... and Open Thread ...

PGA Tour
At age 47, Kenny Perry became the oldest winner of The Memorial. He joined Tiger Woods as the only 3-time winner of Jack's tournament. And the victory was also the 10th of his PGA Tour career. Perry finished at 280, the only player among the leaders to break 70 in the final round (with a 69). He won by two over Mathew Goggin, Jerry Kelly, Mike Weir and Justin Rose.

Story | Scores

European Tour
Scott Strange has won the Asian Tour before, but on Sunday he earned his first Euro Tour victory at the Celtic Manor Wales Open. Strange suffered dizzy spells on the course in the third round, but he seemed fine Sunday: He shot 64. Robert Karlsson was second, four strokes behind.

Story | Scores

Champions Tour
Jay Haas fired a 65 on Sunday at the Principal Charity Classic to pip Andy Bean by a stroke. Haas finished at 10-under 203, just ahead of Bean who shot 67 in the final round. Nick Price was third.

Story | Scores

Nationwide Tour
Kris Blanks held off a charging Bob May, who closed with a 64, to win the Bank of America Open. Blanks posted a 68 in the final round, finishing at 16-under. Casey Wittenberg tied with May in second.

Story | Scores

LPGA Tour
Sophie Gustafson collapsed, Seon Hwa Lee surged, and Lee wound up winning the Ginn Tributed in a playoff. Gustafson began the day six strokes ahead of the field, but wound up shooting 79 and tumbling to fourth. Lee, meanwhile, fired a 67, finishing at 14-under. Karrie Webb birdied the 18th to tie Lee, then Lee won on the first playoff hole with a par.

Story | Scores

Ladies European Tour
Amy Yang cruised to a 4-stroke win at the Ladies German Open, finishing with a 67 and a 21-under total of 267. Louise Stahle was second. Michelle Wie closed with a 67 and was alone in sixth at 14-under.

Story | Scores

Futures Tour
Mindy Kim won for the second time this season - and the second time in a row - at the Aurora Health Care Championship. Kim was the only player to finish under par, at 3-under. Among the four tied for second was Bri Vega, former "Big Break" championship, for her best Futures Tour showing to date.

Scores

Jack Nicklaus has believed for quite a while that today's equipment - particularly the golf ball - makes the game too easy for the best players in the world. Or at least allows them to hit the ball so far that today's game bears less and less resemblance to yesterday's game all the time.

There are some very practical concerns about how far the ball is flying - for example, the longer golfers are hitting their shots, the longer new courses need to be built, the more land is required to build them on, the more water and chemicals are required to keep them in shape.

Nicklaus has argued forcefully that the ball should be "dialed back" and some of that distance gotten rid of. But he's not just standing by and letting golfers using today's equipment overwhelm his beloved Muirfield Village, either. He keeps trying to knock the PGA Tour boys for a loop, and sometimes he succeeds.

For example, this year Muirfield Village has rough that some of the players have described as "U.S. Open rough." And just like the U.S. Open rough at the, well, U.S. Open, some of those players don't like it. Not one bit.

I can understand that sentiment, actually - we all want to enjoy our jobs. We'd all like to have fun at work. If I'm working in an office, and two days a week I have to work in conditions that I don't enjoy - I don't look forward to going to work those days, and when I'm at work, I'm hating it - and it turns out that I don't really need the money produced during those two days, and that I have the option of not showing up ... well, am I going to show up?

If PGA Tour golfers hate the conditions somewhere, and they aren't struggling to keep their card, and being independent contractors aren't required to show up, might they stop playing a tournament?

Sure, it happens all the time - although rarely are players explicit that they aren't attending a certain event because they just don't like it. Players whine about the U.S. Open conditions every year, but they show up because it's the U.S. Open.

Would any golfers stop playing Jack's tournament because he likes to do things like put furrows into the bunkers? Or grow the rough to U.S. Open conditions?

Geoff Ogilvy this week:

"What would offend me if I was a member of a club (is) if pros came along and played the course and walked away and said, ‘I don’t want to play that place again. It’s too hard. I would rather have them say, ‘I can’t wait to get back here.’ ”

There's been a lot of bellyaching this year at The Memorial (especially with the conditions exacerbated by the weather). We'll have to watch how players react to The Memorial in coming years, and whether Nicklaus keeps ordering course setups that are among the most challenging on tour.

Jack Nicklaus has hosted The Memorial since 1976. Arnold Palmer has hosted Bay Hill - what is now the Arnold Palmer Invitational - since 1979. How many golfers have won both the legends' events?

Just six:

• Paul Azinger - 1988 Bay Hill, 1993 Memorial
• Fred Couples - 1992 Bay Hill, 1998 Memorial
• Ernie Els - 1998 Bay Hill, 2004 Memorial
• Tiger Woods - 1999-2001 Bay Hill, 2000-2003 Memorial
• Kenny Perry - 2005 Bay Hill, 1991 and 2003 Memorial
• Vijay Singh - 2007 Bay Hill, 1997 Memorial

No slouches on that list. Tiger is the only golfer to win both in the same year.

There are three winners of Arnie's tournament who have not yet won Jack's in the field at The Memorial this week: Phil Mickelson, Chad Campbell and Rod Pampling.

You were right (all of you who said this would happen), I was wrong: Tiger Woods is skipping Jack Nicklaus' Memorial tournament. The PGA Tour revealed today that it has been notified by Tiger's peeps that he will not enter The Memorial.

To me, this means Woods simply doesn't feel ready for tournament golf yet. It means the knee is taking on the long side of the doctors' estimates to heal. And that Tiger is being very cautious.

So his first tournament back after the knee surgery would appear to be the U.S. Open. A couple years ago, following the death of his father, Woods spent a couple months away prior to the U.S. Open, returning at Winged Foot. And missed the cut. This year he will (in all likelihood) return at the U.S. Open, but to a very different course, one not nearly as punishing, one with which Woods is extremely familiar and comfortable. Torrey Pines. I doubt we'll see another missed cut. But Woods no longer looks like an overwhelming favorite to win the Open at Torrey Pines.