Tiger takes Phil at Doral; Zinger on Seminole

• Well, Doral may still be a dull Florida golf course, but Tiger Woods was pretty impressive in taking out Phil Mickelson over the weekend. Apparently, Mickelson was really, really angry about his inability to beat Woods head-to-head. Some have speculated about what a win over Woods would have meant to Mickelson. Certainly it would have given him an amazing boost in confidence that would have helped leading into The Players Championship and his defence at the Masters.
• Interesting to see my reader interest in the short note about the rumours surrounding Mickelson's signing to Callaway. I don't have any support for the rumour that Mickelson signed a deal with Callaway which included the clubmaker covering his gambling debts. That said, the rumour has taken hold -- apparently someone said Sports Illustrated was preparing to do a take out on Mickelson's gambling, but that has yet to happen. I doubt there's any truth to the story. More likely, it is just people putting Mickelson's love of a bet together with Callaway's history of paying some of John Daly's Las Vegas debts when he was under their banner.
• Speaking of Phil, check out his new website, phil-mickelson.com, if only for the animation in the intro. Is it just me, or does that animated character in the opening have a swing that looks more like a left-handed Tiger Woods than it does Mickelson? Too bad the website only plugs his sponsors and doesn't give a sense of his real interests.
• Paul Azinger says the quality of golf courses, not money, is what often draws a strong field on the PGA Tour these days. Azinger points to the number of players who regularly show up to play the super exclusive Seminole without payment after Florida tour events as an example of tour pros seeking out great courses. I wonder if that example is a bit off -- after all, Seminole is one of the best, and most exclusive, courses in the world and a place where tour pros can completely escape the glare of the public. When I played there two years ago, Nick Price played in the group ahead of me.