FanHouse Jose Maria Olazabal

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Lanny Wadkins wanted to make one thing absolutely clear. "It's great to be here," he said.

Wadkins was seated on a stage at the World Golf Village on Monday, or on top of the world. Definitely one of the two, and as far as Wadkins is concerned, the views are identical.

With his name now in the Golf Hall of Fame, Wadkins has finally fulfilled something that was long overdue.

Wadkins -- along with Irishman Christy O'Connor, Sr., Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal and former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower -- was being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

That was the good news. The bad was that it had taken Wadkins 14 years to get the call.

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Nice Faldo, step right over there, sir. The Europeans have a new honcho to take over your "captaincy."

Colin Montgomerie, or "Mrs. Doubtfire" to some, was named captain for 2010 on Wednesday, becoming the youngest captain ever for the Euros.

"It's not just an honor but a huge responsibility as well," Colin Montgomerie said Wednesday after being chosen to captain Europe's team for next year's Ryder Cup in Wales. "It is important we do everything we can to claim back the Ryder Cup in Wales in 2010."

Just in case you thought the Europeans needed another advantage in the upcoming Ryder Cup, good news, they got it. Thanks to trusty Jack Nicklaus, they can hang this article above their lockers in Valhalla for a little extra motivation.

The President Cup captain said that he thinks the Americans will win the Ryder Cup easily, even without Tiger Woods.

"Even without Tiger, (the Americans) should win easily".

The 18-time major winner, twice a Ryder Cup captain, told Golf Digest: "I just believe we have better players.

"I think American golf is better than perceptions based on recent Ryder Cup results."

You know, all this is true. The American golfers are better than most of the world probably thinks and just because we choke like Pierce Brosnan in "Mrs. Doubtfire" when the Ryder Cup rolls around doesn't mean they can't play. It just means they aren't good Ryder Cupers. Big difference.

If you thought Tiger Woods was the biggest name missing out on the Ryder Cup this year, you're wrong.

Englishman Luke Donald went under the knife to repair his wrist and will be out for the remainder of 2008 which is good news for any and all people hoping for a U.S. upset.

"While there is never a good time for an injury, the timing of this injury was especially disappointing for me considering that it forced me to miss the Open Championship and it comes in a Ryder Cup year," said Donald. "But taking proper care of it is my highest priority and I'm encouraged by Dr. Weiland's experience with this type of injury and his outlook towards my recovery and rehabilitation. I am appreciative of his guidance, as well as his staff's, and look forward to working diligently at my rehabilitation and returning to action next season."

It really isn't good for the European team looking for a solid captain's pick. Donald was 11th on the Ryder Cup World Point List and has been an absolute BEAST in Ryder Cup play in 2004 and '06.

His record of 5-1-1 is impressive in itself but becomes even shinier when you look at the teams and individuals he's taken out. Teams of Woods and Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and David Toms and a singles victory over Chad Campbell two years ago after Campbell slaughtered Donald in '04 are just some of the highlights.

It's never too early to get major championship talk a-stirring, with the practice rounds beginning in less than two weeks at Royal Birkdale.

Two players, Shaun Micheel and some other guy I can't think of, have already withdrawn from the British Open, but the field is nearly complete with the international qualifying wrapping up, and some familiar names will be present on the links.

Davis Love III, Paul Goydos and Rich Beem were three of seven golfers to qualify yesterday at the Dearborn, Michigan site with Matt Kuchar and Alex Cejka headlining the seven qualifiers at TPC Michigan.

Goydos, runner-up to Sergio Garcia in the Players Championship after a gust of wind killed his chances in the playoff, will be making his first appearance in the British and is fairly stoked about the opportunity.

"This was my No. 1 goal for the year," he said. "If nothing else happened this year, I wanted to play in the British Open. A lot of other good things have happened on top of that, but this really has been my No. 1 goal."

Some of the less fortunate souls that missed out were Ryan Moore, Kevin Na, Bubba Watson, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke.

Just when you thought cuddly U.S. Open runner-up Rocco Mediate couldn't get any more lovable. One of the happiest guys on the planet told WJAR-TV that he's not upset by Johnny Miller's "[Rocco] looks like the guy who cleans Tiger's swimming pool" comments.

Mediate told WJAR-TV that Miller's comments had been blown out of proportion. "It doesn't bother me at all," he said. "He definitely didn't do it on purpose."

He called Miller "quite a good announcer" because he says what's on his mind. He said the analyst had left him a voicemail and he planned to call him back.

I have no idea if he made the comments on purpose, and although, based on FanHouse reader feedback (which is certainly representative of the country's feelings on the issue), a lot of people don't consider Miller "quite a good announcer," I tend to agree with Mediate. That said, this isn't the first time Miller's been called out for speaking his mind.

From a 2000 interview with Golf Digest's Tom Callahan:

The Masters is all about tradition: the par 3 tournament, the ceremonial tee shot, the green jacket, calling everybody "patron," the Champions Dinner, and of course, institutionalized racism.*

As is custom, the defending champion gets to choose the menu for the Champions Dinner held during Masters week. This year, Zach Johnson was planning to have Ruth Chris Steakhouse serve up some Iowa beef, to honor his roots, and in a nod to his wife, Amelia Island shrimp. Augusta National offered a polite "hell no" on the idea and reminded Johnson that he'd have to use the chefs on staff.

So it was back to the drawing board, and the menu remains a work in progress with only a couple of weeks before his mid-March deadline. Surf and turf is about as concrete as it gets so far.

"We're trying to piece some things together and see how that works out," Johnson said... "I have a feeling it's going to be some Midwest food with some Florida flair."

Sounds good. Just stay away from the chicken and collard greens. It really bums out the segregationists who will be in attendance.

After the jump, 20 years worth of Champions Dinner menus.

* joke