Fowler's first two Tour outings since turning pro this fall earned him $553,700. Not bad for a couple of weeks, but that tally is currently 10 spots and about $70,000 shy of the coveted top 125 on the money list, who are exempt from Q school for the 2010 season. The Viking Classic rainout hurt Fowler's earning potential, leaving him only one more event, next week's Children's Miracle Network Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., to make up the difference.

"You know, I'm in a great spot right now," Fowler said. "Getting in the [Children's Miracle Network Classic], having a chance to get my card that way, if not, go to [the] final stage [of Q school]. I'd definitely take the win because it gives me status, and you'd be a past champion. But I'm happy with where I'm at right now as well."

The 20-year-old from Murrieta, Calif., wouldn't be thinking about Q school if he had won the Frys.com Open in Scottsdale in October. Fowler posted rounds of 65-64-69-64 to finish in a three-way playoff, which he lost to Troy Matteson on the second playoff hole. Fowler was undaunted about coming up short in the playoff.

"Troy hit a great shot into 17, the second playoff hole, to a foot and a half, so it was out of my hands," Fowler said. "I couldn't do anything about it."

With a purse of $4.7 million up for grabs at Disney, Fowler will likely have to finish in the top 15 to have any hope of skipping Q school and cruising onto the Tour next year. Doing so would put him in rarefied air: the short list of guys who made it to the Tour without having to go through Q school includes Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard and Tiger Woods — enviable company, indeed.

Photo: Fowler at the Frys.com Open (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

That's a funny line, but I know Tim Finchem isn't laughing. I, for one, am glad someone finally got caught, which is proof that the Tour's drug-testing program works. Of course there are pro golfers taking performance-enhancing drugs. They cheat on their wives and their taxes, but they're not going to indulge in a little chemistry that could significantly boost their careers, just because it's a game of honor, etc.? I never bought that argument.

The most interesting aspect of the Barron suspension has been the reaction of other players and various Tour apologists. They have offered Barron's pudgy physique as proof that he couldn't possibly have been using PEDs. This is so silly. A lot of baseball players who were juicing were pitchers. They didn't want to get yoked; they wanted to help their bodies recover. Might a golfer who hits 500 balls a day be looking for the same help? PEDs don't necessarily make you bigger and more muscular, they just provide extra endurance.

If that means more 400-pound bench presses, then yes, you're gonna wind up looking like Barry Bonds. But if all that athlete is doing is hitting a bunch of golf balls, then he can still look like Doug Barron, even while breaking the rules.

"Does Tiger have a set tradition after winning a tourney? Is there champagne on the plane...does he give his wife $100k? What goes on after a win?" — Mitchell Page

Yes, there is a tradition. He goes to sleep, wakes up the next morning at 5 a.m. and begins practicing for the next tournament. The 2007 PGA Championship is instructive. The week before, Tiger won at Firestone, in Akron, Ohio. By the time he finished all the interviews and ceremonies it was after 7 p.m. The next morning at dawn he was on the first tee at Southern Hills in Tulsa, about a thousand miles away. That's the kind of dedication that makes him Tiger Woods.

"I live near Madison and want to know if Steve Stricker is that nice all the time or does he have a side of him that is a jokester or less serious than we see him on TV? I mean, come on, is he that humble all the time?" -- Stuart

Unfortunately, yes, which means there's nothing salacious or controversial to write about the guy. Stricker might be the nicest human being on the planet. The only group of people who are gossipier and cattier than Tour wives are Tour caddies, and I've never heard anyone from either of these tribes say a single bad thing about the guy. I think we're all gonna have to just accept that Stricker is the Mother Theresa of golf.

"Tiger and Lefty seem to be getting along better lately. Is this just my imagination or are they starting to respect each other more?"  -- Roy

You know what Tiger respects? Achievement. When Phil blew him away on Sunday at the Tour Championship, that definitely got Tiger's attention. But no question their bond has been strengthened this year. It began with Amy Mickelson. Don't forget that Woods lost his dad to cancer. After Amy's diagnosis, Tiger sent Phil a number of heartfelt text messages that touched the Mickelsons deeply. Throw in their co-starring roles at the Presidents Cup, and this year has definitely brought Tiger and Phil closer together.

"At one stage Stack and Tilt seemed to be all the rage on Tour. Lately it seems to be fading out, especially after they lost Aaron Baddeley (who happened to be on the cover of their expensive DVD). What's the verdict on Tour? Has it been exposed as just another silver-bullet gimmick or does it still have a devoted following?" -- Marc 

A little of both, actually. As noted by another reader, Mike Weir has also jumped off the bandwagon. He and Baddeley both struggled with the driver during their S 'n T days. It's a swing that promotes a pretty steep swing plane, which can lead to solid contact with irons but inconsistency with the big stick. Beyond that, you have to remember that Tour players are lemmings. As soon as something seems to work they'll all try it, whether it's the Claw or Twitter or saucy tennis players. Then something new comes along and many players move on. When Dean Wilson wins the Masters, S 'n T will surely enjoy a comeback.

"What are the chances that we can get a game together where we have all of these super young guns pitted against each other on live TV for some serious cash? I'm thinking 21 and under here so it would be Rory McIlroy, Ryo Ishikawa, Rickie Fowler, Danny Lee and Jamie Lovemark. It would be quite a show featuring the future of the sport. And just think of the potential ramifications—it could start a MUCH needed rivalry that golf needs to make itself more relevant." -- Michael

This is the best idea I've heard in a while. Maybe this batch of youngsters could bring the Skins Game back from the dead. The problem with golf is that the compelling head-to-head matchups we crave happen so rarely. With their varying home bases and exempt status, the above Fab Five will only be in the same field a handful of times next year. The chances of even a couple of them showing up on the same leaderboard is remote. The made-for-TV spectacles have always focused on the same tired big names, but someone—Golf Channel? Golf.com?—should organize a series of Wonderful World of Golf style matches with all these intriguing young talents. Will it happen? I doubt it, but we can dream.

"Same question I ask every week: Why does only Tiger and no other player wear bright red on Sunday? Happy for anyone to tell me. Must not be Alan." --  JC

JC, I was hoping you would take the hint, but apparently not. So once and for all: Tiger wears the red shirt because his mom, Tida, did some kind of Thai-style voodoo and discerned that red is Tiger's "power color" and therefore he should wear it on Sundays. Once he won a few times, a tradition was born. It is funny how he has taken ownership of the color. I remember when Luke Donald wore red on Sunday at the '06 PGA when he was paired with Tiger. Polo had scripted Donald's outfits weeks in advance and he chose not to deviate. A lot of folks took that as him being uppity, which is ridiculous—it's just a shirt! A funny post-script was the Monday playoff at Torrey, when Rocco busted out red, assuming that Tiger would wear his only on Sunday. Wrong. Woods wore red for a second day in a row, and when he saw Rocco at the range before the round he muttered, "Nice shirt." Only in Tiger's universe can you talk trash about a guy's sartorial selection.

Photo: Wireimage.com (Barron); Getty Images (Woods, Mickelson)

A new study, featured in Scientific American, found that patients who regularly used their NPAP machines lowered their handicaps by up to three strokes. People with sleep apnea stop breathing for short periods of time multiple times a night. In severe cases, people can stop breathing up to 50 times an hour, according to health.com.

Twelve golfers with apnea received nasal positive airway pressure treatment, or NPAP. The researchers kept track of the subjects’ daytime tiredness, sleep and golf scores over 20 rounds. And handicaps improved by an average of a stroke-and-a-half per round. With the better golfers going in showing the most improvement. The scores on the medical tests also got better. A control group didn’t improve their game or their sleep.

Two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain, Ryder Cup legend Christy O’Connor Sr. of Ireland, PGA champion Lanny Wadkins and former President Dwight Eisenhower were installed during ceremonies at the World Golf Village.

Some highlights of the evening:

- The introduction of Olazabal included a video message by fellow Hall of Famer and countryman Seve Ballesteros, who is battling cancer. Seve sent his friend a message of heartfelt congratulations and his fans a message that he’s still alive and fighting. Ballesteros looked haggard and wore a cap but spoke with energy and sincerity.

- O’Connor’s nephew, Christy O’Connor Jr., a former Ryder Cupper himself, accepted the honor on behalf of his uncle, who didn’t feel up to the challenge of flying across the Atlantic to appear in person. The senior O’Connor did send a wonderful video message in which he apologized profusely for his absence. The video also showed him still playing golf at his home course, Royal Dublin, robust for a man of 84. “It’s a great honor at my age—22 and a bit,” said O’Connor, drawing a laugh from the audience. “I wonder if I might have enjoyed the honor earlier, but this time is as good as any.”

- Olazabal paused several times during his speech, choking up with emotion, as he thanked the many people who helped his career. He made a special gesture to his parents, Gaspar and Julianna, who were sitting in the front row, and thanked them in Spanish.

- Arnold Palmer accepted the honor for Eisenhower, a good friend of his, and told the story of how Ike (Eisenhower asked Palmer to call him that) had called Masters chairman Clifford Roberts to see if he could play with the Masters champion on the Monday after the tournament. Roberts said he’d ask the winner if it was OK. It turned out to be Palmer. Shortly after the awards ceremony, Roberts approached Palmer with Eisenhower’s request and wondered if Palmer could adjust his schedule for Monday golf. “If the President can adjust his schedule,” Palmer told him, “I can adjust mine.”

- The one awkward moment of the ceremony came when Palmer began to tell a story about his late wife, Winnie, wanting to surprise him for his birthday. She set up a surprise visit from Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie. As Palmer told the story, Golf Channel cameras zoomed in on Kit, his current wife. It was a look-away moment. The punchline of the story, by the way, was Arnie answering the doorbell as he was about to head over to the golf club. He was stunned to see the Eisenhowers on his doorstep. “Can you put up an old man for the weekend?” Ike asked. Palmer was pleased to do so.

- Wadkins rivaled Olazabal for the most emotional speech. Lanny made a point to thank a lot of people who helped him along the way, from Wake Forest Coach Jesse Haddock to the late Dick Harmon, among others. He saved a special thank you for his brother, Bobby, who also played on the tour. Bobby, sitting in the crowd, turned red and had quivering lips as he tried to hold back tears while Lanny, also battling his emotions, said haltingly, “I wouldn’t be here without Bobby. He pushed me at every point along the way. So thank you, Bobby.”

- A number of Hall of Fame members in attendance were introduced to the crowd by the night’s emcee, Rich Lerner of Golf Channel. The Hall of Famers on site included LPGA founder Louise Suggs, Carol Semple Thompson, Palmer, Charlie Sifford (who got a loud roar), Carol Mann, Marlene Streit Stewart, JoAnne Carner and former PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman.

More from Golf.com: Wadkins | Olazabal | Palmer

The Best of Us Challenge takes Olympic athletes out of their usual areas of expertise, shows off their other "talents" in a series of videos, and asks you to try to beat their "records." For instance, snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis is a master hula-hooper -- she can hula for 30 seconds. (It's a good thing she can fall back on snowboarding.)

Other Olympians' feats seem even more attainable for us average humans. Jamaican track and field star Asafa Powell thinks he can balance a stick on his foot longer than you can. U.S. gymnast Shawn Johnson touched her ears 54 times in 30 seconds while standing on her hands. (Probably need to watch the video to understand that one.)

Michael Phelps, wearing flip flops and putting on a gym floor, nailed 12 five-footers in 60 seconds.Putt better than Phelps and you could win a trip to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

Entering the competition? Leave us a link to your video so we can check out your speed-putting skills. Now off to practice...

(via Waggleroom)

Seriously. John Daly.

Fathead Wall Graphics has just introduced a golf line of over-sized wall decals, starting with a more-than-life-sized image of John Daly in his Loudmouth pants. Now you can watch golf tournaments on Sunday afternoons side-by-side with one of the game's most popular players.

The John Daly decal is 2 feet 7 inches wide and 6 feet 2 inches tall. (Daly's width has been fluctuating lately, but he is only 5-foot-10.) It's available on fathead.com for $99.99 and includes nine extra Daly-related smaller posters. Keep in mind, the company claims that you can remove and reuse the posters, which are "safe for walls." So fear not -- if you move in with your significant other, Long John can come, too.

"Try to find a John Daly poster this big and bold - no way. Ordinary golf posters simply don't measure up to Fathead," Fathead brags.

I'm not going to say I tried that hard to find a bigger, bolder John Daly wall poster, but I think they're right. Personally, though, I'm holding out for the Adam Scott version.

More on Daly: Special Section | Career in Photos

Monty has made it known that he will ask potential members of the 2010 side to play in the BMW Open at Wentworth, the Wales Open at Celtic Manor -- the venue of the next Cup match -- and the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles next year.

"Is the BMW a similar course to the Ryder Cup event?" Garcia retorted. "I don’t think so. If it fits into my schedule, I will definitely make an effort. If it doesn’t, you know, I’ll have to play wherever it fits my schedule."

Garcia has not played at Wentworth in the spring since 2000 and looks to have a well-settled schedule which ties him to competing in the United States at that time.

I can't wait to see Monty leading the Euros in Wales next year. No one is more passionate about the event -- the guy literally lights up when he talks about match play and the Ryder Cup. However, he should let this Garcia thing pass without comment. Garcia has proved his commitment to the Ryder Cup and has been a great teammate in past cups. If Monty's itching for a fight, he can always call up Sandy Lyle.

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Jack Nicklaus has embraced course design with the passion and intensity he brought to his golf game and in turn has became one of the game's most successful developers. Like any successful businessman, Nicklaus follows the money, and today the money for golf is in Asia, not the United States. In an interview with Reuters, Nicklaus said he expects the game to explode in popularity among "regular people" in Asia, not just the wealthy, and that Chinese players will someday be among the world's best.

Florida-based Nicklaus, who has won a record 18 major titles, does just 0.3 percent of his work in his home country.

"The recession has not been as severe here as it has been in the States, 90 percent of my work, golf course design work now, is here in Asia," Nicklaus, whose company has designed almost 350 courses worldwide, told Reuters in an interview.

The rise of Asia's economic power and golf's presence in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will boost course construction in countries like China and India and the former will one day provide five of the world's top players, Nicklaus predicted.

The sometimes curmudgeonly Nicklaus also had kind words for the USGA's groove rule change, which will become law of the land on Tour in January.

Initially a sceptic about rule changes to equipment, likening them to "the deckchairs on the Titanic", Nicklaus is now an enthusiastic convert and said the golf authorities avoided a fight they could not win.

"It's a domino effect," he said. "It's going to make itself felt throughout the whole game.

"I think they (golf authorities) have been very clever."

More on Nicklaus: Special Section | Photos: Career Highlights | Major Victories | 20 Greatest Golfers

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Among golfers, Woods finished first, followed by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Phil Mickelson and Bobby Jones.

Will this settle the Woods vs. Nicklaus arguments? Not a chance. But, as Woods might say, "It is what it is."

Related: 20 Greatest Golfers | Woods and Nicklaus Major Championship

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Actor Steve Carell of The Office and The 40-Year-Old Virgin has decided to star in Missing Links, a golf comedy based on Rick Reilly's 1997 novel, according to the Hollywood Reporter's Risky Business blog.

Carell will produce via his Carousel Prods banner, while the company’s Vance DeGeneres and Charlie Hartsock are on board as exec producers. Bobby Cohen (”Revolutionary Road”) is also producing. “The Break-Up” scribe Jay Lavender is writing the screenplay. Greg Silverman will oversee for Warners.

Reilly’s 1997 comedic novel tells of the group of bumblers who, after playing for years at a run-down municipal golf course in a working-class Boston neighborhood, concoct a series of schemes that they hope will lead to them teeing off at a nearby elite club.

I read Reilly's novel a few years ago and Carell fans shouldn't expect a slapstick Happy Gilmore-like comedy. Missing Links is a warm portrayal of a ramshackle muni and its wacky regulars with lots of opportunities for laughs, but the heart of the book is an estranged father-son relationship. In Hollywood terms, think Caddyshack meets Field of Dreams, or "Noonan, I am your father."

Hey, it's gotta be better than The Legend of Bagger Vance, right?

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In what will be an Australian television first, viewers who, by simply pressing the red button on their remote control, will be able to watch ''the Tracker'' where they will see every televised shot of Woods as he makes his way around the 18 holes of the four-day tournament. Foxtel is televising the event along with the free-to-air service provided by Channel Nine. While Nine will naturally be focusing much of its attention on the world's greatest golfer, Foxtel will provide a service whereby viewers will be able to see nothing but Woods or, if they prefer, one of the other stars of the show, players such as Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby and Adam Scott.

Of course, some critics might say American viewers get Tiger Tracker every weekend, and we don't even have to press a button.

Related: More Tiger | Career in photos | Family photos | Woods vs. Nicklaus

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According to Politico.com, Obama's round on Sunday was his 24th since he took office. By contrast, George W. Bush had been president almost three years before he played his 24th round as president. However, if Obama is measuring himself against history, he has a long way to go. President Dwight D. Eisenhower played more than 800 rounds in his two terms as president.

Related: Top 100 Teacher Brady Riggs analyzes President Obama's golf swing.

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In the comments section below, share your memories of Stewart. Also, take a look back at his career in pictures, and read about some of Payne's most memorable moments in the SI Vault.

More on Payne Stewart: Career Photos | 1999 U.S. Open | FanHouse.com | More articles on Stewart

I have become friends with Anthony Kim and I was talking to him the other day trying to tell him: Let this B.S. with Robert Allenby go. Nothing good is going to happen if you all are going back-and-forth. The one thing that I will say about Tiger is that when we go out, he can drink. He drinks but he never drinks when he has got a tournament. So I think you distinguish those two. If we are just going to Vegas to screw around or we are just going around, he might have a couple of beers or something. If he has got a tournament, he does not drink. .... You can have fun when you are off: Ok, I got a tournament this week. Tiger won’t even do caffeine the week of a tournament. He thought that it screwed up his putting stroke. You know how sometimes caffeine has got you jittery? I mean just simple stuff like that. (Host: What about sex?) What about sex? I sure hope that nobody stops that. I hope nobody stops that.”

"Do you think the Fall Series tournaments will eventually fold? It seems like the Tour does not support them in any way. If I was Timberlake [right, with Martin Laird], I'd want a better date or I'd pull my support." - John from Austin

The major flaw in this question is that it assumes the Fall Series tournaments are real PGA Tour events. In fact, they're elaborately staged dress rehearsals. The Tour has done an excellent job Band-Aiding together a schedule for 2010, but 2011 is likely to see a lot more upheaval, with more sponsors dropping out and a handful of empty dates opening up. Voila, the current roster of fall events can slide right into the "regular season" schedule after having had a few years to work out the kinks and establish fan bases. Once that happens the Fall Series will mercifully disappear forever.

"Is the mainstream golf media ever going to focus on the LPGA's Player of the Year/money list/Vare Trophy races? You've got the top Korean [Shin], Japanese [Miyazato], Mexican [Ochoa], American [Kerr], European [Pettersen], and Taiwanese [Tseng] player each with a chance to win it all. Why isn't this covered like a pennant race in baseball?" - Bruce Simon

The LPGA is dark this week, and then it's a sprint to the finish with the final four tournaments played over four weeks in four countries: Korea, Japan, Mexico, Texas. Hopefully golf fans will start paying attention because, as noted, there are a half dozen intriguing players in the mix for all the important season-ending awards and, blessedly, strokes are still the metric, not points. But here's the problem: the events in Korea and Japan have no U.S. television coverage. The players are treated like rock stars in those countries but over here they'll be lucky to get a few mentions on "Golf Central." Luckily next year the new Golf Channel deal kicks in and the network is contractually obligated to televise more of the LPGA's overseas schedule, so hopefully this late-season black hole will not be repeated.

"I find Freddie Couples to be an almost mythic figure on tour. I think he's one of the most naturally gifted players to ever pick up a club, yet his results have been good not great for someone with such immense talent. How much has his personal life limited his success on tour?"

No question Fred's rocky personal life has distracted him deeply. He lost both of his parents to cancer years ago, but it was domestic troubles that received the most attention. Long after his first wife's outrageous alimony demands made headlines, she committed suicide by jumping off a building. Couples went through a high profile engagement at the 1995 Ryder Cup but never made it to the altar.

His most recent marriage was difficult from the very beginning—two weeks after they started dating, Thais Bren was diagnosed with breast cancer. Fred stuck with her through her treatments but their marriage was turbulent enough that they were no longer speaking when she died this February. That much heartache and tragedy would sabotage any career, but just as ruinous have been his physical problems. In March of 1994, when you could still make the case that Freddy was the best player in the world, his back blew up on the range at Doral and he was never the same again. Couples never quite lived up to expectations but, given his myriad challenges, it's a testament to his awesome ability that he still managed to win 15 tournaments and a Masters.

Put it this way: I consider Couples and Mickelson to be equals in talent dept. (Quibblers: Freddy has never been as good a putter, but he's always hit it much straighter.) Phil's stable life and good health—notwithstanding the recent challenges—will leave him with 45 or so career victories and probably five or six majors. That's how much the off-course stuff can affect a career. [For more on Couples, see Cameron Morfit's Golf Magazine interview from earlier this year.]

"What do you think Tiger's long-term goals are before he hangs up the spikes? I think he is on a 5/20/100 path: 5 U.S. Opens, 20 majors and 100 PGA Tour wins."

I think those numbers are conservative. A bad year for Tiger is five victories, so barring any more blown-out knees he should get to 100 overall victories before he's 40. He's got three U.S. Opens in the bank; in the next 10 or 11 years he'll likely get two cracks at Pebble Beach and one each at Bethpage and Torrey. Tiger's won at all of these venues. If he takes half of these tourneys, he's at five Open victories, and he'll have other chances at Pinehurst and OakmontWinged Foot, two courses where he nearly won past Opens. So give him two or three more national championships, at least a couple more green jackets, two more Open Championships at the Old Course and a few stray PGA Championships, and he could easily reach 25 major championships. Mind-boggling.

"Hey Alan, Notice how Stevie Williams always takes his caddie bib off early on the 18th hole? I know he's The Man's caddie, but why would the rules people on the PGA Tour allow this special signature move?"

More baffling than Williams's conduct is the fact that I've been asked this question four or five times already. I've always ignored it but clearly this is an important issue to the Golf.com readership. So, have you noticed that when Williams removes said bib, he is revealing on his polo the oversized Valvoline logo he gets paid to wear? That couldn't be one of his motivations, could it? Then there's the fact that it's always chaotic behind the 18th green when Tiger is around and Williams has a lot of mini-duties: guard the clubs, crowd control, snarl at reporters, and be on call in case his boss needs him in the scoring trailer. So it makes a certain amount of sense to dispense with the bib as soon as possible. But really, I think it's because Stevie is just a rebel at heart, and there's nothing more radical than removing your bib a few seconds too early.

"In the PGA Tour Confidential discussion this week, you reacted fast -- 'No thank you' -- to the suggestion of Jay Haas as a Ryder Cup captain in 2012. Why? Something about him we don't know? Something between you two?"

Like everyone on earth, I like Jay Haas. He's a nice guy and good human being and in his day he was a fine golfer. But by the time the ‘012 Ryder Cup rolls around Haas will be nearly 59 years old and a decade removed from playing the PGA Tour. He won't know many of the players and they won't know him. Couples and Zinger were effective captains in large part because they were pals with their players and could relate to them as contemporaries. Not so with old man Haas.

"What's your take on Poulter's Twitter behavior? It seems like he has a thin skin and takes the bait from people. Is this a reflection on his real personality?"

Yes.

"What's with players giving an excuse when they withdraw from tournaments? This week Leif Olson withdrew after an opening round 88 due to 'illness.' I suppose it's possible that he played bad because he was sick, but I am guessing he withdrew due to 'playing like crap.' Is it a breach of etiquette to just tell the truth?"

No, but it would be unprecedented. I didn't call around to uncover the specifics of Olson's W/D because frankly that would require a little too much actual work, but W/Ds are often suspicious. "Stiff back" and "sore wrist" are common reasons given and can be roughly interpreted as "hungover" and "suffering from the yips and losing my mind," respectively. And not to cast aspersions on young Mr. Olson, but an inordinate number of withdrawals seem to happen in party towns like Vegas and Miami. Maybe W.D. are really the initials of a very toothsome rope-hoper.

And now for my favorite question of the fortnight: "Will this column actually appear eventually or are we just being asked for questions week after week?"

I thought about making this an existential exercise in which answers never appear, thus making the Mailbag more about the journey than the destination. My editor found this too tedious and obnoxious and thus the 'Bag was reborn. The next one will appear Nov. 3. Or so you'd like to believe.

(Photo: Marc Feldman/Getty Images (Timberlake); Jon Super/AP (Williams))

Hosting potential investors at his new course design in Asheville, N.C., last week, Woods launched a few ceremonial tee shots on the still-to-be-built course. It must have been one of those days for Woods because he missed a couple drives right, and he asked if someone in the crowd wanted to give it a go, according to The Press of Atlantic City's Scott Cronick.

He got one taker: 12-year-old Mark Benevento Jr. of Somers Point, N.J. The kid absolutely pured two drives.

The best part is Woods's bemused reaction: "How old are you? 12? Twelve-years-old...."