Crane winner at Torrey/Mickelson called a "cheat"

It has been one crazy weekend in golf. So lets break it down. First things first...Ben Crane won his 3rd PGA Tour title today after a five year drought, his last being in '05 at Milwaukee. Crane won by one at 13-under, beating two tour rookies (Michael Sim, Marc Leishman), and "Opie Griffith" look alike Brandt Snedeker all at 12-under. Other notables include Ernie Els and Rickie Fowler, both finishing T5 at 11-under. Matt Every, who I was tracking finished T15 after weekend rounds of 72-72.

Phil Mickelson looked off all day and couldn't get the driver to behave. He shot a disappointing +1, 73 to finish solo 19th. I can't help but think that the allegations of him being called a "cheater" had something to do with his performance. OK so what is going on here. World's number one is in sex rehab after multiple "transgressions" and world's number two has been labeled a cheat.

What's next...John Daly going to retire only to retract his statement via twitter a day later. No wait, that did happen. Apparently John had a heart to heart with Bud Light, looked at his bank statement and figured playing golf was better then selling headcovers outside of Hooters. Welcome back John, we missed you.

OK so here's the Mickelson story... Apparently since the new groove rule took effect Jan. 1st, Phil and a few other players, most notably John Daly and Hunter Mahan have gone to an old wedge that many say doesn't conform to the new rule.

"It’s cheating and I’m appalled Phil has put [the club] into play," said Scott McCarron, a three-times winner on the PGA Tour. "All those guys should be ashamed of themselves for doing that. As one of our premier players, [Mickelson] should be one of the guys who steps up and says, ‘This is wrong.’"

The club in question is a Ping wedge that has wide, square grooves that are now non-conforming. There's a loophole however. Ping filed and won a lawsuit back in '93 against the USGA when it attempted to outlaw the club. So as part of the settlement, any Ping Eye 2 club made before April 1, 1990 was to remain "legal" under the rules of golf. A ruling that still stands. Oops...

Many in golf circles, including fellow pros say it's the spirit of the law and the integrity of the game that's being brought into question. "If you are going to win, you win fairly," Lee Westwood, Europe’s No 1, said. "It is not breaking the rules, but it is bending them. I wouldn’t use them."

Phil insists he's done nothing wrong and spewed venom back stating, "I don’t appreciate the governing bodies putting me or any other player in this position, calling into question our integrity over a rule that they made [and] a club that they approved." "Don’t put the blame on a player. Put the blame on the governing body." Phil also did state that he didn't find much of a difference between the old Ping and the new conforming V-shaped grooved wedges, and that he'll probably switch back but not because he feels he's done anything wrong.

I'd love to hear your take on this issue...send a comment and we'll post the best ones.

Cheers,