Each week, 15 staffers from SI Golf+, Golf Magazine and GOLF.com 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 are then added and the ranking calculated. Tell us your top 10 in the comments field below.

RANK (TOTAL VOTES, FIRST PLACE VOTES, LAST WEEK'S RANK)

1. Luke Donald (148, 13, 1) - Last three finishes: T12, JBWere Masters; 3, Dubai World Championship; 7, Nedbank Golf Challenge
- Official World Golf Ranking: 1

2. Rory McIlroy (136, 2, 2) - Last three finishes: T11, Dubai World Championship; 1, Hong Kong Open; T4, WGC-HSBC Champions
- Official World Golf Ranking: 3

3. Lee Westwood (104, 0, 3) - Last three finishes: 1, Thailand Golf Championship; 29, Dubai World Championship; 1, Nedbank Golf Challenge
- Official World Golf Ranking: 2

4. Webb Simpson (995, 0, 4) - Last three finishes: T38, Sony Open; T3, Hyundai Tournament of Champion; T13, Chevron World Challenge
- Official World Golf Ranking: 7

5. Steve Stricker (77, 0, 6) - Last three finishes: T38, Sony Open; 1, Hyundai Tournament of Champion; 16, Chevron World Challenge
- Official World Golf Ranking: 5

6. Charl Schwartzel (74, 0, 5) - Last three finishes: MC, Joburg Open; 2, Thailand Golf Championship; 5, Dubai World Championship - Official World Golf Ranking: 9

7. Keegan Bradley (41, 0, 7) - Last three finishes: T13, Sony Open; 16, Hyundai Tournament of Champion; 17, Chevron World Challenge
- Official World Golf Ranking: 26

8. Nick Watney (34, 0, 8) - Last three finishes: T12, Hyundai Tournament of Champion; 18, Chevron World Challenge; T4, Australian Open
- Official World Golf Rank: 12

9. Martin Kaymer (33, 0, T9) - Last three finishes: T11, Dubai World Championship; 8, Nedbank Golf Challenge; 1, WGC-HSBC Champions; 23, Andalucia Masters
- Official World Golf Ranking: 4

10. Adam Scott (24, 0, T9) - Last three finishes: T4, Australian PGA Championship; T4, Australian Open; T11, WGC-HSBC Champions
- Official World Golf Ranking: 7

Others receiving votes:
Tiger Woods (11)
Jason Day (9)
Bill Haas (8)
K.J. Choi (7)
Matt Kuchar (6)
Sergio Garcia (5)
Dustin Johnson (5)
Louis Oosthuizen (5)
Aaron Baddeley (3)

Journalist Thomas Bonk runs a Q&A on his personal blog with Golf Digest columnist Jaime Diaz, the ghost writer behind Hank Haney's upcoming Tiger book. Diaz says it's not a "tell-all," but that readers will still learn more about the former No. 1 player in the world.

1: Is this an important book?
Diaz: "I think Tiger is golf history. Because Tiger has been so private and there’s been such a tremendous pent-up curiosity about him, that naturally gets a lot of attention. And having a better understanding of Tiger Woods is compelling."

2: What’s Hank’s motivation, do you think?
Diaz: "Hank is a very sensitive guy who was always very tuned to the way he was portrayed as Tiger’s coach. I think he wanted to have his own voice as what he knows to be the truth. And I’ll say this, from my part, he couldn’t have been more cooperative and he couldn’t have tried harder."

3. Your reaction to the fact that this is not a ‘tell-all’ book?
Diaz: "I didn’t feel frustrated at all with the subject matter not going places it could have gone. It concerns itself with golf areas. Look, Hank was a very influential guy with Tiger in person. It’s a golf book primarily and you can’t separate golfer from golf personality."

4. Is there another Hank book coming, something more controversial?
Diaz: "I don’t think he held back. He emptied the void. He completely covered his six years with Tiger. And, honestly, he roots for Tiger."

5. Did you discover something about Tiger that you didn’t expect?
Diaz: "Doing the book made me appreciate Tiger’s great motivation because I started to understand just how difficult it is to be as good as he is. He’s not Superman. He’s human. He’s got golf issues and he needs to work on them, that’s what Hank had to address when working with him. To be really great, you have to work diligently and overcome them. While he’s gifted, he still had to prepare himself like any golfer. His greatness has been taken for granted in terms of people saying it’s all been easy for him."

Sergio Garcia wins $35,000 at poker tournament
Given that Sergio Garcia made headlines in 2010 by taking a two-month golf break to pursue a few off-course hobbies (here's a refresher), few golf fans will be surprised to learn that the Spaniard popped up this week in a professional poker tournament. Garcia was one of 1,072 players competing in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas. El Nino was eliminated on the fifth day of competition, finishing in 51st place. And, would you believe, the tournament website has a gripping blow-by-blow account -- chock full of poker lingo! -- of exactly how Garcia went down.

From under the gun, Spanish professional golfer Sergio Garcia raised to 25,000. William Luciano was in the cutoff seat and reraised all in. Play got back to Garcia and he called all in for 232,000 total. Here's what we saw.

Garcia: {A-Clubs}{J-Diamonds}
Luciano: {Q-Hearts}{Q-Spades}

The flop paired Garcia when the {J-Clubs}{3-Clubs}{2-Clubs} fell, but it wasn't the pair he was hoping for in order to allow him to take the lead against Luciano. Still, Garcia did add a club flush to really pick up some outs in the hand.

The turn was black, but it was a spade with the {9-Spades}. Garcia was now looking for a club, an ace or a jack to win the pot and stay alive.

The river completed the board with the {K-Diamonds} and Garcia had whiffed. He was eliminated on the hand while Luciano stacked up to around 700,000 in chips.

Should Garcia quit his day job and chase cards full-time? Sergio earned $35,000 for his 51st-place finish at the poker event, which was $1,489,091 less than he won in 16 PGA Tour stars in 2011. So we still expect to see Sergio tee it up this season.

Tweet of the Day I

From Golf Magazine's Cameron Morfit

Tweet of the Day II

From Bloomberg's Mike Buteau. Aspiring accountants can review the full 67-page document here.

Each week, 15 staffers from SI Golf+, Golf Magazine and GOLF.com 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 are then added and the ranking calculated. Tell us your top 10 in the comments field below.

RANK (TOTAL VOTES, FIRST PLACE VOTES, LAST WEEK'S RANK)

1. Luke Donald (147, 12, 1) - Last three finishes: T12, JBWere Masters; 3, Dubai World Championship; 7, Nedbank Golf Challenge
- Official World Golf Ranking: 1

2. Rory McIlroy (137, 3, 2) - Last three finishes: T11, Dubai World Championship; 1, Hong Kong Open; T4, WGC-HSBC Champions
- Official World Golf Ranking: 3

3. Lee Westwood (107, 0, 4) - Last three finishes: 1, Thailand Golf Championship; 29, Dubai World Championship; 1, Nedbank Golf Challenge
- Official World Golf Ranking: 2

4. Webb Simpson (91, 0, 3) - Last three finishes: T3, Hyundai Tournament of Champions; T13, Chevron World Challenge; T6, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic
- Official World Golf Ranking: 7

5. Charl Schwartzel (78, 0, 5) - Last three finishes: 2, Thailand Golf Championship; 5, Dubai World Championship; 6, Nedbank Golf Challenge
- Official World Golf Ranking: 9

6. Steve Stricker (51, 0, NR) - Last three finishes: 1, Hyundai Tournament of Champions; 16, Chevron World Challenge; 15, The Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola
- Official World Golf Ranking: 5

7. Keegan Bradley (48, 0, 6) - Last three finishes: 16, Hyundai Tournament of Champions; 17, Chevron World Challenge; T16, WGC-HSBC Champions
- Official World Golf Ranking: 31

8. Nick Watney (39, 0, 8) - Last three finishes: T12, Hyundai Tournament of Champions; 18, Chevron World Challenge; T4, Australian Open
- Official World Golf Rank: 13

T9. Martin Kaymer (32, 0, 9) - Last three finishes: T11, Dubai World Championship; 8, Nedbank Golf Challenge; 1, WGC-HSBC Champions; 23, Andalucia Masters
- Official World Golf Ranking: 4

T9. Adam Scott (32, 0, 7) - Last three finishes: T4, Australian PGA Championship; T4, Australian Open; T11, WGC-HSBC Champions
- Official World Golf Ranking: 6

Others receiving votes:
Tiger Woods (22)
Jason Day (9)
Sergio Garcia (9)
Matt Kuchar (8)
K.J. Choi (5)
Aaron Baddeley (3)
Bill Haas (3)
Dustin Johnson (3)
Jim Furyk (1)

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

Sergio Garcia capped his strong finish to the 2011 season with an almost flawless toss of his 5-iron into a lake after hitting a poor tee shot on the par-3 eighth hole at the Thailand Golf Championship on Thursday.

In 2008, Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher Charlie King demonstrated the “Proper Way to Throw a Golf Club” in the most popular video in Golf.com history.

Yup, the pros make it look easy.

House Speaker Boehner says Golf Summit almost brought Ohio guv to tears
Outside of professional golf, the most famous golf match of the year had to be the Golf Summit, where President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner beat Vice President Joe Biden and Ohio Governor John Kasich. Recounting the match earlier this week, Boehner said Kasich was nervous before the match and became even more so when he learned Boehner would be playing with Obama, according to The Cincinnati Inquirer. 

“So Kasich gets in town the night before,” Boehner told a roomful of reporters this morning, and he was a nervous wreck. “I spent all night getting Kasich in the right place,” the West Chester Republican recalled.

“Kasich, calm down, calm down,” Boehner recalls telling his friend and political ally. The next morning, as they were getting ready to go out to Andrews Air Force Base, it was the same thing. ‘I said look, ‘they’re going to be far more nervous about this than we are. Just relax… I hear Biden’s been out there hitting balls for an hour’.”

Indeed, when they arrived, Biden was already on the course “pounding balls.” But then Obama switched things up on them. “The president says ‘Hey Boehner, you and I, we’re going to take these two on’,” Boehner said, describing the last-minute team change. “I thought John Kasich was going to cry.”

Tweet of the Day

Jeff Overton hasn't generated many headlines since his famous "BOOM, BABY!" moment at the 2010 Ryder Cup, but he is back in the news now and it has nothing to do with golf.

According to the Evansville Courier & Press and Bloomington Herald-Times, Overton was arrested and charged over the weekend with three misdemeanors for public intoxication, yelling at people from his limousine and resisting arrest.

Overton appeared at Assembly Hall during the Indiana-Kentucky basketball game to present a $50,000 check to the university to support the Play Golf America University program, the Herald-Times reported.

According to a police report, officers said Overton was yelling at people from a limousine that blocked traffic in front of Kilroy’s Sports Bar on Walnut Street.

The limousine driver told police they were waiting on others, and the driver was instructed to not block traffic.

Later, the limo carrying Overton pulled up next to Bloomington police, and officers report Overton was yelling at people on the street again. Police pulled the limousine over, according to the Herald-Times.

The newspaper reported that Overton repeatedly refused to give his ID to police and refused to step out of the limo. A police report described Overton’s behavior as “belligerent,” and he reportedly told officers “he wasn’t going to do anything.” Police say he smelled of alcohol, his eyes were glassy and his speech was slurred.

Overton told the Bloomington paper that he would fight the charges.

"I feel my rights were violated," he told the newspaper. "I'm sitting in my own limo and got pulled out. Other than that, I'm going to let my lawyer handle it."

Sergio chucks 4-iron into water after bad shot
Sergio Garcia was on a roll in October, winning twice on the European Tour following a self-imposed hiatus from the game last year. But it seems his fiery temper got the best of him in Thailand after a poor tee shot on a par 3.

The Ryder Cup star, who twice finished second at the PGA Championship, chucked his 4-iron into the water in fury after a poor connection at a par-3 during a nightmare opening round in Chonburi, Sky Sports reported.

Garcia's day failed to improve as he finished with a 4-over 76 to end tied for 100th in the 130-strong field.

Volcanoes, flames and Phil! Oh my!
Callaway took over the Las Vegas Strip recently to shoot its upcoming ad campaign directed by David Kahn, who is known more for music videos than filming golfers. According to Steve DiMeglio at USA Today, the commercials will feature several Callaway staffers, including Phil Mickelson, Justin Timberlake and Alvaro Quiros, hitting balls all over the Strip with 25-foot flames and erupting volcanoes.

"I like this out-of-the-box thinking," Mickelson said. "It has the 'wow' factor and it shows how excited Callaway is about its products. And instead of just telling you how great the products are, we show you in unique ways."

Timberlake is lending creative input and talents behind the camera during both the pre- and post-production work. He and Kahn have worked together on music videos in the past, and Timberlake, who brought sexy back and now wants to bring fun back to golf, jumped at the chance.

"It's always great when professional projects surround subjects that I am passionate about, and the sport of golf and my work with Callaway definitely fit that criteria," said Timberlake, who in 2008 became the first non-tour player to join Callaway's team of Staff Professionals that includes Mickelson, Ernie Els, Annika Sorenstam and Arnold Palmer.

Tweet of the Day

And so it begins.

After Yani Tseng won the Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open, her 11th win of the season, she said she might be interested in playing a PGA Tour event “if an opportunity presents itself.”

Larry Bohannan of The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, Calif., files the natural follow-up: Which event should Yani play? Bohannan suggests the Humana Challenge (formerly the Bob Hope Classic) might be the right spot.

So where should Tseng play? Well, she could pick some tournament with a 7,300-yard course. And she could pick a place where she's never played before, some city where the LPGA has never been.

But a better option might be the desert's PGA Tour event, and for many of the same reasons I thought Sorenstam could have played here. Tseng has already won the Kraft Nabisco and is a popular and familiar figure in the desert. The courses wouldn't be vastly overpowering for her, and she would certainly be only one of the stories that week, not the focus of the entire golf world.

Ian Baker-Finch says Tiger’s game is solid

Former British Open champ and CBS Sports analyst Ian Baker-Finch has an advantage over his media colleagues when it comes to news about Tiger Woods. Baker-Finch plays at the Medalist Golf Club near Jupiter, Fla., which is now Woods’s home course. According to Australia’s Herald-Sun newspaper, Baker-Finch said he’s played “regular rounds” with Woods at the course and he likes what he sees from Woods’s game.

"His game is very solid, and has been for some time, but it is just a matter of competing more often and getting his mind into competition mode and not just thinking of the swing or fundamentals of the game," Baker-Finch said.

"He is fit and has practised hard but needs more opportunity to play under pressure to be competitive again."

Virginia golf course leaking trash into river

Here’s a story to gross you out if your local track was built on a former landfill. The trash beneath Lambert’s Run Golf Club in Norfolk, Va., is leaking into the Elizabeth River.

Sergio Garcia decides to skip Shanghai event, just like many Americans

Sergio Garcia won’t be aiming for a third-straight victory this week in Shanghai. According to The Daily Mail (UK), Garcia passed on the HSBC Champions event this week, along with other big names like Luke Donald (whose wife is pregnant) and 2009 HSBC winner Phil Mickelson.

The 31-year-old's victory in the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama on Sunday qualified him for the WGC-HSBC Champions event he won in 2008, but his place goes instead to American Jim Furyk.

Garcia is back into the world's top 20 after taking his home Castello Masters by a runaway 11-shot margin and then beating fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez by one.

Big-name American players are skipping the HSBC in droves. Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson, Bubba Watson, Gary Woodland and Sean O'Hair all passed on their invitations like Mickelson, according to PGA.com.

Mickelson's decision is perhaps the most surprising given his success on the Sheshan Course and the fact he will be in Asia a week later for the Barclays Singapore Open -- Barclays is one of his main sponsors -- before moving on to Australia for the Presidents Cup.  

Tweet of the Day

Sergio Garcia, who has struggled through much of the last two seasons after his unexpected split with Morgan-Leigh Norman, has officially moved on. The Irish Independent has the deets…

As he showed during Sunday's record-breaking victory on home turf at the Castello Masters, a new air of calm and confidence surrounds Garcia, which is due in no small part to his new girlfriend.

"She's a wonderful girl, we're happy together," he said.

Is she Spanish, we asked?

"No, she's Welsh."

Really? Did you meet at Celtic Manor? Is that why you went to the Ryder Cup?

"No," Sergio laughed gently, "but good try!"

His new gal has been identified by several news sources as Nicole Horrex. Here’s the couple celebrating after Garcia’s 11-shot romp in Spain last week.

Media hounds Ishikawa over girlfriend, Mom says back off
Speaking of love, seems the so-called Bashful Prince, Ryo Ishikawa, has quietly had a girlfriend for three years. Ishikawa, “the object of passion right across the age spectrum,” will introduce “his potential fiancée” at the Presidents Cup in Melbourne next month, according to China Daily. The relationship had been a heavily guarded secret, and Ishikawa’s camp only came clean after a weekly magazine was preparing to publish a story on the romance.

"There exists a woman whom Ryo Ishikawa is going out with," his mother, Yukiko Ishikawa, who is also his manager, said in a statement to local media, asking them to refrain from overheated coverage of the golfer's “private matters.”

"We would appreciate it if the people concerned will treat them with warm patience in order to help the two of them and avoid any trouble to sponsoring companies and competition officials," Yukiko Ishikawa said.

Ishikawa's family, friends and sponsors have been bothered by “news-gathering activities exceeding social norms in the form of making surprise night-time visits and shadowing,” the statement said.

McDowell knew Rory was unhappy
Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy’s closest friend in golf, said that he has known since August of McIlroy’s dissatisfaction with his now-former management company, Chubby Chandler’s International Sports Management. G-Mac, who is in the field this week at the Andalucia Masters, told the Irish Independent:

"Rory spoke to me a couple of months ago and told me he was a little unhappy with a few things and that he and Chubby had a conversation about his unhappiness and were trying to change things.

"I thought no more of it until I heard changes were maybe in the offing -- nothing goes amiss on Tour without the rumour mill getting hold of it. I spoke to Rory on the phone and we talked about what he wanted to do.”

Still, McDowell said that he was “semi-surprised” by McIlroy’s defection to McDowell’s agency, Horizon Sports Management, and that he strongly resented any “any suggestion that I in some way enticed Rory to join Horizon.”

"So I can look Chubby in the eye and know I've done him no wrong. It's business and Rory has made a business decision. There's nothing personal about it."

Tweet of the Day

The Arnold Palmer drink (half-lemonade, half-iced tea) has become almost as popular as its namesake. In its 10 years of being brewed by the AriZona Beverage Company, the Arnold Palmer Light Half and Half has reportedly reached $100 million in sales.

Now Palmer is releasing Arnold Palmer Hard, an alcoholic version of the drink, according to PR Newswire.

The unique combination of half tea and half lemonade was made famous by legendary golfer Arnold Palmer. His namesake beverage is now available in a "spiked" version - Arnold Palmer Hard.

Arnold Palmer Hard is a malt beverage, produced by the Mississippi Brewing Company and distributed by Hornell Brewing Company - parent company of AriZona Beverages. It is made with AriZona brand iced tea and lemonade, and contains five percent alcohol by volume. Launching in 24 oz. cans from Rexam, this refreshing, non-carbonated beverage has 110 calories per 8 oz. serving.

Olazabal expects Sergio Garcia on Ryder Cup team in 2012

The strangest sight of the dramatic, rain-drenched 2010 Ryder Cup that didn’t involve Lisa Pavin’s team wardrobe choices had to be Sergio Garcia carting around the Celtic Manor course as an assistant captain instead of a player. Don’t expect to see Garcia in that role at Medinah in 2012. Team Europe Captain Jose Maria Olazabal said he has no doubt the resurgent Garcia will be playing for the team next year, according to Sky Sports.

"I am sure Sergio will be in the Ryder Cup, he's got a special charisma and a solid game," said Olazabal. "His best motivation is to know what it feels like to be in the Ryder Cup without playing."

Protesters occupy Rep. John Boehner’s golf game

There is no Wall Street to occupy in Orange County, Calif., so left-wing protesters settled for Republican House Speaker John Boehner’s visit to the Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Beach, according to Joseph Serna of The Daily Pilot newspaper.

A weekend of worldwide protest spilled over into Orange County on Monday morning as about 40 left-leaning activists protested House Speaker John Boehner's visit to the Pelican Hill Golf Club.

"He knows he can't go anywhere without the people going with him," said Rick Jacobs, founder of the Courage Campaign, a progressive group. "I hope that even while he's up there, raking in millions in cash, he knows there's people here and everywhere.

"We're going to make clear that this isn't a funny time anymore. This is a real time. It's time for him to get busy on jobs and not on his golf game."

Dave Stockton talks about Phil Mickelson’s putting

Tod Leonard of The San Diego Union-Tribune files an entertaining interview with Dave Stockton, whose putting tips helped Phil Mickelson win the 2010 Masters. Some highlights:

Q: I’ve heard around town lately that Phil’s been playing well with a short putter again. Do you think going to the belly putter was a mistake?

A: “Not really. Phil can putt with anything. I think you could give him a shovel and he could putt. I’m hoping on my short Christmas list that we have some time to work together this year.”

Q: At Rory McIlroy’s request, you worked with him before the U.S. Open, and then he wins on the same course, Congressional, where you won the 1976 PGA Championship. How great was that?

A: “Holy cow, that was so cool! Rory’s caddie (J.P. Fitzgerald) introduced us at Charlotte. We talked for 15 to 20 minutes and I told him what I thought he did at the Masters. I thought he had a very bad pairing (on Sunday, when he shot 80) with (Angel) Cabrera. Cabrera plays at the same pace as Rory; they hit their shots fast. And then they stand there and wait 10 minutes. It’s all rush and stop, rush and stop; there’s nothing consistent going on.

“So then we went out on the putting green and it did not take him more than 10 minutes to figure out what I was talking about.”

Peter Thomson says Tiger was wrong choice for Presidents Cup team

Add Australian golfing legend Peter Thomson to the list of people who think Fred Couples made a mistake picking the struggling Tiger Woods for the U.S. Presidents Cup team. Thomson, who won five British Opens, said that Couples overlooked “better accomplished” players in favor of Woods, according to Robert Grant of the Sydney Morning Herald.

"It's a pretty wild guess, I think, on Couples' part, that he's going to suddenly play well and win points.

"Couples says that once you're a champion you're always a champion. He's working on that theory I think."

Thomson says he is also puzzled why several big-name American team members would opt to play in the Australian Open at The Lakes in Sydney the preceding week.

"I would have thought they would be better off down here in Melbourne," he said. "I don't think playing at The Lakes is going to help them at all."

Tweet(s) of the Day