"does #1 really mean anything in golf?"

Because I'm under doctor's orders to only watch 15 minutes from every hour of televised golf at courses with bunkers surrounded by rough and/or back-and-forth tree-lined routings featuring indecipherable holes, my exposure to this weekend's No. 1 world ranking talk was limited. However, I noticed quite a bit of tweeting about Phil Mickelson "choking" at the chance to pass Tiger Woods in the world rankings.

I'd sum up my feelings on this vital chase for No. 1 in the world, but reader Mr. BoJangles did the heavy typing for me:

a little off topic, but does #1 really mean anything in golf? Seriously. Why is it even discussed? It doesn't help you win majors. The only thing I can think of is the Match Play pairings, you get a one-seed. Being Ranked #1 is meaningless in every sport except college football. What was Shrek ranked? Or Graham?

Someone told me Greg Norman was ranked No. 1 for a lot weeks back in his prime. And I was like, who cares? He won 2 majors.

If Phil takes No. 1 over Tiger, what does that mean, really? Tiger's won 14 majors, Phil's won [four]. Who's going to have the better golf career when they're both retired? Anyway, that's just my rant on the golf rankings and every other ranking for that matter. I think rankings are retarded and while I'm at it, college football needs a playoff system. That will never happen.

"Tiger Woods has never looked worse." **

77 final round at Firestone where in years past he could have shot that left-handed, on his knees in the rain.

Update on 2010-08-08 17:55 by Geoff

**Steve Elling on Sunday's round and the state of Tiger's game:

He's obviously going through tough stretches because his personal life has hurt his golf game," said Anthony Kim, who played alongside Woods on Sunday. "It's obviously not where he wants to be. But he's a tough guy. He's the most mentally tough guy you're going to meet, and I think he'll be fine.

"It's just a matter of time before golf becomes a priority to him again and he starts grinding and he starts winning golf tournaments."

If Kim's first-blush analysis is accurate, it's hard to imagine why golf isn't a priority for Woods already. The quickest way for him to rehab his image would be to reel off a win or two, but he's headed in completely the other direction, and Phil Mickelson had a chance to supplant him as world No. 1 if he finished fourth or better Sunday afternoon.

After the round, Woods looked as deflated, crestfallen, exhausted and downcast as anybody can recall seeing him, as a pro or amateur. He was the guy cleaning up after the horses in the parade, the caboose on the tournament train, and there's no indication there are brighter horizons coming.

This AP photo by Amy Sansetta says it all (thanks to reader Peter).

And we have our first in-print declaration by a golf writer suggesting that Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin pass up the chance to select Tiger Woods.

Pavin said he plans to meet with Woods this week at Whistling Straits to "gauge his interest" in participating in the Ryder Cup. Why bother? Woods' interest has never been stirred by these team events that he has privately considered an intrusive obligation on his time and talent.

Woods wisely never says anything publicly about his distaste for what he considers an over-hyped exhibition with no upside or financial benefits. But he never goes out of his way to sound excited about the biennial affair either.

In a news conference before this week's WGC event at Firestone, Woods gave the same robotic response to three successive questions trying to ferret out his enthusiasm for being a captain's pick if necessary.

"I'm planning on playing my way into the team," he repeated.

That arrogance-masked-as-humor was easier to stomach when Woods could back it up with his clubs. Now that he seems incapable at the moment of summoning up greatness by the sheer force of his will, he could have simply said, "I plan to play my way on, but if I don't I hope my captain understands that I want to be there and help the U.S. retain the cup in any way I can."

Rory And Phil All Smiles Talking About...Grasses!?

That's what Rusty Miller reports. By the looks of that Getty Image I'd have guessed they were watching one of Tiger's tee shots. Or something else your devious caption minds will suggest.

"Sports Illustrated called Snead's 59 'the greatest competitive round in the history of the game.'"

Nice note from Bob Harig this week on a forgotten 59 by Sam Snead at, you guessed it, the Greenbrier in 1959.

It doesn't count in the PGA Tour record book because the event was not a tour-sanctioned tournament. But it got plenty of attention nonetheless.

According to West Virginia's Register-Herald, Snead shot 59 on May 16, 1959 at the Greenbrier Open, a pro-am event staged at the annual Spring Festival at the Greenbrier.

Snead played alongside three amateurs and Robert Harris, the director of golf and recreation at the Greenbrier. Harris noted that at the time that Snead "did what no one thought was possible. He shot a 59 in a competitive event on a championship golf course during the Greenbrier's annual Spring Festival pro-am.

"Although the PGA Tour does not recognize the feat in their record books, the world recognizes that Sam was the first golfer, either professional or amateur, to achieve that goal."

Sports Illustrated called Snead's 59 "the greatest competitive round in the history of the game."

Snead did shoot 60 in an official PGA Tour event, one of 24 recorded overall. He became the seventh player to do so, accomplishing the feat at the 1957 Dallas Open at Glen Lakes Country Club.

"Maybe I owe USGA an apology, groove rule has made golf easier."

John Strege encapsulates the weekend chatter about grooves:

The new grooves the USGA ordered were supposed to help restore the integrity of par. But on the soft greens at the Greenbrier Resort, the new grooves were an advantage, as CBS' Nick Faldo pointed out on Saturday. They allowed the ball generally to stop in its tracks, in contrast to how the ball might have reacted with the old grooves, perhaps spinning back off the front of the greens.

Joe Ogilvie concurred. "Maybe I owe USGA an apology, groove rule has made golf easier, controlling wedge spin a breeze, I hope it is easier for ams too?!?!?" he wrote on Twitter. "USGA repeat after me, more spin is harder, less spin is easier."

The theory makes some sense on softer greens. How many times did we see good players strike a shot around the green with too much loft and too solid of a strike, only to have the ball check up?

"I hope we'll be able to talk at Labor Day about keeping the tour in New England for years to come."

Jimmy Golen reports what sounds like good news for the PGA Tour: Deutsche Bank hoping to continue its sponsorship of the Boston playoff stop. Though there is some hold up to a 2-year extension kicking in but CEO Seth Waugh won't say what that is.

There was also this little buried item about the Tiger Woods, whose charity benefits from the event.

Woods, who has played in only seven tour events so far this season, was 111th on the FedEx Cup points list and would need to move up to make it into the 100-person field at the TPC of Boston.

"Obviously, we all want Tiger to be here," Waugh said. "But if he's not, we have the best 100 players in the world."

"Presidents Cup, a major, we're way down the road. We want to walk before we run."

Randy King talks to Jim Justice about the Greenbrier's foray into PGA Tour golf and besides hinting that he'd like to bring a U.S. Open to the resort, he suggests the low scoring was somewhat intentional.

Justice wanted the tour players to enjoy their first trip to the West Virginia mountains. Players had fun taking on Old White, shooting astronomically low numbers on the short course with very little rough and receptively soft greens.

''First of all, in my world, fans love to see birdies. It adds a lot of excitement,'' Justice said. "I love to see birdies, and I don't want to see the players chipping it out back in the fairways out of the rough U.S. Open style and the green's hard as a brick bat.''