Augusta Position Not Safest Play for Votaw

Six weeks ago, when he came out in support of women becoming members at Augusta National, LPGA Commissioner Ty Votaw wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he would get. As it turns out, the answer was plenty.

“Oh, I’ve gotten reaction from both sides -- people supporting the idea of a woman member and people who are in support of Augusta National’s position,” Votaw said.

And both sides, he says, are adamant they’re right.

Although coming out in support of the National Council of Women’s Organizations campaign to pressure Augusta National might not have been the safest route for Votaw to take -- the LPGA receives financial contributions each year from the club -- it was clearly an easy decision for the commissioner.

Votaw said he has not heard from anyone at Augusta National since he expressed his views in late November in a news conference at the LPGA Tour Championship. He did call Jim Armstrong, general manager at Augusta National, to give him advance notice.

Votaw said he has not talked to the media since then about the issue.

“I felt compelled to make the statement I made,” he said. “I’ve certainly become an interested observer in seeing how it’s played itself out. I still feel the debate and focus on the issue is bad for golf.

“And if it was bad for golf in November, it’s bad for golf now.”

Business News

News item: Heath Slocum signs an endorsement deal with Putting Greens Direct, a synthetic putting green manufacturer.

Reaction: Will he be first in line to order one? Slocum ranked 138th on the PGA Tour in putting last year.

More Business

News item: Nike Golf signs Nick Faldo to a three-year deal to play its 400cc driver, forged irons and three-piece ball.

Reaction: Maybe he can help out and carry Tiger’s bag, since Faldo turns 46 in July and hasn’t won in six years.

Club News

As if Ernie Els’ winning score of 31 under at Kapalua wasn’t impressive enough, how about the fact that he was using virtually every club in his bag for the first time?

Els switched from TaylorMade to Titleist and used 11 Titleist clubs, including a titanium driver, three-wood, forged irons and a Scotty Cameron putter. Els used the putter once before and his sand wedges have been in his bag for a while, but the other equipment is new.

Sometimes, changing equipment is a bad idea, but that’s not the way it went with Els. In fact, runner-up Rocco Mediate said Els isn’t missing anything in his game.

“What is he bad at?” said Mediate. “Nothing. I mean, he drives it 400, chips and putts as well as anybody in the game.”

By the way, Mediate didn’t use his familiar long-handled putter at Kapalua, but Sergio Garcia and Kevin Sutherland tried them out.

Number News

You have to love the official world rankings. Els won at Kapalua and moved to No. 2 past Phil Mickelson, who didn’t play; Retief Goosen, who played, moved past Garcia, who also played; and David Toms, who didn’t play, moved ahead of Garcia too. Garcia, now ranked sixth, tied for 25th at Kapalua after winning it last year.

Are we clear? For Els, it’s his first time at the No. 2 spot in two years. Other Els news: He won’t defend his title at Doral, choosing instead to play at Dubai, where Tiger Woods is also scheduled to play.

Tiger Update

As for Woods, he began practicing this week at his home course at Isleworth, near Orlando, Fla., one month after having arthroscopic surgery on his knee. He’s hitting irons this week and next week, he’ll hit his woods and maybe even play a practice round. He’s still shooting to return Feb. 13 at Torrey Pines in the Buick Invitational.

Birdies, Bogeys, Pars

A tournament to benefit Human Options, an Orange County organization that helps victims of domestic violence, will be played Jan. 26 at Pelican Hill Golf Course in Newport Beach. Details: (949) 737-5242, ext. 211. ... Glenn Deck, the director of instruction at Pelican Hill, has been named to Golf magazine’s list of the top 100 teachers in the nation.

Young golfers from the Kids Golf Learning Center in Palm Springs and the Cathedral City and Desert High Boys & Girls Clubs will take part in a PGA Tour/USA Network youth clinic Monday and Tuesday at the Golf Resort at Indian Wells. Details: (631) 288-8255.