3. What's your favorite of the four Texas stops — Houston, San Antonio, Byron, Colonial — and why?
Passov: Colonial. It oozes serious golf history — something in short supply among regular Tour events. This was a prime Hogan hangout, which is cool. The course doesn't test the guys the way it once did, but it's still among the most well-liked on Tour. Plus, few remember, but Colonial has hosted both the men's U.S. Open and the women's.
Van Sickle: If I was a Tour pro, I'd definitely mess with Texas. I'd play all four tourneys. I'm not a fan of the TPC San Antonio track — it doesn't look like much fun for a resort course. I'd rank Colonial first — the classic clubhouse, the shady trees, the Wall of Champions, and an old-school track. Houston's course is very modern but setting it up with Augusta-like conditions has made it almost a must-play stop. The Four Seasons Resort is a quirky course and it always draws pretty well. It's an exciting setting and, like Colonial, one of the better parties on the PGA Tour.
Gorant: Which one is closest to Austin? Actually, when Houston takes place the week before the Masters and they have the course set to mimic the conditions it's a good event.
Godich: Give me the Colonial because of its rich history. It's a shame they don't get a stronger field in Fort Worth. The Nelson hasn't been the same since it left Preston Trail back in the 1980s. Hopefully the move to the new Ben Crenshaw design south of Dallas will give the tournament a much-needed shot in the arm.
Reiterman: Houston is OK, and certainly works better the week before the Masters. But overall the Texas Swing is just so bland.
Morfit: I like Colonial for the Hogan history and the fact that even the oldies and other short hitters have a chance there.
4. Rory McIlroy decided to dump his management team and set up an independent management group led by his father. Smart move or another distraction in a season with a few distractions already?
Morfit: This is turning into a very productive season off the course and a not very productive one on it. Of course it's early yet.
Gorant: Smells fishy. Hope he's not imploding before our eyes.
Van Sickle: Rory should surround himself with folks he can trust. At this point, he's pretty much like Tiger. He needs somebody whose full-time job is to say "No" to everything. So it's probably a good move but since we really don't know the details, I can't say that with any certainty. I hope he's happy with it.
Godich: This won't be a distraction at all. Rory is certainly disappointed with his erratic play, but give him credit for enjoying life. He'll get things figured out soon enough.
Reiterman: It's hard to call this a "lost year" for McIlroy since there are three majors and the FedEx Cup still left to go. But you get the feeling this is a big transition year for Rory (new gear, a couple other new endorsements, relocating to Florida, and now, new management). And that's not a bad thing. He's gotten advice from a lot of other guys who are in similar situations (Federer, Scott, Tiger.) It's still a bit surprising, though. Seemed like the guys at Horizon did everything they could to cater to Rory's needs.
Ritter: It might prove smart eventually, but right now the only headlines Rory needs are those that scream of his return to the winner's circle. Despite this latest (minor) distraction, I think he's almost there.

5. The USGA is going to announce its final decision on the controversial proposal to ban anchored putting on Tuesday. If the USGA goes forward with the ban, will the PGA Tour and PGA of America fall in line or will the decision divide the game's major powers?
Morfit: I think the Tour might go their own way even though I know Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has said he's not crazy about the idea of breaking away. The PGA I have no idea, but Ted Bishop has been out front in the backlash against the USGA's stance, so I'd guess the PGA won't want to ban anchoring either.
Gorant: PGA of American seems hell-bent for a showdown. Think the Tour would have fallen in line but with Ted Bishop playing the role of true iconoclast it might allow the Commish to draft behind him.
Van Sickle: It was one thing for the PGA Tour and PGA of America to express dissent with the proposed anchoring ban. It's quite another to have the cojones to defy golf's governing body. I don't think they will if only because they're big believers in the good of the game. It's kinda like if you vote for the losing presidential candidate. You're not happy and maybe you don't like the new guy, but, hey, he's your president now and you've got to support him.
Reiterman: I can't imagine everyone not falling in line. However, there's been a lot of tough talk from various sources. Let's hope there's a little more chaos before this is all over!
Ritter: The PGA Tour and PGA of America have talked a big game, but soon it will be time to put the game first. That means swallowing hard and supporting the USGA, because two sets of rules would be an even bigger mess.
Godich: The Tour won't fight it, but the PGA of America will question why the USGA would implement the ban if it's serious about growing the game. Tour players will be burning up their cell-phone minutes in consultations with their attorneys.
6. Which of today's anchorers would be most negatively affected by a ban?
Morfit: Adam Scott was really a changed guy went he went to the long putter. I think he has a lot to lose. Thank goodness he won his Masters.
Van Sickle: I'd look at Tim Clark, who's been long-putting for as long as I can remember, as a guy who will suffer. Same with Ernie Els, who still looks shaky at time with a long stick, much less a short one. Bradley and Webb Simpson are relatively recent converts (college) so maybe they can adjust. No one is talking about seniors but this can't be good for serial yipper Bernhard Langer, and a bunch of other Champions Tour stars.
Gorant: Adam Scott, since we know he can't putt the other way.
Ritter: Tim Clark and Carl Pettersson have made some strong comments against the ban, an indicator that they may not be so confident their own ability to adapt. Those are my two guys to watch. By the time it's said and done, the ban will probably cause the most carnage on the Champions Tour.
Godich: Tim Clark. There's a reason he flew across the country to attend a Tour meeting on anchoring in January.
Reiterman: You have to look at guys like Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley who have been using belly putters their entire careers. I'm sure they'll have an adjustment period, but they'll keep winning trophies.
7. Ken Venturi, 1964 U.S. Open champion and legendary broadcaster, died Friday at age 82. What will be Venturi's most lasting contribution to the game?
Passov: I wish Venturi would be better remembered as a player. Sure, we've got "The Match," and his '64 U.S. Open win, but only the old-timers remember that he was a phenomenal talent — probably better than Arnold Palmer in the late 50's — just compare their 1958 seasons, for instance — before physical and mental issues took their toll. As it is, we'll likely best remember him for his broadcasting, sentence fragments and cliches notwithstanding. It was like listening to your favorite uncle telling stories about the war. The communication was flawed, but you knew it was heartfelt and that he had intimate knowledge of the subject matter. RIP, Kenny.
Van Sickle: The story of Venturi winning the Open in record heat and tempting death will never get old or go away. His voice was a comfortable one on the air as a broadcaster, especially because of his longevity. If you think golf announcing is more about comfort factor and familiarity than what is actually said, Venturi was perfect. He had his foibles and his annoying cliches, too, but the fact that he lasted in the booth forever attests to the audience's belief in him.
Reiterman: I think when you look at Venturi's career as a whole, you just have to admire what he overcame. Battling oppressive heat (and bad medical advice) to win the U.S. Open. Overcoming a stutter to become one of the greatest broadcasters in the game. Incredible man.
Morfit: I think he'll be remembered as a broadcaster since he was on the air so long for CBS. But the legend of a man fighting a U.S. Open almost to the death of him, and winning, has some pretty serious legs.
Godich: There is no singular memory, and that is a good thing. Venturi proved time and again that less is often more. Broadcasters in every sport could learn a thing or two about the way Venturi did his job.

Woods said he didn’t hear Sergio Garcia hit his shot from the fairway. He didn’t see Garcia stare in his direction.

But he heard Garcia on television during a storm delay.

The Spaniard said the burst of cheers disrupted his swing, and he suggested that Woods was the instigator by thinking only of himself.

“Not real surprising that he’s complaining about something,” Woods said.

“That’s fine,” Garcia said when told of Woods’ comments. “At least I’m true to myself. I know what I’m doing, and he can do whatever he wants.”

A storm was brewing Saturday at Sawgrass even before the real storms rolled in and caused a two-hour delay, keeping eight players from finishing their round. And in the midst of the latest chapter in this Woods-Garcia rift, Swedish rookie David Lingmerth quietly went about his business and wound up atop the leaderboard.

Lingmerth finished a wild day with an 8-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th and a 10-foot birdie on the island-green 17th to reach 12-under par when the third round was suspended because of darkness.

He was two shots ahead of three players who have won The Players Championship – Woods, Garcia and Henrik Stenson.

“I’m aware of where they’re at,” Lingmerth said. “I try not to look at the leaderboard when I’m out there. I’m just trying to do my thing. But having those guys behind me, I know they’re going to try to hunt me down, of course. But I’m just going to try to forget about all that and just try to do my thing.”

That starts just after sunrise. Eight players – including the top four – had to return Sunday morning to complete the third round. Woods and Garcia were on the 15th hole.

The best action Saturday was during the rain delay when Garcia was asked about the par-5 second hole.

“Well, obviously Tiger was on the left and it was my shot to hit,” Garcia said. “He moved all of the crowd that he needed to move. I waited for that. I wouldn’t say that he didn’t see that I was ready, but you do have a feel when the other guy is going to hit and right as I was in the top of the backswing, I think he must have pulled like a 5-wood or a 3-wood and obviously everybody started screaming. So that didn’t help very much.”

Woods said Garcia didn’t have his facts straight.

“The marshals, they told me he already hit, so I pulled a club and was getting ready to play my shot,” Woods said.

Asked if they talked it over when play resumed, Woods replied, “We didn’t do a lot of talking.”

Garcia wound up making a bogey on the second hole to lose the one-shot lead he had at the start of the round. Woods pulled off his shot, and then blasted out of the bunker to about 10 feet and made birdie to take the lead.

When storm clouds moved in, Garcia already hit a tough shot onto the green at No. 7, and Woods had to mark his ball in the fairway when the siren sounded to stop play. When they resumed, Wood hit onto the seventh green, and Garcia putted before Woods got there.

They were on the 15th hole when play was stopped because of darkness. Woods gave a brief TV interview, and Garcia came over to shake his hand.

Garcia didn’t back away from his TV interview.

“It happens to me when I’m in Spain,” he said of the large crowds. “Obviously, it happens to him everywhere he goes. He gets a lot of people following, and I think you have to be very careful because there’s another guy playing. Sometimes you have to pay attention to what’s going on because if the other guy’s hitting and you do something when you’re in the crowd, the crowd is going to respond and it’s going to affect the other player.

“I think sometimes you have to be a bit more careful.”

Meanwhile, The Players Championship was shaping up to be quite a finish.

Lingmerth, who began his rookie season by losing in a playoff at the Humana Challenge, poured in par putts along the back nine to stay around the leaders, and then he raced by them with his eagle-birdie finish. He returns Sunday to play the 18th hole.

Stenson was the first to reach 12 under when he made a 20-foot birdie putt at the par-5 ninth, but what appeared to be a shoo-in birdie on the par-5 11th turned into a bogey when his second shot when just long and down a steep slope. It took him two chips to reach the green and he made bogey, and Stenson made another bogey on the 15th.

Garcia made par from deep in the woods and bogey from the middle of the fairway. He came close to a hole-in-one on the 13th hole, and went bunker-to-bunker for bogey on the 14th hole. Woods was far steadier, though certainly not spectacular. That birdie he made on No. 2 was his only one of the day.

Jeff Maggert, who also had a share of the lead at one point early in the day, bogeyed the last hole for a 66 and was the clubhouse leader at 9-under 207. Casey Wittenberg and Ryan Palmer also were at 9-under and still had to finish their rounds.

Lee Westwood whiffed a shot on his opening hole then his club nicked a pine tree on his downswing and the club went nearly a foot past the ball, leading to double bogey. Westwood was 6-under with three holes to play.

Hunter Mahan’s tee shot on the 15th hole got stuck high up in a tree, leading to double bogey, but then he rolled in an eagle putt from off the 16th green. He three-putted the 17th green for bogey and wound up with a 71, putting him at 8-under 208 with David Lynn of England, who had a 68. Lynn lost in a playoff last week at Quail Hollow.

Through all that, Woods and Garcia generated the biggest buzz.

The Woods-Garcia relationship already was frosty. In Tom Callahan’s book on Woods, “His Father’s Son,” he writes about the time Woods saw Garcia in the clubhouse watching a TV monitor and trying to cheer a player’s putt out of the hole.

Woods was said to be put off when Garcia celebrated wildly after winning a Monday night “Battle at Bighorn” exhibition in 2000. During the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, which Woods won wire-to-wire, Garcia complained that play should have been stopped in the second round because of the rain.

“If Tiger Woods would have been out there, it would have been called,” Garcia said that day.

Saturday was the sixth time Woods and Garcia have played together in the final group on the weekend. Woods went on to win the previous five tournaments.

There is plenty of work left at Sawgrass. And if there is no change on the leaderboard Sunday morning, Woods and Garcia get to play together again.

MAGGERT'S FINISH: Jeff Maggert will remember one thing about The Players Championship.
Not his water ball on the famed island 17th hole that led to double-bogey Sunday. Not his birdie on 18, just the fifth of the day at the ultra-challenging closing hole. Not even his runner-up finish, the 49-year-old Texan's best showing since winning the 2006 St. Jude Classic.
Five three-putts stood out more than everything else at TPC Sawgrass.
“I gave away five shots,'' Maggert said following a 2-under 70 in the final round that left him in a three-way tie behind winner Tiger Woods.
Maggert recalled each of them with vivid detail: two in the final round, one Saturday and two more in the opening 18 holes.
“I'll remember that a lot more than I will remember the shot at 17,'' he said.
Having four missed cuts and a withdrawal in his previous seven events, Maggert found himself in a four-way tie at 12-under before stumbling at the tricky 17th. He avoided looking at the leaderboard before he pulled a 9-iron out of his bag for the relatively short (135 yards) shot.
He had hoped to hit his ball to the middle of the green and two-putt for par. Instead, he caught his tee shot a little thin, causing it to come up short against a stiff wind and plop into the murky lagoon.
“You just live with it,'' he said. “You know it's going to be a test of nerves, and you just go up there and try to hit a good shot. At the end of the tournament, when things are on the line, it's the ultimate risk-reward. So you've just got to get up there and try to hit a good shot and get out of there with a par.''
He chipped on from the drop area and walked away with a double-bogey – and little chance of catching Woods.
He bounced back on 18 and earned, by far, his best finish of the year. His previous best was a tie for 46th at Pebble Beach.
“Just disappointed to come up short,'' he said. “But it's a funny thing about this game. You put it behind you, you go to next week, you get up on the first tee on Thursday and you start all over. If you're worried about what happened four days prior, then you're not going to last very long out here.''
The best news for Maggert was that his third-place finish at the tour's richest event meant he virtually locked up his PGA Tour card for 2014.
“The ball-striking has been great all year,'' Maggert said. “The last two or three weeks I was pretty disappointed. My position, the way I've played and then this week I just tried to be patient. I know this is a good golf course for my game, so maybe a late start to the season for me.
“Hopefully I can build on this and put some good tournaments together here for the rest of the summer.''

RORY'S ROAD: After missing the cut the last three years at The Players Championship, Rory McIlroy may have finally figured some things out this week.
McIlroy birdied four of his final six holes Sunday, getting to 7-under and walking off TPC Sawgrass with some course confidence.
“I think my game plan worked pretty well,'' he said. “I didn't play the par-5s particularly well. I played the 9th hole in 3-over par. You play that at level par and you're 10-under for the tournament and you're up there. But I thought my strategy off the tee worked really well for the most part and that enabled me to have more opportunities for birdies.''
McIlroy kept his driver in the bag for many holes, preferring to hit fairway woods while worrying more about placement and accuracy. It could come in hand at other courses on his schedule.
“It's sort of a little stretch here where you're not going to be going all guns blazing off the tee,'' he said.
McIlroy will take the next week off and work on his putting. He ranked 57th in putting at Sawgrass.
“Tee to green I thought I played really, really well,'' he said, adding that reading the Bermuda greens proved challenging. “I just didn't hole the putt. So I've got a week off now, and I'll go and work on that and see if I can improve around the greens. If I can do that and keep hitting the ball the same way, I think it's very, very close.''
 
DIVOTS: David Lingmerth's runner-up finish set a new mark for the best showing by a PGA Tour rookie at The Players. … The weekend at The Players yielded no bogey-free rounds. … A total of 44 balls landed in the water surrounding the famed 17th hole. That includes 39 tee shots and five third shots.

His son, Matt Venturi, said he died in a hospital in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Venturi had been hospitalized the last two months for a spinal infection, pneumonia, and then an intestinal infection that he could no longer fight.

Venturi died 11 days after he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

He couldn’t make it to the induction. His sons, Matt and Tim, accepted on his behalf after an emotional tribute by Jim Nantz, who worked alongside Venturi at CBS.

“When dad did receive the election into the Hall of Fame, he had a twinkle in his eye, and that twinkle is there every day,” Tim Venturi said that night.

Venturi was all about overcoming the odds.

A prominent amateur who grew up in San Francisco, he captured his only major in the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional, the last year the final round was 36 holes. In oppressive heat, Venturi showed signs of dehydration and a doctor recommended he stop playing because it could be fatal. Venturi pressed on to the finish, closed with a 70 and was heard to say, “My God, I’ve won the U.S. Open.”

He had a severe stuttering problem as a child, yet went on to become one of the familiar voices in golf broadcasting. He began working for CBS in 1968 and lasted 35 years.

“We all knew what a wonderful player Ken Venturi was, and how he fashioned a second successful career as an announcer,” Jack Nicklaus said. “But far more important than how good he was at playing the game or covering it, Ken was my friend. Ken was fortunate in that the game of golf gave him so much, but without question, Ken gave back far more to the game he loved than he ever gained from it. Over the years, Ken developed a circle of friends that is enormous and whose collective heart is heavy today.”

Venturi played on one Ryder Cup team and was U.S. captain in the 2000 Presidents Cup.

“His tremendous accomplishments on the golf course were certainly Hall of Fame worthy on their own, but in Ken one finds a rare example of a golfer whose second career, in television, rivaled the legendary status of his competitive achievements,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said. “His unique perspective and poetic delivery as an announcer enhanced countless memorable moments in golf, making his voice and presence as in indelible as the historic tournaments he covered. Ken will forever be remembered as a consummate gentleman, and he will be truly missed.”

Venturi was born May 15, 1931, in San Francisco, and he developed his game at Harding Park Golf Course. He won the California State Amateur at Pebble Beach in 1951 and 1956, while serving in the Army in Korea between those two amateur titles.

His stammering problem is what led him to golf.

“When I was 13 years old, the teacher told my mother, `I’m sorry, Mrs. Venturi, but your son will never be able to speak. He’s an incurable stammerer,”’ Venturi said in 2011. “My mother asked me what I planned to do. I said, `I’m taking up the loneliest sport I know,’ and picked up a set of hickory shaft across the street from a man and went to Harding Park and played my first round of golf.”

As an amateur, he was the 54-hole leader in the 1956 Masters until closing with an 80, and he was runner-up at Augusta National in 1960 to Arnold Palmer, who birdied the last two holes.

He turned pro and won his first PGA Tour at the St. Paul Open Invitational. Venturi won eight times over the next three years, including the Los Angeles Open and the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, before injuries started to affect his game after nearly winning the 1960 Masters.

He hurt his back in 1961 and badly injured his wrist in a car accident the next year. He missed the U.S. Open three straight years until he narrowly qualified for Congressional. It turned out to be an epic final day for the Californian coping with broiling heat.

Venturi shot 66 in the third round, but was feeling weak during the break before the final round that afternoon. John Everett, a doctor and member at Congressional, checked on him and found a normal pulse but symptoms of dehydration.

“Dr. Everett told me … I was lying next to my locker and he says, `I suggest that you don’t go out. It could be fatal,”’ Venturi said in 2011 when he returned to Congressional for the U.S. Open. “I looked up at him and I said, `Well, it’s better than the way I’ve been living.’ And I got off the floor, and I do not remember walking to the first tee. I don’t remember the front nine until I started coming into it.”

Venturi was so shaken, so weak, when it was over that his final act was to sign the scorecard. He couldn’t even read the numbers. Joe Dey, the executive director of the USGA, looked over his shoulder, checked the scores and told him to sign it.

Sports Illustrated honored him as its “Sportsman of the Year” in 1964.

Venturi won three more times, his last win coming in 1966 at the Lucky International at Harding Park, where it all started.

He eventually developed Carpel Tunnel Syndrome in his hands and was forced to retire. That’s when he moved into the booth as the lead analyst for CBS Sports, and his voice filled living rooms for the next 35 years until he retired in 2002.

“He was a deeply principled man with a dynamic presence. He just exuded class,” Nantz said. “Through his competitive days and unequalled broadcasting career, Kenny became a human bridge connecting everyone from Sarazen, Nelson and Hogan to the greatest players of today’s generation. Kenny faced many adversities in his life and always found a way to win.”

Venturi was elected to the Hall of Fame through the Lifetime Achievement category. Nantz gave an emotional tribute that night, and then called Venturi’s two sons to the stage to hold the trophy because “we need to put the crystal in the hands of the Venturi family.”

“If there is some sense of fairness, it is that Ken was inducted into a Hall of Fame that he very much deserved to be in and, in fact, should have been in for many years,” Nicklaus said. “While I know he was not able to be there in person for his induction, I am certain there was an overwhelming sense of pride and peace that embraced Ken. It was a dream of Ken Venturi’s that became a reality before he sadly left us.”

Venturi is survived his wife of 10 years, Kathleen, and his two sons. Matt Venturi said services were pending.