Author: Bill Huffman

In the mid-1970s, Johnny Miller owned the Tucson Open, winning it three times in a row (1974-76) while earning the nickname “the Desert Fox.’’ Now, some 30 years later, there is a new Johnny Miller in control of the Old Pueblo’s PGA Tour event – the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

“Actually, I don’t go by Johnny. It’s John ‘E.’ Miller,’’ said this year’s tournament chairman for the host Conquistadores. “My middle initial really is ‘E,’ and I really did once upon a time meet Johnny Miller. It was kind of a funny deal, us both being Johnny Miller.‘’

Miller, the tournament chairman, grew up in Scottsdale and actually worked as a volunteer for the Phoenix Open, back in the days when Miller was dominating that tournament (1974-75), too. “I was a ‘runner’ – a kid who did whatever needed to be done – for the Thunderbirds,’’ recalled the good-natured Miller. “I was in the players’ lounge at the Phoenix Open and Johnny Miller just happened to walk in.

“I was watching him pretty closely, so he introduced himself. I still remember it like yesterday: He said, ‘Hi, I’m Johnny Miller.’ And I said, ‘Hi, I’m Johnny Miller, too.’ ’’

Both Millers will be at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on Dove Mountain this week for the Match Play, which tees off Wednesday with 63 of the top 64 players on the planet (No. 64 Toru Taniguchi withdrew and was replaced by No. 65 Henrik Stenson). England’s Lee Westwood is the No. 1 seed, the fifth different No. 1 seed in the Match Play’s 13-year history.

Even the format has been tweaked to add more excitement to the weekend, Miller pointed out. The quarterfinals will be held Saturday afternoon, which pushes the semifinals to Sunday morning with the 18-hole championship and consolation matches to be contested Sunday afternoon. In the past, the championship match had been 36 holes.

“I love the Phoenix Open but my allegiance, obviously, is with our tournament here in Tucson these days, and it’s a great one,’’ said Miller, who graduated from the University of Arizona 20 years ago and never returned to the Valley of the Sun.

“It’s like an all-star game from every professional golf tour in the world. As most who follow the game will tell you, it doesn’t get any better than this.’’

Miller said the “early vibe has been a lot more exciting than the first four years we hosted the tournament. Last year we didn’t have Phil and Tiger, but it was the economy that really kind of tanked us. This year, the corporate sales are way up and we are darn near sold out.’’

According to Miller, it’s been a tough year on other fronts, with the recent shooting tragedy leaving Tucson in a stunned state of disbelief. He was unsure whether or not there would be some type of tribute to the six victims during the event.

“If we do something it will probably be something that is very Tucson, because we tend to be a very tight group,’’ he said. “The bottom line is, we’re very supportive of each other; we always have been and most people know that.

“This really is a wonderful community, very different than what happened here. And, overall, people love the tournament and know where the charitable dollars go – right here in this community – so they will rally behind it.’’

Besides the corporate uptick, Miller said the players are starting to embrace the event since its move from LaCosta in 2007.

“The (nearby) Marana airstrip has been expanded to handle the players’ private jets, and it’s less than 30 minutes from the course,’’ he pointed out. “Plus, the Ritz-Carlton and the relaxing atmosphere up here in Dove Mountain is special, and they love staying up here during the week.’’

There are 27holes of golf at the Ritz-Carlton with the Saguaro Nine being the front side and the Tortalita Nine serving as the back side of the championship course. At over 7,800 yards the Jack Nicklaus-designed layout has the ability to be a brute although the tournament has yet to be played from the tips in the two years its been played at The Ritz.

The real brute is the greens, which Nicklaus toned down after the first year the tournament. Ricky Fowler, the PGA Tour player of the year playing in his first Match Play, was the Conquistadores’ featured guest for a recent media day when defending champ Ian Poulter was unavailable.

“Ricky got to play the course a couple of times while he was here and he definitely figured it out quickly,’’ Miller reported. “He said there are certain areas of the green that you have to play to regardless where the pin is positioned.’’

With greens that are superfast and running at about 13 on the Stimpmeter, just reaching the putting surface won’t guarantee a par or birdie, as the entire course is built on a 45-degree slope with about 300 feet of elevation from top to bottom.

Such an extreme terrain has had its critics, but Miller said the overall input from the sponsor, Accenture, has been positive. “Overall, I think they’re generally happy. At the same time, I know there have been some rumblings,’’ Miller said about rumors that the Tour and sponsor had been discussing a move. “But with our weather and this great golf course and hotel, we’re proud of how it’s been going lately.’’

The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain certainly is scenic, with literally a forest of saguaros defining the course as well as mountain backdrops in every direction. And just for a little added touch of Mother Nature, a herd of wild burros is sometimes seen roaming along the outskirts, a tall metal fence along the course’s northern border keeping the small, fuzzy beasts from doing any damage.

Miller said the Conquistadores have even borrowed a little bit of the Phoenix Open – a corporate tent city — to create added excitement.

“The Walter Hagen Club (13th hole) is always jammin’ and the Canyon Club (Nos. 15 and 16) is our answer to the Thunderbirds’ version of the Greenskeeper,’’ Miller said. “Plus, we’ve got a great venue in the Oasis Club (Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7), which is always a great place of interest.’’

Miller even has insider info for those visiting from the Valley: “This is my tip for people who are coming down from Phoenix: Wednesday is the best day of golf for the week, as the 64 best players in the world will all be on display in 32 matches that will be filled with exciting shots and twists of fate.’’

Oh, yes, and there was one more idea the Conquistadores borrowed from the Birds. “For the first time since the Match Play came here, we’re going to have a 19th hole called the “After Party,’’ Miller said of an old Bashas store that has been converted to party central at the entrance of Dove Mountain Parkway.

“Yeah, it’s going to be a blast. In fact, we’ve even brought back Duck Soup.’’

AND THE WINNER IS . . . KAYMER

Brackets were unveiled Sunday for the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, with Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Martin Kaymer grabbing the top seeds in the Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Sam Snead brackets, respectively. The biggest deal there was that even though Westwood is the No. 1 overall seed, he didn’t necessarily get a break with the bracket or his first-round opponent.

Westwood’s luck took a twist when Japan’s Toru Taniguchi, originally his first-round opponent, withdrew with an injury and was replaced by Sweden’s Henrik Stenson. Yes, the same big Swede who won this tournament when it was played at the nearby Gallery in 2007.

The rest of Jones bracket doesn’t exactly favor Westwood, either. It is solid from No. 2 seed Steve Stricker all the way through No. 15 seed Matteo Manassero, the 17-year-old Italian who is one of three teen-agers in the field along with Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa (19) and Seung-yul Noh (19).

Mickelson also has a tough road to hoe in the Hogan bracket, with possible early-round potholes like defending champ Ian Poulter; 2010 rookie of the year Rickie Fowler; Graeme McDowell, the U.S. Open champ who arguably was the player of the year last season; and Alvaro Quiros, who recently knocked off Westwood and a star-studded marquee in Dubai.

The same could be said of Woods, the big gun in the Snead bracket who has the unenviable task of taking on Thomas Bjorn, a recent winner in Qatar, in the first round. There are other great risks for the three-time Match Play champ, like two-winner Geoff Ogilvy; big-hitting Dustin Johnson, who seems tailor-made for the Ritz; another bomber in Bubba Watson; and the only double winner in 2011, Mark Wilson. And that’s just the TOP HALF of the bracket!

Which means your winner, at least among the favored top seeds, might very well be Martin Kaymer, the Paradise Valley resident via Germany. Kaymer gets the untested Noh in the first round of the Player bracket, which also has a bunch of unheralded opponents like the Japanese tandem of Hiroyuki Fujita and Yuta Ikeda. That, and the fact that Jim Furyk, Adam Scott and Sean O’Hair have been shadows of themselves lately, bodes well for Kaymer.

If you’re looking for a long shot(s), Hunter Mahan has the kind of streaky game that match play seems to favor, and Paul Casey, the English lad who lives in Scottsdale, also seems to flourish in the mano y mano format.

The first signs of trouble for the Waste Management Phoenix Open came when the weather forecast called for temperatures in the 20s with highs in the low 50s – the coldest temps in 25 years at the TPC Scottsdale. Then Wednesday’s pro-am was canceled by frost on the greens and frigid temperatures. How many of the 100 or so entry fees were actually returned was never made public.

But at $9,500 per player, it could have been upwards of $1 million if everybody wanted their money back. If that wasn’t enough of a blow to the “Greenest Show on Grass,’’ the first and second rounds of the tournament experienced never-before-seen frost delays totaling 4 hours and 3 hours, respectively. Hey, according to the PGA, the ground under the greens was frozen solid and to make matters worse, the tundra wouldn’t thaw out. Along with those delays came cold and winds that kept the crowds down significantly for the first three days. Ultimately, 365,062 fans braved the elements for the week, the smallest number since 1993. If that wasn’t enough, it marked the third straight year that attendance declined from a record of 538,356 in 2008 putting charity donations in jeopardy.

All the crummy weather and delays – and bad news — also added up to nonstop play and a sense of wonderment — “What’s going on here?” — for Saturday and Sunday, creating continuous action that was hard to figure out and follow on the leader board. That’s because Thursday’s opening round ended Saturday morning, Friday’s second round ended Saturday night, when the cut was finally made. The third round was played Sunday morning, and they never re-paired for the final 18 holes, as the leaders came back Monday with six holes still to play.

When the “tournament that would not end’’ finally drew to a conclusion at about 11:30 a.m. Monday, the mild-mannered Mark Wilson – the best putter left standing — was your winner. But not before the journeyman from Chicago via Wisconsin – yeah, a cheesehead who loves the world champion Packers — had beaten another somewhat unheralded player, Jason Dufner, with a birdie on the second hole of sudden death.

The finish was almost as bizarre as the week, as the guy who had led the tournament through 66 holes, including after rounds 1, 2 and 3, Tommy “Two Gloves’’ Gainey, imploded at the always dicey 17th hole with two shots into the water that were as hard to watch for his new-found followers as “Two Gloves” himself.

Say this about Gainey, who has become the “new Boo’’ of professional golf: He tells it like it is. Asked about his play over the first three rounds, the country bumpkin from Bishopville, S.C., said what many had felt for the entire week. “All the days just seem to keep fallin’ together,’’ Gainey observed. “I don’t even know what day it is myself!’’

A very un-Phoenix Open-like 13,300 fans showed up for the last six holes on Monday, which had a bit of a playoff feel to them right from the get-go – or even before it actually went to a playoff. All Wilson, who entered the final day two shots in front of Gainey, Dufner and Vijay Singh, had to do was par the last seven and make an eight-foot birdie at the second playoff hole (No. 10) to win for the second time in three outings this season.

Wilson, who did post all four rounds in the 60s including a final-round 69 (the first player to do so since J.B. Holmes in 2006), pushed his season winnings to over $2 million with his winning total of 18-under 266. But if you had been watching from the very beginning, the real story was Gainey, who earned just $164,700 after his meltdown dropped him into a tie for eighth place – a mistake that cost him at least $250,000.

As for Two Gloves’ decision to go with his driver rather than a fairway wood at the 300-yard 17th, you really couldn’t blame him. Hey, he hadn’t come all the way from “Minitour City’’ in the early 2000s, the “Big Break’’ in 2005 and then the Nationwide Tour in 2010, just to lay-up here, what with opportunity knocking.

But after Gainey overcooked the drive, which hit a hazard stake and bounded back into the drink on the left side of the short par 4, he should have tried something different (like putting) rather than trying to chip his third shot off a steep bank, a disastrous move that caused the ball to pop up into the air, catch the bank and slide back into the water. When the carnage was over, his scorecard read “7.’’

If he wasn’t thinking quite clearly, well, you really can’t blame that on “Two Gloves.’’ After all these were uncharted waters for Gainey, who had never led a PGA event in any round let alone three in a row.

“I played good. I was in contention. I had a shot to win the tournament,’’ noted the 35-year-old Gainey, who ended up with a disappointing 74, or four shots out of the playoff.

“To get a bad break like I got at 17 — a drop on the side hill — I was worried about the ball rolling back in the water instead of trying to hit the shot. I probably hit it a little too quick. I didn’t take my time. . . . ’’

Yes, things were going out of control, at least in Two Gloves’ head. But give him credit for trying to find the positive in all the negative that seemed to hang over the ending like a big, dark cloud.

“Next time it’ll be a little different story,’’ promised Gainey. “I’m a little pissed, but you’ve got to win with class and you’ve got to lose with class, so I’m trying to deal with that right now.’’

Chances are most who ventured out to the TPC Scottsdale last week will remember this tournament as the one Tommy “Two Gloves’’ lost rather than the one Mr. Wilson won. That, and the tournament having the worst weather at the TPC Scottsdale in the 25 years it’s been played there — and maybe (hopefully) forever. That’s no knock on Wilson or the Phoenix Open or the TPC, mind you. It’s just the way it works in the fickle world we call golf.

Phil Mickelson really is “Phil the Thrill,’’ especially in the big eye of CBS. At least you would think so after David Feherty gushingly glossed over Lefty’s calculated “lay-up’’ on the last hole in San Diego, thus literally handing the Farmers Insurance Open to one Bubba Watson on Sunday.

Knowing it was elementary, that he needed to make eagle 3 to tie Doctor Watson, and from just a little over 220 yards out, no less, Phil seemed to chicken out and ended up bumping two wedges to within 4 feet of the cup for a worthless birdie. It was almost comical as his caddie, Jim Mackay, tended the pin for Phil from a little over 70 yards out on the critical shot, like the Mickster was going to hole out or something!

And this from a guy who won last year’s Masters with a gut-check 4-iron from out of the pines on the final hole of Amen Corner! It makes Sunday’s submissive strategy against Watson even harder to fathom.

Not that Feherty ever stopped golly-geeing about Mickelson’s magic and how he keeps it exciting until the very end. Thank goodness there are still a few newspaper reporters in the media, and a very good one at the San Diego Union-Tribune in Tod Leonard.

Asked about his rationale for not letting Watson putt out so he would know exactly what to do at the final hole in question, Mickelson flipped the inquiry around and praised Watson. It’s called a misdirection answer, a common counter move often used by the pros.

“Bubba played too good,’’ he said of Watson’s closing, 5-under 67 that got the Scottsdale resident to 16 under, or one shot in front of Mickelson, the “homey’’ from nearby Rancho Santa Fe who closed with a 69.

“He made shot after shot, putt after putt. It was a wonderful round for him.’’

He’s right, Bubba was true to his nature as he aggressively swung away and never bagged his driver till he pulled out of the parking lot at Torrey. In the meantime, Mickelson had been playing conservative golf even before Sunday’s final round unraveled, a move that had been supported for the most part by the CBS crew, which partially explained the no-call at the end.

Asked his reasoning for screaming “Uncle’’ on his third shot at 18, Lefty replied: “I had 227 (yards) to carry (the water). If I hit a hybrid, the ball would have come out dead, so I wouldn’t have made it over the water. But the way my 3-iron is, the ball would have come out and went screaming over (the green).’’

Believe it or not, and despite the staggering odds against it, Mickelson argued that his best bet was to lay up and then try to hole his 64-degree wedge from a mere 72 yards out. Asked when the last time “Bones,’’ as Mackay is known, was asked to tend a pin on a shot from the fairway, Mickelson didn’t duck the hard ball that grazed his chin.

“Well, (the shot) is going to have a chance,’’ he countered. “About 10, 12, 14 times a year, I hit the pin.’’

And the odds of that happening on the 72nd hole at tenacious Torrey Pines in the final round of a PGA tournament with over $1 million on the line?

“I’m not sure,’’ he said of the one-in-a-million prayer. “Obviously, you need to hit a great shot and you need some luck.  I’m not naïve on that. I get it.’’

Apparently not, Lefty. The guys at CBS might have been “oohing and aahing’’ like they usually do when it comes to Mickelson’s incredible repertoire of shots, but the rest of us weren’t buying the white flag this time around.

The only thing I can say for Mickelson: At least he’s honest. Like when somebody asked him if he was feeling the sting of defeat more than the positive vibes he got from his runner-up finish, there was a moment of clarity.

“Little of both. You want me to elaborate,’’ he said, clearing the intense air with a few laughs from his media-laden gallery.

“I’m disappointed because I wanted to start the year off with a win,’’ he said. “I wanted to get some momentum early on the West Cast. But on the other hand, I played really good golf and gave myself an opportunity. I played well on Sunday and had a good tournament. I’ll use this as a springboard for next week.’’

That’s what’s weird: I believe that’s exactly what he’ll do. Even though with Phil you never really know for sure, I think his third win at the TPC Scottsdale this week, which would mark three different decades as a champion here, is just a shout away.

The field isn’t overly fierce, with only four players in the top 20 of the world rankings, and only 18 in the top 50. Besides, Phil’s the only guy in the top 10 (No. 5) even if defending champ Hunter Mahan, rookie Jhonattan Vegas, bomber Dustin Johnson and Bubba all look like they’re playing brilliantly as they make their way to Scottsdale.

Yes, this Phoenix Open looks like it’s shaping up nicely to turn out as yet another left-handed compliment. Having lived in the Valley during the 1990s and hung out plenty over the past 10 years at Grayhawk and Whisper Rock, this certainly is familiar territory for the Thrill.

The only question that lingers: Has Mickelson recovered from that one-hole knockout delivered by J.B. Holmes three years ago at the Phoenix Open? You remember the haymaker, when Holmes belted a monster drive on the 18th hole and made birdie while Mickelson bunted a fairway wood down the middle for and ensuing par, another conservative move that turned out to be sudden death.

Which was, basically, what Phil avoided Sunday when he got it over early and secured second place. Hey, we love Phil just like everybody else, but you have to call a spade a spade, especially when it digs its own hole.

As soon as Arizona hosts the Waste Management Phoenix Open (Feb. 3-6) in Scottsdale followed by the WGC-Accenture World Match Play Championship (Feb. 23-27) in Tucson, professional golf in the desert as we know it will take a huge twist with the all-new RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup in Phoenix (March 18-20).

Earlier this month, LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan announced that the Founders Cup would bring the women’s game back to the Valley of the Sun after a one-year absence. The tournament, Whan informed us, would honor the original 13 Founders of the LPGA, which dates back to 1950, and that the charity for the event will be the LPGA-USGA Girls Clubs.

Oh, yes, and there would be a $1.3 million “mock’’ purse, meaning none of the players would get paid to play at Wildfire’s Faldo Golf Course, although expenses and rooms at the adjacent J.W. Marriott Resort & Spa would be picked up for players and caddies.

At the time of Whan’s announcement, he was asked how the players would react to basically teeing it up for “free’’? Being a professional spin doctor, the always-energetic Whan said his legions gave him a standing ovation when he first brought up the unique format last summer during a players’ meeting. And, yes, the top players will all be in Phoenix this spring, he promised.

Now, in the aftermath of his eloquent gesture, there are those who are questioning Whan’s idea even if some – well, the vast majority –don’t want to go on the record. Seriously, what player would speak out against a charity or the tradition established by the original 13 Founders, “to leave the game better than they found it’’? No, this is a head-scratcher where almost everybody will fall in line silently but totally perplexed.

Kristy McPherson, who is in that elite player category, did tell Golfweek that she doesn’t mind the idea of giving the purse back to charity, as long as she gets a little say in what charity gets the dough. Annika Sorenstam, the retired legend who still gets asked her opinion whenever possible, had this to say when Golfweek asked if she was supportive of the plan: “Not every decision requires 100 percent approval’’ of the LPGA council.

So whether or not this move to add a “mock’’ purse to Phoenix is a good one remains to be seen. Chances are the players would have been a lot more supportive had the LPGA added a few more tournaments to the schedule for 2011. As it stands, the LPGA lost two events from 2010 and gained three for this season, although it ended up being a “push’’ considering the players won’t get paid for the new Phoenix event.

If I was a player, I certainly would not be impressed with what Whan has planned for 2011. Prize money is flat at $44 million, the average purse is $1.75 million, and only 13 of the 25-tournament schedule will be played here in the U.S., meaning travel expenses continue to rise. By comparison, the PGA Tour’s war chest this year is $288 million with an average purse of $6 million.

Breaking it down a little further, only 70 players made $100,000 or more last year on the LPGA, with only eight topping $1 million. On the PGA Tour side of the ledger, 207 players earned more that $100,000 with 90 eclipsing $1 million. And, by the way, it takes about $100,000 a year just for a player’s expenses.

Of course, LPGA players won’t have to worry about expenses in Phoenix, as it’s one of the perks, along with “official money’’ (an odd phrase since there isn’t any) and Rolex player of the year points. The top three Founders finishers (who haven’t previously qualified) also will get into another new tournament, the Countdown to the Titleholders, a season-ending event that will feature the LPGA’s richest first prize — $500,000. Again, by comparison, most of the PGA Tour’s 40-some tournaments pay out $1 million or more.

So the question becomes: is the timing for the Founders Cup and its “mock’’ purse way off base? And is this just a band-aid to take away the “ouch’’ for the players as well as Phoenix?

You see, there are other things that will make the Founders Cup way different than anything else ever before seen in the desert. Like it’s probably going to be here for only one year. That’s right, the title sponsor, RR Donnelley, a printing and digital solutions company based back East, would like to move the tournament to where most of its employees and there families are located, chiefly in New York and Pennsylvania.

Even though Whan said there is some “flexibility’’ in when and if the tournament is moved, it apparently is one year and out with high hopes of attracting yet another title sponsor for yet another new LPGA tournament in Phoenix. The hope is that if we do get another corporate entity to cough up some bucks– this would be the ninth different LPGA tournament in the Valley dating back to the Sun City Classic in 1980 – we get a “real’’ purse and it’s lucrative.

Hey, the hard-working women of the LPGA deserve it. And for that matter, so do the golf fans that live in Arizona.

Nice move by Mike McQuaid and the Thunderbirds, giving the first of five sponsor’s exemptions into the Waste Management Phoenix Open to local pro Tom Lehman, the 2000 champ. Too bad everything can’t go so “green’’ for McQuaid, the tournament chairman for the WMPO, which tees off Feb. 3-6 at the TPC Scottsdale. Actually, the T-birds never can grumble because Waste Management has literally dumped $25 million into their bank account, a recycled load of the green stuff that won’t run out until 2014. That, and the Birds know that they’ve got the largest crowds in golf as well as the game’s best “special events,’’ like the Fenway Park-like 16th hole and the infamous Birds’ Nest, the No. 1 meat market in Scottsdale, hands down.

But outside of Phil Mickelson, the former Arizona State star who sits No. 4 in the world, and Rickie Fowler, the mop-top kid who was last season’s top rookie – who both have already committed – the 132-man field isn’t going get much better from a world rankings standpoint. Yeah, defending champ Hunter Mahan will be there, but outside of Mahan, who is No. 19, who else from the official top 20?

Not Lee Westwood or Tiger Woods or Martin Kaymer, the Nos. 1-3, respectively, although Kaymer does live in Paradise Valley. Kaymer did play here last year but that was before the big German won the PGA Championship and began playing a schedule that is predominantly world-wide.

Not Graeme McDowell, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker or Paul Casey, the Nos. 5-8 even if Casey lives about 20 minutes from the TPC. Of that group, Casey is the biggest “why not?’’ although most of the Brits will tell you the reason is because the former Arizona State star is a “baby.’’ That’s their word not mine, according to his former Ryder Cup teammates. And true to form, Casey doesn’t like the raucous nature of the WMPO.

Then you go from No. 9 through No. 12 – Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter and Ernie Els – and those players aren’t going to happen. Same with No. 13 Matt Kuchar, Retief Goosen, Dustin Johnson, Francesco Molinari, Robert Karlsson, Eduardo Molinari and Robert Allenby (Nos. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 20). Most of those guys are in Qatar or Dubai this time of year along with Westwood and Woods.

So out of the top 20 in the world, the Waste Management probably is going to have to settle for Mickelson and Mahan, and Fowler at No. 28. I don’t remember such an unstar-studded field since the tournament moved to Scottsdale. (Can you say happy 25th birthday?) By comparison, last year’s tournament had six players in the top 20 – Mickelson, Kaymer, Vijay Singh, Camillo Villegas, Ian Poulter and Geoff Ogilvy. Of course, that Phoenix Open preceded (for one year only) the prestigious WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson, so call that a “jaded’’ high point.

Blame some of this year’s lack of a big marquee on the foreign factor, as 13 of the top 20 players in the world are from other countries besides the USofA. But blame more of it on the fact there are a lot of mega-purses out there on golf’s big-money stage, as 17 tournaments now have purses that are $6.5 million or greater – 14 over $7 million. Such numbers make the WMPO’s look paltry at $6.1 million, especially when compared to Tucson’s $8.5 million.

Granted, the Phoenix Open is more than just the field, as great weather in Scottsdale on Super Bowl weekend is hard to beat, so people will be somewhat satisfied with that. And the tournament has raised more than $4 million for charity the past two years in a difficult economic climate, and that’s certainly a good thing, too.

Still, when will the Phoenix Open return to the glory days, when the best players always showed up in Scottsdale and before that at Phoenix Country Club? Seriously, it’s been more than a little while since the Phoenix Open field glittered like diamonds, or to be precise, way back to 2001 when Woods waved good-bye.

It seems like the only real solution(s) to raise the Phoenix Open is to jack the purse by at least a million bucks or get Waste Management to ink Tiger to a long-term deal. If I’m making that decision, the Woods option – tarnished image or no tarnished image — seems like a “gimme.’’

With the downfall of Tiger Woods and “off years’’ by name players like Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh, Lucas Glover and Angel Cabrera, to name a few, opportunity has come knocking at this week’s TOUR Championship for Scottsdale’s “Magnificent Seven’’ – Paul Casey, Martin Laird, Geoff Ogilvy, Bubba Watson, Tim Clark, Ryan Moore and Kevin Streelman.

Seriously, I don’t remember a TOUR Championship where seven of the 30 elite entries at elegant East Lake Golf Club near Atlanta hailed from Arizona. That’s more than 20 percent of the field from the Grand Canyon State, and it is a sign of more big things to come in 2011. And four of those guys – Casey, Laird, Moore and Streelman – are playing in the $7.5 million event for the first time ever.

Leading the way is Casey, the former Arizona State star who for some reason or other is about as unpopular in Europe as he is at the Phoenix Open, a tournament he turns down every year in lieu of the bizarre landscape of Dubai.

According to an in-depth story in The Scotsman of Scotland, the chief reason Casey was recently snubbed by Euro’s egomaniac Ryder Cup captain, Colin Montgomerie, is because his compatriots don’t like Casey. In fact, one of his former European Ryder Cup teammates was quoted as saying in The Scotsman story: “Paul’s toys were forever being thrown from his (crib). He was such a baby.’’

There even is speculation that if the ailing Lee Westwood can’t play in the Ryder Cup due to a calf injury that hasn’t gotten much better, that Monty will look past Casey and pick Justin Rose to fill Westwood’s shoes. At least that was the view of The Scotsman.

Despite being Europe’s ugly “part-time’’ American, Casey has had a wonderful season even if he hasn’t won while falling from No. 3 in the world to No. 7. With six top-10s this year, including a runner-up in the WGC-Accenture Match Play and a T3 in the British Open, PC will surpass his best season this week by a whopping $1 million (or more). And don’t be surprised if he hits the $10 million jackpot that will go to the winner of the FedEx Cup on Sunday, as his No. 5 position in the season-ending standings gives him a real shot at winning golf’s greatest annual annuity.

Also having a breakthrough type season is Martin Laird, the “Scotsman from Scottsdale.’’ Laird, who at 27 seems to be coming into his own, has a chance to jump almost 50 spots on the money list from a year ago. Now that he’s found his groove, expect Laird, who ranks No. 9 in the FedEx Cup standings, to be around for the next 10 to 15 years, he’s that good.

Sitting in the No. 12 position is Geoff Ogilvy, who has had a pretty average to below average season, at least by his standards. The Aussie looked like this might be his career year when he won the season-opening SBS Championship in Hawaii. But mediocrity followed, which is why Ogilvy will have his worst season, money-wise, in five years. Hey, it happens to the best of them, just ask Phil Mickelson, who ranks no better than No. 10 this week despite winning the Masters earlier this year.

Watson, who broke through for his first PGA Tour triumph in 2010, is No. 18 on the FedEx list and even more important to him, playing in his first Ryder Cup in two weeks at Celtic Manor in Wales. Now No. 25 in the world, these are new heights for the big-booming Bubba, who already has accumulated over $3 million – or half as much money as he won in his previous five seasons.

Tim Clark, the little South African who is No. 21 going into the FedEx Cup, also won for the very first time in 2010. Clark has been a picture of consistency, while rising into the top 20 in the world only to fall back to No. 30. This also will be Clark’s best season money-wise, as he has racked up $3.2 million. He’s already won the $7.5 million Players Championship, so why not the other big-money payout?

Sitting in the No. 26 spot but with plenty left in the tank after finishing T3 two weeks ago at the BMW Championship in Chicago is Moore, “The Natural’’ that finally seems to be living up to his nickname at age 27. Moore is $100,000 – a pittance when it comes to the TOUR Championship – from eclipsing his breakthrough season of a year ago when he won for the first time. After overcoming a long list of injuries, Moore could become an impact player at any moment.

If more people knew what a good guy he really is, Streelman would be a superstar, he’s got that type of personality. The winner of last year’s $1 million jackpot in the Kodak Challenge – his biggest claim to fame so far – the experts are in agreement that the 31-year-old Streelman’s best days are ahead of him. He’s just so quiet, however, as evidenced by the fact he’s won at least $1 million or more in all three of his seasons in the big leagues and who would have known?

There are others from Arizona who have had fantastic years, most notably Ricky Barnes, who looks like the Scottsdale pro is finally here to stay after earning nearly $1.8 million, which ranks him No. 41 on the money list. Scottsdale’s Bryce Molder ($1.4 million, No. 54), another Scottsdale pro, Matt Jones ($1.2 million, No. 66), and Gilbert’s Robert Garrigus ($717,465, No. 112) also will be around to further their careers on the PGA Tour in 2011.

But what’s really special for Scottsdale’s “Magnificent Seven’’ is that by finishing in the top 30 and competing this week in the TOUR Championship, all are exempt into next year’s four major championships. That will be a first for Laird, Watson, Moore and Streelman, which stamps them into the game’s marquee group that already included Casey, Ogilvy and Clark.

I’m not sure exactly how the dictionary defines tradition, but to me it’s usually something that has to do with an annual event involving the same place and people who have same modus operandi. In other words, it’s time-honored like Thanksgiving or Christmas.

That’s why I had to laugh just a little when it was announced this week that The Tradition, the Champions Tour major that began in 1989 at Desert Mountain Golf Club, was moving again for a fourth time. After spending 12 years in Scottsdale, one year in Gold Canyon and nine years in Portland, golf’s version of “The Changeling’’ is on its way to Birmingham, Ala., and infamous Shoal Creek Golf Club.

Yes, so much for tradition as The Tradition becomes The Regions Tradition – for the record the tournament’s fifth new name. Perfect, considering The Tradition has been known as the Champions’ “fifth major’’ ever since it left the Valley.

What a shame, really. When Tradition founder Lyle Anderson gave birth to the event in 1989 he patterned it after the Masters and he backed it up with a quality venue and digs and first-class amenities never seen before on the Champions Tour. It really did have all the elements of the real deal held annually at Augusta National. And if you needed more in the line of tradition(s), Jack Nicklaus won it a record four times.

But when The Tradition was moved from Desert Mountain to Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club, it lost some of that major championship luster. It wasn’t because Superstition Mountain CC wasn’t a big-time venue, it was. The problem: It moved from Desert Mountain, where there had been, uh-hum, a tradition.

After one year and out in Gold Canyon due to Countrywide Home Loans pulling out as title sponsor, the tournament hit rock bottom in Portland, where people are more interested in kayaking than golf. I remember seeing a photo in Golf World showing the tournament’s grandstand and nobody – not one person – was in the seats.

That the third version of The Tradition went up against the city’s LPGA’s Safeway Classic this year (not to be confused with the Safeway International that also unceremoniously left Superstition Mountain) also was not good. But mostly it was just a bad move to a city that loves to play golf but won’t watch it.

So now the PGA Tour is crowing about the move to Birmingham and Shoal Creek, where it replaces another Champions event – the Regions Charity Classic – and comes to rest at a course that lost the 1990 PGA Championship due to its membership policy involving racial discrimination. Or have you forgotten about Hall Thompson and his fiery declaration over the club’s exclusion of blacks?

Yes, The Tradition has come a long way – from Arizona to Oregon to Alabama — but some might say it’s not exactly what Anderson originally envisioned. In fact, from this point of view, I think it’s time for a name change. How about something like, say, The Transition?

TIGER’S BIG “D’’

Don’t ever expect to learn the exact amount of money that Tiger Woods paid Elin Nordegren to end their tarnished marriage. Even though Greg Norman and Nick Faldo set the bar with their divorces costing them about $100 million each, guessing how much Woods paid out is just that – a giant guess.

Supposedly, there was a prenuptial agreement but that certainly went by the wayside once we learned that Woods had multiple affairs and that prescription drugs were involved. Oh, the stories the former Mrs. Woods probably could have told had there been no settlement, and so there was a peaceful but pricey end to it all.

Personally, I’m glad it’s over and that Woods can move on and hopefully recover his golf game. TV ratings have plunged 16 percent this year from an all-time low last year, and like him or not, Planet Golf needs Tiger Woods if it’s to stay on its axis.

More important than who got what, the divorce allows Woods and Nordegren to move on but still share parenting of their children. Hopefully, they’ll become the new role models for parents who get divorced because there certainly is a need in that ever-growing demographic.

Now the question becomes: Can Tiger get his groove back?  I’m betting he can even if his “real’’ name isn’t Eldrick Tiger Woods. That’s right, according to the divorce, the “T’’ after Eldrick stands for “Tont’’ not Tiger. Oh, man, who would have guessed?

CHIP SHOTS

Dina Ammaccapane is taking major heat over her treatment of a local caddie at last week’s Safeway Classic. According to the Portland Oregonian, Ammaccapane was offered caddie Cameron Kiyokawa but rejected him because he was too small.

“Do you have anyone bigger?’’ she was quoted as saying while the 5-foot-3, 115-pound Kiyokawa stood dumbfounded.

John Canzano, columnist for the newspaper, took Ammaccapane to task: “Thing is, he wouldn’t have been the smallest person on the course,’’ Canzano wrote. “That would have been Ammaccapane.’’

Yes, Dina, the little sister of Danielle Ammaccapane, can be pretty blunt at times, especially when she’s gone two seasons without making any money ($7,489 for 2009 and 2010). At the same time, I’ve always liked her and she had point, even if it was a small one. . . .

Speaking of the LPGA, the TV rules guy got Juli Inkster last week for using a training device – a weighted swing donut – during the third round of the Safeway Classic. Yes, viewers like to call in and get players DQed when they think they see a rules infraction. Personally, calling the shots from your couch ought to be a two-stroke penalty.

At the same time, wouldn’t you think the Hall of Famer would know better? . . .

And, finally, Golfweek reported that Matt Every has been suspended by the PGA Tour for three months for being in possession of marijuana. Apparently Every got caught with pot along with a couple of other guys as they exited a casino during a weekend binge that occurred during the  John Deere Classic.

The penalty means that Every  most likely will lose his card for next year, as he’s 144^th on the money list and won’t be eligible for another event until the final tournament of the season. Seems like a harsh penalty for using a drug that’s in no way performance-enhancing.

Ask Every, who finished T-56 at the Deere.

In a world where a lot of people don’t follow the rules, Dustin Johnson’s two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in what looked like a very scraggly, marginal bunker at Whistling Straits seemed a little over the top during Sunday’s final round of the PGA Championship.

Especially when that ruling cost Johnson a chance to join Germany’s Martin Kaymer, a part-time Scottsdale resident, and Bubba Watson, a full-time Scottsdale resident, in a three-hole playoff for the Wannamaker Trophy.

Fans actually booed the decision, and more than one screamed, “You were robbed’’ as Johnson exited the course following a 20-minute scrum with PGA rules officials to determine if Johnson had indeed grounded his club.

But in a game where a lot of people do follow the rules, Johnson was ultimately found guilty, and could only watch as Kaymer rallied to beat Watson with a bogey on the third extra hole. It marked the second heartbreak of the season for Johnson, who blew a three-shot lead during the final round of the U.S. Open.

What never was in question was a rules sheet that was given to each and every player participating in the PGA that specifically said that all sandy areas should be treated as if they were one of Whistling Straits’ 1,200-plus bunkers. Even though many thought Johnson was in a “waste bunker’’ because people had been walking in it, he actually was in a bonified hazard – or as he called it a “sand trap.’’

“I guess I should have looked at the rules sheet a little harder,’’ Johnson said in a quote that ranks right up there with Roberto de Vincenzo’s “What a stupid I am,’’ and Phil Mickelson’s, “I am so stupid.’’

But give Johnson credit, too. He owned up to grounding the club — twice! — and didn’t even ask for a TV replay. Mark Wilson, the co-chair for the PGA of America’s rules committee, said of Johnson’s reaction to the ruling, “He was a gentleman.’’

There had been precedent for the ruling, as Stuart Appleby incurred similar penalties during Saturday’s third round, taking both a two-shot penalty for grounding a club as well as a two-shot penalty for removing a loose impediment from the very same bunker.

“It never once crossed my mind that I was in a sand trap,’’ said Johnson, whose score on the final hole was changed from a bogey to a triple bogey as he finished tied for fifth at 9-under, or two shots shy of the 11-under 277 posted by Kaymer and Watson.

How could Johnson make such a colossal mistake? According to his playing partner, Nick Watney, who took a three-shot lead into Sunday’s final round and imploded with an 81, such oversights happen all the time in professional golf.

“I don’t think anyone reads the rules sheet,’’ Watney said in the aftermath. “We get hundreds of rules sheets, and nobody reads them.’’

But according to Pete Dye, the architect of Whistling Straits, the PGA made the correct ruling.

“It was a bunker, one of 1,200,’’ Dye said with a chuckle when asked by The Golf Channel if the sandy spot on the knoll was intended to be such a hazard. “I think the PGA did a good job of making the kids aware of that.’’

Asked if he felt the bunkers should be kept as they are or cut back due to the smallness/indescriptness of many of them when the PGA Championship returns to Whistling Straits in 2015, Dye just laughed.

“Maybe we’ll add a few more,’’ said the diabolical Dye.

In the mean time, most people will always remember the bizarre ruling that cost Dustin Johnson the opportunity to win his first major championship. Granted, “DJ’’ is only 26, but two major setbacks in one season is a lot to deal with even if you’re young and carefree.

Whether or not they remember Kaymer’s impressive performance in winning his first major, which included saving par on the last two holes to force the playoff, remains to be seen. But at 25, the equally big/strong Kaymer has made a huge leap that some might argue came at Johnson’s expense.