Admitting PGA Tour leadership never saw the controversy coming, Tim Finchem now can do little more than wait.
"The lawyers are evaluating," the commissioner said Wednesday from Riviera Country Club, where the Northern Trust Open is being played outside Los Angeles.
Life has been anything but groovy for the PGA Tour since Scott McCarron -- a member of the player advisory council -- last week ignited a wildfire of controversy by suggesting Phil Mickelson was cheating by using a loophole to play the non-conforming pre-1990 Ping Eye2 wedges.
For a sport needing to put on its best foot forward in the wake of Tiger Woods' image issues, the resulting infighting was pretty much everything golf did not need -- its on-course action being upstaged by a top player having his integrity questioned. Even worse, it most likely could have been avoided.
Numerous reports, all of them, however, unsubstantiated, suggest the beleaguered golf star is preparing to end his indefinite leave by competing in the Accenture Match Play Championship, to be played outside Tucson, Ariz., Feb. 17-21.
Since Woods took an indefinite leave of absence from the game following a personal-life sex scandal that broke in late November, speculation has targeted a handful of possible tournaments he might select to make a return.
The Accenture, along with March's World Golf Championship event at Doral in Miami, and the Masters are most commonly mentioned.
The positives for the Match Play is that Woods also chose the World Golf Event competition to return to competition last year after being out for almost eight months because of knee surgery.
A week of notes, quotes and gossip from the world of golf ...
PGA Tour brass did not do themselves proud with their handling of the Ping Eye2 controversy, created by Phil Mickelson and a handful of others using a legal loophole to play the non-conforming pre-1990 wedges.
Although acknowledging he was long ago aware of the avenue to skirt the new groove design rule, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said it was decided there would be no advantage gained by playing the clubs.
Obviously, Scott McCarron disagrees, and suggested anyone using the club is cheating.
Mickelson responds by saying his reputation was slandered and suggests legal action. Brilliant! The tour finally figured a way to make people quit talking about Tiger Woods.
SAN DIEGO -- For a player who had two career PGA Tour wins in nine seasons before arriving at Torrey Pines for the Farmers Insurance Open, Ben Crane on Sunday looked very much like he knew exactly what he was doing.
At least he did until the winning three-foot putt for par on the final hole dropped.
That's when Crane turned quizzically to caddie Joel Stock, looking very much like a man suddenly realizing his pants were on fire.
"You know, I did not know that I had won when it was over," Crane said. "I didn't know who was playing well. I didn't know what was really going on in front of me. I had no idea what was going on.
"I'm thankful I didn't. Someone said, 'one-shot lead' when we were going to the last hole, so I thought he might be right."
Still, Crane insisted victory did not register until final-group playing partner Ryuji Imada made it official.
"He goes, 'Congratulations,' and I go, 'Did I win?' " Crane said. "He kind of looks at me. I said, 'Did I win the tournament?' He's like, 'Yeah.' "
It meant the 33-year-old golf wallflower did everything the pros with their own airplanes did, only a little bit better.
SAN DIEGO -- Phil Mickelson arrived at Torrey Pines for Saturday's third round of the Farmers Insurance Open embroiled in controversy.
Once play began Lefty was soon so far down a ravine after his tee shot on No. 4, he was almost as close to Black's Beach, a local clothing-optional hangout, as the fairway. Three holes later, he was up a tree, his tee ball stuck in a giant eucalyptus.
And then there was Mickelson's last stop for the day: The leaderboard.
It was Philly Mick at his most Philly Mick-est -- gambling, scrambling and then pontificating -- on the way to a 2-under 70 that puts him 9 under par for the week and four shots back of leader Ryuji Imada heading into Sunday's final round.
"I'm in position where a good round will get it done," he said. "Something in the mid-to-high 60s is going to have a chance."
Admitting PGA Tour leadership never saw the controversy coming, 
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SAN DIEGO -- For a player who had two career PGA Tour wins in nine seasons before arriving at Torrey Pines for the Farmers Insurance Open, 
SAN DIEGO -- 
