I couldn’t have been happier to see Steve Stricker win the Northern Trust Open and dethrone Phil Mickelson as the world’s number-two golfer. So the guy is a little boring, but it’s hard not to cheer for such a genuinely nice and humble player — especially one that has a great comeback story.

After struggling for most of the first half of the 2000s, Stricker fell so far in 2005 that his world ranking dropped to 337th and he didn’t make the top-125 on the money list. He was forced to return to Q-school, where he failed to regain his card. But things started looking up for Stricks in 2006 when he was named the PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year (if that can be taken as a compliment) after seven top-10 finishes. The following year he played his way back to the winner’s circle at The Barclays. Once again, he was named the CPOTY — an unprecedented consecutive season recipient.

So that partly explains the tears in his post-win interview with NBC’s Roger Maltbie. Stricker clarified in his presser:

That’s a common thread for me. I tell myself every time I’m not going to cry, and maybe it’s seeing Roger that makes me cry. I don’t know, it means a lot. I work hard at this, and when it finally — you pour everything into it for 72 holes, and there’s a lot of emotions through the course of the round, and I typically don’t show any emotion. So I think it’s just the ending of it all and finally coming out on top that I lose it.

With Tiger Woods on his indefinite leave from the game, there’s the possibility of Stricker reaching number one, but he’s not thinking about rankings:

[W]e all know who the best player in the world is, and I’ll just continue to do what I do, and that’s practice hard and work at it and try to improve. I’m not saying that I’m going to just not try to work at it anymore, but just continue to do the things that I do when I’m trying to — and that’s to try to get better. That’s all I can ask.

Meanwhile, with all the talking Phil has been doing, it hasn’t translated to his play. Let’s see, rewind back to the Farmers Insurance Open, where he confidently babbled about his improved accuracy and distance. Oh, and he launched his anti-USGA new grooves policy crusade, of course. He finished 19th at Torrey Pines, carding a final-round 73 — after he flew in swing coach Butch Harmon the night before.

Then there’s his putting. We can’t forget his success after working with putting guru Dave Stockton at the end of last year. Well, in eight rounds he’s averaged almost 30 putts a round. Looks like it’s back to the drawing board.

While he opened with an eagle in the third round at the Northern Trust, he played the remaining 35 holes four-over. Whoopsie. Blame it on those darn grooves. Now enough FIGJAM-critiquing from me, there was enough of that elsewhere.

First, let’s go to the guys at the SI Golf Group in the latest edition of PGA Tour Confidential:

Alan Shipnuck: The thing about Phil is that he regularly lays an egg, even when he’s ostensibly playing well. He might win five times this year, including a major or two, but there will be plenty of weeks when he’s a non-factor. That’s what’s so remarkable about Tiger’s body of work — even when he’s struggling he contends.

Gary Van Sickle: Once again, the Phil hype outpaced the Phil reality. I think that’s the hazard of pinning the marketing and hype on one guy. Golf isn’t a game where you can predict who’s going to do well every week. (Not like, say, NASCAR.) It’s also the hazard of pinning the game’s focus on one player whose entire career has been built on spectacular inconsistency. Phil may win at Pebble by 12; it wouldn’t be a surprise. Or he may miss the cut, and that wouldn’t be a surprise either.

That pretty much sums up the wonderful career of FIGJAM. Next up, excerpts from a FoxNews.com article without a byline:

[T]he grand transition plan didn’t allow for the fact that golf’s a meritocracy and Mickelson is now, officially, no longer the heir to the throne.

And after blowing his chances in both San Diego and L.A.’s Riviera, where he was seeking to become the first man to win three straight times at Hogan’s Alley, Mickelson doesn’t deserve to be. That might be a hard truth for Phil’s legions of fans to accept, but it’s also inescapable.

He had three months to prepare for the start of 2010 — knowing what was at stake — and couldn’t deliver. Think Tiger would’ve been an also-ran, finishing 19th and in a tie for 45th, if the roles had been reversed?

No, Phil blew it. He couldn’t even get himself into the running at Torrey Pines or Riviera because he couldn’t find a fairway with binoculars and a compass. Three months to prepare and he couldn’t keep the ball in play. It’s a sad reminder that obsession with distance in golf really is a double-edged sword.

Ouch. Perhaps the harsh tone explains why the writer decided to remain anonymous. But hey, if you’re going to bash someone, at least have the decency (and balls) to sign your name — and so I can email you to impart my praise.

[Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images]

With speculation running rampant on pinpointing Tiger’s return to golf (you know, since he’s out of sex rehab), TMZ is reporting he’s aiming for the Tavistock Cup, citing a source that works for the Woods family. Then Tiger will allegedly head to Georgia to prepare for The Masters.

This is the first I’ve heard someone throw out the Tavistock Cup — which takes place March 22-23 at Isleworth Country Club (and inside the gates where the car “crash” went down). While TMZ has been the number-one source for Tiger scandal-related news (or gossip), I’m skeptical.

But perhaps he’s attempting to make amends with the Isleworth community to draw some positive attention there. Surely the residents would be thrilled to have even more paparazzi try to sneak on the grounds. On the upside, it is a small event and tickets are only available to members of Isleworth and Lake Nona, tournament sponsors, and VIP guests — all of whom would strictly respect the “no ropes structure.” Plus, the timing coincides with the week of the Bay Hill Invitational, the event where, many predicted, Tiger would stage his comeback.

So I guess it’s as good a guess as any.

Apparently NBC didn’t make any suggestions to its commentators a la CBS, or it was just Johnny Miller being Johnny Miller — you know, outspoken, brusque and kind of annoying. Johnny made his first national television appearance of the new season on Saturday, and when host Dan Hicks asked him for his opinion on the whole Tiger Woods saga, Johnny, of course, had one. Prepare to type angry responses.

Couple of things for sure. He’s damaged the game of golf. It’s been hurtful. He’s lost a lot of respect and his integrity is pretty shattered right now. And more importantly he’s injured his marriage and his family…President Obama did say something. He said `I’m a strong believer that anybody can look within himself, find their flaws and fix them.’ I hope Tiger, I’m sure he’s heard that, knows he has a heck of a road to hoe to get that respect and integrity back and build the game back up again.

To say “damaged the game of golf” is a little strong — perhaps he meant “Tour golf.” Otherwise he’s claiming Tiger is bigger than golf, a point that some have furiously rebuked. Oh wait, he did:

He’s become almost bigger than golf, Entertainment Tonight, People Magazine type of thing. He’s going to have to face the music and show he has done anything he can to repair his marriage and have some genuine sorrow in his voice and feeling from the heart to show he can change and make his life better.

Now I don’t think Tiger will be granting Johnny that coveted first interview. But we can be thankful he didn’t proselytize the Church of Latter Day Saints to Tiger.

On Friday RadarOnline reported Tiger Woods has left rehab. Apparently his wife, Elin Nordegren, picked him up at Gentle Grove in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and they left together to spend some quality time alone as they attempt to repair their marriage. Multiple unnamed sources also told Radar that Tiger is determined to return to the PGA Tour.

So when will that be?

Australia’s Herald Sun published a dubious, unsubstantiated report on Thursday, claiming Tiger is set to stage his “shock return [in two weeks] at the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.” The only source cited is “strengthening whispers.” Instead the writer framed a tenuous argument for the timing of Tiger’s return:

It is also a favourite event for Woods, who has won it in 2003, 2004 and 2008.

With Tiger’s eye doubtless still on his quest for majors’ history, it’s safe to assume he will not turn up cold at Augusta and give up a chance to close on Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18.

Accenture was among the first sponsors to ditch Woods when all hell broke loose in November, but other elements of his impending return line up.

As a matchplay event, it’s more for the purists than perhaps a “regular” tour event would be, diminishing his chances of being harassed.

Similarly, if he was to play badly in round one, he could “disappear” again rather than sit in the glare of the media spotlight until the mid-tournament cut.

Uh, yeah. I call BS. I’m forced to believe the paper published the story to sell papers, which makes them the latest to capitalize on Tiger’s sex scandal. First off, Accenture just dropped Tiger, so unless he’s trying to make good with the company, why would he bring publicity (and money) to the event? Plus, it wouldn’t leave much time to work on recovering from his so-called addiction and mending things with his family. Coming back in two weeks would discredit the sincerity of his vow to being a “better person.”

Good thing is that most media outlets were just as skeptical of the report.  A source close to Tiger told FoxSports.com, “As far as I know (Woods’ return) will not be at the Match Play.”

Meanwhile, a PGA Tour spokesperson called it “speculation.”

Tiger’s caddie, Steve Williams, informed the NZ Herald News, “All that I will say is the story circulating out of a Melbourne newspaper has no fabric to it at all,” but refused to comment on when his boss would return to the links.

Nobody knows. Tiger might not even know. But the conventional wisdom has marked The Masters.

First, let’s go to Jim Furyk:

I’d bet we’d see him at Augusta. Tiger hasn’t come out and made any real public statements, so it’s hard to figure out. Everyone is guessing it will be Augusta. Whether he comes out earlier, or there, I have no idea.

Next up, Geoff Ogilvy:

The least amount of circus he could face would be if he went to Augusta first, as that would be the most controlled environment he could be in. But then if he truly wants to win at Augusta he’s going to want to play before then.

Here’s Mike Weir:

I suspect he’ll be back - just my guess - I think he’ll be back for the Masters. I’m hoping he’s back for the majors. They’re at such great venues this year, courses he’s obviously done very well on.

Most recently, Sir Nick Faldo chimed in:

There’s still two months until the Masters and I would have thought that would be a good place to sneak in early. He could have a week’s preparation away from everybody, and obviously Augusta is the most secure event and he’d have a relatively free run.

My guess? Definitely not the Accenture Match Play event. If he returns this year, Arnold Palmer’s tournament at Bay Hill seems to be the logical choice. Like Ogilvy said, Tiger will probably want a warm-up before The Masters. But the longer he stays away from the game, the less likely we’ll see him back on the fairways in 2010. Which makes us miss him all the more.

While we don’t look forward to the media circus at his first tournament, he can silence much of the negative chatter with a strong performance and a good attitude. Perhaps that’s wishful thinking. But I’d just like him to come out of hiding and play some golf — of course only when he’s properly recovered from being an asshole his sex addiction.

[Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images]

Despite his sex scandal and dropped sponsors, Tiger Woods topped Forbes Fab 40, a ranking of the world’s most valuable names in sports, with a modest brand value of $82 million.

Even though Woods isn’t likely to see a repeat of the $105 million he earned from sponsors last year anytime soon, his remaining deals, including those with Nike, Electronic Arts and Procter & Gamble’s Gillette, will still earn enough to keep him the world’s highest-paid athlete in 2010, even if he does not hit a single golf ball all year. Woods’ 2009 endorsement total, on which this list is based, was more than the next three highest-earning athlete spokesmen combined.

The Forbes report also suggested Tiger take a cue from Kobe Byrant to rebuild his image. So that would mean holding a super awkward press conference with Elin standing by his side — if she chooses not to divorce him. And it would call for Tiger to return to golf sooner rather than later. But as more time passes, chances of that seem slimmer, and the longer he chooses to stay away from the links, the more likely it will lead to more dropped sponsors (and decrease his “brand value”).

Meanwhile, last week Bloomberg BusinessWeek revealed that Tiger stands atop its list of most powerful athletes.

So, according to the dollar signs, he’s still undeniably the sporting world’s number-one brand man (and golfer). I guess sex sells, or something like that. For now.

Speaking to reporters at the Dubai Desert Classic, the well-respected eight-time major champion Tom Watson didn’t hold back from offering some harsh words for Tiger. Watson believes Tiger needs to own up to his mistakes and apologize:

I’ll let the cat out of the bag. Tiger has to take ownership of what he has done. He must get his personal life in order. I think that’s what he’s trying to do. And when he comes back he has to show some humility to the public. I would come out and I would do an interview with somebody and say, ‘You know what? I screwed up. And I admit it. I am going to try to change. I am trying to change. I want my wife and family back.’

Watson also feels Tiger has disrespected the sanctity of the game with his on-course antics:

I feel that he has not carried the same stature that other great players that have come along like Jack [Nicklaus], Arnold [Palmer], Byron Nelson, the Hogans, in the sense that there was language and club throwing on the golf course. You can grant that of a young person that has not been out here for a while. But I think he needs to clean up his act and show the respect for the game that other people before him have shown.

Tiger has been widely criticized for his punk-ass attitude, but he never took heed to the criticisms because, well, he felt like he could do whatever he pleased. When he does return, odds are the “I am Tiger Woods” mantra will be less tolerated. So, Tiger, listen to your elders, particularly a class act like Watson.

Last Friday when I found out I wouldn’t have internet access for a few days, I sent out a Twitter blast asking for people to contribute posts. Reader David Kelly was kind enough to pass along his thoughts on John Daly.

To recap, after Daly missed the cut last Friday, he told the Golf Channel, “I’m done. I’m done.” Done with what? “Golf. I can’t compete. I can’t play like I used to. I can’t keep taking spots from guys out here playing this bad. It’s not worth it,” Daly clarified. This left many to wonder whether it was just John Daly being John Daly or if he was actually serious. As it turned out, it was what most assumed — the former.

Later that evening, Daly explained himself via his Twitter feed, saying, “I’m not retired & never said that I was retiring” and “The interview yesterday caught me after a tough 2 days & much frustration.” He also revealed he was having money problems and didn’t “like to continue to embarrass myself.”

Without further ado, read on for David’s take.

The long strange trip that is John Daly’s career showed us once again at Torrey Pines that he is human.

His skeptics were quick to jump to conclusions that he had “retired” or that it was all will say a publicity stunt for his new show on Golf Channel. They said he should listen to his own words and leave the tour for good. After all, these are the same people who don’t think JD belongs on the tour in the first place. These are the same folks that think he brings down the game.

These are also the same people who should be thanking John Daly that they have a job where they can complain and snipe in the first place.

John Daly carried this sport out of what was a long journey down into oblivion. If Crooked Stick had never happened - from Nick Price going down to being able to reach down to the 9th alternate – no one would care what Tiger Woods was doing afterhours. It would have a following comparable to tennis – nice and consistent but that is about it.

The tour in 1991 was floundering. The GGO was one of the highest winner’s purses on tour. Corey Pavin won the money title and didn’t break the the $1 million mark in 25 events. The total tour purses were right around $47 million, slightly up from the $46 million in 1990. Compare that with the ‘92 and ‘93 purses ($49 million and $53 million), and you can see where the tour started to take its first steps into the mainstream.

The tour needs more personalities like John Daly, especially in a non-Tiger sighting era. And we have some non-conventional golf personalities emerging - Boo Weekley, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Ryan Moore. They don’t come off as guys who grew up with junior memberships to the local country club. (In full disclosure, I plead guilty).  But they don’t also seem to bring the star power, good or bad, that JD does.

Whether he wins or not on the PGA Tour is not important. Hopefully, he will find a place where he is happy with his game and keeps teeing it up again. It should be noted that the last time we wrote him off, he won at Torrey Pines. Before that, he won at St. Andrews.  As he has shown by keeping his commitment to play at Pebble, there is no quit in John Daly.

I have been an unapologetic Daly fan since that day in 1991. I feel like I have seen a friend go exercise his demons in public and come out on the other side. Golf needs John Daly. He has been better for golf than the golf establishment has been to him.

While I don’t agree with David that Daly shaped the modern Tour and paved the way for Tiger’s fame (or notoriety these days), I do believe Daly is good for the game. But without golf, where would Daly be? Golf made Daly a celebrity and provided him with a great living. He arguably threw away some of his talent with the poor decisions he made. Now everyone encounters troubles and deserves second chances — hell, even third, fourth or sixth chances sometimes. But it seems Daly still has some demons to deal with and needs to stop blaming outside forces for his setbacks. That said, I hope he can overcome them and would like nothing more than to see him succeed — especially win again.

Your thoughts? Agree or disagree with David? Please chime in. Thanks again to David for contributing!

If you’re free on Wednesday evening and live in NYC, drop by the Social Media Week panel, “A Shaq to the System: Tebow, Tiger and the New Online Realities of Sports Journalism.” It’ll be hosted by esteemed web-presence Dan Shanoff and features New York Magazine contributing editor and Deadspin.com founder Will Leitch, National Sports Journalism Center columnist Jason Fry, ESPN the Magazine reporter/writer Amy Nelson, and yours truly.

*When: Wednesday, February 3rd, 4:30pm-6:00pm (followed by happy hour)

*Where: Destination Bar, 211 Avenue A (at 13th street)

*What: The world of sports used to be ruled by the calendar - game dates, tournaments, TV events, with the odd DUI thrown in. Now a story breaks and before you can say “ESPN” it’s all over Twitter and there’s a Taiwanese CGI video dramatization in your inbox. Shaq took Twitter by storm a year and a half ago, leading a charge that led to various benched players and Mark Cuban getting massive fines; the sordid tale of Tiger Woods turned the carefully-controlled golf media on its head as every other form of media rudely muscled in; and according to Google Zeitgeist, the Bible is now “Volcanic” in its hotness thanks to Tim Tebow. Meanwhile ESPN thinks they can muzzle the Sports Guy even as Deadspin is clearing out their tipbox. What is going ON? Fortunately for sports media, a lot - and no one is better to tell you about it than the people on this panel.

*Double-bonus: Happy hour drinks after the lively panel discussion — $3 well drinks, beers and Jell-O shots. (Feel free to just join for the boozing portion of the program.)

Apparently it’s sold-out — which just means 75 people have RSVP’d — but I’m assuming at least, like, half those eager individuals won’t show. That said, I’m sure it won’t be a trouble getting past “the list.” But if for some strange reason it turns out to be a problem, I invite you to yell at me.

Hope to see you there. If anything, come for the $3 Jell-O shots.

Some Orlando-area Publix stores have deemed the Vanity Fair cover that graces a  shirtless Tiger Woods looking all thug-like Not-Safe-For-View.

At one checkout counter a plastic sheet — which is meant to conceal “objectionable content” — drapes over the cover. Curiously, the same store freely displays the March issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine of the burly and also shirtless Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Apparently grocery-cart-toting housewives find The Rock is easier on the eyes than Tiger these days. Burn.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek unveiled its list of most powerful athletes, and whaddayaknow, Tiger Woods ranked first.

Interestingly enough, the report proclaimed, “In today’s sports world, power is about more than speed and strength. It’s also about how to sell” and defines power as “the earning potential of athletes, owners, agents, communities and brands, ranging from breakfast cereal to beer.”

The kajillions Tiger received from companies to serve as their ambassador, thanks to that choir boy image he duped us all into believing, were a major reason why his multiple dalliances became front-page news for more than a month. As we’ve seen from the fallout with endorsers, there was big money on the line, which companies like Accenture forfeited when it was forced to drop him.

The study also pointed out Tiger’s power ranking would have suffered had he announced his “transgressions” and subsequent indefinite leave from golf before December 11. Well, duh.

[Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images]