DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Fred Couples said that he hopes to follow his success as 2011 U.S. Presidents Cup captain with a shot at being Ryder Cup captain.

Speaking in Dubai on the eve of the Dubai Desert Classic, where his playing partners will be John Daly and Colin Montgomerie, Couples said: “Maybe in the next two or four years, I’ll get a shot at it. But they are going to name another Presidents Cup captain in another month, and I know they’re all pushing for me to do it again, so I’m all for that. But obviously I would love to be a Ryder Cup captain, there’s no doubt.”

Davis Love III will be captain of the American side at the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah in Illinois this September. The PGA of America hasn't named a U.S. captain for the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland, but Tiger Woods threw his support behind Couples in a post on TigerWoods.com in December.

I've heard people question whether Fred would be a good Ryder Cup captain, and I just don't get it. I think that Fred is a great captain. Whether it's The Presidents Cup or the Ryder Cup, it doesn't matter.

The way he keeps us loose and how much fun we have -- it's just great to play for him. He's a lot more competitive than people realize. He just doesn't show it. He shows it with us around, but the public doesn't see it.

--By Paul Mahoney

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

The European host of the 2014 Ryder Cup is taking preparations seriously, to say the least. Need proof? With the event more than three years away, none other than Jack Nicklaus has provided suggestions on course changes at the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles Resort in Perthshire, Scotland, to make the event more difficult for the players and more entertaining for fans. Nicklaus wants work done on the ninth, 10th, and 18th holes, and the specific alterations are: an increase in the size of a water hazard on the par-5 ninth hole, which would increase the risk-reward quotient; new tee boxes on the par-3 10th, which will change the approach angle to the green; and a more level landing area on the par-5 18th. Organizers said they are also working to reduce the amount of water that might collect on the greens.

In light of the foul weather that plagued the last Ryder Cup, which was held at Celtic Manor in Wales, the 2014 event will be held Sept. 26-28 instead of October.  

Stevie appears on 'Least Influential' list

Adam Scott's current caddie Steve Williams has made plenty of news as of late, including some less-than-positive press after making a seemingly racist remark about Tiger Woods, his former employer. Now the New Zealand native is reaching a new audience, as he has landed on GQ's famed, "25 Least Influential People Alive" list. Yup, the guy who "won," all those majors comes in eighth on the impressive list, edging out the likes of Paul Reiser, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Bobby Bonilla. Here's a bit from GQ's funnymen: 

"Obviously it's well documented I've won 145 golf tournaments." YOU WON NOTHING, YOU BAG APE. No one has documented anything about you, other than what a prick you can be when pushing photographers out of the way. There's nothing worse than a profoundly inessential person who's deluded himself into thinking he's the opposite.  

Knowing a bit about Stevie, we're guessing he won't be too bothered by the piece, but it would be interesting to know how he feels about being ranked below Tia and Tamera Mowry. 

Woodland heading for Ryder Cup?

After finishing 17th on the money list in 2011 with close to $3.5 million in earnings and snagging his first career win at the Transitions Championship, you'd think young Gary Woodland would be satisfied. Nope. To cap off the year, the former Kansas State standout traveled to China and won the World Cup with Matt Kuchar, marking the first time the U.S. has taken home the trophy since Tiger Woods and David Duval teamed up to win the event in 2000. 

Now that Woodland has finished off his dream season he's eyeing another goal he says he's always dreamed of -- playing in The Ryder Cup. 

Ever since I turned professional I have dreamt about being in a US Ryder Cup team and it now seems a big step closer. I had the goal at the start of the year to make the Presidents Cup. That didn't pan out but then Matt chose me to partner him in the World Cup and I could not have been happier. Europe has kind of had the States's number in most of the recent Ryder Cups but it would be nice to be in the team that win back the trophy on home turf. It's been a long while since the States had the Ryder Cup, World Cup and Presidents Cup in the same trophy cabinet but for me winning the World Cup is going to be a big inspiration to make the Ryder Cup team.

Woodland was also highly complimentary of Kuchar, whom he credits for helping him adapt to the team format. 

I've learned so much from playing alongside Matt and that's going to be a great springboard for me to take into 2012. He was always very positive, very encouraging and always very helpful in putting me at ease. It helps my confidence and it further boosts Matt's confidence given that he was also on the winning Presidents Cup side the week before. Hopefully both he and I can play well enough in 2012 to make Davis's side. I grew up watching the Ryder Cup and it would be an honor for me to play.

When you consider the would-be Ryder Cupper's PGA Tour stats from '11 (Driving Distance: 5th, Greens in Regulation: 12th, Birdie Average: 13th, Scoring Average: 14th), it's a good bet Woodland will be at Medinah next year: 

Tweet of the Day

On Monday, 2012 Ryder Cup captains Davis Love III and Jose Maria Olazabal held a press conference at Medinah Country Club, site of next year's Cup, and went on a media tour of Chicago to publicize the tournament.

One stop on the tour had the veterans hitting balls off the Trump International Hotel and Tower onto a floating green in the Chicago River. All of the action was for a good cause: the PGA of America and the Ryder Cup Magnificent Moments fundraising campaign donated $100,000 to benefit local charities. Check out the video below to see how they did.

It wasn't too long ago Rory McIlroy was saying how big an influence his long time girlfriend, Holly Sweeney, was in his life. Fast forward to last week's British Open and Rory was releasing a statement saying that the two had split up, amicably of course. It's good to be young, rich, and famous -- and last Sunday the very recently single U.S. Open champion was spotted on what appeared to be a date with none other than Caroline Wozniacki, the world's top-ranked female tennis player.

Evidently a tennis blogger happened to see the two star athletes having dinner together in a London restaurant and discreetly snapped a couple of photos, which you can see here. This comes on the heels of a flirtatious Twitter exchange last week (which didn't go unnoticed) between the two in which McIlroy wishes Wozniacki a happy 21st birthday, to which she responds, "at least now you will be able to buy me a drink."

Are the two young stars actually a couple? The truth is anyone's guess, but the photo of them appearing to steal a kiss on a London street speaks for itself.

Darren Clarke cashes in on British Open win

It's safe to say the golf world was happy to see Darren Clarke finally get a well-deserved British Open victory on Sunday as he outlasted a talented field of challengers including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Rickie Fowler. But what most fans probably don't know is that Clarke took home a lot more than the claret jug.

In addition to the nearly $1.5 million winners check, the 42-year old Northern Irishman received a bonus worth more than $3 million from Dunlop, whose logo he wears on his chest. Clarke's windfall stems from unique deal negotiated by his agent, Andrew "Chubby" Chandler, which guarantees no compensation unless the Ulsterman wins a major (in case you were wondering why Lee Westwood wears a Dunlop logo on his chest, he's also a Chandler client).

But the spoils for Clarke's victory don't end there. According to Chandler, the big win is a game-changer for the burly Irishman, who is now exempt into all four majors for the next five years, including an exemption into the British Open until he turns 60. Clarke also moves from 111 in the world rankings to 30, which gets him into the remaining World Golf Championships this season.

Tiger texts help Clarke win first major

For those who thought Tiger was a selfish scoundrel who wanted nothing but wins for himself, guess again. Yup, El Tigre actually sent Darren Clarke a couple of text messages in which he gave the soon-to-be Open Champion tips on how to win a major.

"Darren got two text messages from Tiger," confirmed the Ulsterman's manager, Chubby Chandler, yesterday. "They weren't just 'play well' messages either. It was a real bit of sports psychology."

What exactly Tiger related to Clarke is unknown, but clearly the content of the texts were significant, as Clarke went out of his way to acknowledge their importance.

"I wouldn't want to go into what Tiger said to me in the texts, but they were very much appreciated and helped when it came to believing that I could win."

TWEET OF THE DAY

@PGA_com: RT @DaphnesCovers: "I was three over. One over a house, one over a patio, and one over a swimming pool. ~ George Brett. #golf quotes

[Photo: EPA/Everett Kennedy Brown/Landov]

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?

Ryan Ballengee at Pro Golf Talk strung together a series of recent interviews with Colin Montgomerie, and the Scottish native appears open to captaining the European Ryder Cup team when the competition comes to his homeland in 2014.

Just months after Jose Maria Olazabal was installed as Ryder Cup captain for Europe in 2012, Colin Montgomerie has apparently emerged as a candidate for the 2014 job at Gleneagles in Scotland. And Monty is interested in the job.

The chatter began when Sandy Lyle told Reuters that Monty would be perfect for the gig.

"I wouldn’t be surprised if Colin gets invited back. He knows the course, the surrounding area, what’s needed there and what’s not needed,” Lyle said.

"I think he would be the man to choose unless someone like Darren Clarke or Paul McGinley feels he is next in line.”

The comments were particularly curious considering Lyle’s accusation levied against Montgomerie that he cheated in the 2005 Indonesian Open. Nonetheless, Monty would take the gig if the likes of Karl McGinty – Monty’s lead choice – or Darren Clarke do not get the gig.

"But if asked again, and because of my involvement for and with the Tour over the years, I would have to accept. Only if they wanted me.

"But they would have to approach me. I wouldn’t be approaching them.”

Coming Up Aces

In what Australia's Inside Golf has declared a "world first," three golfers recorded holes-in-one at Melbourne’s Eastwood Golf Club on the same day, on the same hole.

It all happened on the 137-metre par-3 14th hole. Dragan Milosevic was the first to achieve the feat, playing in the morning group. Marking a triumphant "1" on the card, Dragan was, needless to say, extremely confident he had sewn up the "Nearest the Pin” prize for the day.

But two afternoon players, Lance Robinson and Lindsay Howard, quickly dashed Dragan’s hopes, as they each scored aces of their own on the hole, achieving every golfer’s dream and giving the club an unprecedented three aces in one day.

What’s even more unique is that Lance and Lindsay were playing partners (in a group of 4) and were scoring each other’s card.

"It was quite unique to see two 1's on the cards,” Lance told Inside Golf.

"We have never heard of this happening before. It has created quite a bit of fun and excitement around the club.”

The odds of two players in the same foursome making a hole in one? 17 million to 1, according to the National Hole-In-One Registry. The odds of three aces on one hole in one day have yet to even be calculated. And in case you were wondering, the three players shared the prize for closest to the pin.

Tweet of the Day Runner-up

@TigerWoods: I’ll definitely be hitting first from the fairway all day tomorrow with Dustin and Woodland in the group

Tweet of the Day

@ANNIKA59: Nice note from Mr. Palmer to Will. We'll hold him to the spot in his tournament for him. :)

European Ryder Cup 2012 captain Jose Maria Olazabal didn’t exactly throw 2008 skipper Nick Faldo under the bus, but Olazabal did say that Faldo might have had trouble communicating with his team in Valhalla, the site of the only American victory in the past decade. Here’s The Irish Golf Desk’s Brian Keogh, who spotted Olazabal’s comments on Spanish sports site Marca.com:

It was a shame to see a legend like Faldo as a losing captain in Valhalla. I’d like to see him given a second chance, in Europe, if possible. You were there as a vice captain. What did you think of his captaincy?

If Nick Faldo could be blamed for anything at Valhalla, it was poor communication with the team. I don’t think he knew how to express exactly how he saw the situation and the team didn’t connect. But you have to give him his due. He was criticized repeatedly over his wildcards - Rose and Poulter - and it turned out that they gave a lot to the team. Faldo is, and will continue to be, one of golf’s greats.

Olazabal also came down on the side of the viewers who phone and email potential Rules violations while watching from home:

What do you think about fans phoning in to complain about cheating?

Nobody rings up to complain about cheating. They normally call to point out errors. In the recent Harrington case, he realized the ball oscillated and was totally convinced that it had returned to its original position, which according to the rules means he didn’t think it had moved. Looking at it in super slow motion and in high definition, he agreed straight away that the ball came up one dimple short of returning to its original position. He accepted it and didn’t get annoyed. Technology should also be used in other sports, such as football.

Trump pulls out of potential deal with Long Island club

In a story that sounds like something from P.G. Wodehouse by way of Joey Buttafuoco, Donald Trump has announced he is no longer interested in purchasing the private Engineers Country Club in Long Island’s Roslyn Harbor, according to golf writer Evan Rothman’s blog.

Donald Trump has informed Engineers Country Club that his proposal to take over the Roslyn Harbor, N.Y., club, site of the 1919 PGA Championship, is off the table. In a letter to Engineers' chairman of the board, Robert Scheinman—a copy of which was obtained by this blog—the real estate developer said that "infighting among your members" influenced the decision.

To "elevate the Engineers Country Club to a Trump standard, which is the highest standard in golf, I would want unanimity among the members and not the divisiveness that permeates the Club at present," Trump wrote.

Tiger Woods will build you your own backyard practice facility

Tiger Woods’s waterfront practice facility (with a drivable par-4!) at his new Jupiter Island, Fla., home has to be one of the coolest rich-guy perks I've ever seen. Now Woods has posted the specs on his private four-hole Shangri-La in what looks like an attempt to drum up business for Tiger Woods Design. Check it out:

Tiger Woods had long hoped to have his own practice facility to hone his short- and mid-range game. When he purchased property on Jupiter Island in 2006, he decided to make his dream facility a reality. Once he began thinking through the design, he did it with one goal in mind: to replicate tournament-level playing scenarios, similar to those he has faced on courses all over the world. Practice makes perfect, and this facility would allow for targeted and efficient practice every week.

Tiger started with the flat, 3.5-acre area and with the help of the Tiger Woods Design team, he personally directed the layout and shaping of this family-friendly practice facility. The result is 3.5 acres of tournament-conditioned turf and bunkering to recreate the look, feel and playability of various major courses. Further, 360-degree sightlines allow this facility to provide Tiger with the opportunity to fine tune his short- and mid-range golf game.

Using a variety of turf species common on the PGA TOUR, the design of the facility allows almost any conceivable shot 150 yards or less to be recreated and practiced. From several locations, shots of varying distances can be played to any one of the four distinctively different greens. Such flexibility allows different wind and shot-making conditions to be tackled in an efficient, yet entertaining manner from single locations. In addition, the facility has a "wedge range," where shots with distances ranging from 85 to 145 yards can be repeated again and again to improve precise distance control from both fairway and rough heights of cut. Further flexibility in the design allows the four putting greens to be used as a series of different par-3 short courses to simulate practicing for score.

No price is given, but this definitely falls in the “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it” category, just like a cup of coffee at Le Pain Quotidien cafe in front of my office building.

Things we saw while hoping Tiger’s secret new bag sponsor will be Perky Jerky...

Sergio Garcia is playing at the Volvo Golf Champions in Bahrain this week. BTW, shouldn’t this event be in Sweden, not the Middle East? It’s not like GM hosts tournaments in Florida, but not Michigan. OK, bad example. (Via EuroSport.com)

Jack Nicklaus’s grandson, Nick O’Leary, will play football for Florida State next year. O’Leary is considered to be the nation’s best tight-end prospect. (Via The Palm Beach Post) 

Tweet of the Day:

  @TigerWoods: At least I was #1 pick back then, fo' shizzle RT: @lisap0wer What did you think when @davechappelle played you in the Racial Draft?

 

Follow Mike Walker on Twitter.

An Orlando nurse whose hospital fired him for allegedly looking at Tiger Woods' medical records is firing back—with a $400,000 law suit. The nurse, David M. Rothenberg, denies ever looking at the records and claims he was dismissed based only on “circumstantial evidence.” He is suing for defamation, according to Walter Pacheco of the Orlando Sentinel:

Hospital officials fired Rothenberg in December 2009 after accusing him of using a computer terminal to peek at the famous golfer's health records three times over a 10-minute period, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Orange County Court.

Woods spent several hours at the Ocoee hospital after his November 2009 car crash outside his mansion in the exclusive Isleworth community.

Rothenberg's lawsuit claims he left the terminal unattended after using it and someone else logged on and looked at Woods' records.

Now for the buried lede…

Woods used the aliases Ronald Williams and Ernest Smith during his stay at Health Central, according to the lawsuit.

Ronald and Ernest? Really?

Tweet your hearts out, U.S. Ryder Cuppers!
Fear not, Twittizens. Newly appointed 2012 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III says he will not ban his team from tweeting at Medinah. In an interview with ESPN's Jason Sobel, Love revealed—albeit in far more than 140 characters—that he understands the upside of Twitter:

I watch my friends like Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson and [auto racer] Kyle Petty and see how much fun it is to read about what they're doing, so I'll be glad to get back on it and keep people updated on what's going on...

You know, there was some controversy about Twitter at the last Ryder Cup, so I wanted to get that over with today, too. Hey, it's part of our life now. I'm not going to take a player's iPhone away from him so he can go play the Ryder Cup. I don't want to take him out of his routine. Ian Poulter had a great time at the Ryder Cup. We don't want to tell Poulter, "Hey, you can do it at the Masters, you can do it at the PGA Championship, but now all of a sudden you can't do it at the Ryder Cup." That's part of his life.

I think Corey had a great strategy, but we have to say: "Look, guys. You can do whatever you want with social media, but you're representing the United States team. That ought to factor into whatever you say, whatever you do publicly and whatever you put on your iPhone.

With 30,000-plus followers of his own, Love himself maintains a lively Twitter feed. That's him last night -- as posted on @Love3d -- performing one of his first all-important duties as Ryder Cup captain: delivering the game ball at the Bulls game.

Plagiarizer steals $100K from golf course
Did Kenneth Powers not learn his lesson?

In 2005, the Massachusetts newspaper reporter was fired by his employer for stealing passages from a Sports Illustrated writer. Now Powers is in hot water for allegedly stealing something else—$100,000 from a Massachusetts golf course. Donna Boynton of Powers' former paper, the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, has the details:

At the time of the alleged theft, Mr. Powers was golf pro shop manager at Blackstone National Golf Club in Sutton.

According to a police report filed with the court by Sutton police, the charges stem from a lengthy investigation that began last summer when owners of the golf club reported to police in June that nearly $100,000 had disappeared from the pro shop during the 2009 golf season. They said discrepancies in cash reports had been found by their accountants.

… [He] is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 28 in Uxbridge District Court on one count of larceny over $250.

Powers' lawyer says that he is “confident that he will be exonerated once all the facts are heard.”

Powers, who covered the New England Patriots for the T&G, was laid off for plagiarizing the work of SI football writer Peter King. At the time, Powers called his dismissal unfair. "I am disappointed that a 20-year spotless record doesn't mean anything," he told a local TV station. "The termination is a terrible injustice to me."

The season gets serious now. I'll be covering three tourneys in a row beginning in San Diego, so expect some dispatches from the mean streets of La Jolla, Scottsdale and Pebble Beach ...

Who's more dynamic, Davis Love or Cory Pavin? lol... — Dave A., New York
I get the sarcasm, but Love will have more of a rally-the-troops effect than his flat-lined predecessor. He's a much more popular figure in the clubhouse and on the range because he's a schmoozer and a guy's guy, forever chatting about snowboarding or hunting or fishing or course design or his other interests and hobbies. Love's placid demeanor as a competitor is deceptive; he cares deeply. That was obvious with his teary introductory press conference during which he showed more passion than during Pavin's entire glum, two-year reign. Love also has just enough of a mischievous streak to start a little ruckus with the British press, which is a key bit of entertainment for any Ryder Cup.

What's with 7 of world's top 12 in Abu Dhabi this week? Love of appearance fees or hatred of pro-ams like Hope? —Bert Stewart, Philadelphia
Yes.

When will the young Americans (O'Hair, AK, Mahan) step up the way the young Europeans have and become consistent winners? — Brian Rosenwald
Maybe never, but let's hope that's not the case. The Euro tour created so much buzz last year with the stellar performances of its top players, but the fact remains that there is much more depth on the PGA Tour. By playing mostly in Europe, talented youngsters like Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer get a lot more chances to win early in their careers. They bank invaluable experience learning to manage their emotions and their games under pressure. Also the money is a lot less so finishing fourth doesn't feel as good. On the PGA Tour young players have to fight so hard for just a couple of chances to win. I think they get seduced into thinking a top-10 is a satisfactory result. I think Mahan and Kim and O'Hair are finally at a point in their careers where they understand a lucrative tie for sixth is not good enough. They've been through enough Sunday dogfights now to know what it takes to win. It takes longer over here, but the best players eventually figure it out. We'll see who among them can apply that knowledge.

Is Anthony Kim overrated? Three wins and 20 career top 10's is hardly compelling. — Anthony Iser
To this point Kim has gotten a pass based on his youth and tantalizing potential, but it's time for him to put up or shut up. I understand he's 25 and wants to have fun and chase tail—hey, the Mailbag can't begrudge him that. But there's 27 weeks a year for that, when he's not playing a tournament. Last night, following the second round of the Hope, I got a text from a friend in Palm Springs who wrote, "AK and his entourage are here at the bar hitting it pretty hard." Until he takes his life on the road more seriously, I fear we won't see Kim's best golf. Correction: Anthony Kim is not playing the Bob Hope this week, so the Mailbag fully endorses his night on the town in Palm Springs.

I read "Swinging from my Heels" a few months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I read "Bud, Sweat and Tees" years ago and enjoyed that also. So, who will you next stalk for a year? Can I suggest G-Mac? I suspect that would be pretty darned entertaining! — Mark Limbaugh
Clearly Mark is a very discerning reader. It's funny you'd mention G-Mac because I'm presently trying to arrange a trip to Portrush to hang out with him and his mates for an SI story. To understand a guy like McDowell you have to see him in his native environment. Anyway, I've always loved the Euro tour. I think spending a year over there writing about the players and their madcap adventures would make a killer book. Alas, it's tough to pull it off with little kids. But you can look forward to my chronicle of the 2026 season over there.

(Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)