Golf Roundup: Haney defends book about Tiger

Hank Haney has taken hits from coast to coast for writing his new book, "The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods."

For one day last week while on a promotional tour for the book, Haney defended his former client when asked if Woods ever used performance-enhancing drugs.

"Tiger works out in the gym like you wouldn't believe," Haney said when the question was asked by Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel. "His physical therapist for a long time was a very good friend of mine for over 25 years and has always been clean as a whistle."

In the same interview, Haney again defended himself for writing the book. It's co-authored by respected golf writer Jaime Diaz, who recently was appointed editor-in-chief of Golf World and Golf Digest.

Many observers have said that what Haney has done is a violation of some unwritten code.

"These aren't just his memories; he doesn't have a patent on them," Haney said. "He doesn't have an exclusive on them. They're my memories, too, and I wanted to be able to share them."

Haney has pointed out that he is not the first coach to write a book, mentioning Phil Jackson and Joe Torre as examples.

For argument's sake, one difference is that Jackson and Torre were not on the payroll of the players they wrote about.

--Patrick Cantlay, the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world, played in the Masters for the first time and went with tradition by staying in the Crow's Nest above the clubhouse at Augusta National.

Cantlay, a 22-year-old sophomore at UCLA, shared the accommodations with Corbin Mills, the U.S. Amateur Public Links Champion, and Kelly Kraft, who beat Cantlay to win the U.S. Amateur last August.

"Coming in on Sunday night, I came in late and no one was around," Cantlay said. "We are the only three staying up there this week. It's not too crowded or anything. It's really special waking up in the morning and seeing the place empty. It's pretty cool."

"... On TV, it looks really tree-lined and narrow. But out here you can see all the other holes and it feels open, especially (Nos.) 9 and 18 greens when there are no people or grandstands. There's no framing other than the bunkers."

Cantlay still is in no hurry to turn pro despite getting plenty of pressure to do so after he finished in the top 25 in each of the four PGA Tour events he played last summer.

Included were a tie for 21st at the U.S. Open at Congressional, where he was low amateur, and a tie for 24th a week later in Hartford, where he shot a course-record 60 in the second round.

"If I stay really engaged in the present, then the future will take care of itself," Cantlay said.

Cantlay opened the Masters with a 1-under-par 71 and closed with a 72, carding an eagle and two birdies down the stretch, to finish in a tie for 47th and claim the prize for low amateur.

--Luke Donald made history last year by becoming the first player to claim the money titles on the PGA Tour and the European Tour in the same season.

His attempt at another historic double last year at the Masters -- winning the Par-3 Tournament on Wednesday and then the main event -- did not work out quite so well.

Undeterred by the so-called jinx, Donald captured the Par-3 Tournament and made a strong run before tying for fourth in the first major of the season.

"I actually had a very focused goal of trying to win both of them, and it was something that I wanted to do," said Donald, now the No. 1 player in the world.

Donald never has won a major championship, so this year he was taking no chances.

He passed on the Masters Par-3 Tournament.

"As fun as it is, I probably will play it when my kids get a little bit older," Donald said. "Playing on greens that are not quite the same the afternoon before the first round doesn't seem the best preparation for me."

Padraig Harrington and Jonathan Byrd share the title in the par-3 tournament at 5-under-par and kept the streak intact. Harrington tied for eighth in the Masters and Byrd finished in a tie for 27nd.

--Harrison Frazar made his first appearance in the Masters last week at the age of 40.

His only regret was that his friend, the late Byron Nelson, was not there to see it.

"He would have shaken my hand and said, 'Job well done, but it shouldn't have taken you that long,' " Frazar said of Nelson, who died in 2006 at the age of 94.

Nelson, a fellow Texan and one of the greats of the game, captured the Masters in 1937 and 1942.

Frazar won the St. Jude Classic in Memphis last June, and his first PGA Tour title in 14 years on the PGA Tour earned him a spot in the Masters. He received a congratulatory note from Nelson's widow, Peggy Nelson.

"She was very happy for me and my family," Frazar said. "She's a sweet lady and has been a wonderful source of support."

Frazar said "Mr. Nelson" was on his mind often as he made his way around Augusta National.

When they would visit at Nelson's Fairway Ranch in Roanoke, Texas, the Masters often was the topic of conversation.

"It was one of his favorite places," Frazar said. "I remember him telling stories of how he played on the back nine and shots that he hit, and he remembered the smells and the colors of the flowers. It left a lasting impression on him that he had no problem sharing with other people.

"... I thought about him. Walking across the Nelson Bridge you can't help but think of all the greats of the game that have stepped on that very same piece of ground when you step off of it. All of them came to mind. It's an honor to be there."

Frazar shot 73-78--151 and missed the cut by two strokes.

--Jesper Parnevik's golf career might be in jeopardy after he nearly severed his right index finger in a boating accident in Florida, according to a report on the Golf Channel.

The 47-year-old Swede was trying to take his boat out of the water when he caught his right hand in a motorized boat winch.

"When I saw the edges of the machine, I was 100 percent sure that I lost all the fingers," Parnevik told the Swedish news website Aftonbladet.se. "I was terrified.

"... The doctor thinks that it will be good, but it can take a hell of a long time. I think that you cannot do so damn much without the right hand. It is quite important, not just in golf."

Parnevik, who has won five times on the PGA Tour, underwent surgery at a hospital in Jupiter, Fla., and is expected to face four months of rehabilitation.

The Swede has been battling hip, neck and back injuries in recent years and was playing this year on the PGA Tour with a Major Medical Exemption. When he returns, he has 12 tournaments to make $620,087 and maintain his playing status.