Not bad timing for the debut of a new commercial for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14. As you know, Tiger won his eighth title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Monday for his 77th PGA Tour victory. In the above ad campaign, he’s featured with Arnie, along with surprise guest Lee Trevino, who comes out of nowhere!

Palmer shakes hands with Nicklaus

Just wanted to wish a happy birthday to Arnold Palmer. Thanks for all you’ve done for the game — and continue to do. (continue reading…)

Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Arnold Palmer is hungry.

He’s 82 and it’s getting to be almost 8:30 in the morning, which means it’s way past breakfast time. Sure, he’s been having his customary good time on the first hours on the first day at The Masters, but dammit, he’s hungry. The press conference disguised an all-around lovefest for golf’s “Big Three” is dragging on.

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I'm back...to winning, suckers!

Wow, I’m still overwhelmed by the chaos, emotions and mind-blowing events of the day. Would you expect anything less, though? Of course not! After all, Tiger Woods won his first PGA Tour event since the sex scandal that led to his rapid fall from grace, which were triggered by his minor car accident in the wee hours the day after Thanksgiving in 2009.

Woods captured his seventh victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and his 72nd on the PGA Tour — he now only needs one more to tie Jack Nicklaus for second in all-time victories. (continue reading…)

Tsk, tsk!

Arnold Palmer isn’t happy, to say the least, that the world’s top two players, Luke Donald, who returned to No. 1 after winning the Transitions Championship last week, and reigning U.S. Open champ Rory McIlroy aren’t playing his tournament at Bay Hill. (continue reading…)

Stricker: "It was like going to your grandpa's house and listening to the olden days..."

I strolled into the interview room at Bay Hill for Arnold Palmer’s press conference with a mission in mind. You see, I spent the last two weeks speaking with players and asking them for anecdotes on the first time they shook the King’s hand. I had never had the pleasure/privilege, but that was going to change on Wednesday morning. (continue reading…)

Obama and Uncle Joe wiffling about on the Eisenhower putting green.

Never the most populist of sports, golf takes on a problematic political connotation in times of crisis. Synonymous for a large chunk of the electorate with cronyism, indulgence and naivety, a taste for spending time on the links – as opposed, say, to clearing brush on a Texas ranch – can, it seems, prove a damaging habit for a President to entertain.

But, as Martin Davis notes in a column for CNN, the magnitude of incumbent’s golf habit is dwarfed by those of a handful of 20th-century presidents. (continue reading…)

Mmmm. It's like a party in your mouth and only octogenarians are invited!

After spending 82 years hanging with the good, All-American boys, it looks like major-winning legend Arnold Palmer has designs on a more dangerous, party-loving image. (continue reading…)

Attending an Arnold Palmer press conference is always a treat for the media. The King stopped by the interview room at Bay Hill for about 30 minutes, making some opening remarks about his event before fielding our questions. Here are selected excerpts that I found the most thought-provoking or interesting:

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I sat down with Dan Jenkins for an interview in the media center at Whistling Straits last Sunday — his 206th major, a record that will never be broken because “among other things, there won’t be golf writers someday!” — as play was getting underway. When I showed up, he was looking at the giant leaderboard in the front of the room and rifling through the names, deciding who would make the best winning story to write. “Rory [McIlroy] and Dustin [Johnson]. I guess Nick Watney. That’s about it,” he said. In other words, we didn’t want to write about anyone else.

Before I walked away, Mr. Jenkins imparted some words with me I’ll never forget, including a few pieces of advice. First, meet his daughter, Sally (pictured above). Then, he encouraged me to keep pushing through the industry and hoped I continued to cover golf. He said I needed to do two things: Listen to those who have been doing this for a long time (and know what they’re doing — in other words, be very discriminatory), and read — and not just his books.

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