An 80-year-old man looked at his television screen and might as well have been staring in the mirror.

Believing he needed a birdie to earn a spot in the PGA Tour event the following week, rookie professional Sam Saunders pulled the driver from his bag in the fairway of the final hole of the Honda Classic and took a mighty wallop, trying to reach the par-5 hole in two.

Sam Saunders is playing at Bay Hill having made two cuts in four pro events. (Getty Images) What, you expected him to lay up?

His grandfather, watching on national TV, didn’t. Saunders made a mess of the hole and didn’t quite muster his first top-10 tour finish, but the look on the mug of one of the game’s iconic visages was priceless nonetheless.

“I have to admit that, whatever anybody else thinks, I had a big grin on my face when he pulled the driver out,” Arnold Palmer said, laughing. “I was very proud of him doing that.”

Had Saunders, 22, hitched up his pants like his granddad did when he carried the sport on his back in the 1960s, fans might have lapsed into a full-blown reverie.

On the calendar, the generation gap between Saunders and his Hall of Fame grandfather is nearly six decades wide. Facts are, after the promising prospect turned pro last year, they are closer than ever.

Playing this week in the Arnold Palmer Invitational among guys who call David Leadbetter, Butch Harmon and the game’s top instructors their swing coa the most popular man in the history of the game.

“Nobody knows more about the game of golf than Arnold Palmer,” said Roy Saunders, Sam’s dad and A.P.’s son-in-law.

In his first year as a pro, Saunders over the winter asked Palmer to become his full-time coach, a first for the latter. The King, who has two daughters, had been awaiting that question … for years. He had mentored Sam since the latter seriously took up the game a decade earlier as hilarious as that might sound to us civilians.

“That was something that I had hoped would happen,” Palmer said this week. “I wasn’t sure it would. But we started working together, and he has really just come along.”

After leaving Clemson last year, Saunders moved back to Orlando, where Palmer makes his winter home, and asked Palmer if he could help raise his game to a new level. Turns out that their relationship was elevated, too.

Now they relate personally, professionally and as adults. Saunders, who takes a mighty rip at the ball, already inherited the DNA. Now he’s tapping into the rest.

“If we can get a positive on the psychological aspects of it, get him where he’s positive and he has a system that he can use, I think it’s going to work, and that’s what we are working for right now,” Palmer explained. “It’s already proven to do pretty well. He’s only played in four events and he’s made two cuts. Hell, that’s pretty good for a young guy coming up.”

No question, being a scion of the Palmer seed has been beneficial for Saunders, who has no tour status and can accept a maximum of seven sponsor exemptions. Saunders has had more offers than he has exemptions remaining. He also can take seven exemptions on the Nationwide Tour.

He’s playing this week in his own front yard. His parents, Roy and Amy Saunders, run the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, which Arnold bought decades ago. It has hosted a tour event since 1979, so Sam was forever immersed in the game like a baby at a baptismal bath.

When Palmer agreed to be more than a paternal figure or part-time mentor, he had only a few stipulations. One was a deal-breaker.

“I remember my father saying, ‘When you go out on the tour, you just listen to everyone that you talk to out there, and they will help you,’” Palmer said, setting up the joke perfectly. “‘They will help you get back here to Latrobe and drive tractors.’”

In other words, Saunders eschewed all outside instruction and signed on full bore with P hell, there are about a million golfers out there who would pay a fortune for the same privilege.

True, the coaching game has changed a little bit since Deacon Palmer once told his soon-to-be famous son, “Hit it as hard as you can.”

“He’s been really good,” Palmer said of his grandson receptiveness. “He has stuck with the things that we’ve talke minor adjustments along the way when he has a little problem, he’ll just say, ‘Can I see you on the tee for a little bit?’ and I go out with him.

“And it’s worked. And if he keeps doing that, it will work.”

In their first session, they spent three hours on the Bay Hill range.

“It’s fun to watch him give Sam the lessons,” Roy Saunders said. “He does it quietly and there’s not a lot to it. it’s very subtle. He does not like a lot of folks standing around watching him do it. It’s a very private situation.”

Saunders has done some growing in h Saunders was a little shy around his grandfather in his younger years. Palmer, who enjoys giving and receiving a good barb, can now trade the needle with Sam, too. The kid’s all grown up.

“He likes that,” Sam said. “He likes when you show some toughness. When he used to be hard on me, I would kind of back down and be afraid to say anything. “I would never say anything back to him in a mean way or in a disrespectful way, but he likes me to step up and kind of show that I’ve got some guts and not be afraid to shoot something right back at him. He want me to be tough and he always tries to toughen me up.”

Four years ago, Saunders played in the Bay Hill event when he was still an amateur. While watching Saunders play off the air, veteran NBC broadcaster Bob Murphy watched the kid aggressively roll a birdie putt about 5 feet past the hole, then hammer the comebacker home with nary a worry.

Murphy laughed, “I must have seen his grandfather do that a thousand times.”

That was probably a low estimate. Interestingly, as much as anything, Palmer is preaching course management to Saunders these days.

“Part of the process is working on his game management,” Roy Saunders said. “You can always have the physical talent, but you have to learn how to hit the right shot at the right time, becoming a little more refined. Sam is a quick study.”

He could have been as dense as a rock and he would have long ago realized how lucky he is. His grandfather is a largely untapped trove of counsel and experience, wrapped in a warm, familial embrace.

“There is no question,” Amy Saunders said, “they have a very neat rapport.”

If a Mount Rushmore in golf existed, this particular pair would surely represent two of the four heads carved into the famously august cliffs.

So when Arnold Palmer, the man who truly put golf on the American sports map, talks abou you can chisel the words in granite.

Palmer, on hand as host this week of the invitational tournament named in his honor at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, said Wednesday he was disappointed that Woods skipped his tournament, not to mention stunned that the world No. 1 will head to the Masters without any live rounds under his belt.

Palmer, 80, had made nary a public statement about the episodic Woods debacle of the past four months, yet on the eve of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he opened the door a crack and supplied some personal context to the scandal that rocked the sport to its grassroots.

No question, the two occupy opposite ends of the approbation scale at the moment, and had their polar roles been reversed, Palmer said he would have a difficult time coping with the fan enmity that has engulfed Woods. The most popular golfer of all time and a man who still commands considerable attention in the endorsement game because of his multi-generational appeal, Palmer said the feeling of being perceived as the bad guy between the ropes is hard for him to imagine.

Others over the years, including former rival Jack Nicklaus, have had to endure occasional taunts and barbs from fans who were pulling for the King. Given the levels of anger and betrayal in some fan quarters as a result of Woods’ actions, it’s a veritable certainty that at some point soon, the world No. 1 is going to get an earful.

Woods, to some, will be wearing a black hat for the first time in his career.

Arnold Palmer gets a typically warm welcome during Wednesday’s pro-am at Bay Hill. (AP) “It would probably bother me,” Palmer said. “I am a sensitive person by nature, so it would affect me to a degree. I suppose that if it happened very often, I would get used to it and be able to handle it.

“But it is not something I would look forward to.” Nobody is expecting Woods to be besieged by catcalls at the Masters, which begins April 8. But when he walks to the first tee, it would be a surprise if he’s enveloped warmly. In fact, you might be able to hear the crickets chirping. Eventually, he’s going to make an appearance at a more public event. Nobody knows what to expect.

In one of his brief TV interviews Sunday, Woods said, half in jest, that he hoped fan which dovetails nicely into another Palmer concern. Fact is, given that Woods hasn’t hit a meaningful tournament shot since winning the Australian Masters on Nov. 15, it’s hard to guess how many red numbers he will put on the Augusta National scoreboard.

While Palmer said he would never write off Woods’ chanc is the best tack to take at a diabolical course like Augusta. One player, Ben Hogan, won the Masters when entering the event as his season opener.

“I can’t fathom taking five months off and going to Augusta, unless you have to, unless circumstances make it that you have no choice,” Palmer said.

Woods had other menu options, of course. He called Palmer on Monday night last week to explain that he wasn’t going to defend his title at Bay Hill, where he has won six pro titles, including the past two in a row. Palmer, who wears hearing aids, said he had trouble understanding what Woods was saying and asked him to phone back again Tuesday morning.

Woods reiterated the news the next day and explained that he wasn’t ready to play. Whether he’ll have sufficiently knocked off the rust with practice rounds will be one of the many related storylines in two weeks.

“You can’t get very sharp [by] not playing,” Palmer said. “Even just practicing won’t do it. I think to be sharp, you have to compete. You have to be in the mood to compete.

“Now, you can say a couple of weeks, that would be one thing. But five months, you know ….”

Palmer dominated in an era when off weeks were less prevalent among star players, and said he “played, generally, right up to the edge,” at the majors.

It worked. Like Woods, Palmer has four Masters titles. Only Nicklaus, with six, has more green jackets. “We would usually start in January and play up until September, and if we had any special events I would play them,” he said. “Then from usually the end of September to the middle of October, until the first of the year, I didn’t play very much. Occasionally I would go to Pinehurst or come down here [to Orlando].

“Tha and I tried to play even then. That would be a couple of months, maybe.

“My thoughts always have been, particularly in my really active days, to play right up to it, unless I was tired. Sometimes you get a little beat up and feel like you need a week off or something. For the best part I played right up to the event.”

Sage that he is, Palmer mostly steered clear of offering any criticism or commentary on the headline-grabbing actions of Woods and said the latter did not solicit any advice from his longtime Orlando neighbor on how to weather the ensuing storm.

Like a legion of others, including many fans and media critics, Palmer noted that the best way for Woods to put the scandal behind him is to stop hiding from it.

With a storyline that’s four months old and still percolating, Woods has answered questions for a grand total of 11 minutes, and even then he declined to comment on a couple of the hot-button details.

“I think it’s up to him to do and say whatever he feels he needs to do to redeem the situation, put it in the proper place,” Palmer said. “My opinion, as I said, I was going to keep to myself.

“But I suppose the best thing he could do would be open up and just let you guys shoot at him. And that’s just my thought.”

A day earlier, as he stood outside near the putting green at Bay Hill, Palmer was asked about how much the media game has changed since his era. Woods has endured scrutiny unlike any other player, past or present.

“It was easy,” Palmer said of his day in the sun, “and I enjoyed it, and the item of being private didn’t really ever enter into it. They gave me the time I needed to be private.”

Despite their comparable places in the sport’s pantheon, the public personas of Woods and Palmer could hardly be more different. Palmer has always been friendly with the fans and openly courted interaction with the press corps, his conduit to the people. By and large, Woods has often been bland, suspicious and paranoid.

Palmer felt that as a public person, scrutiny comes with the territory.

“Hey, when you come out here and walk on that putting green as a competitor,” he said, pointing at the cadre of PGA Tour players nearby, “you have given these people a little bit of you. That’s part of the game. That’s the way it is.

“If you don’t think that, then you end up in trouble.”

Several tune-ups are carded this weekend but well concentrate on the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds, the Lanes End at Turfway on Polytrack with honorable mention to Sunland Derby because the race came back so strong, but more on that later.

Before they went to the synthetic at Turfway, the Lanes End was called the Spiral and then the Jim Beam. In 1992 Lil E. Tee posted a 106 Beyer in the Southwest Stakes and then in his next start came from mid-pack to win at 9-2 with a 95 figure, in then the Jim Beam.

Despite losing by a neck in his next race with a 107 figure, fans dismissed him the first Saturday in May and regretted it to the tune of 16-1.

In 2004, Birdstone ran 5th in the Lanes End, and then broke hearts beating Smarty Jones in the Belmont Stakes.

This year Connemara could have a coming out party at Turfway. Yet another of the Todd Pletcher bullets, his only beat came with a legit excuse and he is fresh from a solid close when he took the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate.

The sky is the limit for this one as he is kin to Hollywood Futurity winner and over $1.3 million earner Lion Heart. With any kind of pace, he will be one tough cookie.

Pletcher will also be looking for improvement from his recent allowance winner Doubles Partner as the trainer is looking for his third win in the Lanes End following Balto Star and Flower Alley.

Rebound is the word around Kettle Rivers barn after a poor effort in the recent Sham. He needs a break out race.

Dale Romans was hoping to run Quiet All but that one came up gimpy so it is up to his other charge, Vow to Wager.

If you are going to bet on Wager, know that his dam is a minor stakes winner and kin to millionaire Grass Venture.

Others possibly seeking glory on the Polytrack are Best Actor, Deans Kitten, Fearless Cowboy, Noahs Dream, Chief Counsel, Ranger Heartley, Northern Giant and Letsgetitonmon.

Now on to the Bayou.

Grindstone won his second career race in the Louisiana Derby with a 102 Beyer in 1996, lost his next effort when wide and beaten a neck in the Arkansas Derby, then was skillfully ridden by Jerry Bailey to get up by a nose at Churchill for the Roses with a 112 figure.

New Yorks favorite son Funny Cide was placed 2nd in the Louisiana Derby in 2003, hated the mud in the Wood, and then posted a 109 Beyer winning the Derby at 12-1.

Ancient history will find the other runner that posted the Louisiana Derby/Kentucky Derby double in Black Gold in 1924.

One true star almost pulled it off in 1988. Risen Star was allowed to let Winning Colors alone on the lead in Kentucky and had to settle for third.

Discreetly Mine will be looking for a repeat in the Louisiana Derby after recording a career high 94 Beyer taking the Risen Star Stakes. Consistent, he handled his first route assignment with flying colors and has a right to mature with class as kin to Discreet Cat, a brilliant Grade 1 winner that had the look of a router the way he finished his mile wins on his way to an over $1.6 million career.

Risen Star fourth Drosselmeyer will likely be back for more, as he is out to make amends for the flop as the chalk while Ron the Greek needs to pick it up after running mid-pack recently.

A Little Warm is in interesting player. Trained by the very sharp Anthony Dutrow, the son of Stormin Fever has the blood on the bottom side being out of an Alydar mare. His dam was a Graded winner and kin to G2 winner and over $550K earner Colonial Minstrel.

It took him a few races to figure it out but he was getting to the winner in the recent Hutcheson Stakes despite going wide.

The West will be represented by The Program, who be trying to transfer his synthetic form. Conditioned by Bob Baffert, his tactical speed will give him first run on the deep closers.

Homecourt hopes go to Ron the Greek, trained by Tom Amoss, who has won 9 titles at Fair Grounds.

Others to watch are Wow Wow Wow, looking to rebound from a poor effort and recent maiden winner Mister Marti Gras.

The odds of the Sunland Derby being important in retrospect 2 years in a row are daunting but what happened in 2009 cant be forgotten. Second finisher in the race Mythical Power took the Grade 3 Lone Star Derby in his next out, 12th finisher Valid Stripes took the $125,000 Texas Stallion Stakes next out, Mark S the Cooler took an allowance at Hollywood right back, Advice rebounded taking the Grade 2 Lexington and of course, Mine that Bird won the Derby in a shocker.

Fact that the race is boosted to a Grade 3 will draw some decent runners and the ones to keep an eye on are Southwest Stakes champ Conveyance, Risen Star second Tempted to Tapit, San Vicente Stakes trifecta player Classical Slew and Storming Saint, who was put up in the stepping-stone race, the Borderline Derby in February.

Though they are surely running low on buckshot as it relates to this surreal storyline, CBSSports.com senior writer Steve Elling and Augusta Chronicle columnist and golf writer Scott Michaux watched the competing five-minute snippets with the exiled world No. 1 on Sunday and came away with some biting observations in this week’s Shotgun Start.

Two questions into his Golf Channel interview on Sunday night, and completely without prompting, Tiger Woods began espousing his new immersion in Buddhism. This is a guy who could make a Green Beret blush with his profane tirades. Thoughts?

ELLING: As any parole board can attest, it’s hard to measure what’s really in a man’s heart, and like the rest of his staggering obstacles, it’s going to take time before anybody can determine whether his “return” to Buddhism was borne from spiritual necessity or professional convenience. It seems every time a public figure steps on his own appendage, religion is foisted into the equation, quite possibly as a contrived means of making good with a large segment of the population that believes the Bible or Koran offer the fastest, best path to salvation. It certainly offers a more direct path to public forgiveness, at least to those putting much stock in his awakening. Woods was photographed by a magazine more than a decade ago with a Buddhist string bracelet around a wrist. Ever since, the subject notwithstanding his angry epithets directed heavenward on the golf course. The bracelet is back. By the way, there are five basic precepts of Buddhism, including these three: “I will be conscious and loving in my relationships and shall not give way to lust; I will honor honesty and truth and shall not deceive; I will take care of mind and body and will not be gluttonous or abuse intoxicants.” Looks like he whiffed on all three, many times over. But now we can keep score at home going forward, can’t we? Like he said, he has to prove it over time.

MICHAUX: It’s hard not to be cynical about religion popping up so often when all other positive P.R. is gone to hell. Death row inmates cite it. Michael Vick cites it. Disgraced politicians cite it. It is a cliched prop in these apology sagas and comes across as a desperate ploy when they never much seemed to care about such things before their falls. I tend to consider someone’s religious beliefs more of a private matter, which is funny in this case because Tiger is asking for everything else in his life to be kept private but this is what he chooses to share publicly. It seemed as much a part of the uniform as his Nike swooshes. It means more when an athlete holds up his religion he trips over himself. Guys like Zach Johnson and Bernhard Langer (among others) sometimes get criticized for using their golf platform to mention their religious beliefs. Shouldn’t Tiger be subject to the same when he foists his, only when it’s convenient to his image rehabilitating? Even if you’re agnostic or atheist or Wiccan or whatever, at least you can appreciate the people who practice their religion in good times as well as bad as a sincere part of their being. Certainly more so than wearing it on their wrist only when hitting rock bottom. If Buddhism proves good for Tiger’s soul, good for him. He needs something to steer him back down the path of human decency.

In an admission that actually constituted news on some fronts, Woods said his future playing schedule remains up in the air. How was that received?

ELLING: Oft the new Tiger Slam of 2010. Last weekend, the PGA Tour wasted zero time in jumping on the Woods propaganda wagon by splicing him into a TV commercial shown on NBC Sports, pimping the upcoming Players Championship in May. Nevermind that Woods told the Golf Channel that he has no idea where, or how often, he will play going forward. Either the tour knows otherwise and I am wagering on the former. Put it this way: Woods was hammered after his reading-room apology last month because he said he was going back to rehab and needed more time to mend his family fissures, and a week later, he was practicing for days on end. The same allegations of hypocrisy would hold true today, when he says he still has much toxic cleanup left to do in his personal life. If he admits that he plans to play at he’s saying that his personal issues are of secondary importance to his professional career. Mind you, he might play them all anyway, but there’s no way on earth he’s going to say it publicly now. He’ll probably just string us along, same as ever. Why does it matter? You know all those never-ending TV spots the tour airs to underscore its charitable endeavors? When tournaments only have a day or two to promote Woods’ inclusion in the field, it hurts ticket sales and the corporate skybox bottom line, which directly affects the charity payouts in various tour communities. So, yeah, it matters tremendously where he plays and when he announces it. He has played his cat-and-mouse commitment game, suspicious of those who would use his image and presence to make money that he doesn’t directly share, for far too long.

MICHAUX: I hope that doesn’t mean we’ll have to play this will-he-play speculation game all season. It’s fair to grant him some leash in the short term, since we don’t know all the particulars of the backstage turmoil of his life. There may be one or two regulars he skips (though we assume the majors won’t be among them). But if his long-term planning falls into the same habits of the past, we’ll know whether he really has changed. One of the most selfish aspects of his professional life has been his practice of withholding commitments until the deadline. We can all probably predict his future schedule with a 99-percent degree of confidence, but Woods has always liked to play games and keep tournaments from using him in promotions. He needs to change that, for the good of his image and the tour. It’s time Tiger started giving back and spreading himself around to events and markets he has ignored until now. And it wouldn’t kill him to divulge his schedule for the near future when asked. Other players routinely do it, laying out the general path they intend to play as they lead in to majors. Why can’t Woods do the same?  Imagine what it would mean for ticket sales if he gave a month’s notice to playing a new tournament. And doesn’t he need to start winning back some fans and making new ones? We’ll see.

Last weekend, ESPN, Golf Channel and CBS all were contacted by the Woods camp and asked if they were interested in interviewing the world No. 1 for a non-negotiable, five-minute interval. Only the latter said no thanks. Who made the right call?

ELLING: Take a look at the URL address above and you can see which network pays the bills around here, but I was strangely comforted by the fact that CBS took a pass, at least partly because of the strictures and embargoes he placed on the interview length and broadcast time slot. ESPN and Golf Channel were hardly acting irresponsibly either, given that Woods had not answered a single, solitary question in nearly four months. Whether they should have agreed to the ground rules is a matter that can be argued, since the nets both let Woods dictate some crucial terms. It would have been tough for CBS to crowbar a short segment into the NCAA basketball coverage or its slot, too. Five minutes, to many, seems like a slap in the face. Interestingly, nobody has mentioned that NBC mysteriously was not invited to the party. Might it be because the network’s venerable has aired repeated stories and interviews with those involved in the steamy scandal? Or because aired an hour-long, prime-time special in December titled one of the most unflattering shows ever aired on free TV about a major sports figure? The entire NBC golf crew was 90 miles away in Tampa, broadcasting the Transitions Championship. They could have had somebody in Orlando in a heartbeat. But the Peacock got left at the altar. Then again, maybe they would have passed on being part of the Woods media manipulation, too.

MICHAUX: Every interview we ever conduct i whether it’s stated beforehand or not. Every one. We’ve all begged lesser golfers for five minutes of their time. What would we not have given for five minutes one-on-one with Tiger Woods even before this scandal? While it sounds like a ridiculous constraint on the surface, five minutes are more valuable than they might seem. It can’t possibly cover every base in the case, but I think we all came away impressed with what Golf Channel and ESPN were able to get in their short windows. It would have been nice to have another party heard from since every interviewer brings something unique to the table. Cumulatively, the info gained was about as substantial as you can expect from such a guarded figure. Woods didn’t place any restraints on the content of the questions, just the time. There is no journalistic integrity compromised by accepting those terms. As for CBS trying to wedge it into their five-star Sunday lineup of the NCAA tournament followed by , it’s hard to believe a news organization of that caliber couldn’t make it happen. has handled breaking news before, and given the one-day lead time, they surely could have packaged 12 minutes of  background on this saga to lead into the five-minute Q&A as a segment on their broadcast. It is the best news show in TV history. They’ve dealt with deadline pressure before. No offense, but I say bad call.

Horse Odds: Never Retreat

As we are approaching the end of the current Fair Grounds meet on March 28th, its a prelude to this weekends Grade II Louisiana Derby stakes festivities. The Crescent City oval is hosting an interesting Grade 3 event. On Friday The 42nd edition of the Bayou Handicap 4YO/up $100,000 guaranteed featuring the winner of last years Grade II Distaff Turf Mile on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs last spring: Tizaqueena.

Horse betting odds: Never Retreat

What: Horse Betting
When: Friday , March 26th
Where: New Orleans La. Fair Grounds Race Course
Key Stat: Thoroughbreds Never Retreat, Category Seven, A Shes Adorable, Tizaqueena, Love To Tell, Dancin Perfect, Apple Martini, Favorite Fantasy, Nicksappealinglady, Bubbler

The Storyline

The 42nd edition of the Grade III Bayou Handicap features a competitive field of four-year-olds and up Fillies and Mares, vying for the $100,000 guaranteed purse money. The race will feature a few interesting storylines. Last years winner of this event Love to Tell will be back to defend her title against a formidable foe in the form of Tizaqueena who is red hot after scoring an impressive win for Trainer Mike Stidham in the Feb 27th At the Fair Grounds in the LaCombe Memorial in her only her second start of this campaign.

Bayou Handicap Picks The Favorite

Darley Stables Tizaqueena making only her second start of this season heads into this event with an impressive three quarters of a length victory on Feb 27th at the Allen LaCombe Memorial at the Fair Grounds. With current meet leading jockey Shaun Bridgmohan on board for Trainer MikeStidham,in her last race Tizaqueena left little doubt this filly is equally adept on Dirt as she is on Turf. Being the only graded stakes runner in this race she ran as the morning line 8-5 favorite and ran from back of the pace to the hand ride victory. There is no reason this horse cannot replicate this effort in the Bayou Handicap. Tizaqueena is a five-year-old daughter of Tiznow whose offspring have gone on to great success.

Bayou Handicap Picks The Second Tier

If you want to look at possible contenders in this race and those which should be a nice overlay you may want to look at Never Retreat rider James Graham 3-1 on the morning line, if you look at some of Never Retreats recent efforts you will see a case of a horse that was tantalizingly close to winning at this meet when on Jan 30th she lost to a nose in the Marie Krantz Memorial then in her start prior to that on Jan 2nd at the Furl Sail Handicap at The Fair Grounds had won the race but was placed second for interfering with eventual winner Category Seven who also looms as a threat in the Bayou Handicap .Category Seven9-2 on the morning line, has solid career earnings of $242,000 dollars and I like the trainer /rider combo of Ken Hargraves and Richard Eramia as well her recent effort in the Furl Sail over a Turf course which was rated Good saw her come from far back to move for the lead at the eight pole.

Bayou Handicap Picks The Longshots

Trainer Mike Stidham has another charge in this race named A Shes Adorable, 5-1 morning line odds who finished third in the LaCombe behind prohibitive favorite Tizaqueena. A Shes Adorable made a strong rally to finish in the show spot and as she is familiar with this surface. Other possibilities for a nice price include Love to Tell 10-1 morning line odds,Love to Tell

On Jan 30th won the $50,000 Jersey Lily Stakes at Sam Houston and last season this Mike Burgess trained horse won this event Shane Sellers will be in the irons and could make things interesting if the favorites falter.

Bayou Handicap Prediction & Outlook

Although logically Tizaqueena should loom as the strong favorite in this field I am looking for the value play in the form of Never Retreat with James Graham on board.This horse which had a bad case of seconditis may finally have figured it out especially if others can press the leader on this turf surface which has to be looked as soft given the amount of rain at the Fair Grounds lately.

Pick: Never Retreat

For more sports betting articles, check out the BetOnline.com Betting Edge daily.

Tiger Woods’ one-vehicle accident four months ago has resulted in the longest-running stretch of car-crash rubbernecking in the history of golf. Even Ben Hogan’s crash seems miniscule by comparison, and it almost killed him. Every time it seems as though the end of the sordid Woods sex scenario is near, more toxic sludge oozes through the floorboards. Amid all this, the world of golf continues to be overshadowed, which is why CBSSports.com senior writer Steve Elling is vainly trying to keep us abreast of developments beyond the pale of the world No. 1. Good luck, brother.

Up

Timing is everything Unlike most of America, working golf scribes had a two-hour head’s up that Tiger Woods had completed a pair of taped, five-minute interviews Sunday, to be aired later that night. The drive-by journalism came with non-negotiable stipulations on the interview length and was embargoed for broadcast until 7:30 p.m. Thus, I never saw Jim Furyk survive the cold-shank iron shot he hit out of the rough on the last hole of the Transitions Championship, while narrowly and nervously winning for the first time in 2½ years. He finished the 72nd hole just as Woods’ comments were being aired. Furyk, one of the classiest players in the game, took the high road when asked whether Woods had stolen his moment. He even made a joke about it. For the second time in a month, Woods had selfishly deprived a tournament of its just desserts because of asinine planning. He had four months to talk. The winner and the sponsor in Tampa didn’t deserve to be blind-sided. Woods ought to play in the Tampa tournament in 2011 to “make amends,” to use his rehab terminology. But don’t hold your breath.

Spirit of full disclosure Boy, is the Internet a wondrous thing, or what? Thanks to the dilution of journalism standards and the ceaseless desire for information relating to Woods, we have begun to learn just how deep the guy’s depravities ran. Last week, one of the porn stars linked to Woods posted a series of astounding text messages purportedly sent to her from Woods over the course of their steamy relationship. Newspapers that posted the texts cleaned them up, but there was little left to the imagination. For instance, we know that Woods enjoys seeing his playing partners choke outside the ropes, too. We also know that the TV series has a future segment at the ready on the hotel maids employed at the Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, Ill., site of one of his wild liaisons. Because if they cleaned his room with anything other than a flamethrower or sulfuric acid, the maids had better have been wearing a Hazmat suit. I laughed out loud last week when, on the day the text messages to the porn princess were posted, John (better known as J.B.) Holmes was among the Tampa leaders. That’s where Woods has dragged the game, folks.

Large and in charge Carl Pettersson was described during the NBC Sports broadcast over the weekend as “jolly.” Which, as we all know, is a code word for “chubby.” No worries, the Swedish Bubba has no issues with that characterization whatsoever, especially after losing 30 pounds last year turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. The affable veteran dropped the weight, mostly by eating sensibly, somehow lost his game and skidded to No. 136 on the money list. The three-time tour winner realized he had probably lost his equilibrium by dumping the weight so quickly that his swing felt odd. So, in what must have been a thoroughly enjoyable period, he gained all the weight back and reclaimed his game in the process. He finished eighth on Sunday in Tampa, his second top 10 finish of the year. “Well, I was exercising and eating right,” said Pettersson, who was born in Sweden but lives in Raleigh, N.C. “I I guess what I did, I lost it too quickly and I wasn’t playing a lot of golf at the time. Who knows if that was it, but that’s what I think it was.”

Can’t spell Geoff without letters O-F-F Aussie star Geoff Ogilvy certainly underscored why he’s one of the most respected players on the U.S. tour over the weekend in Tampa, when he flew to the ends of the earth to make his Saturday tee time. True that, technically, Phoenix isn’t the end of the earth, but you can see it from there. Ogilvy believed he had missed the Friday cut and boarded a late plane bound for his desert home, then learned he’d made the weekend just before the plane went wheels up. Trouble was, he could not get his checked bags and clubs off the plane. So he flew home, reclaimed his sticks, then took the re ensuring he wasn’t caught up in the secondary cut as the field was trimmed from 86 to 71 players. On Sunday, he proved that jet he shot 74 and finished T28. “It was worth coming back,” he said Saturday, bleary-eyed and grinning. Indeed, in addition to kudos for the lengths he traveled in order to do the responsible thing, he was deprived of some sleep but not from a decent payday. He made $30,946.

Second-time lucky In a largely overlooked bit of news that somewhat offset the predictably bad sponsorship development (see below) in Miami, one of the top regular tour events has cemented a sponsor for Torrey Pines in Farmers Insurance, which bailed out the event at the 11th hour earlier this year. Funny story: After riding in on a white horse to bail out the sponsor-less event with only days remaining before the tournament began, the company tried to line up a blimp (MetLife, obviously, was not an option) for aerial shots. They fou then had to festoon the Farmers logo on the side of the blank blimp canvas. The dirigible was so big, the letters were 17 feet tall. They had finished one side of the blimp when the call came from San Diego, demanding that the blimp head south immediately. So for much of the week, thanks to the traditional onshore breeze, the blimp flew above Torrey Pines, its blank side facing toward the fans below. But rest assured, if Woods and Phil Mickelson continue to make Torrey their annual seasonal launch point, Farmers will get their money’s worth over the longer haul.

Down

Swoosh, there it is Considering that he conducted interviews for all of 11 minutes, combined, on two sports networks on Sunday, it’s amazing how much conversation Woods generated. It was like the Monday-morning breakdown of the best Super Bowl ads around the office water cooler. Did he help himself, did he hurt himself? Stray thoughts were being fired around cyberspace about Woods’ latest attempts to pull the strings on an unmanageable story. Mostly, it was greeted as yet another micro-managed P.R. move. For instance, it was a transparent stunt for him to show up in a Nike sweater and TW cap, because this was not a post-round interview. He’s clearly attempting to prove he’s still solvent as a commercial pitchman, although after last week’s text messages, he might be more unsalable than ever. Many took his born-again Buddhism (insert reincarnation joke here) as a transparent attempt to endear himself to the forgive-and-forget, Bible-belt types. He told the Golf Channel that the string bracelet he had placed on his wrist, which he hasn’t worn publicly in a decade, was for “protection.” Uh, based on what his harem of women have said, that might be the only protection this guy has used through the whole sordid scenario.

Your-Name-Here Championship (price negotiable) As a rule, when a title sponsor says that an announcement will be made after a contract expires regarding whether an extension is forthcoming, it’s not a good sign. Such was the case with CA, the company that has forked over roughly $10 million annually to sponsor the World Golf Championships event at Doral outside Miami. The contract expired after the tournament and the scribbling on the wall clearly read “sayonara.” Two days after the final round, CA pulled the plug. Did the tour know already and fudge on a few P.R. facts to put on a happy face in Miami? You decide. reported that the tour secretly tried to lure sponsors tied to two existing PGA Tour stops to take over the WGC event at Doral, which hasn’t exactly been a show-stopper lately. Cannibalism is never a good sign. Poor weather played a role, but the early crowds at Doral were disappointing, to say the least. As a guess, the combined crowds on Thursday and Friday could not have topped 10,000. To some, Doral seemed more interesting when it was a full-field event, plain and simple.

Tiger Tour 2010 As the PGA Tour begins to trumpet Woods’ participation in the forthcoming Players Championship in commercial spots that aired on NBC over the weekend, Woods is making no guarantees about his future plans. “I don’t know what I’m going to do [about playing in events after the Masters],” he said. “That, to me, is a little bit bothersome.” Really? So is the fact that he claimed he was taking time off from golf to fix his family and do justice to his rehab, then started working on his golf game a week later. Again, his decision to deflect questions about his schedule can be viewed quite cynically. If Woods says he is going to play his traditional post-Masters schedule in locales like Charlotte, the Players and Memorial, he’s going to draw heavy fire for paying little more than lip service to addressing his family needs. Why the mystery? He doesn’t know whether he will play four times or 15 times over the rest of the year? That’s seems very, very hard to swallow, and smacks of yet another T regaining favor with the fawning ge when he leaves Almost decade ago, a writer at the called the mayor and talked about throwing a parade for Woods, who had completed the wraparound Grand Slam a few days earlier in winning the 2001 Masters. The mayor was all for it. Yet Woods couldn’t be bothered. Well, after years of living in the Central Florida town, it doesn’t appear that anybody is shedding tears over the possibility of his departure later this year, when he is expected to relocate to his new manse at Jupiter Island. Mike Bianchi of the torched Woods over the weekend for being little more than a tax-dodging carpet-bagger who has done virtually nothing for the city during his 13 years as a resident except attract recent unwanted attention. “As a fellow Orlandoan, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tiger Woods,” Bianchi seethed. “Thanks, Tiger. For nothing.”

Now, time out for a personal rant For four months, stories on sports websites around the world relating to Woods’ travails have been met with barbs, accusations and name-calling. Fine. There’s plenty of room for considered opinion on how the story has been handled, both by Woods and the media. But the increasingly crude tidal wave o that all we should is symptomatic of a bigger problem. The lack of accountability in this country has reached epic proportions. People intentionally defaulting on student loans or mortgage payments, companies greedily awaiting government bailouts, CEOs getting millions for bankrupting firms … where’s the personal accountability? Woods turned and he doesn’t owe anybody an explanation beyond five minutes? Sports isn’t a video game, wherein you repeatedly hit the reset button, then turn it off and then eat a bag of Doritos afterward. There are repercussions. Especially when you have made $1 billion by selling a contrived bill of goods to the world. In that regard, he owes us a lot more than convenient apologies in five-minute snippets. He sullied the image of golf. He could have killed someone with his reckless driving. So until he stops hiding and obfuscating, he’s getting nothing but fastballs.

FOCUS ON THE PRIZE

The Kentucky Derby experience can be overwhelming at times, not only for the connections and horses but the fans actually trying to sniff out a winner.
Before we get into a key element to keeping your head during the Triple Crown, the question is who came out of last weeks Florida Derby smelling like a rose?
Well, it wasnt the first two finishers but the runner that just crushed that pair in the Fountain of Youth. Eskendereya destroyed that Youth field by over 8 recording a 106. Ice Box, fifth in the aforementioned race, and Pleasantly Prince, 4th that day, ran down early leader and eventual third Rule in the Florida Derby in a way that suggest they will improve with more real estate.
Ice Box, who received a 99 Beyer, is in the right hands of Nick Zito while Prince hails from the potent Wesley Ward barn.
Last year Quality Road nailed down a 111 Beyer and the year before Big Brown popped with a 106 figure in the same race.
Zito won the Run for the Roses in 1991 and 94 and the trainer gave praise to Ice Boxs rider Jose Lezcano.
The conditioner put the kid in the same sentence with Braulio Baeza and Laffit Pincay Jr. in his post-race remarks. That is lofty company.
Meanwhile, if Eskendereya runs well in the Wood on April 3, he will stamp his name as one of the Kentucky Derby chalks along with Lookin at Lucky.
The first 3 finishers in the Florida Derby are all heading to Kentucky and will work up to the Derby.
There is generally so much information out there for the Derby by the time they draw the race the Wednesday before the big event, what appeared to be a puzzle coming together days or weeks before, takes over the view of a total scramble.
That is when one has to go back to basics.
This entire game is about what happened in the past. How much speed a horse showed last time, if the runner can get the distance, what the style of runner he is, etc. etc.
Pace is the game, believe it or not and it gets lost sometimes in the hype of the day, whether it is the Kentucky Derby or Breeders Cup. The distance limitations going into the Derby make the guessing game a lot tougher and the pace of the Derby is always crazy because of the grand stage it is on.
The importance of how a race sets up, who is going to the front, whom is going to be far back, and who figures to be midpack, was never more evident than in the 2000 Belmont Stakes. But the reality is pace is one of the most important, if not the most important, aspect of handicapping. If a player truly understands pace and the why of pace, he is well on his way to handicapping heaven.
There appeared to be a lack of speed in the third leg of the 2000 Triple Crown. Hugh Hefner figured to go to the front of the Belmont States that day. He had no other real option and he did make the lead. The eventual winner, Commendable, figured to be close up, probably sitting second or third.
Globalized figured to be up close early, right with Commendable, and slightly behind Hugh Hefner.
But when Globalize broke in the air and was forced to steady, the race took on an entire different complexion. Hugh Hefner was still able to get the lead and his rider, Jorge Chavez, did a good job of slowing down the pace to a crawl. But Commendable is the horse that really benefited by Globalizes mishap.
Instead of being among a trio of horses with intentions on the lead, Commendable was now able to sit comfortably off the leader, who had questionable pedigree limitations and was unlikely to get the 1 ? miles successfully under any circumstance.
Pat Day on Commendable did not have to worry about any other speed. He could be content with going slow early, knowing that when the leader was ready to throw in the towel, his horse would likely just inherit this slow pace.
Often times in big races, the betting public overlooks the pace.
There is the media hype of big events. There is the talk of workouts and all the subplots that can come to the surface when speaking of a major event.
Granted nobody could have predicted that Globalize would not break right and be forced to lose many lengths and, in reality, lose all chance at the start.
But there is no way Commendable should have been 18-1 when winning the Belmont. Sure he got beat 17 lengths in the Derby, but had been a consistent, though unspectacular, performer in his short career. Add the fact that the race came up lacking in speed and the fact that traditionally horses with tactical speed do very well in the Belmont. In retrospect, handicappers must figure they just let a golden opportunity slip away.
This year know that the pace of the Derby will likely be hectic as usual although last year Mine that Bird closed into relatively moderate splits of:47.23, 1:12,09 and 1:37.49 for the mile.
In 2008 Big Brown sat about 2 and a half-lengths off a:47.04, 1:11.14 and a 1:36.56 set up.
Its not easy, but if players approach huge races like the Triple Crown events and the Breeders Cup with a cool, collected style, it figures to be rewarding at the end.

Jim Furyk finally won after 32 months and 58 tournaments, and it became a footnote Sunday.

When he finally reached the 18th green after a wild detour through the trees at Innisbrook, two television networks broadcast the first interview with the Tiger Woods since revelations he had been cheating on his wife.

Jim Furyk has to fight his way out of the trees on 18 before he can secure his first win since ‘07. (AP) Furyk wasn’t aware of this until after he won the Transitions Championship. One of Woods’ closest friends on the PGA Tour, he walked into the interview room holding a three-page transcript of Woods’ interviews with ESPN and the Golf Channel.

“You know what? Tomorrow, the paper is going to read that I won the golf tournament, and I don’t really care if it’s a three-page spread or a little blurb in the corner of the paper because the article is about him.

“I won the damn thing, and it really doesn’t matter to me.”

All he cared about was winning for the first time since the 2007 Canadian Open, his longest stretch without a victory since he first joined the PGA Tour. He almost cared too much.

Furyk closed with a 2-under 69 for a one-shot victory over K.J. Choi, and he made it way too hard on himself.

He missed the last three greens in regulation, making a remarkable par save from a bunker washed out by earlier rains, then hitting what he called a half-shank from the trees, a shot that nearly took out NBC Sports reporter Roger Maltbie.

“It all worked out in the end,” Furyk said.

The road getting the the birdie on No. 10 to build a three-shot lead, failing to make birdie on the par-5 11th, a 35-foot birdie on the 12th, a pair of three-putt bogeys on par 3s sandwiched around a knockdown 8-iron into 3 feet for birdie on the 14th.

“I have a habit of making it tough on myself,” Furyk said. “Just nerves got me, to be honest with you.”

Furyk finished at 13-under 271 and won for the 14th time in his career, moving to No. 6 in the world.

Choi, who started three shots out of the lead, was tied with Furyk through seven holes until a two-shot swing on the par-3 eighth. Choi never got any closer until the final hole. He closed with a 4-under 67, but his runner-up finish should be enough to move him to No. 47 in the world and give him a good chance to get into the Masters.

Choi raised both arms in a strongman pose when he heard about the world ranking, a good consolation prize provided he stays in the top 50 after Bay Hill next week.

“It’s actually better than what I thought I would be at this point,” Choi said. “So definitely I’ve exceeded my expectations. All I can say is I will try my best next week to maintain or better that position.”

Bubba Watson, who has never won on the PGA Tour or Nationwide Tour, also gave Furyk a good run and was within two shots throughout the back nine during a final round that had nearly six hours of weather delays.

Watson played without a bogey until the par-3 15th, when he came up short of the green, chipped over the green and dropped a crucial shot. He made pars the rest of the way for a 68, finishing alone in third.

Nick Watney had a 67 and was fourth, while defending champion Retief Goosen was another shot back after a 71.

Furyk did capture the Chevron World Challenge in December at Sherwood against a world-class field of 18 players, which counted toward the world ranking. Even so, going so long without winning on the PGA Tour was starting to grate on him.

He finally has an answer.

As he walked into a ballroom for the trophy presentation and someone mentioned how long it had been since he won, Furyk was quick to correct him. It had not been more than 2½ years, rather 20 minutes since his tap-in for par, even as Woods was answering questions.

“I think it’s good for him to get his face out there and have people see him,” Furyk said. “They are going to make their judgments, but I think it allows him to kind of move on and get focused for the next thing.”

The starting times Sunday were moved up avoid an afternoon forecast of thunderstorms, which arrived earlier than expected. After a delay of just over an hour, Furyk was on the first tee waiting for the fairway to clear when the siren sounded to suspend play, and the rumble of thunder soon followed.

When players returned to the course nearly four hours later, Furyk opened strong with two birdies in three holes, with his biggest challenge coming from Choi.

A two-time winner at Innisbrook, Choi had four birdies in six holes, including a 60-foot putt across the green at No. 3 and a 10-footer at No. 6 for a share of the lead. Furyk restored his cushion with a two-shot swing on the par-3 eighth by making a 25-foot birdie putt as Choi missed the green and failed to save par.

Watson was lurking all along, but Furyk didn’t budge from his spot atop the leaderboard.

Watson finally cracked on the par-5 14th, when he chipped too strong and ran through the green, having to settle for par. On the next hole, Watson hit short of the 15th green, chipped over the back and took his lone bogey of the day.

Two straight birdies allowed Jim Furyk to pull away from the pack. Eighteen holes is what stands in the way of ending his longest stretch without a victory since he was a rookie.

Furyk played bogey-free Saturday with a round almost as flawless as Florida weather, finishing off a 4-under 67 to build a three-shot lead at the Transitions Championship as he tries to win for the first time since the 2007 Canadian Open.

“I’m in a great position in the tournament,” Furyk said. “I’ve got a three-shot lead. You kind of dictate what the other guys have to do.”

Furyk was at 11-under 202, with a strong group of contenders behind him.

Defending champion Retief Goosen birdied the last hole of a roller-coaster round that gave him a 1-under 70, part of four-way tie for second. The others at K.J. Choi and Bubba Watson, who has never won on tour. He scrambled for a 70.

Padraig Harrington, a three-time major champion who hasn’t won since the 2008 PGA Championship, went 14 holes without a birdie to fall out of the lead, then dropped another shot on the 18th hole for a 72 that left him four shots behind.

Furyk is 0 for 58 on the PGA Tour since his last victory. This is his first 54-hole lead since the Colonial nearly three years ago, when he lost in a playoff to Rory Sabbatini.

There have been times when he let tournaments get away down the stretch, and times when he was beaten, such as the Memorial last year when he was three shots who won by a shot.

Sunday might be his best chance.

The few times when Furyk made a mistake, such as missing the green on the par-3 fourth, he made up for it with his putting. Later in the warm afternoon, when he was giving himself so many birdie chances, he had to settle for par.

The turning point came early on the back nine.

Four players had at least a share of the lead at some point, and eight players were within range until Furyk hit a 3-wood just left of the green on the par-5 11th and chipped to 4 feet for birdie. On the next hole, he hit 7-iron to some 35 feet behind the flag, and poured in a long, slippery put that broke sharply to the cup.

Suddenly, he was three shots clear and his prospects were looking up.

Not so for Pettersson, who closed out the front nine with consecutive bogeys, or Steve Stricker, who was tied for the lead until hitting his tee shot in the water on the par-3 13th and scrambling for bogey. Stricker dropped another shot on a par 3 coming in for a 71, and wound up five shots behind.

Choi is a two-time winner in Tampa and feels as comfortable on the Copperhead course as any.

“I look at the tops of the trees to see the wind,” Choi said. “You have to know, and it can get frustrating. You can lose it out here. This course will do that. That’s why you see so many players who have won here before, because they know that.”

Goosen also is a two-time winner, and while he didn’t like up the course, playing bogey-free on the back nine didn’t hurt.

The wild card is Watson, the big hitter who was a little too crooked but scrambled well to stay in the game. Watson hit one tee shot that didn’t get beyond the forward tees on the par-3 eighth because it hit a tree. On the par-5 14th, his 3-wood into the wind wound up so far right of the green that players on the 15th tee had to back off the shot.

Sunday features an early start because of storms in the forecast for the afternoon.

Geoff Ogilvy is probably too far back to contend - he was seven shots behind - but the fact he is still playing is a story in itself. Thinking he was sure to miss the cut, Ogilvy boarded a plane for Arizona when he realized he might have a chance, but because the flight was about to depart, the former U.S. Open champion had to fly to Phoenix, then turn around and take a jet back to Tampa.

Playing on about one hour of sleep, he shot a 65 and was tied for 18th.

“It was worth coming back,” he said.

The hyperventilating has subsided, at least a little, and at least for now.

Now that we can all exhale, warm and secure in the knowledge that Tiger Woods is going to play golf in the future and not shave his head and move to a Trappist monastery, perhaps it’s a good time to eyeball the other 2010 development that has affected every PGA Tour pla the biggest rules change in the past 75 years of the professional sport.

It’s not nearly as sexy or salacious as the Tiger affair, and it doesn’t make for juicy dinner-table gossip. Nobody is sext-messaging about it and potty-mouthed cartoon characters like Eric Cartman aren’t lampooning it.

David Fay of the USGA says it will probably be October before conclusions can be drawn. (Getty Images) Unlike with the daily disclosures of the Woods scandal, this is the golf development where seemingly nothing has happened. To date, as the tour plays the Transitions Championship outside Tampa, the Great Grooves Gambit hasn’t made much of a mark in the trumpeted statistical areas.

As a means of measuring the rule’s early impact, CBSSports.com received ShotLink data from the first 10 PGA Tour ev the bi has had a demonstrable impact. The answer might even send technically savvy fans back to the tabloids for more Tiger news.

Granted, comparing data from different seasons can never truly represent an apples-to-apples, before-and-after glimpse. Weather varies at events from season to season, and the Bob Hope Classic added a new course this year. There’s even a slightly different cast of players than in 2009.

But enough of the caveats and qualifiers. As they say on , let’s proceed with the discovery portion of the investigation.

When the grooves rule was green-lighted and set to begin Jan. 1, the U.S. Golf Association boldly predicted that it not only would change the way the ball spins, flies and behaves on the green when it lands, it would prompt players to place a renewed premium on driving accuracy. Part of the rule’s specified intent was to bring shotmaking and course management back into a game where raw strength had become a disproportional part of the equation.

So far, in a term the tour commissioner likes to trot out to impress people with his vocabulary, the results on both front have hardly been “impactful.”

Let’s begin with the intended philosophical realignment, which can’t be quantified with a PGA Tour computer. Some players have switched to slightly softer balls to help offset the spin they lost with the grooves revisions. But the bomb-and-gouge mindset off the tee still seems deeply ingrained.

In an admittedly non-scientific, casual poll of a dozen players or so, none said they for the moment, anyway. Several pointed out that the philosophy could change as the tour plays drier courses in the spring and summer.

“I’ve just been playing my game, and obviously trying to hit more fairways, but I haven’t really changed too much,” said the winner in Phoenix, Hunter Mahan, offering a sentiment echoed by several other top players.

< unless you consider a tour-wide improvement in nearly every statistical category to be good news for the rule and the USGA. Talk about unintended consequences.

In the events staged through the Honda Classic, players are actually knocking the ball closer to the hole out of the rough than they were last year, when they were armed with far toothier grooves in their irons. In 2010, they are getting up and down around the greens more frequently. Even the scoring average has dropped compared to 2009 averages.

Ahem.

USGA executive director David Fay said the organization likely won’t scrutinize the data for a few more months. A 10-tournament section might represent 22 percent of the tour season, and for political polling might constitute a healthy sample size in an election, but in golf, there are too many variables to draw concrete conclusions at this point.

“We sort of promised ourselves that we would wait, perhaps until October or so,” Fay said.

That will save them some gray hair, to be sure. A scattershot sampling of laser-generated Shotlink data so far indicates that compared to the first 10 events of 2009:

• Tour players are hitting more fairways (up .7 percent) and more greens (up 1.8 percent) than before. • The tour tracks proximity to the hole in 25-yard increments. In every measured yardage category inside 225 yards, both from the rough and fairway, players are knocking the ball closer to the hole by an overall average of nearly a foot.

• More specifically, and this is perhaps the most surprising bit of early news to be gleaned, players in the rough are enjoying more shotmaking success now than with the emery-board clubfaces of 2009. From 175 to 200 yards, players are knocking approach shots a full three feet closer from the rough. In all, players have knocked the ball an average of 14 inches closer to the hole out of the rough than last year.

• Players are making more birdies and the tour-wide scoring average in all four rounds has dropped vs. 2009 levels.

None of this is to suggest players aren’t having some difficulties.

“The new V-groove rule, I played that set of R7s for five years, the same set, I had not changed,” said Kenny Perry, 49. “I just loved them. I knew the distances they were going. I just knew my characteristics with the clubs. I knew what my misses were going to do with them and what they were going to do on high grass. “I’ve been catching fliers this year, been kind of rocketing a few over greens and into the back bunker, something I don’t do. With the [old banned] square grooves, I could hardly move it out of the rough. So I always came up short of the green. You can always pitch from short [of the green].”

Now he’s hitting scorching missiles into the hay behind. But in the tour’s crucial scrambling stat, used to measure success in saving par around the green, players are converting at a better overall percentage than in 2009, too. The overall salvage ratio has increased by .5 percent.

Again, the sample size offers but a taste of the fare to date, and there was a huge contributing factor in the imp rain.

“I can’t think of a single tournament where we have rain,” PGA Tour rules official Jon Brendle said.

Pure and simple, that created softer fairways and greens, which would partly explain why driving accuracy and greens found in regulation increased vs. 2009 levels. Balls often don’t roll into the rough when the fairways and greens are sopping wet, and approaches and pitch shots tend to stop in their tracks.

“Being on the West Coast, it’s been pretty soft, so I don’t think guys have paid attention to it,” Mahan said of any philosophical overhaul off the tee. “Maybe in the summer, you may see guys adjust their games, maybe try to hit more fairways, because you definitely cannot spin out of rough.”

That’s a quantifiable fact. The new grooves don’t allow it. But players and equipment companies are quite expert at adjusting and working around such constraints. This month, a major manufacturer trotted out a new metal shaft build specifically for wedges, designed to increase spin. It has an hourglass-style series of step-down indentations just below the grip. Mahan was already giving it a try at Doral.

As the courses get firm and fast heading into summer, the numbers are expected to gradually begin turning around, especially in pitch shots hit around the green. And even if they don’t, the USGA can already claim a victory wherein grass gets between the clubface and ball, spin imparted by the club i has been reintroduced to the professional game thanks to the abolition of the old square grooves.

Without prompting, Fay mentioned veteran Robert Allenby, who has hit two final-round fliers over the backs of greens, costing him at crucial times at the Sony Open and Torrey Pines. Allenby bluntly said fliers cost him two wins, in fact.

So, interpret the early data for what it’s worth and make conclusions carefully, but Allenby can attest that failing to drive the ball in the fairway these days comes with heightened risk.

“If we can put that seed of doubt in their mind,” Fay said, “if we can put that pebble in their shoe about the flier lie, then that’s something.”