If Tiger Woods plays the
Nike Golf ball in the U.S. Open, it will mark the third brand he has played at
Pebble Beach.
"I think I played Tour
Edition back when I was about 12," he said.
Woods continues to classify
his use of Nike as an ongoing experiment, although a switch might be imminent
should he tee it up in two weeks at Pebble.
Based on his results, it's
difficult to say that the ball matters. Woods was third last week in Germany
and overwhelmed the field at the Memorial for his 19th PGA Tour victory.
But Woods said that, while
the feel of the two-piece Nike is similar to the wound Titleist ball he had been
playing, he has noticed some changes.
"There's a different arc
to it," Woods said. "Two-piece balls tend to be a little more flat."
Jack Nicklaus was not immune to changing balls during his career. He played the
MacGregor ball from the time he was 19 until he bought -- and later sold
-- the company.
"We stopped making golf
balls in the mid '80s, then I used a Titleist for two or three years," Nicklaus
said.
He then played a round
with Greg Norman, who suggested he try the Maxfli, and Nicklaus has been using
Maxfli ever since.
"Sure, it's a major decision,"
Nicklaus said. "I have not discussed with Tiger why he wants to use another brand.
I suppose you would have to think it would be financial, but in his case, I can't
imagine that would make a difference. He's a pretty secure young man.
"He would have to think
he has a golf ball that's superior to what he's playing."
A Titleist ball has been
used in 16 victories out of 22 PGA Tour events this year.
OPEN CASE: Sixteen
PGA Tour players will not have to qualify for the British Open because they stayed
in the top 50 in the world ranking or the top 20 on the money list after the
Memorial.
Kirk Triplett, Mike Weir,
Paul Azinger and Rocco Mediate all started the year outside the top 50 and played
their way in. Meanwhile, victories by Jim Carter and Robert Allenby, and a great
Memorial finish by Steve Flesch, got them in the top 20 on the money list.
The others who held their
position in the rankings were Stewart Cink, Loren Roberts, Bob Tway, Dudley Hart,
Steve Stricker, Tim Herron, Fred Couples, Stuart Appleby and Bob Estes.
Scott Hoch did, too, but
says he won't be going to St. Andrews any time soon.
Meanwhile, Cink held onto
his No. 10 position on the money list to avoid having to qualify for the U.S.
Open.
LEHMAN OUT: The
Tour Players Association will have to march on without Tom Lehman.
Lehman, who was behind
a proposal to hire a paid consultant to represent players in PGA Tour issues,
said the overwhelming vote against that idea has caused him to resign.
"We want to improve our
tour, but that's not the way we want to go," he said last week during the Memorial.
"I basically decided that any further efforts by the TPA is harmful to our tour,
and I think it should disappear."
The TPA was started two
years ago by Danny Edwards, Larry Rinker and Mark Brooks. The organization, which
has never divulged its membership, seeks more access to information on PGA Tour
finances and greater player input on how tour money is spent.
Lehman had said his involvement
would depend on how the 16-member Players Advisory Council voted on his proposal.
It was soundly defeated.
But Brooks said the fight
wasn't over yet.
"If I'm the only one left
standing, I'll stay there," Brooks said. "I don't think there's any reason to
dissolve it."
EYES HAVE IT: Masters
champion Vijay Singh might become the latest player to have Lasik eye surgery.
"I'm thinking about it,
but I haven't really made up my mind yet," Singh said. "Maybe in the near future."
Among those who have raved
about the surgery is Tiger Woods, who said everything looked larger after the
surgery -- even the cup -- and he was able to better detect subtle slopes on
the greens. That might be enough to push Singh toward surgery.
"The way I've been putting,
I think really I should do it," Singh said. "I'm not reading the greens as good
as I think I should be."
Still, he said he's comfortable
with his glasses, and if he does have surgery, "It's going to be a spur-of-the-moment
deal."
MONTY AND IMG: Colin
Montgomerie is represented by IMG, but it almost was the other way around.
After graduating from Houston
Baptist, the Scottish star inquired about working for Mark McCormack and was
summoned for an interview over a round of golf at Turnberry's Ailsa course with
senior executives for IMG.
Montgomerie went out in
29.
"We stopped at the halfway
house and they told me, 'This is ridiculous. We should be working for you,"'
Montgomerie said. "And they have been ever since."
DIVOTS: While Hal
Sutton attended PGA Tour Policy Board meetings last week in Ponte Vedra Beach,
Fla., he sent his two pilots and caddie Freddie Burns out to play the Stadium
Course on the TPC at Sawgrass. Burns didn't do as well as his boss when Sutton
won The Players Championship, but he did manage a 3-over 75. ... Karrie Webb,
Phil Mickelson and Tom Kite will take part in the Three-Tour Challenge, a team
event during the "Silly Season" involving players from the PGA, LPGA and Senior
tours. ... Ernie Els helped open a golf course Tuesday about 20 miles outside
the Washington Beltway called Whiskey Creek. It's his first course as a consultant.
... Corey Pavin made 13 birdies in the Memorial, good for a $19,500 donation
by Bayer Aspirin to the American Stroke Association. That gave him 21 birdies
in May, but still far behind Meg Mallon, who wound up with 39 birdies in her
three May tournaments. ... David Owen has won the USGA's International Book Award
for "The Making of the Masters."
STAT OF THE WEEK:
Tiger Woods earned $2,544 in his first professional start, the Greater Milwaukee
Open in 1996. This year, he is averaging $5,445 for every hole he plays on the
PGA Tour.
FINAL WORD: "I'm
going to burn it. The only trouble is, it won't burn in this weather." -- Jack
Nicklaus on the ninth hole at Muirfield Village, on which he took two bogeys
and two double bogeys during the rain-delayed Memorial.
