By all accounts, it looks like Tiger Woods may well not defend his title at the British Open given that the baby he is expecting with his wife Elin is due, well, just about the same time.
“That’s the most important thing, not another golf tournament,” Woods told the media on Wednesday. “I just wouldn’t go. If she’s going to have the baby during the week of the Open, I just don’t go.”
No Carnoustie without Woods then? Interestingly, there’s a prohibition on flying women in their third trimester on commercial airlines, but what about Elin flying on Woods’ plane with a doctor coming along for the ride. It isn’t like Tiger can’t afford one.
The article on Woods’ decision is here.
Oh, and Tiger shot 66 yesterday in his first appearance of the year. Surprisingly, so did David Duval. Duval, by the way, started his round with four birdies and had nine all told.
It is only a matter of time before some ink-stained scribe writes that Duval is back — no wait, they already have. Apparently Duval thinks his game is back as well:
“I feel like my swing and my golf game is better than it’s been, certainly in many years,” he said Wednesday at the Buick Invitational. “You know, nobody wants to seem to hear it, but I dare say it’s better than it ever was.
“I feel like over the course of the last few years, I’ve learned a lot about what it takes for me to play well, what truly are my fundamentals, and I think having such a good grasp of that has made me that much more confident and comfortable in what I’m doing.”
Donald Trump wants the U.S. Open. Right. Really. And he thinks he’s going to get it.
“Literally every single aspect of (Bedminster) has been designed for the highest standards of the USGA,” says the 60-year-old tycoon-turned-TV-star of NBC’s “The Apprentice.” “It’s 20 minutes from the Lincoln Tunnel. It’s soft rolling hills in Jackie Kennedy horse country. It’s designed for majors – and I’d be honored to have them.”
Author Curt Sampson says Trump’s larger-than-life persona will hurt him:
“Whether you like his hair or his style, and I don’t, Trump has accomplished something great with his courses. But the USGA doesn’t view trading barbs with O’Donnell as very politic,” says Sampson.
Let’s hope Trump never gets his hands on any PGA Tour event. There’s enough of that guy’s bad comb-over on TV already. Source.
Next Week: The conclusion of my week in Ireland series with a stop at Royal Portrush and Royal County Down….
