I PROMISE: Bob on Golf Central TUESDAY NIGHT...

I know you may feel like a lover scorned after I've told you twice now to watch Golf Central (Golf Channel's nightly news show) only to have me not actually be on, but I've been promised the interview I taped will air on Tuesday night's show (8:30-9pm EST). I must warn you that since it was filmed two weeks ago, during the piece I say I've seen EVERY hole Tiger has played in '08 when of course you all know I missed the first two at the Tavistock Cup.

If you miss the 8:30 EST show, it will re-air at 11:30EST and throughout the night and morning. Or just go to my mom's house and I'm sure you will find her watching it on a loop.

FYI, the above picture is me looking like a complete scuzzbucket with Golf Central co-host Todd Lewis. Because really, for your first TV interview, it's usually ideal to spend the previous six hours sweating and then to top it off with an hour of standing in the rain.

Hawk Killing, Paul Prudhomme Shooting Linked

There are two contenders for insane golf story of the year. First is the story of Tripp Isenhour killing a hawk while filming a golf instructional video, a story that broke a few weeks ago. Second is from Tuesday when celebrity chef Paul Prudhomme was hit by a falling bullet while cooking at this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. But who would have guessed the stories were related?

Turns out an arrest warrant has been issued in the Prudhomme case early today after police traced the bullet back to a redtail hawk who apparently was seeking revenge for the recent killing of his brother by Isenhour. Prudhomme was not the intended victim, according to a statement released by the hawk’s attorney, but said “my client’s talons make aiming a gun difficult, and, well, Prudhomme is a fairly big target.”

Besides the obvious attempted murder charge, the New Orleans District Attorney’s office said they are also considering an evading arrest charge, since after firing the shot, the hawk flew to Mexico. His attorney calls the charge “absurd,” claiming his client has merely following his Darwinian instincts to fly south for the remainder of winter.

USGA Awards Open To Course Not Designed Yet

Excited by the publicity received by awarding the 2015 U.S. Open to Chambers Bay, a course that opened only last year, the USGA announced today that the 2017 U.S. Open will go to Pinebluffs Oasis, a Pete Dye course that not only hasn't opened yet, but hasn't even been designed. That said, USGA President Jim Vernon said the theoretical venue is "simply specatcular."

According to the USGA, the course will be located "in beautiful western Kentucky (or Nevada)" and will feature "a classic woodsy design... or maybe a desert feel." Architect Pete Dye said while he hasn't had a chance to "design the thing," he was leaning toward an 18th hole that would measure close to 700 yards, or "enough for six or seven hospitality tents." For now Dye's time is focused on testing potential logos on consumers and so far people seem to be responding toward the one with a bird sitting on a tee.
Critics have complained that handing out majors to untested courses is a dangerous precedent, but Dye shook his head at the thought, calling the argument "offensive to the great people of Kentucky. Or Nevada."

TAILING TIGER, Coming 2009

As officially revealed on ESPN.com today, I've been spending my year following Tiger from the gallery for every single hole he plays. Fine, every hole but two.

The book will chronicle not just Tiger's adventures, but mine as well. In truth the idea came from the many fans who wrote me after my ESPN Tiger piece in December to ask, "Are you going to be doing this all season?" "I wish," was the way I answered some of you. But when the Writers Guild strike showed no end in sight, I figured "Well why the heck not?"

And so back on January 24th, the insane journey began.

For now I'll keep you all updated of my travels. And if you have a spare couch, just remember I've got two small kids and an even smaller budget. But MOST IMPORTANTLY, feel free to join me. If you're going to be near any of the events Tiger has left in his season, let me know. I'd love the company, provided of course you can keep up with Tiger. And me.

WGC - CA CHAMPIONSHIP: Ogilvy Looking to Prove World Wrong

Beat Tiger? In Florida? At Doral? Yeah, right. Enter Geoff Ogilvy (2006 U.S. Open Champ/Mickelson Dream Crusher) who is coming off a disappointing 2007 but showing this week that he is not just a giant killer, he may also in fact be a giant himself. All that's left is 9 measly holes. How long can that take? Well, factor in six or seven South Florida rain delays and officials expect the CA Championship to be wrapped up in time for Augusta's Par-3 Contest in April.

FORE RIGHT EXCLUSIVE: Tiger Tips Found!

Tiger is often seen pulling a small piece of paper out of his pocket throughout his rounds with secret notes but no one knows exactly what's on it. Until now. As Tiger walked off the 9th hole this afternoon after a 66 at the WGC - CA Championship, it dropped from his pocket and yours truly picked it up. You all are the first to see it.

Tiger's Hat Throw... "Disrespectful"?

I've continued to enjoy reading the now... 925 comments on the article about Tiger's win at Bay Hill on Sunday. The most baffling to me remains this one from "Silus 2000"...

"The hat toss was disrespectful. He's trying to intimidate his opponents in victory, and prep them for failure at the next event. It was not necessary. He should have just handed the magic putter back, and tipped his hat to the crowd."


Somehow I don't think it was the throwing of his hat that intimidates his competition. I think it's the fact that he is capable of doing the impossible under pressure time and time again.

But should the hat toss be banned? Let's look at some other famous hat tosses and decide if we're dealing with something inherently aggressive...


Who: Odd Job
Hat Toss Facts: Used his steel-rimmed top hat to kill Tilly Masterson in Goldfinger.
Aggressive?: He did kill someone, so, yeah.



Who: West Point Graduating Class
Hat Toss Facts: For over a hundred years, graduating seniors toss their caps at the end of commencement. The caps are often lined with money and retrieved by local children who get to keep it.
Aggressive?: Yes, they're soldiers, but they're ultimately using their hats to give kids money... I'm going no on this one.



Who: Fred Funk
Hat Toss Facts: Upon sinking his par putt on the 18th hole at the Players Championship in 2005, Fred Funk slams his cap to the ground.
Aggressive?: This is Fred Funk we're talking about.


Who: Mary Tyler Moore
Hat Toss Facts: At the end of the opening credits of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mary spins around and then tosses her beret into the air while the lyrics of the theme song say, "You're going to make it after all..."
Aggressive?: You're kidding, right?

Alright, after looking at history, I'm going to take the side that Tiger should be allowed to toss his hat again should he so choose. Unless of course it has a sharpened steel blade under the brim, but last I checked the Tour is currently doing random hat tests. I'm willing to risk it.

Grandpa Tells Grandkids About the Time He Saw Tiger Woods Lose

Harrisburg, PA -- Kyle, Allie, Bryan and Alex Monroe react to Grandpa Ed's "true" story about watching Tiger Woods not win back in 2003. When Ed refused to say he was lying, the kids were told to go watch TV while his daughter gave him his pills.

A.P.Invite: THE THROW

Here's a compilation of some Getty Images of what was the greatest moment of golf I've ever witnessed in person.

And it's only March.

Tiger/Nessie Connection?

The blurry picture I posted of Tiger a few days back brought up a comparison that at first sounds insane -- the similarities between Tiger Woods and the Loch Ness Monster.

Bear with me...

1) Loch Ness is in Scotland. As is the birthplace of golf.
2) Both Tiger and the monster disappear for long stretches of time.
3) While they're gone, they spend most of their time underwater hunting fish.
4) And when they finally resurface, well, just look at their behavior.


There must be more similarities out there. Feel free to share any that come to mind.

**GOLF CHANNEL UPDATE**

I was indeed interviewed for Golf Central tonight at Golf Channel's headquarters. It was a blast. And after 7 hours on the course and in the rain, I'm not sure I could have looked worse on camera.

But rather than air it tonight, the show's producer said they will probably be saving the piece for Tuesday's show when they do their weekly Tiger report. When I hear for sure what day, I will make sure you all know.

**HUGE NEWS: BOB ON GOLF CHANNEL**

I promised a good reveal for you -- GOLF CENTRAL (Golf Channel's nightly news show) is interviewing me either today or tomorrow about my book and adventures so far this year. The show airs at 11:30EST tonight and will re-air throughout the night and on Saturday morning. If it won't air till Saturday night's new show, I'll update the post. Here's the Golf Channel lineup to help you find it.

A.P.INVITE: Day 1 -- Just How Close is Isleworth to Bay Hill?

On the bottom right is Bay Hill, home to this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational. In the top left you can see Isleworth, Tiger's neighborhood course. Point to point that's just barely a mile, meaning if Tiger ever felt like arriving to an event by being shot out of a cannon, this is the one he'd choose.

BOOK NEWS: Kind Of.

Some of you have been perturbed by my vagueness about what exactly I'm writing about this year. Fair enough.

The picture on the left is a clue that just might help you decipher the subject matter. I'll give the official full scoop later this week -- and try to do it with some real fanfare to reward your patience.

7pm UPDATE: Yes, this is supposed to be blurry. Geez, if I didn't, then there'd be NO surprise...

COUCH UPDATE

Below is an updated list of places I'm headed this year and my "couch wanted" status. Thanks to everyone's help already. You guys are awesome.

As you can see, I've upgraded the picture of the couch from last time. My wife said the old one was "disgusting." This one happens to be a French Empire ormolu sofa couch, circa 1870. I can't imagine anyone has ever slept on it, but I'm willing to be the first.


COUCH FOUND:
--ORLANDO, FL (Cut this one a little close, but an old co-worker took me in and I'm currently sitting in a room surrounded by 500 DVD's and a few thousand comic books. If I was 14 years old, I might not leave.)


--MIAMI, FL (This is my new friend Craig who gave his word that he's "not creepy." How creepy can he be, he's writing a book about NY Governor Eliot Spitzer. On second thought...)


--LA JOLLA, CA (Two options here. Three if Phil Mickelson lets me stay at one of his houses. Fine, just two options.)


--DUBLIN, OH (I think)


--DETROIT, MI


--WASHINGTON D.C. (Staying with an Army man who works in the Pentagon. I would say more but it could jeopardize our national security.)


COUCH NEEDED:
--AUGUSTA, GA
--CHARLOTTE, NC
--LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND
--CLEVELAND
--BATTLE CREEK, MI
--PONTE VEDRA, FL
--JERSEY CITY
--BOSTON
--LOUISVILLE
--ATLANTA

ARNOLD PALMER INVITE, ROUND 1: Who's Bringing The Glow Balls?

I know David Howell hasn't been playing his best golf the last couple years, having dropped from the world top 10 all the way to 218th, but this is just cruel...

I went to Yahoo Sports yesterday afternoon to check out the tee times for Thursday's first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational and, well, the times for the first two guys off caught my eye. Click for a closer look.

I mean it's rude enough to put some guys off in the middle of the night, but to not even pair them with each other? That's pretty low. Even crazier, twelve hours after I first noticed the typo, the site still hasn't caught it. But they have added the Round 2 times behind it and I have some good news for Howell and fellow early riser Doug LaBelle II -- they can sleep in an extra 7 hours on Friday.

William F. Buckley, RIP

My posting on this is much delayed due to a family vacation, but a few weeks ago the unforgettable American writer and political thinker William F. Buckley passed away.

Over the course of his life, he'd sailed across the Pacific once, the Atlantic twice, had run for Mayor of NYC, sat on the UN, worked for the CIA, mastered the harpsichord, became the longest-running talk show show host in America and was credited with getting Ronald Reagan into the White House. Even more amazing, Bill Buckley had zero interest in golf.

So why do I even mention him? I was Buckley's assistant from 2001 to 2002. At the time we met he was one of the smartest people on the planet... and I was working on a TV show with a talking cat.

I thought I was going to Connecticut for a formal interview but in the end it was a bizarre, hysterical day that culminated with WFB inviting me to join him for a swim in his pool. Naked.

The story was turned into a longer essay I'm trying to get published since, well, if not now, when?

I'll end this with hands down my favorite moment with him, the one brief moment where I knew something that William F. Buckley did not:

Bill is sitting at his keyboard, typing. He stops and looks up.

Bill: "Uh, Bob..."

Me: "Yes?"

Bill: "What do you call the kind of pants that Westerners wear?"

A long uncomfortable pause.

Me: "Blue jeans...?"

Bill: "Ah yes..."

Bill goes back to typing.

RIP, Bill...

EXCLUSIVE: Els Pushing For 5th Major...

Empowered by his win on Sunday, Ernie Els has appealed to the USGA for the official coronation of golf's 5th major. The sad thing is, he's not talking about the Players Championship...

FORE RIGHT has obtained the letter sent to USGA President James Vernon which can be seen by clicking below.

MONDAY: Random Thoughts...

Not sure who caught the post-round coverage after Ernie won the Honda Classic, but by his reaction you'd think he'd climbed Mount Everest on crutches or something. He thanked his wife at least twice that I saw for all her support during this rough stretch for him. Look, I know there's nothing worse than feeling like you're failing at your job, and going three years without a win on Tour is a long time for a top player, but I'd like to believe the millions of dollars he makes a year in endorsements kept his wife from thinking about packing a duffel bag and hitting the road...


...Also check out this funny post on AVERAGE GOLFER where he decodes why Phil will never be #2. I told him I was angry that he picked up on this before I did...

PHOTOJOURNAL: Courtesy Cars At Honda Classic...

Tournament officials may not have thought things through this week when they decided to provide the players at the Honda Classic with... classic Hondas. Fore Right snapped some of our favorites...

Kevin Stadler arrives for Friday's 2nd round.

Ernie Els' goes with the hatchback.

Sergio Garcia was forced to choose between bringing his sister or his caddy.

Retief Goosen was upgraded to the Accord LX after reminding officials he's won two majors.

David Toms was angry his didn't come with the optional tape deck.

Mark Calcavecchia's 1972 AZ600: "Not roomy."

Boo Weekley didn't see what the fuss was. "I might not give mine back..."