Golf, as we know it, is now dead until at least the Buick Invitational in 2009. With the announcement last week that Tiger will undergo season ending knee surgery, sponsors, tournament directors, Tim Finchem, and golf fans everywhere are trying to figure out what they will do for the next nine months. On the other hand, Phil, Adam, Vijay, Ernie, and about 140 other golfers are excited at the opportunity to actually win some golf tournaments.

Face it, Tiger IS the PGA Tour. Without him, attendance will drop along with the TV ratings. I really feel for the golf fans of St Louis and the members at Bellerive who miss out on a chance to see Tiger for the second time. It's my understanding that 5,000 tickets still remain for the BMW Championship in September. Good luck selling them now!

For all of the people who look for any reason to trash Tiger, then turn around and say they are golf fans, have fun watching Boo Weekly "Aww Chucks" his way around the course. Rejoice in your opportunity to witness Retief Goosen hit a bad shot and display his outrage by frowning at his 6 - iron before handing it back to his caddy. Yeah, it sure will be good to get rid of Tiger, his cussing, and all of the time devoted to him on the telecasts. Enjoy, Tiger bashers, you got your wish. For me, I'll be spending more time in my garden and at the pool on weekends now.

Hears a question for you: is it possible Tiger could still be named Player of the Year having only played in six events? It's more than possible. As a matter of fact, I think it's probable. Tiger has four wins, two of them coming at the U.S. Open and the WGC Match Play and a second at The Masters, where he was playing with a bad knee. The only other player with multiple wins is Phil with two. So in order to overtake Tiger, Phil would have to win three more times, with one of those victories coming at the British or PGA. Player of the Year with only six starts? That's just sick.

I wonder how Kenny Perry feels now about his decision to pass up qualifying for the U.S. Open? He said he was too old to go 36 holes, and that Hartford was a better fit for his game. Too old? Rocco is only two years younger than you, and he has a bad back. Rocco played 36 holes, and then went to a playoff with a bunch of teenagers, just for the chance to tee it up at Torrey Pines. He had the time of his life and damn near won the son of a bitch. Kenny, on the other hand, decided to skip the chance to play in his country's biggest event because he is too old and doesn't like Torrey Pines. Shame on you, Kenny.

Stewart Cink's victory in Hartford gave Nike it's 9th win of the year on the PGA Tour and 3rd win in a row. Those 9 wins are from 6 different players. I knew there was a reason I played Nike equipment.

After my statement 3 weeks ago that a Korean had not won on the LPGA Tour in 16 weeks, they have now won 3 weeks in a row. The latest no name Korean to capture a title is Eun-Hee-Ji. This is Ji's 2nd year on Tour and first LPGA win. To let you know how shallow the talent pool is on the LPGA, Ji is fully exempt this year after finishing 52nd on the money list last year. What's sad about that? She only played in 4 events last year. You play 4 events, make 150 grand, and your 52nd on the money list? Jesus Christ, these girls DO rock!

Speaking of the LPGA, the Women's U.S. Open begins this week, and unlike the regular Tour, the Americans have had success at the Open in recent years, having won 5 of the last 9 years. Americans have not fared so well in the other three majors, winning only once in the last 21 events. Would it shock you to know that the last American to be named Player of the Year was Beth Daniel back in 1994, and the last American to top the money list was Betsy King in 1993? Where have all of the Americans gone? From 1950-1993, 43 of the 44 money leaders on the LPGA Tour were American, with the lone exception being Ayako Okamoto in 1987. There have been none since. Paula Creamer is the only American among the top 14 on the 2008 money list. Of the last 6 Americans to win a major, 3 of them are in their 40's: Julie Inkster, Sheri Steinhauer and Meg Mallon. Other than Creamer and Pressel, where are all of the young American golfers? Most were pinning their hopes on Michelle Wie, and look what she's done (actually, she did have her first top 25 finish in 2 years at last week's Wegmans.) I guess it's good for golf to see it spreading worldwide, but is it asking too much to see a few winners who don't need a translator?

God I would love to be Stevie Williams. The guy has worked 7 weeks in 2008, made about 750 grand and gets to sit home in New Zealand for the next 9 months. Pretty sweet gig.

Where are all of the young PGA Club Pro's? Of the 20 Teaching Pros who qualified for The PGA Championship, 9 are in their 40's, 10 are in their 30's, and 1 is in his 20's. I guess the young guys aren't allowed to get out and play much.

And finally, I will end this week's column with my thoughts on Johnny Millers comments about Rocco Mediate cleaning Tiger's pool. Actually, it's quite simple: get a fucking life Kenny Ciongoli. He's the chairman of the National Italian American Foundation. When Johnny said, "Rocco looks like a guy who should be cleaning Tiger's pool," I took it as Miller meaning Rocco looks like an ordinary guy, not someone who should be battling Tiger for the U.S. Open. Ciongoli said Millers comments were, "Problematic as it reinforces a demeaning and damaging stereotype about an entire ethnic group." How the fuck does that demean Italians? I didn't know Italians were known for their pool cleaning ability. I googled Italian pool cleaners and came up with 0 matches, so how could Miller be stereotyping Italians? Hell, I didn't even know Mediate was an Italian name. Can you name me one great Italian who is known for his pool cleaning ability? Google couldn't.

Then Anthony Baratta, President of The Order Sons of Italy, chimed in with, "If Johnny Miller would have made the same remark about Tiger Woods, he would have been fired." Now I find those remarks offensive. Are you comparing the plight of African-Americans to that of the Italians? Did Italians spend 200 years in slavery? Were Italians kept out of schools and made to use separate bathrooms? How dare you compare Italians to the injustice of African Americans.

Kenny Ciongoli is the same guy who asked people to boycott HBO for airing "The Sopranos," which he thought depicted Italians in a bad light. Guess what, dumbfuck: the Mafia is real. Luciano, Gambino, Bonanno, Colombo, Genovese, Lucchese, Gotti, Capone and Giancana, are members of the Mafia, and they are Italian. How should these people be depicted: as saints? It's a TV show based on real people. I don't think anyone is saying that all Italians are members of the Mafia, but the ones I mentioned are. Should we stop talking about them because it gives Italians a bad name? Hey buddy, it happened and it's part of American history. Just like all Americans can't be like Charles Lindbergh, all Italians can't be like Galileo. So get off of your high horses and quit trying to turn every little word someone says into a slap against your ethnic background. Trust me, there are enough racists in this country already, but Johnny Miller and Kelly Tilghman are not two of them.