On Our Mind Golf Blog

One marriage and one man stole the soul of golf in 2010. Heartbreak of another sort descended upon Dustin Johnson - a local rule determined that a bunker is a in fact a bunker no matter the accumulation of debris. A season impetuously labeled as disappointing or dull was neither.

Phil Mickelson's win at Augusta and embrace of his wife Amy immediately afterward had Lefty headed for Sainthood, but his failure to snatch No. 1 from adulterous Tiger lessened his impact. If anything this year has been interesting in a most bizarre way and served as a nice bit of back story for what is sure to be a better 2011. Before we run toward a new crop of majors and moments like Louis Oosthuizen's bride toward her happy hubby on the 18th at St. Andrews, let's recognize the newsmakers and champions of the past 12 months.

For a "second tier" PGA Tour event, the Greenbrier Classic made a substantial splash in its inaugural year. Stuart Appleby, who would go on to win the Australian Masters in November, fired a Sunday 59 to overtake Jeff Overton by a single stroke.

Expect the greens to be a hair more difficult to hold in 2011. Greenbrier Resort Owner Jim Justice recently announced that all 18 greens on the Old White Course had been revamped since the tournament concluded in an effort to firm the putting surfaces during the Classic. He also noted that the course had been lengthened by 200 yards.

It's been a rough month for tall, talented Johnsons. Rising PGA Tour star Dustin Johnson missed out on a playoff for the PGA Championship because he grounded his club in one of the 9,548 bunkers at Whistling Straits.

The game-winning touchdown grab of Detroit's Calvin Johnson was nullified after the officials deemed that he did not retain possession all the way to the ground. Officials also uttered something about making a football move and one knee being equal to two feet and an elbow.

MIT mathmetician types and Phil Mickelson's swing coach have respectively revealed the professional skills and jedi mind tricks that helped Tiger Woods become the most dominant golfer since Jack Nicklaus.

Slate Senior Editor Michael Agger explores the new frontier of golf statistics in his fascinating series "Moneygolf" which you can read in full by clicking here.

The automatic qualification of Peter Hanson and Miguel Angel Jimenez, whose heavy European Tour schedules gave them an opportunity to crack the top 9, and his own stuborness in not selecting Americanized Paul Casey, mildly depleted Colin Montgomerie's "embarassment of riches."

We're closing in on what promises to be one of the more contentious midterm election periods in recent history, and former President George W. Bush remains out of sight but not out of mind.

Bush will make a rare public appearance Friday morning when he joins Major Dan Rooney, founder of the Folds of Honor Foundation, PGA of America President Jim Remy and veteran Heath Calhoun for a ceremonial tee off in Waco, Texas.

In a recent article Associated Press golf stooge writer Deputy Doug Ferguson pointed to the lack of accessible venues on the PGA Championship's upcoming schedule. The next six sites for the year's final major are either extremely expensive resorts or highly-exclusive private clubs:

Colin Montgomerie showed he has some serious scones Sunday evening, selecting a struggling Padraig Harrington for the European Ryder Cup side over Paul Casey and Justin Rose.

Sure, Harrington is a three-time major champion, but he's been the definition of average in the past two seasons and his Ryder Cup record is atrocious.

John Daly lead the PGA Tour in Sponsor's Exemptions in Regulation this year (new statistical category), but the generosity of tournament directors wasn't enough to secure him a place in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Daly's best finish was a T24 at the Puerto Rico Open.

Instead of sitting on the sidelines wallowing in his own self-pity, Daly procured a Sponsor's Exemption to this week's Nationwide Tour stop - The Knoxville News Sentinel Open. Isn't it curious that a newspaper is sponsoring a golf tournament given that ad revenue has sharply declined in that industry?

In the words of ESPN College Football analyst Lee Corso, "Not so fast my friend!"

Days after his divorce was made official and his ex-wife made her first public comments about his rampant infidelity and the circus that followed, Tiger Woods golfed like the universe uniting champion he used to be.