SHANGHAI, China -- Consider a couple of scenes from the golf world this year, with emphasis on "world. Cheap Washington Redskins Jerseys ." Inbee Park began her bid to become the first golfer to capture four straight majors in one season by teeing off at 7 a.m. in the opening round at St. Andrews. It was a strange starting time for the star attraction, except that was prime viewing in South Korea. One of the rules officials at the HSBC Champions was a Chinese woman who has a Ph.D. in golf. Tiger Woods has only a Masters (OK, four of them). Jordan Spieth wandered down to the caddies bar Saturday night with his Texas Longhorns cap turned backward and his eyes on a TV showing the USC-Oregon State game from Friday night that had ended eight hours earlier. He was a long way from home, but for a moment, it sure didnt feel like it. One of the biggest celebrations of the year starts this week in Australia -- Adam Scott finally returns home with his green jacket. Americans can be found over the next month from the Pacific Rim to Down Under. Rickie Fowler went from Malaysia to Shanghai to Australia, and then he was headed to Los Angeles for intense gym work before returning to Thailand. Tiger Woods was in China, Macau and Singapore doing corporate outings and an exhibition before going to Turkey this week for his second regular European Tour event of the year. Matt Kuchar is representing his country at Royal Melbourne again, this time in the World Cup. Graeme McDowell, who grew up in Northern Ireland and lives in Orlando, Fla., spent two weeks in Shanghai, and then flew home to Florida for a week going back across eight time zones to finish his European Tour season in Dubai. Then he goes to Australia and Los Angeles. Now, throw out 153 years of championship history and ask yourself this question: If golf were starting from scratch and there could be only four majors, would three of them really be in America? Thats why it makes perfect sense for the PGA of America to explore the possibility of occasionally taking the PGA Championship overseas. The key words are "explore" and "occasionally." "I would say were more than halfway through a serious analysis," PGA chief executive Pete Bevacqua said over the weekend. "Whats important is we boil down our missions to two pillars -- serve our members and grow the game," Bevacqua said. "The ultimate test will be can we check both boxes? Does it make sense to occasionally play the PGA Championship overseas? Would growing the brand globally help our members? Would it grow the game? Part two is easy." The assumption would be to look at Asia, though the HSBC Champions already bills itself as "Asias major" and likely will be even further established when or if the PGA of America ever decides to start accumulating stamps in its passport. The most obvious hindrance is television, which was driven home by a tweet from Bob Estes to Dustin Johnson. "Just woke up to find out that you won." The tweet was sent Sunday at 7:30 a.m. Texas time, about five hours after Johnson completed his three-shot win in the HSBC Champions. Estes missed an extraordinary display of golf -- Johnson, Ian Poulter and McDowell each closed with a 66 from the final group. Then again, if the PGA Championship were to leave America on occasion, thats at least a decade out. It wasnt long ago when the Masters showed only three hours of the final round. Or when golf in America was only televised on the weekend. How will sports even be broadcast a decade from now? Bevacqua has only to look at other sports to identify a trend. The NBA is playing preseason games in China. The NFL is making London a regular part of its schedule (yes, that team from Jacksonville really is part of the NFL). The Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks will open the 2014 baseball season in Australia. "The world is getting smaller," PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said. "Things are coming together. Its more a question of the best players in the world are going to play, and its going to be a big deal wherever it goes. Whats best for that tournament long-term? And whats good for golf globally given the options? I dont think theres any reason not to think of those things." Its a new world of golf. Its a big world, yet one that is shrinking. For years, the PGA Championship has been looked upon as the "other" major because it lacks a clear identity the other three enjoy. The Masters and Augusta National. The Open Championship and links golf. The U.S. Open historically as the toughest test in golf. The PGA Championship has a chance to identify itself as the only international major. Its worth exploring, because its clear thats where golf is going. Luke Guthrie had just started his second PGA Tour season when he packed his bags, along with a 2-litre bottle of Mountain Dew for his caffeine fix, and flew from Las Vegas to Shanghai for a European Tour event with little more at stake than experience in a new environment. He nearly won. Hello, China. Cheap Minnesota Vikings Jerseys . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Cheap Los Angeles Lakers Jerseys . -- Diego Chara scored in the opening minutes and the Portland Timbers boosted their playoff hopes with a 3-0 win over the New England Revolution Friday night.The post-Olympic NHL is buzzing with rumors of trade talk between the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning involving some significant pieces – Ranger captain Ryan Callahan and Lightning captain Marty St. Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less.2. The real question, though, is what is the latest and greatest information. Or, in other words, is this a story that is a couple of weeks old, just now finally coming to light and perhaps outdated? If its the latter, and either Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman doesnt intend to trade St. Louis or St. Louis doesnt want to be traded (he has a full No Move Clause), one or both of them may want to put the kaibosh on this story real fast now that theyre back from Sochi. Thats their call, but the Lighting are an Eastern Conference contender and letting this take on a life of its own is going to make for an unsettled week to 10 days leading up to the March 5 trade deadline. Ultimately, the larger issue is where is St. Louiss mindset at right now? Does he want to remain captain of the Lightning? There is reason to believe in the immediate aftermath of his Jan. 7 snub from the Canadian Olympic team, in some form or another, St. Louis indicated to the Bolts he may look favorably on a move out of Tampa. We have to be careful here not to get too hung up on semantics. Was it a trade demand? A trade request? A conversation? Was it St. Louis speaking directly to Yzerman or was it some form of communication between St. Louiss agent Lewis Gross and the organization? While none of the principals were confirming or denying anything in those days and weeks after the initial snub, talk in the NHL community was rife that St. Louis wanted out. There was even talk – again, nothing with an absolute confirmation -- that the only place St. Louis would waive his No Move Clause for was the New York Rangers. His off-season hhome is just outside NYC, in Connecticut. Cheap Vikings Jerseys. If the NYR or bust account is accurate, it would certainly explain the St. Louis rumors coming out of NYC the last few days and the talk of Callahan for St. Louis. But heres the problem on that front. Tampa, especially now that Steven Stamkos is closer to returning, is a potential Eastern contender. St. Louis is a huge part of the Lightning attack and if you take a primary offensive catalyst out of the Bolts lineup now, its difficult to believe it could be accomplished with Ranger captain Callahan coming the other way on an expiring contract. Yzerman would want and need more from the Rangers than that. And as long as we presume the Lightning want to remain a contender in the East this season, trading St. Louis for future considerations or younger, unproven players presents its own set of unique problems in the short term. As for the Rangers, theyre not about to start giving up draft picks, prospects or young players for a 38-year-old. So the Tampa-NYR fit doesnt appear to be there. Even if there were a fit, when its all said and done, nothing happens if St. Louis doesnt want it to happen. His NMC guarantees that. If he feels more strongly about staying in Tampa now that hes played for Team Canada in the Olympics than he may have in the aftermath of the Jan. 7 snub, then the trade stories out of NYC are old news recycled as new. But if St. Louis would look favorably on a move now, even if its only to NYC, then the ball is back squarely in the Lightnings court to decide if theres any desire to oblige him and whether theres even a deal to be made. The way I see it, Yzerman isnt making any move in the short term unless it totally suits his purposes and IF he is contemplating trading St. Louis, it may make as much or more sense to do it in the summer as now. Or maybe St. Louis and the Lightning are going to live happily ever after. If thats the case, theyll no doubt let us know. Or not. In the meantime, well just sit tight to see how this one plays out but it sure seems as though it has way too many moving parts. ' ' '
The Wall