Bill Nichols

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Inside the Ropes at Colonial


Jerry Kelly paid off his Rose Bowl bet to Fort Worth’s J.J. Henry on Wednesday. Kelly donned TCU’s SuperFrog mascot suit to play the first hole in his pro-am at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Kelly, who live in Madison, Wisc., had bet Henry, a TCU grad, that Wisconsin would beat the Horned Frogs in the Rose Bowl. TCU won 21-19.

Henry made sure his bet collection attracted attention. A large crowd gathered on the practice green as TCU coach Gary Patterson joined the twosome. A Henry loss would have resulted in him wearing the Badgers’ mascot suit.

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Lucas ``Grizzly’’ Glover is sporting a wicked beard. So too is Colleyville’s Hunter Mahan. Paul Goydos will be the odd man out in Thursday’s and Friday’s grouping.

Goydos, though, had facial hair working in 1996. He won Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill tournament in a goatee.
``You don’t want to have facial hair when you win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational,’’ Goydos said. ``Arnold is not a big fan of facial hair. If he asks you to shave, that’s what you do.
"I was so under the radar at that event, he didn’t know who I was. I walked up on the 18th green. He was like, ‘What are you doing? Who are you? Why are you on my green?’’’
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Just for the record. Sarwan Singh _ no relation to Vijay _ holds the Guinness World Record for longest beard, about seven feet.
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Tiger Woods will drop to at least No. 11 when the next World Rankings are released on Monday. That will be the first time he’s been out of the top 10 since he was No. 13 on April 6, 1997. He won the Masters the next week.

Woods, No. 1 for a combined 623 weeks of his career, continues his journey through uncharted territories. Since starting the year No. 2, he has dropped steadily. He tied for fourth at the Masters but then withdrew from last week’s Players Championship with injuries to his left knee and Achilles. He hopes to return for the U.S. Open on June 16-19.

Even so, Woods remains the biggest celebrity among athletes on Forbes’ annual ``Celebrity 100’’ list. He dropped one spot to No. 6 in the compilation of the most powerful people in the entertainment business. The magazine reported his estimated annual earnings at $75 million, down from $105 million a year ago.

Lady Gaga is No. 1. The second highest ranked athlete is Miami heat star LeBron James, No. 10.

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The field for next week’s HP Byron Nelson Championship received a boost with commitments from K.J. Choi, Angel Cabrera and Robert Allenby.

Choi, a Southlake resident, has improved to 15 in the World Rankings after his Players Championship last Sunday. This will be his seventh Nelson but first since 2007. His best finish was a tie for 26th in 2006.

Cabrera, the 2009 Masters champion, will be making his first Nelson appearance. Allenby, No. 33 in the World Rankings, will be making his ninth start. His best finish was third in 2003.


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Adam Scott has broken up with longtime caddie Tony Navarro, ending a relationship that started in 2004.

Scott will have Michael Doran, formerly with Camilo Villegas, on his bag this week. They split at last week’s Players Championship.

Scott said Wednesday it was a tough decision to split with Navarro. Scott won five of his seven career TOUR wins after teaming up with Navarro, who also looped for Greg Norman.

"Very difficult," said Scott, who had five of his seven wins with Navarro. ``I’ve got a great relationship with Tony. He’s been my man, so it’s not easy. We had a great run together. All good things come to an end, unfortunately."

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