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All that talk earlier in the week about Graeme McDowell finding his golf game? Yeah, maybe that was a little premature. After firing three sub-70 rounds at the Players, McDowell came back to earth in the final round, as he watched as a one-shot lead turn into a three-plus shot deficit as the round progressed.

Conditions on the course were prime for scoring, but McDowell once again had issues with his swing that saw him tally three bogeys in a four hole stretch to finish his front nine, including a snap-hook on the ninth hole that looked very reminiscent of a shot another Northern Irishman hit recently in the middle of a pressure-packed final round.

But unlike McIlroy's collapse at the Masters, McDowell's implosion during the middle of the round had nothing to do with a lack of experience, and everything to do with a swing that's still giant question mark. G-Mac kept rehearsing his swing on the tee box, from the fairway, and in the trees, a place he spent much of the round, as he tried

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Every professional golfer has, at one point or another, hit the proverbial brick wall with their game. It doesn't matter how many tournaments you've won, there comes a day when you'll step up to a ball on the range and notice something is amiss.

It's not a big deal when you miss one cut, but when they start of come in bunches and realize there's something wrong with your swing, that's where you find out how dedicated a player is to finding their game again.

Graeme McDowell found this out first-hand earlier this year, when he came into the 2011 season as the hottest golfer in the game. With a major championship and the winning putt at the Ryder Cup on his resume, it didn't seem like it could get any better for G-Mac ... that is until he came from four back to beat Tiger at the Target World Challenge.

He followed up his torrid 2010 with three consecutive top-10 finishes,

114130176Lost in a pile of Tiger Woods talk on Thursday afternoon was a pretty incredible opening round story. Unless you were paying attention, however, you probably glossed over a name sitting two shots back of the lead on Thursday -- that name, of course, being Mark O'Meara.

Remember that guy? The 54-year-old two-time major champion, who hasn't played full-time on the PGA Tour since 2007, found a fountain of youth on Thursday, hitting just 12 greens on the day but finishing with an eye-popping 24 putts that produced seven birdies to finish the first round at 6-under, just two shots back of Nick Watney.

A lot has changed since O'Meara made his last start at the Players in 2003. In those eight years, players have gotten stronger and the equipment has gotten better. But none of that seemed to matter for the current Champions Tour member, who used his course knowledge to put together the biggest opening round shock next to Woods' WD.

The big question now is if O'Meara can keep the momentum going

fontaine_taylor_2008This week is all about the professionals playing at in the Players Championship, but for some amateurs out there, this week was just as big, as countless players teed it up in U.S. Open Local Qualifying tournaments around the country.

University of Rhode Island golfer Taylor Fontaine was one of the brave few that showed up at Newport (R.I.) Country Club to play in blustery conditions that had most players slamming their clubs in anger, as 20 of 67 players in the field managed to break 80 on the day.

Fontaine was one of the lucky few, firing a 76 to grab one of five spots and advance to Section Qualifying. But unfortunately, this story doesn't have a happy ending. As Golf Digest's Mike Stachura wrote, the lead official of the qualifier called him over soon after to discuss a potential violation that had to do with his wedge being non-conforming to the USGA's new grooves rule.

The wedge in question, a Titleist Vokey Design, was actually given to him by a buddy, after Fontaine received an

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Stop me if you've heard this one before, but a Tiger Wood golf course development is being put on hold. After having to deal with the backlash for the money he made on his failed course project in Dubai, Woods is now dealing with another development blunder, as the Cliffs luxury community in Ashville, N.C., reported that it's having trouble selling homes in the development.

In this economy?!? No way! As Charlotte's NewChannel 36 reported, the first course on the site was supposed to be built in 2007. But with developers stopping construction, it looks like the earliest the course will be finished is late in 2013.

The design is done. The land is prepped. But construction is on hold. [Developer Jim] Anthony said construction on the course ended in late November.

Woods unveiled plans for the Cliffs at High Carolina in August 2007. He greeted a crowd of prospective homeowners back then, saying, "We're looking forward to the golf course taking shape over the next couple of years."

The days of public and private schools being separated on the playing field appear to be numbered, after the Texas senate passed a bill that would grant private schools the option to play against their public school counterparts in Texas' UIL. As the Dallas Morning News pointed out, the move may be a shocker to some in Texas, but it shouldn't come as a surprise since countless states already allow public and private schools to play each other in a number of sports.

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Texas' House still has to approve the new idea, but for the most part you can safely assume that in the coming years there could be at least a couple of private schools winning state championships in a handful of sports.

"Students who are in private and parochial schools, their parents are paying school taxes. In my view, it's discrimination to not let those students participate. This is not the end of the world. It's just new competition," Sen. Dan Patrick told the Dallas Morning News.

Based on the new bill, this wouldn't be a change that would happen overnight, with the initial goal being to slowly blend the smaller private schools in, over the next five years, before dealing with the well-known schools like Ursuline, whose girls soccer team has won 21 consecutive TAPPS titles, and St. Mark's.

But anyone expecting to see perennial public school powerhouse Southlake Carroll take on some of the better private schools in football won't get their wish. While the bill allows for private schools to join UIL, the new bill excludes two of the biggest sports: football and basketball. As the paper pointed in their story, keeping both sports off allowed the bill to pass.

82921074This week, the World Golf Hall of Fame is recognizing six people in the world of golf that have made substantial contributions to the game. We will be profiling all six, giving you relevant information about them and why they're a part of the new Hall of Fame class.

Considering everything President George H.W. Bush has done for our country, it shouldn't come as any surprise that the man who did so much for our country is getting honored for something that's near and dear to his heart -- that of course being his love and dedication to growing the game of golf.

President Bush will be inducted on Monday via lifetime achievement category. You don't need to look any further than the family's golf history to see the game was in his blood from the moment he first picked up a club.

His maternal grandfather, G.H. Walker, was president of the U.S. Golf Association in the 1920's and is credited with coming up with the idea for the Walker Cup, the Ryder Cup-style matches between the best

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Sizing up the TV coverage from the Quail Hollow Championship ... and away we go.

Seve Ballestero's passing took the entire golf world by surprise earlier this week, when his family announced that the golf legend's health had taken a turn for the worse. When news broke early Saturday morning that he had died at the age of 54, you expected CBS to open the third round with a couple minutes on one of the greatest golfers to ever play the game.

But the network went one step further, dedicating 17 minutes at the beginning of the telecast to remember Ballesteros. The comments from past and current players, including CBS's Nick Faldo, Ian Baker-Finch and David Feherty, showed you what an impact Ballesteros not only had on the game, but also on the golfers he competed against each week.

"Our hearts and mind are a mile away in Spain," Jim Nantz said at the opening.

"It's really hard to believe he's gone. His career was so short and his life ridiculously short for a man that we all really