Monday Musings: DeLaet’s Return, Kane Continues, Quagmire’s Deal with The King

Some Monday morning thoughts from interviews and meetings that occurred late last week:

• Graham DeLaet still doesn’t have any time set for his return to the PGA Tour. I spoke with DeLaet on Thursday. He was in Arizona
  

  Weyburn, Sask.'s Graham DeLaet

  rehabbing his back surgery. While most days are better, he said his recovery is a bit up-and-down, though the warmer weather in Arizona is helping. “I’m better than I have been in 10 years,” he said, though he added he hasn’t swung a club and only recently walked a course while watching a friend play. “I’m taking it slow,” he added. He has no sense of when he’ll be back playing — it could be next month or it could be several months away, he admits.

• Lorie Kane, who made her LPGA debut this past week, is a long way from the form that saw her win four LPGA events. But Kane isn’t about to pack it in. She continues to work occasionally with Sean Foley and feels she can win again, even though it has been a decade since her last victory on the LPGA Tour: “I need to be more consistent and get back to my winning ways,” she said. “I’m not quitter.” Interestingly, Kane said she would advise young female Canadian golfers to wait as long as they can before turning pro: “Right now the LPGA is not the place to be,” she said, citing the limited schedule the tour currently has.
• Before Christmas I sat down with Geoff Tait at golf clothing company Quagmire and chatted about their business. Geoff formed the company with partner Bobby Pasternak and both gents are always interesting to speak to about the business. At the time Geoff talked about the company’s latest move — a deal with Arnold Palmer to resurrect The King’s clothing line, but asked me to sit on the info. Well, the news spilled out last week. The plan will see the boys reinvent the line of clothes, using the image of Palmer when he was the smoking, devil-may-care golfer with the super-aggressive style. That runs very contrary to the down-market approach taken by Palmer’s clothing line in recent years. Rick Young at Score spoke to Tait about the deal, which will see new Palmer clothing launched next year.