Golf notebook: Tiger's event will go on without title sponsor

Golf notebook: Tiger's event will go on without title sponsor









Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange July 7, 2013 11:30 PMThe SportsXchange


--Tiger Woods put up in the neighborhood of $4 million of his own money to keep alive the World Challenge, which has been played every December since 2001 at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif.



"There wasn't a doubt whether we could stage it," said Greg McLaughlin, president of the Tiger Woods Foundation and tournament director. "The question was whether we could get the necessary corporate support. We're happy that we have a lot of support for the event that we've been able to generate the last few months.



The tournament is scheduled for Dec. 5-8 at Sherwood, and McLaughlin said he would announce the sources of the corporate support at a later date.



The World Challenge is one of three tournaments this year that benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation. The others are the AT&T National at Congressional and the Deutsche Bank Championship outside Boston. The foundation has taken over operations of the Deutsche Bank event from IMG.



Past title sponsors have been Target, Chevron and Williams.



The 40-year-old Banks, a resident of Jupiter, Fla., was preparing to board a flight from West Palm Beach, Fla., to Charlotte, N.C., in order to play in a charity event benefiting the Duke Cancer Institute.



Blanks reportedly told authorities that he had forgotten to remove the gun from his bag after being on a trip a week earlier, and admitted that he did not have a concealed weapons permit.



Although he did not acknowledge being arrested, Blanks said in the Tweet: "Heading home from DC. Had a great time helping raise money for cancer research today. Capital city pro-am. Cool part of the job!!!"



When he returns to the PGA Tour, he will be eligible for a major medical extension.



--Tom Watson, charged with restoring the United States' reputation in the Ryder Cup as captain of the U.S. team for the 2014 matches at Gleneagles in Scotland, has appointed Andy North as his first assistant captain.



"Any time you have a friend, you can talk honestly to that friend about anything. Whatever conversations I have with Andy, I've always known that they're private and they're not going to go anywhere else. I really, truly value Andy's observations."



Since 1993, he has been a golf analyst for ESPN.




"I've been lucky enough to cover it for ESPN for maybe the last four Ryder Cups, and I get emotional covering it. It's going to be a great experience, and the bottom line is we get a 'W' at the end of the week."



--After all the talk that the PGA Tour and the PGA of America might bifurcate and go their own way in defiance of the ban on anchored putters enacted by the United States Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, sanity prevailed.



The PGA Tour announced that it would adopt the anchoring ban that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2016, and soon after the PGA of America followed suit.



"As set forth in our report, 'Explanation of Decision to Adopt Rule 14-1b,' the game benefits from having a single set of rules worldwide, applicable to all levels of play, and the acceptance of Rule 14-1b by the PGA Tour and PGA of America supports the game in this regard."



The PGA Tour and the PGA of America cited a similar instance in which the USGA outlawed clubs with square grooves in 2010, but put off the ruling for non-elite amateurs until 2024.



Nine players on the PGA Tour who use anchored putters, including Masters champion Adam Scott, Tim Clark and Carl Pettersson, have retained an attorney, and legal action remains a possibility.



Gulbis, 30, told Golf World that she will be married later this year to Josh Rodarmel, a former Yale quarterback and co-owner of Power Balance Technologies, which produces hologram bracelets.



"It's been nice living under the radar," Gulbis said, apparently pleased that she had been able to keep the relationship out of the media and gossip columns until now. "A lot of my life has been so public. This is nice."



In the past, Gulbis was involved in highly publicized relationships that did not turn out so well, with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dustin Johnson of the PGA Tour.



Martin, 41, said he was told by John Bodenhamer, the USGA's senior managing director of rules, competitions and amateur status, that he would be granted the use of a cart at the U.S. Junior Amateur in at Martis Camp Club in Truckee, Calif., on July 22-27, and all ensuing USGA events.



Martin, who had asked for and was granted access to a cart before the qualifier, was on the course observing play when he was told he could no longer use the cart because of confusion over the rules.



It read: "The United States Golf Association has been and continues to be a strong supporter of Casey Martin. The unfortunate situation at the U.S. Junior qualifier stems from a misunderstanding over the USGA Cart Policy at our championship events. We regret that this misunderstanding may have caused Casey an inconvenience, but it certainly was unintentional. We have extended to Casey accommodations that we offer all disabled spectators at our championships. Despite this unfortunate situation, we continue to admire what Casey has been able to accomplish in the game as both a player and a coach."