It is with great sadness that I announce my departure as the bossman at Waggle Room. I've had some things happen recently (good things - not pending jail time) that will prevent me from being able to devote myself to proper blogging.

But fear not, Waggle Room isn't going anywhere. Because WR has never been about me, it's always been about you. WR has never been my site, it's always been your site.

That's the SBNation ethos: It's about the fans. I've just been the caretaker (cue creepy Shining music) during my time with SBN. Of, by and for the fans.

There's no other blogging network or blogging platform like SBN's on the Web. And so I urge you to continue writing those FanPosts, to continue posting those FanShots, to continue chiming in with comments.

To hold down the fort, as it were, until the new sheriff arrives and guides Waggle Room in new directions and to new heights.

"Mulligan Stu" is dead. Long live Waggle Room.

Count her own coach among those who believe Michelle Wie is making a mistake playing in the PGA Tour Reno-Tahoe Open this week. And David Leadbetter believes it's a mistake even though he also believes she might make the cut:

“I can see, now, what’s going to happen this week,” Leadbetter continued. “She will start swinging out of her shoes as she tries to keep up and that’s when things can go wrong technically. She may just become the first woman to make a cut since Babe Zaharias — but at what price?”

Leadbetter's comments were made to Lewine Mair of the Telegraph of London, and at Sunningdale, site of the Women's British Open. That's where Leadbetter is this week, working with Suzann Pettersen rather than heading to Reno to work with Wie.

Leadbetter says the decision for Wie to play Reno was a surprise not only to him, but also to Wie's agents - and he blames the family for what he views as a terrible decision:

“It’s a shock to me and to her agents that this is happening,” said Leadbetter, who has worked with the teenager for five years. “I don’t think the family has made the right choice. There’s definitely more to lose than to gain.”

...

“I’m one of Michelle’s greatest fans but what we’re seeing now smacks of what happened last year,” he said. “Then, she tried to come back far too soon and did none of the necessary rehab work. Now, just when there’s this little light at the end of the tunnel, they have her back playing against the men.”

...

“I’ve put too much time and effort into Michelle to be able to sit by and watch this happening without saying something,” Leadbetter said. “If she doesn’t stick to doing what’s sensible, we could see one of the greatest potential talents the game has ever known going to waste."

Later this year, the silly season and a silly series will collide. Sort of.

Brand new silly season event, the Kiwi Challenge, takes place in New Zealand Oct. 27-28. Brandt Snedeker is one of the four participants. And at the same time, the Golf Channel's "Big Break X: Michigan" will be airing. And Haymes Snedeker will be a contestant.

Brandt and Haymes. What were those parents thinking ...

Amber Prange - Ashley's little sister - will also be a contestant on "Big Break X," which will be a team competition. Two-person teams, with the two people on each team having some sort of "relationship" - whether familial, friendly, or very friendly (wink wink, nudge nudge). You can check out the cast here.

As for the Kiwi Challenge: Its sounds like a Grand Slam of Golf format, but not necessarily with major champions. Just the best four golfers they can get to commit to play 36 holes of stroke play for a first prize of $1.5 million. The total purse is $2.6 million, and in addition to Snedeker the other three golfers are Adam Scott, Anthony Kim and Hunter Mahan (good on the Kiwis for not sticking Michael Campbell in there). NBC will televise it in the States. 

A few golfers made the trek to Michigan to check out Oakland Hills today, the site of next week's PGA Championship. Phil Mickelson took three hours to analyze the front nine. Geoff Ogilvy and Adam Scott took four hours to play 18.

Mickelson and short-game coach Dave Pelz went through their pre-major routine, charting every hole and planning the attack. Said Phil: "We've got a lot more work to do." Yep, at least nine more holes of work.

I suspect the PGA Championship might be a 5-wedge tournament for Phil. Oakland Hills has perhaps the most severe greens in championship golf. Mickelson is going to want his full short-game arsenal.

We all know the answer: Because she puts fannies in the seats. So to speak. Or at least, everyone involved with the Reno-Tahoe Open is banking on Michelle Wie's ability to continue doing just that. As long as she maintains that ability, she'll continue receiving opportunities to play in the major leagues.

That ability was disappearing all during 2007. But coming off three days of great play at the State Farm Classic - followed by several days of controversy (nothing like controversy to generate free publicity) - Reno-Tahoe officials and PGATour.com officials are convinced the girl still has "it."

To wit:

• In the Monday First Tee clinic yesterday in Reno, the three tour professionals participating were ... two old guys, plus Wie (Jay Delsing and Steve Pate, to be exact). The tournament is putting Wie out front.
• On the PGATour.com tournament site on Monday, the main photo and headline were of Wie. Today, the main photo and headline have switched to Nick Flanagan, but three of the four sub-heads are about Wie.
• And according to a report in Sports Business Journal (subscription only), PGATour.com will devote more attention to Wie during tournament play (the first two rounds, at least) than the Web site has devoted to any individual player not named Tiger Woods:

A special page on PGATour.com will contain blog-style coverage from a Web site staffer following Wie around the course. There also are plans to have a photographer document her rounds and post video of exclusive post-round interviews.

Woods is the only other individual player who has received such prominent treatment at PGATour.com, said Matt Hong, vice president and general manager of sports digital for Turner Sports.

So while PGA Tour professionals are overwhelmingly opposed to Wie (or any other woman - but especially Wie) taking part in their events, the folks who are in charge of generating interest in the tournament locally - and therefore, generating attention for the sponsors and money for the charities - and the people who are in charge of generating ratings (Web, television or otherwise) remain absolutely conviced of Wie's ability to sell a tournament.

And it's hard to argue with that belief when looking at the attention generated so far, and anticipating what is still to come.

... and Open Thread ...

WGC
Bridgestone Invitational
Firestone Country Club, Akron, Ohio
Thursday-Friday, Golf Channel; Saturday-Sunday, CBS

PGA Tour
Legends Reno-Tahoe Open
Montreux Golf and Country Club, Reno, Nev.
Thursday-Sunday, Golf Channel

USGA
U.S. Senior Open
The Broadmoor Resort, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Thursday-Friday, ESPN; Saturday-Sunday, NBC

Nationwide Tour
Cox Classic
Champions Run, Omaha, Neb.
Thursday-Sunday, Golf Channel

LPGA Tour
Women's British Open
Sunningdale Golf Club, Berkshire, England
Thursday-Friday, TNT; Saturday-Sunday, ABC

Greg Norman today announced he is turning down the "special invitation" offered him by the PGA of America to play in the 2008 PGA Championship.

Said Norman on his Web site:

"While I truly appreciate the PGA extending me an exemption for this year's PGA Championship, I have elected to decline in favor of adhering to the professional and personal commitments I made prior to The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. I wish the PGA and Oakland Hills all the very best for what I'm sure will be a great week for golf."

Business before pleasure.

The decision isn't a surprise, really, given that Norman - less than a part-time golfer these days - would have to play four straight weeks if he chose to accept the PGA's invitation. The news item on Norman's site denies, however, that Norman is worried about being too tired to play:

The decision proved difficult for Norman, who labored over the honor and privilege bestowed by the PGA against prior professional and personal commitments. While the PGA Championship would have been Norman's fourth consecutive week of tournament golf, physical fitness was not a factor in the 53-year-old World Golf Hall of Famer's decision to decline the invitation.

I don't think Norman was worried about having the stamina to play in the PGA Championship. I think he was worried about having the stamina to play with new wife Chris Evert (wink wink, nudge nudge, know what I mean?). The guy's on his honeymoon. How tired must he be?

The final 19 spots in the field for this week's Women's British Open were up for grabs today in the Final Qualifier, played at the Berkshire Golf Club. Here are the 19 who played their way into the field:

Martina Gillen, 68
Lydia Hall, 68
Marjet van der Graaff, 68
Stefania Croce, 68
Naomi Edwards, 69
Anja Monke, 69
Samantha Head, 69
Lora Fairclough, 69
Margherita Rigon, 70
Krystle Caithness, 70
Tania Elosegui Mayor, 70
Erica Blasberg, 70
Elizabeth Bennett, 71
Lee-Anne Pace, 71
Rebecca Coakley, 71
Par Claire Coughlan-Ryan, 72
Iben Tinning, 72
Leah Hart, 72
Kiran Matharu, 72
Full scores

Very few Americans made the attempt. Only about a half-dozen were entered in the final qualifier. So it's good to see a young LPGA player like Blasberg making the effort. "Big Breaker" Samantha Head was another qualifier.