Perfect Match

Who needs a Q rating with all this drama?

Unless he goes belly-up with his belly putter, Paul Azinger will win again this year. His swing looks better, more natural and more like the Azinger swing of old than I've seen in years. He was one pulled 9-iron shot on the final hole away from playing the Match Play final against Kevin Sutherland. "I'm excited about how I'm hitting it for the first time in so long," Azinger said at La Costa. "I hate to complain -- I've made 21 straight cuts. But to be honest, I haven't really hit it solid in years. This is a different level of ballstriking for me. I hope this is something that lasts." ... Let me say this one more time because an amazing number of people still don't get it: Match play golf is the most exciting form of golf. A match play tournament might not produce the most glamorous winner but it usually produces great drama. If you didn't like the action last week at La Costa, then you're not a golf fan, and why are you even reading this column? The Azinger- Scott McCarron and Sutherland- Brad Faxon semifinal matches were fascinating, while the final featured textbook scrambling by Sutherland ...

Azinger thinks the world rankings are flawed and shouldn't be used to determine which players qualify for majors and world golf events. He'd prefer to use the tours' money lists. "Guys should know what they're choking for out here," he said. "You should know going into the last three weeks of the season where you've got to finish on the money list. We're using a system now that's not perfect. We don't know how many points we're getting when we get them." ... Nobody knows much about Sweden's Niclas Fasth, who lost to Azinger in the second round, but he was impressive and Azinger was fortunate to beat him. "He's a good player. I'll tell you that," Azinger said. "You've got to have a little intestinal fortitude to dust off Vijay Singh. "...

Faxon's game started clicking after he got a set of new Titleist 690 irons two weeks ago in Los Angeles, but it has still taken him a while to get on track. I asked why and he said, "Well, we had a baby five weeks ago, and I really haven't gotten into a groove. Right now, I can't wait to get up in the morning." Faxon's wife gave birth to a daughter. He now has four children, all girls ... Faxon got off surprisingly easy in the media for what was a bad display of temper on the final green of his semifinal match against Kevin Sutherland. After Faxon three-putted from 15 feet on the final green, he picked up the ball, turned and fired it back toward the fairway. Unfortunately, Sutherland and his caddie were standing in the line of fire. The ball, which Faxon threw pretty hard, just missed the caddie's head and flew into a big towel that Sutherland was holding. It was very un-Faxon-like, seeing as he's one of the tour's best-liked guys. If, however, John Daly had done that, he'd have made headlines in every Sunday paper in America. I would expect the PGA Tour to hand Faxon a decent-sized fine for what was inexcusable behavior -- basically, even though it appeared accidental, he threw a golf ball at his opponent ... Faxon on the Match Play Championship: "I love this tournament. If you could pick 51 percent of the winners, you'd be a stud, wouldn't you? Every match is like an NCAA basketball game between and an eight and a nine seed."

Frequent post-match sighting: ABC analyst Curtis Strange pounding balls on the range. "Curtis hits more balls than most tour players," Faxon said ... Colin Montgomerie had more trouble with spectators at La Costa, and McCarron, who beat him in a first-round match, said Montgomerie overreacted. One comment directed toward Monty late in the match: "The Concorde leaves at 3." Monty actually had a good comeback for his hecklers: "The only thing worse than losing is having to spend another day in this country." Well said, old chap ... A banner seen hanging from the grandstand at the 18th hole Saturday after Monty's fan-flap: "We miss you Monty -- NOT!" ... Guess I learned not to take Padraig Harrington in the golf pool at the Match Play event. He lost in the first round of all three events he entered. This time he showed up at La Costa after a nine-week break. "I had no expectations," Harrington admitted. "I just hoped I would get lucky." After he lost in Australia last year, Harrington stayed on for a two-week vacation, including a week of snorkeling off the Great Barrier Reef. After this tournament he's staying for a few days of practice at La Costa before leaving for Euro Tour events in Malaysia and Dubai ... Let's see, it didn't feel safe to fly to Europe in September to play the Ryder Cup, but it's OK to fly to Dubai for a tournament? ... Ryan Scott, who caddies for McCarron: "When Scott's on his game, he's a top-five player in the world. And he's on his game right now."

If I was going to change one thing about the Match Play Championship, I'd make the final match 18 holes. I know 36 holes is a better test but honestly, does it really matter? This is basically a made-for-TV event because you're never going to draw huge crowds to come out and watch just one match. Who wants to watch 36 holes? It's not as if going to an 18-hole match will ruin the purity of the event.

AND NOW THIS LEFTOVER: For your dining pleasure, here are a few selected entrees from These Guys Are Good, a collection of delightfully different recipes from your favorite golfers (OK, their wives) along with selected anecdotes of life on the golf tour ...

Buckeye balls: No, they aren't the secret of Jack Nicklaus' success; they're peanut butter and chocolate chip desserts created by Larry Mowry.

Monkey bread: Ah, it's tough to find good, fresh monkey in this country, but Larry Nelson's recipe actually makes buttery cinnamon biscuits.

Frog-eye salad: There are no varmints, just lots of fruit in Bruce Summerhays' tangy dessert.

Bison lasagna: It sounds exotic, but it's just bison rancher Dave Stockton trying to move the merchandise.

Braised oxtail: Sure, you just had it for lunch yesterday, but John Bland's version features potatoes, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce and, of course, red wine.

Da Bomb: Just in case chocolate cake isn't sweet enough, Billy Casper throws in some chopped candy bars.

Cookbooks are usually five-star snoozes and pretty much the same, but this one, compiled by Susan North, wife of two-time U.S. Open champion Andy, is fun to page through. It's interesting to match players with their favorite foods. Hale Irwin's submissions included banana bread, chocolate cake and pecan pie -- think he likes desserts? Jack Nicklaus' offerings included hot chicken salad casserole, marinated flank steak and oatmeal cake. Arnold Palmer contributed chile salsa and curried tuna.

In addition, many recipes come with humorous unrelated tour stories, like the time Ed Dougherty took advantage of a tournament's free FedEx shipping perk to send a '58 Chevy he'd bought home in pieces in 16 boxes; Jim Colbert introducing his 8-year-old daughter to Joe DiMaggio at a pro-am party, asking if she knew who he was and her answering, "Yes -- he's Mister Coffee"; Jay Sigel's wife, when asked by writers to tell them something they didn't know about her not-very-colorful husband, replying, "What can you say about beige?"; Larry Ziegler recalling a tornado that roared over the Missouri hotel in which his family was staying and demolishing their car; Gil Morgan's technique for washing clothes in the hotel bathtub -- using a golf club as an agitator; and Bob Gilder advising that packing Green Slime with his golf clubs is not a good idea.

The wives' cookbook, which has already sold more than 12,000 copies and boasts a cover painting by artist Peter Max, costs $34.95 (plus $4 shipping) and is available on PGA Tour.com or from Senior Tour Wives, Inc., P.O. Box 323, Ponte Vedra, FL 32004. All proceeds go to charity.

Hey, I've got mail. The Mailbag ...

Is the European Tour on life support? It seems that way, as all its stars are either over-the-hill -- Nick Faldo, etc. -- or leaving to play for bigger bucks on this side of the pond, as Sergio Garcia has. How can it survive?
—Lee Meade, Chicago

The tour must be doing something right, Lee. It has tournaments on four different continents (Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa). Of course, they'd rather have Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal playing a full schedule in Europe, but hey, they still have plenty of young stars such as Fasth, Justin Rose, Simon Dyson, Adam Scott and others. Besides, they always have Monty.

What is the deal with the Precept Lady ball? I saw the item in your column on the PGA Merchandise Show and was also playing with a friend recently who used them (but I forgot to ask him why). What's the magic? It must be a pretty good ball for good male golfers to be buying balls that come in pink packaging.
—Mark Kelly, Ridgefield, Conn.

I think the secret is in the new cover materials being used in combination with lower compression centers, Mark. The Lady's real magic is that it's a good ball, like a lot of others, and you can buy a dozen for $20 -- which is half the price (or less) of some of its competitors.

Your column is one of my few highlights to read out here in the Ethiopian desert while I'm working with the United Nations. CNNSI.com posted a column that raised a debate only card-carrying golf fanatics would care about. (There are only two out here on the whole mission, me and a Swedish lieutenant colonel.) The piece says Tiger Woods recently switched to the Nike driver. Fine. But then it goes on to say that Tiger still plays Titleist irons and wedges. Fine, sort of. I recently read Tiger's book, How I Play Golf, and in it there is a picture of his clubs. I always thought he played all Titleist, but this picture distinctly shows a couple of Cleveland wedges. What's the story?
—Bill Dornisch, Ethiopia

Must have been an old photo, Bill. Tiger did use Cleveland wedges for a time early in his career, but he's all Titleist now, except for the aforementioned driver.

I am looking for some information about the European Senior Tour. Mainly, what does it take and where must one go to qualify. I remember an old article in the now-defunct Senior Golfer magazine about Americans who were playing on that particular tour. Any information or leads would be greatly appreciated.
—Brent Winslow, American Fork, Utah

The new season starts in March, Brent. Qualifying was held last November. The tour should have 72-man fields and a schedule of 19 tournaments, give or take a couple. You can get info from Louise Patterson at Wentworth, phone: 011-44-1344-840400.

This is off topic, but your sports wisdom clearly stretches beyond golf (butter), and since your column is so widely read (more butter), it would be a good place to address this timely sports issue: Why is curling an Olympic event? Allowing these faux-athletes to dangle Olympic medals around their pencil necks is a travesty. The event should at least be renamed ice shuffleboard to reflect the intensity of the competition and attract senior citizen viewers.
—Richard Anderson, Clovis, Calif.

There are so many bogus Olympic sports, Richard: ice dancing, synchro swimming, rhythmic gymnastics and team handball come to mind. Why pick on a traditional game played by our friends to the north? Can't we all just get along?

Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle writes for the magazine's Golf Plus section and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.

 

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