"On Our Mind" Golf Blog by Brandon Underwood

A few days ago I posted a blog making a case for why John Daly in fact deserved all the sponsors exemptions he's been receiving. Turns out to be terrible timing on my part.

Let's start at the beginning of what has been a downward spiral for Daly over the past week.

Aiken's historic club content to live in Augusta National's shadow

 Today Aiken is sleepy Southern city that harkens back to the days of old. On any given day you might find residents enjoying an afternoon polo match at one of the many sprawling fields designated for the sport of kings that can be found just minutes from the quaint downtown.

It’s not rare for an equestrian crossing to stop traffic and unlike many places where commercialism reigns supreme; things considerably slow down on Sundays.

The number of people participating in golf is down and there are numbers to back up that claim.

According to a joint-study by the National Golf Foundation and the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association the total number of people who play golf has declined or remained flat each year since 2000, dropping to about 26 million from 30 million.

To classify John Daly’s career as an example of unrealized expectations would be unfair. It’s unimaginable to think winning two of golf’s four major championships is a fair expectation, unless your name is Tiger Woods.

While the world of sports is often captivated by winners, the spotlight is seldom stolen by guys who merely show up. When Daly shows up, people take notice; even if he has simply parked his RV at Hooters on Washington Rd., which is just down the road from Augusta National Golf Club, during the 2007 Masters.

Now that a week has passed, I think I can talk about what happend last Monday and it wasn't pretty. 

A general rule of thumb I will be adopting, y’all should as well, is that the act of complaining about anything that occurs while playing free golf is forbidden.

This rule goes into effect at the conclusion of this writing.

Weather is a rather obvious factor that can greatly affect a round of golf. On Verizon Heritage Media Day at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, you couldn’t have scripted a more perfect day. It was about 70 degrees and sunny; a little bit of San Diego’s climate in the Southeast.

In the last two years the PGA TOUR has introduced two dramatic changes: a new rotation for the Florida Swing and a drastically different cut policy.

This week, it was announced they both would be altered again.

The old Yankees had their Dodgers, the Celtics had the Lakers and more recently, the NFC had its Buffalo Bills! In golf, Nicklaus had his Watson, Watson had his Kite, and now Tiger has Phil.

In a media world where #1 is all that seems to matter (take this year’s Presidential primaries and college football season—though every college seemed hell-bent on finishing second, not first) maybe it is time that #2 got its due.

Here is an interesting little story from the Northern Trust open this week that got me thinking about a few different things.

Randy Young of the OC Register reported that talented 20-something’s Sergio Garcia and Anthony Kim got in a bit of a spat during Tuesday’s practice round.

Garcia was lining up a putt on the 18th hole, Riviera’s famed uphill par-4 finishing hole, when another golf ball dropped out of the sky and landed just feet from where he was standing.

Today recently embattled Roger Clemens and Mitchell Report whistleblower Brian McNamee, who served primarily as the legendary pitcher’s personal trainer during his career, are scheduled to appear before Congress on a day of reckoning for baseball that will only be surpassed if Barry Bonds is forced to do the same.

Baseball’s problems with illegal drugs, specifically Human Growth Hormone and steroids, seem to hit a new rock bottom with each additional revelation. While one sport sits at the end of a dreaded era unlikely to be forgotten, golf is about to make its initial foray into testing its athletes.