Golf British Open

And the slog up to mediocrity continues for John Daly. Despite an offseason of introspection, fueled, in part, by the threat of bankruptcy, the struggles persist for two-time major champion. After a respectable showing at the St. Jude Classic -- he was never in contention but he made the cut (hey, it's a start) -- Daly was back in Europe hoping to build on his first first PGA Tour event after serving a six-month suspension.

Except that, lap-band surgery and clown get-ups aside, J.D.'s 2009 results on the European Tour look a lot like his 2008 results. Given all he went through last year, it's hard to say he's made progress.

This seems impossible: Bob Bubka, a radio golf analyst from Long Island, predicted on Ireland's Sportstalk Radio that Lucas Glover would win the U.S. Open. I'll be honest: I've never heard of Bubka, but apparently he's well known in degenerate gambling circles; his opinion was enough to move the odds from 175-1 to 11-8.

Still, Paddy Power, a legal bookmaker, reported losses of $1.6 million, citing a "betting frenzy" following Bubka's radio appearance. But unlike some people who just stared at the list of players in the U.S. Open field and randomly selected a name (see me, for example), Bubka actually knows what he's talking about.

The British Open will be at Turnberry next month, but it's Muirfield, which last hosted the tournament in 2002, that has drawn sharp criticism from Gary Player, who won there in 1959. At 23, he became the youngest Open Champion in history, but it's the club's antiquated men-only policy that has him speaking out now, a half-century later.

John Daly is all about reinventing himself. Usually, it's preceded by an intervention or a stint in rehab, and often brought on by a beer and hot wings bender at the nearest Hooters. Well, Hooters, known for their high standards and exclusivity, no longer sponsors Daly.

In 1994, Nick Price was at the top of the golf world. A victory at the British Open at Turnberry followed by a PGA Championship in the same year had Price ranked as the top golfer in the world. Fifteen years later, Price was invited to play in the first British Open at Turnberry since his historic victory, but has said he might decline the offer to give a younger player a chance to start his own record book, like Price did by finishing second at the British in 1982.

In an effort to keep our golf visitors well informed on what is going on around the Internet, Range Balls is our weekly link dump. Every Tuesday during golf season, we will toss out some of the most interesting things we came across. If you have a tip, e-mail us at fanhousegolf@gmail.com. Enjoy the links.

-- One of the big knocks on Turnberry hosting another British Open was the location and how hard it was to get to the West Coast golf course. That part had been fixed, and as Turnberry is getting set to host the Open for the first time in 15 years, organizers decided it was too short, adding 247 yards to the layout. [USA Today]

-- Ryan Ballengee runs Waggle Room, and lands a lot of golf products to review. Instead of keeping them all, Ryan has decided, for the second year in a row, to auction them off on eBay and donate all the money to the American Cancer Society. You can check out his first item, a Slotline Putter, for a very discounted price. [Waggle Room]

-- I'm not sure what is more incredible -- hitting a golf shot while on the Moon, or dragging a golf club with you as you climb Mt. Everest, only to hit a shot off the summit. Wow. [Geoff Shackelford]

-- Would you jump on board with this idea? Women should pay less than men do to play golf courses. One writer thinks so, and quotes the difference in yardages (less golf course), the fact that women tend to spend more in golf shops (not sure I agree) and faster play. [World Golf]

-- Time for the LPGA to hit the panic button? The Corning Classic, which had been at the same course under the same name for 31 years, is calling it quits after 2009. [Dogs That Chas Cars]

Well, this is certainly bad news for golf history buffs, environmentalists, Tiger Woods ... just about everybody but Scott Hoch and Kenny Perry, really: climate changes could mean the Old Course at St. Andrews will be underwater by 2050.

That's right, no matter how much some people want to poo-poo the idea, Al Gore's worst fears have been realized. On the upside, the course will play much longer with all the water hazards, and pretty much render all the technological advances moot. So there's that.

Looking at the larger picture, though, golf would be losing its most historically significant course.

Cue egghead in lab coat:

Some don't know this fact, but Jack Nicklaus once said the PGA Championship was his favorite tournament to win. Tiger Woods has coined it "the championship of championships." Vijay Singh said it was a thrill unlike any other.

Yeah, the fact that you're rolling your eyes makes it easy to see you don't believe me.

It's a major championship and it has made names like Shaun Micheel and David Toms household names. Can Sergio Garcia claim his first title? Will Phil Mickelson dominate 71 holes until he quadruples the last? Is it Singh time?

Grab a chicken sandwich and join us at 1 PM Eastern for a live blog, and maybe a joke or two.

It was a truly special week for Greg Norman at the British Open last week.

Contending in a tournament he won twice, the 53-year-old Norman gave the golf tournament significance for more than what golfer wasn't in attendance at Royal Birkdale.

No matter how he played, Norman stood by the fact that the British was just a warm-up for the Senior British Open, but it looks as though his energy tank is getting fairly close to empty. Norman, playing with Tom Watson and everyone's favorite quitter, Sandy Lyle, shot a four-over 75 to find himself in an early tie for 71st.

On Wednesday, Norman admitted he was optimistic about this week at Royal Troon.

"Now, my expectations are good," Norman said. "I like the golf course. Remember my comment last week: 'I was using the British Open for a warmup to the British Senior Open' - should have been the other way round.

"So now I've warmed up, basically. OK, so now I've got to step up and, hopefully, I can do that over the next four or five days."

Fifty-three-year-old Greg Norman was the story of the Open Championship through 63 holes. And then Padraig Harrington played some of the best golf we've seen this year on his way to his second Claret Jug in as many British Opens.

It's easy to suggest that his back nine 39 was indicative of another Norman-esque final-round collapse, but who had the guy atop the leaderboard after three rounds and more than three years removed from the PGA Tour? Right, nobody.

Whatever you call it (and I'm going with "balls-out performance"), the PGA Championship, the last major of the year, is very interested in having Norman tee it up early next month. Partially because ratings could be at an all-time low in the Tiger era, but also because Norman hasn't been this (in)famous since 1996.

"I'm hoping we can get him to play [Oakland Hills]," PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka said Monday at the club in Bloomfield Township, where he was speaking to the Detroit Economic Club. "He would be a special invitation. We're going to talk about that this week with our executive committee that approves those invitations. (There are) a handful."

According to the Detroit Free Press, Norman has committed to playing the the Senior British Open and the U.S. Senior Open this week and next, but after that, "That's it. I don't plan on playing any more golf after that for a while."