With a barrage of reports that Rory McIlroy will soon sign a 10-year, $200 million equipment and apparel deal with Nike – coupled with McIlroy’s own admission that he’s been tinkering with new clubs – the transition for McIlroy from Titleist to Nike now seems imminent. “I’m a Titleist player until the end of the year, and I’ve made no commitment to any company for next year,” said McIlroy. “I have a process that we are working through and you’ll probably hear more about it in the next few weeks.”

While the reported move has already drawn criticism from the likes of Nick Faldo, I for one have no issue with the move. It’s easy to share Faldo’s opinion when you don’t have a $200 million contract in front of you, but I’d imagine it’s damn near impossible to turn down that kind of guaranteed money. Faldo’s opinion is based largely on the notion that any change in equipment will initially lead to you having less trust in your clubs, which can in turn shake your confidence when  you’re not sure if it’s the Indian or the arrow leading to errant shots. While I see Faldo’s point, I think Rory has picked the perfect time of year to experiment with new clubs. Couple that with the fact that all of the major equipment manufacturers make awesome stuff, and I think Rory has nothing to worry about. On top of this, Nike is reportedly bringing in one of Cleveland/Srixon’s former top designers exclusively to match Rory with the equipment that works best for him, much like they did when they lured Tom Stites away from Titleist and made him Nike Golf’s Chief of Design (essentially to work with Tiger Woods). Rory will also continue to play equipment with same shafts that he has been using, a key to consistent shot-making.

All of this aside, I stand by the notion that if you’re that good at golf, you can play with a wooden spoon. Give Rory a set of ladies clubs and he’ll shoot a 65 on your home course with ease.

With the switch now seemingly imminent, one interesting by-product of the move is that Tiger Woods is no longer Nike’s highest paid golfer. Will the man who essentially built Nike’s golf division on his back now play second fiddle? Far from it. While Rory is the world’s current #1 player and their highest paid golfer, Rory is no match for what Tiger does for the Nike brand. No athlete in history has ever touched Tiger’s marketability – his ability to reach what has long been a historically Caucasian market, coupled with the Asian market and the African-American market is unmatched. He’s brought more people to the game who otherwise may never have found it than any player ever will. Rory’s a white kid from Ireland, and no matter how good he becomes, he’ll never be as valuable to Nike as Tiger.

That said, you have to credit Nike for  a brilliant business move. Nike knows Tiger as well as anybody, and they clearly believe that he has plenty of golf left in him. By bringing Rory onboard they’ve further fueled the growing Woods-McIlroy rivalry. As the golf world drools over Woods-McIlroy showdowns that you know will happen for years to come, both men will be donning the Nike Swoosh. The best golf ever played may very well be in front of us, and Nike is positioning itself as the gold standard of the game.

In signing Rory, Nike is also stepping pretty solidly on Titleist’s neck. Long considered arguably the best equipment company in the game, Nike has used it’s seemingly endless resources to squash the competition. While I’m something of a golf traditionalist and yearn for the days of the best players hitting MacGregors and Wilson Staffs, I’m aware that that will never happen again. I’ll never root for any corporate takeover, but you have to admit Nike is pulling all the right strings in their golf division.

Tiger will always be the man at Nike, but the new kid will certainly position them as golf’s premier equipment company well into the future.

The 2012 Ryder Cup is in the books, and all of the stereotypes have seemingly come true – the Euros were gutsier, seemed to want it more, and made the putts when they had to. There’s little the US team can do except shake their heads, lay low during silly season, and get their games in order for the 2013 Masters. While nearly every player on the European squad stepped it up in the Sunday singles, here are the players that proved to be the X factor for the European team.

1) Martin Kaymer – Most people will call me crazy, but if you make a 5-foot putt that essentially decides the Ryder Cup then you’re my Ryder Cup hero #1A. Kaymer’s deciding putt was dead center after Steve Stricker forced him to make it, with only Tiger Woods and his 1-up lead over Francesco Molinari left on the course. If Kaymer had missed, the Cup in all likelihood would have been won by Woods in the final pairing – good enough for me. Few players have ever had a putt under that much pressure, and Kaymer proved to be up to the task.

2) Ian Poulter – Ian Poulter put up one of the finest performances in the history of the Ryder Cup, no doubt. Going a perfect 4-0, Poulter’s performance was as cold blooded as could be. He’s an easy villain, but you have to give it up for his performance between the ropes. No matter how you cut it, this guy is an all-time Ryder Cupper - now owning a 12-3 career record. But God is he annoying.

3) Justin Rose - The putts that Justin Rose holed on 16, 17, and 18 allowed him to eek out an improbable win over Phil Mickelson after finding himself 1-down with 3 to play. The definition of clutch on all three holes, Phil could do little but applaud as Rose would not be denied. Without this crucial birdie-birdie finish, the Cup resides in US hands. As one of two Europeans to tee it up in every single event, Rose finished 3-2-0 for the week.

Honorable Mention: Luke Donald - Luke Donald went 2-2-0 for the week, but he gets the honorable mention nod for setting the pace on Sunday. As the first match out on the course for the Euros, Donald was able to get up on Bubba Watson early, establishing some much-needed momentum. His final round was pretty close to flawless, featuring 6 birdies in 17 holes.

You got to hand it to the Euros – they went out there and did what they needed to do to seize this thing.

Phil Mickelson is in every sense a Ryder Cup veteran – when he tees it up at Medinah later this week he’ll be making his 9th Ryder Cup appearance. Unfortunately for the US, despite Phil’s talents and aggressive style of play he has a lousy Ryder Cup record of just 11-17-6. He’s performed particularly poorly in the team events (7-13-6) and is batting just .500 in singles. So is there reason to believe that this year will be different? I think so. Here are my 5 reasons why Phil will tear up Medinah and the Euros.

1) Phil is hot at the moment – Almost every Ryder Cup captain likes to go with the hot hand, and Phil is certainly hot at the moment. After a relatively poor season in which Phil won only a single tournament, he turned it on during the FedEx Cup playoffs (finishing 5th overall). Mickelson shot 7 consecutive rounds of 68 or lower throughout the Deutsche Bank and BMW Championships, en route to finishes of T4 and T2 respectively. During this streak Mickelson earned over $1 million – he’s clearly returned to form just in time.

2) The crowd is in his corner – Phil is, without a doubt, the US player that the fans will get behind the most. In major events (see the 2002 US Open, for example) the crowd has literally carried Phil around the course. He’ll feed off of this energy, and his opponents will have to deal with the noise and the cheers every time Phil pulls out one of his tricks.

3) He’s a different player now – Phil’s career record in the Ryder Cup is indicative of a player who has a hard time dealing with the extreme pressure cooker that is the Ryder Cup. We saw this with Phil, a lot, earlier in his career with regards to major championships as well. Phil has since shaken the major monkey, and it’s done a ton for his confidence and his ability to perform under the most intense pressure. I’d expect this to be his Ryder Cup coming out party, much like the 2004 Masters was for Phil in the majors.

4) Medinah’s length – At 7,658 yards, Medinah is going to be playing long. Like way long. Phil can bomb it with the best of them, and his high ballflight will help him stop the ball near the hole more effectively than many of the other players – especially the Euros who are used to playing in the wind. There’s a reason Phil excels at Augusta and stinks at the British Open.

5) His core competencies – When you think about Phil’s countless talents, the ability to bomb in is certainly one. But Phil’s long game hasn’t been so hot this year. He’s 101st in greens in regulation, and 166th in driving accuracy. This certainly is in line with the stereotype of Phil being a player who sprays it all over the place, then scrambles to recover. But there are two statistics that stand out to me – Phil is 7th on tour in strokes gained putting, and 6th on tour in birdie average. Birdies win matches, and if Phil is able to get the putter going at all he’ll make them in bunches.

Now the question is if Phil has a 10-footer to win the Cup, will he drain it? I wonder how his ups are compared to 2004…

The 2012 Ryder Cup is set to begin September 28th at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois. The big names and the usual Ryder Cup suspects will all be there – Rory, Tiger, Phil, Sergio – you get the idea. But as a team competition, this sure isn’t just McIlroy versus Woods (although that sure would be fun to watch in singles). It may very well be one of the lessor known players who tips the scale in his team’s favor.

As I thought about putting together my initial Ryder Cup predictions, I couldn’t help but notice the strength of the European team. It’s a pretty bulletproof group, although I’m shocked that Padraig Harrington didn’t make the cut. By most accounts that was due to a personality conflict with European  captain Jose Maria Olazabal. Regardless, my initial inkling was “big win for the Euros.” I’ve since back-pedaled on that stance, in large part due to the course – Medinah is certainly “American style golf” and at 7,658 yards it’s an absolute beast in terms of length. With four par 5s, the course certainly plays into the Americans’ hands. While I’m still picking the Euros to win, I think it will be closer than expected – and I think it may very well come down to one of the lessor known players acting as the “X” factor. Here are four guys that I wouldn’t be surprised to see make the difference.

For Team USA:

Keegan Bradley – Averaging 302.5 yards per drive off the tee on the PGA tour, Keegan Bradley has the length to tame Medinah. Normally I’d discount a 26-year-old Ryder Cup Rookie, but given that Bradley has proven he can handle major championship pressure (he won the 2011 PGA Championship), I’m reading that as guts of steel and the ignorance of youth. Nothing like reppin’ Vermont on an international stage.

Webb Simpson – Webb Simpson has quickly established himself as one of the best players in the world – he’s currently 8th in the Official World Golf Rankings. He’s won 3 times, including a major, and he’s only 27 years old. He’s also a pretty amazing putter, currently ranking 6th in putting on the PGA Tour. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a match-winning putt come off his blade.

For the Europeans:

Nicolas Colsaerts – I recently wrote about Colsaerts as one of the 5 European players I’d like to see play more on the PGA Tour. The man is crazy long, currently leading the Euro tour with an average drive of 317.7 yards. He’s easily the European best equipped to deal with Medinah’s length. Colsaerts has also proven to be a great match play player, capturing the 2012 Volvo World Match Play title on the Euro Tour.

Perhaps more importantly, Colasaerts is a rare Belgian golfer. The only thing the Euros care about more than representing their continent is representing their home country, and Nicolas has a rare opportunity to do that for Belgium.

Martin Kaymer – Martin Kaymer may be the single golfer that the more I watch, the more I’m impressed by him. He’s been a dominant player on the Euro Tour, winning 10 times since 2008. He’s also shown proficiency in match play, finishing 2nd in the 2011 WGC Accenture Match Play Championship. His game is all around rock solid.

With the international golf scene as competitive as ever and new-found rivalries forming at the top of the World Golf Rankings, this year’s Ryder Cup should provide plenty of fireworks. Just don’t be surprised if it’s one of these lesser known players setting them off.

A Belgian, a South African, a German, a Spaniard, and a Dane walk into a bar. Whaddya got? Just another week in the clubhouse pub at the most recent European Tour stop. In all seriousness though, the group below are all ranked in the top 90 in the Official World Golf Rankings, are all proven winners, and all have bank accounts worthy of your envy.

The Euro Tour is often forgotten by those of us stateside, who tend to care very little about any tournament unless Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, or Rory McIlroy is in contention. But to me, the Euro Tour is about as sexy as it comes. What could be cooler than running around Europe, with a bunch of Europeans, playing golf? Not a whole lot. While the PGA Tour has the flash and the prestige, we’ve seen several “unknown” major champions come from the Euro Tour as of late – Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen immediately come to mind. You may surprised to see these guys winning majors, but I can assure you their peers are not. The Euro Tour prepares professional golfers exceptionally well, with the players having to deal with less manicured courses and brutal travel schedules just to eek out their millions. Don’t be surprised if the names below pop up and win a big one soon – I for one would like to see each of them play a bit more here on this side of the pond.

1) Nicolas Colsaerts – A rare Belgian golfer, Colsaerts is currently 8th in the Race to Dubai (the European Tour’s money list) and is ranked 33rd in the world. That’s right, 33rd. That’s higher than the likes of David Toms, Geoff Ogilvy, Vijay Singh, Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and Retief Goosen, just to name a few. He’s won twice on the Euro Tour thus far but is perhaps best known for his length – he’s averaging an absurd 316 yards off the tee this year. Best of all, the man loves to rave and considers house music among his most important hobbies.

2) Branden Grace – At 24 years old Branden Grace has already had a career nearly all young South African players could only dream of. A product of Ernie Els’ golf foundation, Grace’s game has already drawn compliments from Gary Player. Better yet, he’s already beaten countrymen Ernie Els and Retief Goosen head to head (am I the only one wondering aloud if they let him win for the good of South African golf?). Branden is currently 11th in the Race to Dubai, and is just outside the top 50 players in the world coming in at number 51. Grace has won 3 times on the Euro Tour, with each of those victories coming this year.

3) Marcel Siem – A tall lanky German with a pony tail, Marcel Siem is not lacking in the personality department. He’s a veteran amongst this group, and has won twice on the Euro Tour. Siem also teamed up with Bernard Langer to win the World Cup of Golf in Barbados in 2006. He’s currently 13th in the Race to Dubai and 60th in the world.

4) Rafa Cabrera-Bello – A Spaniard who is 45th in the world, Cabrera-Bello has won twice on the Euro Tour. One of those victories came this year at the prestigious Dubai Desert Classic.  After taking up the game at 6 years old, Rafa would go on to win the Spanish National Championship in the under-7 age bracket. He’d continue to win the same title each year all the way through the under-18 age bracket. His sister also competes on the Ladies European Tour.

5) Thorbjorn Olesen – Thorbjorn is a 23-year-old Dane, whose golfing idol is more-known fellow countryman Soren Hanson. This kid has one Euro Tour win under his belt, and is currently 85th in the Official World Golf Rankings. Better yet, he’s still improving – Olesen improved his game in almost every statistical category from 2011 to 2012 including dropping his stroke average by over a full stroke per round. With Thomas Bjorn getting up there in age, Danish golf needs a new king – why not Thorbjorn? His name is very much a combination of Thomas Bjorn’s anyways…

Keep an eye on these guys – you may just see them on a leader board soon. You can also catch Colsaerts in the upcoming Ryder Cup, as he was just asked by captain Jose Maria Olazabal with a captain’s pick.

All statistics courtesy of http://www.europeantour.com/.

Historic. Dominating. Superlative. Brilliant. Those are merely feeble attempts to come up with a word that truly describes how good Rory McIlroy was yesterday. In winning the PGA Championship by 8 shots, Rory became the PGA Championship’s second youngest winner, but more impressively, he won by the largest margin of victory ever. At 23 years old, Rory joins the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only 23 year olds ever to capture the PGA Championship. That’s pretty decent company, no?

Seriously though, Rory’s final round 66 was arguably the best round of golf I’ve ever seen – the kid literally didn’t miss a shot. And make no mistake about it, Kiawah Island is a brutal course with trouble looming everywhere. McIlroy not only avoided all of the trouble, but he did so without showing anything resembling nerves – he was in total command the entire round. I recall Tiger’s 15 stroke victory at the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach, and while Rory didn’t win be 15, his final round was of that caliber. It may have even been better.

This kid’s the complete package – he bombs it, is flawless with his irons, great around the greens, and let’s just say he had 24 putts in his final 18 holes yesterday. Remarkable. Rory is simply proving what everyone has been saying all along – he has the 6th gear that the other players don’t. He’s got that freakish level of talent and the ability to go super low. Tiger is the only other player I’ve ever seen that out of. Color me impressed.

The win moves Rory to number one in the World Golf Rankings, and make no mistake about it, he’s the best player on the planet right now. That’s right, I said it – Rory McIlroy is a better golfer than Tiger Woods is right now. No doubt about it. And while Phil Mickelson has long been considered Tiger’s chief rival, I think it’s unquestionable that Rory will emerge as a much larger threat to Tiger in this second phase of his career. He’s got multiple majors already – both 8 shot victories – and at 23 years old, he’s got a real shot at being one of the greats. If Tiger regains his form, to see McIlroy and Woods go head to head when playing their best might be witnessing golf at the highest level it’s ever been played at.

Best of all, Rory seems like a an extremely likable champion. He seems as humble as could be for someone so talented, and he seemed genuinely giddy with joy following his performance yesterday. All those female golf fans that now hate Tiger’s guts? They’re going to love Rory. But perhaps more importantly, Rory’s performance yesterday will undoubtedly grab the attention of his peers. They all knew he was awesome already, but Rory just scared the heck out of his fellow touring pros. Remember how the rest of the guys used to look at Tiger? Rory just put the tour on notice – you know you can’t beat him when he’s at his best, and he knows it as well.

Tiger Woods. Lee Westwood. Luke Donald. Rory McIlroy. And…? Who is missing from this group? Maybe Phil Mickelson? Bubba Watson? Adam Scott? Incorrect. This group is the best 5 golfers on the planet, and the missing link is yesterday’s US Open winner Webb Simpson.

It’s always difficult for casual golf fans to know what to think when a Ben Curtis, a Todd Hamilton, or a Charl Schwartzel wins any golf tournament, let alone a major championship. Many would assume that Webb Simpson is joining the list of over-achieving major champions – after all, there are so many uber-talented players out there yet to win their first major. The Dustin Johnson’s of the world if you will. I can assure you that while Webb Simpson is not a household name, he’s made a name for himself amongst his fellow players. He’s one of relatively few players that absolutely was ready to win a big one.

Let’s take a look at what Webb Simpson has done in just the last two seasons (he’s a young buck at 26 years old). The 3 wins (now including a major) and 17 top ten finishes speak for themselves. Few fans realize that for 95% of tour players, a single win represents a great season. Three wins in a two-year span is a veritable hot streak, no doubt about it. But perhaps more telling are some of Simpson’s stats. He’s currently leading the PGA tour in putting, which is a pretty phenomenal way to win yourself a US Open if you hit the ball decently. He’s 9th on the PGA tour’s money list this year, following up a 2nd place finish last year when he won over $6 million. He also finished 2011 2nd in the Fedex Cup standings, 3rd in cuts made, and 8th in putting.  Although he’s far from the first to coin it, “drive for show, putt for dough” mine as well be the mantra of Simpson’s game.

Simpson is not a big personality on tour, which is fine by me (I’d prefer to stuff Rickie Fowler and his stupid orange outfits into a locker in the clubhouse). Yet it was nice to see that he’s not a golf-drone, when he quipped “Enjoy your time in jail” with a small smirk when a British nutjob interrupted his post-victory interview with Bob Costas (who navigated it all with ease, as always) by squawking like a bird. It was also awesome to see Webb sit with his wife who is 7 months pregnant as he watched Graeme McDowell miss a birdie attempt and the US Open fall in his lap (college tuition in the bank). NBC then created a pretty hysterical situation, as they didn’t realize that the monitor Simpson was watching the action on was delayed at least 10 seconds. It appeared as though Simpson and his wife exchanged nervous glances for quite some time rather than celebrating when McDowell missed, which would have been a very peculiar reaction to say the least. It was a pretty uncomfortable thing to watch until Simpson actually reacted to the missed putt on the delayed monitor and NBC realized what had happened.

All in all, this was very much a feel good win for a young and rising star on tour. The best feel good wins in my opinion are when older veteran players win for the first time, a la Darren Clarke at last year’s Open Championship. But for a young player to capture his first major, this was a fun one to watch.

The victor aside, this chapter in US Open history can’t be closed without some other recognition. For Tiger Woods, it clearly was a disappointing week. Fresh off of a “W,” Woods played like a man with a plan on Thursday and Friday. Starting his first 6 holes on Sunday +6 would be his demise; as I wrote last week, gone are the days of Tiger winning without his A-game. Jim Furyk – I feel bad even writing it because he’s gritty and I love him – but the man choked his brains out on 17 and 18. Off all players, he’s on the short list of players I would not have expected that sort of collapse out of. I also really enjoyed watching Ernie Els in contention.

Olympic Club itself also deserves some recognition. When I turned on my TV yesterday, I saw little but HD fog with something resembling a golfer teeing off in the mist. As they say, San Fran sure ain’t San Diego when it comes to weather. But I didn’t hear too much grumbling about the weather or the course being unfair, and with all the best players in the world playing over a 4 day period not one ended up at even par or better. Bubba Watson, fresh off a Masters victory,  even called the course “too hard for him.” The USGA must be jumping for joy this time around.

Well done to Webb Simpson, who now should be on any golf fan’s radar. Anyone who can roll the rock like he can is a threat to win week in and week out.

The scene could not have been scripted more appropriately – Jack Nicklaus’ tournament, Tiger on the cusp of tying Nicklaus in career PGA tour victories, and one horribly impossible shot finding the bottom of the cup and stirring up a fist pump reminiscent of the ghosts of Tiger’s past. If you’re a sports fan, you’ve seen the highlights by now – Sportscenter’s anchors were practically drooling on their desks waiting the deliver the highlights. And as a fan, Tiger’s second win of the year came as a reminder that at least some of that “old” Tiger magic is still in there.

By winning his 73rd PGA tour event, Tiger tied Jack Nicklaus for second most all-time – albeit at 10 years younger than Nicklaus was when he won his 73rd event. Only Sam Snead’s 82 victories sit ahead of Tiger – there’s little doubt that he’ll get there, but the real mountain that Tiger is trying to climb is winning 5 more major to surpass Nicklaus’ 18. Tying Jack with 73 wins was merely a stepping stone on Woods’ path to Mecca.

All of this got me thinking – I’ve heard so much about Tiger since his life took that dramatic turn two years ago. My friends who don’t follow golf closely have their opinions, my mom has her opinion – seemingly everyone has a dramatic opinion with regards to the current state of Tiger – both his golf game and his personal life. I’ve heard all parties out, and I still think the American public as a whole just isn’t getting it. It seems to me as though very few people outside of those who intimately cover Woods for a living have any clue.

Tiger Woods is misunderstood. That may be even more cliche than saying “Tiger banged so many waitresses” or “Tiger will never be the same.” Cliche, but I think very much true. For the record, I’d like to extrapolate on my opinions with regards to where Tiger is at – take them or leave them as you choose.

Tiger Woods is not “back.” His swing is different, his game is different. He’s not winning at the clip that he used to. He’s coming in 40th place in majors. He’s not dripping with sponsorship deals. That said, it is true that Tiger never left. Tiger Woods is Tiger Woods – the guy has had a lot on his mind these past two years, and golf took second place for the first time in his life. It hurt his game, and it probably shook his confidence, but to steal the lovely words of Josh Beckett “sometimes there are more important things.” The Tiger that never left was the Tiger that fist pumps, the Tiger that never misses a gutsy putt to bag championship. Tiger the competitor is the same as he’s ever been, and that’s the Tiger we all want to see. His game is now just now beginning to catch up.

I see two primary reasons for Tiger’s recent struggles – both of which seem amazingly obvious to me and have nothing to do with waitress A or waitress B in the little black dress. The first is swing changes. Tiger has a new coach, a new caddy, and a new swing – these changes take time to become repeatable enough that you can trust them under pressure. We’ve seen this with Tiger before, and we’re seeing it now.  Second, and even less surprising, is his personal life – his relationship with his kids specifically. I have no intimate knowledge of Woods’ family life, but I know that Tiger worships his parents and especially his dad, giving his upbringing a ton of credit for his success. Woods’ children are still too small to grasp the events that led to Elin attacking Tiger’s car with a golf club, but one day he’s going to have to explain himself. Few situations could be worse than explaining your unfaithfulness to your children, and I have no doubt that Tiger is driven to be the best possible dad that he can be with this glaring mark already on his record.

In general, Tiger is villianized by many as a cold-hearted adulterer, and his actions do speak for themselves. While I’m in no way defending Woods, how many of those passing judgement on him have been thrust into the international spotlight as a teenager? Woods was handed the world – all of the money, fame, talent, and yes women that he could ever want at an age that is just too young to be making fantastic decisions in the inevitable scenarios that he faced. He fell into some bad habits that clearly persisted throughout his marriage. Did Tiger have a Rolodex of women in every city he traveled to? I doubt it. I’m sure that his infidelity was no one-off, but the speculation of Woods’ hundreds of women is absurd. For anyone in the spotlight to the degree that Tiger is, it would be impossible for that lifestyle to last as long as it did prior to him getting caught.

So what’s my point in all this? Whether you want to believe it or not, Tiger is a loving father to his kids and was not running a Charlie Sheen-esque operation. I don’t make excuses for anyone who is given the world and screws it up, but I think those passing judgement need to imagine the unique circumstances Woods has faced. Did he make mistakes? Was he an ass? Absolutely. But is he the monster he’s been portrayed as? No sir.

As for his game, I don’t think Tiger will ever be the Tiger of 2000. I don’t expect 10+ win seasons, I don’t expect he’ll ever be winning majors by 15 strokes. I do expect Tiger to pass Sam Snead’s record of 82 victories, and I do expect him to pass Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors. Tiger’s had more conviction towards that latter goal than he ever had towards his marriage – that’s just the reality of it. Only one person is destined to be the best golfer in the history of the sport, and that man is Tiger Woods. Trust me, it’s not a curse.

From here on out, Tiger will regain his form. He’ll win his next major sooner rather than later, and it will be a big deal. But Tiger has in many ways screwed himself by bringing a younger generation to the game – more players, younger players, nearly of whom are trying to replicate the game that has made Tiger so famous. As Tiger gets older he’ll win more than his share – likely more than anyone else – but I think this new Tiger will only win when his game is on. If he’s playing well he’ll be capable of winning any week and on any course, but his B- game just isn’t going to lead to W’s anymore. That’s the new Tiger Woods as I see it… do you agree?

Steve Williams received a plethora of mixed reactions in the media yesterday in response to his comments following Adam Scott’s win at the Bridgestone Invitational this past weekend. The tournament was Steve’s first tournament since being fired by Woods, who was in the field and finished a cool 18 strokes behind Steve’s new man. After the winning round Steve’s interview lasted twice as long as Scott’s, highlighted by Williams calling it “the best win of his career.”

The general concensus of criticism directed at Williams revolved around the fact that he’s a caddy, not a player – he didn’t “win” anything. A second point of criticism was that Williams was stealing the limelight away from Scott, who just won himself a World Golf Championship event (these are not majors, but are the biggest tournaments otherwise).

With this all in mind, I wanted to weigh in with my take. As I’ve said before, none of us know exactly how this firing happened or why. All we know is that what was once as bulletproof of a relationship as could be suddenly disintegrated. Whether Tiger fired Steve over the phone or in person I don’t know. I highly doubt Tiger would end the relationship over the phone, but I also doubt that Williams would make up lies simply for the sake of hurting Woods in the media. I’d guess that Tiger called Steve and eluded that they needed to have a serious chat about their future, and Steve was able to read between the lines and see it coming.

As for the criticism Willliams received yesterday, it’s completely warranted in terms of taking the spotlight off of Scott. Scott has long been seen as one of golf’s next big stars, although he hasn’t won enough to back that up. This was the second biggest win of his career, and we all forget that wins for all players on the PGA tour are few and far between (yes it’s Tiger’s fault we forget this). In this regard, shame on you, Steve. Otherwise, I have no problem with Steve’s actions. Bottom line this is a guy with a lot of pride, and he feels very wronged by how Tiger treated him. I can’t say that I blame him a bit. Of course this was not “the best win of his career” in terms of the prestige of the tournament, but I’m sure it was amongst the most satisfying given it was his first tournament with his new guy since the split. Woods was at Bridgestone - he saw Scott win with Steve on the bag as he was packing up his trunk to go home after a lousy tournament. That’s got to feel good.

As for the whole “Williams isn’t the golfer he didn’t win anything” assertion, I get it. Scott is the golfer that got the ball in the hole 72 times, not Williams. But I would say that you better believe the circumstances served as motivation for Scott. He’s long been told his swing resembles Tiger’s, and for most of his career played 2nd fiddle to coach Butch Harmon because of Woods. But the motivation alone is not enough. You can’t deny that Scott hadn’t won a tournament since May 2010, then Steve shows up and he wins the first tournament with him on the bag. Caddies do help, they do make a difference, and the best caddies and players are very much a team. How much of a difference do they make? Sure, it’s very tough to quantify. But I’d say that a good caddie can save you 2-3 strokes a tournament. That’s a pretty arbitrary number pulled out of thin air, but I think it’s also a very conservative one.

What’s missing in all of this is a look ahead – the inevitable awkwardness on the range, on the putting green, and in the locker room. There’s no doubt about it that Woods and Scott will be paired together in a tournament sooner or later, with Williams in tow. Better yet, there will be a day in a major tournament where this situation presents itself in the midst of major championship pressure – you better believe you’ll be able to cut that air with a knife. Steve will be wishing Scott’s ball into the hole that day, for sure.

At the end of the day, Scott deserves the praise for a job well done. But I certainly feel good for Steve as well.

Batman and Robin. Siskel and Ebert. Gumby and Pokey. Tiger and Stevie – some things just come in pairs. Yesterday golf’s most famous duo disintegrated, as it became public knowledge that Tiger Woods fired his caddie and friend Steve Williams a couple of weeks back.

Steve Williams, a burly racecar-driving Kiwi who is often cited as a bully, is arguably the best caddie in the history of golf. This man has had to act as a caddie, a bouncer, a coach, a psychologist, and a friend to Tiger over the past 12 years. He’s been on Tiger’s bag for 13 of his 14 major victories and 72 victories around the world. And he’s still the best man for the job – nobody knows the ins and outs of Tiger’s game like Steve Williams. He’d frequently talk Tiger into different clubs, and he was usually right. It’s amazing that a player of Tiger’s caliber would ever let a caddie have that much control, which speaks to Tiger’s trust in Steve.

The golf aside, I’m still completely flabbergasted by this move. I think it’s more than fair to say that Tiger’s relationship with Steve Williams was more loyal, trusting, and longer tenured than his relationship with ex-wife Elin Nordegren. Tiger was in Steve’s wedding, and Steve was in Tiger’s. Their wives were great friends. And Tiger ended their relationship in a golf course board room? Worse yet, Williams flew from New Zealand to the US for the US Open, which Tiger hadn’t told him he wasn’t planning on playing in? My first response to all of this was “classless.” That said, I hate to speculate on circumstances such as these when I don’t know all the details. I don’t know the reasons for the firing, and I sense that Steve doesn’t fully yet either. I do trust that these guys both have their heads on straight, and I’m sure there was some reason. I’ve got two theories of my own.

Theory #1 – Tiger is still actively going through some sort of “rehab” or “therapy” and has been instructed to cut all ties with his former lifestyle. I can see this happening, although I severely doubt that this is the case. I question the effectiveness of any sort of therapy on someone with Tiger’s mental strength. If you can make a putt in dead silence with 10,000 people watching, you can not cheat on your wife when the situation presents itself. You just did it because your an ass and it felt good. If this is scenario is the case, what can Steve really say?

Theory #2 – Tiger has gotten wind, based off of his interactions with Steve and their lack of interaction following Tiger’s scandal, that Steve has lost respect for him. This could obviously sour any working relationship, and Tiger knew that now was the time to end it. Steve came out yesterday and said that he did lose respect for Woods, but I’m sure that this firing only made matters much worse. Tiger’s going to have to work on rebuilding this friendship, which I kind of doubt he’s going to do. To me, this seems like the most likely scenario.

Steve says that he’s going to write a book one day, and that chapter will certainly be interesting. Until then, we’ll likely never know what caused the rift in this relationship. Rather than dwell on this latest scandal, I think the golf world should celebrate Steve Williams’ contributions to the game and his time working with Tiger. He was on the bag for most dominant streak of golf ever played, and that in and of itself is worth celebrating.