Golf Spelled Backwards

(Note: Later updates appear below) Aug. 29, 2013: So whatever happened to golfer Anthony Kim? This guy is one of the most talented players in the game, but he's disappeared. Hasn't been seen on golf courses, or anywhere else related to the game, for more than a year. Rumors abound of him giving up golf, turning his back on the game, and living the bohemian life on the beaches of California. AK's Twitter page hasn't been updated since mid-2010. His website is dead and gone. What's the deal? Will we ever see Anthony Kim on the PGA Tour again? The answer is probably yes, because Kim's absence is not because he turned his back on golf and walked away from the game - he couldn't, because he couldn't walk anywhere due to a serious injury. More on that in a minute. First, let's review Kim's long history of injuries. Kim had his breakout victory at the 2008 Wells Fargo Championship, and was a major part of the Team USA victory at the Ryder C...

Here are some new videos Rickie Fowler has done with Farmers Insurance, in a 1970s/1980s TV detective show style. Episode 1 is titled Backswing Sting : Episode 2 is Divot Dummy : Rickie likes turning somersaults. But he hates bad etiquette on the golf course. (Strangely, though, he doesn't mind blowing up greens ...)

Here's the headline from PGATour.com's update about Tiger Woods finishing second at The Barclays: You know, back in the old days when Tiger "spasmed," he usually finished first.

Did Charley Hull just become an international superstar? The 17-year-old captain's pick for Team Europe in the Solheim Cup waxed Paula Creamer in singles, 5 and 4. And then asked Creamer to autograph a golf ball for her. Here's a video clip of Charley shot by Sky Sports a couple weeks prior to the Solheim Cup. Judging by the wallpaper in her bedroom, Charley might require the help of an interior decorator when she grows up and buys her mansion. But everything else about her is fit. Earlier post: Meet Charley Hull, the sexy Brit who's busting out

Dustin Johnson spilled the beans on Twitter: He and hottie Paulina Gretzky (daughter of The Great One) are no longer boyfriend-girlfriend, they are fiance-fiancee. And the key question that everyone wants to know is: Did he go to Jared? @PaulinaGretzky she said yes!!! pic.twitter.com/thQsmiJf8E — Dustin Johnson (@DJohnsonPGA) August 18, 2013 It was only back in January that Dustin and Paulina came out as a couple . But who needs a long engagement when you're dating Paulina Gretzky? Put a ring on it! And Dustin just did. Congratulations, and best wishes, to both.

The PGA Tour says no more caddie races at tour events. Caddie races are probably most associated with the Phoenix Open, but they actually started at Colonial. They've shown up at a couple other tournaments in recent years: caddies racing each other to reach the green on a par-3 hole after all the players in the group have teed off. Andy Padzer, the tour's executive vice president and chief of operations, explained to Golf Channel: "We have advised the folks at Colonial and out in Phoenix to discontinue the caddie races. It was a situation where we developed a little concern about caddies’ safety. Running 150 yards puts caddies at risk for injury. I had caddies come to me in Phoenix and at Colonial saying, 'This is ridiculous, it's like we are a carnival show.' " That implies that caddie complaints about the practice are what spurred the PGA Tour to take a look at the practice. But any caddie who doesn't want to run doesn't have to run. Still, m...

Just call it a kung-fu golf shot. That's the title of the video that's making the rounds - this golfer has a way of hitting his driver that is as unique as Happy Gilmore's: And cooler than Happy Gilmore's, methinks.

Back when Rory McIlroy bought his Florida house, I posted some photos of the exterior and lot and suggested that it wasn't all that impressive. Rory, I aplogize. Your house is beautiful and wonderful - on the inside. Here's a tour:

For many, golf and booze go hand in hand. Golfers are probably evenly split between those who play because they really love the game, and those who play because they love spending a few hours with buddies drinking beer and ogling beer cart babes. (Of course, you can love the game AND ogle babes!) Every golf course has its drunks and, frankly, they are damn annoying. Often stupid. And sometimes dangerous. Those guys are probably too dumb to care whether they are in any kind of shape to drive a golf cart - much less, to drive home after the round. But social drinkers who play golf might be interested in a gadget called the Golfalyzer. It's a Breathalyzer clone aimed at golfers - blow into it, and it will tell you your blood alcohol level. Want to monitor your level throughout a round to make sure you're not crossing the line? After downing a few more in the clubhouse after the round, want to check your level before getting behind the wheel of a car? Here's a video, an...

Here is what Jennifer Johnson, who has one win on the LPGA in 2013, was ninth on the Solheim Cup points list entering the Women's British Open, and is ranked No. 54 in the world, tweeted after finding out she was passed over for a captain's pick for the Solheim Cup: Well I guess winning isn't good enough to make @Solheim_Cup @lpga — Jennifer Johnson (@JJohnson_LPGA) August 4, 2013 No one who fails to automatically qualify "deserves" to be picked, and while I think Johnson has a good case that she should have been picked, I can't argue too much with the ones who actually were picked (Gerina Piller and Michelle Wie - but all the "controversy" is around Wie). But after Johnson posted the tweet above, Christina Kim butted in (as she often does) and got into conversations/arguments with other commenters, and was, well, quite patronizing to Johnson. Click on the date beneath Johnson's tweet to read Kim's comments and others.

I've noticed quite a bit of chatter on Twitter this morning and yesterday complaining about the TV coverage of the Women's British Open. Specifically, that the first two days of ESPN's coverage was "only" three hours long. Obviously, men's majors are given much longer coverage. Three hours seems to be the maximum for an LPGA tournament, even majors. And also, this morning ESPN aired a re-run of last night's NFL Live and the network's golf broadcast began an hour later. Rather than starting at the same time, going one hour later, and providing an extra hour of coverage, ESPN chose to go one hour later but also start one hour later, inserting a re-run ahead of the WBO. So the network is getting bashed on Twitter for not treating a women's major the same as it would a men's major, for not helping women's golf to grow and attract new fans. Hey, I wish every LPGA tournament got six hours of coverage a day on a major network. But ESPN doesn...

The family of Sam Snead is auctioning off some of his memorabilia in a series of sales conducted by Heritage Auctions over the next year. The first auctions took place Aug. 1-2, 2013, in conjuction with the National Sports Collector's Convention in Rosemont, Ill. And those first 14 lots, collectively, sold for $1,106,868. You'll understand why when you hear what some of those items were. A Claret Jug, for example. The Masters Trophy. The Wanamaker Trophy (not the originals, obviously, but the copies given to Snead for him to keep after those victories). Snead's three major championship trophies plus a Ryder Cup trophy were the "big four" in the first round of auctions. Here's what they went for: Claret Jug presented to Snead for winning the 1946 British Open: $262,900 Masters Trophy presented to Snead for winning the 1954 Masters: $191,200 Ryder Cup trophy presented to Snead as captain of the American 1959 Ryder Cup team: $179,250 Wanamaker Trophy pres...