The Clubhouse

While golf has been referred to by some as a good walk spoiled it seems that walk may actually be more beneficial, health wise, than cycling or even a marathon.

Kevin Helliker of the Wall Street Journal writes about a new study recently published in what was formerly known as the British Medical Journal which suggests that engaging in high cardiovascular intensive sports - such as cycling or rowing - has no added survival benefits when compared to low cardiovascular intensive sports, such as golf.

The study adds to a small but growing body of research suggesting that years-long doses of extreme exercise—measured by amount or intensity—may be unproductive, if not counterproductive. In general, the research suggests that the well-established longevity benefits of exercise may cease to accrue or may even diminish beyond a point, for instance, 20 miles a week of running.

This study goes on to say that the research is too preliminary and controversial to trigger warnings against marathons and triathlons.

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ODDITY: Despite never having finished in the top 10 at Augusta National, Rory McIlroy is the odds on favourite to win next year’s first major, the Masters.

According to the oddsmakers at online betting site Bovada.lv, McIlroy is a 5-to-1 pick ahead of Tiger Woods, who will get you odds of 13-to-2. Phil Mickelson (14-to-1), Lee Westwood (16-to-1) and Luke Donald (18-to-1) round out the top five. Defending champion Bubba Watson comes in at 25-to-1.

Over at Golfodds.com, Woods and McIlroy are 6-to-1 co-favourites to win the Masters.

McIlroy appeared on his way to winning the Masters in 2011, leading through three rounds before a final round meltdown left him tied for 15th. This year, he was never a factor as he finished tied for 40th. However, the world number one has won a major in each of the last two years (U.S. Open and PGA Championship).

When it comes to the majors, Golfodds.com has McIlroy as a 2-to-1 favourite to win one of the four in 2013. He’s 100-to-1 to capture the Grand Slam (all four majors in a single year). Tiger Woods will get you 9-to-4 odds of winning his first major since 2008 next year. He too is 100-to-1 to sweep all four.

Bovada.lv has Woods and McIlroy as co-favourites at 9-to-1 to win the British Open.

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OFF TO COURT: According to ESPN legal analyst Lester Munson, Oakley has filed a lawsuit against Rory McIlroy and his decision to sign a multi-million dollar sponsorship agreement with Nike.

Oakley claims McIlroy and his agent are in breach of contract after failing to give the eyewear and apparel maker the right of first refusal on any new deal. But according to Munson, the lawsuit may hinge on an email sent on behalf of someone at Oakley to McIlroy’s agent Connor Ridge at the end of September.

The key to any resolution of the dispute is in a string of emails between Oakley and Ridge that began in September. Late on Sept. 29, a Saturday, as negotiations for a renewal of the Oakley deal seemed to be falling apart, a sports marketing executive at Oakley named Pat McIlvain sent an email to Ridge that said: "Understood. We are out of the mix. No contract for 2013. Pat Mac.” ...McIlroy and Nike will assert in court that McIlvain's email was a waiver of Oakley's contractual rights to renew with McIlroy.

Clouding the issue is a report that McIlroy’s representatives continued to correspond with Oakley officials after the so-called waiver of their right of first refusal up until October 23rd.

Oakley claims in its lawsuit that McIlroy’s decision to sign with Nike has caused “irreparable” damage and while the suit does not specify any monetary damages, Oakley claims it has already spent $300,000 on photo shoots with McIlroy promoting its 2013 products.

Ridge told ESPN.com that McIlroy has fulfilled all his obligations to Oakley, and that the claims made in the lawsuit are “baseless".

On the heels of reports the world number one has agreed to a $200-million deal with Nike, Titleist Footjoy confirmed it would not be extending its agreement with McIlroy beyond the end of 2012.

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TIGER BASHING: It was quite the week for Clive Palmer, the Australian billionaire and owner of the Coolum Resort which just played host to the Australian PGA Championship - likely for the last time, if published reports are to be believed.

Palmer angered organizers first by painting slogans on the fairways of the course promoting some of his business interests including an ambitious plan to build a new version of the Titanic. There was also the life-size replicas of dinosaurs which dotted the course, however, he agreed to shut down the animatronic beasts for the tournament so they wouldn’t move or make noise while the golfers attempted to hit shots.

All of this has Australian PGA officials suggesting the tournament will have a new home in 2013 - something Palmer says would be a mistake. Instead, he says the PGA should be doing more to attract better players Down Under.

In an exclusive interview with The Australian newspaper, Palmer says if the tournament stays at his course, he could pretty much guarantee Rory McIlroy showing up for future events. As for Tiger Woods - who reportedly commanded a fee of $3-million the last time he played in Australia -, well, he’s not certain he wants him around anyway.

"Tiger Woods isn't the No 1 golfer in the world any more," Palmer said. "We don't want to look backwards, we want to look forwards. So why would you get Tiger Woods here? I would prefer to have Peter Senior than Tiger Woods.

"I am sure Peter Senior could beat Tiger Woods on a good day. I am sure he could.

"Tiger Woods has improved a lot but he's an emotional wreck and he's not a good example for kids, anyway."

As for McIlroy, Palmer said: "If you rang him now he would probably tell you unless it's at Palmer Coolum Resort, I won't come.

"We can be sure he won't come if it goes somewhere else.

"If it stays here there is a chance he might come here. We had Darren Clarke and Bubba Watson."

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SPACE LEGOS: Tiger Woods joined the derth of season-ending reviews by posting his year in review on his website on Monday. Among the nuggets we learned:

- The 50-foot downhill chip in birdie on No. 16 at the Memorial was his shot of the year. “For Jack to say I don't think under the circumstances I've ever seen a better shot was pretty sweet.”

- he expects to play the same number of events in 2013 but says he’ll have to alter his practice schedule in order to make more time for his kids. “My kids come first. They're my No. 1 priority. It takes a little better time management on my part to figure all that out..”

- he’ll take a wait-and-see approach to his rivalry (aka bromance) with Rory McIlroy. “Let's just let it play out and see where it takes us. We'll look at the results the next five or 10 years and see if it becomes a rivalry or not.”

- he’s looking forward to the Rose Bowl between Stanford and Wisconsin and is banking on a Cardinal victory. “There are going to be a lot of sore bodies by the end of the night.”

- and perhaps the best nugget of all, “The best present I ever received was space Legos.”

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COLLEGE DROP OUT: Despite failing to get past the second stage of PGA Tour Q-School, Jordan Spieth has decided to forgo the rest of his college eligibility at the University of Texas and give it a go as a professional.

The 19-year-old, who helped the Longhorns to the NCAA Championship in his first year at the school, joins Tiger Woods as the only other player in history to win multiple U.S. Junior Amateur titles (2009, 2011). He’s already made the cut in six of eight PGA events which included a tie for 21st and low amateur honors at the U.S. Open this past year. As a 16 year old, he was in contention at the 2010 Byron Nelson Championship.

With no official status on any of the major Tours, Spieth will have to rely on Monday qualifiers and sponsor exemptions to get into events in 2013. While his management team says they hope to finalize those over the next few weeks, it will be a difficult task this upcoming season. With the PGA going to a wrap-around schedule in 2014, next year’s schedule is shorter than normal. The Tour has compensated by reducing the number of non-member exemptions tournaments have in 2013 while trying to get more players with status into as many events as possible to try and retain their card.

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FINAL WORD

“The worst thing is for my clothes to go missing rather than my golf clubs.” -- golf fashionista Ian Poulter