As the PGA Tour opens a new season, St. Louis’ Jay Williamson will not be competing in the limited field Mercedes-Benz Championship this week. But Williamson is hoping to make the field for the Sony Open in Honolulu next week, the first full field tournament on the schedule.

WIE THE PEOPLE

Michelle Wie, who has used her performances in the Sony Open to build her notoriety over the past few years, will not be competing against the men in Honolulu this time. The 19-year old Stanford sophomore, who earned her LPGA playing card at Q-school a short while back, has indicated her first appearance of the year will be at the LPGA’s SBS Open later this month.

Another teen sensation to make headlines at the Sony, Tadd Fujikawa, hopes to get in the field through the Monday qualifier. Since winning the Mid-Pacific Open shortly after turning professional, the Moanalua High School senior has had tough sledding. Fujikawa has not made a cut on the PGA, Japan or European tours.

DALY BREAD

In case you haven’t heard, John Daly has been suspended for six months by the PGA Tour for bad behavior. This tells you two things: (1) Pacman Jones probably could never play on the PGA Tour and (2) there will be extremely long odds on Daly to win the Masters or U.S. Open.

The list of Daly offenses go from slamming tee shots off beer cans during pro-am events to returning from rain delays with Tampa Bay football coach Jon Gruden as his caddie.

Not sure if Gruden is the best caddie in the world, but at least he didn’t go off on Phil Mickelson, eh?

Perhaps the saddest part is that the bottoming out Daly is still in denial. “Is it fair that I got suspended?” he told the AP. “It’s not fair in reality, but it’s probably fair in perception.”

He must mean the perception that he had no shirt and no shoes on during that local news feature he filmed to promote his golf course design Branson, Mo. Or the perception in that photo that he was in jail after getting intoxicated and making a scene outside a Hooters in Winston-Salem, N.C. last October.

C’mon JD. If you insist on being the Clark Griswold of golf, so be it. But own up to it, because you used up the “misunderstood” card long ago.

Truth is, you wouldn’t see Daly much anyway. He has limited playing status on the PGA Tour, made only 17 starts last year and five cuts. He was 232nd on the money list, which is somewhere just south of the Equator, and he is ranked No. 736 in the world. I believe Joe Buck might ranked ahead of him.

As a result of his suspension, Dally will try to play in a lot more European and international events.

THE PREZ

What kind of golfer is president-elect Barack Obama? Not bad, according to Time .com. The Commander in Waiting has played a couple of times during his time off in Hawaii.

Norman-Ganin S. Asao, the head professional at Olomana Golf Links in Honolulu, said Obama is “maybe a 20-something handicap.”
Asao added: “He’s not a bad golfer at all. I’ve definitely seen a lot worse.”
Hey now …
FEXEXCUP FIX

The PGA Tour has tweaked the season-ending FedexCup Series to avoid the anti-climactic finishes it has had the past two years. Last season, Vijay Singh had the big payday wrapped up after winning the first two of the four FedexCup events.

The new system reduces points awarded during the regular season to a more manageable total. Players will get 500 points for a victory at a regular event. 10 percent more for victories at a major championships, 5 percent more for wins at The Players Championship or World Golf Championships.

“The overriding premise was that we had, and are getting strong support for the current structure,” PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said during a press conference. “Notwithstanding the fact that the air went out of the balloon a little bit when Vijay pretty much wrapped it up after two weeks in ‘08.”

“When we went into this process, we went into it looking at it let’s stick with the fundamentals here. And the fundamentals to argue are basically to make sure it’s not over until Atlanta and make sure that a lot of guys are in the hunt.”

The new format calls for a reset – which formerly occurred prior to the first playoff event – before the final event, i.e. the Tour Championship in Atlanta. Delaying the reset is toward ensuring a meaningful finale. The top 5 at the Tour Championship will be able to capture the FedEx Cup with a victory, while all 30 players in the field mathematically will still have a chance.

Also, field sizes for the first two events have been reduced. The Barclays field has been trimmed from 144 to 125, while the Deutsche Bank has shrunk from 120 to 100. The BMW Championship, played at Bellerive Country Club last year, will remain at 70 players.

STEVIE WONDER

Not sure how Tiger Woods should have handled the Steve Williams affair, but I would say Williams should be thankful he still has a job.

For one, by default and by hours of prime time television exposure, Williams the caddie is an extension of Woods the player. Therefore, when he rips Mickelson, in terms of public perception, the words may as well be coming straight from Woods’ mouth.

The incident also suggests how delusional Williams is about his own importance, a notion he has promoted in the past by grabbing and destroying photographer’s cameras. For a caddie to criticize a player of Mickelson’s ilk is so completely out of line, it indicates Williams somehow believes he is qualified to make such observations.

Bro, bottom line, you are not a player, or even close to being a player. You are the most glorified, handsomely-compensated and incredibly fortunate baggage handler in the world, and your are representing the most powerful person in sports. Your opinions on other competitors should never leave the caddie shack.

Now, let’s go outside the ropes ….

COACHING SEARCH

It’s nice the Rams have brought in Dan Dierdorf and Marshall Faulk to help find a new coach. But if they really wanted someone well connected to “consult” in the process, they should have brought in Pasta House czar Kim Tucci.

“K-Tuche,” as he is called in the room, would have no trouble convincing Bill Cower to come here. Because … as you well know … everybody loves the Pasta House Company.

Speaking of the Rams, there is no truth to the rumor Billy Devany will interview Cesar Millan, aka the “Dog Whisperer,” as a finalist for the job.

MILES AND MILES

Cardinals fans are overreacting to the loss of Aaron Miles. Yes, he hit .317 last year, but he has almost no power - home run power, gap power, will power, or whatever. And yes, he can play many positions, but he can’t play any of them especially well, which is why he has remained a substitute throughout his career, despite some good batting averages.

This is not to demean Miles, who is a hard-working, useful player. But the Cubs traded Mark DeRosa, a far superior player, and then overpaid to replace him with Miles. His departure should not have much impact on next year’s club.

But it is why the Cardinals should focus on their bench right now. With the way the economy is, a number of free agents will be signing late this winter, ala Kyle Lohse last spring. Many players might take one-year deals, hope to have a solid 2009 and hope the economy turns around so they can cash in next winter.

The Cardinals should be able to improve their pitching all the way through spring training. One guy the Ol’ Bogeyman finds intriguing is Andy Pettitte. He would be a nice fit to this staff.

MIZZOU MOVES

I guess Big 12 teams don’t score a kazillion points when they play legitimate competition outside the Big 12, at least that’s what the bowl games have been suggesting.

And what was the purpose of Missouri pulling Blaine Gabbert’s red shirt this past season? It made sense if Gabbert was going to get some playing time, made sense if Missouri was going to rotate him in for a few series each game, get Gabbert some experience, give defenses a different look.

But that’s not what happened. Gabbert spent a year of eligibility sitting and watching. Was no red shirt a recruiting promise? Was it done to make it easier to recruit the next quarterback? I don’t get it.

While we’re on the subject of Missouri quarterbacks, I’m still scratching my head over Chase Patton’s late appearance in the Big 12 Championship game. Here’s a kid who has been a good soldier, who stuck it out and accepted being a career backup, even though some football people think he can play at the next level.

And his reward is to come in for the final series of the conference championship game in his senior year and hand the ball off? In a game Missouri trailed by 41 points?

Why in the world wouldn’t you let that kid air it out and try to score? If not, why in the world do you bring him in at all?

I must be missing something.

SPOONBALL

Jay Spoonhour is interested in the SEMO basketball job and he would make a fine choice. He has been a National JUCO Coach of the Year and did a good job as an interim head coach at UNLV. He is young, media-friendly, energetic … seems to have dynamics that fit the Cape Girardeau situation well.

At the same time, there will be tough competition for that job, with the outstanding facilities they have at Southeast.