Friday Fun: Ladies Talk Trash, Phil's Angry, and More

Ah, Friday! The end of the week has once again arrived and not a moment too soon. It seems to me that the week following a holiday week (for us Americans, at least) always seems much longer than just 5 working days. The world of golf has kept us all thoroughly entertained, however, thanks to a gaggle of trash-talking Solheim Cuppers, a pathetic Hall of Famer on the PGA TOUR, and other interesting stories. Click on the jump to read this week's Friday Fun.

Meg Mallon Named US Captain at Solheim, Euro Players Respond- What's a team competition without a little friendly, lighthearted trash-talking amongst the teams? Earlier this week, 18-time LPGA TOUR winner Meg Mallon was appointed as the United States captain for the 2013 Solheim Cup. Mallon represented the USAas a player in the Solheim Cup eight times, and once served as an assistant captain.

As word spread throughout the interwebz and other media outlets, many European and American players took to Twitter to partake in issuing small jabs towards one another amid offering congratulations to Mallon. For example, likely Euro participant Suzann Petterson tweeted"Congrats to Meg Mallon, bring your A team girl:) you will need it :)”. In response, the USA's Paula Creamer replied, "@suzannpettersen you love it!! USA USA USA". The two continued from there, along with other players likely to be named to either team.

Mallon, 48, has a 13-9-7 overall Solheim Cup record, including 5-2-1 in singles.

Mickelson Shoots 77 at Torrey, Calls Himself Pathetic - Come on, Phil; don't be so hard on yourself.

According to The Golf Channel, Phil Mickelson was none-too-pleased following yesterday's lackluster performance in which he recorded an abysmal 77. Lefty had come into this week's Farmers Insurance Open with a great deal of confidence, having won this event three times in his career. What did that confidence provide instead? 11 trips to a bunker, arrant tee-shots and even a missed 3-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

“I made some bad swings just in the wrong spot and so forth,” Mickelson said. “I felt like my game was ready heading in, and I don’t know what to say about the score. Because it was pathetic.”

Look on the bright side, Phil; you've already made the Hall of Fame, so you're kind of playing with the house's money.

Nicklaus Worried About Lack of Interest in Golf - Think about all of the common traits golfers take issue with regarding the game: too expensive, takes too long to finish a round, lack of courses in the area, etc.

Well, these are all shared by golfing legend Jack Nicklaus, according to a recent article in The Ottawa Citizen. According to Jack, the number of youngsters taking to the fairways and greens worldwide continues to shrink every year, and he believes the common 'complaints' are to blame. More than anything, however, is that most young athletes are simply not exposed to the game of golf often enough to spark interest. One possible solution? Build more courses around public parks and athletic facilities.

“Why can’t we have golf in those [public] parks? There’s no reason why not,” Nicklaus said during a keynote speech for the launch of Golf 2.0, an industry initiative to build interest and participation at the annual PGA Merchandise Show.

Even The Golden Bear himself has limited his golf rounds down to about once a month and spends more time trucking his 22 grandchildren to other sports like soccer, hockey, and youth football.