PHIL MICKELSON'S WIFE DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Phil Mickelson's wife, Amy, has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and the three-time major champion said Wednesday he will suspend his PGA Tour schedule indefinitely.

According to a release from Mickelson's management company, his wife was to have more tests but begin treatment with major surgery as early as the next two weeks.

Mickelson, the No. 2 player in the world with 36 career PGA Tour victories, was to play in the Byron Nelson Championship this week before defending his title next week at Colonial. It was not certain if he would return in time for the U.S. Open from June 18-21 in New York, where he was the runner-up to Tiger Woods in 2002 and is beloved by golf fans.

TONY ROMMO FAILS TO QUALIFY!!!!!

Cowboys QB reportedly in running until triple-bogey on 16th hole

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo failed in his bid to qualify for the HP Byron Nelson Championship golf tournament on Tuesday, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The newspaper reported that Romo was at plus-2, a score that would have put him in the tournament, when he triple-bogeyed the 16th hole to end his hopes.

He finished with a 7-over-par 79.

Romo also had a triple-bogey on the same hole on Monday in U.S. Open sectional qualifying.

AFTER THE FIRST ROUND TIGER IS STILL IN THE WOODS

After the first round the leaderboard at the Players Championship reads Crane, Mallinger, Johnson, Cejka and Byrd. It's only the first round, yes, but the PGA Tour really wants to have a major championship of its own, seeing how it doesn't run any of the true majors, and it can't convince anyone with Crane, Mallinger, Johnson, Cejka and Byrd.Woods went early in the day, shooting 1-under, 71, in what looked at the time like the definition of mediocre on a hard course. Was the round more frustrating or disappointing? For me it was very disappointing. I am a Tiger woods fan and to see him finish the first round 1-under, 71, dissappointing is an understatement.
Now back to golf, enough about me.Woods said. "I hit the ball well enough to -- this is probably the highest score I could have shot today, and I didn't get a whole lot out of my round today. That's the way it goes."But as the day went on, and other scores came in, Woods' day was reframed into something that was doing a slow swirl down the toilet bowl. Thirty-eighth place. Mickelson was in 79th, at 1-over, 73. Ben Crane, the leader, shot 65.

NEW SWING COACH FOR TIGER????? NO !!!!!!!

CHARLOTTE — Tiger Woods is not — he repeats — not looking for a new swing coach to replace Hank Haney.

"That's complete speculation," Woods said Wednesday on the eve of the Quail Hollow Championship, his first tourn0ament on the PGA Tour since finishing in a tie for sixth at The Masters.

ALL-STAR PAIRING: Tiger, Peyton Manning team up at Quail Hollow pro-am

It was at Augusta National following the third round when the world's No. 1 player and winner of four green jackets let fly with a verbal barrage about his swing, his putting stroke and his inability to finish off his first three rounds at The Masters. Directly within earshot was Haney, who has been Woods' coach since 2002, and caddie Stevie Williams.

The ensuing days brought rumors that Woods was looking to fire Haney and find a new coach, especially after Woods said he played pretty well considering he had a "Band-Aid" swing the entire tournament.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: PGA Tour | Tiger Woods | Peyton Manning | Steve Williams | Henry VIII of England | Augusta National Golf Club

"It has nothing to do with Henry (Haney)," Woods said. "I didn't hit the ball the way I wanted to and I didn't make any putts. I felt like that every day. It was 17 and 18 that hurt. I didn't finish off my rounds the last couple days, and it cost me a chance to win the golf tournament."

It won't cost him his relationship with Haney, Woods said. Instead of finding a new coach, Woods would like to find some time now and then to "vent" outside of the public eye after disappointing rounds.

"Usually, you just leave me alone, let me vent for a while, and then I'll be ready to focus on what I need to do to get ready for the next day," said Woods, who has three top-10 finishes including a win in his last three starts. "It's happened before, (Haney's) seen it before, Stevie has seen it. You've got to vent. We don't get a chance to do that because we come off the green, we do media right away.

"You're constantly on, and I just need to vent for just a little bit. Give me five minutes, 10 minutes, and once that's over, it's what do we need to do to get ready to win this golf tournament the next day."

GOLF ON THE EDGE BOOK REVIEW

Greg Norman made headlines a few months ago when he suggested that professional golfers should take a pay cut in light of the financial crisis we’re in. While it may appear inappropriate that a tournament winner will take home a million dollars for a four day tournament while thousands of people are losing jobs and savings due to a near collapse of our financial system, it’s important to remember that for every millionaire on the tour there are thousands of professional golfers who struggle and fight for every single dollar and who are losing money for every tournament they play in. “Golf On The Edge” is the book about these golfers.

THE AUTHOR

“Golf On The Edge” was written by English sportswriter and journalist (and The Golf Space member) Ross Biddiscombe. Ross has been a journalist and writer for over 30 years, working for major daily newspapers such as The Guardian and The Independent and golf publications like Golf Monthly and Today’s Golfer. He’s a single-digit handicapper, a long time Tampa Bay Bucs fan and marathon runner.

THE BOOK

“Golf On The Edge” chronicles one year in the life of seven golfers as they’re preparing to play in the European Q-school at the end of the year. The seven candidates approach Q-school from very diverse backgrounds, from having struggled on the tour last year and having to qualify to being a long time PGA Professional who decides to pursue the dream of a PGA card. Some are young, some are old. Some have been at the top and have fallen down and some have no idea what it takes to bridge the gap between missing the cut and taking a cut out of the winners’ purse.

Each chapter in the book covers one month in the lives of the seven players, and it provides an intimate and honest view into the lives of the players who don’t have the big endorsement contracts and who are covered in the big golf magazines. They’re on the edge of making it, on the edge of making their finances go around, and on the edge of making it big, but they’re also on the edge of sanity and on the edge of risking everything in the pursuit of their dream.

The mental aspects of these golfers’ quest for a tour card is discussed in excruciating detail, and the helplessness they feel when things go against them is covered in painful candor. How do you tell your wife, who’s been supporting your pursuit of the dream for four years, that you want to try it one more year, and that this year it will be different? How do you tell your parents, or your sponsors, or your girlfriend, to get into a hole with you with no guarantees whatsoever that you will be able to get out?

The book concludes with a detailed review of how the players do at Q-School, and it’s an interesting look deep inside the incredible pressure involved in this tournament. Many would argue that the pressure of winning a tournament when you already have your own jet is nothing compared to the pressure of Q-school, where the losers return home with less than nothing, an little more than a job laying tiles waiting for them.

Fifteen years from now, we may well look back on 2009 as the year that golf's next great wave of talent first took the stage. We've already seen Rory McIlroy and Ryo Ishikawa debut, and this weekend at New Orleans, the fashion-forward Danny Lee makes his pro debut.

New Zealander Lee, who's all of 18 years old, already has etched his name into golf's record books; last summer, he became the youngest player ever to win the U.S. Amateur, supplanting a fella by the name of Woods. (T.J. Auclair points out an interesting sidelight: that victory gave Lee an automatic invitation to the Masters earlier this month, but if Lee had turned pro before Augusta, he would have forfeited the invitation. Colt Knost did exactly that in 2008. Lee missed the cut at Augusta, but still, he played.)

While it's impossible to predict how well any kid will do on the circuit -- see: Ty Tryon -- Lee has already demonstrated he's got some juice. Back in February, he won the Johnnie Walker Classic in Australia, an event sanctioned by several major tours. Sure, he's younger than some of the clubs in your bag, but he's already been through the publicity crucible, as has every young golfer at this point. Everybody assumes any rookie will go years before winning an event, but with guys like Lee and McIlroy -- who's lurked around the top 20 of almost every tournament he's played -- the next generation may be seizing control of the game faster than we expect.

PING PONG

Ping Golf, which has sponsored the Argentine for 15 years, has a tradition of giving a solid gold version of the putter used in major championship victories. This will be Cabrera’s second gold putter.

Ping founder Karsten Solheim long ago built a vault to store gold-plated replicas of every putter used in a tour victory, with the player also getting a gold-plated putter. When his son, John Solheim, took over as president in 1995, he put his own touch on tradition by awarding every major champion (male and female) a solid gold putter.