Friday, February 20, 2015

News Grab-Bag: 2/20/2015

- For anyone who purchased tickets to the Honda Classic expecting to see a Rory McIlroy/Tiger Woods duel, you may want to ask for a refund. Woods announced this week that he will not be playing in next week's Honda Classic, and therefore he will also not eligible to play in the World Golf Championship event at Doral. While he is eligible to play at The Masters, there is a real concern that he may not be physically and mentally ready for the first major of the year.

- Davis Love III may have gotten the nod to be the next US Ryder Cup captain thanks to an endorsement from a man who was thought to be a favorite to take over the team. Paul Azinger, who captained the United States to victory in 2008, said this week that he had no interest in captaining the team once again, and that he gave his endorsement of Love to the task force. Azinger seems to think that Love is the perfect man for the job, and that he just needs more than one opportunity to prove it.

- The week just seems to be getting better for Davis Love III, who was elected as the president of the Players Advisory Council. The PAC consults with the PGA Tour on issues that affect players. Essentially, it is the closest thing to a union that the PGA Tour players have.

- When Darren Clarke takes the reigns as captain of the Ryder Cup, he not have Paul McGinley on the sidelines during the matches. McGinley announced this week that he does "not have the personality" to ever return from captaining a team to being a vice-captain. McGinley's vice-captains in 2014 included Jose Maria Olazabal and Sam Torrance, both of whom were Ryder Cup captains.

- Miguel Angel Jimenez is disappointed that he will not be the Ryder Cup captain in 2016, but that does not mean he won't be trying to be a part of the matches. Jimenez said earlier this week that, now that he is no longer a candidate to be captain, he will be attempting to actually make the team. Jimenez will be 52 next year, so the chances of him making the team are slim, but he has been playing solid golf lately. It would be a great story if he were able to do it.

- Could Lydia Ko be hanging up the clubs at age 30? Ko, who enrolled in Korea University this year, said that she sees herself retiring from competitive golf at the age of 30 and moving on to a career in psychology. We will see when the time comes, but Ko wouldn't be the first player who stepped away when they were at the top of the game, as Lorena Ochoa can attest.

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