Phil Mickelson accepts Green Jacket from Angel Cabrera

I don't know if I'm being "pollyanna" about this... But when Phil Mickelson won the Masters on Sunday, I think the good guy won. For the whole week preceeding the Masters all the talk was about Tiger Woods' return to golf. Return from what? Not an injury, but a self imposed exile because of his "sex addiction." We all know the story by now. Tiger has a car accident on Thanksgiving night... It later comes to light that he slept with a lot of different women who weren't his wife... The public's perception of the world's best golfer will forever be different.

Sunday, a real nice script was written. Mickelson played great golf and won his third green jacket. After hugging his caddy, "Lefty" went straight to the gallery and found his wife Amy.

Mrs. Mickelson has been battling breast cancer and was in bed all weekend at Augusta. But she found the strength on Sunday to make it to the golf course and root her husband on and she was rewarded big time. A year ago Mickelson’s mother and wife diagnosed with breast cancer. So you know today's victory was special for the Mickelson family. During Mickelson's champion’s speech, he said: “It means a lot to share some joy together.”

It was good to see Mickelson and his wife in a truly heartfelt embrace especially when we've been dealing with all the salacious details of Woods' escapades over the past few months. Let's just hope that Amy's health continues to improve and we don't learn that Phil had an affair. That would be a definite buzzkill for me especially now while I'm feeling the love.

After two rounds at Augusta, I'm starting to believe that perhaps Tiger Woods is "The Man of Steel." Either this guy has the greatest mental stamina we've seen this side of Michael Jordan, or he is a machine.

It looks like Tiger Woods' competitive fire hasn't yielded to his supposed kinder, gentler, demeanor. He carded a personal first round 4 under par 68 in the opening round of the Masters-and didn't appear surprised in the least.

Just like your deceased father, Earl Woods, said in your latest Nike commercial, what were you thinking? I mean really?!? You had already come out and told the world what you wanted them to know about your indiscretions. You made your apologies. We were all prepared to move on and concentrate on Tiger, the golfer. And while there were those renting planes to ask about your "bootyisms", most people, definitely most sports people (media, fans, etc.) were ready for golf...just golf. Then you come out with this commercial. Or Nike did? Nah...are we really to believe that you didn't have to approve the release of this commercial, Mr. Uber Protective? I think not. Here's is the commercial but I leave you with this first:

Tiger is selfish and pompous and learned nothing from the situation that nearly destroyed him and his family. In the Nike ad, you see Tiger's somber face (a black and white, grainy look) and hear only his deceased father, Earl Woods' voice: "Tiger, I am more prone to be inquisitive, to promote discussion. I want to find out what your thinking was. I wanna find out what your feelings are...and did you learn anything?"

All I see is a can of worms opening up all over again. Why couldn't you keep it closed Tiger? Why couldn't we be talking about your day one showing at Augusta instead of leading story after story with that dumb face of yours that tells me you didn't learn a thing? You had a chance at a true resurgence where the silly, phony press conferences would be held by the women who supposedly "loved" you and were "betrayed" by you.

Our own Larry Mendte recently asked why America is so intrigued by the success and demise of celebrities. He asked us to forgive because none of us are perfect. I actually agree but what Larry needed to point out is that many of these top notch celebrities feed off the exposure, both good and bad. They don't allow us (even those of us who could care less what they do in their personal lives) to be able to forgive anything (even if I had the responsibility to do so, which I don't). Leave the forgiving to the people who Tiger, Jesse, ARod hurt and let down. It's sick that an ego can be bigger than humility. If it were me and I was Tiger and I was approached with this ad idea, I would have said no. I would have said: "Nike, you hired me because of my golf. Let me go out and do my thing and you will make your profits on my skills rather than my personal life. Trust me you will get your money." What about Earl's words. They were about golf and your game. Now they are tainted. I can't think about it in that respect anymore, can you?

Now that the world's most famous athlete has had a chance to meet the press and start readying for the Masters, here comes a thought that is on the mind of every casual and hardcore golf fan: Does Eldrick have a realistic chance to win his 5th Green Jacket?

Tiger Woods gave dueling interviews Sunday night... One to ESPN and the other to the Golf Channel. Both had time limits of 5 minutes and both reporters (Tom Rinaldi of ESPN and Kelly Tilghman of The Golf Channel) were told there were no restrictions when it came to their questions. Both interviews were pre-recorded and ran at 7:30 ET as both networks tried to one up the other...

I came out of both interviews not really learning anything new. Personally, I'd rather just watch him play golf and let him sort out his personal problems on his own. But in today's society... the story lives and lives and lives. I guess I'm partly to blame because I'm writing about this now but we really didn't learn anything new.

Woods had a "mental script" that he stuck to. Similar answers popped up in both interviews. When asked about the car crash and what happened that night in November, Tiger told both reporters "It's in the police report." He told both reporters that he got away from his "core values" and stopped practicing Buddhism. He also told both reporters that he was "living a lie" and had to "strip away denial."

I guess its a step in the right direction because he again took ownership of his infidelities and said that he was to blame because he did these things. But if you wanted to hear that Elin busted his a** that night or his Mom cursed him out, you weren't getting that from Tiger. I agree with Woods in this regard... This IS between he and Elin. Let them work it out. Let's talk golf now. Tiger sure wants you to.

Well... He's back... or he will be back... Tiger Woods has announced that his return to golf will take place at the Masters in Augusta on beginning on April 8th. I have to say I am not surprised. After all, the Masters is one of Tiger's favorite tournaments, if not his favorite. He's won it four times. "The Masters is where I won my first major and I view this tournament with great respect," Woods said in a statement. "After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I'm ready to start my season at Augusta."

And seriously... who doesn't think he will win it? If I were a betting man, (wink, wink) I might lay down a shekel or two on Woods to take his 5th green jacket. He hasn't played professional golf since the "Crash heard around the World" in November when he crashed his SUV, setting off a media frenzy. Of course, Tiger's many infidelities came to light as a result.

The PGA loves the news while I'm sure its players are not so happy. Tiger isn't that popular among his fellow duffers... one, because he beats their heads in on a weekly basis... and two... he's not the most personable dude on the planet. But CBS doesn't care about that... They are expecting BIG ratings numbers that weekend. CBS Prez Sean McManus told AP that he thinks Tiger's return will be second to only President Obama's inauguration as a media event.

Tiger will probably dodge all non golf questions because... he can. The Masters is run like a tight ship. Any offending reporters will probably be excused.. So Tiger can insulate himself and focus on golf. That's probably when he's at his best anyway. Also, I think scandal brings out the best in top flight athletes. Remember when Michael Jordan was chided for being in Atlantic City during the Knicks playoff series? The Knicks wished the media left M-J alone because he took out all his frustrations on them. Similar to what Tiger will probably do at Augusta.

By Bobby Taute

Just a note here-ENOUGH OF TIGER WOODS!

All day it’s either he’s coming back at the Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Invitational in 2 weeks. OR is it The Masters? Word is out that Eldrick has hired former Presidential adviser Ari Fleischer to aid with his “comeback.”

Bay Hill is supervised by Woods’ management company, but Augusta would give him more insulation from the media throngs and multitude of fans he’ll see.

Either way: I don’t care! All Tiger, all the time has run its course. Let me know when Woods is back in the swing of things (on the golf course) and I’ll get back to you.

By Glenn Petraitis

I am a huge golfer and huge golf fan. Not a huge fan of Tiger, but I can become one if he does the right thing Friday morning.

It was reported today, Tiger will speak Friday, for the very first time since his accident on Thanksgiving Night. The same accident which stemmed from his wife Elin, chasing him out of the house wielding a golf club after she found out he was cheating on her. Little did she know, Tiger cheated like a cheetah has dots, lots!

I judge a man, or woman for that matter, by how they apologize, if they apologize when they should. Anyone can apologize because some agent told them that's what they need to do to get back in the public's good graces, but if tiger is a real man, he will apologize for the right reasons. Because he was unfaithful to his wife, his kids, his adoring fans. Be a man Tiger and do the right thing. Speak from the heart, not a pre-rehearsed statement, something "your people" crafted to it the bill.

Tiger Woods

The internet, TV, radio and every other medium has been ablaze with the Tiger Woods saga. First the car accident the day after Thanksgiving, then the speculation, then the confirmation as Tiger's many "jump-offs" have come out of the woodwork. Don't know what jump-offs are? Ask someone. But it should be pretty clear in context. It makes for pretty interesting conversation. We in the sports department can always devote 20-30 seconds on the air on the latest fall-out. It helps us fill a show... but my question has to do with all of his endorsements. Saturday, Gillette said they will phase him out of their advertising campaigns. Sunday, Accenture dumped Woods completely. I find it humorous what these companies are doing. Don't get me wrong, I don't condone Tiger's behavior, I find it reprehensible... But what it comes down to is... This is an issue between Tiger and his wife and family... and no one else. Tiger has to mend fences with Elin. Woods did not commit a crime. He did not hit someone, or steal something or do anything of the sort. These companies who are taking their "Grand Stand" against Tiger's behavior are just trying to capitalize on Tiger's situation by saying: "We stand for something, Tiger cannot be our spokesman." thus making their company look more responsible and like a pillar of the community. But who knows how clean these companies are themselves. I'm sure there are employees of these companies that have made the same mistakes as Tiger has. I'm sure that these companies have some unsavory dealings that have not come to light. Be that as it may, they made their choice. I just wonder what will happen when this all blows over... and it will at some point... Tiger will be back in America's good graces, nailing birdies instead of cocktail waitresses... and will these companies come crawling back to him? If they do, he should turn his head, like they did to him.

Unless you've been in a cave the last few weeks, you've probably heard about Tiger Woods, wife Elin and some goings on that are not fit for those under 21 to even entertain, let alone think about. I hereby request that all the "media" hoopla over Eldrrick's adulterous dalliances stop-NOW!

So earlier this afternoon in the sports office we’re watching Tiger dominate at the Buick Open when all of a sudden our desks rattle with that unmistakable sound:

Someone broke some serious wind.

Now granted, the emission of gas is nothing new here in the PIX sports office – in fact it’s a badge of honor and downright customary to let one rip every now and then – so at first I didn’t think much of it.

But my eagle-eared colleague Chris (who happened to have been monitoring the golf tournament and had his TV tuned to Tiger) quickly made it known that he was not the culprit.

And seeing how I was the only other one in the room at the time (and I was pretty sure it wasn’t me), there was only one other possible source for that most thunderous of explosions…the BUICK OPEN!!

But who could possibly be so audacious as to cut one on live television in front of millions of viewers? Take a look for yourself (the magic happens about 8 seconds into the clip):

It's a good/REAL BAD weekend situation for TNT and ABC this weekend. The Good: Tom Watson has a share of the lead heading into the final two rounds of the British Open at Turnberry. THE REALLY BAD NEWS: You can hope, but not expect the 59 year old Watson to keep playing well. Tough for TV when you have no fallback plan.

That's right: For only the second time at the British, Tiger Woods is flying back to Florida early. The world's best golfer failed to make the cut. I don't know about you, but unless Watson is still there after tomorrow's third round, I am not getting up at 7 am to see if Steve Marino can grab the Claret Jug.

Don't shed any tears though: Unlike the Mets, Tiger will rebound. So will the advertisers who may have to take a little less money for the Open next year after this weekend's ratings sink lower than the Metsies in the NL East standings. Who knows? Maybe Watson or some unknown will make Sunday at Turnberry worthwhile-someone that will make Tiger take notice from his palatial mansion near Orlando.

Only the cynics among us wouldn't smile at the goings on at Turnberry this morning. 59 year old Tom Watson, shot a 65 on the historic course in Scotland. Great as that was, Watson still TRAILS "youngster" 45 year old Miguel Jimenez by a shot. Jimenez carded a 6 under 64!

Still, the story is Watson, 5 time winner of the Claret Jug. Today, he had his best round at the Open Championship in 15 years! Long time fans remember Watson's "Duel In The Sun" with Jack Nicklaus in 1977. Yesterday, Jack's wife Barbara sent Watson a text message wishing him well.

Wouldn't it be awesome if Watson and Tiger Woods were in the last pairing on Sunday? Eldrick is 6 shots off the pace, easily in striking distance for him. It might be tough for Watson to keep up the pace, but it was wonderful to see him go bogey free, and turn back the clock, at Turnberry.

If it had been any other time, I might have blasted Phil Mickelson for yet another disappointment at a U.S. Open. Not today. I was tempted to for a while, but thought better of it.

Lefty had his chances. He'd made up 6 strokes Sunday and Monday before grabbing a share of the lead with that awesome eagle at 13. Right then, I thought, "Lord, he's got it!!" But sadly, his putter failed him at 15 and 17-bogeys both.

Your first reaction is to think about a lack of mental toughness, choking or just plain bad luck. But then the realization hits that considering all he's been through, it was an amazing day anyway. We wrote here the other day about Mickelson's wife Amy, who will start breast cancer treatment July 1st. Phil's been flying back ad forth setting up medical appointments for his wife, taking care of his kids, and oh yeah, playing St. Jude's and getting ONE practice round at Bethpage last week.

Now that the tourney is over, the Mickelsons will get away before Amy begins treatment. Much was made today about Phil's record 5th U.S. Open runner up. I'm sure he's not thinking about that now. Instead, Amy has to win her fight with cancer-and if more ladies are saved because of the Mickelsons' public battle, that's worth more than a U.S. Open win any day.

Not sure how many of you made it out to the US Open during the past week, either for a practice round or during the real thing. But if you did, maybe you could help me out….what’s the appeal of attending a tournament in person??

I was out at Bethpage this week on Friday and Saturday, and boy are my legs tired! Seriously…it was exhausting. Attending a golf tournament is a lot of work for VERY little reward.

You have to keep moving if you want to see something other than the same shot over and over again (i.e., staking out a single hole and just sitting there all day), and if you choose to move around the course, you end up walking a mile in order to see just a few shots!

And forget about following your favorite player. Unless you love Jean Francois-Lucquin or Johan Edfors (both of whom are real players, I didn’t make them up….and they made the cut, too), you’re NOT going to enjoy following Tiger and Phil.

The rains have been a huge story this weekend at the U.S. Open at Bethpage. The thousands of fans who came out to the course had to wade through the water most of the tournament. Surely they had questions as to where to go or when play would resume. That’s where the volunteers come in. I talked to some of the folks who helped keep Bethpage up and running.

**An amendment to the blog: if there is no golf on Monday or the ticket holder cannot come to the course, he or she will get half of the cost of the ticket. That's at least something...
One more addition: if less than 90 minutes of golf is played Saturday or Sunday, those folks can also attend on Monday.

**One last final comment:
So the Executive Director of the USGA says while he was pumping gas Thursday night and getting coffee this morning at a Dunkin Donuts, all he heard was angry chatter about how yesterday's ticket holders weren't getting compensated. so we owe the organization's change of heart to all of you who finally convinced David Fay that fans do count. And who said water cooler or in this case, "coffee coolata", talk isn't productive.

I don't normally blog this from home (I like my personal, off the clock, non-compensated time, if you know what I mean), but I was so enthused by the news that I had to pass it along. The USGA has decided to honor Thursday US Open ticket holders by allowing those folks to catch any action that might be played on Monday. With a high chance of rain tomorrow, there is a STRONG possibility the Open will extend into a 5th day and you Thursday fans might get to see a final round no less. Way to go fans! Your vocal protest created such a publicity nightmare that the USGA was forced to oblige! Here is more:

"David Fay, executive director of the USGA, acknowledged that the USGA was affected by the angry response from fans after the round was washed out Thursday after 3 hours, 16 minutes. "I'm a New Yorker, so I would have been surprised if they didn't express their opinion," he said, adding that he overheard very negative comments when he was pumping gas Thursday night and when he went to Dunkin' Donuts Friday morning. "There is no solution that's perfect," Fay said. " Courtesy: Newsday (thanks to my friend Mark Herrmann who is there reporting)

Shame on you USGA for not breaking the rules out of respect for the fans who paid at least $100 to STAND and watch their favorite golfers. I know, I know...no refunds, no exceptions...but who would have expected a total washout today? With more rain coming, play will more than likely move into Monday. Regardless, the rest of the first round begins tomorrow at 7:30AM and the second round starts at 4PM. Let today's 42,000 plus ticket holders come for the first round and then usher them out. Major League Baseball stadiums do it all the time! Okay, so maybe some people will try to stay the entire time or maybe you'll have a few thousand overflow: who cares this one rare time?

Consider some fans won't be able to take off work again to come see the action and do you really think people will be able to stand more than 12 hours or so? Part of your restrictions include folding chairs and cell phones. I don't know anyone who can go more than 6 hours without their cell phones. Seriously though, what a shame the USGA treats their fans so poorly. The Yankees offered everyone at today's 5 1/2 rain delayed game FREE tickets to a future game, whether they stayed to watch (a loss to the Nationals incidently--UGH) or not. I know the Yanks have a longer season than the 3 or 4 days provided to the US Open; then offer something...a free round of golf...anything! Don't be so pretentious and cruel to the people who come out to watch and/or subscribe to cable or Direct TV to get their fix on the Golf Channel or the like. These are the folks who make ratings sour and advertisers come knocking...

Phil Mickelson has always been a major fan favorite on the PGA Tour. His easygoing, regular guy personality, go for broke playing style and not so chiseled physique make him beloved among the galleries-Everyman in golf shoes.

We're less than 2 days away from the U.S. Open Championship at Bethpage. If there is ever a time and a place where Mickelson will look for and appreciate the support of fans, it's this weekend.-for a very special reason.

When my producer Caroline Kovach brought me the idea to do a story on Brad Hennefer, I was immediately inspired. The New Jersey native is believed to have been the only U.S. high school athlete with Down Sydrome to play on a varsity team. The feeling magnified as soon as I began reading about this young man who beamed with confidence and determination. I knew we had to tell his story! It wasn't easy getting the resources and green light to make it happen but Caroline and I are pretty persistent...the only ladies in the sports office...you understand. Caroline set up interviews with Brad, his golf coach and teammates and drove a few hours to South Jersey to get Brad doing what he loves...play golf. Yesterday, Caroline, our photographer Bill Muller, editor Rich Marino and I won a NY Emmy for the piece we first aired May 2008.

Special thanks to Bill and Rich for their work and especially to Caroline. She is an amazing producer! This was HER piece from beginning to end; I only added some tweaks here and there and a voice, but this story could have spoken for itself. The biggest THANK YOU goes to Brad himself. I have used the now 20 year old young man as my own inspiration. He is someone we can all learn from and grow with each passing day. For more on Brad's Golf For Life organization, check out:

http://www.golfforlife.org/index.html

WATCH THE STORY AFTER THE JUMP...

The first time it was hilarious. The next couple of times it still got a chuckle. But now, it’s enough already.

Loud, obnoxious golf fans screaming “get in the hole” when a player tees off on a par four or five HAVE TO GIVE IT UP. It’s not funny anymore. Instead it’s distracting and annoying.

And I’m just speaking from a fan’s perspective. Imagine how bothersome it is for the pro actually hitting the ball; knowing that EVERY time he tees off on a 400+ yard hole, some Budweiser-fueled dummy will shout at the top of his lungs for the ball to (impossibly) go in the cup.

My personal feeling on this issue changed when I saw my first golf tournament in person two years ago.

You KNOW things are going bad for GM when they bail out on their advertising campaign with the most well known athlete on on the planet, Tiger Woods. With a year to go and $7 million due Eldrick, GM pulled the plug on having Woods as a spokesperson.

Turns out Tiger Woods was in more pain than we realized this weekend. He played the U.S. Open with a stress fracture in his ailing left knee, and will miss the rest of the year for more surgery.

Not only does this point to Tiger’s greatness, but makes you wonder: does Golf have any meaning the rest of the year? Woods is so dominant, as many people tune in hoping to see the giant taken down as they do to root the juggernaut on to victory.

THE QUESTION NOW IS: WILL YOU CONTINUE TO WATCH GOLF THIS YEAR?

POST A COMMENT AND TELL US.

“I’ve learned my lesson with the press. Now I’m not going to say anything”
-Tiger Woods, after finishing second in the Masters.

I have to admit, I have a love-hate relationship with golf, (aside from the fact that it’s not really an athletic sport-more like a game of skill, comparable to darts or billiards)especially at Augusta and the Masters. The howls of racism and elitism that plague golf are never louder than in Georgia during the 2nd week in April. After all, the first African American to play at Augusta was Lee Elder, in 1975. The exclusive Augusta club (by invitation only -$250-$300 K to join) didn’t have a black member till 1990.

This week, South African Gary Player was feted by the Lords of Golf. 30 years ago, Player won this third and final green jacket. However, Player was at least for part of his life was pro apartheid-even supporting it in his 1966 book, Grand Slam Golf.

Click here to see Player’s comments

WATCH TREVOR IMMELMAN CAPTURE HIS GREEN JACKET AT THE MASTERS, AFTER THE JUMP...