It is unquestioned that Arnold Palmer, “the King” is one of the most popular golfers of all time. In addition to his Hall of Fame credentials, he’s also well known for his charitable giving and being an “everyman” traced back to his blue collar Pennsylvania roots. However, don’t think this easy going personality prevents him from being tough when comes to business. He can act as swift as any Mafia Don when someone crosses him. It is well documented that when Peter Kessler was critical of the King for promoting a nonconforming driver to be used by recreational players, he was promptly “let go” by the Golf Channel.

His latest victim appears to be Chris DiMarco, the popular die hard Gator golfer. In the past Chris made some comments regarding Bay Hill’s greens being unfair or something to that effect. Thereafter, he started skipping Bay Hill and going on vacation with his family as his kid’s spring break was at that time. This year his children’s spring break did not conflict with the tournament, so he requested a sponsor’s exemption, but was denied. Its hard to believe that a popular local golfer with DiMarco’s credentials would be denied, unless he had said or done something that “the Don” didn’t like. We’ll let you be the judge.

Lastly, we want to make it clear that this article is not meant to be a slam against Arnold Palmer. We love Arnie and his army, and we definitely don’t want to be “sleeping with the fishes.”

UPDATE 3/26/09: Andres Romero withdrew from the tournament, so now DiMarco gets in as first alternate. Should be interesting.

I would take my golf clubs everywhere if I had this!

Geoff Ogilvy won the Accenture Match-Play Championship for the 2nd time in 4 years. He methodically took down Paul Casey with a 4 and 3 victory on sunday. Needless to say, Tiger Woods’s loss was more exciting and eventful. Although Ogilvy is an extremely talented player, he seems to have no discernable personality or charisma. However when asked if he was the best match-play player in the world, he quipped,”this week I probably was. Last year, I was the 33rd best match-play player in the world,” referring to his previous 1st round loss. Good one Geoff! Maybe I was wrong.

Tiger made it official. He will play in the Accenture Match Play Championship beginning Wednesday in Tucson, Arizona. His first opponent is Brendan Jones, # 64 in the world rankings. Stuart Appleby remarked, “he was ready weeks ago. I don’t think he needs to do a couple a laps around the track. He’ll be on that horse whipping it.” Those comments don’t bode well for Brendan. As Lee Trevino would say, “move over and let the big dog eat!”

Recently Mark O’Meara, one of Tiger‘s closest confidants and mentor, stated that “Tiger was hitting the ball better than ever” and that he would probably come back at the Accenture Match Play Championships. This seemed to be confirmed by his caddie, Stevie Williams, who proclaimed that Tiger was “a few weeks away” from returning to tournament golf. “He’s probably 95% there.” He’s been rehabbing his knee 6 hours a day according to Stevie. In any event when he does return, expect the interest level and ratings to be off the charts!