When is short short? I ask because everyone says the Riviera course is "short and tight". Is 7,279 yards short? It's the fourth longest of the 11 played so far and 400 yards longer than anything encountered at Monterey last week. So medium? Ish? Everyo… more »

Pebble Beach, hole five: Phil Mickelson has lost his ball. Cue double bogey. Aha, you think, here we go again. Only I didn't. In fact I missed the entire episode (don't ask, something to do with food poisoning!), which is probably all to the good, since… more »

There is a simple set of figures to illustate the cruel vagaries of the AT&T. Of those that missed the cut 23 by my count played Pebble Beach at it's easiest on the Friday. Those blown to pieces on Thursday fared far worse, with 35 culled. But the on… more »

Who needs Tiger Woods when you've got a battle as engrossing as Friday's between Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson? For my money Lefty took the honours for the way he frustrated Jim's bid to show the pack a clean pair of heels. It's reassuring to know Ameri… more »

So is he back? Has Phil Mickelson finally come out of hibernation? He "ripped the ball beautifully, putted confidently" in the words of one scribe and capped it with an eagle. It's the best he's played Poppy Hills at least since the turn of the century a… more »

Life would be so much different if I was Luke Donald. For a start I wouldn't be cursing global warming for heaping several inches of snow on my car this morning. On the other hand I'd be going slightly round the bend as a result of everyone shouting Luuu… more »

The way he explains it, you can understand why Jeff Quinney took the fateful decision to use driver off the 17th tee. He needed a birdie and reckoned that was the only way to get it. Cue big splash and a sudden dramatic end to his victory march on the FB… more »

How religious is Jeff Quinney? I only ask because today he will need all the heavenly assistance he can muster against Aaron Baddeley, who never lets us forget in these situations how God sits at his left shoulder. While you can't discount the likes of B… more »

The fates have been unkind to Charles Howell III. Alone among the leaders his charge towards the top was cut off in its prime Friday because of the frost-induced delay. So he's got to get up at sparrowfart Saturday to finish the last two holes while his… more »

None of that was in the script. Cloudy, wet, cold, dark? Excuse me, is this Arizona or Ireland? There's not a few golfers praying the weather clears up Friday and lets them play their normal game. When the last light had faded Thursday, leaving poor Tr… more »

If Phil Mickelson is going to end up as anything more than an afterthought this season, he really needs to get cracking. According to the PGA Tour website 2007 is the worst start of his pro career. The FBR Open, which he has won twice, provides a perfect… more »

Pity the poor fools that enter the US Open next year. If you think Torrey Pines was difficult this year you ain't seen nothing yet. "It's going to be one of the hardest Opens we'll ever face," declared Tiger Woods after finally pummelling the south cour… more »

A bit of reality crept into the markets overnight as punters grasped that this is no foregone conclusion. As Sunday dawned the price of Tiger Woods, which had gone as low as 1.68 during Saturday's play, slipped back over evens. Some think that is still g… more »

With most of my picks lying bloodied and battered below the cut line, it's time to run up the white flag and surrender to the force of Tiger Woods. He's been doing it again, playing with backers and layers alike, never quite doing enough one way or the… more »

Curses. The eagle landed to stuff my goose - well almost. An honourable draw was declared between layers and backers of Tiger Woods after day one. His price has moved in marginally from about 2.6 to 2.2, but only after skidding out to 4 at one point Thur… more »