- Suspensions in professional sports are not a new phenomenon, but when they happen in golf, they raise a lot of eyebrows. This week, Web.com Tour player Bhavik Patel was suspended for violating the PGA Tour's PED abuse policy. In a statement, Patel said “In an effort to overcome an injury, I made a lapse of judgment. I regret my decision but have learned from the experience and look forward to returning to competition.” Players in other sports have been suspended for using substances such as Human Growth Hormone to overcome an injury, but this is the first known case in professional golf. Patel wasn't a big name player on Tour - he finished 114th on the money list last year and never played an event on the PGA Tour. This certainly does not help his chances, but the PGA Tour did announce that Patel, who would have been playing on a medical exemption this year, will not lose his status upon return to the Tour.
- Happy 75th birthday Jack Nicklaus! In a recent interview, Nicklaus admitted that he missed playing at a high competitive level, and that playing weekend rounds with his friends does not satisfy the desire to play in majors and be competitive. That is certainly understandable, though I doubt any of us are going to quite understand what it is like to retire from golf after winning 18 majors and being considered the greatest golfer of all time.
- Jack isn't the only member of the Nicklaus family to be celebrating this week, as his wife Barbara was announced as this year's Bob Jones Award winner. The Bob Jones Award is the highest honor bestowed by the USGA, and it goes to someone who positively influences the game of golf and represents themselves in a positive manor. The First Lady of Golf has worked hand in hand with her husband to run the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation, as well as be the host for the Honda Classic.
- Tiger Woods will begin his 2015 in Phoenix, but it looks like the atmosphere of the event will be starting to change. Two years after banning caddie races, the PGA Tour announced that players will no longer be able to hand out free items off the 16th tees, as was tradition in the past. Next year, they will likely ban alcohol and booing, and the year after they will ban clapping. By 2020, no spectators will be allowed at the event.
- The Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is one of the most unique events on the PGA Tour schedule, but it will be without one of its regular players. Phil Mickelson announced this week that he will be skipping Pebble in an effort to spend more time with his kids. Lefty is scheduled to tee it up over the next three weeks, however, so fans of Phil will still get the opportunity to see him on the West Coast.
- Something does not add up. In a recent GolfChannel.com article, the Coats Golf Championship is boasting that they will have 49 of the world's top 50, and 96 of the top 100 in the Rolex Rankings attending their event - however, players such as Hyo Joo Kim, In Gee Chun, and Sun Ju Ahn are currently not scheduled to participate in the event. If Coats somehow convinces the top players from the KLPGA and JLPGA Tours to participate in their event, I will be highly impressed, but this is most likely either a miss step by their media team or a flat out lie to get people more interested in their event. The event, however, will feature Inbee Park, Stacy Lewis, and Lydia Ko, so there are plenty of top names in the field that will make the event interesting.
- Speaking of Lydia Ko, she's not wearing glasses anymore. Neat.
- When Korean players come to the States, they sometimes adopt a nickname that is easier on American audiences to pronounce. Some just shorten their name, like Mi Jung Hur, who now goes by MJ Hur, while others adopt a nickname, like Ji-eun Park who decided to go as Grace Park. Now, however, we may have the greatest name in the history of professional golf, as rookie Kyu-Jung Baek will be competing in the United States as Q Baek. On the weekends, she works as a radio DJ under the name DJ Q Baek. She also secretly supplies James Bond with equipment to use in the field. In all seriousness, Baek is competing as a rookie after winning the KEB-HanaBank Championship as a member of the KLPGA Tour last year.
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