. He and his wife have supported Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Florida near their home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Getting into this new program was an easy choice for him.

“We’ve met quite a few kids,” Furyk said. “The hospital here has like a pediatric hospital for kids whose prognosis is not that great—it’s for their families and siblings. They’re building a new wing now so they can have more rooms where parents can sleep in the rooms and be with their sick children. A lot of these kids, it’s tough.

“Tabitha runs a wonderful program around the Players Championship week. Instead of 'These Guys Can Play,' it’s 'These Kids Can Play.' We have a lot of players come out—Ben Crane and Justin Leonard have really helped. Being around the kids and being in that wing and seeing what the doctors and nurses do on a daily basis, there are a lot of inspiring individual stories. The whole thing makes you want to be a part of it.”

As a father of two, Furyk naturally has a greater interest in children’s healthcare. Furyk, 40, is a Pennsylvania native and still an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan, but he’s found a home in northeast Florida. “It really hits home when you start raising your own family,” he said. “I’ve lived here in Jacksonville and really felt like I became more a part of the community when we started having children and realized this was where we wanted to raise them. Our kids were born here at the Baptist Medical Center.”

Jim and Tabitha have two children—an 8-year-old daughter, Caleigh, and a 7-year-old son, Tanner. (Two years ago, the 6-year-old Caleigh filed a report on her dad playing in the Players Championship for Golf.com.)

Furyk always been good with kids, and that’s how he met his wife-to-be years ago.

“She was an education major and getting into teaching and I was playing golf with some kids at Jack Nicklaus’s Memorial Tournament,” Furyk said. “She loved the way I interacted with the kids and that was my in to say hello and get to meet her.”

And since then? “Well,” he said with a  chuckle, “it’s worked out pretty well.”

(Photo: Matt Slocum/AP)

The Players Championship usually has one of strongest fields of the year, and the PGA Tour's main event has long been dubbed "the fifth major." But two of the top 10 players in the world -- current World No. 1 Lee Westwood and seventh-ranked Rory McIlroy -- have already said they're skipping the event at TPC Sawgrass. Asked how he was supposed to defend his clients, Andrew "Chubby" Chandler, who manages Westwood and McIlroy, was quick to dismiss the Players's importance to European players.

'Shrek' comes to L.A.
It's hard to call British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen a rookie, but it is his first year as a PGA Tour member, and he's making his debut this week at the Northern Trust Open.

Oosthuizen got the nickname "Shrek" due to a gap in his front teeth, but Bill Dwyre of the L.A. Times says Oosthuizen doesn't mind the nickname, even though he got rid of the headcover.

Shrek is a star now, the 2010 British Open champion, winner of that grand event at no less than the symbolic cradle of golf, the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland.

He also has a new head cover for his driver — the animated ogre has been replaced, as has his own image. But the 28-year-old from South Africa may be the last to totally understand that.

"It [the Shrek head cover] was tearing apart," he says, implying that it had a home in his bag as long as it endured. "I've got a big South African rugby cover now. I'm quite a big fan of them."

Seven months ago, Oosthuizen was just another pro golfer, teeing off in early morning mist for a gallery of dozens. If there were more than that, it was because he was playing in a group with somebody golf fans had heard of. He was ranked No. 54 in the world, played almost exclusively in Europe, and could have been ranked No. 920 for all the Tiger-centric golf world cared.

Seven months later, he will be walking the fairways at Riviera Country Club in the Northern Trust Open, and his British Open title will make him an attraction for fans, not an afterthought.

Tiger Who?
Every year Tiger Woods gets criticized for not playing Riviera -- a course close to his hometown and the site of his first PGA Tour start in 1992.

But as Golf Channel's Randell Mell points out, tournament director Jerry West has put together an impressive field even without Woods.

The Northern Trust Open features five of the top-10 players in the world and 30 of the top 50. That’s one more top-10 player and nearly four times the number of top-50 players than the much-hyped Dubai Desert Classic featured last week.

Tweet of the Day

@Graeme_McDowell: Sitting in Orlando airport. Flying up to a place where I played lots of golf, drank a few beers and went to a few classes. Birmingham, AL.