So Much For Favorites; Johnson hunting leaders

Just when you think they've got it all figured out… Phil Mickelson misses the cut at the FBR Open and Dubai favorite Ernie Els (Even) will apparently take the scissors with a missed cut at the Dubai Desert Classic. The PGA Tour and its players are especially unpredictable early in the season and Mickelson had this to explain following his second-round 73:

"It just didn't come together," Mickelson said. "I didn't play well. The course is beautiful. It's in great shape, and it's an exciting time here with the Cardinals being in the Super Bowl. But I didn't get that momentum and play well.

"I'll go home and get some work done over the weekend and see if I can get things on track for San Diego next week."

Photo Courtesy/AP
Playing in Mickelson's group, Zach Johnson's second-round 66 in Scottsdale has put him right in the hunt, as his weekday total of -5 is just four off the pace set by Nick Watney, who torched TPC with a 63 Friday.

Hitting the Links

It's Wednesday morning and that only means one thing. It's time to hit the links.

This week features some analysis from Tiger Woods' off-season coverage that continued with Bob Harig's story on ESPN.com yesterday relating Woods with PGA veterans Ernie Els, Brad Faxon and Len Mattiace — all whom suffered similar knee injuries in their careers. Harig's piece, while well-written and insightful, continued a trend of "what-ifs" about Tiger's future with very little input from Woods himself.

The man with 14 majors has spoken publicly less than the Pope in the last six months, and the result has been a constant flow of stories with angles like Harig's latest effort. The only problem is that even Faxon — a damn good putter, by the way — knows it is stupid to use his recovery as a case study for Woods.

"Tiger is superhuman, so he can come back probably faster than most," Faxon said. "But I also think he's very cautious, too. He'll make sure he does the right thing. It's his left side, which is so important in the golf swing. I know everybody is guessing about what he's trying to do."

Els again found time to discuss Tiger this week, telling reporters at the Dubai Desert Classic that he expects Woods to come back on Tour good as new. With Tiger out of the field, the Associated Press says Els is the hands-down favorite in Dubai.

CNN's Paul Armstrong thinks Tiger could have a tough time protecting his No. 1 World Golf Ranking from Spainaird Sergio Garcia, who has closed the gap to three points, down from 11 at the time Woods won the 2008 U.S. Open.

Telegraph reporter Mark Reason was spurned when Colin Montgomerie was named Captain for the 2010 European Ryder Cup team, but his piece Tuesday had some unique insight from Tiger's old swing coach, Butch Harmon.

"The Race to Dubai has created a whole new atmosphere in golf. It will be a world event. The FedEx Cup in the US hasn't taken off like they thought it would. It's very limited. The Race to Dubai allows everyone in the world to play in a European Tour event. You've seen that with the Americans. I think Phil will join next year, I really do, and I think you will see Tiger Woods join too. It will be spectacular."

With the high-stakes appearance fees that Woods, Mickelson, and others draw in Dubai, there is serious concern about the health of early-season tournaments like the Merecedes Championship. There is simply too much money waiting for players in the Middle East, many who find an 18-hour flight from Maui to Dubai unnecessary and overwhelming.

Also, it may only interest me that Harmon — now the most famous coach in the world — once worked as a head golf professional in Davenport, Iowa. He also believes Tiger will make a strong return in 2009.

Stephania Bell, an expert physical therapist, added her name to the list of Tigerologists as a guest writer for ESPN.com about a week ago…

One of the most fascinating pieces written about Tiger this off-season takes us back to the beginning, as Kansas City Star columnist Joe Posnaski took on "The Meaning of Tiger" the week after his stunning U.S. Open victory at Torrey Pines.

Let us not forget last month, when Tiger's longtime caddie Steve Williams ripped Phil Mickelson… Woods has since settled their differences.

Oh, by the way, Tiger also happens to be friends with President Obama, who asked Woods to speak at his pre-inauguration earlier this month. The transcript of his speech can be found here.

Don't ask author Bob Smiley who would be a tougher inteview — Woods or Obama — to land, even for an awesome book. Smiley, who wrote Follow the Roar, a first-person story detailing every hole of Tiger's remarkable 2008 season, couldn't even get five minutes with him during the off-season. FYI, a UI student worked on small research projects for the book directly with Smiley.

That's all for now and more to come this week on the FBR Open and Michelle Wie.

Perez wins Bob Hope; R9 gets Tour validation

Photo Courtesy/ Getty Images

If Pat Perez can practice with TaylorMade's revolutionary new R9 driver for two days and win his first PGA Tour event, what will it do for a 10-handicapper? Perez's career perseverance proved rewarding Sunday at PGA West, as the 32-year-old canned an eagle on the final hole to capture his first Tour trophy — beautiful crystal, eh? — but the above picture tells more than one story.

Back on the mainland after two weeks in Hawaii, the PGA Tour and its ever brand-conscious viewership witnessed the introduction of TaylorMade's newest technology, the R9 driver, and Perez played it beautifully over five rounds to finish 33 under-par. And while 99 percent of the golfing world must be virtuous in awaiting the product's official launch date, set for March 20, Perez's win will undoubtedly drive curiousity in the coming weeks.

With Tiger Woods rumored to remain sidelined until at least the Accenture Match Play Championships in late February, Perez's win seems like a natural catalyst for attention and especially amongst corporate giants like TaylorMade, Nike, Titleist, and Callaway.

All that said, I would like to use this inaugural post to preface my blog for the spring semester and my interest for the PGA Tour. Aside from being a lifelong golfer, I have been fortunate to work twice within the golf industry over the last four years and consider myself somewhat knowledgeable.

Through my father and late grandfather's passion for the game, and undoubtedly some good fortune, I have shared countless memorable experiences through golf — watching, playing, and even covering a couple PGA Tour events as a journalist.

Thirteen years ago, I met Earl Woods, Tiger's late father, on a Sunday in the Quad-Cities. We shook hands. We stopped to buy cigarettes. We watched Tiger — You know… 14 majors… best ever, sans maybe Jack Nicklaus — make a quadruple-bogey on the back nine of just his third event as a professional. He lost by four strokes to someone named Ed Fiori.

Three weeks ago, I walked with Zach Johnson's group during the third round of the Merecedes Championships and he shot 64, including a six-under 30 on the front nine. He made a 50-foot eagle putt on the fifth hole in front of maybe a dozen spectators and hardly blinked. He was robotic off the tee. His iron play was crisp as clockwork, and a week later he won the Sony Open.

I share such memories because they are unique to my own experience with golf, but also hopefully somewhat interesting for those without the slightest interest in the world's so-called boringest spectator sport, especially when Tiger isn't playing. Through this forum, I hope to share more stories and stay current with the Tour on a weekly basis during the semester.

As a side note, my blog title "The Hunt" — a small play on sporting phrase i.e. "Perez is in the hunt for his first Tour win" — is also a chip off my middle name, Hunter.

Thanks for reading and look forward to checking out the other blogs this week.