The 20-year-old Ping wedges with square-shaped grooves will no longer be allowed on the PGA Tour starting March 29 under an agreement reached Monday with Ping executives.

Hands up everyone out there who thinks Camilo Villegas is the Next Face of the PGA Tour.

Camilo Villegas shot a final-round 68 to win the Honda Classic by five shots Sunday over Anthony Kim, giving the energetic Colombian his third PGA Tour victory.

Ashes fell from the sky, smoke filled the air and a thick haze hovered over PGA National.

Tiger Woods has turned down a $75 million (U.S.) sponsorship offer from Paddy Power, the Irish bookmaker said on Friday, adding it would make an improved offer to the golfer.

The Portuguese Open has been pushed back until June 10-13 from its original date of April 1-4. The Austrian Open, previously scheduled for that week in June, has been moved to September 16-19.

Malaysian golf chiefs threaten to withdraw their endorsement of the US PGA's first event in Southeast Asia over a clash of dates with an existing Asian Tour event in the country.

South Korean teenager Noh Seung-yul will bid this week to follow his record-breaking victory at the Malaysian Open by securing a place at the 150th anniversary Open Championship.

Short version of the loophole: Long-ago legal proceedings between Ping and the PGA Tour and Ping and the USGA resulted in Ping Eye 2s made in the late 1980s remaining "legal" for play despite having grooves that otherwise wouldn't conform to today's rules. (For the long version, see this.)

With new groove rules in place on tour this year, new rules that many pros feared would make their wedges less effective, a handful of touring pros have taken advantage of the loophole by using those old Pings in tournament play. John Daly was one of the first; Phil Mickelson was the highest-profile, and Phil's use of the old Pings at the Farmers Insurance Open led to the word "cheating" getting thrown around.

But today, in a news release, Ping announced:

Ping Chairman and CEO John Solheim announced today that Ping will waive its rights that prevent the PGA Tour from prohibiting the use of pre-April 1990 Ping Eye 2 irons and wedges that do not meet the 2010 Condition of Competition from being played at PGA Tour professional competitions.

The waiver goes into effect March 29 and applies to the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour. As a result of a request from the USGA, Ping will also apply the waiver to the U.S. Open in June. The PGA Tour will then adopt a Condition of the Competition that does not provide an exception for the pre-April 1990 Ping Eye 2 irons.

The waiver by Ping of the rights brokered under that long-ago legal agreement does not apply to USGA-sanctioned amateur tournaments. If you're an amateur, and you've been taking advantage of the loophole to use old Ping Eye 2 wedges, you can keep right on doing so in any tournaments governed by the USGA Rules of Golf.

On the Web:

• Ping, PGA Tour reach resolution on club issue

Agreement Closes Ping Eye 2 Loophole for Pros originally appeared on About.com Golf on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 13:38:04.

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But keep in that mind that the CA Championship will be only the third PGA Tour event that Woods has missed during his, ahem, hiatus. To this point in the season, Woods would only have played the Farmers Insurance Open (Torrey Pines) and the WGC Match Play Championship in one of his "normal" years.

Ishikawa has a much better reason than Woods for missing the CA Championship: He's attending his high school graduation. Today, in fact. The 18-year-old is in Tokyo with his fellow students getting his diploma. Good for him.

Anyone think Camilo Villegas isn't the favorite this week? In three tournaments in 2010, he's finished third, eighth and first. The defending champion is Phil Mickelson. Remember him?

Check the WGC CA Championship tournament page for the list of past champions and more tourney info and trivia.

This Week: WGC CA Championship originally appeared on About.com Golf on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 11:27:00.

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PGA Tour: Camilo Villegas has the looks, the swagger, the charisma, the game, the "Spider-Man pose." Now he has another win. Villegas kept the pedal down all week at the Honda Classic, opening with a pair of 66s, going 67-68 on the weekend.

He led by three at the start of the final round, and by five at the end of it. It's PGA Tour victory No. 3 for Villegas, and his first since the 2008 Tour Championship. Villegas has played three tournaments so far this year, and finished eighth or better in all three. Details (And see also: Camilo Villegas pictures)

Champions Tour: If you thought Villegas was off to a hot start, that's nothing compared to Fred Couples' start on the Champions Tour: second, first, first. Freddy Cool's second Champions Tour victory was by four strokes at the Toshiba Classic. Details

Nationwide Tour: Steve Pate defeated Aaron Watkins in a playoff at the Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open in Colombia (Camilo Villegas' brother Manuel finished 15th). Steve Pate ... wasn't he a Ryder Cupper once? Twice, actually, in 1991 and 1999. But this note from the PGA Tour media guide about his 1991 Ryder Cup gives a clue to the nature of Pate's career: "... played in only one match due to bruised hip suffered in traffic accident on way to team banquet."

Pate finished sixth on the PGA Tour money list in 1991, but injuries took a toll. He cracked a wrist in 1996, and broke his right hand and wrist in a car wreck in 1997. In 1999, he was PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year, finishing 13th on the money list. But his game quickly fell off after that. Now he's a couple weeks away from 49. Champions Tour, here he comes! But please be careful in traffic, Steve. Details

European Tour/Asian Tour: 18-year-old Korean Seung-yul Noh, the 2008 Asian Tour Rookie of the Year, beat KJ Choi by one stroke. He did it by chipping from behind a hospitality tent, off the fringe of the practice putting green, to the 18th green, then making the last-hole birdie putt. Details

LET/ALPG: Karrie Webb flirted with a 59 before "settling" for a course-record 61 to win the co-sanctioned ANZ Ladies Masters for a record seventh time. She won by six strokes over Katherine Hull and Bo-Mee Lee. Details

JLPGA: Ai Miyazato's attempt to win three straight weeks ended in Japan at the Daikin Orchid Ladies tournament, where Ai finished tied for seventh. The winner was Korean Sun Ju Ahn, running away from runners-up including Jiyai Shin and Inbee Park. Details

Sunday Summary: Big Wins for Villegas, Couples originally appeared on About.com Golf on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 18:44:30.

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1. Which Hall-of-Famer whiffed a putt on the 72nd hole of a British Open to fall out of a playoff?
2. Which Hall-of-Famer, upon visiting St. Andrews for the first time, spotted the Old Course and said, "That looks like an old, abandoned golf course?"

For answer No. 1, see the results of the 1933 British Open. For answer No. 2, see the results of the 1946 British Open.

Looking Back: British Opens originally appeared on About.com Golf on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 08:28:06.

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Villegas became a fan favorite early in his PGA Tour career, well before he established himself as a star by winning, in part due to the unique method he employs for reading greens. Villegas gets low. Very low. He strikes the Spider-Man pose. Check out some images of Villegas employing his green-reading technique, and cast your vote in a poll on the last page.

Camilo Villegas' Spidey Sense originally appeared on About.com Golf on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 21:11:31.

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