Park leads Southern California to national titleBy George Henry Associated Press ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- Annie Park shot a 1-under 71 to top the individual standings and help Southern California take its third NCAA women's tournament title with a record-setting...
Anchoring update: Adam Scott lawyers upBy Mike StachuraWhile it's been reported that both Tim Clark and Carl Pettersson have retained Boston-based attorney Harry L. Manion III to represent their interests in their potential response to Tuesday's decision by golf's ruling bodies...
Hot And Bothered: The case for shorts on the course
By Marty Hackel
Airing A Gripe: Tour player Johnson Wagner speaks up for shorts. Photo: Courtesy Ashworth
Shorts are the summertime go-to clothing for most golfers on most courses in the United States. Not to take anything away from long pants, but shorts are fun, comfortable and casual. The photo on this page is from the new Ashworth campaign with tour players urging people to sign their "pants petition."
The video is very funny but also makes a good point: Why do tour players have to wear long pants? Until recently, caddies had to wear long pants, too. I don't hear a huge outcry -- people saying, "Isn't this terrible? Don't caddies look silly in shorts?" -- so why would we say that about tour players?
Obama to serve as honorary chairman of Presidents Cup
By John Strege
President Barack Obama's affinity for golf has been well documented, so it was no surprise Friday that he accepted the PGA Tour's invitation to serve as honorary chairman of the Presidents Cup at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, in October.
Obama served in a similar capacity at the 2009 Presidents Cup at Harding Park in San Francisco, though he did not attend.
"We are truly honored that President Obama has once again accepted our invitation to be Honorary Chairman of The Presidents Cup in October," PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said in a news release. "In 2009, he was gracious enough to continue the long-standing tradition of world leaders' support of the event, which dates back to the first Presidents Cup in 1994. His involvement again this year serves to only further enhance the stature of The Presidents Cup and the game of golf as a whole."
Presidents Gerald Ford (1994), George H.W. Bush ('96), Bill Clinton (2000) and George W. Bush ('05) also have served as honorary chairmen.
Related: Pictures of Obama playing golf
CBS White House correspondent Mark Knoller, who tracks such minutiae, reported that Obama played golf on 113 occasions in his first term as president.
(Getty Images photo)
The best golf fan ever (it's not what you think)By John Strege Those who have been to Houston in the summer understand the quest to find relief from the oppressive heat and humidity, even on the golf course. They then would also understand why...
Fitness Friday: Warm up to the idea of a warm-upBy Ron Kaspriske Probably the two most frequently asked questions I get when people find out I'm the fitness editor for Golf Digest are: 1. Who are the nicest guys on the PGA Tour? 2....
USC extends its lead on Day 3; Park & Meadow battling for individual titleBy Brendan Mohler ATHENS, Ga. -- While the third day of a 72-hole tournament is commonly considered "moving day," only the Auburn Tigers -- who drew inspiration from the brief presence of Coach Kim...
Georgia's Burger happy to be at homeBy Brendan MohlerATHENS, GA.—It’s not every year that a senior gets to close out her career playing her home course on the biggest stage in college golf—the NCAA Women's Championship. But Emilie Burger, who...
European Tour head George O'Grady adds to Sergio Garcia controversy
By John Huggan
VIRGINIA WATER, England -- Another day, yet another apology. Just when it looked like the opening round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth might just pass without any major off-course talking point other than the unseasonably chilly weather, European Tour executive director George O'Grady -- of all people -- perpetrated the second race-related gaffe of the week.
Related: Golf's most regrettable interviews
Speaking on Sky television, the Ulster-born official was asked about Sergio Garcia and the Spaniard's already infamous comments regarding the dietary requirements of Tiger Woods during the upcoming U.S. Open. "I will have him over for dinner every night," said Garcia (in what O'Grady claimed was "a light-hearted remark that backfired"). "And we will serve him fried chicken."
Photo by Getty Images
Anyway, in a further and equally vain attempt to support Garcia, O'Grady felt moved to reveal: "Most of Sergio's friends in the States happen to be colored athletes." And that, "We accept all races on the European Tour." And that, "There is no need for any further disciplinary action" (ignoring the fact that there has so far been no official disciplinary action taken against Garcia).
All of which might have been fine half a century ago, a time before "black" replaced "colored" as an acceptable description for African-Americans. But not now. And especially not this week.
O'Grady, not surprisingly, was quickly apprised of his error, after which he released a one-line statement: "I deeply regret using an inappropriate word in a live interview for Sky Sports for which I unreservedly apologize."
Well, that's all right then, as long as everyone is prepared to accept complete ignorance on the part of the accused as a legitimate defense. Or that being completely out of touch with the modern world also represents a reasonable explanation for such a blatant faux pas.
Neither is, of course. But O'Grady -- who has worked for the European Tour since 1974 -- should know better. Indeed, he must know better. If those charged with the administration of golf cannot be trusted to navigate what is admittedly becoming something of a racial minefield, what chance have those more casually involved?
Related: Sergio's bad joke stemmed from ignorance, not racism
The problem this time, of course, is partly generational -- O'Grady is 64-years old -- but also speaks to a wider malaise within the game. Quite simply, today's golf world isn't even a close facsimile of society as a whole, the result, perhaps, of a system that is too often exclusive rather than inclusive. Much work -- still ongoing -- has been done to rectify that situation, but if ever there was an indication of just how far golf has to go, then the extent to which O'Grady is out of touch represents a clear signal.
Employed by the same organization for nearly four decades, it is safe to assume O'Grady's working life has not produced a wide range of experiences with a wide range of people. Like most in the golf industry, O'Grady will have spent most of his time with people who look a lot like him -- middle-aged, middle-class and white. The wider world in the 21st century does not look like that. Not even close. Quite clearly, George -- and golf --- needs to get out more.
Remembering a successful publisher and a golf nutBy Bob Carney
That day began with a deluge and wasn't any better a few hours later. My boss was to host us for an afternoon round at a great Connecticut course, but it poured all morning -- at least an inch of achy, cold, steady rain -- and the inevitable call was made: This was a good day to get some work done. Our fourth, another publisher, was totally relieved, but not Peter, I could tell. "Let's talk in a couple of hours," he told me. "Who knows?"
I thought, but did not say: I know. There is no chance.
Understand, Peter Workman managed plenty of golf. He traveled to Ireland and Scotland the way the average New Yorker might to the Jersey Shore. He made multiple trips to Bandon Dunes -- Peter's company published Stephen Goodwin's account of the creation of Bandon; he loved the place -- and his phenomenal success allowed him to play just about anytime and anywhere he wanted.
What kind of success? I could give you a list but a couple of examples will do. What to Expect When You're Expecting. That was Peter's. So was Brain Quest, The Official Preppy Handbook, A Thousand Places to See Before You Die, the Kliban Cats book, the Page-a-Day desk calendar (including Golf Digest's), and, also in our world, the charming and beautiful, Where Golf Is Great, by Jim Finegan. Peter was the first to tell you that coffee table books go straight to remainder tables, but he loved Finnegan's ornate storytelling. And Peter loved links golf. So he made that exception and it was a hit. He had, as one writer put it, "an eye for hits." Sometimes, even with some of these, it took a while, but Peter persevered. "Failure is not productive," he said.
About 11 o'clock the phone rang. It was Peter in his familiar, elongated, hesitant, question-mark greeting: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, Bob? It's Peter." It was "looking better," he thought, which, judging by what I saw out my window, was like seeing Elvis in an Eggo. "Sure Peter. I'm up for it if you are." We'd try nine, we agreed, and I went looking for my rain suit.
At the time there seemed no need to squeeze in that round. We just wanted to play. I thought there would be more rounds, lots more rounds, especially with the publishers group Peter played in, but that day it was a matter, as someone at Peter's memorial service put it, "that you wanted to go where Peter was going, you wanted to be with him when you got the chance." It was fun to be around Peter. Fun and challenging. Every meeting, on course or not, was peppered with ideas, weighed, amended, accepted, rejected. Peter was gentle, forceful, demanding. You stayed on your toes.
I won't say that the skies parted for us, but it was a comfortable Irish mist we played through, two zealots on his hilly Connecticut course, with Peter proudly pointing to the changes they'd made, new bunkering, trees removed, more playable all around. We had a match, which Peter won, not unusual. He was the nicest fiercest competitor you'd ever want to meet. I think we played 18 -- heck, you would have in Scotland, right -- and then we had some scotch.
In September last year, Peter was diagnosed with brain cancer. He died in April at 74, leaving his wife of 50-plus years, Carolan, two daughters, and four grandchildren, and dozens of golf companions who loved playing with him because his style of golf was just what a lot of us like the game to be: Unpretentious, with a sense of gratitude for the time and place shared, competitive, entertaining, funny.
Peter's presentation could fool you. He was no clotheshorse. Tall and slightly overweight, he dressed like a college student in cords and a signature red sweater that had tears in the armpits "in reverse proportion to the pretentiousness of the golf club," as a friend of his said at the memorial service. Sometimes his sore back made him stand a bit sideways, adding to the rumpled look.
But the look belied high standards, both for the golf he played and for the books he made. One of his editors said that Peter had once hosted a session in which twenty employees were asked to bring 20 ideas each. Peter listened and reported that none of the 400 quite worked. After a similar session with him in which we offered a dozen golf book ideas, I was happy to learn, a couple of years later, that he had done one of them, and only disappointed that it wasn't with us. Peter saw things -- in writers, covers, photographs, golf courses -- that others couldn't see. A long time editor at Workman Publishing remembered taking a cover to Peter for approval. "It's very smart," he said. The editor had worked with Peter long enough not to assume. "Is that a good thing?" she asked. "No," said Peter. It was a cover, he explained, that looked beautiful but didn't invite the reader in. Pass.
Over time I learned of Peter's other worlds: He was an avid skier, a great lover of and supporter of music, an important philanthropist, an adored father and grandfather. But to me he was a golf friend, one you looked forward to being with, even in a downpour, one who caused you to think more of your sport because he was in it.