Nelson, Picard selected for World Golf Hall of Fame

Larry Nelson, overlooked as a Ryder Cup captain and often forgotten despite his remarkable journey from Vietnam War veteran to three-time major champion, finally got his due Wednesday when he was elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
"Of all the awards, nothing can top this," Nelson said.
Nelson was elected on the PGA Tour ballot by getting 65% of the vote, the minimum required.
He will be inducted Oct. 30 at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla., along with the late Henry Picard, selected through the veteran's category; and Vijay Singh, who deferred his induction after being elected last year. That will bring membership in the Hall of Fame to 112.
Nelson's election came in his 11th year on the PGA Tour ballot, and in many respects, it was overdue.
He won the PGA Championship twice and the 1983 U.S. Open at Oakmont, joining Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Seve Ballesteros as the only players to capture three majors in the 1980s. Nelson played on three Ryder Cup teams, posting a 9-3-1 record and becoming the only player to go 5-0 in a Ryder Cup.
But he was passed over as U.S. captain the last four times, with the PGA of America opting for Tom Lehman for this year's matches.
"This honor is so far greater than that," Nelson said. "I don't relate the two things. This has to do with my career. The Ryder Cup captain has to do with three or four people deciding who does that for the year."
Picard, who died in 1997, won 20 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1938 Masters and the 1939 PGA Championship. He later became a teacher, with Hall of Famer Beth Daniel among his pupils.
No one was elected from the International ballot, with Jumbo Ozaki heading the list with 46% of the vote. An inductee from the Lifetime Achievement category is expected later this spring.
Nelson was informed of his election three weeks ago, and even for a man who went about his golf so quietly, it was difficult for him to keep this a secret until the announcement at the Legends of Golf tournament in Savannah, Ga.
His road to the Hall of Fame is unlike any other.
Nelson's joy was baseball as a kid, and he thought golf was a sissy sport until he met a burly soldier in Vietnam named Ken Hummel who told him about guys making a living playing golf. Returning from the war, Nelson went to Kennesaw Junior College in Georgia and decided to play golf when he wasn't in class.
He was given Ben Hogan's book, "Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf," as a guide, and was encouraged by members at Pine Tree Country Club, where he worked, to try the mini-tours.
"I fell in love with it and got better every day," Nelson said. "I was always put in a situation where everyone was better than I was. My motivation was getting better and feeding my family."
He broke 100 the first time he played, and made it through PGA Tour qualifying school in 1973. Six years later, he won the Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic by three shots over Grier Jones, then won his first major in 1981 by four shots over Fuzzy Zoeller at Atlanta Athletic Club.
His defining victory might have been the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 1983, when he beat Watson by one shot. Nelson added the '87 PGA Championship at PGA National, beating Lanny Wadkins in a playoff. He ended his career with 10 victories.
"Until I get in front of everyone in St. Augustine will it actually feel it's real," Nelson said. "I'm living in a dream world right now."
What touched him the most Wednesday was a group of Hall of Famers who attended the announcement, such as Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Charlie Sifford, Tony Jacklin and Carol Mann.
"I don't know of too many people who feel they deserve to be in there," Nelson said. "To get the 'welcome' from guys who have accomplished a lot more than you have ... it's like winning another major, as far as I'm concerned."
Picard won the '38 Masters with a 32 on the front nine, holding off Harry "Lighthorse" Cooper and Ralph Guldahl, then won the PGA a year later with a birdie on the 36th hole to square his match with Byron Nelson, and a birdie on the first hole to win.
"Henry Picard was one of the country's brightest stars in the decade leading up to World War II, where his victory total compares favorably to the likes of Sam Snead during that span," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said.
The voting body for the World Golf Hall of Fame consists of Hall of Fame members, golf writers and historians, the World Golf Foundation board of directors and members of the Hall of Fame's advisory board.
The Hall of Fame does not disclose vote totals, only percentages.
While he was selected through the veteran's category, Picard received 53% of the vote on the PGA Tour ballot. Two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange received 50%, followed by Craig Wood at 37%.

Golf-No women likely at British Open

The chances of Michelle Wie and other women playing in this year's British Open Golf Championship for the first time have faded almost to nil.
With the LPGA Tour's Women's World Matchplay event starting on July 6 in the U.S. and regional qualifying for the British Open scheduled for July 5 there will be no eligible women players trying to qualify for the men's major.
The Royal and Ancient Club, which runs the championship, agreed last year to allow women to play if they qualified.
There was a potential for 20 women professionals to take up their British Open regional qualifying entries this year with the top five finishers from the four women's majors eligible.
But the Royal and Ancient said on Tuesday at a Championship preview meeting that all the potential qualifiers had committed themselves to the Women's World Matchplay.
R and A chief executive Peter Dawson said: "The deadline for entries for qualifying is June 1 but as yet, no women players have entered.
"It is still possible we will get women entries and I personally very much hope we will. When we devised the dates for qualifying there was no LPGA event around that week."
Teenager Wie, who has been offered a sponsor's invitation for the men's John Deere Classic the week before the British Open takes place from July 20-23 at Royal Liverpool, Hoylake, could conceivably make the starting line-up.
But she would only qualify from that US PGA Tour event as the highest finisher not otherwise already exempt for the Open.
That is an unlikely scenario since despite her huge talent Wie has still to make the cut in any men's event she has played.
For the men qualifiers, Dawson said on Tuesday that local final qualifying will this year take place the on the Monday and Tuesday (July 10/11) the week before the British Open instead of the Sunday and Monday of the same week.
"It allows the qualifiers the same chance to practise on an Open course as the players already exempt, instead of them having to dash over from local final qualifying.
"It was all a bit of a scramble and now this creates a level playing field."

Mickelson uses the force in his quest for greatness

TEN days before the start of the US Masters, Phil Mickelson went to Augusta National Golf Club to practise. He had two coaches with him, the taller Dave Pelz and the shorter Rick Smith, a kind of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda tandem to Mickelson's Luke Skywalker.
The threesome - as they have now done on three occasions - created the strategy that helped Mickelson win a major championship, a two-shot victory on Sunday at the Masters that seemed to portend more of the same.
"I couldn't have done this by myself," Mickelson said after winning his second green jacket. "To have the help from Dave Pelz and Rick Smith, it has really given me the guidance. When I do spend time practising, I'm spending it on the right things to help me prepare my best and play my best."
For someone once viewed as a talented player who tinkered too much with his game and took too many chances, Mickelson has confirmed his status as one of the best players of the era, even if he still has a little mad scientist in him.
When he came to the BellSouth Classic near Atlanta the week before the Masters, his decision to carry two drivers - each imparting different ball flights - seemed to be part harebrained scheme and part marketing ploy. Then he won the tournament by 13 strokes.
When Mickelson followed with his second Masters title in three years, he had the look of a golfer in perfect rhythm. Pelz had helped Mickelson with his short game, and Smith his long game. Mickelson's decision to choose drivers according to the shape and length of a hole seemed inspired.
"Last week, what he did was incredible," Fred Couples said of Mickelson's margin of victory at the BellSouth Classic. "Then coming in here to shoot the scores that he did, extremely consistent on a very tough course. He's a much better player than he was when he first started winning these majors."
Mickelson could get better. Although great things have been predicted for Tiger Woods in his 30s, Mickelson has already become the epitome of golf maturation in that decade. He had no majors in his 20s but, at 35, he has three.
Mickelson has 29 PGA Tour victories, joining Lee Trevino, Gene Littler and Paul Runyan (Woods has 48). With the Masters victory, he moved from the fourth-ranked player in the world to No.2, behind Woods and ahead of Vijay Singh.
Mickelson was asked if he was ready to embrace talk of either winning four majors in one year - the grand slam - or winning four in a row after his two straight at the PGA Championship last year and the Masters. Woods was the last player to win four in a row, accomplishing it in 2000-01, and Bobby Jones won the grand slam in 1930. "Let's settle down grand slam talk and stuff," Mickelson said. "To hold the Tiger Slam, all four majors? Incredible. That's just one of the most incredible feats in the game, that, and Bobby Jones's grand slam."
Mickelson said he would start preparing immediately for the next major championship - the US Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in June - but he left a discussion of his place in golf history to others.
After the PGA Championship, Smith described how several players had won a single major, and that Mickelson had reached a new plateau. Mickelson's latest title brings him to another level, closer to Woods, who has 10 majors, and tying him with Singh and Ernie Els. "As much as I want to be a part of the history of the tournament and a part of the history of the great game of golf, it's not something I dwell on," Mickelson said. "I just try to play well and compete and hopefully win as many as I can."

Why Are Masters Champions Presented with a Green Jacket?

Each year, the winner of The Masters is presented with the famous "Green Jacket." Slipping on the green jacket is the golden moment for many winners of the tournament. But how did a green jacket come to be such a big deal? What is the story behind the vaunted Green Jacket?

Let's face it: if you saw someone walking around in public in a shamrock green jacket, you'd probably think that person was severely fashion-challenged. Shamrock green jackets are, well, ugly.
But the Green Jacket presented to the Masters champion is one beautiful piece of outerwear. The tradition of the Green Jacket at Augusta National Golf Club dates to 1937. That year, members of the club wore green jackets during the tournament so that fans in attendance could easily spot them if they needed to ask questions.
According to the official website of The Masters:
"Jackets were purchased from the Brooks Uniform Company, New York City ... Members were not initially enthusiastic about wearing the warm, green coat. Within several years, a lightweight, made-to-order Jacket was available from the Club's Golf Shop.

The single breasted, single vent Jacket's color is 'Masters Green' and is adorned with an Augusta National Golf Club logo on the left chest pocket. The logo also appears on the brass buttons."
Soon, the Green Jacket became the symbol of membership in the ultra-exclusive Augusta National Golf Club. And slipping a jacket onto the winner of The Masters - a tradition that began in 1949 - symbolized that golfer's entry into the exclusive club of Masters champions.

Not your father's, or Jack's, Augusta anymore

When Bobby Jones saw the young Jack Nicklaus, he said the Golden Bear played "a game with which I am not familiar."
If Jones came back from the grave this week for the Masters, he might say Augusta National Golf Club is a course with which he is not familiar ... and he, along with legendary designer Alistair MacKenzie, created the jewel in the Georgia pines.
The Green Jackets at Augusta National have twice lengthened the course in the last five years in an effort to keep up with technology and the strength of the modern golfer.
"I know what Augusta is trying to do," Nicklaus told reporters a few weeks ago. "Whether they've gone overboard, I'm not sure. But they've eliminated a lot of guys. ...
"Could Tiger (Woods) do (what it will take to win on the revamped course)? Or Ernie Els or Vijay Singh? Yes. Could Mike Weir or Jose Maria Olazabal -- one of those guys of moderate length -- could they do that? Probably not.
"That's the change at Augusta I have a hard time with."
When told at the Bay Hill Invitational of those comments and that Nicklaus believes only 10 or 12 players are capable of winning the Masters on the longer course, Woods said: "I agree."
Since Augusta lengthened the course by almost 300 yards in 2002, Woods has won twice, including last year, and Phil Mickelson claimed the title in 2004.
Weir, who won in 2003, showed a medium-length hitter could still win, but that was before 155 more yards were added on six holes -- this time without the previous changes having had a chance to be truly evaluated.
Augusta National will measure 7,445 yards this week, the second longest in major championship history behind only the 7,536-yard test at Whistling Straits in the 2004 PGA Championship, won by Vijay Singh.
As soon as the changes were announced, there was a dissenting voice. And it wasn't Martha Burk's.
"We have yet to have it hard and dry and fast for the entire week (since the 2002 changes)," Woods said, adding that the speed and subtleties of the greens, not to mention difficult pin positions, are plenty of defense for the course. "If we do, with these new tee locations, it's more likely over par will win.
"We used to see all the old footage of guys making shoulder turns on four-footers. Nowadays, you just need to breathe on it and it's going to roll quite a bit. I don't quite understand it because since they changed it in 2002, we have yet to have a dry week."
If it rains again, that plays even more into the sluggers' hands.
In addition to Woods, count the rest of the Big Five — Singh, Els, Mickelson and Retief Goosen — among those on Nicklaus' short list of title contenders.
Others, based on length off the tee and resume, would probably include Davis Love III, Sergio Garcia, Fred Couples, John Daly, Adam Scott, Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke.
A long shot would be up-and-coming Henrik Stenson of Sweden.
Woods, who could move to within one of Nicklaus' record of six Masters titles with a victory this week, was serious when he said he might skip the tournament if his father's battle with cancer dictates.
However, expect the best player on the planet to drive down Magnolia Lane unless Earl Woods' condition takes a turn for the worse.
When Tiger showed up in California on the eve of the Players Championship, the former Green Beret lieutenant colonel barked at his son, "What the hell are you doing here?"
Remember, the old man started priming him for this when Tiger was a cub.
"We're taking it day-by-day," Woods said after the Players Championship, adding that he would not make another trip to Augusta before the Masters. "I've already been up there, so I don't have to worry about it. I've already prepared, seen it."
What he saw was that Augusta National is altering three holes on each nine — Nos. 1, 4 and 7 on the front and Nos. 11, 15 and 17 on the back.
The par-3 fourth hole has been lengthened to about 240 yards, with the tee moved back 30 to 35 yards.
"That hole is already hard enough, so I don't know why they'd change it," Nicklaus said.
The 11th hole, the beginning of storied "Amen Corner," will become the first par-4 hole in Masters history that will play longer than 500 yards. With the tee moved back 10 to 15 yards, the hole measures about 505.
The other changes include:
Moving the tee on No. 1 back 15 to 20 yards, stretching the par-4 hole to 455 yards. In addition, trees have been added to the left side of the fairway to require more accuracy with the driver.
The seventh hole was lengthened by 35 to 40 yards, making the par 4 play to 450 yards. Additionally, the green has been altered to create a possible right-rear pin position, while trees were added along both sides of the fairway.
Said Nicklaus of the alteration at No. 7: "That green is not made to accept three- or five-iron approaches. It's made to accept a wedge."
The par-5 15th hole was lengthened to 530 yards by a new tee 25 to 30 yards farther back and approximately 20 yards to the left.
The tee box on No. 17, once a breather coming home, has been moved back 10 to 15 yards, lengthening the par-four hole to about 440.
"They've changed the nature of the golf course," Nicklaus said. "Bobby Jones wanted a second-shot golf course. He loved St. Andrews and that style of golfing, second-shot golf courses. I think the concept of (Augusta) has changed greatly. It's looking more like a U.S. Open golf course than a Masters golf course.
"I love Augusta. Don't get me wrong. All I want is for Augusta to be Augusta, because it's such a great tournament. But when you take a golf course and limit the number of people that have the ability to win ...
"Their intention is not to do that. But they're doing that."
Masters officials would like Arnold Palmer, who won four titles at Augusta, to become an honorary starter the way Gene Sazazen, Sam Snead and Byron Nelson were for years.
As of yet, Palmer has not accepted, and perhaps the changing nature of the course has something to do with it. He also weighed in on the subject recently, and he sides with Nicklaus.
"I love the place, but now I'm not so sure," Palmer said. "There are some things that are taking the realistic Augusta away. It's changed dramatically from the course I've known the last 50 years."
No disrespect intended toward the classic courses that host the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship, but the Masters and Augusta National are supposed to be unique.
It seems they are trying to make Augusta into Whistling Straits or Bethpage Black.