Bob Charles of New Zealand was a very good PGA Tour golfer back in the 1960’s and 70’s when he won six PGA Tour events, including both the Houston Open and the British Open in 1963. Over his career, Charles has won 70 events worldwide.
However, none of those many achievements is as remarkable as what Charles pulled off earlier this weekend. The 71 year-old shot a 68 in the second round of the New Zealand Open — a tournament that he first played in 53 years ago — to become the oldest player ever to make the cut in a European Tour event. The previous European Tour record holder was Christy O’Connor, who made the Irish Open cut in 1989 at the age of 64. The late Sam Snead holds the PGA Tour record, making a cut at the 1979 Westchester Classic at the age of 67.
After his remarkable achievement, Charles talked about how his round was almost derailed before it started by a “senior moment”:

Sir Bob later admitted to having had a “senior moment” at the start of the day which nearly scuppered his record-breaking round before it had begun.
Turning up at the wrong tee (the 1st, understandably enough) for his 8am start, Sir Bob was forced to commandeer a buggy to transport him to his true starting tee (the 10th) which he reached with 30 seconds to spare.
“Oh well, I’m entitled to be forgetful at my age,” he laughed later.

This earlier post noted that former PGA Tour member Greg Norman had duck hooked his divorce and was probably going to have to pay for dearly for doing so. After a cooling off period, Norman and his former wife settled matters quietly. Or so they thought.
Now, it appears that the Shark is calling a rules violation (H/T Stu Mulligan) on his ex-wife over her public disclosure of the details of Norman’s affair with former tennis star, Chris Evert. As you might expect, tails are wagging among the Palm Beach society crowd:

Golf legend Greg Norman has a message for his ex-wife: You won’t get any more of my money!
Norman’s legal eagles have filed a lawsuit against the sport’s former first lady, Laura Andrassy, alleging that she has already breached their two-month-old divorce settlement.
The filing asks a Martin County judge to award damages. Several sources close to the case – who asked to remain anonymous because no one familiar with it is legally allowed to talk about it – said those damages could include Norman’s keeping a large part of the settlement he still owes her. [. . .]
So, why’s the fair-haired golfer ticked off?
According to Norman’s filing, it’s because Andrassy squawked to the press about her broken marriage, former tennis champ Chris Evert, Norman’s new love, and how Evert “stole” the Australian from her.
In an interview for papers in Oz and another with Page Two in late September, Andrassy described in detail how Evert befriended her while visiting the Normans’ home on Jupiter Island, then moved in for the “kill.” Andrassy said she suspects Evert, then married to former Olympic skier Andy Mill, first hooked up with her hubby last year when the two couples were on a fishing trip.
Fine and dandy! But the problem, according to Norman’s filing, is there’s supposed to be a confidentiality agreement between him and Laura – and she breached it.
“The confidentiality agreement is really not that specific, and besides, I didn’t talk about Greg. I talked about myself and Chris, and I have no agreement with her,” Andrassy said by telephone as she drove through California’s Napa Valley on Tuesday. [. . .]
Norman’s new high-octane attorney, Jeff Fisher, did not comment. Said Norman’s White Shark Enterprises CFO Jack Schneider: “At least we abide by our agreement.”

Evert “hooked up” with Norman on a fishing trip and then moved in for the “kill”? Stay tuned for the next episode of the lifestyles of the rich and famous.

After a quick 6-1 start, the Houston Rockets have fallen flat on their collective faces, losing six straight games before beating Denver at home last night. Inasmuch as the fawning local mainstream media fails to provide any meaningful analysis of what ails the Rockets, the blogosphere steps into the vacuum as this Dave Berri post analyzes the problem precisely — Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming and Chuck Hayes are playing reasonably well, but the rest of the Rockets’ production is among the worst in the NBA. As Berri points out, why on earth did the Rockets acquire two washed-up guards — Mike James and Steve Francis — who absorb minutes at the two-guard position that forces McGrady to play small forward, which forces Shane Battier to play power forward where he is far less effective than at the small forward position. Yes, peer effects in basketball make a big difference.
By the way, just how long are the Rockets going to wait before either acquiring or developing at least an NBA-average point guard? For the record, it’s been over a decade since the Rockets have won a playoff series.

This Bloomberg video interview reveals that you can count legendary PGA Tour champion Jack Nicklaus as another businessman who has had enough of the public form of corporation:

The biggest mistake I ever did was let my guys talk me into taking a part of the company public. That was the biggest mistake I ever made. I had no idea what–what the rules and laws were of a public company. And we did a public company. And a lot of people lost money, including me…It was a great lesson. But, you know, if you’re gonna get into that business, you better know what the devil you’re doing.

Nicklaus discusses a number of different topics during the 20 minute interview, including his golf course design business and the evolution of Tiger Woods. Check it out.

Although it’s off-season for golf, I’ve been meaning to pass along the video below for awhile. I’m not sure about Peter Kostis analysis, but one thing is certain — these are two very good golf swings.

Golfweek’s Jeff Rude provides this entertaining column in which he passes along some of his experiences with the truly nice fellows on the PGA Tour, the nicest of which, in Rude’s view, is Beaumont native and former University of Houston great, Bruce Lietzke:

[Lietzke] had all the attributes you want in a next-door neighbor: Self-deprecation, humor, a pleasant nature, a realness, a playfulness, a deep sense of family and a vintage car collection to die for. With Lietzke, you could walk next door and get a golf lesson, borrow a wrench and, for the umpteenth time, hear his famous banana-under-the headcover story or about the time he revved one of his hot cars up Magnolia Lane.
My favorite Lietzke story, and the one that clinched his status as No. 1 favorite, happened in 1995. I needed to interview him but our schedules were conflicting. I was leaving for the British Open, and he was going on one of his long summer vacations and time was running out. So I read him the list of questions while in a taxi on the way to the Dallas airport and asked him to leave his answers on my answering machine. I told him Iíd then listen to his answers and transcribe the quotes during a layover in Chicago on the way to Scotland.
When I retrieved messages at OíHare Airport, sure enough Lietzke had called. Problem was, my voice mail cut off after two minutes. So to make this work, Lietzke had to call back and continue with his answers. And call back and continue. And call back and continue. When I got done writing down his answers, I realized he had called my answering machine 13 times.
I mean, telemarketers looking for cash donít call my answering machine 13 times. And this was a PGA Tour player with 13 victories. I mean, some winless players donít have 13 seconds (as in time) for someone carrying a notepad and pen.
Professional athletes in need of media training donít need a seminar. They just need to hang out with Lietzke for a day.

Read the entire piece. I had the pleasure of playing a round with Liezke years ago at a University of Houston function and concur with Rude that he is a perfectly charming fellow.

After last weekend’s final PGA Tour tournament of the year, the PGA Tour money list has been finalized for purposes of qualifying for the 2008 PGA Tour events. The top 125 on the list are fully exempt next year and the top 30 gets into the Masters. The Nationwide Tour money list is also finalized. The top 25 on that list earn a PGA Tour card for 2008.
Players not otherwise exempt that finish between 126-150 on the money list usually still get into 16-20 events in the following year, but they have little control over their schedules because they do not know what tournaments will be available for them. Many of these players in that part of the list also rely on past champion and sponsor exemptions. The players who are really in a tough spot are those who finished outside of the top 150 and have no other type of exemption status.

The first run of the PGA Tour’s Fed Ex Cup did not exactly transfix golf fans. However, this Bob Harig/ESPN.com article makes the Fed Ex Cup look like the Masters in comparison to the PGA Tour’s initial Fall Series:

Dubbed the Fall Series, the final seven events on the PGA Tour schedule will mercifully come to an end next week in Orlando, where the biggest stories will revolve around players losing their full-time status (despite making $700,000 this year) or secure veterans who try to fit in golf around visits to the Disney theme parks.
“There were 100 people following the final group last Sunday in Scottsdale,” said PGA Tour veteran Steve Flesch. “It’s like a glorified club championship. I don’t think that’s what the tour intended. And I think they need to address it.”

Ah, the ever-widening Tiger chasm.

The United States Golf Association has been widely criticized often over the last several years for the absurdity of its setups for the U.S. Open. And we in Houston certainly know that golf course designer Rees Jones has endured more than a little criticism over his work. So, a few eyebrows were raised when GolfWeek‘s Rex Hoggard passed along the following tidbit about the Rees Jones-renovated Torrey Pines South Course — which is the site of next year’s U.S. Open — from the practice tee of this week’s PGA Tour event in Port St. Lucie, Florida:

Big talk on the practice range here at the Tesoro Club, site of this weekís PGA Tour stop, is on the wild fires that were raging in southern California.
One update late in the afternoon suggested Torrey Pines, site of the annual Buick Invitational and next yearís U.S. Open, is in danger of being scorched.
ìGood,î snorted one player, among the many who donít like the changes to the venerable South Course. ìThey need to start over anyway.î
Ouch.