Just Golf

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Palmer Is Down on McIlroy’s Absence, Long Putters
By KAREN CROUSE

ORLANDO, Fla. – Despite good-natured needling by the tournament host, Arnold Palmer, the world No. 1 Rory McIlroy chose love over a legend.

McIlroy is bypassing the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week to cheer on his his girlfriend, the tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, who is competing at a Masters Series event outside Miami. This, despite the fact that he will lose his top ranking if Tiger Woods wins the tournament.

Palmer said Wednesday, he was asked a while ago if McIlroy would play in his invitational, which typically draws a quality field. “And I said, well, if he doesn’t, I’m going to break his arm,’” Palmer said. “But it was meant in jest, and it was strictly a passing remark.”

Palmer, 83, expected McIlroy to be here. “Frankly, I thought he was going to play,” he said, “and I was as surprised as a lot of people when he decided he was not going to play.”

He added, “I’ve had conversations, brief conversations with him some time ago, not recently, about his playing. For some reason I got it in my mind that he would be playing, but that, obviously, is wrong.”

In a wide-ranging interview, Palmer said he was opposed to the anchored putting stroke and to two sets of rules, be it one for PGA Tour-sanctioned events and another for events sanctioned by the United States Golf Association and Royal & Ancient or one for pros and another for amateurs.

“I don’t think that golf has a place for two sets of rules,” Palmer said. “I think one of the reasons that the game has progressed in the way that it has over the years is the fact that the amateurs and the pros all play the same game and they play under the same set of rules.”

He added: “Now, the long putter, I’ve objected to that from the beginning. I only think that we don’t need a long putter. That’s not part of the game of golf. To attach it to your body in any way is taking a little bit away from the game. I’m not going to argue with anybody about it. I’d rather just – I’ve stated my position, and that is that we do not need a contraption to play the game of golf.”


http://onpar.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/palmer-is-down-on-mcilroys-absence-long-putters/?ref=golf

You tell 'em Arnie!