Golfweek

With Johnson Wagner's win at the Sony Open, is it possible that we could be in store for a mustache trend on the PGA Tour?

Probably not.

If Wagner were to start racking up wins in incredible numbers, maybe it could happen. Hockey players have certainly embraced the idea of Playoff Beards for good luck.

Heck, even Tiger Woods has dabbled in the facial hair business, but few are so bold as to sport the mustache alone. Kudos to Wagner (and for a period of the 90s, Corey Pavin) for that.

But on a slow Monday news day, just for fun, let's take a look at some illustrations that show what a mustache trend could look like on the PGA Tour.

Phil Mickelson

Tiger Woods

Bubba Watson

Rory McIlroy

Steve Stricker

Rickie Fowler

(well, actually that one's real. . .)

Ian Poulter

Luke Donald

Steve Williams and Adam Scott

Dustin Johnson

Lee Westwood

Of course, there are already a few good mustaches on Tour. We'd be remiss not to give them a place in this story.

Geoff Ogivly

Andres Gonzales

- Illustrations by D.J. Piehowski

Charles Howell III is getting back to what works for him. Howell relied almost exclusively on a fade when he was one of the game’s hot young prospects. After developing some bad habits while trying to incorporate a draw into his arsenal, Howell is back to the reliable left-to-right ball flight.

Instructor Kevin Smeltz started helping Howell return to the fade last year. The change is paying off.

Howell finished in the top 25 in 12 of his first 20 starts in 2011, and entered the Open Championship with three consecutive top-5 finishes. He has earned more than $1.7 million this season, and entered the Open at No. 84 in the Official World Golf Ranking after starting the season 158th.

“Hindsight is 20/20, but I think a much more efficient way to play golf is from a little bit of a fade,” Howell said. “In the fade, I’m working to stabilize the face instead of letting the face roll.

“The greats played a fade, especially the guys that were best for the longest periods of time.”

Hitting the fade has helped all facets of Howell’s game. Long known for his ballstriking – he led the PGA ...

Will Tiger Woods win another green jacket in three weeks? That is yet to be determined.

Woods has been making his rounds, doing national television spots with Jimmy Fallon and Good Morning America, as well as Golf Channel's Morning Drive, to promote his new game, EA Sports' "Tiger Woods 12: The Masters." Woods even tweeted that he picked up his first win of 2011 by beating Fallon in the video game.

You can take a look at some new screenshots from the upcoming game, including images of new courses and players, in the gallery at right.

What do you think of the game? Is 2011 a rebound year for Tiger, on and/or off the course?

In his third homemade comedy video, Ben Crane addressed his most famous attribute – his tendency to play slowly.

Watch the video here:

David Feherty met recently with students at J. Erik Jonsson Community School (a beneficiary of the HP Byron Nelson Championship) in Dallas to pass along some lessons in life and golf. While there, Feherty allowed students to fire golf balls at him while he wore a protective suit. Needless to say, things didn’t end well:

Dan Boever, the 2008 Re/Max world long drive senior champion, is blogging for Golfweek.com from Afghanistan, where he is traveling with the Troops First Foundation.

Thanksgiving Day started very early, like every other day. We had a lot of people to see so it was necessary to get up and get a good jump on the day. At breakfast, I happened to sit with Gunnery Sgt. Chris Coleman and Private E.J. Goodroe. I had a very interesting conversation with them about why they decided to become Marines.

Coleman grew up in Phoenix, Ariz., and by the age of 17, had dropped out of high school, was kicked out of his house and was living on his own. After losing his job and apartment he decided the Marines might be the answer he needed to get his life on track. After getting his GED, he tried multiple times to become a Marine and no one would take him. After making numerous calls he finally found a recruiter who said he would take him if he scored high enough on his Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery test. ASVAB scores determine what jobs a person will qualify for in the ...

In the kitchen a few evenings ago while throwing some dinner together, I was a bit taken with how lovely the birds sounded outside in my backyard, thinking to myself that it was almost as if they were chirping in surround sound.

Of course, I’d only forgotten that I’d left my television on in the middle of a round of EA Sports’ “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2011,” and those sounds were indeed digital.

But that only made sense. Considering the stack of scorecards on top of my fridge, real-life birdies haven’t really been my thing lately.

Which brings us right back to my television, stocked for the first time this year (thanks, Santa) with both the Nintendo Wii and Xbox360 consoles, my personal birdie machines.

I’ve been reviewing the “Tiger Woods PGA Tour” video game series for a while now, but my last few reviews had focused solely on the version for the Wii. (I’ve admitted in the past that the only reason I reentered the gaming world after college and purchased a Wii was because of that commercial in which Tiger Woods walked into a living room full of fans and TV announcers, picked ...

• Complete coverage | Twitter: @collegegolf | Facebook: Lance Ringler’s College Golf Page

The NCAA Championship begins Tuesday at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn., just outside of Chattanooga. As an appetizer for the next six days of the fun, here are some fun facts, figures and observations:

• If you consider yourself a golf fan, you need to pay attention to this tournament.

• “Ooltewah,” according to a plaque here at The Honors Course, is an old Native American saying that means “resting place.”

From what we’ve heard about the course so far this week, “testing place” is probably more fitting.

• The Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning is a member at The Honors Course, and was at the course Sunday.

Peyton, if you’re reading this, how do you feel about filming a PSA for college golf? (We’ll happily reward you with an autographed Lance & Asher 8x10 for your services.)

Not that he ever would, but how far do you think Manning can throw a 3-iron?

• Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jack Nicklaus all won NCAA individual titles. So if you want to be one of the best ever, you probably have to win this thing.

• Headlines you may or may not ...

Welcome to the Monday Scramble.

Jordan Spieth. (And for you spelling bee participants out there, that’s I before E, except after C.)

What else do we have to say? (Read this if you don’t follow.)

Makes cut at Byron Nelson, where he also draws the biggest crowds. Is friends with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Is only 16.

Want to know more about this this young wunderkind? Just take a look his Facebook page . . .

(Remember Rickie Fowler’s Facebook page, too?)

(Golfweek illustration)

Welcome to the Monday Scramble, and happy May 17th aka National Cherry Cobbler Day. (Have no fear, if cherry cobbler ain’t your thing, May also happens to be National Hamburger Month – You hear that, Lefty? – and this week is American Craft Beer Week. So, enjoy.)

Of course, May also happens to be National Commencement Month (whether or not that official title exists), as millions of college students around the country will throw on funny robes and hats to walk across a stage and accept a piece of paper alerting them that their diploma will arrive in the mail in about six to eight weeks.

(Not to mention, the NCAA Women’s Championship starts Tuesday in Wilmington, N.C.)

This also means colleges and universities around the country will be calling on successful alumni, politicians or even celebrities to act as commencement speakers and deliver words of wisdom that no one will remember the following week.

For those still in need of a speaker – and you Ivy League schools better listen up – we’re available. And sufficiently prepared, as you can tell by this speech we scribbled on the back of a scorecard this weekend amid a string of three ...

Welcome to the Monday Scramble.

Let’s get something straight here: Tiger’s WD wasn’t the most shocking news of the week in golf.

Not. Even. Close.

We present, as Exhibit A, a portion of Phil Mickelson’s post-round press conference from Saturday afternoon at The Players:

Reporter: “What will you do this afternoon?”

Phil: “What I’ve done the last five days, go to Five Guys Burgers. That place is so good. I can’t stop going there. This will be my sixth day in a row. I grew up on In-N-Out. I thought that was the best burger until I had Five Guys. That is hands down the best burger I’ve ever had.”

Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?!?!?! Talk about doing a Double-Double take.

Fast-food fanatic Phil and In-N-Out – the legendary fast-food burger joint in the western United States that Mickelson once said he wanted to put in his backyard – on the outs? And because of another burger chain, predominantly on the East Coast? That’s like switching from Red Sox to Yankees. From “Star Wars” to “Star Trek.” From the Beatles to the Backstreet Boys.

Somewhere, Arnold Palmer just ordered an iced tea. Tiger just put on Reeboks ...

Welcome to the Monday Scramble, brought to you today by the letter “R.”

By the way, have we told you we're thinking of changing our name to the Ronday Ramble?

Really? Really. Ruh-roh.

Arrr!

If your name happens to be Robby, Randy, Raymond, Rex or even Mr. Roboto, we are jealous – no, resentful.

You, on the other hand, are most likely one radical, remarkable, rockin' dude – especially if you are a young lad, chap or whippersnapper (if a relative synonym exists that begins with "R," we couldn't find it).

You want proof? Just take this weekend in golf, for example.

It was R-rated for all the right reasons:

• Ryo (Ishikawa) shot 12-under 58, the lowest score ever on a major tour, to win his seventh Japan Tour title Sunday. The 18-year-old, who has already played in a couple Masters, missed a 15-footer for birdie on 18.

• Rory (McIlroy) rolled in a 42-footer for birdie on 18 to shoot a final-round 62 at the Quail Hollow Championship and win his first PGA Tour event. The 20-year-old (he turns 21 on Tuesday), who jumped to No. 9 in the world, made the cut on the number and ran away from ...

Welcome to the Monday Scramble. This week, we offer up questions – some important, most not – to ponder heading into the rest of the 2010 season:

• What will this year’s British Open be like if that Icelandic volcano decides to erupt again the week before things kick off at St. Andrews – and doesn’t stop for another five days?

• What Would Bobby Jones Have Tweeted (WWBT)?

• Shouldn’t we have known that Lorena OCHOa was only going to play the LPGA for eight years?

• Imagine if golf had a similar average length of career to the National Football League (three years)?

• Should golfers be penalized a stroke for every club that they throw?

• Will you own a 3-D television by next year’s Masters?

• If Europe loses the Ryder Cup this year, will captain Colin Montgomerie ever smile again?

• Will EA Sports’ “Tiger Woods PGA Tour” video game ever become better than playing real golf?

• Will McDonald’s produce a Michelle Wie action figure to put in Happy Meals?

• Would Donald Trump be a good PGA Tour or LPGA commissioner?

• Will Tim Tebow end up being a better quarterback or golfer?

• When are you going to stop hitting the ...

Welcome to the Monday Scramble. Before we get into this week’s column, do us a favor and eat (or throw into an Icelandic volcano) any tomatoes within a 100-foot radius. We really like the white J. Lindeberg polo we have on. Thanks.

[Are we good? OK...]

Here we go: Phil Mickelson will end his career with more major championships than Tiger Woods.

What!?!!?!?!??!

Go ahead – hoot, holler and throw broccoli at us. (We don’t care, because broccoli doesn’t stain!)

While we understand saying something like that is a trillon-times less of a no-brainer than gathering all the people in your office to pitch in and buy this Green Jacket that has mysteriously appeared on a sports auction Web site (no joke), we also know that weirder things have happened.

(See: TMZ.com.)

Final score? Jack Nicklaus 18, Phil Mickelson 16, Tiger Woods 15.

Who? What? Where? When? Wow! Huh?

[Please note: We vow that no ill will is being sent toward Tiger Woods in this hypothesis, only unnecessary motivation.]

• In order for this prediction to have any legs, we need Lefty to win at least three majors this year and Tiger to come up empty, missing at ...

Welcome to the Monday Scramble. Wow. That was awesome. Hopefully we don’t have to wait five more years for another week like that at Augusta National. For once lately, golf just kicked the azaleas out of TMZ, and we absolutely love it.

• • •

A tradition like no other, we always make sure we’re first in line for the merchandise shop the Sunday morning of every major.

Why? To buy the special edition postcards that no one else ever seems to get their hands on.

Here were our favorites:

Even better than crystal goblets.

Did anyone else see the plane that towed this banner?

Wait, Phil was in a new commercial this week, too?

It happened too fast to notice with the naked eye, but Mickelson actually jumped higher yesterday on the 18th green than he did after winning his first Masters.

Totally rad shoes, Freddie!

Take a hike Golf Gods!

• • •

And quickly, before we go...

One Diet Coke, still attached to the plastic rings of the six-pack. That’s all that was left inside Phil Mickelson’s locker at Augusta National one year ago today, the Monday morning after last year’s Masters, when one of our Scramble interns ...