survey in March and Kathleen Minter won a foursome at Spyglass Hill. . .USGA and ESPN form feed. . .Sweden has pulled out of the running for the 2018 Ryder Cup pointing to a weak economy
European Tour
Tough on Rules
The European Tour has gotten decidedly tougher on contestants who seek rulings. A new tour policy dictates that any golfer who asks for a simple ruling, one he or she should know, must now attend a seminar and watch a DVD before entering another event.
The new guideline is an effort to encourage players to educate them- selves on the Rules of Golf and cut down on unnecessary rulings that slow down pace of play. Rules of- fi cials cited taking relief from a cart path as one of the basic procedures players should be able to handle without any help. Two of Eu- rope’s top offi cials, John Paramor and Andy McFee, have
fi nished making the rules-education DVD to help tour players with simple rulings. With 34 rules and more than 1,200 decisions many would argue that nothing about the rules is simple.
Michelle Wie signs with McDonald’s
Nothing says golf quite like a Big Mac and super-sized coke. In a sign that the golf economy might be set to bloom once again, Mc- Donald’s has signed LPGA star Michele Wie to a two-year sponsorship deal, the fi rst golfer under the company’s umbrella since Greg Norman more than 10 years ago.
The deal follows an endorsement for the 20- year-old Stanford stu- dent with South Korean car manufacturer Kia. Wie’s fi rst McDonald’s television commercial debuted in mid-April and showcases a mes-
sage of dreaming big, something the hon- orary board member of the NCGA Foun- dation will do more of this summer if the end of 2009 golf season is any indication. The Hawaii native won her fi rst LPGA event in Mexico and was one of the lead- ers of the U.S. squad at the Solheim Cup, adding momentum to what was already a preternatural talent. Given the scarcity of mainstream endorsements by golfers since a notorious fi re hydrant collision the day after Thanksgiving, perhaps it’s time for the new face of the game to emerge in the form of Michelle Wie.
Tom Watson Offered U.S. Open Exemption
Under the category of “What took them so long?” the USGA fi nally offered Tom Watson a special exemption to the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. The last special exemption offered by the USGA occurred in 2005 to Nick Price. Watson, who won the ’82 Open at Pebble, clearly merits the exemption on playing performance alone—witness his runner-up fi nish at the British Open in 2009 at age 59 and his T18 fi nish at the 2010 Masters, after opening one shot off the lead. The Stanford grad was the oldest to ever lead the British Open after three rounds.
With his addition to the fi eld, the eight-time major winner will be the only player to compete in all fi ve Opens at Pebble Beach—’72, ’82, ’92, ’00 and the forthcoming ’10 Open. He has competed in 30 previous Opens and has received four previous special exemptions, fi nishing in the top 30 each time.
SPRING 2010 NCGA Golf 17
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