This golfing season of discontent took a tantalizing turn last week at PGA Tour headquarters, where there was enough emotion and animosity emanating from Sawgrass to generate crossover appeal for fans who like their sports a little less prim and proper.
In a week that made Freddie Couples cry (Hall of Fame induction) and Jason Dufner smile (rare eagle on No. 18), the most compelling takeway from the Players Championship was a bitter aftertaste.
First came Vijay Singh v. PGA Tour in a made-for-courtroom drama, and then Tiger Woods vs. Sergio Garcia in a two-day rumble that extended from the course to the podium. Even Woods salvaging the event from a David Lingmerth sentence couldn’t drown out another drop controversy involving the world’s No. 1 golfer.
Delicious stuff for a non-major week.
One thing golf has long been missing is a villain, and Singh stepped up to take on the role in the classiest fashion. Not content to just drift off quietly into senior-circuit irrelevance (and it seems a good time to note that the 50-year-old Hall of Famer from Fiji hasn’t won a PGA Tour event in five years), Singh decided to cement his legacy as unlovable by suing the tour on the eve of its flagship event.
Singh’s beef is that the PGA Tour somehow besmirched his reputation – which, it should be reiterated, began all those years ago when he was kicked off the Asian Tour for cheating and banished to Borneo. All the tour did was (without comment) follow its drug protocol policies to the letter and ultimately let Singh skate scot-free despite clearly violating the rules that every player agreed to abide by.
Doesn’t seem to matter that Singh incriminated himself in a Sports Illustrated story with his laughable comments about using the explicitly banned deer-antler spray. Then he outed everything the tour had discreetly kept secret – the details of his original suspension and subsequent appeal that prompted the tour to let him off after further review by the World Anti-Doping Agency – by filing the lawsuit despite sound advice against that tactic from his agents at IMG.
Singh, whose $67 million in tour earnings ranks third all-time, even sued for the interest on the $100,000 the tour kept in escrow for three months while he appealed.
It’s not easy to make the PGA Tour look like a sympathetic character, but Singh pulled it off before promptly missing the cut in his adopted hometown. Bravo.
Just as Singh exited for the weekend to go rehearse his testimony, Tiger and Sergio took center stage and held everyone’s attention until the thrilling conclusion.
The two have long been golf’s unrequited rivals since El Niño popped out from behind an oak tree at Medinah in the 1999 PGA and skipped onto the scene. The one-sided nature of the dynamic hasn’t diminished it in any way.
Paired together in the last group Saturday, it took only two holes for their animosity to go viral. During a rain delay, Garcia semi-accused Woods of gamesmanship by stirring up the crowd and causing him to hit a bad shot from a perfect lie in the fairway that led to bogey. Woods’ view of Garcia from the trees was blocked by fans, and when he pulled out a fairway wood just as Garcia was hitting it caused the gallery to murmur at his aggressive club choice.
Garcia pointed it out, prompting Woods (who rarely says a discouraging word) to say “not real surprising that he’s complaining about something.”
On Sunday, when they were tied for the 54-hole lead but paired separately, Garcia didn’t mince words.
“He’s not my favorite guy to play with. He’s not the nicest guy on tour,” Garcia said of Woods, adding later, “We don’t enjoy each other’s company. You don’t have to be a rocket engineer to figure that out.”
While Sergio’s honesty often comes out as petulant, you have to admire his willingness to speak his mind – especially about a dominant player so many others are afraid to talk negatively about. It’s too bad the gifted Spaniard had to add another meltdown to his ledger with Woods, rinsing three balls at Nos. 17 and 18 on Sunday when he was tied with Tiger through 70 holes.
How might it have played out if Woods and Garcia had been paired? You can bet Sergio wouldn’t have been timid to offer his two cents about where Woods’ ball last crossed the hazard on the 14th hole. Woods consulted playing partner Casey Wittenberg, and they agreed on a very generous drop considering TV replays seemed to indicate Woods’ ball never crossed land near where he wound up playing from.
Despite how it looks after two high-profile mistaken drops this season (Abu Dhabi and Augusta), Woods followed proper protocol and there’s no recourse to overrule it. Chances are he would have made the same double bogey from anywhere, but a confrontation with Sergio could have made things very interesting.
The Tiger-Sergio relationship is the most colorful thing in the game – a welcome departure from the homogenized comments and competition that passes for rivalry in golf these days. Certainly more intriguing than the Woods-Rory McIlroy “bromance.” A little bad blood is what makes sports entertaining, and put that on a stage like the Stadium Course where fans revel in seeing crashes like it’s Daytona and you get a very compelling show.
While golf can do without the anchored-putter users filing their own ambush litigation, here’s hoping Woods and Garcia can continue to spice things up when the remaining majors roll around at Merion, Murifield and Oak Hill.
The chancellor of the Georgia Board of Regents will be the speaker for the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce breakfast Wednesday, and organizers are hoping recent GRU controversies don’t overshadow his visit.
Henry “Hank” Huckaby, entering his second year as chancellor of the state’s 31 public colleges and universities, is instead expected to discuss issues of higher education relevant to the chamber’s business-minded members, said the chamber’s president and CEO, Tammy Shepherd.
Similar to previous formats for the chamber sessions, which precede and follow up all Georgia legislative sessions, Huckaby will be joined by members of the county’s legislative delegation, who are expected to deliver brief remarks regarding the recently ended legislative session.
Because Huckaby is the speaker, however, questions from the audience might be screened.
“The only thing we might do is take questions on note cards, and then go through them that way,” Shepherd said. “My biggest concern, with it being the chancellor, we don’t want it to turn into a bashing of anything or questions getting out of hand.”
The troublesome questions, she said, could be those regarding the controversial Georgia Regents University name for the merged campuses of Augusta State University and Georgia Health Sciences University. Recent concerns also have been raised by the discovery that GRU spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on renovations to President Ricardo Azziz’s university-owned home without first getting the required approval from the regents.
That’s not why Huckaby was invited to speak, Shepherd said.
“This is really about what can we expect for the economic development side or the impact the whole Georgia Regents University would have on Augusta, from both campuses,” Shepherd said. “What’s going on with other universities in our state, from growth and development. ... That’s the thing we think would be most important to our membership.”
Admission to the breakfast, which begins at 7 a.m., is free to chamber members, $20 to non-members. Reservations are needed by noon Monday, May 13, by calling (706) 651-0018.
The chancellor of the Georgia Board of Regents will be the speaker for the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce breakfast Wednesday, and organizers are hoping recent GRU controversies don’t overshadow his visit.
Henry “Hank” Huckaby, entering his second year as chancellor of the state’s 31 public colleges and universities, is instead expected to discuss issues of higher education relevant to the chamber’s business-minded members, said the chamber’s president and CEO, Tammy Shepherd.
Similar to previous formats for the chamber sessions, which precede and follow up all Georgia legislative sessions, Huckaby will be joined by members of the county’s legislative delegation, who are expected to deliver brief remarks regarding the recently ended legislative session.
Because Huckaby is the speaker, however, questions from the audience might be screened.
“The only thing we might do is take questions on note cards, and then go through them that way,” Shepherd said. “My biggest concern, with it being the chancellor, we don’t want it to turn into a bashing of anything or questions getting out of hand.”
The troublesome questions, she said, could be those regarding the controversial Georgia Regents University name for the merged campuses of Augusta State University and Georgia Health Sciences University. Recent concerns also have been raised by the discovery that GRU spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on renovations to President Ricardo Azziz’s university-owned home without first getting the required approval from the regents.
That’s not why Huckaby was invited to speak, Shepherd said.
“This is really about what can we expect for the economic development side or the impact the whole Georgia Regents University would have on Augusta, from both campuses,” Shepherd said. “What’s going on with other universities in our state, from growth and development. ... That’s the thing we think would be most important to our membership.”
Admission to the breakfast, which begins at 7 a.m., is free to chamber members, $20 to non-members. Reservations are needed by noon Monday, May 13, by calling (706) 651-0018.
JONESBORO, Ga. — The pressure of playing the match to decide a state title might overwhelm many high school players. Lakeside’s Anneliese Leahy seemed to embrace it.
With the Class AAAAA championship match against Starr’s Mill tied at 2, the outcome was put squarely on the shoulders of Leahy. She rose to the occasion and helped the Panthers win their first state tennis championship, 3-2, on Saturday at the Clayton County International Park Tennis Center.
“I didn’t know it would come down to me,” Leahy said “When it did, I knew I had to win for my team. I wanted to do it for our team.”
Lakeside’s Kayla Hergott won the No. 1 singles match against Erin Egoroff, 6-4, 6-1. Starr’s Mill evened the score when Rachael Williams beat Taylor Richards 6-0, 6-0.
Starr’s Mill won No. 1 doubles when Kailey Inhulsen and Shannon McKillip beat Sara Hess and Alexis Ellis 6-2, 6-2. But Lakeside tied the match when the No. 2 team of Brittany McLeod and Katie Burton beat Samantha Curtis and Cassidy Sparkman 7-5, 6-4.
That left Leahy and Emily Shull as the center of attention. The two had split the first two sets, Shull winning 6-2 and Leahy winning 7-6. The winner-take-all final game drew a large crowd from those still at the park. Leahy wound up breaking Shull’s serve, winning the third set 6-4 on a double fault.
“I’m still on Cloud Nine right now,” Leahy said.
The win was a nice send-off for coach Miranda Whitmire, who is leaving the program after four years. The Panthers had never gotten past the Elite 8 and Whitmire expected a difficult match based on a 3-2 loss suffered to Starr’s Mill earlier this season.
“And that match went to a third-set tiebreaker,” Whitmire said. “So I knew we had a chance.”
When the final game rested on Leahy, the coach had some simple instructions.
“I told her there wasn’t any pressure on her,” Whitmire said. “I just told her to play like she’d always done and she’d pull it out.”
The finals was the first time that Lakeside had been tested in the playoffs. The team beat Richmond Hill 5-0 in the first round and followed with 3-0 victories over Lee County, Glynn Academy and Allatoona.
“I woke up before my alarm went off this morning and thought about what it would be like to win the state championship,” Hergott said. “This is very exciting.”
JONESBORO, Ga. — The pressure of playing the match to decide a state title might overwhelm many high school players. Lakeside’s Anneliese Leahy seemed to embrace it.
With the Class AAAAA championship match against Starr’s Mill tied at 2, the outcome was put squarely on the shoulders of Leahy. She rose to the occasion and helped the Panthers win their first state tennis championship, 3-2, on Saturday at the Clayton County International Park Tennis Center.
“I didn’t know it would come down to me,” Leahy said “When it did, I knew I had to win for my team. I wanted to do it for our team.”
Lakeside’s Kayla Hergott won the No. 1 singles match against Erin Egoroff, 6-4, 6-1. Starr’s Mill evened the score when Rachael Williams beat Taylor Richards 6-0, 6-0.
Starr’s Mill won No. 1 doubles when Kailey Inhulsen and Shannon McKillip beat Sara Hess and Alexis Ellis 6-2, 6-2. But Lakeside tied the match when the No. 2 team of Brittany McLeod and Katie Burton beat Samantha Curtis and Cassidy Sparkman 7-5, 6-4.
That left Leahy and Emily Shull as the center of attention. The two had split the first two sets, Shull winning 6-2 and Leahy winning 7-6. The winner-take-all final game drew a large crowd from those still at the park. Leahy wound up breaking Shull’s serve, winning the third set 6-4 on a double fault.
“I’m still on Cloud Nine right now,” Leahy said.
The win was a nice send-off for coach Miranda Whitmire, who is leaving the program after four years. The Panthers had never gotten past the Elite 8 and Whitmire expected a difficult match based on a 3-2 loss suffered to Starr’s Mill earlier this season.
“And that match went to a third-set tiebreaker,” Whitmire said. “So I knew we had a chance.”
When the final game rested on Leahy, the coach had some simple instructions.
“I told her there wasn’t any pressure on her,” Whitmire said. “I just told her to play like she’d always done and she’d pull it out.”
The finals was the first time that Lakeside had been tested in the playoffs. The team beat Richmond Hill 5-0 in the first round and followed with 3-0 victories over Lee County, Glynn Academy and Allatoona.
“I woke up before my alarm went off this morning and thought about what it would be like to win the state championship,” Hergott said. “This is very exciting.”
Columbia Industrial Boulevard in Evans could be closed for about a month once construction starts on the extension of River Watch Parkway.
The Georgia Department of Transportation plans to discuss that detour and other details of the parkway’s extension during an open house set for 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, May 14 at the Evans Government Center Auditorium, according to an announcement from the DOT.
The parkway extension will use Old Petersburg Road and Old Evans Road as it extends from Baston Road to connect with Washington Road at Towne Center Drive. During construction, which hasn’t yet been scheduled, Columbia Industrial Boulevard – which runs between Old Evans Road and Evans-to-Locks Road – will be closed at Old Evans.
Construction on that portion of the parkway will include a “flyover” bridge crossing the railroad tracks.
The open house will provide maps of the project and an opportunity for residents to offer comments to DOT representatives. It won’t include a formal presentation, the DOT announcement stated.
Comments may also be sent to Glenn Bowman, P.E., State Environmental Administrator, Georgia DOT, 600 West Peachtree Street NW, 16th Floor, Atlanta, GA 30308. The deadline for comments is May 24.
After the open house, meeting handouts will be available at http://www.dot.ga.gov/informationcenter/publicinformation/Pages/PublicOutreach.aspx; select Riverwatch Parkway Information from the drop-down menu.
Columbia Industrial Boulevard in Evans could be closed for about a month once construction starts on the extension of River Watch Parkway.
The Georgia Department of Transportation plans to discuss that detour and other details of the parkway’s extension during an open house set for 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, May 14 at the Evans Government Center Auditorium, according to an announcement from the DOT.
The parkway extension will use Old Petersburg Road and Old Evans Road as it extends from Baston Road to connect with Washington Road at Towne Center Drive. During construction, which hasn’t yet been scheduled, Columbia Industrial Boulevard – which runs between Old Evans Road and Evans-to-Locks Road – will be closed at Old Evans.
Construction on that portion of the parkway will include a “flyover” bridge crossing the railroad tracks.
The open house will provide maps of the project and an opportunity for residents to offer comments to DOT representatives. It won’t include a formal presentation, the DOT announcement stated.
Comments may also be sent to Glenn Bowman, P.E., State Environmental Administrator, Georgia DOT, 600 West Peachtree Street NW, 16th Floor, Atlanta, GA 30308. The deadline for comments is May 24.
After the open house, meeting handouts will be available at http://www.dot.ga.gov/informationcenter/publicinformation/Pages/PublicOutreach.aspx; select Riverwatch Parkway Information from the drop-down menu.
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