Southern Hills Diary

Today's other stories in brief

Tiger ignores some name-calling

On a reconnaissance visit to Southern Hills prior to the US PGA, the world's top golfer thought that putting his cap on backwards and wearing shades into a Starbucks so he could indulge his passion for a latte would allow him to be incognito.

On placing his order, the charge hand asked Woods for his name so he could be called when the coffee was ready. "Russell," replied Woods, "name's Russell."

So Tiger and his coach, Hank Haney, were in deep conversation when his order was ready. "Russell," called the server. To which there was no response.

"Russell," repeated the man. Again, no response.

"Tiger Woods!" came the next call, to which Woods responded.

Heeeeeere's Paddy

It's a good job Padraig Harrington hasn't held his breath waiting to be announced as the British Open champion.

The Dubliner was taken aback in last week's Bridgestone Invitational when there was no reference on the first tee to his new status as a major champion . . . and the same happened on the first tee yesterday when he was simply introduced as, "from Ireland, Padraig Harrington", to loud acclaim from the contingent in Kerry jerseys in the grandstand.

Nor were his playing partners, Zach Johnson, the US Masters champion, and Angel Cabrera, the US Open champion, introduced as major winners.

Harrington will have to wait until his next tournament, at the Barclays Classic in Westchester in a fortnight, for the appropriate introduction. Perhaps?

The Woods go digital

A recent tradition at the PGA is that the previous year's champion hands out presents to fellow past-champions who attend - a la the Masters - a dinner on the eve of the championship. So Tiger Woods dispensed iPods which had video broadcasts of their respective wins in the championship, while Tiger's wife, Elin, presented digital picture frames to the wives.

"I think it was cool, this being the digital age," said Rich Beem. "And it was cool that the PGA would take time to download those pictures. Sometimes you forget. It's been a while since I've seen anything I've done extraordinary on the golf course. Any time you see that, it can be inspiring."

Clarke still struggling

A round that started with a double-bogey six on his first hole and ended with another double-bogey six encapsulated Darren Clarke's golfing woes as he recorded an opening round 77. "My best is not good enough at the moment," lamented Clarke, who is playing in the season's final major on a special invitation as a Ryder Cup player.