GETTING TESTY

Last week Tom Pernice was identified as the player who had asked the Tour to test Tiger Woods's driver to make sure it conformed to USGA standards. Although the request was supposed to have been confidential, Pernice didn't mind being exposed. "I said to Tiger, 'I hope there are no hard feelings,'" Pernice explained. "I know I'd take it as a compliment if anybody asked to test my driver. What goes around, comes around. Tiger wanted guys' drivers tested; he's the one who thought drivers were illegal two years ago. Now all of a sudden he's hitting it 40 yards past us."

What Pernice didn't like was an Associated Press story that suggested that Pernice's friendship with Vijay Singh might have been a factor in the request. "To put Vijay's name in that article was totally unprofessional and out of line," Pernice said. "I stand on my own and speak for myself. So does Vijay."

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DAVID WALBERG (PERNICE)