News Grab-Bag: 4/3/14

- If you've lived in the middle of the ocean for the past week with no means of communication, you probably missed the news that Tiger Woods will not be playing the Masters for the first time in his career. He underwent a "procedure" (see: surgery) to repair his back, and will be out several months, putting all the majors in jeopardy. What may be more important, if he misses a considerable amount of time, he will not qualify for the FedEx Cup, nor will he make it onto the Ryder Cup team.

- Despite a pulled oblique muscle, Phil Mickelson tee'd it up at the Shell Houston Open, which suggests he will be good to go at the Masters.

- And to finish off this injury train of sadness, Rolex Number 2 Suzann Pettersen missed the season's first major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, with a back injury. It is unknown at this time how long Suzann will be out of action, but one has to believe that the pain has to be rather severe if Suzann is willing to miss the first major of the season.

- The LPGA announced this week the creation of the Annika Major Award, an award named after Annika Sorenstam given to the player who plays the best over all five majors. The award will be based on a points system, and in order to qualify a player must win one of the majors. The player will receive a watch an a $100,000 bonus. I personally think the LPGA has too many awards as it is, but hey, anything that puts more cash in the pockets of the players is fine by me.

- There has been a lot of questions surrounding the first major on the LPGA Tour, but Mike Whan has cleared one thing up - the event will remain at Mission Hills. Whan stated that three potential sponsors are on hand this week for the event, but he also stated that, if the sponsors have a problem with the event being held at Mission Hills, the LPGA will fund the event themselves. Whan has proven himself to be a man of his word, so it's a safe bet that plunge into Poppie's Pond will continue to be a tradition.

- Do you like Paulina Gretzky on the cover of Golf Digest? If so, then you do not share the same opinion as several of the top LPGA pros, including Stacy Lewis and Inbee Park.

“It’s frustrating for female golfers,” Lewis said. “It’s the state of where we’ve always been. We don’t get the respect for being the golfers we are. Obviously, Golf Digest is trying to sell magazines, but at the same time you like to see a little respect for the women’s game.”

Honestly, I think I agree with Stacy. Obviously, Golf Digest can do what it likes, but it seems wrong to me to have someone on the cover who only got into the game because their fiance is a golfer, instead of actual golfers who have worked incredibly hard to make it to the top. This isn't Maxim or GQ or any other fashion magazine - it's Golf Digest. I can't say it's surprising, though - with print media dying, they have to do something to get sales. 

- With Tiger being out of the Masters, four players could pass him in the World Rankings. Adam Scott is the closest, and third or better will make him the number one players in the world. Henrik Stenson could get there this week with a win in Houston, or two strong finishes this week and next at Augusta. Jason Day could do it by winning the Masters, and Phil Mickelson can do it by winning both in Houston and at the Masters. No matter what happens, though, it is safe to say Tiger's reign at number one is about to come to an end.