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Just let Tiger play golf
Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle will answer your questions every Thursday during the golf season. Click here to send him a question. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Since I can't top the opening letter, let's get right to the ol' Mailbag:
Why isn't it enough that Tiger Woods plays wonderful golf? So many people want him to use his stature to effect social change. His being is the instrument of change they are looking for (and missing). It inspires people to work at something -- even if it is only golf -- harder than they ever have before. I think that is enough. Just when you figure there's nothing new or insightful left to say about Tiger Woods, along comes a New Yorker with one of the best comments I've read lately about the Tiger phenomenon. A round of applause for Jeffrey Ford, please, as he goes into the running for the coveted Letter of the Year award.
What happened to Tiger's ball on the 18th hole in the PGA playoff? It was a great duel, but did somebody interfere with that ball? If someone had, what would have been the proper ruling? OK, one more time: Nobody touched Woods' ball. There were too many witnesses right there, and if someone had we'd know by now. The shot landed on a grassy knoll, so to speak. I think the ball bounced fairly high -- hence the delay and the cause of the mystery. When it landed, it caught the knoll's fairly sleep downslope and kicked backward pretty hard (which gave it the appearance of being thrown by someone) and rolled down near a cart path. If the ball had been picked up by a fan, Tiger would've been entitled to a drop at the place where it was touched. Of course, Rob, the rule in Chicago is any ball venturing into the gallery is thrown back unless it's hit by a Cubbie.
How are daily pairings determined when golfers have tie scores? I noticed at the PGA that Tiger's pairing for the final round changed to Bob May, though May's score was the same as Tiger's Saturday partner. The rule is, first in-last out. So the first/earliest player to post a score one day gets the latest pairing for that score the next day. That's why May, not Scott Dunlap, drew Tiger on Sunday.
How low can Tiger go? Does he have a 58 in him? Absolutely. At Firestone South during the NEC Invitational, Tiger was seven under par through 12 holes one day and eight under through 12 the next. Since par was 70, on the second day he needed four more birdies on the last six holes -- one of which was a par-5 -- for 58. And Firestone South ranks among the more difficult PGA Tour courses. I'll be surprised if Tiger doesn't break 60 at least once in a PGA Tour event during his career, although he's handicapped by playing mostly only in the top, most-difficult events. He'd have a better shot at breaking 60 in Las Vegas, Milwaukee or the Bob Hope Classic, to name just a few.
What is your opinion of Notah Begay's gender-bending earring look? Good role-model stuff? I've never understood the desire to have an ear (or anything else) pierced, but I think as a society we've progressed past the whole earring/long hair/beard thing. If Notah thinks it's cool, then it works for him. Do your own thing, even if it means you end up looking like Dennis Rodman. To quote Rodney from Caddyshack, "But it looks good on you." I just remember as a kid how appalled parents and the older generation were by the Beatles' long hair. Looking back, the Beatles wore suits, ties and couldn't have been any more clean-cut. And they were considered shocking.
You should cut the comedy shtick and stick to a straighter form of commentary. Let's just say that Henny Youngman isn't worried about losing audience to you -- and he's dead. I sense you have a desire to compete with Alan Shipnuck in the Snidest Columnist category. Forget it. Take it as a compliment that you are not as inherently obnoxious as young Alan. If you say so, Mark. One more thing: Take my wife ... please!
Did your reply to Jon from Toronto's question on the Presidents Cup foreshadow the new Van Sickle attitude, or did Shipwreck finish the column while you were relieving yourself in the rough at Gordon's St. Louis club? Loved it. keep up the good work. It played in Appleton but not in Ithaca, I guess. Thanks, Jim. As a former resident of the near-Appleton area (Waupaca and Fremont), perhaps I could become sort of the Johnny Appleseed of Highway 10. Gordon and I will meet you at the bowling alley in Weyauwega.
Are professional golfers forbidden from using performance-enhancing drugs? If so, are they tested? About the only performance-enhancing drug that would benefit golfers is beta blockers, a kind of neural tranquilizer that supposedly calms the nerves and steadies the hands for putting. I don't believe the PGA Tour has a list of forbidden drugs and, no, it doesn't test for them. But if you hear about a drug that enables golfers to hit more fairways and greens, Charles, let me know. I'd like to test it out -- purely for journalistic reasons, of course.
Do you get that many stupid questions on a daily basis? I was going over your last Mailbag and was surprised by the really deep, thought-out questions. Does that ever get tiring? There are no stupid questions, only stupid replies. Which is why I'm here. I am surprised by the number of people who read this column and write in even though it's obvious they don't play golf or know much about the game. That says a lot about golf's new drawing power, courtesy of Tiger. Luckily, the CNNSI.com folks sort out the real clunkers before forwarding me the rest. Actually, this week's batch of letters was so good, Brent, I'm saving a few for next week ... and letting the suspense build to a crescendo.
Click here to send your golf question to Gary Van Sickle.
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