Shag Bag

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Honda Classic fans were treated to a rare Golden Bear sighting between the ropes.

Jack Nicklaus, 70, teed it up Wednesday with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, Hall of Famer and former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and saxophonist Kenny G in the Honda Classic Kenny G Gold Pro-am at PGA National.

“My game is not for public consumption anymore,” Nicklaus said before heading off to the first tee. “When I play now, I try to hide in the corner somewhere.”

Nicklaus didn't hide very well in Hawaii in January. He teamed with Tom Watson to win the Champions Skins Game. He seemed intent Wednesday on having some fun with his playing partners. Brees brought out Nicklaus' affection for Ohio State, the Golden Bear's former school.

“Drew Brees had a great year this year, even if he was a Purdue guy,” Nicklaus said. “But he was a Big Ten guy, so that’s good.”

Brees, MVP in the Saints’ Super Bowl victory against the Indianapolis Colts in South Florida a month ago, says he plays to a 3-handicap when he's playing regularly, which is a shot better than Marino. Brees said after reaching the height of NFL achievement, he appreciates Nicklaus' ability to sustain his excellence over time in winning 18 professional majors.

“To play the length of time he’s played, you have to sit back and say, `Wow, that’s so difficult,’” Brees said. “Once you get to a certain level, to stay at that level, because you know everyone is gunning for you, you need your best performance every time out in order to succeed. What he's been able to accomplish in his lifetime is unbelievable.”

Brees showed some game at the first tee, pounding a large power fade down the middle of the first fairway past Nicklaus, Marino and Kenny G.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Of course, Rickie Fowler wants to win on the Florida Swing to earn a spot in his first Masters next month.

And now that his PGA Tour card is virtually secured for next season, the rookie says he’s also moving his focus to improving his world ranking and piling up FedEx Cup points.

More than anything, though, Fowler, 21, burns to make a trip to Wales in late September.

“This year, the ultimate goal is to try to make the Ryder Cup team,” Fowler said after hittings balls Tuesday at PGA National's driving range at the Honda Classic.

Anyone who watched Fowler at the Walker Cup at Merion last summer knows how passionately he feels about playing for his country. He postponed turning pro all summer to play in the international team event against Great Britain/Ireland and marched about the victory celebration draped in an American flag. He was a dynamo in the event, going 4-0 to improve his overall Walker Cup record to 7-1.

Fowler jumped to 16th in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings with his second-place finish Sunday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

In case you’re wondering, Fowler has no regrets laying up at the 15th hole in the final round at TPC Scottsdale. Whether Fowler should have gone for the green with his second shot from 230 yards and a good lie was a point of debate after Fowler made par there and finished a shot behind Hunter Mahan.

"Of course people wanted to see me go for it, but was it the right call?” Fowler said. “Yes, if I were two or three shots back, it’s the right play. If I’m one shot back with four birdie holes to go, I don’t think so.”

Angel Cabrera’s “State of the Masters champion” conference call early Tuesday was short but there were a few interesting insights.

The Argentine was asked what he was planning to serve at the traditional Champion’s Dinner Masters week and his response was signature “El Pato:” “Not a lot to think about, good Argentine beef.”

He was also asked about the possibility of Tiger Woods not playing this year’s Masters.

“I want him back, but the Masters will be the Masters with or without Tiger,” he said.

For Nationwide Tour and Q-School graduates, Monday is like Christmas in March. Or a trip to the dentist, depending on how well you played on the West Coast.

For the likes of Rickie Fowler, Alex Prugh and Brian Stuard, the stocking is filled with Tour dollars which translate into more playing opportunities as the circuit comes east. While Garth Mulroy and Chris Tidland welcomed a staff bag full of coal as the circuit’s first reshuffle of the grads came and went.

In practical terms, the play of Prugh and Stuard – who jumped from 30th and 39th on the reshuffle list to second and fifth, respectively – assures the duo of one or two extra starts before the next reshuffle. As for Fowler, who jumped from 33rd in the category to first thanks in large part to his runner-up showing last week in Scottsdale, Ariz., the move was helpful, but his high-profile name probably would have assured him enough starts.

As for Tidland and Mulroy the next few months could be unfortunately quiet. Tidland has earned about $45,000 in five events and dropped from 10th to 25th, while Mulroy has missed the cut in all five of his starts and plummeted to 45th.

The LPGA today made official the addition of a new Malaysian tournament.

The Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia will be played Oct. 22-24 as the lead-off event of the fall Asian swing. It takes the place of the China event once scheduled that week. LPGA officials are still working on the China event, though that will not be played this year. The plan is to try to bring it into the mix in 2011.

The Sime Darby event will be played at Kuala Lumpur Golf Club as a 54-hole event with no cut for the top 50 on the LPGA money list and 10 sponsor exemptions. A three-year deal was announced.

If this fall’s Ryder Cup were going to be played in the United States, do you think Ian Poulter would have chosen to scratch his nose with a different finger as he left the 16th hole Sunday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open?

Poulter was caught by Golf Channel cameras scratching his nose with a certain finger fully extended on the 16th green, a finger that can be used to communicate a certain obscene message.

If he hadn’t just been booed by the rowdy fans at the 16th, who also taunted him with chants of “USA,” it might have gone unnoticed. He missed a 7-foot birdie putt.

Poulter told Golf Channel insider Tim Rosaforte that he was merely scratching his nose and has the right to use any finger he chooses. Poulter tweeted that he was getting something off his face, and he’ll play TPC Scottsdale next year. It promises to be a highly anticipated return.