El Gato's Hiss At Tiger's Diss

Remember Tiger Woods's claim last month that he had confronted a
competitor, alleging that the player was using a nonconforming
driver? The buzz at the PGA pegged Eduardo Romero, the affable
49-year-old Argentinean known as El Gato, as the leading suspect.
Romero had outplayed--and outdriven--Woods during a third-round
pairing at the U.S. Open, and a week later Tiger made his most
inflammatory comments. Last week Romero, playing in the U.S. for
the first time since the Open, told SI that he has heard the
rumors, but he insisted that Woods never said a word to him.
"There's no secret, no nothing," he says. "Just the new balls go
for miles."

While Shaun Micheel and Chad Campbell were battling it out on
Sunday, only Micheel's parents got face time on CBS. The PGA of
America had tried to arrange a satellite feed for Phillip and
Patsy Campbell, but Chad's folks were at church when the call
came, and by the time they got the message, it was too late.
During one of Chad's minisurges on the back nine, Patsy muttered
to herself, "You'd think they got the wrong parents."

Robin Love, who has been in the news over the last two weeks
because of what her husband, Davis, has called a hometown smear
campaign, made the rounds at the PGA, soaking up support from
Tour friends. The Loves stayed in their cushy motor home,
hunkering down in a parking lot of a Rochester college. When the
blackout hit, they were able to enjoy all the comforts of home,
thanks to the rig's generator.

Having failed to make it into the PGA field, Tommy Armour III
passed the time last week at the Hollywood premiere of Open
Range, schmoozing with the film's star, Kevin Costner, at a
rooftop after-party.

THE POLL
VOTE AT GOLFONLINE.COM

THIS WEEK: What kind of rough do you prefer at majors: thin
enough that players can attempt recovery shots, as at Olympia
Fields, or thick and penal like Oak Hill's?

LAST POLL: Which 2003 major was the best?

British Open......40%
Masters...........39%
U.S. Open..........12%
PGA...............9%

--Based on 2,432 responses to our informal survey