The U.S. Golf Association and Ping made major separate announcements Monday on the unquestionably confusing grooves front, which will clear the way for all players on the professional tours worldwide to be playing the same equipment. Were you satisfied with the solution?

ELLING: Satisfied, relieved, overjoyed. I was getting bleary-eyed writing about the confusing and conflicting grooves issue, which was truly an inside-baseball detail, but was nonetheless important to the health of the game. Ping CEO John Solheim agreed to remove the legal loophole that had allowed pre-1990 Ping irons to be used in competition on the Champions, Nationwide and PGA tours and the USGA has agreed to stage open forums to discuss any further proposed rollbacks in equipment. It’s nice to see that, in a sport that occasionally has been rife with individual organizations fiercely protecting their own fiefdoms, reasonable agreements can still be struck, for the betterment of all Phil Mickelson, who passionately spoke out about the grooves loophole and lack of “transparency” in the USGA rule-making process. He was dead right, too. “Accountability is never a bad thing,” as the USGA’s David Fay said.

MICHAUX: Hallelujah! Amen! Yada, yada, yada and la-di-da. If this resolution means that I will never have to discuss or hear about this groove issue ever again, then I am all for it. Clearly this has been a bee up your and other techno-philes’ bonnets all year long. It was obviously a silly inconsistency and it’s nice to see that reasonable heads prevailed and that common sense reigns with a treaty of uniformity. What this really fixes in golf, however, I have no idea. It’s clear that the governing bodies are trying to regulate spin ratio by this back-door application of grooves. But the point Mickelson was trying to make about the arbitrary ruling on submitted clubs that met all the new parameters is still a significant glitch in the system. If the USGA wanted to regulate spin rate, why didn’t it just say so and draw that quantifiable line in the sand instead of making a groove mandate that didn’t quite do what it wanted? Wait. I’ve said too much. My head is hurting. Please don’t ask me about grooves again. I’m begging you. Can we declare this controversy over and move on?

Another kid has won on the European Tour, this time an 18-year-old Korean, who took down international star K.J. Choi in the Malaysian Open to become the youngest professional winner in that tour’s history. Thoughts?

ELLING: It was classic how he won the tournament, getting up and down from beside what appeared to be a hot-dog vending cart stationed near the 18th green for a surreal victory over a vastly more seasoned pro in Choi. Seung-yul Noh is the second teen in as many years to win on the E-Tour, joining Korean countryman Danny Lee, who accomplished the feat last year as an amateur at the Johnnie Walker Classic. Part of me wants to stand up and applaud, but down deep, there’s a sort of nagging parental alarm jangling that says kicking a kid into the deep end of the pool is a dangerous proposition. What has Danny Lee done since? He has missed the cut in 16 of 29 international events, yet he finished T7 at the PGA Tour’s AT&T National last summer. Clearly, the go-to-college template has been dynamited, possibly for good, but there are certainly risks associated with fast-tracking prospects, just like in Major League Baseball. England’s fresh-faced Justin Rose was buried for three years after he turned pro as a teen, and Ty Tryon has hardly been heard from since he got his PGA Tour card at age 17. But turning pro as teens worked out fine for young veterans like Kevin Na and Sean O’Hair. Still, part of me grimaces, even when youngsters experience success, because they seem so much more developmentally fragile at that age. After all, teeing it up is just a small part of being a professional.

MICHAUX: So where are you classifying Rory McIlroy and Ryo Ishikawa on your list of youthful phenoms? Or Sergio Garcia before them? Of course turning pro as a teenager is not for everyone, and the mini-tours are stocked with examples of failures. But if a guy manages to actually win a professional tour event, I have a hard time classifying the decision to play with the grown-ups as cautionary in any way. If that early success doesn’t pan out into a world-class career filled with major appearances and wins by the handful, well welcome to the same career as hundreds of other rank-and-file pros trying to make a living at this game. Dude won a European Tour event. What more do you want? I never heard of this Noh kid until this week. Now he’s the answer to a trivia question. Good for him. Before we leave this topic, can we please take a tangent and clear up what nationality we’re going to use for Danny Lee? He was Korean-born, but his family moved to New Zealand in 1999 and he became a New Zealand citizen in 2008. Stephen Ames goes by Canadian now instead of his native Trinidad & Tobago. At what point do we accept the individual’s choice of nationality? At the 2016 Olympics when he walks in with the Kiwi team? Just saying.

You two both watched and heard what Vijay Singh had to say last week as he contended at the Honda Classic and posted his best finish since 2008. Is he ready to be a steady presence on leaderboards again?

ELLING: The crystal-ball stuff is always an iffy proposition, but based on what Singh said and how he performed, I’d only go halfway on that thought. He’s going to contend more often than he did last year, when he failed to log a top-three finish for the first time in his PGA Tour career, but being in the weekend mix is going to be more sporadic. Singh turned up last week with a long putter, eschewing the traditional and belly models he has used interchangeably over the years. It’s a cry for help, no doubt, and it’s again become the weakest part of his game. Sure, Singh was once a poor putter who absolutely willed himself into improving on the greens, becoming the world No. 1 in the process. At age 47, he seems to have finally overcome his two knee surgeries and issues with his back that he believes came as a result of compensating for the gimpy knee. But until the ball starts going in the hole more often, he’s morphing into a younger version of Fred Couples, who can beat anybody with the 13 other clubs in the bag but can whip the regular PGA Tour competition only on occasion.

MICHAUX: Vijay Singh has fashioned a pretty nice career out of being a pretty lousy putter. The guy has always been a flip-flopper when it comes to putters. He won a Masters 10 years ago and he’s won more tour events in his yippy 40s than any other golfer in history. The way he plays from tee to green when healthy will keep him on plenty of leaderboards for a few more years, regardless of what putter he pulls out of his garage. As he said last week, he’s a lot fitter than Kenny Perry and that guy should have won the Masters last year. And the Fred Couples reference is a little harsh (and not just because Couples is 56-under in three senior starts plus another 13-under in two PGA Tour at-bats this year). Singh has won seven more tournaments (22) and as many majors (1) since he turned 40 than Couples has in his whole tour career. I’d call that better than “on occasion.” Couples needs to be thankful he’s got a three-year head-start on the Champions Tour because starting in 2013 the Fijian is going to own that circuit.

Steve Elling sorts through a surprisingly busy week in golf, with top players staging welcome career rallies, Tiger Woods showing up on the playing radar and John Daly making people grimace for, oh, about the 100th time.

Up

Home on the range After being a Howard Hughes-caliber recluse for three months, Tiger Woods spent much of last week on the practice range at his home club outside Orlando. Friday, in fact, he was spotted on the range, wearing the vestiges of a new mustache and talking on his cell phone between shots. That means a couple of things. First, that he’s preparing for a return, perhaps as early as this month. Second, that he has his cell phone back. Want to bet that his carrier isn’t AT&T? Whatever we might think of what Woods has done, and he has plenty of issues to sort through privately and publicly, the last part of the puzzle is when he will next play, and it appears it will be sooner rather than later. Woods was on the Isleworth course all weekend, playing. By the way, officials with the Tavistock Cup, which begins in two weeks at his home club, have received hundreds of media credential requests. The timing of that two-day event still makes the most sense as far as the comeback launch point, because of its small and insular nature. Paranoia is raging already, and it’s wearing thin among club residents. Woods is using a private security staff that is phoning in the license plate numbers to club authorities of vehicles that circle past his house or the driving range when he is practicing. Small wonder that some Isleworth residents, fully aware that he put the club on the global map when he moved there in 1996, are counting down the days until he moves to South Florida.

Remember these guys? It was a throwback weekend in golf at the Honda Classic, and not because some of Camilo Villegas’ colorful clothes look like they were hauled out of a 1970s time capsule. Villegas hadn’t won since 2008. Anthony Kim posted his best finish since his first start of 2009, some 13 months ago. Coming of a disastrous 2009 that included two knee surgeries, 47-year-old warhorse Vijay Singh had his best finish since he won outside Boston in 2008. K.J. Choi, playing overseas, came up for air for the first time in months, finishing second. Justin Rose posted his best finish since a runner-up effort in Dubai, 13 months ago. Forget th the international intrigue and flavoring is a secondary issue. Simply put, each has b are included in the competitive melange. Think it might be a crazy and competitive Masters this year?

It takes a Villegas Villegas must play his best when he’s burned out and distracted. Last week, after he flew home to South Florida from his top 10 finish in Phoenix, he jetted off to Colombia, where he was the face of the country’s first Nationwide Tour event. He spent all of Tuesday playing in the pro-am, attending parties, signing autographs, shaking hands and trying to get the nation’s inaugural PGA Tour-sanctioned event off to a good start. Weeks back, Villegas briefly and it’s a good thing he resisted the temptation. Villegas put forth the most dominant performance of 2010 at the Honda Classic, running away with the title by five shots Sunday for his third victory in the States. Wonder what represented the bigger news in the Bogota sports pages on Monday morning? So was he. “I hope they split the page in half and do it that way,” he said Sunday night. “I mean, it’s awesome.” Given his past successes at Doral, he has to be the favorite at the CA Championship this week, too. Maybe he ought to show up Thursday and play. He skipped the pro-am and practice rounds at the Honda and it worked out fine.

When the King calls, folks listen After all he has done for the game, when the King picks up the phone, it’s hard to say no. And rightly so. That’s been fairly evident this season given the access granted to largely unheralded first-year pro Sam Saunders, who already has received sponsor exemptions at four PGA Tour events and will play again at his grandfather’s Arnold Palmer Invitational in two weeks. Saunders, a former Florida state high school champion who left after a so-so career at Clemson with a year left in his eligibility, made the cut for the second time this season, this time at the Honda, where the 22-year-old flirted with a top 10 finish before closing with a 73 to finish T17. “He’s got some talent, for sure,” said Ron Levin, who caddied for Saunders on the West Coast. Palmer has been coaching Saunders at Bay Hill for months and has always doted on the kid, who is exceedingly respectful. Arnie didn’t have any sons, of course, so he’s doing what he can to give Samuel Palmer Saunders a leg up in a decidedly difficult profession. In fact, as one wise guy joked, given the way the phones of PGA Tour tournament directors have been ringing all spring on behalf of the kid, maybe it’s a good thing Arnold doesn’t have more grandsons.

Noh kidding: Teens rule For decades, conventional wisdom dictated that it was easier for teenage girl to make noise in LPGA circles because women mature earlier and the depth of talent in the female game isn’t remotely comparable to the men. Well, that axiom might still apply, but how to explain the ridiculously fast ascent of teenagers in the male side of the DNA ledger? Seung-yul Noh became the youngest pro in European Tour history to win, edging Choi by a shot at the Malaysian Open. This comes a year after the E-Tour had its youngest-ever winner, New Zealand amateur Danny Lee, who, like Noh, was all of 18. Toss in victories by teens like Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa. To demonstrate how fast things have changed, recall that when Woods was 16 and making his PGA Tour debut at the L.A. Open, he was so nervous, he said he could feel his heartbeat in his eyeballs when he bent down to tee the ball on the first hole. Said Malaysian runner-up Choi, who played a practice round with Noh last week: “Noh played brilliantly and I have no complaints. He is one of the most powerful young talents coming up. The way that he controls and hits the ball is like no other and I think he has a very bright future.”

Down

What would Ely Callaway do? A decade ago, as a controversy raged about Callaway Golf’s introduction of the non-conforming ERC II driver, company founder Ely Callaway was so annoyed at the media carping that he yanked millions in advertising, causing at least one magazine some huge distress. Last week, in on John Daly claimed that Ely Callaway had forced Daly to take anti-depressants as a condition of an endorsement deal signed 13 years ago. For perspective, Daly was at his toxic worst when Callaway, a marketing whiz, took a flier on him and signed him to a deal. Daly was required to stop drinking, though he admittedly didn’t and eventually checked into a rehab center, then left after one day. Callaway generously paid off Daly’s gambling debts, said to number in the millions. This is how Daly repays the biggest act of largesse in his career, by conjuring up claims about one of the game’s notable figures? It will be interesting to see how Callaway refutes Daly’s drug allegation. I bet that if Ely himself were still alive, he’d threaten to pull the company’s advertising off the Golf Channel, which began airing a new Daly reality show last week and is thus complicit in the guy’s serial idiocy. You have heard of appointment television, right? Anything featuring Daly, forever the finger-pointing excuse machine who can’t accept responsibility for anything, is disappointment television.

The Daly double This marks a first. Since the Up & Down list debuted in early 2009, no player has ever before managed to make the list twice in the same week, but Daly outdid his con-man self last week. Upset after his 456-page PGA Tour disciplinary dossier was made public because of a frivolous lawsuit that Daly himself initiated, Daly posted the phone number on his Twitter account of the sportswriter who penned a story about his eye-popping past. Daly’s actions prompted more than 100 calls to the author, including one guy who threatened to rape the writer’s wife. Let’s be clear: The phone number Daly twice posted on his Twitter account the office line posted at the bottom of the writer’s stories as a matter of company policy. It was his cell number. The next day, Daly was asked three times on the air by ESPN why he asked his fans to harass the writer, and all he could do was crow about his new reality show. Wake up, folks, you are being duped by the master. Daly’s new TV series is another attempt to show he has cleaned up his act so that he can generate more endorsement money. That’s why he was so miffed at the timing of the news story he wanted a fast settlement, but the paper fought back, tooth and nail. Daly was ordered to pay the paper’s legal fees. Recall that at Torrey Pines, he said he was quitting the game because he could not afford to play the tour anymore. You want to bankroll this guy, then go ahead, watch the show.

Let’s make it a threesome In order for Daly to continue acting like a national disgrace, it takes co-conspirators. Enter the Golf Channel and the PGA Tour, who are clearly complicit in this stale act, too. Is a tiny blip in Monday ratings worth the credibility hit the network is taking for having this guy on the air, spinning his latest tale of redemption? How many times have we heard that pitch? Daly has cleaned up his act more often than Darryl Strawberry and Doc Gooden combined. As for the tour, its disciplinary policy has been proved to be little more than an inside joke. Now we know it’s embarrassing and would not modify the behavior of an underpaid schoolteacher, much less a millionaire several times over. Daly has approximately 500 pages included on his rap sheet and yet he has been fined an average of $5,555 annually over his career. That’s not nearly enough to precipitate change in a guy who spends that much each year on guitar strings. Then there’s the issue of keeping the sanctions a secret. Said a member of the Player Advisory Committee about the tour’s meek disciplinary system: “We have gone around and around with [commissioner] Tim [Finchem] on this,” he said. “It’s all about image.” That’s right, even some players believe that certain fines and violations should be announced, just like in real sports leagues. How does disciplining a player, yet not announcing the sanction, effectively dissuade further bad acts? “It doesn’t,” the PAC member said. Exactly my point. As a sad postscript, the tour didn’t suspend Daly from competing this week in Puerto Rico.

The Kiwi that roared I guess this is why Steve Williams doesn’t do many interviews. Last year, he called Phil Mickelson an ugly term in the offseason and he frequently displays all of the tact of a boot-camp drill sergeant, which admittedly has its applications and advantages inside the ropes. But last week, Woods’ caddie of the past 11 years went on a New Zealand news program and swore up and down that he knew nothing of Woods’ extra-marital dalliances, even though the pair appear close to inseparable on the road, working out together and often sharing a car. Should we believe Williams? Nobody has poked more fun at Williams over the years than me, but it’s quite possible that Woods’ disturbing double life had escaped his notice. Williams’ wife is a close friend and confidante of Elin Woods. In fact, when you see one of them on the course, the other is often alongside, too. Hiding knowledge of what Woods was doing behind his wife’s back would have put the caddie in an extremely delicate situation. Just because Woods was comfortable keeping secrets from his wife doesn’t mean Williams would willingly do the same. It took some moxie to speak up and possibly incur the wrath of his notoriously vindictive boss, no?

Where it all began? It was almost impossible to keep track of the many Woods-related stories when the sex scandal was at its apex, and some of us missed a telling sidebar that possibly provides real insight as to how his self-absorbed, entitlement mindset all began. It’s illuminating, given what has played out for the past three months. Back in college, Woods demonstrated his levels of basic compassion when he abruptly broke up with his high-school flame, who was told in a terse, hand-written letter that Woods and his parents, “never want to hear from you again.” The girl had been dating Woods for two years, had attended a Stanford match and told people she was Woods’ girlfriend, which apparently set him off. In keeping with his tightwad image, he also reportedly asked for a necklace he had given her as a gift be returned. Months later, he wrote another note to the girl and apologized, but the tenor and tone seemingly had been set: Play by his rules, or don’t play at all.

Before we get into what has produced recent Derby success, a review of last weeks preps are in order.

In the Gotham at the Big A Awesome Act overcame a traffic jam to prove the prompt 5-2 choice while winning his first race on dirt in his career. Between horses early, he rallied 4 wide and held sway under a hand ride. He also has a right to get the classic trip as his dam won thrice including a mile and a quarter turf fray in Europe.

The 98 Beyer Awesome posted paled in comparison to the figure I Want Revenge rang up in 2009. That son of Stephen Got Even recorded a 113 Gotham number, parlayed to a 103 figure winning the Wood and was the Kentucky Derby chalk before he had to scratch very late.

Acts trainer, Jeremy Nosada, had this to say: Nosada: I believed in this horse today. It was a good, solid race, but there were no graded stakes winners. Its the first hurdle out of the way, so the dream lives on.

Alphies Bet was not quite as impressive taking the Sham at Santa Anita. Trained by Alexis Barba, who learned her craft under the 1981 Kentucky Derby winning trainer Eddie Gregson, has been very patient with her star and has a runner that figures to get better with more distance. The bad news is he only posted a 86 Sham Beyer.

Paddy OPrado did something rare last weekend: he broke his maiden in a 9-furlong Grade 3 stakes, the Palm Beach at Gulfstream on turf. He showed very good speed sitting just off a 1:10 and change pace while recording a 93 Beyer.

Paddy is another that figures to be able to run all day. His sire El Prado was a champion that sired BC Mile winner Artie Schiller, champ Kittens Joy and Pacific Classic hero Borrego. His dam was a Grade 2 winner going a mile and she was kin to a runner that was only beaten a half going 9 furlongs.

With those facts in mind, lets examine some historical trends that have produced Kentucky Derby winners.

Last season a son of Birdstone put a new definition to giving them the bird as Mine That Bird, off two losses at Sunland Park, the last with an 80 Beyer, improved 25 Beyer digits to win the Derby going away by almost 7 lengths with a 105 figure.

Two years ago proved some trends could be thrown right out the window. Big Brown was so lightly raced as he came into the Derby 3 for 3 career and fresh from a 106 Beyer in the Florida Derby. He showed a new wrinkle in the Derby coming from sixth for his highest career Beyer of 109.

In 2007 Street Sense became the first runner that won the Breeders Cup Juvenile and was able to parlay the win to a Kentucky Derby success. He had only 2 preps in 2007, a win and a loss both by a nose the last prior to the first Saturday in May in a controversial slow-paced race on the Polytrack at Keeneland.

The ever-gallant Barbaro became the first horse in 50 years to win off a 5-week vacation but his trainer, Michael Matz, knew his horse and he was determined not to squeeze the lemon dry.

Giacomo had only won a maiden race before his Derby coming out party but he has only won once since and that was by a head at 9-2 against only 6 rivals.

The fact 2004 Derby winner Smarty Jones made it to the races at all is a tale of a survivor. Early in his career while schooling at Philly Park, the horse reared in the starting gate. He hit his head hard, fractured his skull, broke bones near the left eye, was lucky to keep the eye and had to spend weeks in an equine hospital. But he did all the laughing to the bank. And despite the posturing of Smartys connections about racing him as a 4-year-old after his length beat in the Belmont Stakes, he was forced to hang up the racing shoes.

In 2003 Funny Cide became the first New York bred to win and the first gelding to succeed since Clyde Van Dusen in 1929.

In War Emblems case, he was a horse that just got good in a hurry. He had won 4 of his first 7 starts and was coming off a 112 Beyer before taking the Derby in rare wire-to-wire fashion.

Monarchos was educated in his 2 losses as a juvenile, was unbeaten at 3 before losing in the Wood Memorial then rebounded at Churchill when the money was down.

Fusiachi Pegasus was a neck away from being unbeaten going into the Derby after winning 4 straight including the Wood and the way he overcame post 15 and weaved his way through traffic was truly poetry in motion under Gary Stevens.

The last winner of the 1990s was an old-school hero. Charismatic was battle-scarred, a former claimer and he entered the Derby off 13 races and he only finished first in one of those. Yet his seasoning carried the day and he came within a length and a half of taking the Triple Crown.

How tough can it be to sniff out a Derby winner? Just check out the winning mutuels of late. Mine That Bird blew up the tote at 50-1, logical speedball Big Brown still paid a fat 2-1 while Street Sense popped at 9-2.

Barbaro now looks like a bargain at 6-1. Giacomo was 50-1, Smarty Jones hit at 4-1, Funny Cide in 2003 was over 12-1, War Emblem in 2002 hit at 20-1, Monarchos the year before popped at 10 and a half to one, in 2000 Fusaichi Pegasus scored for the chalk eaters and Charismatic blew up the board at 31-1.

When post time comes around dont be so fast to throw history out the window but still highly concentrate on the way the race figures to set up pace-wise, visualize the trip of each entrant, and then pray to the racing gods to get lucky.

As Villegas showed all week, practice can be overrated.

Villegas shot a final-round 68 to win the Honda Classic by five shots Sunday over Anthony Kim, his third PGA Tour victory and a perfect way to cap a week that began with one celebration and ended with another.

He finished at 13-under 267, the lowest 72-hole score since the Honda moved to PGA National in 2007, four shots better than Y.E. Yang’s winning total a year ago. And Villegas made it look easy most of the way, too, capping his day with a 20-footer for birdie, then raising both hands skyward.

“I’ve just had good vibes in me all week,” said Villegas, who climbed to No. 12 in the world rankings.

Those vibes were never better than Sunday.

He led by only two after Vijay Singh made a 45-foot birdie pu sent Villegas to 15 under and six shots clear of the field.

Good thing he had that cushion, because the putter stopped working after that.

Fortunately for Villegas, no one made much of a run.

“It’s very special,” Villegas said. “I’m just very privileged to do what I do. But trust me, it’s tough. These guys are good. That is so true. Those guys are good.”

He missed short par putts on 11 and 12, three-putted from 50 feet on the par-3 15th for another bogey, but never lost control of the lead and ended up pocketing the $1.008 million winner’s share.

Steely eyed for most of the day, Villegas finally acknowledged the crowd as he walked up 18, waving and secure in the knowledge that he was getting his first victory since the Tour Championship in 2008.

“Fair play to him,” Justin Rose said. “It was nice to even be in a position to kind of think that way, no doubt.”

Kim shot 67 and Rose had by far the best round of the day, a 64 that was three shots better than anyone else. Paul Casey (67) and Vijay Singh (72) tied for fourth, seven shots back.

“I hung in there,” said Kim, who got his best finish since tying for second at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship in 2009. “I still haven’t put four good ones together but I’m trying as hard as I can to get there. I’m working on the right things and I’m sure it will come.”

Villegas didn’t even play a practice round at PGA National this week, after a travel schedule that he somehow found exhilarating.

After finishing tied for eighth at the Phoenix Open, Villegas headed back to h sponsor dinner, youth clinic, pre-to to help open the Nationwide Tour’s Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open, the first PGA Tour-sanctioned event in South America.

He showed up in South Florida on Wednesday, rolled out of his own bed to start the tournament on Thursday, and just kept rolling. An opening-round 66 had him tied for second, another 66 on Friday earned him a share of the lead, and he left the course Saturday night up by three after shooting 67.

Villegas is now the fourth player who’s still under 30 with at least three PGA Tour wins, joining Adam Scott (six) and Dustin Johnson and Sean O’Hair (three each).

“Tournaments are four rounds and I played three pretty good ones,” Villegas said. “I was lucky in one. It’s never as easy as you think. I played great the front nine, then I made a couple hiccups and missed some putts, but I stayed patient.”

Rose is still looking for win No. 1 in the U.S., though he feels like he’s getting closer.

Down by 10 at the start of the day, Rose needed a win to get into the CA Championship at Doral and enhance his chance of qualifying for the Masters, where he tied for fifth in 2007.

Rose opened with four strai and ended up becoming the fifth player of the week to shoot 64, matching the low round on the Champion course since the Honda moved there in 2007.

He won’t play Doral. Augusta remains possible, and he admits that getting back into the world’s top 50 is preying on his mind.

“I think I’m where I am because I’ve been thinking about it too much,” said Rose, who started the week 76th in the world. “I’ve actually been listening a little bit to Camilo. He’s said ‘I’m out here, I’m enjoying my golf, I’m trying to take my mindset back to when I first came out on tour’ … and that really is the nuts and bolts of what we need to do.”

Sure enough, Villegas says he’s more relaxed than ever.

Funny how winning helps in that regard. And when it was over, he gave one last tribute to those watching in Colombia.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of people there glued to the TV, rooting me on,” Villegas said.

Notes Nathan Green played three shots from near the edge of the water at the par-3 17th, took a triple-bogey on the hole and wound up shooting 77. Most baffli came out as well. Sam Saunders shot 73, Arnold Palmer’s grandson finishing the week even par, and topped his coach in one area: Saunders made $68,444.45 this week, while Palmer’s biggest check in a tour event was $50,000 in the 1971 Westchester Classic.

Some might have found breathing difficult at the Honda Classic.

Camilo Villegas wasn’t among them.

Once threatening to run away after a sizzling start, Villegas came back to the pack on his back nine and wound up rallying to take a three-shot lead over Nathan Green and Vijay Singh after three rounds. Villegas is at 11-under 199, so even after making three bogeys in a five-hole stretch in what became a round of 67, he’ll be the one to catch on Sunday.

“I’m sleeping in my own bed this week, which is always nice,” said Villegas, one of many tour players who call South Florida home. “I’ve been nice and relaxed. So we’ll show up tomorrow the same way and try to play some good golf.”

Green (67) and Singh (69) are at 8 under, while George McNeill (66) and Matt Every (69) were tied for fourth at 6 under. Anthony Kim, who shared the 36-hole lead with Villegas, shot 73 and wound up six shots back entering the final round, tied with Michael Connell (69).

It’s not over, Villegas quickly pointed out.

“Golf tournaments are four days,” Villegas said. “So with that said, you’ve got to put four good rounds together and see what happens at the end.”

All the talk before the tournament was about the difficulty of the course, before conversations on Thursday shifted to the gusting breezes and how they left players guessing.

On Saturday, a controlled burn left its mark on the Honda.

Earth, wind and fire, indeed.

A planned fire in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, about 14 miles north of PGA National Resort and Spa, made an already tough course even tougher. The wind shifted a bit after the fire started, sending thick plumes of smoke, ash and haze down directly toward the course. Play wasn’t halted, though the day was clearly affected.

“It’s not great, but everyone’s dealing with it,” said Green, an asthmatic who once worked in a crematorium his parents manage. “It’s strange when you’re looking down, hitting your putt and you’ve got ashes sort of going past your ball. We had that a few holes in, I think on 13 and 14. It’s different. I don’t think guys are really worried about it. You can just sort of smell it and taste it.”

Singh shot his third straight round in the 60s, a 69 to keep him in the mix for what would be his first win since capturing the FedExCup in 2008.

“It’s not going to be easy for nobody tomorrow,” Singh said. “I’m just going to go out and play solid, try not to make too many mistakes. If you can keep the mistakes to a minimum, I think you’ll be OK.”

Also with a third-straight sub-70 round was Sam Saunders, who shot his third straight 69 and is tied for 10th, eight shots behind Villegas. Saunders is Arnold Palmer’s grandson, and “The King” is the kid’s coach.

“Hopefully, someday, and I’ve said this many times before, that my game will become good enough and I’ll become a good enough player that I’ll be known as Sam Saunders and Arnold Palmer’s grandson,” Saunders said. “I think I’m getting there, but right now, it’s fine. If I’m Arnold Palmer’s grandson, that’s kind of the deal. I understand that.”

Saunders has drawn his share of attention before, first playing as a 14-year-old non and then caddying for his grandfather at Palmer’s final Masters.

Now, he’s just trying to play his way into some spotlight. He’s in the Honda on a sponsor’s exemption.

“I’m very confident in him,” Palmer said.

Villegas has plenty of self-confidence right now including the par-4 6th hole, the tournament’s toughest this week, for the second straight day.

“When the ball went in, I looked at my caddie and said ‘Nice eagle,”‘ Villegas said. “Kind of the way it was. It was tough.”

And after a bogey at the 10th seemed to derail him a bit, Villegas rolled in a 20-footer for birdie on the next hole, punching the air as the putt dropped.

Villegas had only four top-10 finishes in 21 tour starts last season, after winning back-to-back starts in September 2008 and thinking he was ready for a big breakthrough.

Maybe this is the year. So far in 2010, he was third at Match Play and then tied for eighth last week at the Phoenix Open.

“We have our good years, average years and bad years,” Villegas said. “I decided to look at the good side of it and work on those little things that I needed to get better, and show up this year a little more excited to be out here.”

A win and a $1.008 million check Sunday would make him plenty excited.

Its hard to hang your hat on any of the 14 starters in Saturdays Santa Anita Handicapthey all have knocks against them. This handicapping dilemma has a silver lining, however. If we can narrow the field down to the top contenders, and key on a couple that we like best, the trifectas and superfectas could come back huge. Lets take a run at the exotics

The 5YO mare St Trinians has annihilated her distaff competition since arriving in the U.S. Last out, she easily held off the late run of Breeders Cup Ladies Classic winner Life Is Sweet, to run her record to 4-for-4 stateside. She has defeated males in the U.K., but this bunch is another story. Shes bucking history also, as no filly or mare has won the Big Cap. Well use her in the second, third and fourth slots.

Neko Bay looked good winning the Grade 2 San Pasqual Handicap nearly two months ago, and the 7YO horse owns a stellar record at Santa Anita8-5-2-0 with earnings of $266,490 and a top Beyer Speed Figure of 104. Hell be trying this distance for the first time, and could get a share. Like St Trinians, well use him in all the underneath slots.

The classy Loup Breton exits a nice win in The Grade 2 San Marcos over the local sod, in which he overcame a troubled trip. He loves this distance, but has never raced on any surface other than grass. If he handles the Pro-Ride, he can win. Ill key him on top, and use him in the other three slots as well.

Delightful Kiss couldnt cope with Quality Road last out, but he has shown a fondness for synthetic surfaces (3-2-0-0), including a respectable fourth in the 2008 Breeders Cup Marathon here. Ill use him in all the underneath slots.

Misremembered is expected to go for the lead, and could take some catching. Hes had a pair of solid seconds in two starts here, and appears primed for a top effort. Ill use him in all the underneath slots.

Jeranimo defeated Misremembered last out in The Strub at overlaid odds of 11.40-1. Hell be a shorter price in the Big Cap, but can win with another move forward. Like Loup Breton, Ill key Jeranimo on top, and use him in the other three slots as well.

My $1.00 trifecta ticket looks like this: 6,14/2,4,6,12,13,14/2,4,6,12,13,14. Cost of the ticket: $40.

My $1.00 superfecta ticket looks like this: 6,14/2,4,6,12,13,14/2,4,6,12,13,14/2,4,6,12,13,14. Cost of the ticket: $120.

This is my horse racing betting tip for the weekend. Best of luck and happy gambling!

The main West Coast linemaker for The Daily Racing Form from 1980 to 2000, he has been a regular contributor to the horse industry’s ‘bible’ since 1977. Writing under the handle Sweep, he will celebrate his 33rd anniversary with The Form this fall.

He led the other public selectors in the city of Los Angeles at every main Southern California meet at one time during that span of time and continues in the Daily Racing Form with ‘A Closer Look’ every day.

Brian brings a true horseman’s knowledge to the task. He served as an assistant trainer on a thoroughbred horse farm in New Jersey as a young man.
He has also conducted seminars everywhere from California to Mexico and to Las Vegas and is usually dead-on in his analysis of which horses will run well.

Mulligan has also been a TV analyst at Santa Anita, has contributed racing articles to the mainstream Arizona Republic and Maxim magazine and has spoken on radio programs throughout the country. His role of educator/handicapper has crossed over to the classroom, where Bran was a featured instructor for the Picking Winners 101′ course at Turf Paradise.

Sometimes when youre following horses on the Kentucky Derby trail you need to keep an eye out for late developers that are still competing in the allowance ranks. Race #3 at Gulfstream Park on Saturday is a perfect example, as its loaded with relatively unknown Derby hopefuls. The Sham Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday also features several competitors that are currently under the Derby radar, but may not be at days end. Lets look at these races, and see if we can uncover a juicy futures bet or two.

In Saturdays 3rd Race at Gulfstream, the speedy and undefeated General Maximus (2-for-2 sprinting) will likely be favored in this one-turn mile event. He owns the fields top Beyer Speed Figures (93, 91) and should fire to the lead from his rail post. Homeboykris also is quick, but will probably assume the role of stalker. Radiohead is an interesting newcomer. Hes a Group 2 winner at Ascot, and also hit the board in a pair of Group 1 events in Great Britain before a troubled 7th-place finish in The Breeders Cup Juvenile closed out his 2YO campaign. Hes been training swiftly for his 3YO debut under the care of Rick Dutrow, but has yet to race on dirt. His pedigree suggests hell handle the new surface.

Most interesting to me is Thomas Got Even, who makes his first start of the year for trainer Nick Zito. Thomas Got Even demolished a very tough group of maidens last September at Belmont Park. Runner-up Drover won his next start and 3rd-place finisher Doubles Partner won a turf allowance event at Gulfstream on Thursday, beating the highly-regarded Lentenor in the process. Youll get a nice price on Thomas Got Even, because his Beyer Figure was a modest 67. Ill bet Thomas Got Even to win at odds of 5-1 or better, and will be looking for a Kentucky Derby futures price on him in the vicinity of 100-1. Hes bred to go long.

In The Sham, The Program (morning line 7-2), Setsuko (3-1) and Nextdoorneighbor (5-2) will vie for favoritism. The Program is tractable, and his jockey Martin Garcia is very confident in his mounts chances. Setsuko has never been off the board in five 2-turn starts. However, Im leaning toward Nextdoorneighbor, who powered home to break his maiden by four last out. He obviously relished the stretchout. That bullet 6-furlong work in 1:10 3/5 on February 15th signals another move forward. Ill bet Nextdoorneighbor to win at odds of 2-1 or better, and will look for a futures price of 75-1 or better.

When you bet on horse racing, in this case Kentucky Derby futures, youre projecting how a horse will handle 1 ? miles for the first time. Both of the horses Ive identified above appear capable of negotiating that distance. Make sure, however, that you get good value on your futures wagers, because any number of factors can derail your horses chances, or even him knock him out of the race.
Best of luck with this weekends horse racing action, and happy gambling!

The difference is in his status. The wide-eyed novice from Co Cork has finally arrived after a journey slaloming in and out of the fast lane. Now he faces the ultimate speed test aboard Solwhit, the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle favourite, at Cheltenham on Tuesday week.

The prospect does not faze him, largely because he feels that this years Festival commemorates his reaching a career podium. Not long ago the journey to Cheltenham was a terrible thing, Russell, 30, said. Youd fly into Birmingham and drive down with a knot in your stomach. Then, when you got to see the place again, it sucked you in. It left you breathless.

En route, Russell would remember the days when his father - part-mechanic, part-farmer - made the annual pilgrimage. As a kid I couldnt wait for him to come home with his stories, he said. One year he won the award for doing the most outrageous thing. He drove to the track on a lawnmower and parked it between a Rolls Royce and Bentley.

These days Russell checks into a familiar weighing-room. None of the big boys are looking at you wondering who you are, he said. In those days you never wanted to take their space, but now my peg is next to Barry Geraghty. Little things like that help you to feel comfortable.

Russell had no such ambitions in his early twenties. He was blissfully happy riding the Cork point-to-point circuit, where he was top dog. Then Adrian Maguire was forced into retirement by injury, and Murphy came calling.

He felt he couldnt spurn an opportunity that quickly swept him out of his depth. A tall man accustomed to riding at 12st was now required to waste hard and pinpoint suitable targets for horses when he hadnt the faintest idea about handicap marks. I was completely lost, he reflected.

Although he idolised Maguire, Russells patient style is more reminiscent of Paul Carberry. Maybe in patience, Russell responded, but thats all. Everyone from my background loves Paul but no man alive can ride like him. Youd kill yourself. He is pure natural talent; pure wrath, really.

If the Champion Hurdle unfolds as he envisages Russell expects Carberry, aboard Go Native, to attack him late on. Solwhit has been very good on the racecourse but I cant be bullish because hes a lazy devil at home, Russell said.

Whatever Solwhits fate, Russell is optimistic he can post his sixth Festival triumph. Only seven active jockeys surpass him. And he smiles at the memory of his Gold Cup debut when, riding Truckers Tavern in 2003, he chased home Best Mate. Four months earlier I was still riding in point-to-points, he said.

Russells other prominent rides include Carlito Brigante in the JCB Triumph Hurdle, Weapons Amnesty in the RSA Chase, and Tavern Times in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper. He also rides War Of Attrition in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle for the Gigginstown House Stud of Michael OLeary, who has retained him for the past three seasons.

While those disorientating days with Murphy are distant, they clearly shamed Russell into action. He is now a walking, talking formbook, replete with ratings for every half-decent horse. That explains why he is in demand on the Festival preview circuit, when he is one of the few to offer firm opinions.

My opinion might be worth very little at times but at least I can give it, he said with a smile. I dont have to stand there dumb.