Steve Eubanks's blog

Graeme McDowell wasn’t looking for a gift on Wednesday as he was hitting balls at Bay Hill to prepare for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. So, when Mr. Palmer came over and handed G-Mac an old 1-iron, the Ulsterman hit a few head-high stingers, dispelling the myth that even God can’t hit a 1-iron. 

But the story got interesting when G-Mac tried to give the club back. According to the Golf Channel, Mr. Palmer told him, “No, you keep that.”

Imagine if Augusta National Golf Club tried to trademark the name of the town, Augusta, or if the Yankees tried to trademark New York.

That is what the St. Andrews Links Trust is attempting to do with its request before the European Union. The Trust seeks to trademark the name St. Andrews for certain projects and services. According to reporting in Fife Today, the application covers 11 types of goods and services related to golf, including books and magazines that use the name.

Being the No. 1 player in the world has its perks. Stacy Lewis has been bombarded with interview requests in the days following her win at the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, a victory that propelled her into the top spot in the World Rankings. She also has more partnership opportunities.

 Ryder Cup Captain Tom Watson will be spending two weeks in a row in Georgia.

Watson just confirmed that he will be participating in the Greater Gwinnett Championship presented by Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating, a Champion’s Tour event at TPC Sugarloaf held April 15-21, the week immediately following the Masters.

Golf has long been the go-to sport for baseball pitchers during the off-season and during times when they aren’t scheduled to throw. Hall of Famer Don Sutton became quite a good player, and John Smoltz even tried his hand at playing professionally.

But there are risks, as St. Louis Cardinals reliever Marc Rzepczynski discovered last week when he attempted to hit a punch shot from the trees on the first hole of what was supposed to be a leisurely round. Rzepcznski hit the shot and fell to the ground after something struck his eye.

Despite earlier denials, Natalie Gulbis’ agent confirmed on Wednesday that the LPGA star does, indeed, have malaria. Gulbis withdrew from the RR Donnelley Founders Cup event in Phoenix and a statement was released shortly thereafter.

It is believed she contracted the disease in Singapore during the LPGA’s Asian swing. She withdrew from the HSBC Women's Champions with what were, at the time, described as “flu-like symptoms.” At the time her spokespeople made it abundantly clear that there was no diagnosis of malaria.

The USGA’s recent announcement that one of its oldest championships, the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, would be eliminated after 2014 caught a lot of people off guard, including some of the event’s most prominent past champions.

 In response to an earlier post on The Golf Buzz, here, PGA Tour Vice President Ty Votaw called me to clarify the tour’s position as well as offer his personal opinion on Twitter and the role social media plays in modern-day golf coverage.

The PGA Tour took a swipe at new media on Thursday.