It sure isn't "John Daly comes out of nowhere to win the PGA Championship"-style news, but anything that doesn't involve Daly and too many brewskis is worth reporting.

Daly, who made a whopping five of 17 cuts this season on the PGA Tour, is actually in contention at the Hong Kong Open, firing a first-round 68 to find himself in a t-16 after day one. Daly opened with a sub-par 70 round twice all season in the U.S., so anything in the red at this point has to be a move in the right direction for the wing expert.

"I'm not too disappointed, being a little rusty. I haven't played in a month. Two under par on the first round here is pretty good. I'll take it" the 42-year-old American told reporters.

Daly made five birdies and three bogeys at the Hong Kong Golf Club and averaged a whopping 314 yards off the tee, which probably was made more manageable by his 10 of 14 fairways hit in the round.

His 2008 season has been absolutely pitiful, and the golfer now ranked 788 in the world understands that. In a way only Big John can make workable, he compared his season to ... Australia?!?

"My drought hasn't been quite as bad as Australia and the water situation, but it's been close. You just keep fighting and keep working on it.''

Interesting approach there for Daly, to compare his golf came to a liquid drought. There are almost too many beer jokes there to pick the right one. I almost went with, "the North Carolina Hooters can feel Australia's pain," but I thought it was too easy.

Anyway, there is your story. John Daly, back in the swing of things.

She isn't just the queen of golf, she was the LPGA when golf hit its boom. Annika Sorenstam was the female equivalent of Tiger Woods when Tiger became the face of the sport and not surprising, the two became competitive buddies.

Sorenstam, in news that has to make golf fans a little disappointed, is stepping down from the game this week in her final event as a full-time LPGA member, at the ADT Championship. Just 38, Sorenstam made the announcement in May to leave competitive golf because she, like so many other prominent females, has made the difficult decision to trade the birdies for the babies.

Annika's legacy is undeniable. She burst on the scene in 1995 with a U.S. Open victory that she successfully defended the following year. A product of the highly successful University of Arizona women's golf department, Sorenstam took some years to find that major championship touch again, but find it she did.

From 2001 to 2006, Sorenstam won the same amount of majors as Tiger has in any six-year stretch of his career. Annika claimed eight out of the possible 24 majors, putting her career total at 10 and placing her fourth all-time in major victories on the LPGA.

You can play golf many ways, but the rules only give you two paths -- you either follow them and earn respect or break them and become that guy.

At the second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School, where nerves go to die, J.P. Hayes became a guy we can all respect a little more. A 43-year-old journeyman that has won on both the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour, Hayes was trying, like thousands of his golfing peers, to make it through the second stage of Q-School to the all important final stage, where you either get another crack at the PGA or the solid consolation prize of the Nationwide.

Hayes won't be getting either. This is because he broke one of the many rules in golf that can cause you to be disqualified. Hayes played a non-conforming golf ball for one hole in the first round, and figured out he'd broke a big rule while laying in his hotel room a day later.

On his 12th hole of the first round at Deerwood Country Club last Wednesday, Hayes' caddie reached into his golf bag, pulled out a ball and flipped it to Hayes, who missed the green with his tee shot. He then chipped on and marked his ball. It was then that Hayes realized the ball was not the same model Titleist with which he had started his round. That was in violation of the one-ball rule, which stipulates that a player must play the same model throughout a round.

"I realized there was a penalty and I called an official over," Hayes said. "He said the penalty was two shots and that I had to finish the hole with that ball and then change back to the original ball."

Two-shot penalty, no big deal, Hayes still shot a 74 after the penalty strokes and followed that up with a 71 in the second round. That was when he came to this horrible realization while hanging in his digs that he had done more than just evoke a two-shot penalty. Hayes might be in danger of disqualification.

It's the tradition that will not die. You win a major sporting event, any sporting event, and you either get a call from the President or a visit to the White House.

On Monday, the United States Ryder Cup team, months off fresh off their win over those pesky Europeans, took a trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to visit our good pal George W. Bush as what could be the last sports team to make an appearance with His Stumbleness.

Only seven of the 12 members of the team showed, with no real report on why the others didn't make. Phil Mickelson, Anthony Kim, Kenny Perry, Steve Stricker, and fellow Texan Justin Leonard decided not to show their face around Bush, which always makes you wonder what the motives behind the shunning were.

Bush did say that he watched "every minute" of the Ryder Cup, which bodes well for the leader of a country that is in such stable condition right now. I hope he was at the ranch when he watched the golf. That is really the only way to enjoy a nice game of white ball on the tele.

Team captain Paul Azinger said afterwards that meeting with Bush was the "icing on the cake," which means Azinger was about 4,000 times more happy to have Bush around than anyone at the Republican National Convention would have been.

Hey, don't get mad at me, blame McCain. Or the economy. Yeah, blame the economy for my Bush jokes.

In golf news these days, there are basically two things to talk about -- Tiger Woods and Tiger Woods' bum knee.

The top golfer in the land (as of now) has been quoted as saying he has absolutely no clue when he will be back on the links in top tournament form, but Mark O'Meara said he could see Tiger being back as early as February.

"Tiger is doing really well and he is pleased with the way the operation went," said O'Meara.

"I'm afraid the (Dubai Desert) Classic (on Jan 29) is coming round a little early for him to be able to defend his title. That's a real pity. He is going to aim for a return in late February or early March.

He is not going to start hitting balls until the end of December so it would be pushing it for him to come here in January. I imagine he will make his comeback in one of the Florida tournaments. His plan is to play a couple of events before the Masters [in April]."

Good news for golf nuts who are also not huge fans of their lungs -- Michael Jordan and his cigars will be playing in the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge next season at Bethpage Black.

Jordan will be joining Justin Timberlake, or as we call him round here, Mr. Big Bertha, as two members of the Challenge that puts three celebrities and one random golfer together to try and take on the U.S. Open course the week before the tournament.

"Oh, this was a difficult yes," says Jordan. "I've been in a little slump with my golf swing and haven't been playing well for the last couple of years. I had the shanks -- real bad. Now that I've gotten rid of them, I finally feel comfortable over the ball again. This will be another great challenge for my competitive nature."

You know, being racist is a bad thing, I'm sure we all can agree. But, being racist on live television? Yeah, that's going to get you a little heat.

Sky Sports reporters, when broadcasting the HSBC Champions last week from Shanghai, China, thought they had run into Anthony Kim the night before at the hotel. Yeah, that's fine. Not being sure if it was him because, "all these Chinese people" were around, is not.

Richard Boxall and Bruce Critchley are golf announcers on Sky TV and worked last week's HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, won by Sergio Garcia. But the most jarring moment came when the pair were talking on air about rising American star Anthony Kim.

"With all these Chinese people around, I'm not sure if I bumped into him [Kim] in the hotel reception last night," Boxall said. "I'm not sure if it was him."

If there is one gripe most people would have about Tiger Woods, it's that the man who has such a great opportunity as a famous black athlete normally hits the mute button at any sign of controversy.

Honestly, Woods almost goes out of his way to avoid ruffling any feathers, which makes the following all the more important.

Woods, who has stayed quiet on any questions centering around the presidential contest, told some reporters that he was happy with the choice of Barack Obama as the next president of the United States.

No matter if you loved him or didn't believe him, Barack Obama is our 44th, and with that comes some serious responsibility.

You know, like whether he keeps up the golf game while in the White House or not. Obama, a fellow southpaw that enjoys the occasional round of golf, even if the jerky swing doesn't match his fluid speeches, is headed to the White House a sports fan, with some decisions to make.

Already, speculation is up about Obama replacing the bowling alley in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with a basketball court, which according to Andy Katz of ESPN is a good idea. Barack has talked White Sox, the World Series and even fantasy football with an unnamed reporter. The guy is a sports nut if he's anything, and USA Today battled with the idea of another golfing president.

"Since the inception of The Presidents Cup in 1994, we have enjoyed the support of presidents Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said. "We look forward to discussing President-Elect Obama's involvement in 2009, and we are delighted that the rich history of having a golfer in the White House continues."

Honestly, I think having a president that enjoys hitting the round ball around is good for the game. Sure, he isn't going going to be making any presidential birdies with that swing but knowing that your commander in chief struggles over five-footers just like the rest of us has some sort of calming effect.

Here is hoping that Barack keeps up the golfing. Also, what else would make a president look like the everyday man than playing nine holes with one FanHouse blogger (nudge, nudge). Call me!

If you're Tim Finchem, all this European Tour news has to be nails on a chalkboard. Players heading outside the United States to play on a tour that is offering more money at the end of the season and basically equal competition with a higher ceiling.

The good news for Finchem is his vice-president of attendance, Phil Mickelson, isn't completely committed to moving on. Lefty said yesterday from Shanghai, China that he still plans on committing to the PGA Tour but sees more opportunity for the game of golf to grow in other places in the world.

"I'm not ready to commit to it," Mickelson said Tuesday in Shanghai, suggesting the 2009 European season might be too early. "It might be something I do next year. I wouldn't rule it out."

"When I commit to the European I expect to play - not just the minimum - but to really be a part of the tour. I'm just not ready now to commit to that. I'm not going to rule it out for the future. I think that's where the game is growing and is heading. The European Tour has made great strides."

Well, great strides and money. Basically all this is about the money. The European Tour is starting something in 2009 called the Race to Dubai, which is offering some serious cheddar at the end of the season but requires participants to play in 12 European events before the race begins. Seven of the 12 will be the four majors and the World Golf Championships, but that would mean Mickelson and others would be required to play in six out of States competitions.

"I think the biggest growth opportunity for the game of golf is internationally," he said. "If golf can become an Olympic sport in 2016 ... that will lead to an influx of capital and an increase of opportunities for kids to get into the game."