Golf: May 11, 2006

Phil Mickelson looked tired and unfocused at the Wachovia Championship and it was easy to speculate that he may have overstretched himself by committing to six tournaments in eight weeks after his Masters win. -- Boston Globe

Among the toughest facts to drag out of new Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne is that the 58-year-old former All-SEC defensive end at the University of Georgia is a pretty good golfer. Payne has a 6.8 USGA handicap index and said he shot in the mid-80s from the back tees the last time he played Augusta National. -- Florida Times-Union

Bob Goalby thinks he knows why Tiger Woods has been so unpredictable off the tee this season. Woods is currently ranked 153rd on the PGA Tour in driving accuracy and is 13th in driving distance. But the 1968 Masters champ doesn't expect to ever offer his opinion to Woods. "He has great form and everything, but if you go back and look at him when he was in college and first coming out, you can see that now he swings much harder,' Goalby said. "I think if he toned it down just a bit, he would be better off. When he was younger, it was much more of a fluid motion." -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The Tiger Woods Foundation has created the Earl Woods College Scholarship Fund, in honor of Tiger's father, who died last week. Students who participate in academic and golf programs at the Tiger Woods Learning Center near Los Angeles will be eligible for an Earl Woods scholarship. -- Florida Times-Union

Keith Clearwater has been out of golf for much of the last five years, caring for his father, Chuck, who suffered from prostate cancer and a stroke until his death two weeks ago. With a spot in next week's Colonial as a past champion, Clearwater came in a week early, hopped in a courtesy car supplied by his loyal friends at Colonial and played the open qualifier for the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. He didn't make it, finishing four shots back with a par 71. -- Dallas Morning News

United States Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman is making his first Nelson appearance since 2001. He has missed four straight cuts in the event, dating to 1994. In eight tries since 1983, his best finish is a tie for 47th in 1985. But Lehman said he came because he considers this one of the top tournaments of the year, and because every year he doesn't come, "I feel like it's hurting Byron's feelings." -- Dallas Morning News

Rich Beem didn't need a putting guru to tell him he needed to change putters. He found out by reading the PGA Tour stats last year. "I don't know how many guys they actually track stats for, but I know that 202nd is not so good," Beem said. So he switched putters. Then at the Nissan Open in February, he had his putter cut down to 33 inches and put weights in the head. Since then he has posted three top-20s and missed only two cuts in seven starts. -- Dallas Morning News

Bank of America Championship tournament director Tracy West says Arnold Palmer is still considering an appearance at Nashawtuc CC. Though he has yet to play anything other than the Wendy's Champions Skills Game in February, the 76-year-old icon has reportedly given a commitment to a few tournaments coming up. A visit to Nashawtuc wouldn't be a shock; Palmer has played in the event the previous seven years. -- Boston Globe

Four-time PGA Tour winner Tim Simpson will make his Champions Tour debut this week at the Boeing Championship in Destin. -- Florida Times-Union

In his first nine years on the Champions Tour, Dana Quigley missed one event for which he was eligible -- last summer's Senior British Open. Already this season he has missed two and before reconsidering the situation yesterday, Quigley was resigned to missing a third. He began getting dizzy and nauseated in early March while playing in the fifth tournament of the season. Doctors told him he had high blood pressure and he's struggled to find the right medication. -- Boston Globe