Au revoir, Tiger.

Of the 16-odd contests at Dove Mountain on Thursday (the extent to which Dustin Johnson’s 7&5 demolition of Francesco Molinari can be considered competitive is open to some debate), it was, predictably, that of Tiger Woods and Nick Watney that carried the bulk of press interest.

Testament to the persistence of the sport’s Tiger-centric worldview – a phenomenon ground increasingly less in rational thinking than commercially-driven ideology – coverage of the world number 20′s meandering second-round clash smothered that of Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy, two of whom compete this week in the hope of replacing Luke Donald at the summit of the world rankings.

• After missing a short putt that would have prolonged the encounter – an act of charity, perhaps – Woods claimed he would only need “about a day” to “fix” his stroke. One wonders why he didn’t schedule that day’s work at some point over the preceding two years. [ESPN]

• While the former World Number One was ploughing his way through the desert, Steve Stricker was celebrating his 45th birthday in some style, nudging his way past 2010 Open champion Louis Ooshuizen. [Madison.com]

• Rory McIlroy, whose yellow-and-black colour coding called to mind a wasp (as opposed to a WASP, of whom there are many on Tour), strode to a 3&2 victory over Anders Hansen. He’ll face Miguel Angel Jiménez in round three. [RTÉ]

• My favourite for the tournament, Martin Kaymer, put David Toms to the sword on Thursday. I’d offer you a link, but no one covered it in any detail.

Conor Nagle