Has Nike co-founder Phil Knight, who famously
referred to Tiger Woods’ litany of sexual transgres-
sions as a “minor blip,” backed
off a step in his staunch support
of the company’s star endorser?
According to an online
report from the Wall Street
Journal, Nike will introduce new
versions of its Victory Red driv-
ers and fairway woods later this
month without promotional in-
put from Woods. It was Woods’
ritual of wearing red on the final day of tournaments
that inspired the name for the products.
By the way, it’s only rumor that club and ball
manufacturer Fuschida, whose own star player,
Danny Nagano (who also was a suspect in his
Tiger Woods
father’s death on last week’s “CSI: Crime Scene
Investigation” on CBS), is lurking in the wings to
sign Tiger should Nike opt to drop him.
For years, the movers and shakers at the USGA
were perceived as old fuddy-duddies in blue blazers
and stuffed shirts. But times they are a changin’.
The USGA is going hi-tech. It announced recently
an iPhone and iPod app for the 2010-11 “The Rules
of Golf,” “Decisions on The Rules of Golf” and
“Rules of Amateur Status.” The app costs $3.99 and
can be purchased and downloaded at the i Tunes
store. The USGA said it plans to have apps for
BlackBerry and Google Android later this month.
Jim Thorpe, who loved to wager either in the
casinos or at the racetrack, lost his biggest gamble of
all last week in Orlando when he was sentenced to
a one-year prison term for failing to pay more than
$2 million in income taxes. He must turn himself in
by April 1. Thorpe, who turns 61 Feb. 1, also was sen-
tenced to two additional years of supervised release
and 200 hours of community service. He must try to
repay his back taxes during his supervised release.
His lawyer said Thorpe, who has won 13 tourna-
ments on the Champions Tour and has career
earnings of more than $15 million, “has accepted his
punishment and will be getting on with his life.”
Something’s gotta give. China’s Hainan Island
tourism board, with the support of the powerful
Mission Hills Group from Shanghai, plans to stage a
World Championship Pro-Am in late October. Prob-
lem is, the proposed dates of the last weekend in Oc-
tober are also coveted by the PGA Tour for its new
$6 million Asia Pacific Golf Classic at The Mines in
Malaysia, a limited-field event co-sanctioned by the
Asian Tour, and the Asian Tour’s $1 million Iskan-
dar Johor Open. Neither of those tournaments has
confirmed dates yet. What makes the late October
dates so attractive is that players can go directly from
the event that week to the WGC-HSBC Champions
in Shanghai the following week.
The big to-do on Hainan Island is to commemo-
rate the unveiling of a mega Mission Hills Golf Club
project that could grow to 30 courses, dwarfing Mis-
sion Hills Shenzen complex, which has 12 18-hole
courses. Organizers are targeting Tiger Woods, Phil
Mickelson and Sergio Garcia for the tournament, as
well as many international celebrities.
Blood may be thicker than water but Luke Don-
ald has deep-sixed his brother and caddie of
eight years, Christian, and hired John McLaren,
who looped last season for Anders Hansen.
Donald called it “the hardest decision I’ve ever
made.” On a brighter note, Donald, 32, and his
wife of nearly three years, Diane, are expecting
their first child in late March.
Handicap Index, USGA Handicap Index Card or
USGA Handicap Service, and from creating the
false or misleading impression that the com-
pany or related parties are in any way affiliated
with or approved by the USGA.
Score one for the USGA. The U.S. District
Court for the District of New Jersey issued
a permanent injunction last week against a
Houston company that was infringing on the
trademarks of the U.S. Golf Association. ISaAC
Scoring Systems LLC, an internet golf-service
company, its partners, associates, agents
and related parties are also prohibited from
purporting to offer a USGA Handicap, USGA
The Tour de las Americas, Canadian Tour and
European Challenge Tour are throwing a big
season-opening party together next month
in South America. The three tours are co-
sanctioning the $220,000 Abierto Internacio-
nal de Golf II Copa Antioquia Feb. 18-21 at
Club Campestre El Rodeo sede La Macarena
in Rio Negro, Colombia. The field will be
made up of 60 Challenge Tour players, 50 TLA
players, 25 from the Canadian Tour and nine
from Colombia.
Eighty-four players, including five of the top
10 in The R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking,
have committed to the Jones Cup Invitational
Feb. 4-7 at the Rees Jones-designed Ocean
Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga. Among the
entrants in the 54-hole stroke-play event are
Victor Dubuisson of France, No. 3, No. 4 Bud
Cauley of the U.S., runner-up last week in the
Master of the Amateurs in Melbourne, Aus-
tralia, and reigning U.S. Amateur champion,
Byeong-Hun An.
Chinese Taipei’s second Asian Tour event, joining
the Mercuries Taiwan Masters in late September.
The Asian Tour opens its season with the Asian
Tour International in Bangkok, Feb. 4-7.
The Asian Tour filled in a blank in its 2010 sched-
ule with the addition of the Yeangder Tourna-
ment Players Championship, in Taipei Sept.
16-19. The company signed a three-year con-
tract. The event will have a $300,000 purse. It is
The U.S. Golf Manufacturers Anti-Counterfeit-
ing Working Group, a.k.a. the “Group,” got a
conviction this month in the Shanghai Huangpu
District People’s Court against Fan Chaokui,
who will serve a seven-month jail term and pay
an undisclosed fine after caught with nearly
1,000 counterfeit clubs, bags, balls, gloves and
apparel. The Group was formed in 2004 by the
Acushnet Co., Callaway Golf, Cleveland Golf/
Srixon, Nike Golf, PING and TaylorMade to
petition governments to enforce their counter-
feit laws.
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