It's okay guys, it's safe to come out and play now, he's over in the Gulf giving the European boys some grief instead. So we can all relax and look forward to a rowdy four days of warm-up to the Super Bowl in the desert with hopefully more of a golfing… more »

The people entitled to feel really pleased right now are those who gave themselves a Christmas present of a bet on Tiger Woods for the grand slam. At that time they would have got a price somewhere a little south of 30. After just one outing by the great… more »

It's raining, the wind's already up around 20mph, and it's not yet dawn. There's plenty more rain on the way - up to two inches we're told - plus some hail, we could see lightning too, and the wind'll likely gust anywhere up to 40mph. It's not the way I… more »

There's a big storm a'coming, but it'll have to go some to match the one that's already passing through. As Tiger Woods himself said, he's been driving like a dog, yet the rest of his golf has blown him to what must surely be an unassailable position. To… more »

Not only was Troy Matteson's seven under on the south course the most surprising round of the day, the manner of it was even more startling. No one else among Thursday's leaders came close to his stats - top ten in all the key disciplines. But he is by… more »

The betting on the real 'season opener' is predictably lopsided. The money on Tiger Woods is already a flood running at more than 30 times his nearest challenger, Phil Mickelson. I suppose it's a bit late to suggest both sides of the betting equation are… more »

Justin Leonard put a brave face on things, but that defeat is going to hurt for a while. Strikes me he got a bit cocky over Sunday's opening holes, with his four-shot lead still intact after D J Trahan's bogey on the seventh. Some of his shots were posit… more »

So Justin Leonard, which do you want first, the good news or the bad? Okay, here's the bad. The local Palm Springs newspaper The Desert Sun thinks you should be aware that in this tournament's 48-year history only 19 of those leading on Sunday morning ha… more »

The really surprising thing about Boo Weekley's 10 under on Friday was that it was one of only two rounds to go that low. With no wind to speak of these courses are particularly defenceless. Leader Robert Gamez for one was surprised so few managed to mak… more »

So far there's everything to like with what Justin Leonard is doing, although fate is playing its part. It was pretty calm at Silver Rock when he played what is proving the most challenging of the four courses, especially to someone who struggles for len… more »

There are no problems, only opportunities, I am often told, usually by a boss as he deliberately stands on my foot. That seemed to be the watchword for the opening day, where the lack of wind left all four courses open to a massive attack. What did I say… more »

There's a spirited body of opinion in the forums this week that can be classified as "I wouldn't be seen dead backing Justin Leonard at less than 30." Poor Justin is not the tipsters' favourite either - he warrants hardly a mention. It all sits oddly w… more »

It might not seem so to Rory Sabbatini, but that was a hot round of golf he served up on Sunday. The wind made it hell on tees for everyone - an average of more than two strokes harder than the day before. The lowest round of the day from George McNeil w… more »

You don't really have to do the sums. The market price of less than 1.3 says all you want to know about the likelihood of K J Choi ending up a wire-to-wire winner. It's going to take a monumentally bad day at the office for the Korean to let this one sli… more »

Steve Marino and Fred Funk are looking like the exceptions that disprove the rule. We all know what a stickler Funk is for accurate tee shots and he is again the most precise player after round two to edge himself up into 4th place. Marino might not have… more »