Golf Central

What the hell do white outfits, Rory Sabbatini's belt buckle and the wicked winds of Waialae have to do with this grand game of golf that we know and love? You might ask, and we are here to answer, with the 10 things we've learned from golf this week that have made us a bit more worldly wise than we were a week ago ...

I tell you, it's a good thing these celebrities are here this week ...: Why's that?
Because I'm not sure who's who on the real leaderboard! ...: That's easy! You're just star struck watching Jules Winnfield (aka Samuel L. Jackson) out there on the course. Or maybe you're trying to get too close to Cheech Marin to see what he's smoking ...
Easy, cowboy. ...: Easy yourself. The leaderboard is fairly straightforward. There are five guys tied on top at 65, Joe Durant, Shigeki Maruyama, Matthew Goggin, Omar Uresti and Tim Petrovic.
Durant, I've heard of ...: That's because he's legit. He's won four times on the Tour, including this event seven years ago when he shot 36-under to set the tournament record. You'd better get used to him, he's probably going to be on the US Ryder Cup team.
OK. Who else do I need to know about? ...: Well, as far as the big names, it wasn't so great. Fred Couples shot a nice 69, but John Daly is on 71 and David Duval, making yet another comeback, shot 73. That's a bit off his pace in 1999 when he closed with a 59.
I'll say. So, four more days of this, then ...: Pretty much. The pros will be making tons of birdies as they swap around courses. And the 338 amateurs, including the 30 celebs, will be hacking it up until they give up after Saturday. Then we're back on the Classic Club Sunday when it's just the pros who made the cut.
Did George Lopez tell any good jokes today?...: He said that he likes to keep his blood alcohol level lower than his handicap index.
That one's not bad!...: Better than any jokes Justin Timberlake has. ... Or maybe not ...

Rising to the top of the talking points at the Sony Open in Hawaii, which lacked a bit of drama as KJ Choi marched inexorably to a wire-to-wire victory, was the uproar and debate about the PGA Tour's new "Rule 78", which now means some players who make the official cut at tournaments will not play the weekend, in order to reduce congestion in weekend fields.

For a full explanation of the rule, you're best off to read the PGA Tour's official explanation of it. But sure enough, the first time the rule reared its ugly head, along with its wonky designation "MDF" (Made Cut, Did Not Finish), there was enough to controversy to wonder how the hell the thing got passed by the Tour's player advisory council in the first place.

• "They're going to pay you not to play, I think that's awful," said Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger.
• "This looks bad, and we should find a way to change it," said Tom Lehman.
• "There's a bunch of guys in there who said this is terrible," said Jerry Kelly.
• "This is a stupid rule," said John Daly.

The last quote is the strangest of course, because it was Daly, who made a habit of withdrawing from tournaments after making the cut last year if he wasn't in contention, then whingeing after the new rule bit him in his ample posterior ...

Lost amongst the hubbub of Tiger, Kelly and the MDF rule was the announcement last week that teenager Ryo Ishikawa, who might be Japan's best young player, had turned professional.

Ishikawa, a humble 16-year-old with a great game and who won the Japan Tour's Munsingwear KSB Cup as a 15-year-old amateur, is probably ready, making six cuts in eight starts last year on what is a pretty good tour.

And Ishikawa, who is mentored by the Japanese great Isao Aoki, seems to have his head on his shoulders properly. He has a Zen-like demeanor that has led his country's press to dub him the "Shy Prince", and he drew huge galleries while Open champion Padraig Harrington practically played in obscurity at the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in November. Ishikawa seems confident, but not cocky at all: the antithesis to Australia's young ace Jason Day.

Here are some quotes from Japan's newest young superstar, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of Celtic's Shunsuke Nakamura (football) and Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki (baseball) in reaching the top of his sport:

• "I want to play with Tiger in the future. I want to be in the Masters."
• "From today, golf is my job ... I understand that I'm the worst among the pro ranks. I have many problems to be solved but I'll be happy if I'll be able to reach out to as many fans as possible with my golf."
• "Aoki-san told me you learn more from your losses than your wins, and I'll keep that in mind."

Sounds a bit like a guy we know who turned pro at age 20 with his head on straight and has worn red in the final round of all of his 61 tour wins. Here's a nice story on Ishikawa from our pal Mitsunori Toda at the Daily Yomiuri.

On this day in 1995, the idea of 24-hour golf television became a reality as the Golf Channel began broadcasting from Orlando, Florida.

The brainchild of entrepreneur Joseph Gibbs, the Golf Channel got his buddy Arnold Palmer to help him bankroll the fledgling network to the tune of $80 million. Two days after launch, the channel showed its first live golf tournament, the Dubai Desert Classic, which was won by Fred Couples.

It was a big gamble that paid off, as the Golf Channel is now available in more than 100 million households worldwide ... even more than Gibbs and Palmer could have ever dreamed would be tuning in to hear PGA Tour anchor Kelly Tilghman suggest two weeks ago that the only way to stop Tiger Woods is to "lynch him in a back alley." ...