RANKING MUSINGS: Tiger Woods finished sixth last week in the Johnnie Walker Classic, which made a small dent in his lead over David Duval in the Official World Golf Ranking. Now, Woods is No. 1 by a mere 7.15 points.
How large is that lead?
"The biggest ever," said Tony Greer of IMG, the administrator of the World Ranking in London. "And it's the biggest average ever, by a long way. His lead should be safe for at least six months."
For sake of comparison, Greer said Greg Norman never had a lead greater than 4 points, and the Shark's highest average was about 14 points.
"The No. 1 spot should be very quiet for a while," Greer said.
LPGA TO NASHVILLE: The LPGA Tour is on the verge of returning to Nashville.
Although Sara Lee ended its sponsorship of the tournament this year, two sources involved in the discussions said the LPGA was close to signing up a title sponsor for a new event that would start next year.
The tournament likely would not return to The Hermitage, where the Sara Lee was played since 1988. An announcement could be made as early as this week.
THIRD TIME A CHARM: Nick Faldo is getting married for the third time. He proposed three weeks ago to Valerie Bercher, a 26-year-old Swiss public relations executive. The wedding is planned for the summer of 2001.
"I've gone through a rough ride with the divorce and everything," Faldo said. "But I'm looking forward to the future with her. She's a great girl and it's real nice to be with her off the golf course."
Faldo had been seeing Brenna Cepelak, a former Arizona golfer for whom he left his wife and three children in 1995. But he told the Straits Times in Singapore that they separated a year ago with Cepelak receiving about $500,000 as a "farewell gift."
SHOT OF THE YEAR:Sergio Garcia's escape from a tree in the final round of the PGA Championship has been declared the Shot of the Year by the European tour.
Garcia's tee shot on the 16th hole at Medinah landed next to a tree and between two exposed root. From 189 yards, he slashed at it with a 6-iron -- eyes closed at impact -- then sprinted up the fairway and leapt to see it land on the green.
Despite making an improbable par, the 19-year-old finished second to Tiger Woods by one stroke.
"It is probably the greatest shot I've played so far in my life," he said.
DOTTIE AND DAVID: What do David Duval and Dottie Pepper have in common? Both carry a Titleist bag, and both should let someone else boil the water.
Pepper, already suffering from a wrist injury, was making tea last week and the kettle started to whistle. Since her husband was still asleep, Pepper quickly took the lid off the kettle, but the water spilled over on her left hand.
Duval, of course, suffered second-degree burns making coffee the week before the U.S. Open.
DIVOTS: Cheerful Canadian Lorie Kane is under new management. Kane has agreed to a deal with IMG that takes effect starting next year. ... Call it a win-win for the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The purse has been increased to $4 million ($720,000 for the winner), and ticket sales are 14 percent ahead of last year's pace. ... U.S. Ryder Cup captain Curtis Strange and Nancy Lopez will collaborate on a new course in the Muskoka region north of Toronto. ... Players from 16 countries earned their PGA Tour cards for the 2000 season. ...The Ironman Award goes to Bob Friend, who played in 38 out of 40 tournaments for which he was eligible on the PGA Tour. That didn't help -- Friend will be playing again this week in the final stage of qualifying school.
STAT OF THE WEEK: The LPGA's Ty Votaw, a better commissioner than a player, broke 90 for the first time last month. He secured his 89 with a bogey on the 18th hole at the LPGA International course.
FINAL WORD: "Whatever Dottie does, every little thing is magnified. That's why you love to have her on your team and you hate to play against her. She's Danny Ainge of the LPGA Tour." - Juli Inkster, on good friend Dottie Pepper.
