Just how close did U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell come to not even getting a tee time at Pebble Beach?
Had Brian Gay, Scott Verplank or Michael Sim birdied his final hole at the Byron Nelson Championship, McDowell would have been knocked from the top 50 in the world rankings on the day those exemptions were given out.
The Northern Ireland native had not entered sectional qualifying as a backup plan.
"I really felt like if I didn't get in, it wasn't going to be the end of my summer," McDowell said. "Going to the 36-hole qualifiers can mess up your routines."
Further fickleness: Golf, as anyone who plays the game knows, isn't much of a compassionate game. Even so, one might have hoped Jiyai Shin could have gotten a more equitable shake from the world rankings.
Two weeks ago, she held the No. 1 spot while undergoing an appendectomy. Her return comes this week at the LPGA Championship — but as No. 2. Ai Miyazato claimed the top spot with her victory last week outside Atlantic City, N.J.
"So I have another goal," Shin told reporters Wednesday after her final warm-up look at Locust Hill Country Club outside Rochester, N.Y.
Remember him? It took until mid-June, but Tiger Woods' tie for fourth at the U.S. Open was good enough to move him above the cut line on a couple of charts that will take greater importance as the weeks march on.
Woods rose to seventh on the U.S. Ryder Cup points list, putting him in position for one of eight automatic berths that lock in after the PGA Championship. He had come to Pebble Beach in 13th — by far the latest into a Ryder Cup year that he'd been on the outside.
Sunday's result also moved Woods to 100th in the FedEx Cup standings, a jump of 45 spots for the two-time Cup champion.
Tap-ins: Alexis Thompson, 15, raised eyebrows last week when she arrived for her pro debut in the NASCAR racecar adorned with the logo of new sponsor Red Bull. Alas, her exit wasn't so loud: a second-day 77 caused her to miss the cut. …
Two majors down, and just two players have recorded top-10 finishes in both: Woods and Phil Mickelson.
— Jeff Shain