Golfer Phil Mickelson will withdraw from the HP Byron Nelson Championship to attend to his wife Amy, who was diagnosed with breast cancer.

After undergoing an extensive battery of tests, Phil Mickelson’s wife, Amy, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The couple married in 1996 and has three children aged 9, 7 and 6.
More tests are scheduled but the treatment process is expected to begin with major surgery, possibly within the next two weeks.

Mickelson has suspended his PGA TOUR schedule indefinitely. He was due to play the HP Byron Nelson Championship beginning Thursday and defend his Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial title next week.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Phil and Amy. Hopefully she’ll go through a successful treatment process and I’m sure she’ll get all the support she needs from Phil and the rest of their family.

Damn you, Tim Clark!

Thanks for ruining the weekend of all hack golfers in the world by defeating golf’s stimulus plan, Tiger Woods, on Thursday. We (I confess that I am a hack golfer) live vicariously through every one of his great shots from the fairway that land smoothly a foot away from the pin on the green. Now, we have to hope for another Phil Mickelson meltdown to bring our attention back to the Accenture Match Play Championship. Hopefully, Shaq will reprise his introduction dance from the All-Star Game before Sunday’s nationally-televised game against the Lakers. I mean the Big Shaqtus can really move on the dance floor.

All times ET…

College Basketball
Saturday, 2 PM: Notre Dame @ #2 Connecticut (CBS)
Saturday, 2 PM: #13 Clemson @ #25 Florida State (ESPN Full Court)
Sunday, 12 PM: #10 Marquette @ #6 Louisville (CBS)
Sunday, 2 PM: #8 Missouri @ #15 Kansas (CBS)
Sunday, 4 PM: #9 Michigan State @ #20 Illinois (CBS)

NBA
Friday, 7 PM: Detroit Pistons @ Orlando Magic (ESPN)
Friday, 9:30 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ San Antonio Spurs (ESPN)
Saturday, 7 PM: Orlando Magic @ Philadelphia 76ers (NBA TV)
Sunday, 1 PM: Detroit Pistons @ Boston Celtics (ABC)
Sunday, 3:30 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Phoenix Suns (ABC)
Sunday, 8 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Atlanta Hawks (ESPN)

NHL
Friday, 7 PM: Montreal Canadiens @ Philadelphia Flyers
Saturday, 7 PM: San Jose Sharks @ Montreal Canadiens
Sunday, 1 PM: Philadelphia Flyers @ New Jersey Devils

PGA
Feb.27-Mar. 1, TBA: Accenture Match Play Championship (NBC/TGC)

January opens a new chapter to all our lives, but it is a sign of renewal for some of our favorite pastimes as well. The PGA tour started their 2009 play on the isles of Hawaii as they begin their annual West Coast swing of the golf season. Golfers young and old are scrambling to establish themselves on the tour before the #1 player in the world comes back to work in late March.

Many believe that Anthony Kim has the attitude and game to compete with Tiger Woods this season. Camilo Villegas was a star in waiting during his first two years on the tour and blossomed during the 2008 FedEx Cup playoffs with two tournament victories. Both players have become the poster boys for the youth movement on the tour, but their success will be measured by tournament wins, especially capturing multiple major titles.

Defending FedEx Cup champion Vijay Singh did compete in the first tournament of the season, but will sit out the remainder of the West Coast swing. He will have knee surgery to repair a torn cartilage and is expected to miss five weeks of action. Sergio Garcia still remains the best player on the tour not to have won a major title. He tied for second place in the PGA Championship last year and has finished with a top-five finish in three of the last four British Opens. Unfortunately for Garcia, no trophies are given to the runner-up. And then there is the dilemma of Phil Mickelson.

Lefty had won a major tournament in three consecutive years before losing the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot with a double bogey on the 18th hole. Since then, Mickelson has not won a major and more importantly his round play has been inconsistent. Lefty in his last 10 major appearances has missed the cut twice and finished a combined 80 shots out of the lead. Drastic times call for drastic measures, and golf swing guru Butch Harmon has been brought in to assist Mickelson in regaining his stroke for the coming season.

What would a PGA tour preview be without a Tiger update? Well, he began hitting balls at a driving range in December and declared himself better than ever. Though he told Craig Sager at the Orlando/Boston game last night that his game just isn’t there yet. No one in the Woods camp will confirm his exact return date, but the official statement is that Tiger is ahead of his rehabilitation schedule after reconstructive knee surgery in June. It is safe to assume that Woods will compete in tournaments prior to the start of the Masters in April. But one thing is for certain, once Tiger returns, he will be ready to win.

Tiger Woods’ caddie Stevie Williams admitted to calling Phil Mickelson a “prick” at a recent New Zealand charity event.

Williams admitted yesterday he had indeed called Mickelson a “prick” and added, “I don’t particularly like the guy [Mickelson]. He pays me no respect at all and hence I don’t pay him any respect. It’s no secret we don’t get along either.”

The sedate world of professional golf is unused to such unvarnished opinions being thrown around in public and Mickelson made his unhappiness clear. “After seeing Steve Williams’ comments all I could think of was how lucky I am to have a class act like Bones (his caddie, Jim Mackay) on my bag and representing me,” the American left-hander said.

Mickelson also took issue with an unflattering story Williams told about Mickelson, calling the incident untrue. Tiger Woods has not commented on the spat, but he’s certain to face questions about it at his Chevron World Challenge tournament later this week. Donegan speculates that Woods is unhappy with his caddie’s comments (no doubt) and that Williams could be in trouble with his boss (no way).

So far Woods has not commented on the spat between his greatest rival and his bagman, although he has a history of seeking to avoid what he deems to be non-golf related publicity. He also has a history of dealing harshly with employees who displease him.

While Williams will likely get an earful from Team Tiger, Woods mainly cares about winning majors, and if he has the best chance to win with Williams on his bag, that’s where Williams will stay.

Couple this story with the one about John Daly smashing a fan’s camera into a tree at the Australian Open and golf news has packed a punch lately.

This past weekend, the Ryder Cup was not just about golf, it was about a group of Americans coming together as one, riding the emotion generated by the flag-waving crowd at the Valhalla Country Club to defeat the Europeans.

The so-called experts gave this Tiger-less United States squad a puncher’s chance of winning the Ryder Cup. The Europeans were expected to continue its dominance over the U.S. that had extended to three straight defeats, five out of six, and eight out of 11 matches prior to this weekend. But the Americans didn’t need a miracle putt or an amazing comeback like their last victory to capture this crown.

Every questionable roster decision made by U.S. Captain Paul Azinger turned into gold this weekend. Two of Kentucky’s native sons light shined the brightest on Sunday. Kenny Perry, whose lifelong dream was to compete in a Ryder Cup event, delivered a 3-and-2 victory in the first single competition on Sunday to swing the momentum back towards the U.S. direction. And it was Campbellsville, Ky. resident J.B. Holmes’ final two birdies in his single match that set up the Americans for victory.

Other memorable scenes from the weekend include Anthony Kim’s youthful exuberance, which was on display all three days in Louisville. His attitude became infectious throughout the team, and brought out some emotional reaction even from cool, calculating Phil Mickelson on the golf course. And the fans cheering as loud as possible, “BOOOO,” as Bo Weekley did his best Happy Gilmore impersonation after a tee shot, galloping like a horse on his driver down the fairway.

The book is closed on European dominance in Ryder Cup play. This event seems to be energized once again and could retake its place as one of the top events in golf.

THE WORLD OF ISAAC has you covered for the final rounds of the PGA Championship. They list the 10 things you need to know about the annual men’s golf outing.

Player Most Likely to Show up in a stupid outfit: Ian Poulter

Player’s name you don’t want to pronounce: Louis Oosthuizen

Player Most Likely to Keel Over and Die from overall unhealthiness: John Daly

Most Likely to pull a Van De Velde: Phil Mickelson

Most likely to Blame the Crowd when he hits a bad shot: Colin Montgomerie

Guy everybody is pulling for: Rocco Mediate

Over/Under: Mentioning Tiger’s Injury on Air: 776

Most Notable Name who doesn’t deserve a spot: Paul Azinger

Player most in need of a cheeseburger: Charles Howell III

Player that will take over the Golf World in Tiger’s Absence: Anthony Kim

I’ll take the over 776 on the mention of Tiger’s injury on air.