"GOLF" IS "BLOG" SPELLED BACKWARDS

* Well, almost. I just wanted to link to The Golf Blog, which I stumbled upon whilst loitering on the InterWebs. I read a few articles they have posted and I've enjoyed them tremendously, especially the "majors" graph showing Tiger's progress vs. Nicklaus. In some places, I feel I've said (or thought) the same thing as some of their writers (especially about DiMarco), but they've done it more eloquently and succinctly than I ever could. (Yeah, I tend to ramble and joke a lot in my posts.) Check it out for some good golf blogging. (Although, if you're going to talk about Natalie Gulbis, we at least need a photo.)

* If you read this blog, and even if you don't, you might know that I give Phillis "FIGJAM" McBitchtits a hard time (mainly because he gives me the creeps). Although I saw a bitchy quote of his in one article, I decided not to bring it up, as he was a complete non-factor at the Open since day 1. But since he was awarded the coveted MSNBC WHINER OF THE WEEK, it officially warrants mentioning. After his final round 70 on Sunday, he had this to say:

"The pin positions were very challenging - that would be putting it nice," he told reporters. Was he saying they were unfair? "That is not my call," he replied. "But they were very difficult."

That's right. He's blaming the COURSE for finishing 13 strokes behind the champion. What a big flabby baby.

* In other golf news, Joe, Karl, Rob and I are going to play golf this Saturday at the Rutgers, The State University Of New Jersey, Golf Course in Piscataway, New Jersey. I've never played this course before, so it should be interesting. Designed by Hal C. Purdy and opened in 1963, it's a par 71 that plays 6,034 yards from the black tees, and 6,337 yards from the scarlet tees. Usually, red denotes "ladies" tees, but not here since they're the "Scarlet Knights". Get it? And in true Masters fashion, all the holes are named for trees:

1. Scarlet Oak / 10. Elm
2. Red Oak / 11. Sour Gum
3. Pin Oak / 12. Hickory
4. White Ash / 13. Scotch Pine
5. Pine / 14. Blue Atlas Cedar
6. Basswood / 15. Weeping Willow
7. Swamp White Oak / 16. Black Cherry
8. Crab Apple / 17. Mulberry
9. Hackberry / 18. Dogwood

I'll let you know how many of those I hit with my balls. Yeah, I admit it, I'm a total hackberry. Personally, I would have called No. 1 "The Larch". "The Larch." And now, No. 18, "The Horse Chestnut"!

* Steven Colbert did a funny "We Won!" flag-waving bit to open his show on Monday, where he praised Americans Tiger Woods, Floyd Landis, and Miss Puerto Rico (er, sort of American) for kicking ass on Sunday. Very funny. Here's the link to the CC video clip.