Heard on the Range

Before the start of the Shell Houston Open, MCI Heritage
runner-up Ted Purdy vented his frustration about the Tour's
ruling on Stewart Cink's removal of loose impediments in a waste
area on the 18th hole at Harbour Town. "Every player who's come
up to me said I got robbed," Purdy said. "I've always heard there
was a double standard for the top players. If I had been in that
situation, do you think I would have gotten that ruling?" ...
When the Hawaii men's basketball team went to Honolulu's Punahou
School for an autograph session on April 13, junior guard Jake
Sottos spotted ninth-grader Michelle Wie standing in line. An
avid golfer, Sottos asked the 14-year-old for her autograph
instead.... According to London's Evening Standard, Colin
Montgomerie's wife, Eimear, has grown increasingly close to actor
and avid golfer Hugh Grant. The Montgomeries separated for a time
in 2001 and have since reconciled, but they continue to have
marital difficulties, and Grant has become Eimear's
confidante.... Less than a month after winning the Players
Championship, Adam Scott has fired caddie Alastair McLean, who,
according to insiders, was looping for the Aussie on borrowed
time well before the win at Sawgrass. "They've parted company
amicably, and that's the way it is," said Phil Scott, Adam's
father.... The tie that binds might be the controversial one at
last year's Presidents Cup, because the captains who brokered
that deal, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, have agreed to reprise
their roles for the 2005 event. --J.G., Farrell Evans

COLOR PHOTO: JIM GUND (PURDY) THE VICTIM Purdy claims he was done in at Harbour Town by adouble standard.