Alert: Watching Clinton Health Matters Stream (RSVP Link)

I'll be attending the Clinton Foundation's Health Matters conference Tuesday as part of the Humana Challenge. The lineup is interesting once again. It appears you can watch the stream of the various events. The standouts for golfers are copied below.

Just go to this link and "RSVP" with an email address so you can watch.

10:30 AM – 11:45 AM

Access to Healthy Lifestyles

Speakers
Framing Speaker: Dr. Deepak Chopra, Founder, The Chopra Foundation
Featured Pledge: Barbra Streisand, Philanthropist and Actress

Panel
Moderator: Chelsea Clinton, Board Member, William J. Clinton Foundation
Tim Finchem, PGA TOUR Commissioner
Dr. C. Noel Bairey Merz, Director, Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center
Dr. Dean Ornish, Founder and President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute
Dr. David Satcher, Director, Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine; 16th Surgeon General of the United States
Ryan Sistare, Renaissance Hotel Complex General Manager, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Andrea Thomas, Senior Vice President of Sustainability, Walmart

3:45 PM – 5:00 PM
Living Healthy

Speakers
Framing Speaker: Haile Thomas, Youth Advisory Board, Alliance for a Healthier Generation
Featured Pledge: Casey Wasserman, Chairman and CEO, Wasserman Media Group
Jen Kessy, U.S. Olympic Silver Medalist, Beach Volleyball
April Ross, Professional American Beach Volleyball
Rebecca Soni, Professional American Beach Volleyball

Panel
Moderator: Jillian Michaels, Fitness Expert and Wellness Coach
Dan Buettner, Founder, Blue Zones
Gary Player, International Ambassador of Golf
Mike Roberts, CEO, LYFE Kitchen Restaurants
Kristin Armstrong Savola, 2x Olympic Gold Medal Cyclist
Haile Thomas, Youth Advisory Board, Alliance for a Healthier Generation

5:00 PM – 5:15 PM
Closing Remarks by President Bill Clinton

Good Thing Brent Musburger Wasn't Announcing At Kapalua!

Dustin Johnson won the Hyundai Tournament of Some Champions and while it had its moments, according to Doug Ferguson, the reaction first centered on Johnson again teasing us with his epic talent (John Strege has that covered) before the online chatter turned to Paulina Gretzky, interested spectator.

Alex Myers provides the speculation on her presence, J.D. Cuban the images.

Meanwhile Brent Musburger is taking some heat prompting ESPN to apologize for the 73-year-old announcer fawning over Alabama QB A.J. McCarron's girlfriend early into the BCS title game.

Mary Pilon's NY Times story on Musberger included this condemnation of the geezer game caller:

“It’s extraordinarily inappropriate to focus on an individual’s looks,” said Sue Carter, a professor of journalism at Michigan State. “In this instance, the appearance of the quarterback’s girlfriend had no bearing on the outcome of the game. It’s a major personal violation, and it’s so retrograde that it’s embarrassing. I think there’s a generational issue, but it’s incumbent on people practicing in these eras to keep up and this is not a norm.”

Generational? That goes for you too, Myers and Cuban! Different generation.

Jason Sobel writes about Johnson's win and all the reasons to envy him and it sounds like Johnson was better prepared than an understandably stunned McCarron was when he realized how much personal life prying was going on.

When asked about his relationship with her after the tournament, Johnson responded, “Does it matter?” When informed that inquiring minds wanted to know, he followed, “I don’t know who you’re talking about,” while a huge smile splashed across his face.

Update on 2013-01-10 03:03 by Geoff

**Dave Kindred on Musburger:

We need to cut Musburger some slack. It’s true that a guy who has renewed his AARP discount card this many times should know what’s creepy and what’s not and what’s the time and place and what’s not. Still, he has this affliction. He is one of hundreds of millions of human beings who carry the Y chromosome. It causes them to shout out the occasional geriatric-perv-whoop.

The difference is, most do it in privacy. Musburger did it on national television. Viewers were shocked -- shocked, I tell you -- to hear a grown man go slightly off his rocker in the presence of a beautiful woman. But it has happened before. The first time it happened to me, I asked the girl to marry me. She said yes. Mumblety-mumble years later, we’re still married and she sat alongside me when Musburger sang his aria to Miss Alabama.

Kapalua Is Pretty Much A Disaster But All Hope Is Not Lost: Ian Poulter And Johnny Miller Are Bickering Again!

Another day at Kapalua meant more freakishly severe weather and aborting another round, the second time this week.

Doug Ferguson's game story recounts the various unfortunate lows in what is quickly going down as one of the more unfortunate freak weather events to ever hit the PGA Tour.

Matt Kuchar was mildly critical of Sunday's attempt to even play, reports Bailey Mosier.

"After we went through Friday and then having Saturday blown out, as well, we were kind of expecting that today," Matt Kuchar said.

"With the wind being as strong as it was this morning ... I think most guys pretty much could have told you what was going to happen in the locker room."

Sunday winds sustained 25-35 mph and PGA Tour officials registered gusts up to 48 mph.
"I'm not sure if that was the point to show that we're making every effort to play," Kuchar said.

The tour's Andy Padzur was questioned about the call and also asked about Golf Channel's obligation to next week's sponsor.

Q. Have you guys discussed with the Golf Channel, is there any issues with getting equipment to Oahu or the Sony broadcast on Thursday?

ANDY PAZDER: There is, yeah. The equipment that's here has to get barged over to Oahu, get set up and so forth. We have had conversations with Golf Channel, moving on into a Tuesday finish here, Golf Channel is indicating that they feel reasonably comfortable that they can produce or provide a show on Thursday from Sony.

Obviously we are sensitive to that. But right now our most important focus is on the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and that's what our decisions are being based upon, which is getting 54 holes in.

Q. If weather does not cooperate tomorrow, is it 36 on Tuesday or at what point do you call it all off?

ANDY PAZDER: Can we save that question for tomorrow? (Laughter).

Butch Harmon even predicted some WD's to protect swings. Ryan Lavner reports.

Golf Channel televises from 4-11 ET Monday. No word yet on Tuesday's plan.

But it's not all bad news!

Alex Miceli reports on the row redux between Ian Poulter and NBC's Johnny Miller after Mr. 63 essentially called the Ryder Cup hero a drama queen.

Poulter took a lot of time over his 20-foot birdie putt, just above the hole, wind whipping his pants as he looked it over. The Europeans' Ryder Cup hero continued to step in and out of his stance, refusing to ground his putter until finally hitting the ball.

Johnny Miller, the often-controversial color analyst for NBC Sports' golf coverage, commented about Poulter’s unwillingness to putt.

“You just can‘t stay over the putt that long. You've got to get in there, line it up and hit it,” Miller said initially about Poulter’s inaction. “He surely doesn’t have the Tom Watson attitude so far. He’s afraid he’s going to hurt himself, and that would probably set the game back 20 years.”

Poulter fired back on Twitter after hearing about Johnny's criticism:

“Johnny miller why don't you come interview me live and say that stuff straight to my face,” Poulter tweeted after the round. “Was you watching a different channel.”

Later in the evening, Poulter added another tweet about the commentary.

"Just watched coverage on @GolfChannel. Really sorry I took way to long on 11th.... Just trying to win a golf tournament. Trying to do my job"

The offending moment can be seen in this Golf Channel Golf Central highlight package. One minute in you get some great highlights of the wacky wind-induced activity, including Poulter considering his options. This package also includes Tim Rosaforte talking to the tour's Slugger White about Monday's forecast, which is expected to be have winds gusting 5 mph less than they did Sunday.

You can relive Johnny and Ian's past bickering (mostly Ian tweeting) here, here and here.

They also appeared to have a truce, but that turned out to be a Brad Faxon prank. A darn good one, if I may say so.

Trouble In Paradise: Pro Golf In Hawaii Edition

It's hard to believe, I know. Apathy surrounds the season opener at Kapalua. The biggest names stay home and the new oversaturation era begins with the PGA Tour's constant loop of action already seemingly exhausting. And it hasn't even started yet!

GolfChannel.com's Jason Sobel says the Hyundai Tournament of Some Champions has been overshadowed by the missing "Magnificent Seven," a "who’s who list of special talents: Rory McIlroy; Luke Donald; Tiger Woods; Justin Rose; Sergio Garcia; Phil Mickelson; Ernie Els."

But just think, they didn't get to pre-tape NFL style introductions!

Meanwhile Ann Miller in the Honolulu Advertiser publishes several ominous quotes from Tim Finchem fishing buddy, Fred Funk favorite and all-things-Hawaii point man, Mark Rolfing. Since it's behind a paywall, SBD summarizes the key lines.

"I know the date is problematic. We've got guys skipping that never skipped before. ... The fact is, it should be one week later. Next year will be worse. New Year's Day is Wednesday of tournament week.” Miller noted the PGA Tour Sony Open, the “first full-field event of the year, is next week at Waialae Country Club.”

It's not great news for the Sony either.

Sony's commitment as title sponsor extends through ‘14, though Rolfing “worries weaker fields and the date's conflict with the International Consumer Electronics Show could mortally wound a tour stop that goes back nearly 50 years.” Meanwhile, this is the final year of Hyundai's title sponsorship for the TOC, and the tournament’s “holiday date and diluted fields make it tough on extension talks.” Rolfing said, "I've talked to a whole lot of players, and I think one week would make a huge difference."

Fifty-shmifty. Sorry Mark, we've got WGC's and the all-important fall events taking priority! Oh and Asia too.

It's not all bad news, as Hyundai's front man sounds positive talking to Jim McCabe, even though they just can't quite seem to put ink to a new contract.

“We are very bullish,” Shannon said. “We don’t have anything to announce this week, particularly because we are so focused in executing another great event. But we’ve had discussions with the PGA Tour, but we just need to get this tournament behind us and then have some more discussions with them.”

Update on 2013-01-05 04:48 by Geoff

**At least they had Chamber of Commerce weather on opening day.

Well, maybe not, according to Jim McCabe on the first wipeout of a PGA Tour round since 2005 and means 36 holes Saturday.

It’s the first time a round has been scrubbed since the Players Championship in 2005, when play was stopped after only 30 players began.

From the opening tee shot, it was a precarious endeavor. Matt Kuchar, in the second pairing, double-bogeyed the par-3 second when he landed beneath the lip of a bunker and couldn’t get the ball out. It rolled back into one of his footprints, perhaps a 6-inch hole. By the time four or five groups had played the 368-yard, par-4 third, it was clear that this was a day unlike another that this tournament had ever seen.

How crazy was it? Well, chew on this, all you moaners and groaners who think the ball goes too far: The driving average for 16 players at the third was a robust 221 yards.

“I hit mine 215,” Rickie Fowler said. “And I hit it good.”