Don't Sleep on European Tour Players

2009 Masters champion Angel Cabrerra

Now teeing off..ForeBlackGolfers' very first guest writer, George Burnette of the U.S.
SILENCE PLEASE! Mr. Burnette, swing away...

For a golf geek such as myself there is nothing better than waking up early Saturday and Sunday morning to live coverage of the European PGA Tour on The Golf Channel.

Padraid Harrington (left, 2-time Majors champ)

Renton Laidlaw's familiar voice and hilarious quips are a major part of that experience and he will be sadly missed when he steps down someday.
Granted, it's not the (American) PGA Tour but it's pro golf at its finest, nonetheless.
Sergio Garcia recently quipped that the European Tour is "..catching up.." with its American counterpart, but it's my contention that it already has.
Just take a look at the last 5 or 6 years' majors winners.
For what do we owe this phenomenon?
PGA tour players are not as hungry. They're actually a little spoiled.
PGA tour players are waited on hand and foot. They always play in perfect or near perfect weather on immaculately groomed courses.

Sergio Garcia (left, teeing off)
Tiger's presence has vaulted purses into the stratosphere such that PGA Tour players who don't even finish high enough on the money list to keep their playing privileges still earn over a million dollars per season in prize money.
PGA Tour players don't need passports, VISA's or immunizations for Yellow Fever and Hepatitis.
PGA Tour players have foul weather gear in their bags at all times but their's collects dust.
Most PGA Tour players leave the country only during the off-season when they are on vacation.
European PGA Tour players, however, are more like us. They carry their own bags and rent their own cars for the week.
They play on greens that are akin to those at (the Atlanta municipal 9-hole/First Tee course) John A. White (which ain't bad) not East Lake.
Their purses are not half as big as those stateside.
And to see a European tour entrant playing in foul weather gear is more the rule than the exception.
I know that hindsight is 20/20 but PGA Tour players not named Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson have no shot when seasoned, battle-tested, champion European Tour pros suddenly appear in their rear-view mirrors.

Meet Golf's Answer to Michael Vick

Okay. OKAY! So, as far as we know, golf's bad boy, John Daly never ran a sadistic dog fighting enterprise out of mansion he bought for his low-life, snitchin' homies to use as a crash pad.
Still, according to the standards of decorum the PGA clings to for dear life, he might as well have. Daly's latest overnight incarceration - for passing out drunk outside a Hooter's in Winston-Salem, N.C. - was enough for The Commish (Tim Finchem) and his upper-crust associates to finally wedge Daly away from the game.
The two-time Major tournament victor, and all-around loser in every other phase of life _ was suspended, conveniently(?), until a few weeks after this year's Masters.
HERE'S THE COMEDY: The Associated Press reported Thursday from Augusta that the leading attraction just outside the Masters gates was Daly's very own trailer stocked with his "signature" merchandise. ("Cash only", AP said.)
Just imagine if the NFL's Commish, Roger Goodell, imposed a ban on a still-popular player like Michael Vick (or even numbskulls like Pacman and Plaxico), but the dumb jocks had the gall to show up outside stadiums on Sunday's hawking jerseys in any color combos they liked any way.
"Ocho Cincos! Got ya Ocho Cinco Here!"
That's essentially what Daly, who's squandered millions in earnings and endorsements, is doing to stave off bankruptcy.
Given the fact that Daly hasn't posed a threat to anyone on The Tour for a long, long time, are you surprised that he's still got a loyal fan base aching for his return to the game? Will it surprise you if Vick finishes paying his debt to society, then gets a warm welcome back from fans as well?

Photos: Flickr/Yausser,beebowallace

Golf Channel Digs Deep Into 'America'

(Caution: Control volume!)
Put away your pitchforks, golf purists.
The Golf Channel isn't going to make a mockery of your game with its new series, "Golf in America", as hosted by B-List comic actor Anthony Anderson.
(Anderson, left, in "Scary Movie 3")
Initially, I was put off by the notion of Anderson starring in a show brought to you by the producers of "The Haney Project: Charles Barkley". As if we need more vaudevillian antics around the tee box, right?
But, aside from the abysmal tailoring of Anderson's glen plaid slacks in the preview episode, the series (airing in full, starting June 21) doesn't look half bad. So have no fear tuning in for a glimpse at celebrities, courses, icons and over-achievers as you've never seen them before.

Vegas Bookies Bank on Tiger to Win Masters

The bookmakers in Las Vegas have spoken. Now it's up to Tiger Woods and his new Dymo Prototype driver (8.5 degree) to determine whether he'll win his fifth Green Jacket at Augusta National, or not.
According to the latest report from the Las Vegas Sun, Woods, 33, is the overwhelming (+125) favorite to win this year's Masters tournament. Phil Mickelson is the oddsmakers' second favorite at 10-to-1.
Do you agree that Tiger will inevitably win again this week at Augusta? (Comment Below!)
Meanwhile, sadly, the spectre of race raises its ugly head again as the sole top golfer of African heritage, Woods, heads toward Amen Corner. ESPN is airing golf's dirty laundry with reports that verge on resentment toward Tiger for not labeling himself as a black man.
Eddie Payton, the Jackson State University golf coach and younger brother of Hall of Fame football player Walter Payton, accuses Woods of being "in denial" about his race. Woods responds, admirably, with allusions to his charitable work.
Are you tired of Tiger being pressured to embrace his blackness, given the inherent denial of all his other bloodlines that would entail? (Comment Below.)
For continuous official updates (tee times, scores, news) from The Masters, click here!