"As far as the fan base goes, a rising tide of interest lifts all ships."

Steve Elling raises a question I'm sure many of us will be asking as the U.S. Senior Open tees off the week after the Senior Open Championship and during the Women's Open Championship. Who is doing the scheduling for these fledgling tours?

Last week, the Senior British Open was staged in England. This week, the over-50 crowd plays in the U.S. Senior Open in the States, which is not only counter-intuitive, but counter-productive. Majors in successive weeks on different continents? That's almost as dunderheaded as the women's schedule-makers. The first three women's majors of 2009 were staged the week before the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open on the men's tour, all but guaranteeing that they would pass as overlooked and under-reported. Compare notes, people. As far as the fan base goes, a rising tide of interest lifts all ships.