Riviera's Ali G; New CanOpen date better?

The LA Times has its own version of Ali G, but this guy goes by the name of TJ Simers. Simers love to ask pro athletes slightly awkward questions and see how they respond. Of course, if they respond in a hostile way, they receive more questions. Brad Faxon, generally considered a pretty thoughtful guy, was on the receiving end from Simers this week at Riviera. Simers asked why fans shouldn't cheer against golfers, boo them and the like. The questions wasn't well received:

Faxon returned for Round 2, incredulous at the suggestion that fans be
encouraged to cheer against a golfer, and so I reminded him that every time Woods plays against Mickelson, half the crowd is for Tiger and … "I'm rooting against Mickelson," I said, "and from what I read about most pro golfers, apparently so are you."

That was too much for Faxon to absorb, and he made it clear he wanted me to leave, and I had just gotten there, and from what I could tell all I had done wrong was disagree with his opinion."Why is it that all you golfers are such sourpusses?" I asked, and later, when I relayed this story to
KCAL's Alan Massengale, he wasn't surprised."I covered golf for ESPN in the mid-'80s, and it's so different now," Massengale said. "Now it's like talking to a machine; there's no personalities. The one thing they've forgotten — this is entertainment."I tried to get that point across to Faxon, between the belligerent interruptions from his caddy, before Faxon said, "Then go ahead, why don't you start rooting against someone?""I've already started my list," I told him, "and I think I know who's at the top of it."

Thanks to Geoff Shackelford for the link. Geoff has tons of info on his site about Riviera. Read it here at www.geoffshackelford.com.

Score Golf's Rick Young is apparently no John Gordon. Or at least Young, unlike the grand curmudgeon that is Gordon, is one of the few to feel the Canadian Open is better with its July date in 2007.

On the surface, it’s not exactly what you might deem to be the ideal scenario for the BCO being surrounded on all sides by events with much, much higher profiles. As if the players don’t already have enough reasons to take a pass on heading north (more on that in a second).

I don't agree with Rick, but he presents some interesting thoughts on the issue.

• David Duval watch: Duval shoots 68 in his opening round. Is he in danger of making another cut? Weir shoots level par, for what it is worth, and Stuart Appleby hits a 385-yard drive on the third at Riviera.
• Did you know? That Guelph's Cutten Club was attacked by eco terrorists last year that attempted to burn down its clubhouse? True fact. Or that Rosedale Golf Club in Toronto has shifted architects again, dropping Carrick Design and scouting out the likes of US architects Tom Doak and Mike Devries? True fact. Or that the new architect could be the sixth or seventh to work on the course?