Another golf company consolidation sign of the times. Titleist parent company Fortune Brands sells the Cobra line to Puma. Pretty soon there will be only a few major companies left; Titliest, Callaway, Ping, TaylorMade and Nike...

Beatriz Recari. Spanish LPGA player. Okay, not officially exempt to play on the Tour, but we'd certainly welcome it.

You can vote for her to play in something called the Mojo 6. Nice video!

Rumors swirl that Woods is finally fed up with chatty caddie Stevie Williams and will let him go. Williams has spoken far more than any of Tiger's inner "circle of trust" giving this leap of faith some validity--but I'd still be surprised to see it. Then again after the last 4 months, nothing should raise an eyebrow anymore.

Meanwhile, Howard Stern is offering the "Mistress Ring" to the lucky winner of Mistress Beauty Pageant. The official Ring is custom designed by Steven Singer Jewelers and features a 3-carat round black diamond in the center with another half carat in diamonds around it + $100,000 cash. Can't wait...

Rick Arnett  

Appears WGC CA Championship sponsor CA (computer softward firm) hasn't given any indication it will continue backing the event after this year. Will be interesting to see if Tour commish Finchem can lure another company to shell out $12 million next year...

The Sports Business Journal thinks the Tour might look to South or Central America to host the event every 3 years. Of the six events whose sponsorship deals expire in 2010, Doral is one of the two highest in profile. The other is the second stop of the FedEx Cup playoffs in Boston, where Deutsche Bank has yet to exercise its two-year option.

Stay tuned. However, Tiger always plays the WGC events so once he's back on track, look for a smitten firm to pony up.

Rick Arnett

Champions Tour player Ronnie Black is confronted with an intriguing situation. One one hand, he didn't solicit advice on the course during play. However, his wife did give him a swing tip while outside the ropes. You be the judge...

Black's wife, Sandra, knows his game and understands his swing. She was in his gallery at Newport Beach (Calif.) CC for the final round and positioned herself so he could see her as he walked toward the par-5 15th hole. "She came up to me and mimicked what the posture is supposed to be," Black said. "She didn't say a word. She just mimicked the posture, gave me the 'Come on dude,' and that's when I made my best two swings of the day, made the eagle. So I got to give her a little kudos there."

"Rule 8-1 prohibits a player from asking for advice from a spectator but does not prohibit a player from receiving unsolicited advice because the player can't control such an act" said John Morrissett, who is director, Rules of Golf, for the USGA.

However, Decision 8-1/24 (Advice Given by Team Coach or Captain) is analogous to what happened with Black. There is no penalty when an authorized party gives advice, but "the player should take action to stop this irregular procedure." He would incur a two-stroke penalty in stroke play if he allowed such advice to be given again.

Rick Arnett

Golf writer Garry Smits tells his side of the John Daly plea for his Tweet followers to hammer Smits' voice mail. Smits made public Daly's very large book of PGA Tour sorryness and John was none too happy about it...

Within an hour after John posted my cell number, I received about 30 calls. The next day the total had grown to more than 100. Most were hang-ups, some had a few choice words, and one threatened my family. With the exception of the threatening call, no single response was different from what any sportswriter hears after writing a controversial story or column.

At first I was mostly amused and then a bit annoyed when the call count surpassed my usual golf score. But my main concern was the precedent. Are athletes now going to use social media as a form of retaliation? Daly posted my office cell number — in reality, no big deal. But many athletes have reporters' home numbers. Will that be the next line crossed? I would not have wanted my daughter to hear some of what her father heard. I can take it, but my child or my wife shouldn't have to.

Rick Arnett

Waggleroom.com posts that Tour player JB Holmes will now grip this during play. Good thing he's not a breast man...

Rick Arnett

Happy 40th last Sunday to Rachel Weisz. 34-24-35. Austrian, Italian and Hungarian mix. The Mummy. Oscar winner for role in The Constant Gardener.

''Los Angeles makes you feel ugly. I'm not going to pretend I haven't secretly wanted to be super-skinny, because all girls do.But I have a woman's body, not a boy's body. Most women do and should feel proud of their butts and their breasts and their bellies.''

Ray Ratto (a good Bay area columnist) cries B.S. on caddie Stevie Williams for saying he'd have blown the affair whistle on Tiger if he knew. Amen.

Steve Williams didn't get to where he is by trumpeting his independence. He works for Woods, and what he did or didn't know would have stayed in-house. That is an absolute mortal lock, as verified both by Williams' history with Woods and the bro code that men in an adolescent's world live by.

Second, if he had blown the whistle, it would have been the last thing he ever did for Woods or any other golfer. Employees don't get to rat out employers as a general rule, with all due respect to our shamefully toothless whistle-blower laws, and especially not in a one-on-one relationship like that of golfer-caddie.

So let's say that in this instance, Williams is not convincing. Let's also say that the more he talks about Woods' shame, the more likely it is that Woods will not remember him kindly. Indeed, at the time when Woods wants the lowest possible profile, Williams has tossed him back into the chipper-shredder of chat-show fodder.

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Hooray! The old Ping Eye2 wedges will finally be banned from PGA, Champions and Nationwide Tour play March 29.

"We all believe it is in the best interests of golf," Ping chairman and CEO John Solheim said in a statement. "It levels the playing field on the PGA Tour and resolves a very unfortunate situation that we predicted would happen when the USGA first proposed the new groove rule more than two years ago." (Nice dig there John).

The waiver goes into effect March 29, meaning the old clubs could still technically be used during this week's WGC-CA Championship, the Transitions Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational. Ping will also apply the waiver to the U.S. Open in June (why bother with that tournament?).

"John Solheim and Ping had a terrific opportunity to do something very positive and significant for the game of golf and we very much appreciate his willingness to take this action," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement (good, now we can all sleep better).

Rick Arnett

This year marks the first time since 1993 that Woods or Mickelson didn't win a tournament on the West Coast...Thought the end of the world wasn't scheduled until 2012.

Rick Arnett

Academy Award winner Sandra Bullock. 34-24-34. German-American. Fluent in German. The Blind Side, Speed. Loves horses but is extremely allergic to them.

Movie sex scenes are never romantic, and you're never swept off your feet. It's always very technical....I'm counting the beats: Okay, we're supposed to kiss for two beats, then I say my line, then they want another kiss for four beats. I'm going, One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three and break. It's like choreography. Sometimes you have actors who feel it's their job to get as far down into your throat as possible. You're like, Excuse me, I like you, but not that much.

Played my first round since early January (thanks for nothing weather) yesterday at TPC Craig Ranch with buddy Jeff Reinhard. Very good times. Fun to actually hit golf shots even under a neverending drizzle. Played pretty well too before imploding on the 18th from 100-yards out. Didn't matter (okay, maybe a little). I'm sure all golfers have cabin fever these days and a string of sunny days can't arrive soon enough.

Rick Arnett

At last night's Academy Awards, there were plans for emcees Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin to sprinkle in some Tiger jokes. Producers then thought better and nixed the idea. Said the jokes were too brutal to air. Probably a good call.

--ESPN's Bill Simmons looks at the parallels of Woods and Muhammad Ali's comeback...At gunpoint, if I could wager on any conceivable scenario, I would wager on Tiger coming back in severe Eff You Mode, like a seething MJ in Game 1 of the 1992 Finals. The greatest ones have a way of channeling negativity and fueling it toward whatever makes them great. Jordan made a habit of it. So did Ali. But they were also larger-than-life personalities, whereas Tiger was always just someone who was freakishly good at golf and that's it.

The greatest golfer of his generation, and possibly ever, has to rebuild three things -- his family, career and brand -- while trying to win tournaments and recapture old glories. The most private superstar athlete of his generation will live under unbearable public scrutiny for the next few months at the very least. They are the same person. And if you claim that you can predict exactly how that person will emerge from this twisted mess … you are lying.

Rick Arnett

The usual gang at SI.com post their email chats to the masses on the Honda Classic, Tiger's return and John Daly's wrect of a TV show. Camilio Villegas win was impressive given how many miles he'd flown traipsing back from Columbia to host the Nationwide Tour event. The kid can hit some shots (stinger driver?) while the Bear Trap (mentioned oh, maybe 150 x on Sunday) caught other players. Anyone see Nathan Green struggle on 17? Three to blast out of the water and hit two balls on one shot--no penalty. Then, he messed his pants. So far without Woods, there's been no repeat winner this year and no Phil in contention so far.

Villegas won the Honda Classic, an event that proved golf can exist without Tiger if it has players like Vijay Singh, Paul Casey, J.B. Holmes, Anthony Kim and the rest. Johnny Miller and guest Jack Nicklaus did a good job of dissecting Villegas and his issues — overswinging on the back nine for a while.

Van Sickle: If Tiger wins a few majors and does challenge Jack's record, do you think the public is not going to watch because he got caught cheating on his wife? Not a chance. For the public, Tiger is the guy who makes golf cool and/or interesting. For the media, he's their meal ticket.

Morfit: Tiger's alienated so many people, it's simply bull-headed not to change everything about his approach. There's a great saying in baseball: It's not what it is, it's what it looks like. Regardless of whether Tiger's agent and caddie

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Congrats to Chris Gardner of Forney, Texas for winning the new CG 15 Cleveland Wedge.

All who register on our site are qualified for the weekly drawing.

Happy 36th to Eva Mendes. 34-25-36. Cuban-American. Training Day, Stuck on You, Hitch.

Our first AG tournament at Cowboys GC on March 28 is mighty popular. And why not? Great course. Awesome goody bag (as is our custom) and big time fun. Slots are filling quickly. 144 total. We recommend you and your partner sign up like...now.

--TMZ reports Woods is practicing non-stop in Isleworth.

Woods hit the course yesterday with 2 male companions and practiced his ass off from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM -- working on everything from drives to pitches and putts. We're told Tiger's session was uninterrupted -- and he seemed completely focused throughout the entire grueling workout. As we previously reported, sources in Isleworth tell us Tiger is dead set on competing for the Tavistock Cup -- which will be held at the same Isleworth golf course where he's practicing.

Report here says golf fans in Great Britain are appalled at our propensity to expectorate on golf courses. I've been known to send one flying--but never on a green. I do have my limits...

What baffles many UK golf fans is that it's not just the American young bucks (i.e. Dustin Johnson, whose phlegm levels were clearly set to high during his win at Pebble Beach) who are guilty but also some of the well-to-do veterans such as 'Gentleman' Jim Furyk.

Tiger Woods is a serial spitter too, prompting well-known cricket commentator Jack Bannister to tell Talksport viewers last week: "Tiger's speech lasted 13 minutes and I think it's the longest time I've seen him go without spitting."

"It's an absolutely disgraceful habit," says Mark Roe. "I saw Dustin Johnson spit on the first tee at Riviera before he hit his tee shot and it was disgusting. "The problem is they keep sticking chewing tobacco into the side of their mouths, I guess it's a country thing over there. It's something the Swedes used to do on the European Tour but to the credit of the Swedes they weren't very often seen spitting on camera.

Rick Arnett

John Daly tells Esquire that Callaway wanted him to take anti-depressants.

JD: Mostly just with the right things to say when you're down or upset, even when you're happy. More of an even keel than going to some doctor to get me that (expletive) Paxil. That just blew me up. It bloated me even when I didn't eat. Headaches. Major, major headaches. That was all back in the Callaway days. They made me take it, else I lost my contract. The problem was, they kept putting me on one antidepressant, then moving me to another.

TC: Who? Callaway?

JD: Yeah, their company doctors. And remember I had the shakes in Vancouver? That was all from going back and forth on those things. I told Mr. Callaway, I love you to death. I love what you've done for me, but you're killing me.

TC: And your new doctor pushed you off it?

JD: I took myself off it. I'll never do antidepressants again. Never.

Rick Arnett

Nice guns Phil...

GolfChannel posts this somewhat alarming stat for Mickelson.

Mickelson finished the first two months of the year with just one top-10 in four starts, during a period of time in which he usually has great success. In his 18 years on the PGA Tour, Mickelson has reached the Southern Swing winless only four times.

So much for seizing the moment.

Rick Arnett

I dunno...but it sure was fun to drive.

Rick Arnett

Word came down that someone stole all the tee markers, some cast aluminum drain lids and 4 concrete cast markers at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas. The robbery took place Feb 16, Feb 26 and March 2. Total cost to the club; $3,453.

Sometimes, people are just plain sorry.

Rick Arnett

Happy 42nd to Patsy Kensit. 34-25-36. Lethal Weapon 2. British beauty. Her paternal grandfather was a robber and counterfeiter. Married 4 times. 5th the charm?

--Caddie Stevie Williams tells 60 Minutes Australia he had no idea about Tiger's off-course "hole" playing. Not sure if I'm buying it. Sooner or later, doesn't Woods leak a wild party tale or two? Or couldn't Williams merely see that something was amiss? Especially after Elin wrecked Woods' rental house at last year's British Open? Further, why say anything at all?

"If I had known something was going on, the whistle would have been blown,'' he said. ''Of course I'm mad at him, why would you not be? I'm close with his wife and he's got two lovely children and he's let them down. But when a guy's having a tough time, it's not up to me to beat him with a stick right now. He's getting enough grilling from everybody else. When you're a true friend of somebody, that's when somebody needs your support and needs you the most. That's when you don't walk away. Tiger's one of my closest friends and he needs my support right now and I'd never think of walking away."

Yeah, right. He'd have blown the whistle? Not. Buying. That. One. Bit. Stevie might be a jerk, but he ain't stupid.

--Meanwhile, Jack Nicklaus can't imagine Woods not showing up at the Masters. I still say no way--unless Elin gives her blessing.

"I suspect he'll play something before Augusta," Nicklaus said behind the 18th green at PGA National, where the Honda Classic opens on Thursday. "Your guess is as good as mine. I'd be very surprised if he doesn't play something before Augusta."

"I can't imagine in 100 years he's going to miss this. None of you guys do either. But I

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Good guy Angel Cabrera is offering a Masters "preview" dinner at the Shell Houston Open. Cabrera, who loves his beef, is raising money for his foundation by offering 100 invitees a meat lovers delight for $1,000 a plate. Angel looks like a plumber and by all accounts is a guy you'd love to hang with. I know I would...

One question for the defending Masters champion is what he plans to serve at the Champions Dinner. Cabrera not only will reveal the menu, he plans to give 100 friends a taste of the dinner they can't attend.

Rick Arnett

Our new AG writer Stephanie Wei profiles the quirky and refreshing Ryan Moore in this week's Sport's Illustrated. Good stuff Steph.

In many ways Moore is a throwback. His approach is reminiscent of a mom-and-pop shop. He alternates caddies every three weeks, switching between Jason and J.D. Rastouski, a friend. And while management companies are grabbing up potential stars and grooming them into corporate poodles before they can buy alcohol, Moore has no interest in such a partnership. "To quote Ryan," Mike says, "'I'd like my father and [older brother] Jeremy to handle my business because I don't have to wonder about motives. I know they won't want me doing things that aren't good for my career.'"

Rick Arnett

Happy 28th to Jessica Biel. 34-26-36. 7th Heaven, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Stealth. German, French, English and Native American (Choctaw) heritage. Top-ranked on all hot lists (could anyone argue?).  The day after she was born, her parents took her to a dog-sled race where the temperature was thirty degrees below zero.

“It’s nice to have a little meat on you, and I hope I inspire women to appreciate their muscular calves”

--Tiger Woods is back home on the range! That's good news for golf fans and networks. But does raise the question on his return. Tavistock Cup? Bay Hill? The Masters? It still depends on Elin. She runs the show now and only her approval will mark his return. It's the way in any troubled marriage--if the hubby wants make nice.

As celebrity and gossip media have reported that he was undergoing drug rehab in Arizona, he was spotted on the practice range at his home course on Sunday afternoon, hitting balls.

What that means for his return date is unclear, but a resident who lives near Woods at Isleworth Country Club reported to CBSSports.com that he spotted Woods – his personal electric cart parked nearby and his trademark stuffed Tiger headcover peeking out of his bag – working on his game on the club's range.

Moreover, Woods is said to be staying at the home he formerly shared with his wife, Elin, and not at the townhouse he owns located around the corner from the Isleworth clubhouse.

Charles Howell chatted with him on the range. He said they exchanged some friendly chit-chat Monday, but he didn't ask any probing questions. Woods will get enough of that eventually from others. "Look, I am as curious as anybody about when he is going to play," Howell said. "But I didn't want to ask him about that. I just couldn't."

--Hollywoodgossip.com reports Elin rejected Tiger's plea to move back in.

“She’s not caving in and doing everything he wants,” a source said. “It looks like they will stay married, but what kind of marriage is this going to be?"

“Tiger is trying to win

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