Golf Spelled Backwards

We all know that men's professional golf tours pay a lot more than women's professional golf tours. The differences are stark. An entire purse on the Symetra Tour, the LPGA's feeder, might only be equal to the first-place check of the Web.com Tour tournament. So there's much praise this week for the news that the USGA is bumping up the purse for the 2014 US Women's Open from around $3.25 million to around $4 million. That's great! I wish all women's tournaments paid more, and young women touring pros didn't have to struggle so much in pursuit of their dreams. But the new, improved US Women's Open purse is still only less than half that of the US Open. Why is that? Is it terribly unfair? Writing in the most recent issue of Golf Digest, former USGA director David Fay passed along a couple facts that tell you all you need to know about the money differences between men's and women's tour golf: Every year, the US Open generates revenue t...

Elin Nordegren is now a graduate of the Hamilton Holt School at Rollins College. And a very accomplished one, with a near-4.0 grade point average. Her fellow graduates voted her Outstanding Graduating Senior, which meant she got to speak at the school's graduation ceremony. Rollins College is located in Winter Park, Fla., and Nordegren's degree is in psychology. Watch Elin's speech, in which she makes a few thinly veiled references to Tiger Woods (and notice when the crowd cheers as Elin notes that she is no longer married):

Here's a fun little nugget from the PGA Tour. Which current PGA Tour golfers have finished second most often? You probably won't be surprised to learn that the tour's biggest winners - Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh - all also rank on the Top 5 in runner-up finishes. But none of them are No. 1. Here's the list: 1. Davis Love III, 30 second place finishes (692 starts) 2. Tiger Woods, 29 second places (312 starts) 3. Phil Mickelson, 29 seconds (497 starts) 4. Vijay Singh, 27 seconds (535 starts) 5. Jim Furyk, 26 seconds (513 starts)

Here is a newsreel account of a golf trick shot performance from 1930: Two thoughts about this. First, the guy performing - Ray Robertson - has some of the skinniest legs you'll ever see. He's like David Leadbetter's spindlier great-uncle. Second: trick shots haven't changed much over the decades in golf, have they?

There was a time when Michelle Wie was strongly disliked - resented might be the better word - by golfers on the LPGA. At least those who didn't know her well. Those who took the time to talk to the young Michelle in her days as a teen phenom - players like Natalie Gulbis, Beth Daniel and Meg Mallon - always had nice things to say about her. But Wie was often followed by controversy (most of it manufactured by others) in those early years, and it hurt her with the LPGA rank-and-file. But that was a long time ago. Wie has long since become one of the most popular players on tour with her peers, who respect her friendliness, her sense of humor, her respect for fans and the way she interacts with fans, and all the hard work she puts in trying to get better at golf. The fondness so many on the LPGA have acquired for Wie is obvious in the Twitter reactions by fellow players after Wie's win in the 2014 Lotte Championship. Here is a sampling: @themichellewie congrats!! Hard wor...

Here's something weird: A small airport in Carter County, Tennessee, has recently encountered a mysterious problem: a plague of golf balls. Golf balls started showing up on the airport property, including the tarmac, only within the past month. They've found up to 100 of them. Where are they coming from? The closest golf course or driving range is seven miles away! The report from WJHL-TV states: To ensure the safety of employees and travelers, officials conduct daily inspections, and several times this month they've found golf balls scattered across the runway. Tuesday was no exception. "Over the last 30 days we have been finding golf balls," said Dan Cogan. Cogan is not at a local golf course, he's about seven miles away at the Elizabethton Municipal Airport. "Four different occasions we found golf balls out there and the total is well over 100 golf balls," Cogan said. Cogan is the airport manager. He said they're finding the golf...

Gary Player, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus gathered on the first tee at Augusta National Golf Club this morning and teed off the 2014 Masters as honorary starters. It's the third year the "Big 3" have been together in the role. Palmer's been doing it since 2007, Nicklaus joined him in 2010, and Player made it three in 2012. How long might these guys continue in the role? I'm not trying to be morbid — believe me, I hope all three of these legends are around as long as possible — but Arnie is 84 years old, Player is 79 and Nicklaus is 74. (Hard to believe, isn't it?) Of course, Gene Sarazen served as Masters honorary starter until the ripe old age of 99! But eventually, we'll have to say goodbye to these legends, and welcome someone new in the role. Who might that be? There are two golfers who I think are the most obvious next-in-line for honorary starter duties: Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw. Watson is one of the most-honored and best golfers of all...

Do you like to immerse yourself in golf? Now you can do it even when relaxing at home. And you don't even have to wear clothes! But you do have to wear the golf ball-themed onesie pictured at left. It's the Classic Zooop Fleece Golf onesie from a company called Zooop It Up! They are makers of "luxury adult onesies." The product page on the Zooop It Up! website suggests "Wear anywhere: beach, dancing, poker games ..." But hey, why not wear it to a golf course that doesn't have a dress code! Or at least wear it on your couch as you watch golf on TV. The Zooop Golf Onesie is 80-percent cotton/20-percent polyester; it is hooded and footless; it has two front pouch pockets and two zippered pockets. And it's fleece. "This ZOOOP iT UP Classic ZOOOP onesie unisex fit is perfect for him or her. Your search for the Ultimate Comfy Wear ends now. Once you've put on your ZOOOP you'll never want to part from it!" So says the company. An...

Patrick Reed has three wins in 51 starts on the PGA Tour. But none of those starts have come in a major championship. Reed won't make his debut in a major until the 2014 Masters. Is there anything unusual about that - about having so many wins before you've played in a major? Yes. Quoting a PGA Tour email: Patrick Reed is believed to be the first player with three PGA TOUR wins before his first major championship appearance since Sam Snead won three times (1936 West Virginia Close Pro, 1937 Oakland Open, 1937 Bing Crosby Pro-Am) prior making his major debut at the 1937 Masters. Reed has played in 51 TOUR events entering this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard but has yet to compete in a major.

These are just a couple kids at the driving range one night, and they manage to pull off a fantastic trick shot. And it only takes 8 seconds: "Oh my gosh, that was cool," one of them says. And he's right!