This Week at WorldGolf.com: Sept. 07, 2005

Golf enters its meaningless twilight zone

Now that Sergio Garcia and Retief Goosen are collecting meaningless trophies around the world without the Big Three in sight, now that Vijay Singh is using a "competitive ping pong" injury to bow out of events nobody outside of Canada cares about, it's apparent this is yet another golf season that will limp to its Silly Season close. Can you think of a good reason to watch the PGA between now and the January 2006 Mercedes Championships in Hawaii?

Tiger Woods long ago wrapped up Player of the Year honors. (Please don't mention Phil Mickelson. If people can barely remember you were there at three of golf's four majors, you cannot be Player of the Year no matter how many early February tournaments you dominate.) The President's Cup is coming up in a few weeks, which will only serve to remind everyone why it's no Ryder Cup. The Tour Championship makes the fourth-fiddle PGA Championship look like the greatest event in sports by comparison.

Welcome to golf's dramatic close!

If the people who run golf controlled the NFL, they would force teams to play preseason games right after the Super Bowl and finish the season with an exhibition Hall of Fame game. Really, how much different from that is what golf does now?

This last weekend gave us Garcia winning the European Masters in Switzerland, Goosen winning the China Masters in Beijing and a clearly inspired Tiger finishing 40th at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston. Is this golf or boxing with all its alphabet-soup meaningless titles?

Golf around the world is a beautiful thing, but someone needs to convince the international stars that playing on one tour is the thing. A Labor Day weekend tournament with Garcia, Goosen and Tiger in the same field would be worth paying attention to between hamburger flips on the grill. And don't advance that argument that it couldn't be done. Dirk Nowitzki and Yao Ming are not flying back home to play in local leagues in the middle of the NBA season.

It's all about creating events that matter, with purses that wow.

Not that you can blame Garcia, Goosen and perpetual jet-setter Ernie Els (when he's not laid up) from wandering now. After the PGA Championship there is little compelling reason to stay in the states. All the more reason to cut off the schedule right there, to pack more high-profile events into a tighter timetable.

The Top 20 players in the world should be forced to play against each other often because the tournaments are too rare and important to miss. Enough with the around-the-world dodging.

As always, WorldGolf.com welcomes your comments.

Western Algarve region of
Portugal worthy of discovery by golfers

Not even revolutionaries could stop the love of golf in Algarve, Portugal. Now, with close ties to the European Union, the most Southewestern region in all of Europe is an inviting backdrop for golfers with the traveling bug. From Penina, a frequent home to the Portuguese Open, to the nearby Palmares to the newly opened Boavista, this spectacular region of Portugal combines beauty, mouth-watering culinary delights from the sea and plenty of open tee times.

Full story | Reader's rave: Golf at Old Head in Cork, Ireland

Yonex Cyberstar line
brings Japanese technology to USA

Japanese golf equipment companies haven't broken into U.S. markets easily. Prices tend to be too high and the brand names are simply not familiar enough to American golfers, who slavishly follow the handful of well-known companies. Things are changing, though. The new Yonex line of Cyberstar Powerbrid fairway woods and Cyberstar VX irons retain the high performance characteristics that have distinguished Yonex for years while incorporating some game-improvement technology as well, writes Kiel Christianson.

Full story | Golfers stepping up to help Katrina's victims

At 19, Paula Creamer a force
in LPGA golf – present and future

Clad in pink and wearing multi-colored ribbons in her hair, Creamer may giggle like a teenager from time to time. But she talks golf with the focus of a seasoned pro. No wonder: She’s young everywhere but on the LPGA Tour where she competes against 15- and 17-year-old phenoms and finds herself second on the money list to the most dominant golfer on the planet. She spoke with Chris Baldwin about turning pro, winning and, yes, Michelle Wie.

Full story | Wie mania defies tradition in Newport, R.I.