FanHouse Johnny Miller

I love NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller but I'm also not a member of the PGA Tour. The former two-time major winner has a straight-talkin' approach in the booth, and it sometimes rubs the objects of his pointed comments -- the guys on the course -- the wrong way.

During the 1999 Ryder Cup, Miller suggested that Justin Leonard was playing so poorly he should go home and watch Sunday's matches on television. Never mind that Leonard would drain a 45-foot Cup-clinching putt. During that same weekend, Jim Furyk took exception at Miller's suggestion that he was an underdog in his singles match against Sergio Garcia.

In an effort to keep our golf visitors well informed on what is going on around the Internet, Range Balls is our weekly link dump. Every Tuesday during golf season, we will toss out some of the most interesting things we came across. If you have a tip, e-mail us at fanhousegolf@gmail.com. Enjoy the links.

-- In a lengthy piece about "The Haney Project," Charles Barkley admits that he "felt bad, to be honest with you, that I didn't improve more for (Hank Haney)." If anyone watched the television show, they know how much the two worked together, but from this video at the Regions Charity Classic, it sure shows the nasty truth -- swing coaches aren't miracle workers. [The Sports Network]

In an effort to keep our golf visitors well informed on what is going on around the Internet, Range Balls is our weekly link dump. Every Tuesday during golf season, we will toss out some of the most interesting things we came across. If you have a tip, e-mail us at fanhousegolf@gmail.com. Enjoy the links.

-- After recent comments by David Feherty that have certain people a little ticked off, Devil Ball Golf put together a list of announcing slip-ups and how those situations played out. Oh, and a quick note to Feherty -- if you're going to be the funny guy, try to avoid assassination jokes. Just a thought. [Devil Ball Golf]

Lee Trevino is 69 years old, has 87 professional wins, including six majors. He knows something about the golf swing. And now Trevino, nicknamed the "Merry Mex" for his sunny disposition, would like to talk to Tiger Woods about how to fix whatever it is he's been doing off the tee this season.

Earlier this week, NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller suggested Woods leave his driver at home (Tiger politely declined), and it has gotten so bad that folks are making fat jokes about Tiger while simultaneously discussing Phil Mickelson. Ironical.

Johnny Miller, NBC's sometimes mercurial, always on-point golf analyst, loves Tiger Woods. Most of us do. The difference: Miller gushes about the world's No. 1 player on national television a half-dozen times a season; everybody else is relegated to worshiping Woods from the privacy of their own homes.

Either way, it probably wasn't easy for Miller to suggest that Woods, 14-time major winner, and owner of the best swing on the planet, should shelve his driver for the Players Championship. Via Golf Digest's Local Knowledge blog:

It might not have been Tiger Woods against Phil Mickelson. Heck, it isn't even Ernie Els playing Vijay Singh, but the two professional golfers playing the best right now will face up against each other Sunday exactly 125 miles away from their home course.

Australian Geoff Ogilvy, who won this tournament in 2006 and was runner-up in '07, will take on Englishman Paul Casey in a 36 hole final to see who can claim title of Best Golfer During Tiger Week.

The PGA suffered a similarly embarrassing fate to NASCAR today, when the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was canceled to due to inclement weather conditions.

As a result, Dustin Johnson, the leader through 54 holes, was handed a big, shiny trophy, a hefty paycheck, and a free ticket to the 2009 Masters. The tournament's final round was originally postponed to Monday, but the rain picked up again this morning and forced Tour officials to cancel the final round.

The Bob Hope Chrysler Classic used to be a big stop on the PGA Tour. Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller, Fred Couples and Phil Mickelson have all claimed the title since Hope put his name on the event. The problem is, with all the available money these days and the ability for top pros to pick and choose their events, most of the big names avoid the Hope because they don't want to deal with 90 holes, slow rounds and, well, obnoxious celebrites.

Can you blame them?

Golf season starts tomorrow, which means it is time to actually start thinking of the best game with dimples. While the giants take a nap, others will play at the Mercedes Championship, and golf will be around the rest of the year. FanHouse spent a couple of minutes thinking what is to come in 2009. Here is what transpired.

1. Tiger Woods
Yes, that's right. I said it. Tiger. Freaking. Woods. It's stupid of me to even suggest it and I'm pretty sure I might be the only person not picking him to win 40 tournaments and maybe five majors. And it's only because he's coming back from major (No pun intended. Seriously. Stop it.) surgery and, well, regardless of his injuries, expectations are going to be high.

He did, after all, win the US Open with stumpy legs, yellow teeth and an issue with obesity. Oh, wait. That was Johnny Miller. But still -- Tiger did it on one leg. Look, he's going to be good/great/Tiger-style this year, and he's going to win tournaments, but that ridiculous moment will cause people to be disappointed if he doesn't win the Grand Slam.

2. Sergio Garcia
The title of "Best Player Never to Win a Major" (BPNTWAM) is fairly ridiculous when you think about it. Some golfers are very good, some are great and some choke under pressure because they're wearing lavender shirts on Sunday. Sergio isn't in the first class, but he's talented as hell. Yet, if he wins a major, guess what? You got it -- someone else takes the title. But it won't happen this year. Pressure is a B on lavender.

Somewhere in the United Kingdom, Colin Montgomerie and Darren Clarke are having a good chuckle. It's early -- we're only one day into the 37th Ryder Cup -- but the European squad is in an unfamiliar position: down after seven matches. Specifically, they trail the United States, underdogs on paper and in real life, 5-2.

And part of the reason for the early-on beatdown is because captain Nick Faldo, known just as much for his quirky disposition and sometimes vindictive personality as for his six major victories, thought it would be great fun to go with Ian Poulter and Paul Casey over grizzled Cup veterans Monty and Clarke. So far, so bad on that front.

The U.S. got off to a 3-1 lead after the morning foursomes, but Faldo inexplicably decided to break up the Lee Westwood-Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington-Robert Karlsson pairings for the afternoon four-ball, even though they were the only groups to earn points (halves, as it turned out).

Instead, Harrington was paired with Graeme McDowell, and Sergio with Miguel Angel Jimenez (Johnny Miller's a big fan, by the way). The result: 0-2. For more perspective, when Poulter and Justin Rose are the only group on the European side to win a match in seven tries, things are pretty dire.