In Sports Illustrated's special "Power Issue," the magazine debuted the 'SI Power 50,' a list of the top 50 most influential people in sports, and only two golf types made the list: PGA commissioner Tim Finchem and Nike Golf president Cindy Davis.

Here's why Finchem and Davis cracked the Top 50.

No. 25 Tim Finchem: He had the good fortune of presiding over the Tiger Woods era, when even the Tour's journeymen got rich, but the 65-year-old's legacy is a global strategy: Finchem served as midwife to the Presidents Cup and World Golf Championships while leading the charge to get the sport back in the Olympics. Sorry, wrestling fans.

No. 46 Cindy Davis: By plucking Rory McIlroy from Titleist to partner with longtime swoosh frontman Tiger Woods, Davis gave herself a global one-two marketing punch. Sure, Nike trailed TaylorMade-Adidas, Titleist and Callaway in golf revenue in 2012, but the charismatic McIlroy (up to $250 million over 10 years) gives Nike Golf next-gen status and sets up Davis, 50, for years.

SI did not include any current athletes on the 'Power 50' list. However, both Tiger Woods (No. 2) and Rory McIlroy (No. 6) made SI's 'Power Players' list of the 10 most powerful active athletes in sports. Lebron James was No. 1 on the list

1. "This reminds me a lot of Winged Foot in 2006, where I hit a drive way left off the tents. So this happened to be way right, but off the tents. You know, I've made some dumb, dumb mistakes, and, obviously, talking about this stuff was one of them."

--Phil Mickelson apologizing for complaining publicly about his taxes

2. “All he did was publicly say, ‘I may not be able to afford to live in California.’ And the sports media descended on this guy. The sports media is every bit as left-wing as their news media counterparts are.”

 --Rush Limbaugh on Phil Mickelson’s apology

3. “We will revoke the on-site credentials of all journalists affiliated with outlets that post play-by-play coverage, whether those posts are originating from tournament site or otherwise."

--PGA Tour executive Ty Votaw on the Tour’s new policy on real-time reporting of tournaments

4. “It's on my radar for the first time ever, the thought of being World Number One.”

--Justin Rose, currently ranked No. 4 in the world

5. “Here I am just talking about it and my hands are sweating just thinking about the feeling I had to get through each and every day.”

--Tiger Woods on winning the 2008 U.S. Open with a broken leg

6. “Nothing he did ever surprised me. He's that good. But he can't do it anymore because his golf swing is different. It doesn't produce the shots he used to hit.”

--Rocco Mediate on Tiger Woods, via USA Today

7. “We believe in the notion that one body of rules is important, and that's always our intent. We just reserve the option not to, if we have overriding reasons not to do so.”

--PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem on the anchored-putter ban

8. “I've played the Walker Cup in 2007 over in Northern Ireland at Royal County Down and there was a guy I competed against three times called Rory McIlroy.”

--Billy Horschel on being prepared for the crowds following Tiger Woods

9. “People always want to know why golfers from Asia are so good. Well, now we can see how all the countries stack up."

--Stacy Lewis on the LPGA’s new International Crown event

10. “The hardest thing for me to do is fall asleep because I can't wait to wake up and hear what I'm going to say next.”

--Lee Trevino on the "Feherty Live" television show

(Photos from Getty Images)

Live network coverage of the PGA Tour is coming soon to a laptop or smartphone near you.

The PGA Tour announced Tuesday that it would offer a live stream of the CBS Sports' telecast of the Farmers Insurance Open this weekend and continue to simulcast PGA Tour events online for the rest of the season. Visitors to PGATOUR.com and CBSSports.com will be directed to a co-branded video player to watch live streaming of CBS Sports’ third-round telecast on Saturday (3-6 p.m. ET) and fourth-round telecast on Sunday (3-6:30 p.m. ET). The live streaming this weekend also will be available on PGA TOUR platforms as well as CBS Sports and CBS SportCaster applications for the iPhone, Android and iPad. CBS also will have a mobile web-based player available at m.cbssports.com.

Golf Channel and NBC Sports coverage will also be available online at next week's Waste Management Phoenix Open, although only people whose cable companies carry the Golf Channel will be able to watch the Golf Channel's coverage online. NBC Sports' broadcasts -- like the CBS Sports broadcasts -- will be available to all Internet subscribers in the United States. The online streaming will not be accessible overseas.

All Golf Channel, through TV Everywhere availability, and NBC telecasts also will be streamed throughout the 2013 season, with Golf Channel available to multichannel video subscribers, and NBC’s weekend coverage of 12 FedExCup tournaments fully available beginning with next week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. Golf Channel is televising the early rounds for all 30 FedExCup tournaments on NBC and CBS, as well as all four rounds for six tournaments.

CBS Sports also covers the Masters, which does its own streaming on the Masters.com website and the tournament's associated apps.

“This is a significant milestone in the PGA Tour’s digital history,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said in a written statement. “We are excited to work with CBS Sports to bring live PGA Tour action online, and look forward to continuing our efforts with CBS, NBC and Golf Channel to develop ways golf fans can access live coverage of the PGA Tour from wherever they are.”

As expected, the anchored putting ban was the hottest topic at the PGA Tour players' meeting held Tuesday night at Torrey Pines.

The USGA and R&A have already ruled to ban anchored putting starting in 2016. The Tour generally goes along with the ruling bodies' decisions, but there is some chance that the Tour could enact the ban earlier or decide not to adopt it all, though that seems unlikely.

Golf Channel's Randall Mell reports that at least one player, Tim Clark (pictured), who currently employs an anchored putting stroke, spoke up adamantly against the ban:

One PGA Tour pro after another leaving the mandatory players meeting declined to comment for the record, but two participants in the meeting said Tim Clark stepped up strongest in defense of anchored putting.

According to the two participants, who did not want to be quoted, U.S. Golf Association executive director Mike Davis gave a presentation outlining the proposed new definition of a legal stroke, which would ban anchored putting. The presentation included photographs of proper and improper strokes. Afterward, when Davis invited questions, Clark was the first to ask a question.

Clark, born with a condition that doesn’t allow him to pronate his wrists, uses an anchored long putter. He isn’t playing the Farmers Insurance Open this week but flew into San Diego to attend the meeting.

“There were a lot of questions, but it was surprising that most of the players who use anchored putters didn’t say anything,” one observer in the meeting said.

Stephanie Wei spoke with three players, who asked that their names not be used. She reports that the USGA presentation, and a discussion of anchoring and bifurcation, took up more than half of the two-hour meeting. Her three sources (Players "Albert, Bart and Cal") were representative of the three main positions that Tour players have taken on the ban -- adamantly opposed, in favor of and indifferent.

Albert summed up the opposition's stance: "It's about the actual governing of us as players. I'm not so sure that if PGA Tour members voted, anchoring would NOT be illegal. The real issue is, why do people the USGA Board of Directors, people who don't play golf professionally, get to make rules for guys that do? That's the main sentiment."

He continued: "The USGA has put Tim Finchem in a very interesting situation. He's basically going to decide — well, it's up to the PAC and board of directors to decide whether we accept this or say no. It's a proposed rule and the PGA Tour hasn't accepted every rule the USGA has put fort and this is no exception."

Player Bart was in favor of the ban and disagreed with the idea that the Tour should consider going its own way: "In my opinion, the height of arrogance is thinking the Rules of Golf should be tailored to us (Tour pros). The beauty of golf as an individual game is that everyone plays by the rules. Guys are asking, why do we play by THEIR rules? That’s arrogant to me. One of the guys who talked a lot admitted, 'Yeah i am looking out for No. 1, I’m looking out for me.'"

Player Cal, the indifferent one, summed it up succinctly: "I really just don't care… because I'm a good putter."

After talking to her sources, Wei concludes that PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem is in favor of approving the ruling, and she seems to suspect that the Tour will adopt it despite all the debate.  Finchem is expected to talk more about the meeting during his press conference on Wednesday.

(Photo: Chris Condon/Getty Images)

The PGA Tour announced on Wednesday that Deutsche Bank will renew the company's sponsorship of this week's FedEx Cup playoff event through at least 2016, according to a press release issued on the Tour's website.

Thank goodness. It just wouldn't be Labor Day in the Greater Boston Area without hearing the German-language feminine adjectival word for "German" all over talk radio.

Seriously, though, good work by Tim Finchem and the PGA Tour brass to hold on to another big-name sponsor for a few more years.

Reaction from some of golf's biggest names to the news that Augusta National will admit its first female members.

Tiger Woods: "I think the decision by the Augusta National membership is important to golf...The Club continues to demonstrate its commitment to impacting the game in positive ways. I would like to congratulate both new members, especially my friend Condi Rice." (Via AP)

Annika Sorenstam: "I was delighted to hear the news this morning that Augusta National has allowed two female members into their club. The women invited, Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore are highly respected women and business leaders. They will be great representatives for women in the game. I always felt that Augusta would eventually allow select female members. They are obviously a private club and I figured they would do it when they felt the timing was right and I am glad that day is here. Amazing things on the horizon for the game I love so much...Today is a historic day." (Via AnnikaSorenstam.com)

Tim Finchem, commissioner of the PGA Tour: "At a time when women represent one of the fastest growing segments in both playing and following the game of golf, this sends a positive and inclusive message for our sport." (Via AP)

Jack Nicklaus: "Everyone at Augusta National shares a similar passion for the game of golf, and I know they will be great additions to the club." (Via AP)

Bubba Watson: "You know, it was funny, I got a text from my manager, Jens Beck, right before I got on the plane to fly up here, so I told my wife, and so we were flying up here, and my wife said, "Do you think it'll be me? Do you think they'll announce me as a member?" So it was funny. We landed, she actually said, I'm not sure I'll say her name correctly, Condoleezza Rice, she said she thought she might be-- we knew there was going to be two. We got the text or the call from my manager that there was going to be two ladies, and so yeah, my wife joked she wanted to be one of those ladies, but obviously she didn't make the cut. Maybe she's the third lady."

"But no, it was good to see. It's always in their time. They want to do it the right way, they want to get the right membership in there what they're looking for, and obviously it's great. It's great for golf, it's great for the game." (Via ASAP Sports)

Zach Johnson:"They've got their decision, their decision making and what they want, and they'll do it when the timing is right. In my opinion, or based on what I've read and what I've seen, the timing is right to have a couple women members so far and hats off to them. If that's their prerogative and that's the direction they want to go, that's fantastic. I don't know the specifics. I know this time of year is when they start inviting new members, so I know there's a longer list than just two women...Knowing some of the members there, they're always very gracious to have new members come in, and I don't foresee that being any different. It seems like Chairman Payne is a guy -- well, I think he's great. I think he certainly has always had a pretty open mind about things, and that's why you've seen some tweaks and changes at Augusta and the Masters. Yeah, I think it's fantastic."(Via ASAP Sports)

Sergio Garcia: "It's great. I mean I'm not a member so I don't have any say on that. That's great. I hope they enjoy it and plays as many times as they can and enjoy the course." (Via ASAP Sports)

Tim Clark: "I think it's great. It's a sign of the times and Augusta is a top notch club. Obviously about time and it's a place I love and love going to. It's nice to see them make that move." (Via ASAP Sports)

Carl Pettersson: "It's probably good but, you know, it's a private club. They could do whatever they want. But it's probably about time, yeah. Probably good." (Via ASAP Sports)

Gary Player: "Great news. Augusta National admits its first female members in 80 years: Condoleezza Rice & Darla Moore." (Via Twitter @garyplayer)

The similarities between Tiger Woods and Justin Bieber are not immediately apparent.

But Tiger, the greatest golfer of his generation, has at least one thing in common with Bieber. Two things, actually: they both play golf; and they don't like cameras around when they play golf.

According to Jam!Showbiz ("Entertainment and Showbiz from a Canadian Angle!"), the Biebs has quite a temper when it comes to shutters snapping his downswing off track:

The Baby hitmaker had a bad day on the course at Calabasas Country Club, California after a shot landed far from the fairway and he battled to get the ball out of the rough.

The frustrated singer later took to Twitter.com and blamed the paparazzi for interrupting his game by taking his picture.

He wrote, "Dear paps... golf is supposed to be a relaxing sport... u (you) arent (sic) supposed to be in the bushes yelling at me with cameras. Let me finish the game.

"Gonna stay focused. Back at it. Not gonna focus on the negative. Just a little respect would help."

That's right, Justin. It's a Process. Believe in The Process. Stick to The Process. You'll win a major-- …er…break 90 yet. And if you give up on The Process, give Stevie Williams a call. He specializes in managing photographers.

The Mirror has some pictures of Bieber on the links - probably some of the same ones that made him angry. Have a look, if you're so inclinced.

One Hole is an Island
Next, a bit of revenge footage for angry pros. Sawgrass’s famous island green is finally, actually an island. Seven Inches of rain from Hurricaine Debbie left the par-3 almost entirely submerged Tuesday evening.  As Gary Smits of the Florida Times-Union writes:

Suffice to say that even if you were playing in the pouring rain and hit what was left of the green above water, you'd need a poontoon boat to get to the green.

The rain has obviously affected golf courses throughout the area, a bit of a stumbling block after a warm winter and fall lifted revenues and spirits among course owners and operators.

We also found this video, from TPC Sawgrass Agronomy. It appears to be a smaller target than usual.  And listen closely, I think you can hear Len Mattiace laughing manically in the background.

Tweet of the Day: A touch of inspiration for Bieber...

Sorry, Phil.

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem says the tour won't change its cell-phone policy for fans despite complaints from Phil Mickelson, according to Bloomberg's Mike Buteau. The Tour's current policy allows fans to bring phones onto the course and use them in designated areas. Fans are not supposed to take photos or videos with their smart phones during the tournament.

“We’re committed to making it work,” Finchem said in an interview while playing in a pro-am round at the Champions Tour’s Tradition event in Birmingham, Alabama. “If we get to a point where we don’t have an acceptable competitive environment, we’ll do whatever we need to do, but I don’t see that happening.”

Mickelson withdrew from last week's Memorial Tournament after sending a text message to Finchem from the sixth fairway complaining about cell-phone use in the stands. Finchem did not comment on Lefty's mid-round message, and Mickelson's spokesman T.R. Reinman said that Mickelson will not address the issue again.

“It’s in the past for Phil,” Reinman said in a telephone interview. He declined further comment and said Mickelson wouldn’t address the issue any more. Mickelson had cited exhaustion in announcing his withdrawal. Finchem refused to say whether he spoke with Mickelson.

Mickelson will get a little peace and quiet at Olympic next week, though: The USGA does not allow cell phones at the tournament.

Dustin Johnson said via Twitter that he plans to play at next week's Players Championships if his doctors approve.

The back rehab is REALLY good and hoping for next week pending medical clearance! "@BlakeGrahamPGA how's the back?? When you playing next?"

— Dustin Johnson (@DJohnsonPGA) May 2, 2012

Johnson missed the Masters due to a back injury he aggravated while lifting a jet ski (we hate it when we do that). He has three top 10 finishes this season and is currently ranked 17th in the world.

Johnson also weighed in on Tiger Woods's controversial no-press press conference where Woods bypassed the traditional media tent interrogation to take questions directly from fans.

People love or hate Mr. @TigerWoods - I like that he's taking to the internet to reach his fans!! Not every time, but its OK!! #ItsTheFuture

— Dustin Johnson (@DJohnsonPGA) May 2, 2012

Report: Trump's New Jersey course to host 2017 U.S. Women's Open
Donald Trump's Bedminster N.J. course will host the 2017, according to Mike Buteau of Bloomberg News.

Donald Trump's Bedminster, NJ (old) course to host 2017 U.S. Women's Open, person familiar with decision confirms#Golf

— Mike Buteau (@MikeButeau) May 2, 2012

The official USGA announcement is scheduled for Thursday, but Trump actually let the news slip to Sports Illustrated's Gary Van Sickle in an interview last month.

I covered the LPGA event that was there several times. During the PGA at Baltusrol, I played your course in Bedminster.

We just got the Women's U.S. Open at that one, which is phenomenal.

Trump has never been shy about his desire to host a men's U.S. Open at his Bedminster course, which is near USGA headquarters in rural New Jersey, and an agreement with the USGA to host a women's Open is a step in the right direction.

Seeking endorsement, Biden plays golf with Bloomberg
Both President Obama and likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney want New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's endorsement and, according to Politico, Biden took the old-fashioned route toward asking for a favor: he played golf with Bloomberg.

Mike Bloomberg, who was wooed earlier today by Mitt Romney for an endorsement, also got in a round of golf last Friday with Vice President Joe Biden, sources told POLITICO.

The pair was played at a course somewhere in the Washington area, the sources said.

Bloomberg played golf with President Obama in 2010 and recently had lunch with him at the White House.

Calvin Peete says he has no problem not being in Hall of Fame
Calvin Peete, the trail-blazing African-American golfer who won 12 times on the PGA Tour, said he understands why he's not in the World Golf Hall of Fame because he never won a major, according to Seth Soffian of the [Fort Myers] News-Press.

Peete, 68, spoke at a Fort Myers golf course last week to support mental-health services for veterans.

“Deane Beman wrote that I was the best ball-striker of all time,” Peete said of the former U.S. Amateur champion and long-time PGA Tour commissioner. “Coming from him I thought that was probably the best compliment I could get.”

Peete, who turned professional in 1975 and won for the first time in 1979, had four victories in 1982, played on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1981 and ’83, won the PGA Tour’s Vardon Trophy in 1984 for the lowest scoring average and punctuated his career in 1985 with his win in the Players Championship, golf’s unofficial “fifth major.”

Despite so strong a decade, though, he has no qualms with not being in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

“They don’t really want to accept anybody in there unless he’s won a major,” said Peete, noting his inclusion in the African American Golfers Hall of Fame in West Palm Beach. “I don’t want them to just give me something just because I’m black. I want to feel when that happens that I earned it.”

Tweet of the Day

Watch out for the Boston #celtics. P Pierce is the most underrated player the NBA. #stud. Maybe the knicks will come back!! #not @Sevegolf1

— Keegan Bradley (@Keegan_Bradley) May 2, 2012

The last time Tiger Woods played the Honda Classic, he hadn’t even won a U.S. Amateur yet. It was 1993, and the tournament was held at Westin Hills G&CC in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Tiger missed the cut. Still, there’s good reason to like Tiger’s chances when he rejoins the Honda field at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., in a couple of weeks. Speaking with the Palm Beach Post, Tommy Roy, NBC Sports’s top golf producer, noted:

“…I think this golf course is right in his wheelhouse.

“If you look at the stats through the years, the leaders always play the Bear Trap well. Those three holes [Nos. 15-17] require cut shots most of the time, depending on the wind, and that's playing right into Tiger's strength with the power cut that he's playing. The other factor is that he always putts well on Bermuda greens.

"It would seem this golf course is almost perfect for him."

Finchem on the Tiger Effect

The Honda will benefit from Tiger’s presence, but Tim Finchem continues to preach that TW’s not essential to the success of the Tour. Earlier this week the commish told Jill Painter of the L.A. Daily News:

"It's always good to have everybody play. Tiger has gotten into a schedule that in his mind works, and we have a great respect for that. It stands out when the best player over the last 15 years doesn't have a tournament on his schedule. Tiger Woods is bigger than life.

"People are surprised to learn Tiger plays in one of three events on average. And yet, over the last 15 years, all of our tournaments have grown. While it's nice [if Woods plays], it's not fundamental."

Mr. Commissioner, you might want to see these numbers

The Tour may not flat-line when Tiger stays home, but as has been well documented, TV ratings suffer. Matt Yoder at awfulannouncing.com underscored that point by delving deep into the ratings of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which enjoyed a huge boost with Charlie Wi Tiger Woods in the mix last Sunday.

It's only one tournament examined in a vacuum, but the ratings data from Pebble Beach tell an interesting story. Here are the numbers since 2000 of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am (thanks to the acclaimed person behind TVSportsRatings, whoever he or she is) with the total average number of viewers for CBS's weekend coverage and what it means for the PGA Tour... 

2000 4.1
2001 5.9 
2002 4.5 
2003 4.1 
2004 4.1 
2005 5.0 
2006 3.3 
2007 3.6 
2008 2.9 
2009 1.6 
2010 1.9 
2011 2.9 
2012 5.7

A few takeaways from those numbers...

*Tiger Woods made his first appearance this year at Pebble Beach for the early season tournament since 2002. Woods played at Pebble Beach in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2012. The average number of viewers for those 4 tournaments was 5.05 million, including a Monday finish in 2000 (thus the low 4.1 number). The average number of viewers for the 9 tournaments Tiger didn't play at Pebble from 2003-2011? Just 3.27 million. That's an increase of 54% for Pebble Beach when Tiger has played since 2000.

…As long as the PGA Tour is so utterly dependent on Woods for ratings success, how can they expect to be healthier without Tiger's presence? Even in 2012, it's a question the PGA Tour is still seeking an answer to.

Tweet of the Day

LA traffic is 3rd World-esque.

— Joe Ogilvie (@ogilviej) February 17, 2012