Let's not make too much of this, but it's nothing but good news that one of golf's rising young stars is going toe-to-toe with (or walking in the footsteps of, choose your foot metaphor) one of the game's legends.

Oh, and Tiger? He's tweeted exactly once since April, and that was an ad for his new shoes. Don't hold your breath waiting for a reply, Rickie.

It's time for the latest Devil Ball Power Rankings, our look at who's up and who's down in the world of golf. Your panelists are an esteemed group of the world's greatest golf journalists ... or so our mothers tell us. Devil Ball Golf's Jay Busbee and Jonathan Wall, CBS Sports/Eye on Golf's Shane Bacon, and Golf Channel/Golf Talk Central's Ryan Ballengee bring you these, our rankings. Enjoy, and read on to see how you can be a part of the festivities.

T1. Luke Donald. He and Rory McIlroy are passing the No. 1 ranking back and forth like a baby with a full diaper. Somebody needs to claim that baby and clean it up.

T1. Matt Kuchar. Snooch to the Kuch! Congrats to one of golf's good cats on his big Players win. Now, it's been a few days...time for an encore, isn't it?

3. Rory McIlroy. Rors once said that Sawgrass in real life was a lot different from Sawgrass the video game. Clearly McIlroy is one of those "accidentally kick the reset button when he's losing" kind of video game players.

4. Bubba Watson. Who? Didn't this guy used to golf?

5. Rickie Fowler. We are prepared to declare Rickie Fowler the past, present and future of golf. We are the Golf Media, and we are never given to ridiculous overstatement.

6. Hunter Mahan. I would give Mahan two dollars American if he would carry a full glass of water on his flat brim up one fairway at his next tournament. Same deal for you, Fowler.

7. Lee Westwood. Win or GTFO, Lee.

8. Phil Mickelson. If you can read this article on Lefty's generosity and still bust on him as a fraud, you're an idiot.

9. Justin Rose. Before stumbling to a T51 at The Players, Rose was quietly putting together a very good season. Better days ahead for Axl's brother, we're sure.

10. Tiger Woods. Next week he could be No. 1 or he could be No. 100. You just never know with this cat.

Also receiving votes: Jason Dufner, Louis Oosthuizen, Carl Pettersson, Martin Laird,

Want in on the Power Rankings voting? Email us and make the case for why we should make you our guest voter for the week. Points given for good stories and good arguments.

This is a little old, but we don't mind showing it, 'cause it just showed up in our inbox: Arnold Palmer sinking a 30-foot putt on the 18th in the second round of the Insperity Championship. ("Insperity"? Ugh. Branding gone amok. It sounds like a contender for a white-people baby name.)

ANYway, it's always good to see Arnie back in action on the course. A few more holes like this and he might be able to get a Tour card for the 2013 season. Maybe he could teach those two scrubs* playing with him a thing or two.

(*-That's a joke, son, just like the caption in this photo.)

You know, Kevin Na is taking a lot of heat right now for his slow play, but let's give him a little love for one of the best shots of the weekend: his hybrid shot off the cart path on the 18th hole. Crazy? Sure, but not quite as crazy as you'd think.

Over at CBS Sports' Eye on Golf, our pal Shane Bacon has a fine breakdown of Na's what-the-hell-was-he-thinking swing:

Na put the ball a little up in his stance, forcing him to hit up at the ball almost like you would with a driver off the tee. Instead of digging down into the ball like you might if you had to get it out of some thick rough, Na's hybrid didn't smack the pavement first and cause a wacky shot.

Indeed he didn't; Na's shot ended up just short of the green, and he ended up salvaging a bit of dignity from an ugly round. Plus, he inspired a barrage of weekend golfers to try the same thing, thus ensuring more investment in the game of golf when those clowns shatter their clubs.

Welcome to the new season of Teeing Off, where Devil Ball editor Jay Busbee and head writer Jonathan Wall take a day's topic and smack it all over the course. Suggest a future topic by writing jay.busbee@yahoo.com, or hit us on Twitter at @jaybusbee and @jonathanrwall. Today, we tackle the horror that is slow play. Settle in.

Busbee: So this weekend we had another ... opportunity ... to ... see ... Kevin ... Na in action. And with him, he dragged along the albatross of slow play. We're told that it's the bane of the game, that it's worse than a beverage cart without any beer. Let's examine this topic today, shall we? Your thoughts on slow play, sir? Is it as much of a problem as its detractors suggest?

[Related: How sorry should we feel for Kevin Na?]

Wall: Slow play ... if there's one topic in golf that makes my blood boil more than any other, it's talking about Mr. Na and his slow play compatriots. Let's get this out of the way first: Slow play won't kill the game. Despite what some are saying, the PGA Tour won't disappear if guys play five-plus-hour rounds. But you have to wonder when tour officials are going to draw the line and starting taking some action against the worst offenders. This can't go on for much longer. I understand these guys are playing for million-dollar paydays each week, but it can't take you a minute to set up and hit a shot. Unless we're talking a double-breaker to win, guys need to assess the shot, step up, and smack the ball down the fairway. It seems so easy, you wonder why guys can't get it through their thick skulls. Hit the ball. Is it really that hard?

Busbee: Sweet heaven, my friend, the next time you and I play I'm going to run at every ball like a polo pony. I get you, without a doubt. I too think this is the PGA Tour's culture of privilege run amok. It's the logical outgrowth of the whole players-run-the-show "we're independent contractors" mentality--we'll take as long as we damn well please to play. I feel for Kevin Na, I do--the guy clearly has some issues between the ears that are keeping him from just stepping up and smacking it. Still, I have to think that a lot of those issues would vanish into the wind with a quick one-stroke penalty. And you?

Wall: I couldn't agree more. I think it was our boy Ryan Ballengee over at the Golf Channel who mentioned giving each group a wireless LED shot clock to keep everyone honest. I know it sounds silly to turn the PGA Tour into the NBA, but why not force them to be ready at all times. As you said, this really is privilege run amok. The PGA Tour can't survive without the players, but the fans, and those guys on tour already playing at a quick clip, deserve better. Playing at a such a slow pace is just plain rude. It pretty much tells your playing partner, in so many words, that you could give a crap about maintaing a decent pace. And hey, if a shot clock doesn't, we could always put a taser in play for the worst offenders. Pretty sure that would speed guys up ... or knock them out.

[Related: Players Championship winner Matt Kuchar hasn't stopped smiling through ups and downs]

Busbee: There's still a same-as-it-ever-was mentality among certain segments in the PGA Tour (to say nothing of, oh, Augusta), but here's a case where the players and the Tour alike need to recognize that what was working before isn't working now. All it will take is one player getting knocked out of the lead, or losing a few digits off their purse check, for a crime he obviously committed, and you'll see plenty of guys snapping into line in a hurry.

So, you ever hit into the group ahead of you to get 'em moving? I haven't, but oh, have I been tempted.

Wall: If I admit and say I've hit into the group in front plenty of time, does that make me a jerk? As you can tell, I'm a stickler for pace of play. I've never aimed at a group with an intent to injure one of the guys, but I have, on occasion, let one loose as they were getting into their carts. Sometimes it works; other times it turns me into public enemy number one. Truthfully, I should probably cut it out in the future. After reading some of these stories about guys getting stabbed and run over with carts, due to slow play, it's probably best if I enjoy the weather and the company and forget about trying to finish in under four hours.

Busbee: Maybe a few more beers from the beverage cart...?

All right, your turn. What do we do about slow play? Any and all suggestions welcome.

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Being president has to be the worst job on earth. But being an ex-president? Man, that's one heck of a gig. (You can even be a superhero!) And there's probably nobody who's taken more advantage of the ex-president lifestyle than Bill Clinton. Monday night, he'll sit down with David Feherty for a little chat on Golf Channel, and here's a clip. The show airs at 10pm Eastern.

Plenty of fine clubsmanship this weekend at The Players, and we've got the best of the best for you right here. Check out Johnny Vegas's outstanding chip from halfway up the coast, Matt Kuchar's clutch Sunday fist-pump birdie, Brian Gay's and Justin Rose's from-downtown drop shots, and Tim Clark's hit-it-and-pray gem. Fine stuff here; you did just as well, right?

Count us among those who have been more than a little leery of the whole "Rickie-Rory" rivalry nonsense that sprang up in the wake of Fowler's maiden PGA Tour win at the Wells Fargo last week. The media (yes, we know whereof we speak) can be far too quick to create storylines and anoint heroes, and Fowler's known tendency to fall apart on Sundays gave us pause.

But let's be honest: Fowler's play at The Players on Sunday was nothing short of impressive. He was one player short of a four-man playoff (our fancy way of saying he finished in a tie for second) and his strong late-holes run put him just outside a true hunt for Matt Kuchar. (Of course, Fowler had to deal with some problems of his own making; he started the round -10 and finished it -11 but had six birdies...you do the math.)

"I'm swinging it well and I have a lot of confidence in myself and my game right now," Fowler said. "I feel like I'm managing myself around the golf course and throughout the tournament better, getting myself in the right positions, and not giving away tournaments and keeping myself in them." And he even says the right things, too!

Fowler said he wants to make the Tour Championship and the Ryder Cup team, and the way he's playing right now, he's right on track. A rivalry with Rory or whoever may or may not happen, but for the last few weeks, at least, Fowler's been holding up his end of the bargain.

But please, Rickie ... we'll give you the flat-brim cap, but ditch the 'stache.

We all know that tired-but-still-true adage about golf being played on the few inches between your ears. And for players who struggle with the mental side of the game, there must be no more terrifying feeling than to have that internal struggle splayed out across the planet, your insecurities and crutches laid bare for the world to see.

Kevin Na has been more of a punchline than a subject of reverence around these parts, whether for his scientifically-proven slow play or his occasional double-digit hole scores. But once he took the lead on Saturday at The Players, his ridiculously slow play became the story ... as did the apparent reasons for that slow play.

[Related: Winners and losers from The Players Championship]

Na, you see, can't get out of his own way. He waggles, twitches and fidgets to steady his mind, like a dog twirling around on a blanket to get comfortable. And if anything in the sequence comes off the track, he takes a practice swing right over the top of the ball, surely horrifying practice-like-you-play instructors everywhere, and starts the entire process all over again. And that, of course, leads to agonizingly long seconds on the tee or over the putt.

"I'm not being nice to myself, trust me," Na said after Saturday's round. "I'm ripping myself. But, you know, there's so much on the line that I just have to sometimes back off.  Or I'll force myself to take it back, and on the way down I'll come up and pull up and go over the top.  As ugly as it is and as painful as it is, believe me, it's really tough for me, and I'm trying."

Makes you feel a little bad for the guy, doesn't it? Apparently not enough to keep the hecklers from lighting into Na. Shouts of "hit it!" were audible throughout the course, and as you'd expect, they wormed their way right into his skull.

"You know, when I'm over the ball, it would be nice if it was quiet," Na said. "But ... you can hear them talking, like 'pull the trigger, pull the trigger,' 'hit it,' which makes me back off even more.  So that part was a bit tough."

Na responded by speeding up as much as he could. "My main thought was trying to play fast," he said. "I know the whole world is watching.  I'm trying to play as fast as I could.  I was 40 yards ahead of Matt basically trying to sprint out to my ball so I can get to extra time." The result? An ugly 76 that took him out of the mix entirely.

[Related: Players winner Matt Kuchar hasn't stopped smiling through ups and downs]

In the end, though, Na was contemplative, understanding of what he needs to do to lead on a Sunday, not just a Saturday: "I do need to work on my pre?shot routine," he said. "I do need to play faster.  But the average golfer has no clue how much pressure we're playing under and how tough it is and how much of a fight for it it is mentally.  I honestly think with all that going on, I did pretty well fighting.  I had a good fight."

Question is, where's our responsibility as fans of the game? Na's slow play is ridiculous, but does the fact that it has its roots in a very real mental preparation make it any better or more acceptable? It's worth noting that every single player faces the exact same pressure as Na, and many, like Rickie Fowler, have no problem stepping up and hitting the ball virtually in stride as they walk up the fairway. Others, like Tiger Woods on Sunday, have said that slow play ought to be an automatic one-stroke penalty, no warning.

[Related: Rickie Fowler shows he may just be the real deal with strong Players showing]

Here's a thought: much like a regular round of golf, we'll put Na on the editorial clock. We'll give him this tournament, understanding exactly how tough it is to play at the highest level (intellectually if not literally). But it's time for him to begin redirecting that energy, both for the good of the game and the good of his own performance. The last thing we need is any more galleries singing "Na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye."

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All-around good guy Matt Kuchar won The Players Championship, and about the only people with any problem with that are the players he beat ... and even they can't be too sore at Kuch. Here's the wrapup of Sunday at The Players, including Kevin Na's meltdown, Rickie Fowler's charge and, of course, Matt Kuchar's welcome victory. Enjoy.

This is a little bizarre, but to some extent, we like it: A fan shouted "Light the candle!" as Tiger Woods teed off to begin Friday's round. What does it mean? Who knows?

[Related: World No. 1 Rory McIlroy misses cut at The Players Championship]

Shouting as big-name players tee off is now a tradition in golf, if an unfortunate one. Most common, of course, is "Get in the hole!" (which is SO funny when you do it off a par-5 hole, because, you know, there's NO WAY it'll get in the hole!) It's the golf equivalent of shouting "Free Bird" at a concert: the last refuge of unimaginative fans who want to be a part of the action.

So we've seen an influx of new screams off the tee, with "mashed potatoes" and "Tiger, Tiger Woods, y'all!" edging into the mix. Could "light the candle" be a new standard? Doubtful. But if you're going to be an idiot and shout, at least make it something interesting.

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If Tiger Woods' return to the golf summit is a "process," it's a process that's taking a lot longer than anyone expected.

One week after uncharacteristically missing a cut at the Wells Fargo, Woods is in the same danger again at The Players Championship following an unspectacular 2-over round that left him nine shots behind leader Ian Poulter.

"Any kind of momentum I'd build, I would just shoot myself in the foot on the very next hole," Woods said. "One of those days." One of those years. Woods hasn't missed two cuts in a single season since 2005, and absent a strong surge on Friday, he'll miss two in a row.

Woods started out with a bogey on the 10th hole, where he began, and then swapped birdies and bogeys for many of the next 11 holes. He brought home his final six holes in even par, but kept giving back the strokes he'd earn with every birdie. He rarely looked at ease with his swing, his putts or his decision-making, and it showed in the final score of 74.

The Players isn't anywhere near Woods' best tournament; he's only won it once. In the last two years, he's bailed early because of injuries. And after his Thursday round, that might not seem like such a terrible idea again: He only birdied one of the par 5s, and hit only half the fairways and half the greens in regulation. Those kinds of stats won't keep him around until the weekend.

[Slideshow: See images of first-round action at TPC Sawgrass]

Yes, yes, there will be the questions of "why focus attention on someone so far off the lead?" And yes, most of the people saying that haven't even bothered to read this far. But here's the truth: Even in a world of Rickie and Rory, a world where the new golf order is starting to assert itself, this is still Tiger's game. This is still a world where the vast majority wants to know how Tiger is finishing, not who's leading.

Of course, if McIlroy and Fowler keep winning, and if Tiger keeps fading before the weekend, that will very soon change.

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Every time we return to Sawgrass, I feel obligated to post that video above, the shot of a seagull swiping Steve Lowry's ball back in 1998. It's one of the many bizarre elements of golf's most famous hole ... or, at least, the one most likely to show up in motivational office posters. While we wait for the day's results to arrive, let's look back at a few other strange elements of the Island Green:

? There's a dude buried at the 17th. Well, not really buried, more like "spread." Longtime caddy Brad "The Russian" Krosnoff requested that his ashes be scattered in the waters around the 17th, and after his passing in 2003, friends complied.

? More than 120,000 golf balls hit the drink around the 17th every year. And who fishes 'em out? Divers, who re-sell them for up to a buck apiece and can earn six figures for the salvage effort.

[Slideshow: See images of first-round action at TPC Sawgrass]

? Several replicas of the hole exist. One's out in Texas, part of the infamous Tour-18 course, the wax museum of golf. A few years back, a scaled-down replica of the hole ? a 30-yard pitch onto a tiny green ? toured New York City.

? Of course, you can always play the real deal yourself and give #17 a go for only about three bills, depending on the season. As we've said for several years, though, Sawgrass is leaving money on the table with that arrangement. Why not pick one day a month ? heck, one a year ? and open the 17th up to anybody with a stick and fifty bucks? You get five shots at the green, and then adios till next year.

We'll keep you up to date on how the legit players handle 17 and the rest of the course throughout the weekend.

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Quail Hollow is always one of the finest non-major fields in the game, and this year is no exception. Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and other luminaries are in attendance. But Stewart Cink is playing like it's 2009; he leads at -7 along with Ryan Moore and Webb Simpson. Play continues Friday and, we presume, on into the weekend.

This, friends, is how a perfect golf story is built. Behold:

This past weekend in Jacksonville, Fla., police had to break up a fight between golfers at the Jacksonville Beach Golf Club.

Oh, that's a good start. But I think we can do better.

Apparently two groups were fighting with one another about golf course etiquette, like "don't drive your golf cart over the green" and "when you're done putting, get the heck off the green."

Nice, good detail. You can see how that would make you mad, right?

There was alcohol involved.

Of course.

The groups began attacking each other with golf clubs.

Beautiful! Love it! Like some country club version of "Anchorman" that I just copyrighted! Still, though, something is missing ...

One of the golfers, 61-year-old James Hines -

Oh, an angry, old golfer. Those are the best kind.

- hit a golf ball at the group ahead of him -

Bad form, James. But great for the purposes of our story. More, please.

- and the group threw the ball back at him.

Nice! If very ineffective!

So Hines got into his golf cart and began driving ...

Yes...

... he picked up speed ...

As much as you can in a golf cart, yes ...

and RAMMED INTO THE GROUP, RUNNING OVER ONE GUY AND PINNING ANOTHER TO HIS OWN CART.

HOLY GOPHERS, THAT'S IT! THAT'S THE GREATEST GOLF COURSE FIGHT STORY EVER!

Anyway, the two golfers hit by the cart sustained minor injuries but weren't hospitalized, because, you know, it was a golf cart. Hines, meanwhile, was arrested, charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and booked (temporarily) in the Duval County Pretrial Detention Facility.

He was released the next day, straight from the jail into our hearts. Thank you, Florida golfers. Never ever change.

Man Arrested For Ramming Golf Cart Into People (First Coast News)

(Thanks to John W. for the tip.)

Welcome to the new season of Teeing Off, where Devil Ball editor Jay Busbee and head writer Jonathan Wall take a day's topic and smack it all over the course. Suggest a future topic by writing jay.busbee@yahoo.com, or hit us on Twitter at @jaybusbee and @jonathanrwall. Today, we discuss whether Ernie Els' latest misfire is a symptom of a greater problem with The Big Easy.

Busbee: Once again, Ernie Els comes up just short in his bid to win in 2012. While Jason Dufner's win was a great story for him, you and I both feel a touch of sadness that it came at the expense of Els. So it's time to ask: is this bad luck, or has the window closed on the Big Easy?

Wall: At 42, I'd be inclined to say Ernie's best years are behind him. But when you rank 10th on the PGA Tour in scoring average and 15th in greens in regulation, it's nearly impossible to discount a guy, no matter how old he is. But the putter is a huge problem, so much so that even a strong game from tee to green isn't enough to mask the issue. I wrote on Monday that the five-footer he missed on the first hole of the playoff on Sunday could've been chalked up to bad luck if it was a rare one-off, but Els has been missing makable putts all year. The four-footer to get in a playoff at the Transitions is another example of a guy who's just not confident with the putter. If his game was all over the place I'd declare the window closed, but for some reason I think if he can just get some confidence on the greens we could be looking at a guy who could win a couple more times before he's done. Am I the eternal optimist? Maybe.

Busbee: I'd venture that no player was more hurt, relatively speaking, by the rise of Tiger Woods than Els. Sure, Els won his majors, but how many more could he have won if Woods wasn't vacuuming up more than one in four in the early 2000s? Els is a deserving Hall of Famer, but to me, his remarkable career could have been iconic but for you-know-who. Your thoughts?

Wall: I definitely agree. Ernie Els was the total package in his prime and could've picked up a few more majors if Tiger wasn't grabbing them in bunches, but you could probably say the same thing for a number of other guys, like Vijay Singh. Based on his entire body of work Els will definitely get inducted into the Hall of Fame; however, it's hard not to look at his entire career and wonder if things would've turned out differently had Tiger not been around. I'd be willing to go out on a limb and say we could be talking about Els as one of the all-time greats.

Busbee: Agreed. So how viable is it that Els has a second (third?) act in him? The putting touch is the first to go, right? And given the fact that he's tried everything up to and including the belly putter, is he in the desperate-for-a-fix stage? If we've learned nothing from guys like Darren Clarke and Kenny Perry over the last few years, it's that you don't have to be in your early 30s to compete for majors, but until Els can get his steadiness back on the greens, he'll be consigned to the "other notables" section of the leaderboard, well off the front page.

Wall: I think another act is definitely possible, but Els, like a lot of pros dealing with putting issues, needs to get out of his own way. Go see a hypnotist, try putting with a broom ... I don't care what you do, just get out of your comfort zone. The crazy part is he's still darn close to being a consistent major contender for the next couple of years, but the clutch putting has to come back. If can find it again ? watch out.

And you? What's your take on Ernie Els' prospects for the future?

-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

What is it with golf and alligators? You never hear about a gator attacking, say, a basketball player, but it seems every spring we get a story or two about golfers and gators coming together, and not for a friendly round. Just weeks after we had the infamous battle of Caddie vs. Gator, won by the caddie, the gators very nearly had their revenge.

The scene: Florida (of course). Albert Miller, a 75-year-old golfer, was playing the Lake Ashton Golf & Country Club in Lake Wales. And, as golfers are wont to do, he put a shot into shallow water at the 15th hole. He ambled over to the pond, spotted his ball, reached in to grab it and suddenly HOLY CRAP THERE'S A GATOR LEAPING OUT OF THE WATER AND BITING ME! (Not a direct quote.)

The gator chomped down on Miller's left knee and tried to drag him into the water. Miller's playing partners held on to his arms, though apparently none pulled an Elin Woods and took a golf club to the gator's skull. Still, good news: "He let me go," Miller said. "I was three feet from my life. He had me submerged up to my belt buckle. That was my miracle of the month."

Think about that for a second. One moment, you're standing at the edge of an idyllic pond; the next, you're instants away from being gator food. Never know what the day's going to bring, do you?

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission captured the alligator, which was nine-feet long (!) and weighed an estimated 190 pounds. Miller required 40 stitches to close the cuts in his knee, and faces a long and painful rehabilitation. But at least he's around to schedule his next round.

So, yeah, next time somebody says golf's not a contact sport, invite them to play a few holes along a Florida waterway.

(Photo for illustration purposes only. That is presumably not the gator involved in this story. Presumably.)

Related golf highlights from Yahoo! Sports

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It was a good week for finding the hole from off the green in New Orleans. Check as Luke Donald, Charles Howell III, Webb Simpson, Jason Dufner and a dynamite Jimmy Walker pull off the shots of the weekend. You could do that, right? We know you could. You don't have to prove it to us.

This is going to be good: the USGA is preparing a documentary on Jack Nicklaus' play at the 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont. The title, "1962 U.S. Open: Jack's First Major," spoils the ending, but really, if you didn't know what happened, well ... might be time to brush up on your history a bit. The documentary will air on NBC prior to the start of the final day of the 2012 U.S. Open, and we're betting it'll be good stuff.

This weekend, Jason Dufner found himself in a playoff once again. And while this wasn't quite the PGA Championship (sorry, Zurich folks), it was nonetheless an opportunity for Dufner to take down his first PGA Tour win. And who would he be facing but Ernie Els? The Big Easy in the Big Easy? How on earth was that going to go Dufner's way? But at last it did, as you can see here. Shame that Els had to lose again, but congrats to Dufner on the big win.

The class with which Jason Dufner handled his loss at the PGA Championship last year made him an instant fan favorite, but he hasn't been able to follow up that near-success with real success. That could change this weekend, as he comes into the final round of the Zurich Classic with a two-stroke lead and his first PGA Tour victory in sight. But he'll have to contend with a field that includes notable names like Ernie Els, Luke Donald and Steve Stricker. Can he do it? Tune in Sunday afternoon to see!

The Tour rolls on in New Orleans, and Jason Dufner, he of the almost-PGA Championship, was the big dog at 12-under. Other challengers included Steve Stricker and Ernie Els (what is this, 1995?). Bubba Watson just barely made the cut, which is good news for tournament organizers but perhaps not for the gallery. Play continues Saturday afternoon.

Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.

There are less painful ways to meet your heroes, but none more efficient: A fan who came to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans to watch newly minted Masters champion Bubba Watson got hit by an errant drive off the club of ? Bubba Watson.

Radd Leonard of Baton Rouge was on the second hole at TPC Louisiana watching one of Bubba's big, booming hooks that kept booming and kept hooking ? right into the back of his head as he ducked away. The ball rebounded into the fairway even as Leonard began bleeding all over the place.

And from there began a new chapter in Bubba lore. Watson signed a glove for Leonard while his caddy requested that Leonard angle his head next time to allow the ball to fly a little farther down the fairway. (He was joking, of course.)

[Also: Rory McIlroy tweets proof he was ahead of the times with 'belly putter']

Leonard's shirt was stained with blood, but Zurich Classic folks gave him a shirt (conveniently colored red). Leonard then proceeded to follow Watson around the front nine.

''I'll be all right,'' Leonard told the AP. ''As long as I didn't black out, I figured everything was OK.''

And all will be OK, as long as Leonard doesn't start jumping in front of Watson's car or anything.

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Rory McIlroy has offered up a pretty funny photo on Twitter: a shot of him as a lad on the beach, working the plastic putter.

"Putting stroke still looks the same!" he wrote. "Everyone noticing how I was ahead of the curve with the belly putter!"

Sure, this picture may be from, like, 2007 or so, but it's still fun to see young McIlroy even younger. I'd recommend against that kind of outfit on the links, however; Augusta and other clubs may not look favorably on that, ahem, attire. Also, young Rory, a tip: Most of us don't use a putter in the sand.

Also, note to parents out there: Make sure you get photos of your kids doing EVERYTHING. They'll come in handy decades from now if your children actually make something of themselves.

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So you know that Jack Nicklaus is up for the Congressional Gold Medal, which is a high honor and all that. What you may not know is that four members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted against Nicklaus receiving the honor.

What? Who would vote against the Golden Bear?

Well, Deadspin did a little checking, and it turns out that, uh, the reasons are pretty sound. Or at least they sound sound. It's political hoo-hah, but whatever. For instance, there's this line from Rep. Reid Ribble: "As members of Congress we need to be doing real work, not just filling time ? especially when our economy is struggling and our nation is $15 trillion in debt. As a golfer myself, I love Jack Nicklaus, but I love my grandchildren more."

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Rep. Justin Amash took a different tack, having a problem with the whole idea of awarding a medal to a guy who hits a little ball with a stick: "I think the original purpose of the Congressional Gold Medal is better than Congress' modern practice. Jack Nicklaus had a legendary golfing career. But I think it's better to reserve the medal for those whose heroism and self-sacrifice was made to save the lives of others."

Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Rep. Scott Rigell held similar stances. So, yeah, while we want to think our guy is the greatest on earth, perhaps there is something more important than golf after all ? I know, I don't believe it either. I'd rather just think Congress is wrong and broken.

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All right, this was fun: Several PGA Tour golfers donned the outfits of 1912 to participate in Zurich's 100-year challenge. Oh, and they had to use replica sticks from the day as well, which means none of your fancy titanium and grooves, whippersnappers! Ben Crane and Camilo Villegas were the big winners, but a fine turn-of-the-20th-century time was had by all. Now, if we could just do something about all that unpleasantness over in Europe ... chances are it won't turn anything major.

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One of the big knocks on today's players is that they use their "independent contractor" status like a cudgel, ducking in and out of tournaments on a whim. And while it may or may not be accurate (it is), it's a perception that will make golf's annual team-up exercises that much tougher to pull off. Or so says Hal Sutton, the 2004 Ryder Cup captain.

Speaking to Golf Channel's "Morning Drive," Sutton noted "I don't know that guys are following anyone but their own selves today. We live in a pretty selfish world. It's not a criticism. In my mind that's a fact."

In terms of advice for current Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, Sutton said an understanding of that me-first mindset is essential. "These guys don't want to follow anybody," Sutton said. "The hard part about being a captain is you're the greatest guy in the world if you win, and did the worst job in the world if you lose, and you never hit a shot. And with golf I think there's more to it than that."

Sutton, of course, is best known as a Ryder Cup captain for pairing Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. They lost both matches, a fourball to Padraig Harrington and Colin Montgomerie 2 and 1, and a foursome to Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood 1-up. Overall, the United States got waxed by Bernhard Langer and the Euros, 18 1/2 to 9 1/2.

Love will have his hands full enough with the European squad, but with any luck, he'll be able to wrangle all the many egos into a U.S. victory.

Welcome to the new season of Teeing Off, where Devil Ball editor Jay Busbee and head writer Jonathan Wall take a day's topic and smack it all over the course. Suggest a future topic by writing jay.busbee@yahoo.com, or hit us on Twitter at @jaybusbee and @jonathanrwall. Today, we're celebrating Lee Westwood's birthday by discussing whether he's still got anything in the tank. Happy birthday, Lee!

Busbee: So after yet another close-but-no-cigar weekend at a major, Lee Westwood did what Lee Westwood does: flew to a far corner of the globe to beat up on a bunch of no-names. In this case it was the Indonesian Open, and he won the damn thing. Let's begin the discussion by getting your take on Mr. Westwood: good but not great? Weak in the clutch? A guy who's had the worst breaks of any golfer ever? Have your say, my friend.

Wall: I'm a big fan of Lee Westwood's game; unlike a lot of people I still think he'll win at least one major before he's done. But let's be honest here: the guy hasn't won a tournament with a legitimate field since the St. Jude Classic in 2010. He won four time last year, but I can say with almost 100 percent certainty that the average golf fan couldn't name one of the events. The fact that he has to fly to Asia to play in against watered-down field to pick up a win not only skews his Official World Golf Ranking (No. 3), it also makes people question if he has what it takes to win against the best players in the world. He's been close at the major recently, but it seems like his putting stroke always disappears at the absolute worst time. So to answer your question in a roundabout way, I think he's weak in the clutch ... against strong fields. Numbers don't lie, and even though he manages to always post a handful of top 10's, there's no question his lack of success in the limelight is big issue.

Busbee: Is this something he can overcome? The guy was a force in the early 2000s, vanished for most of the decade, and then was reborn as a legit championship contender (and brief No. 1). But do you think that a new putting coach (which is all Chubby Chandler said he needs) is the answer? Or is Lee going to have to toughen up between the ears before any coaching sticks?

Wall: I think it's something he can overcome, but he has to get out of his own way. Chubby may think a putting coach will solve all the problems, but look at how Lee's played recently. Closing out on Sunday hasn't been an issue for him -- except when it comes to the majors. In my opinion, this is purely mental. Guys like Phil Mickelson found a way to break through after years of poor putting in big situations, and Westwood isn't Lefty, I have faith he'll get it together when it counts. When will it finally click? That's the million-dollar question.

Busbee: How much more golf do you think he has in him? He's facing a variant of the Tiger Woods issue--he's not getting any younger, and the rest of the field is as deep as it's ever been in golf. Plus, his buddy Rory McIlroy is going to suck up more than a few majors between now and, oh, 2030. The window is closing fast for Westwood, I'm thinking.

Wall: I would agree the window is definitely closing for him, but if he can stay in shape and keep pushing ahead, I think even at the age of 39 he can contend for another 6 years. I guess we'll have to wait and see if my optimistic outlook ever pans out. We both know how good I am with predictions (I'm awful).

All right, your turn. Lee Westwood, contender or pretender? Have your say.

It seems every week brings a different winner on Tour, and while we know the Tigers and the Rorys, there are quite a few who snag a victory without necessarily snagging the public's imagination. So that's why we're here. Read up on your newest champions so you'll be able to show off when the majors roll around and your non-golf-freak friends actually pay attention to the game.

Ben Curtis, winner, Valero Texas Open

Ben Curtis, Ben Curtis ... name sounds familiar, but ... oh, wait! This is the dude that won the British Open!

Yes, in one of golf's most improbable stories, Ben Curtis captured the 2003 British Open thanks in part to a total collapse by Thomas Bjorn. Leading by two strokes with three holes left to play at Royal St. George's, Bjorn got stuck in a bunker on 16 that required three strokes to escape. Curtis won the tournament while standing on the driving range warming up for a playoff. He was the first player since Francis Ouimet at the U.S. Open in 1913 to win the first major in which he played; Keegan Bradley later matched the feat at last year's PGA Championship.

But even though Curtis ensured himself of golf immortality, success in the British Open's wake was tough to come by. Although the win gave him a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour, he only managed two wins, both in 2006, and only three top-10s in majors (2007 and 2008 British Opens, 2008 PGA Championship.) It wasn't until this past weekend's Valero Texas Open that he returned to the win column, taking down Matt Every and John Huh by two strokes. It may not have been a marquee event, but with an accompanying Masters invitation and a probable spot in the FedEx Cup playoffs, it'll do just fine.

To close, here's a fun gem, Curtis on David Letterman's show from way back in 2003 right after his British Open win. Best line: that Tiger Woods "has this aroma about him that's unbelievable." And don't miss Curtis' shot from off the top of the Ed Sullivan Theater at the 5:30 mark; it's a good thing he didn't pitch like that at Royal St. George's:

Probably not going to get a return invitation for winning Valero, but he now has a Tour exemption through 2014, which is almost as good.

Let me tell you a story about a man named Bobby Clampett. He hit one of the best shots of the weekend, and he wasn't alone. Check out gems from John Cook, Ben Curtis, Cameron Tringale and others right here. The theme of the day is "don't bring your putter." And how was YOUR weekend game, friends?

-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.

These days, you can't swing a cat without hitting someone with an opinion on Hank Haney's Tiger Woods-themed book "The Big Miss," and one of those with the best perspective on the book ? another of Woods' former swing coaches ? has broken his silence on Haney and Woods.

Harmon coached Woods from 1993 to 2004, taking him through his early successes and his initial exposure to the world. And the Woods he sees now is a far different player than the one he coached, both physically and mentally. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Harmon was direct: "For me, and I think we saw this at the Masters, he looks like he's playing 'golf- swing' and not golf," he said. "In my opinion, he's very robotic. And you could see that at Augusta with all his practice swings and the double-cross shots when he's trying to fade it and he hooks it. I think everyone thought because he won at Bay Hill that he was back; well, he didn't hit it great at Bay Hill, he hit it OK. And Bay Hill's not a major."

Harmon suggested that Woods' problems could be solved with much less teaching, not more. He recommended Woods get out on a practice tee with nobody else around and start working on shaping his own shots, not trying to pile advice on top of advice. "Quit playing golf-swing and just hit shots; just say to himself, I'm gonna hit a low fade, and I don't need anybody to tell me how to do it, I'm just gonna feel it. He's Tiger Woods, for God's sake. He doesn't know how to hit a shot?"

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Harmon also expressed a bit of skepticism about Haney's motives in writing a book. "I'm very surprised that he would write it," he said. "I'd never do that to Tiger or Greg [Norman] or any of the guys I've been with. We get to spend a lot of time with these people, sometimes even more time than their own families. Things are said, or you see different things ... it is what it is, you just leave it where it belongs. I was really shocked to see him talk about Elin and Tiger's kids and stuff like that, I don't think that had any place in it."

As for his current pupil, Phil Mickelson, Harmon had a few choice words for Phil's decision-making on Sunday at Augusta, particularly when he butchered the fourth: "It was a bad shot," he said. "I'm not making excuses, but he did get very unlucky with how the ball bounced. And after that, I thought he played everything so quickly; I said on the [television] commentary, 'Oh my gosh, he's not taking any time at all.' Afterwards, when I talked to him about going back to the tee, he said, '[Shoot], I'd've probably ended up in the same place.' Well, that's one way to look at it."

It's a revealing little Q&A with good tidbits on the big stories of our time; check out more over at The Wall Street Journal.

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Remember Ben Curtis? No? That's OK; the guy hasn't won since 2006. Well, hadn't won; he took down this past weekend's Valero Texas Open by bringing home a steady on-par 72 that was enough in rough conditions. Matt Every, who earlier in the week had recorded a course record, got close, but couldn't quite make the pass. Congrats to Curtis on the win. Now, it's on to New Orleans for the Zurich Classic!

Good news, Dallas Cowboys fans! Your quarterback won't be focused on golf this summer! That means more time for him to focus on ... well, whatever it is he needs to focus on to get the Cowboys to make a little more postseason noise.

Like many jocks, Tony Romo is an avid golfer. Unlike most, however, he believes he's good enough to take his golf to a higher level, and has tried on three occasions to qualify for the U.S. Open.

There won't be a fourth, at least not this year. While Romo had been listed in a local qualifying field at the Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas, he will not be participating in the May 14 event. He said that he didn't make the application to play in the event, which means either 1. he's changing his story, 2. he's got an overeager team of handlers, or 3. there's another Tony Romo out there.

Whichever, it's probably for the best. He reached sectional qualifying in Houston two years ago, but has never gotten any farther than that. And the Cowboys have already started up their supervised offseason program, so, you know, it's probably best for the field general to be around for all that.

Tony Romo won't make U.S. Open run [ESPN Dallas]

When it comes to the Olympics, nothing is ever easy, as the organizers of the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro are learning. While golf is slated to return to the Olympics slate for the first time in more than a century, the chosen site for the course in Rio is now the focus of a legal dispute.

The exact nature of the dispute has not yet made news, but Olympic organizers said they are "evaluating the measures" necessary to deal with it, according to the Associated Press. We'll leave said "measures" to your imagination.

If the dispute is severe enough to force organizers to find a new site, there may not be enough time to get the course ready for planned trial runs in 2015. Either that, or they'll be handing everybody at the Opening Ceremony a shovel and a map.

Two well-known players, one on the rise and one apparently on the decline, have withdrawn from the Valero Texas Open.

Anthony Kim is trying to make a career comeback, but he continues to run aground. He withdrew from the tournament after 14 holes because of a wrist injury, citing numbness in his arm. He'll seek an MRI for his injury. This marks the second consecutive tournament, after the Shell Houston Open, from which Kim has withdrawn. The days of 2008, when he was one of golf's brightest young stars, seem far away now.

Meanwhile, Erik Compton, the two-time heart transplant recipient who's now playing on his first Tour card, withdrew after just nine holes. He cited weakness, but told Golf Talk Central via text that he's "fine." Up till now, Compton had made seven of nine cuts.

Different concerns for both ? with Kim, this is another career setback; with Compton, you never want to see any kind of weakness ? so, bottom line, as unfortunate as it is to see familiar names out of the tournament, hopefully it's for the sake of better times ahead.

Kevin Na got a bit of revenge on the hole where he carded a 16 last year, Bud Cauley proved he's a rookie worth watching, and Matt Kuchar impressed as the big dog as the field. But it was Matt Every, who brought home a course-record 63, who leads the field right now. Play continues on Friday and, most likely, through the weekend.

There are two reasons we haven't covered the absolutely hysterical Bobby Petrino-on-a-cycle story: 1. It broke during the Masters, which led to plenty of hilarity in the media room but no room to cover it on our site, and 2. This is a golf site, and unfortunately he wasn't driving a golf cart. But guess what! Now we can get in on the action!

None other than John Daly, proud and outspoken Arkansas alum, took to Twitter to ask Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long to hire Daly's pal Jon Gruden for the gig:

@jefflongUAstill strong behind Gruden as i still think he would be the man to take us to that level! #WooPigSooie

? John Daly (@PGA_JohnDaly)

Daly and Gruden, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach and current ESPN commentator, go way back; Gruden once caddied for Daly at the PODS Championship in 2008. That, as Golf Talk Central notes, was the tournament that got Daly dropped by teacher Butch Harmon. Daly had apparently partied a bit too hard in a hospitality tent.

You know, as generous as Daly is in recommending his friend, I think we've got a better answer here: JOHN DALY FOR COACH OF THE ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS. Shoot, taking an engaged woman half your age on a motorcycle while still married wouldn't even crack the top 10 of Daly's achievements.

(Yeah, this post isn't going to get Daly to un-block me on Twitter, is it?)

Another year, another mighty-mite golfer making his or her professional debut. You know the drill: You think about what you were doing at the age of the youngster, you look at what was going on in the world when the kid was born, you feel depressed. Ready? Here we go!

Guan Tian-lang, age 13, made his professional debut this week at the Volvo China Open. (Biggest cultural touchstones when he was born: "Saving Private Ryan," Britney Spears, Monica Lewinsky.) Sure, he didn't exactly torch the field, shooting a 77 to settle into a tie for 150th place, 12 strokes behind the leader, but hey: 13 years old.

Guan is from China, and since they've probably never heard of Todd Marinovich or Jennifer Capriati there, there's apparently not much concern about burning the lad out before he's 15. As Oliver Brown oh-so-eloquently writes in The Telegraph:

At first glance, Guan's inclusion in this week's 156-man field looks like an example of at best gimmickry and at worst outright gerrymandering: a ploy to solicit greater Chinese interest by throwing in an absurdly young talent far out of his depth. The move helps perpetuate a fallacy that China is poised to monopolise golf to the same degree that it has sports such as diving, even if little could be further from the truth.

Despite a push toward golf, China has no players in the top 250 right now, and it could be a little while before Guan gets there.

Still, the kid does have a legitimate game; he played his way into the Open by placing fourth in a qualifier and taking a spot as a promoted alternate. He won last year's world junior title by 11 shots. And, yes, he's younger than some of your socks. Enjoy your day!

[Visor tip: Wei Under Par]

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-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

Tiger Woods is back! Tiger Woods is finished! Tiger Woods rules! Tiger Woods sucks!

You know the drill. If you've spent even three minutes around the world of golf in the last, oh, 15 years, you've gotten a full-on dose of Tiger Woods info, news and opinion. And while said dose was mostly positive prior to The Hydrant Incident, it's been markedly less so since then. And Woods' current swing coach, Sean Foley, has had enough.

"Tiger is a wonderful person, and he is a good dude, and he lives a complex life," Foley said while talking to Sirius/XM's PGA Tour channel. "I think things have got to slow down, it has got to stop, the daily referendums and the criticism."

Foley threw the blame on that handy devil, the media: "I realize it is 2012, and we have dotcoms, and you have to write five articles a day, and you run out of things to write about [um...guilty as charged -JB], but we should be in a position where we are trying to help and lift up and support a player like Tiger Woods, instead of tearing him down, because everyone in the golf industry is better off because of his existence."

Hmmm. Where to begin with this? Yes, without a doubt, everyone involved with the game of golf is better off because of Tiger Woods. There's no athlete anywhere that has as much of an outsized influence over his or her sport than Woods over golf.

However, there's a big difference between the mouth-breathing, borderline-racist yammering about Woods (see: the comments below this and any other Tiger Woods article) and legitimate criticism about his game and his behavior on the course. Woods became rich beyond compare thanks to the PGA Tour, sponsors, and fans, and with that comes higher scrutiny and expectation than the rest of his compatriots receive. You pay somebody that much money, you have the right to expect they don't go "transgress," kick clubs or whatever.

As with everything else, Woods can shut down about 80 percent of the criticism with victory. And the other 20 percent? Sorry, Sean, the haters will always be with us.

[Via Golf Talk Central]

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Statistics can be massaged in wonderful ways, and here's a good one: in the last 14 majors, dating back to the 2008 PGA Championship, we've had 14 different winners. And 11 of those are first-timers. (Trivia: the repeat winners are Padraig Harrington, Angel Cabrera and Phil Mickelson.)

What does that sample size, which is getting large enough to be statistically valid, suggest? Well, first off, there's more parity in the game now than ever before. Second, it appears to be a lot tougher to win that second major than the first. And third, well ... you-know-who has been out of the mix for almost all of this.

One of the quirks of the recent blast of one-and-done major winners is how quickly many of them vanish from the scene as soon as they win. Well, not from the scene per se, but from highly competitive golf. Take a look at 2009 in particular: Cabrera, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink and Y.E. Yang have had trouble sustaining success since their majors.

In 2010, Louis Oosthuizen won the British Open with such a commanding performance that we had to figure we were seeing the birth of a new golf superstar. But aside from a T9 at the next U.S. Open, he was all but irrelevant with three missed cuts in five majors. Gah.

Then came this year at Augusta. He lost on the second hole of a playoff to Bubba Watson -- you may have heard something about it -- and won raves all over the golf world for his cool under pressure and his steady putting stroke.

So what does he do next? Wins the Maybank Malaysian Open by three strokes the very next weekend. There's absolutely no better script for Oosthuizen than that.

"I was a little surprised to win here after that," Oosthuizen said at the time. "I thought I would be a lot more tired."

Golf is a game of streaks, and if Oosthuizen can build one that stretches over months rather than days, he'll break the longstanding majors curse. (Yes, we're calling it a curse until it's broken.)

As if he doesn't have enough honors, Jack Nicklaus can now add another: The House has voted to grant the golfing legend the Congressional Gold Medal.

Nicklaus was recognized for his golfing achievements (it's true, he did win a lot) and his charitable work; he has raised more than $12 million for pediatric health services through the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation. He can hang the medal next to his Congressional Medal of Freedom, which he was awarded there at right by President Bush in 2005.

The last recipients of the Congressional Gold Medal, given to prominent public figures and public servants, were Japanese-American World War II vets. Arnold Palmer won the award in 2009. (He got in one more victory on Jack!)

The legislation now heads to the Senate. Forget campaign finance reform and health care; this is a bill that needs to pass, now! Tip to Nicklaus' people: don't be surprised if you start receiving a lot of inquiries from the 202 area code asking to play a round with the Golden Bear.

Admit it, you'd like to see if your favorite golf pros could pull off the kind of goofy trick shots you practice with your pals while you're waiting for those slow-playing morons to hole out. Well, guess what: Not only can the pros do those trick shots, they can do 'em better than you could imagine. Check out Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and many others rocking their Titleists (and Callaways, and Srixons, and so on) with some trick-shot goofiness.

Visor tip to Golf Monthly.

Ruthless! Efficient! Carl Pettersson led off his final round with a birdie barrage, and didn't let up until he ended up with a lovely tartan jacket and a five-shot victory at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links. You know, when you hear that you'll win a jacket in April in a golf tournament, your mind probably goes in a certain direction, but still ... this ain't bad. Congrats to Carl. Now, on to Texas!

As you know, Bubba Watson just won the Masters. As you probably also know, Bubba Watson bought the very first General Lee from the "Dukes of Hazzard" TV show at auction. Here's a (Photoshopped) look at what 2013 will hopefully bring at Augusta, courtesy of Bubba's Twitter feed. Hey, if he can't drive it at a NASCAR race, maybe he can wheel it up Magnolia Lane.

Make this happen, Bubba. You're one of them now.

Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.

Look, let's be honest: as great as Bubba Watson's shot to win the Masters last week was, it wasn't like the ball was going to, say, EAT him if he misplayed it.

The scene: the 15th hole of the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C. Golfer Brian Gay was greenside, but he wasn't alone ... there was a freaking alligator right there with him. So Gay's caddie Kip Henley stepped up and rousted the gator. (And, yes, insert obligatory "Happy Gilmore"/Chubbs reference here.)

Gay would go on to bogey the hole, which is really about the best-case scenario. Henley, for his part, just made the game of golf 25 percent cooler.

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The RBC Heritage is underway, and catch up with all the events of the first round. Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson, John Daly (really) and many others had some fine moments on Hilton Head island. But it was Chad Campbell, Colt Knost and Vaughn Taylor who snagged the early lead together. Play continues Friday and on into the weekend.

Lost in Bubbarama, Oosty's Albatross, Phil's Pholly and KickGate was the fact that Lee Westwood gave himself a fairly decent chance of winning the Masters.

Yes, Lee Westwood, the guy who's now lost 54 consecutive majors. As GolfTalkCentral notes, Westy is now in the market for a new putting coach after giving Phil Kenyon the boot.

"I don't know how much difference Kenyon's made," said Chubby Chandler, Westwood's manager. "I don't think he's made any. Whether that stays the same or not, hmmm. But Lee will keep working."

How critical was Westwood's putting? This: He finished two strokes off the lead. But he took128 putts, while Bubba Watson needed 120 to win, and Phil Mickelson got out the door with only 107 putts. Westwood ranked 59th in putting among the 62 players who made the cut.

A late charge, where he dropped four birdies over the last six holes, helped put him on the outskirts of contention. Better play throughout the week would have had him in charge.

If that brand-spankin'-new Callaway RAZR driver or TaylorMade Ghost Putter you see on eBay for $39.95 seems too good of a deal to be true, chances are it is. There's a thriving business in counterfeit clubs, and they're a lot tougher to weed out than finding the ones spelled "Pinng" and "Titlist."

Good news, though: Life just got a little bit tougher for those trying to pawn off knockoff clubs on an unsuspecting public. Via Hooked On Golf, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has shuttered more than 175 websites trafficking in counterfeit clubs. This follows the closure of another 60 websites in January.

According to the U.S. Golf Manufacturers' Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group (boy, that's not an unwieldy title at all), more than 130 defendants representing the more than 175 sites sold clubs, balls and other accessories. But if you visit those sites now, boom: no more.

The group tries to educate consumers about the dangers of counterfeit clubs via its website KeepGolfReal.com (motto: "Fake clubs are for fake golfers."). The group includes some of the best-known golf companies in the world, including Callaway/Odyssey, TaylorMade, Ping, Cleveland Golf and more. The group estimates that as many as 2 million counterfeit clubs are manufactured each year, or enough to "stretch from Bethpage Black to Pebble Beach and back again."

So, there you go. If you're going to get a club on the cheap, do it the old-fashioned way: Win it off your playing partner.

There are plenty of memorable landmarks along the PGA Tour, including marble walls, insane bunkers and the lunatic coliseum out in Scottsdale, Arizona. (The list, alas, does not include majors, so no Rae's Creek.) Where does the lighthouse at Harbour Town Golf Links, site of this weekend's RBC Heritage, rank? Only one landmark on the Tour beats it ... and if you think, you can probably guess which one.

Bubba Watson took his turn on David Letterman's show Monday night, and pretty much charmed everybody in the viewing audience. "How would you describe your style of play?" Letterman asked. Bubba's reply: "Awesome."

Bubba's not ours anymore, golf pals. He belongs to the world now.

Hey, Bubba Watson, great job winning that green jacket. But it's been a couple days now. So what are you going to do for an encore?

Yes, it's the way of the world these days: You get a few minutes to celebrate your achievement, and then we start projecting forward. Get back on the horse! Anyway, here's the question: Can Watson follow up his amazing 2012 Masters win with more majors victories?

Sure, we'd like to think that everybody who wins a major is destined to win many more, but with 14 different winners in the last 14 majors, and 12 of those being first-time winners, well, the odds aren't good. You're not going to see anyone challenging Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods anytime soon; heck, anybody who wins multiple majors these days is probably on the short list for the Hall of Fame.

[ Related: Masters champ Bubba Watson's first sports love wasn't golf ]

So could Bubba join that austere group? Let's consider:

The case for: Remember, the Masters wasn't Watson's first dance in a major playoff. He lost the 2010 PGA Championship to Martin Kaymer, an event far more famous for Dustin Johnson's unintentional grounding of a club in some maybe-bunker than anything else. Watson has the ability to stay close to the top of the leaderboard thanks to his monstrous driver, so anytime he can cut loose with the big stick, he's got a chance. Plus, he's young, he's got time.

The case against: How the heck did Watson manage to win the Masters with a putter that would be suspect at a Panama City Beach putt-putt course? You'll note that he missed two put-away putts (though, to be fair, he wasn't necessarily trying to win with the first putt on No. 10). Watson is all over the map, headspace-wise, so if he can stay pointed in the right direction, he's perfect. But that can be a big "If." Not only that, the field is deeper now than it has ever been in the history of golf. Everybody's going to have trouble winning more than one major, not just Bubba.

So, there you have it. Your take? Will Mr. Watson win more majors in his time? Have your say.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. ? You wouldn't expect to find jungle undergrowth at Augusta National, but if there was anyone in the Masters field you'd pick to find it, it would be Phil Mickelson.

Sure enough, Mickelson drove an approach shot on the fourth hole deep into foliage that looked like it came off the set of "Apocalypse Now," and that was enough to kill his chances at a fourth green jacket. He would take two shots to get out of the jungle and six shots on the par-3 hole overall, and that was enough to keep him out of a playoff with Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen.

Mickelson actually didn't play that badly, relatively speaking; after the triple-bogey, he clambered his way back up the leaderboard to finish the round exactly where he started, at minus-8. In the end, though, poor putting killed his chances every bit as much as one ugly hole did. Mickelson left multiple putts inches short or just wide. Those are the kinds of shots that will burn at him for an entire year.

So, no green jacket, no repeat trip to Krispy Kreme, despite some prognosticators' assurance that it was in the bag. But Mickelson left the 18th green and walked into the waiting arms of his family, and for this day, that would have to be enough.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. ? The Masters tournament involves approximately 100 players taking a total of around 20,000 strokes. But in the end, it came down to just two: Louis Oosthuizen's astonishing albatross on No. 2, and Bubba Watson's ungodly pop-fly wedge shot from the woods on the second hole of a playoff. Both shots are now part of Masters lore, but only one man won a green jacket.

The Masters that began with so many players finished up with just two, Oosthuizen and Watson, in a sudden-death playoff: Both players got good looks at a birdie on 18, with Watson barely missing a Masters-winning putt. Possibly rattled by that, Watson stuck his tee shot on No. 10 into the deep woods right of the green, but then uncorked a shot not even a video-game player could imagine: a straight-up wedge that landed within 15 feet for birdie. Needing two shots to win, Watson put his first putt close then tapped in his second for his first major win.

Oosthuizen played a largely undistinguished round of golf, with one notable exception: a 3-under double eagle on the second hole that surely ranks as one of the greatest shots in Masters history. The 260-yard shot was enough to keep the field at bay for most of the round, and enough to give Oosthuizen a little room to waver through the course of the round. He steadied himself on the back nine, bringing home the same 10-under that he'd staked himself to on the second hole.

Once again, Watson found himself in a playoff for a major championship. In 2010, he fell to Martin Kaymer in the PGA Championship. This year, there would be no such fade.

The conventional wisdom was that Watson would either shoot in the low 60s or the high 70s, no middle ground. And indeed, he seemed on the verge of losing control right from the start, griping at the air en route to bogeying the very first hole. But he settled down, surrendering only one stroke the rest of the way and putting on a spectacular four-birdie run from Nos. 13 to 16. That was enough to put him 10-under and into a tie for the lead, a tie that would hold up into the playoff.

[ Dan Wetzel: Bubba Watson plays his own brand of golf to win green jacket ]

Phil Mickelson, the favorite coming into the day, played 17 solid holes at a level good enough to stay in the hunt, if not own it. The problem was the fourth, where he pile-drove a shot into the side of a grandstand and then needed two right-handed shots (Mickelson is left-handed) to get it free of the dense jungle growth. He carded a triple-bogey 7, falling from 8-under to 5-under. And although he wouldn't bogey another hole, he left too many putts too short. He finished right where he started, at minus-8, staring up an impassable two-stroke incline at the leaders.

Other highlights included two aces at No. 16, carded by Bo Van Pelt and Adam Scott, and Van Pelt's astonishing 8-under run to tie a Masters record. Lee Westwood didn't do his usual major fade, but his 4-under day to get to minus-8 simply wasn't enough. Matt Kuchar and 54-hole leader Peter Hanson both took turns at the lead, but couldn't hold. And Tiger Woods? A 2-over 74 to finish a dismal plus-5.

In the end, though, the final lingering image of this Masters was a tearful Bubba Watson, embracing his mother as the last of the light faded from the day. He'd finally broken into the ranks of golf's major winners with a well-deserved, hard-earned victory, and there was little more to do at that moment than weep in gratitude.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. ? At Augusta National, history wafts through the pines and across the fairways. And every so often, it drops right in your lap.

Standing in the fairway at the par-5 second hole, one stroke behind the leaders and 260 yards from the pin, Louis Oosthuizen unleashed one of the most magnificent shots in Masters history. His approach hit 28 yards short of the pin, then rolled as if down a gutter, and with one final rotation, dropped into the cup. It was the first albatross, a 3-under-par shot (also a double eagle), ever made on No. 2, and only the fourth in the entire history of the Masters. And it vaulted Oosthuizen from back in the pack into a two-shot lead.

Smiling his characteristic gap-toothed grin, the one that's given him the nickname "Shrek," Oosthuizen then did the unthinkable: He tossed the potentially historic ball into the crowd.

[ Related: Masters tickets are attainable if you dig deep ]

The lucky recipient? A gentleman by the name of Wayne Mitchell, who hails from New Tripoli, Pa. He caught the ball and almost immediately socked it into his pocket. "My biggest fear was that I would drop it," he said later. "I'm not a souvenir chaser. But there were about 100 people behind me who would have gone for it."

Once Oosthuizen and the following pairing, leaders Peter Hanson and Phil Mickelson, finished out the second hole, a couple of club members in green jackets escorted Mitchell and his wife away from the second green. Mitchell took a moment to speak to the media, but made sure to keep the ball in his pocket. You never know, after all.

How much might the ball be worth? Green Jacket Auctions immediately offered $20,000 on Twitter if Oosthuizen wins. But Mitchell said right off the bat that he'd be "respectful" of the club's history, and later carried through on that promise, giving the ball to Augusta National with no announced compensation. One can speculate that Mr. Mitchell may have an easier time finding badges to future Masters events, however.

Asked if he would play the lottery on his way home, he smiled and said, "Why would I need to?"

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AUGUSTA, Ga. ? I realize I may well be jinxing the hell out of Phil Mickelson by saying this, but here it is: The 2012 Masters is his to lose.

Consider history. Mickelson has won here three times already. He knows every element of this course, every hill and dale and skid of the green. He knows how to play this course under every condition, particularly Sunday with nobody behind you.

Consider momentum. After 10 holes at this tournament, including a lost ball on the 10th, he sat at four over and appeared, for all intents, over and done. Since then, he's gone 12-under in just two-plus rounds, including an astonishing 30 on the back nine on Saturday. He's rolling harder and faster than anyone on the course.

[Dan Wetzel: Phil Mickelson's performance on Saturday saves the Masters from mediocrity]

Consider the opposition. The only major winners in the top 10 besides Mickelson are Louis Oosthuizen and Padraig Harrington. Those two have four majors between them, and a whole lot of nothing since they won those majors. You don't want to place too much weight on experience at Augusta, because everyone who wins here has to win the first one, but you don't want to write it off as irrelevant either.

Consider the moment. If Phil wins on Sunday, he'll have four green jackets, tying him with Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods. Only Jack Nicklaus at six has more. That's heady, immortal company. Phil's already in the World Golf Hall of Fame, or will be after his induction next month, but a victory at Augusta would put him in the conversation for the top 10 golfers in history, and he knows it.

[Dan Wetzel: Tiger Woods still searching for answers after uneventful third round at Masters]

So there you have it, several very good reasons why Phil Mickelson could, and should, win at Augusta. Your thoughts?

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It's Sunday at the Masters, one of the greatest days of the year in sports. And we'll be here all day with you, chatting live and posting updates from the course. Enjoy, everyone!

AUGUSTA, Ga. ? Because everyone thinks he's a deep-fried country boy ? his name's Bubba! he bought the Dukes of Hazzard's General Lee car! ? it's easy to forget that the dude is dead serious about his golf game, and is hands down one of the best players on the planet.

Phil Mickelson's charge and Peter Hanson's improbable run may dominate the headlines going into Sunday's play, but Bubba sits just three strokes back of the lead, and he'll tee off in the second-to-last group at Augusta. Not a bad place to be, but Watson knows he can't be content with what he's got.

"The other guys have been playing so good, and they are going to keep playing good," he noted after his round. "You can't expect them to back up. You have got to expect them to keep going forward. So you've got to shoot a low number." He pinpointed that number in the 5- to 6-under range. It's doable, but it won't be easy ... and it shouldn't be.

[ Also: Dan Wetzel: Phil Mickelson's performance on Saturday saves the Masters from mediocrity ]

Then again, there are now priorities other than golf. Watson and his wife are new parents of an adopted infant, and he told the media that "I can't wait to whenever you get done talking to me to go back there and look at him. My wife sends me pictures of him and what he's doing." Pause. "He's not doing much. He's just laying there."

Still, Watson allowed that this first major after the arrival of his son would be a special one indeed. "It will be special to win it any time," he said, "but, yeah, especially for my son."

He's got his chance.

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