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Made Cut John Daly: Regardless of your tilt towards the Austin Powers-inspired wardrobe and 43-year-olds with bleached highlights, the big man’s first two rehab starts on the European circuit are nothing short of captivating. And for all the cynics perched in Turn 2 awaiting the fiery pile up know this about the slimmed-down Daly, the world quickly became much less accommodating toward his off-course shenanigans and personal, as well as professional, extinction can be a powerful motivator. Exhibit A is JD’s current swing through the Euro Tour. There was a time six-figure appearance fees were hardly enough to get him on a plane to the Continent. He’s touring Europe on his own dime these days. The reclamation project may still be a fashion mess but he’s doing just fine on the golf course. Anthony Kim: His game may be a few dimples off, the likely byproduct of assorted injuries and an off-season that was anything but “off,” but his presence in the field this week at the Valero Texas Open defies the selfish stereotype of the modern professional athlete. In 2006 Texas officials granted AK a sponsor exemption into what was then a fall afterthought and his tie for second place turned out to be a glimpse of things to come. Kim returned to the event in ’07 after a stellar rookie season, but he had to miss last year because of scheduling issues. “After ’07 you felt like he’d met his obligation,” said Tony Piazzi, the CEO and president of the organization that runs the Texas Open. “Then he turns around and comes to this year’s event. That’s cool.” Texas, where Kim is the only top-20 player in the field, is AK’s third consecutive start and the beginning of a run that will add up to seven events in eight weeks through the U.S. Open. All of which makes his San Antonio stop-over very cool, indeed. Missed Cut – Did not finish (MDF) David Feherty: If the CBS Sports funnyman is guilty of anything it’s not bringing the heat. His comment in a Dallas magazine last week wasn’t even among the top 100 funniest things he’s ever written and, truth be told, probably not among the top five most offensive. Sensitivities aside, Feherty is paid to entertain and does funny better than anyone else in the business. If he takes things a bit too far at times he’s earned some freebies. Besides, of all the people we’d want muzzled in golf, the Northern Irishman wouldn’t even be in our top 100. Henrik Stenson: The Swede was impressive on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass, but the chatter that followed didn’t pass the bandwagon sniff test. He may be a big-game hunter – with victories now at uber-field events in Dubai, the Match Play and The Players – but we’re not penciling him into our fantasy lineup for the big brawl next month at Bethpage just yet. Phil Mickelson proved last year that you can’t win a U.S. Open without a driver in your bag and, with all due respect to that nuclear 3-wood, Stenson – by his own admission – does not have a driver in his bag.Golf Star Drug testing: OK, the revelation that Paul Goydos – the former high school teacher who, well, still looks like a high school teacher – was the first player tested for performance-enhancing drugs at a major championship makes about as much sense as 600 yard par 5s and travelling handicaps. But in dizzying order the sports world has been rocked by more drug scandals in recent days that make Goydos’ turn at the testing counter at least understandable. While no one should be surprised that Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez tested positive for a banned substance, further soiling a sport that should simply change its logo to a fully-loaded syringe, but word last week that NASCAR’s Jeremy Mayfield had tested positive put the Tour’s testing initiative in perspective. Before Mayfield’s gaffe, it was hard to imagine NASCAR drivers testing positive for anything more harmful than Copenhagen snuff and Bud Light. Maybe drug-testing on Tour isn’t a bad idea after all. Missed Cut “Made cut-did not finish”: While we have little interest in rekindling the “made cut-did not finish” debate from last year, we were flummoxed to see the secondary axe take a few prisoners last week at The Players.Golf Champion If the Tour is serious about dubbing The Players the “fifth major,” it needs to exempt the event from the 78-player rule. None of the other “majors” employ a secondary cut and the event’s new spot in May gives officials plenty of time to get 80, 85 players around the golf course. The secondary cut impacts the competitive integrity of the event and Aaron Baddeley’s Sunday surge proved why the Tour should revisit the rule. The Aussie finished Saturday’s round at 2 over, one shot on the right side of the 54-hole cut, charged out early Sunday with a 6-under 66 and finished tied for ninth. “It is a bad rule at the Buick Invitational, but it is a ridiculous rule at The Players Championship,” said one manager who, admittedly, had multiple players miss the secondary cut.Golf Balls Rory McIlroy: We’re going to write off the Northern Irish phenom’s comments regarding the Ryder Cup to youthful indiscretion and move on. It is the only way to explain McIlroy’s take on the transatlantic slugfest: “The Ryder Cup is a great spectacle but an exhibition at the end of the day and it should be there to be enjoyed. In the big scheme of things it’s not that important to me.” Even 2010 European skipper Colin Montgomerie – who can be easily hushed by a three-putt at the last but hardly ever by a metaphorical three-jack outside the ropes – was left speechless by the lad’s take. “The Ryder Cup is most definitely not an exhibition. Having played in it, having experienced the emotion and the stress of it, I can assure you of that,” Monty said.Golf Bags David Duval and Hunter Mahan had similar takes on the biennial “exhibition,” until they felt the weekend heat at Brookline and Valhalla, respectively. Ask Mark Calcavecchia about the “exhibition,” that in 1991 left him emotionally drained and crying on a South Carolina beach. Trust us young Rory, you’ll never see that at a Skins Game.Civilians Sports Email your thoughts to Rex Hoggard Related Links: Full Coverage – Valero Texas Open Golf Channel Airtimes
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