FanHouse Nick Faldo

CHASKA, Minn. -- So here we thought Tiger Woods' weekend would be a summer breeze, much like the vision of a high-heeled Prince riding his motorcycle in "Purple Rain,'' which is the lone factoid I can provide about the country roads and middle-of-nowhere milieu surrounding the Hazeltine National Golf Club.

Instead, this was a day when new, peculiar words were introduced to the Woods lexicon. There was "skanky,'' used by CBS commentator Nick Faldo to describe two terrible shots on No. 15, which prompted Tiger to slip into whiny-baby mode and swing his club violently. And there was "choking,'' whispered cryptically Saturday across the PGA Championship landscape as his four-shot lead disappeared. Just the day before, Woods seemed befuddled when a media member actually uttered the c-word at a press conference, inquiring, "In your opinion, has there ever been a single instance in a major where you've done what you consider to be choking?''

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Scotland's Sandy Lyle has something countryman Colin Montgomerie doesn't -- a major victory. But Monty, who had a firm grip on the Best Player to Never Win a Major crown until age and Sergio Garcia caught up with him, beat out Lyle for the 2010 Ryder Cup captaincy. Small consolation, perhaps, but also a nod to the fact that he was Europe's best player the last two decades.

Throughout his career, Montgomerie has been known as much for his robot-like consistency as he was for his raging case of between-shots rabbit ears. Notorious for glaring into galleries, now he's having to deal with accusations from his colleagues. Interestingly, it's Lyle doing the finger-pointing.

If this had happened three weeks ago at Memorial, it wouldn't even have merited a mention in the clubhouse after the practice round. But because Lucas Glover is now introduced as "2009 U.S. Open champion," whatever he does (or is done to him) is news. Even on a Wednesday prior to a tournament most people don't care about.

That was the case yesterday at the Travelers Championship, two days after his improbable victory at Bethpage Black. Following his introduction on the first tee to start his practice round, and amid polite applause from the gallery, Lucas teed up his golf ball, stepped back to begin his pre-shot routine, and promptly took a pie to the face, courtesy of PGA Tour buddy Johnson Wagner. (Click the photo above to see the video.)

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]

Colin Montgomerie has softened in recent years. Not physically -- he's still as cuddly as ever (though not worthy of a portrait, apparently) -- but in terms of his on-course demeanor. Known as something of a curmudgeon throughout his career, Monty seems accepting of his fate as the "best player to never win a major," and his suddenly less-surly disposition reflects as much. Even after Nick Faldo kept him off the 2008 Ryder Cup team, Montgomerie was measured when disagreeing with the decision.

Every Monday during the PGA Tour season, Monday Pin Placement will run as a wrap-up of the weekend's action. Basically, we'll focus on what you missed while you were out grinding on the putting green.

In 1996, Greg Norman had one of the most epic collapses in the history of golf. Carrying a six-shot lead into the final round of that year's Masters, Norman was set to finally grab that green jacket that had eluded him for so long.

You all know the story. Norman wound up losing the tournament to Nick Faldo and in accordance with the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words," has this lasting image that summed up his experience at Augusta. After a final round 78, Norman had two choices: he could duck out of Augusta or he could face the music. Norman responded courageously by heading into the press room and answering all questions asked of him for 45 minutes. He earned the respect of darn near any golfer that has played the game.

The final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was set to begin at 7:35 AM PT, but due to inclement weather, the pros are still in the clubhouse and the ams have been, in the words of CBS golf analyst Jim Nantz, "excused." Which is a nice way of saying, "Yeah, sorry about that, but this year's event is just a three-round affair for the hackers."

UPDATE: the fourth round is now postponed until Monday. Hopefully.