John Holmes's blog

Rory McIlroy won the PGA Championship, captured the money titles on both the PGA Tour and European Tour, and stretched out his lead as the world's top-ranked golfer.

About the only thing he didn't do was knock Tiger Woods off the top of the golf sponsorship heap.

As the golf world began to digest Wednesday's announcement of a proposed rule to ban anchoring, prominent long putter users like Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley seemed to be accepting the decision.

Half a world away, however, Bernhard Langer doesn't sound like he's going to surrender so quietly.

What's stuck in the muck at the bottom of Lough Salt in County Donegal, Ireland? It could be that 20 of Old Tom Morris' golf balls are down there.

A team of divers has begun searching one of Donegal's deepest lakes for 20 gutta percha balls that the legendary golf pioneer and four-time British Open champion is said to have knocked in there as part of an exhibition while he was designing the nearby Rosapenna Golf Course in 1891.

Hot on the heels of its new VR_S Covert drivers, Nike Golf is rolling out a high-speed cavityback iron designed to maximize distance, control and forgiveness.

"Distance, control and consistency are the keys to successful golf shots," said Nike Golf Director of Club Creation Tom Stites. "We combined a high-speed cavityback, NexCOR technology, and a dual bevel sole to maximize distance for every club in the bag. Golfers will notice positive improvements not only on crisp shots, but on off-center shots as well."

We've been focused on the announcement of the proposed ban on anchoring this morning, but one other item caught my eye: Apparently Michael Jordan caused a ruckus at the exclusive La Gorce Country Club in Miami Beach recently because he wore cargo pants.

Just a reminder that the final stages of Q-School for both the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour start on Wednesday. PGA Tour Q-School is out at PGA West in LaQuinta, Calif., where the 174-player field will play six rounds. At the end of the final round next Monday, the top 25 players and ties will receive a 2013 PGA Tour card. The next 50 players plus ties will earn Web.com Tour cards, and everyone else will receive conditional status on the 2013 Web.com Tour.

Three quick equipment notes from last weekend before I forget:

--Rory McIlroy went out with a bang on Sunday at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai -- he won the European Tour's season-ending tournament in his final start playing Titleist clubs. As far as I know, that's never been done before -- a player winning in his final start with his old club company before switching to a new brand. And I'm certain it's never been done at such a high level -- the world No. 1 winning the richest prize on his home tour, then immediately switching to a new brand of clubs.

Our friends over at Bleacher Report have posted an interesting photo gallery in which Mike Dudurich anointed the 10 worst dressers on the PGA Tour. Let’s just say it’s a subjective list – and, really, what can be more subjective than the fashion choices of pro golfers?

Some of his picks are awfully easy to agree with. Some others, however … well, let’s just say I think it’s Dudurich who’s commiting the fashion faux pas. My biggest beef is that some of the golfers he cites as fashion-backward I find to be a fun break from the norm.

Luke Donald has struggled with sinus issues off and on for some time now, and the problem has gotten so bad that he’s going to have surgery sometime soon to deal with it.

"My sinuses are all completely clogged up, and every time I get a little bit run down they turn into infections," Donald said on Sunday after tying for third place at the European Tour's season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

Seven Myrtle Beach golf courses installed new greens last summer, but Meadowlands Golf Club took its refurbishment work a step further. Meadowlands closed for three months to install new TifEagle Bermuda grass greens and redesign two holes on the front nine.

The motivation for installing TifEagle was obvious. Its sister course, Farmstead, has the hybrid Bermuda grass and is renowned for the speed and smooth roll of its greens.