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As Bubba Watson proved he can do more than turn a golf ball into a whistling vapor trail, the world of golf also has a new Yank atop the world rankings and it isnt Phil Mickelson. For the week after a U.S. Open, it was a surprisingly wild weekend and CBSSports.com senior writer Steve Elling is here to sort out the wallops from the whiffs.

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His real name is Gerry, by the way Even after all this time, Bubba Watson is one of the biggest enigmas on the entire PGA Tour. He prefers to be called Bubba, though he is no redneck. One week, he is humble to the core, espousing religion, deferential to others who far outstrip him on the golf totem pole. Other weeks, he comes across as brash and too big for his britches, as they might say in his stomping grounds in the Florida Panhandle. He can be alternately engaged or utterly aloof. He admits he probably has a raging case of ADD, which given the rapidity of his speech at times seems fairly certain, yet he wont take any meds. He isnt particularly close to the other two standouts from the same Panhandle high school, Boo Weekley and Heath Slocum. But no matter how you want to des after years of hype, television commercials and blather, the Bagdad (Fla.) bomber has finally won for the first time on a PGA Tour-sanctioned circuit, in his 185th start. As Arnies dad used to say, swing hard, kid, just in case you hit it. Watson lives and dies by the same creedo, and boy, does it ever make for entertaining television

Take 20 minutes and read this Of all the pulp, virtual Internet ink and paparazzi flashbulbs expended in the never-ending Tiger Woods affair, the Q&A with former swing coach Hank Haney might be the most illuminating look behind the Wizard of Ahhs secretive curtain yet. After recently ending a six-year relationship that Haney characterized as “dysfunctional,” the 55-year-old coach does nearly as much indirect damage to the dented Woods aura as anything his myriad mistresses and supposed baby moms have alleged. No question, Haney freely acknowledges that Woods is perhaps the greatest sports figure of our time, but the frank description of their client-pupil relationship says everything about the world No. 1s stubbornness and aloofness. More amazing is the fact that the interview was published by a magazine, often reticent to be critical of the world No. 1 in any regard, that includes Woods as a paid client. A couple of days after he parted ways with Woods, Haney sent me an e-mail that said words couldnt express the sense of relief he was feeling. Well, the words he used in the interview did a pretty fair job of accomplishing exactly that, not to mention explaining why he feels that way to begin with.

Lorena, what hell hath you wrought? While Tiger Woods has seemingly built a foundation reinforced with rebar as the reigning mens No. 1, a position he has enjoyed for five straight years, the womens game is in what you might charitably be called a full-fledged transitional phase. American Cristie Kerr won for the second time in as many events and became the first Daughter of Uncle Sam to ascend to No. 1, supplanting Japans Ai Miyazato, who a week earlier had unseated South Koreas Jiyai Shin, who inherited the throne when Lorena Ochoa abruptly retired midseason. But given t Kerr has the last three wins on tour b this is positive news. Kerr, whose ego has always outstripped her production, can finally lay claim to being the best player in the game and has a shot at becoming the first Yank to top the LPGA money list since 1993. Thats a No. 1 spot worthy of a far greater celebration.

Just once, I wish Cinderella would win We ought to be used to disappointment after the majors of 2009, when the sentimental favorites, if not those favored on the Vegas betting line, lost across the board at all four Grand Slam events. But on an even smaller scale, is it asking too much for the games capricious gods to toss a break to somebody like Madalitso Muthiya, who has a personal story so compelling, it could make double heart-transplant recipient Erik Compton sit up and take notice? Muthiya hails from decidedly humble means in impoverished Zambia and played at University of New Mexico, after the president of his country personally asked an American business contact to help land the personable Muthiya a college scholarship. In an era when there isnt a full-blooded black player, either from Africa or America, playing fulltime on the three major U.S.-based tours for men or women, a win last weekend in the Nationwide Tours Mexico Open would have been spectacularly welcome news on multiple continents. Muthiya, who has minimal status on the Nationwide and was making his first start of the year on that tour, began the day tied for third but slipped to T9 with a sloppy final round, though he did at least lock up a spot in the next Nationwide event in Ontario beginning July 8. Maybe hell have better luck north of the border than he did south of it.

Stark-ravin Pavin As we all know, in this era of bombers and bashers, he had no business even being there, really. Newly minted 50-year-old Corey Pavin is splitting time on the PGA and Champions tours, as much because hes still scouting prospects for his Ryder Cup roster this fall. He entered the Travelers Championship last week ranked dead last in driving distance on the PGA Tour at 256 yards per drive. Yet somehow, the tenacious Pavin found himself in a three-man playoff that included ball-smashing Bubba Watson, who ranks third in driving distance with an average of 296 yards, which is only two yards out of the No. 1 slot. Watson, needing a birdie, hit a measured drive on the final hole of regulation that or roughly 150 yards farther than Pavins effort. No knock on Bubba, but it was such a David-Goliath mismatch, plenty of us were rooting for the flyweight Pavin just on principle alone. Watso wi to secure his first tour title. But the half-hour affair reinforced one of the greatest elements of the game. On a given day, at a professional tour event or amateur club tournament, Mighty Mouse can play with Superman. Or for that matter, a mostly unheralded Frenchman ranked No. 395 in the world can nearly win a U.S. Open title.

Speaking of precocious 50s The unquestioned talk of the first round at the LPGA Championship last week was veteran Juli Inkster, who briefly topped the leaderboard before losing a few shots down the stretch. Inkster, already a Hall of Famer with seven majors among her 31 tour titles, eventually finished T62. “She doesnt act like she is 50 years old,” said Stacy Lewis, half Inksters age at 25. “She acts like she is one of us.” I guess we know what she meant by that, sort of. Inkster has a daughter that was born in 1990, making her older than some LPGA players. Its one thing for Pavin, Kenny Perry, Vijay Singh or even the ageless Tom Watson to contend into their late 40s and beyond, but in the womens game, its virtually unheard of. In the history of the LPGA, founded in 1950, only two players have won after turning 46, and none since 2003.

Finally in Philly: Woods and the PGA Tour Its one of those odd geographic deals that the PGA Tour would love to solve at some point. Philadelphia, which has become one of the countrys great sports towns, doesnt have a stop on the tour. Nor does St, Louis, considered the best sports city in the land. Finally, as part of a two-year deal while host site Congressional is being tweaked in advance of the 2011 U.S. Open, the AT&T National event has been moved this week to Aronimink outside Philly, giving the City of Brotherly Love its first glimpse at Woods as a professional (insert City of Sisterly Love here). The field is nothing to crow about, though with Woods in the mix, nobody will likely care, and while the dudes life has bigger cracks than the famous bell located thereabouts, if the tournament proves popular and a title sponsor can be located, maybe a permanent event can be added if theres room in the hearts of the denizens for more than just the Phillies, Eagles and Flyers. As an aside, since hes playing in a town that once booed Santa Claus, do you suppose Woods is feeling a bit nervous? Second random thought: Is a Philadelphia Flyer something you blame on V-grooves?

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South-of-the-border order A tip of the visor to former college player of the year Jamie Lovemark, who won the Nationwide Tours Mexico Open with one of the clutch shots of the year, a 6-iron from 235 yards to within 3 feet for eagle on the first hole of a two-man playoff, securing his first win at any level in three years. Lovemark, a second-year pro who lost in a Fall Series playoff on the PGA Tour last year perhaps a little too much. “This is the second-best tour in the world and theres no substitute for playing at this level of competition,” the former USC star gushed. Well, if the tour is as deep as he claimed, its hard to envision how two lightly regarded locals, Efren Serna and Jose Rodriguez, chased him all over the back nine on Sunday before finishing in third and fourth place. Besides, based on the way the Europeans are slaying the Yanks on the world stage lately, the PGA Tour is in a dead heat for firepower with the European Tour at the moment. Sorry, but the Nationwide shouldnt be mentioned in the same sentence, much less the conversation, as the other two circuits.

Your tax dollars, not-so-hard at work This is, what, the second time that mysterious, federally funded forces have conspired to not only watch Tiger Woods back, but the top of his head? According to a detailed report from the , the FBI called the FAA during the final round of the U.S. Open and ordered an aviation company that trails airplane banners overhead to cease and desist, though it had absolutely no power to do so. The company had been contracted to fly banners reading, “Tiger: Are You My Daddy” and “Happy Fathers Day Tiger LOL,” but was waved off before the second banner was ever used. For background, Woods spent much of the week privately stewing about two lingering paternity issues involving women with whom he has been linked. As for the feds, according to the report, there is absolutely no legal grounds be it on the back of an airplane or on a bumper sticker. At the Masters in April, a plane trailing a banner about Woods was ordered grounded after a curiously timed spot FAA inspection found a minor seatbelt violation. Nobody wants to hear about how this is a safety issue, because thats complete crap. If that were really the case, why would they allow motorized hang gliders to hover a few yards overhead on the seaside holes at Torrey Pines each year?