Shotgun Start: World POY votes fitting, but what did Furyk merit?

Only three weeks left until the 2011 season starts in the States and things haven't exactly chilled out over the winter, at least not on the conversational front. CBSSports.com senior writer Steve Elling and Augusta Chronicle columnist and golf writer Scott Michaux break down the happenings in the midst of the game's so-called holiday break.
The Golf Writers Association of America recently named its players of the year, and it was a clean sweep for the internationals, including Graeme McDowell as male player of the year. Is that a surprise?

ELLING: First, the GWAA has been handing out awards since 1975, and this marked the first time that international players -- Yani Tseng and Bernhard Langer were the picks among women and seniors -- swept the balloting. There is little reason to second-guess the winners, though I personally believed Germany's Martin Kaymer, who had four global wins against full fields, had a better year than did McDowell, who closed with a spectacular rush at the Ryder and in dispatching Tiger Woods in a glorified exhibition earlier this month. If there was one thing that rankled about the membership vote, it's that Jim Furyk finished second in the male Player of the Year results, behind McDowell and ahead of Kaymer. There is absolutely no way Furyk, who had three wins in the States, had a better year than Kaymer, who won a major. It's disappointing that the voting membership of an organization like the GWAA doesn't quite grasp that this isn't a PGA Tour award. It's for the best player in the world, and this year, all three winners came from outside the U.S. borders. The way things are going with the increase in international stars dominating the game's highest levels, the membership better quickly learn that fact. Otherwise, to throw around a term raised not long ago by a certain world No. 1, it looks like "protectionism."
MICHAUX: I think the GWAA made the right calls (even though I, too, voted for Kaymer) in every category. The LPGA and senior POYs were slam dunks with a couple of multiple major winners. And this was the most diversely deserving trio of male contenders in 15 years. Kaymer was more consistent and had a streak of sustained brilliance starting with his PGA victory and culminating in the top European Tour money honors. But McDowell had the higher-profile moments, upstaging a handful of giants at Pebble Beach, owning the climactic moment at the Ryder Cup and then brilliantly dismissing a resurgent Tiger in his own event. Those signature scenes were tough to top in the voting conscience. But your umbrage with those who voted for Furyk puzzles me. It was a completely legitimate vote to cast for a guy who won more events than anyone else on the world's most competitive tour. Furyk, in fact, won three events that rated cumulatively higher in world ranking points than the non-majors Kaymer won. And he, too, was a leading Sunday contender at the PGA before a rules mishap derailed his march to the top of the leaderboard. There's plenty of room in these subjective arguments to disagree, and a strong case could be made for a three-time PGA Tour winner and reigning FedEx Cup champion.

According to news reports that hardly shook the rafters of the game, Davis Love and Jose Maria Olazabal will be formally installed as opposing 2012 Ryder Cup captains sometime early next year. Bet you boys were shocked?
ELLING: What, were there any other candidates? The news that Ollie will get the nod was first reported a month ago in a Sunday paper in Scotland, and it didn't exactly cause any hand-wringing. Why would it? The guy they call Chema -- a Spanish term of endearment -- is one of the most respected players on both sides of the pond and a former member of both the PGA and European tours. About the only other whispers as far as other Euro candidates were generated by journeyman and Ryder assistant Paul McGinley, who doesn't remotely possess Ollie's pro pedigree or global profile. As for Love, it's similarly simple -- who else is there? Love has played on multiple Ryder and Presidents cup teams, is about five times more glib than his vanilla predecessor -- remember, this is an exhibition, and the ability to ad-lib and entertain never hurts -- and was the only real option. Paul Azinger, who won the Cup in 2008, said he didn't want to reprise the role, so Love was clearly the most deserving man standing. Anybody else mentioned in conversation was either too young or paled in comparison next to Love. These two go back years, and in fact, Love played against Ollie in a two-man format three times in his first Ryder Cup back in 1993, with Ollie and partner Seve Ballesteros winning two of three points. Love is a NASCAR man, and to me, these guys were the obvious picks by several laps over anybody, everybody, else.
MICHAUX: Excellent choices. Deserving of the honorary posts. No real complaints. But I might offer one little quibble. At age 48 (in 2012), Love is young enough that he could have been shelved until the 2014 matches, where he would be a great U.S. ambassador overseas in Scotland. You need to send your most diplomatic envoys on the road trips, and Love is both diplomatic and appropriately glib to shine in that environment. For the next homestand, it would have been nice to see Mark Calcavecchia get the nod. Calc, like Love, is a one-time major winner with a lot more near-misses in his bag. Like Love, Calc had his share of Ryder Cup glory (and ignominy). He participated in four Ryder Cups spanning 15 years (1987-2002) and actually had a better winning percentage than Love (6-7-1 compared to Love's 9-12-5). Calc is one of the most entertaining characters in golf, with a sharp wit and a fearless personality that would have kept the matches interesting throughout the buildup and between sessions. As one of the most popular guys on tour, U.S. players would have loved competing for him. And since the Americans are already the most fashion-impaired team, Calc could have really made a statement with the bowling-style uniforms that his favorite hobby suggests he might prefer. It might have sparked a whole new fashion trend in golf, with FootJoy selling three-toned bowling style golf shoes and Nike embarking on a Charlie (Sheen) Harper-inspired line of polyester shirts. Alas, Calc is already 50, and history suggests his window closes after 2012. Too bad he got passed over.

It was yet another horrid week for Tiger Woods on the public-opinion front with the news that he hasn't spoken with his three half-brothers in years and that he will miss his son's birthday in the spring while playing in Europe. After all the water under the bridge, can he ever rebuild his credibility?
ELLING: Just when it seemed like the seas had finally calmed, two brutal reports surfaced last week that again painted Woods as self-absorbed, which is hardly headline news, really. First, an Internet report noted that despite promises he made this year, he will miss his son's birthday in the spring while chasing an appearance fee on the European Tour. Then CNN broadcast a lengthy interview with his half brother, Earl Woods Jr., in which his older sibling noted that he hasn't spoken with Tiger since early 2006, at their father's funeral. Not for lack of trying, either. Tiger hasn't responded to missives from the family -- Earl Sr. was married and divorced before wedding Tiger's mom -- even though one of his three half-brothers has multiple sclerosis and is in poor health, Earl Jr. told the network. There is no bad blood in the family, Earl Jr. insists, which almost makes it worse. To wit, why has Tiger cut them off? Few of us would want our family lives dissected in such public fashion, but the latest batch of news relating to Woods is just plain disheartening in a manner that's completely different from his earlier scandals and marital troubles. If he wants to truly reinvent himself, maybe he ought to start at home? The bloodlines in families are complex and run deep with emotion. But this isn't an enjoyable holiday tale of togetherness or anything that will help his rehab in the eye of public opinion.
MICHAUX: This really isn't a subject I am comfortable weighing in on. Who knows what goes on in any given family? We don't know anything about the motivation of either side. It's a little unfair that Tiger gets exposed like this and held up for unfair ridicule when we all know that there are legions of other athletes with their own family sagas that are able to function (or dysfunction) behind closed doors. This is truly not our business and I have no judgment to pass. As for going overseas to play on his son's birthday, I can see where it might not leave the best impression considering his emotional comments last April. But there are some real differences here that people need to understand. Tiger was remanded into his own therapeutic custody a year ago for a lengthy stay in rehab that prevented him from having any contact with his son around his birthday. They were still a family unit at the time, so his absence was obviously missed. This year he is taking a business trip on that particular date. And with the family split, that typically means that young Charlie is probably going to have two different birthday celebrations with his divorced parents. Again, we don't know the specifics. This is all just unfair piling on in a man's private affairs that are frankly not our business.

extracted from cbssports.com