Ten Questions I'd Like Tiger Woods to Answer on Monday in His Pre-Recorded Video

As you've probably heard, Tiger Woods is planning to post a pre-recorded video on Monday from questions fans asked him on Twitter and Facebook. All of them will be softball questions, but here are ten I'd really like to hear him answer.

-- If you had to pick one way to destroy a copy of "The Big Miss," what would you go with?

-- If you had to project, how many times in your life have you used the phrase "I'm close," and yes, personal moments should be counted?

-- Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Rich Beem -- f, m, k ... go.

-- When you get really old, will you buy orthopedic shoes or just drag some of your current golf shoes out of the closet and wear them?

-- Be honest with me for a second ... Crest White Strips?

-- How many minutes did it take you to stop laughing when your agent suggested you do a video blog answering questions from fans, and how long until you realized he wasn't kidding?

-- If you had to compare yourself to one professional athlete, past or present, that isn't a golfer, who would it be and why?

-- Do you still own that outfit you wore when you won the U.S. Amateur at Sawgrass and if so, how often do you put that hat on and just sit around in your bathrobe?

-- If I said I could promise you you'd win five more majors, but you had to publicly announce that your new girlfriend was Lindsay Lohan, and date her until the five majors were complete, would you take me up on my offer?

-- When is the last time you had to pay for a round of golf?

Okay, that's it! Give me your best in the comments.

Tiger Woods to Increase His Interaction With Fans in Most Tiger Woods Way Possible

If there is one thing that Tiger Woods and his camp knows, it's how to entertain the masses, and they're really outdone themselves now with the announcement that on Monday, Tiger will post a pre-recorded video on his website answering questions from fans.

Yes, in a move that shows Tiger's golf swing isn't the only thing stuck in 2007, Tiger will take questions from his Twitter and Facebook account from fans and post that video online after his agent, Mark Steinberg, announced they're trying to do more with social media.

Via Bob Harig's story on ESPN ...

"We've been thinking about this for a couple of months now," Steinberg said Friday night. "We wanted to have a little bit more direct interaction with fans, and they've been very good to him over the years. We're probably a little bit behind with social media and this is a way to do that."

Ehh, is it really a way of doing that, Mark? Posting a pre-recorded video on the website you own?

In a time when certain professional golfers have appeared on the Bill Simmons' podcast, used Twitter to gain a serious following, and even done a AMA (ask me anything) chat over at Reddit, it seems this move isn't anymore "social media" as the fact that Tiger's Twitter account (obviously not run by him) has done just 12 updates in the month of April.

I commend Tiger and his team for at least trying something new, and any steps is at least progress, but is that entire office so clueless that their idea of moving forward is pre-recording something? Pre-recordings are to the current Internets what a Q and A via Morse Code would have been in the late 1980s.

I will say this ... it might be nice to see Tiger answer questions without staring blankly at media members like he normally does in press conferences. And hey, my coworker Steve Elling might actually get one of his questions for Tiger answered this way. You've got a 1 in 2.11 million shot, buddy!

Video: Lexi Thompson Wants a Prom Date

Yes, Lexi Thompson is still very young, but that doesn't mean she isn't aging very well in PR years.

The LPGA star went to YouTube to ask a military man between the ages of 18-20 to go to prom with her on May 18. Lexi is still 17, but I like the idea and the initiative.

Video: Rory McIlroy goes Happy Gilmore and other pro golfers being awesome

I don't post a lot of trick shot videos, but holy mother of everything, skip to the :54 second mark and just enjoy someone doing something absolutely incredible.

Also, an added bonus; Rory McIlroy and Jason Day going all Happy Gilmore in this spot.

via Golf Monthly

Jerry Rice, PLEASE STOP!

I have never met Jerry Rice, the former NFL superstar turned hack professional golfer. I don't know him, know his golf game, know his objectives as he approaches these Nationwide Tour events. All I know is that the man must stop doing it. Like, now.

Rice has now played in three Nationwide Tour events. The first was a two-day total of 17-over par, finishing 151 out of 152 golfers in the field. The second ended when Rice inexplicably pulled out a range finder DURING COMPETITION, getting disqualified as any golfer with a balata of sense would know was about to happen.

Now, Rice has withdrawn after an opening round 86 at the TPC Stonebrae Championship and a weather delay that had the former wide receiver open with a 42 on his first nine holes before pulling out early.

There are so many things wrong with this, I don't even know where to start.

He's taking a spot away from an actual professional golfer trying to make a living.

He's not good at golf.

He continues to try to hit the piñata, not understanding that he will never, ever, ever make contact.

I don't care if Rice is doing this for charity. I don't care if every time he tees it up an orphan finds a home. All I care about is the fact that Jerry Rice continues to disrespect the game of golf and it needs to stop.

Why the hell is the Nationwide Tour giving this guy exemptions? Can someone explain that to me? Is it because it forces guys like me to write about the tournament? is that the exposure you want for a tour event?

Jerry Rice's golf swing isn't bringing people to a golf tournament, much like Tiger Woods' jump-shot wouldn't have basketball fans rushing to a Harlem Globetrotters game. Sports fans, the real, true sports fan, wants to see talented people play the game in a way they can't comprehend.

Rice doesn't do that. He goes out and makes a lot of double-bogeys, not many birdies, and posts a score similar to what you or your dad would post at an event like this on the courses the Nationwide Tour plays.

And the biggest issue? The Nationwide Tour is a much bigger deal this year. Guys with a weak status could really use a boost at this event or that one, because playing well means a lot more in 2012 than it did a year ago.

Rice needs to give up on this dream. He's simply not good enough to make it. It was fun once. It was annoying the second time. Now, it's downright disrespectful.

When Alligators Attack! (Caddie Edition)

I know, I know, most "alligator on golf course" videos are extremely lame, but not when it's a PGA Tour tournament and the caddies are trying to scare one away so that a pro can hit his shot.

That's what happened at Harbour Town on Thursday as Brian Gay was trying to play his shot with an alligator sneaking around near the bank.

Caddies are tough people, but even this was a bit crazy for me, no?

Video: Bubba Watson Hits Best Shot Ever at the Masters

I thought I'd get this up while it's still around on YouTube, just because, damn, that's a cool golf shot. Here is Bubba Watson's shot that won him the green jacket. Enjoy it again.

Paul Azinger Not a Huge Fan of Tiger Woods' Attempted 9-Iron Field Goal

On Friday at the Masters, Tiger Woods did not play very well. He played so poorly, actually, that on the 16th hole, his frustration came out in the form of a 9-iron kick that had a lot of fans rolling their eyes and mentioning Tiger's supposed changes that he mentioned two years ago at an infamous press conference.

Tiger is of course human, and every golfer gets frustrated at times (just ask a 56-degree wedge of mine), but critics are critics and they come in the form of Paul Azinger.

The former PGA Championship winner spoke to Mad Dog Radio and had this to say about Tiger's behavior at the Masters last week.

"Tiger's antics this week were an embarrassment to the game, to the membership at Augusta," Zinger said. "I was really disappointed to see him carry on that way. He's not trying to endear himself to anybody. And after he won Bay Hill I thought, ‘here we go again, this is going to be Tiger just kicking butt and taking names.' I don't know. I thought he acted like the south end of a northbound mule."

First things first; that is a hilarious way for Zinger to put it. Yes, Tiger acted childish and all that, but to basically say the dude was an ass at Augusta National? Almost seems too good to be true.

And frankly, Azinger is right. Tiger did act poorly. So much, actually, that he apologized (Well, sort of apologized) on Saturday after his round.

Woods' frustration, in my opinion, came because the guy expected to tear it up and failed to do so. It was more anger at himself than anything else, and for once, he couldn't blame it on the course or the fans or the cameras or the greens. He, simply, played like a dog. Or an ass. Either way works.

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Louis Oosthuizen hits the shot of his life at the Masters ... but still ends up losing

What is it about the Masters that brings out the best in players? Seriously, guys just show up and hit career shots each and every year, and for the most part, most of us never bat an eyelash. You just expect guys to up their game when they come to one of the most special places on earth.

Louis Oosthuizen hit one of those career shots on Sunday at the Masters.

Standing over his second at the par-5 second hole, the South African eyed a green light situation from 260 yards out. Knowing the back right pin was for suckers, Oosthuizen did the smart thing, throwing in a picture-perfect shot that hit a ridge and funneled right to the hole ... and then it dropped in the cup for a double-eagle.

We've seen some incredible shots at the Masters, but this one has to rank right up there as one of the best.

The craziest part of all? Oosthuizen threw his ball into the crowd. One of the most historic shots in tournament history now belongs to a golf fan. It would have been a bigger deal had he won the tournament, but even with his second-place finish, the shot will still go down as one of the greatest we've ever seen. Well done, Louis.

Tiger Woods apologizes for Friday's on-course antics

Here's something you don't see every day -- Tiger Woods apologizing for his language and on-course antics after a round. Hard to believe, I know, but the 14-time major winner made it a point after Saturday's round to tell everyone how sorry he was for his actions.

"I'm frustrated at times and I apologize if I offended anybody by that." Woods said. "But I've hit some bad shots and it's certainly frustrating at times not hitting the ball where you need to hit it."

Woods once again looked frustrated during the third round, hitting blocked drives and never giving himself a chance to build on the two early birdies in the first five holes. He ended the day the way he started it, at 3-over for the tournament following an ever-par 72 round that saw Masters chances end.

After talking up Tiger's chances early in the week, we most likely won't even see a single live shot of his final round ... and that might not be a bad thing. Considering the way he's acted this week, the last thing golf fans want to see is Tiger sulk around the course for another 18 holes.

Follow Jonathan Wall on Twitter during Masters week:@jonathanrwall

This shot pretty much sums up Tiger Woods' second round at the Masters

Did you miss Tiger Woods' second round because you were at work or out on the course? Don't worry, because after watching this clip, you'll be caught up on exactly how Mr. Woods played on Friday.

That would be awful ... with a capital "A". Seriously, it was one of the worst rounds we've seen from him in some time. He completely lost his swing on the back nine and went completely off the tracks on the par-3 16th hole. Following another poor tee shot, Woods drop-kicked his club in anger -- something you normally wouldn't do at Augusta National.

But I guess Tiger gets a pass. He's Tiger Woods, after all, and I doubt anybody's going to chastise him for his actions. He's now 3-over for the week and looks to be a non-factor on the weekend unless he produces a ridiculously low round on Saturday.

Follow Jonathan Wall on Twitter during Masters week: @jonathanrwall

Other popular content on Dogs That Chase Cars:

• Stenson comes unraveled at the worst possible time
• Martin Kaymer's skip-shot hole-out
• Phil Mickelson implodes on the 10th hole

Henrik Stenson comes unraveled at the worst possible time

Henrik Stenson had it going on Thursday at the Masters. With a couple eagles on the front nine and a birdie on the 15th, the Swede found himself 6-under at the Masters with a couple holes to play. For a guy who'd never broken 70 in the tournament, this seemed like a turning point for Stenson.

He was the perfect darkhorse to make a run. Sneaky-good game? Check. Long off the tee? Check? Short game? Check. He seemed perfect. Almost too perfect, in fact.

Maybe that's why it shouldn't come as a surprise that he came unraveled late in his round. After bogeying the 16th, to fall to 5-under, Stenson stepped on the 18th hole after a par on the 17th and came unglued ... almost to the point where you wondered if he was going to storm off the course without signing his scorecard.

After hitting his tee shot under the trees on the left, Stenson asked for a drop from the pine straw but was denied. And that's where thing really went south for him. After nearly topping his second shot, it took Stenson three more swings before his ball found the green.

From there he hit his putt -- which was for six -- to about three feet ... and then proceeded to tie a nice bow on the hole with a final miss for a quadrulple-bogey 8 that saw him go from from potential leader in the clubhouse to posting a 1-under 70 that now has him four shots off the pace.

He now holds the record for worst performance on two separate holes at Augusta National, after he quintuple-bogeyed the par-3 fourth in 2011.

But wait, there's more! All this happened on Stenson's birthday. Talk about the perfect way to kick off the evening festivities.

Phil Mickelson implodes on the 10th hole at Augusta National

If there's we thing you can always count on when it comes to a Phil Mickelson round, it's fireworks. Good or bad, he usually finds some way to get a mention thanks to something he does during his round.

On Thursday, it happened to be his tee shot on the 10th -- a hole made famous by Rory McIlroy last year, who managed to card a triple-bogey that all but ended his chances of winning his first green jacket.

It could end up costing Phil his fourth green jacket. After stepping up to the tee with driver in his hand, Mickelson unleashed towering slice that he knew wasn't good from the start. He slouched, yelled at himself and then told his playing partners he was taking a provisional.

He figured the ball was lost ... and he was right. Despite a search party that spent what seemed like hours in the Georgia pines, Mickelson couldn't find his ball. It was almost comical watching the fans move back brush and kick up pine straw. At one point a couple fans thought they found the ball; but it ended up not being his.

The ball wasn't the only thing missing from Mickelson's game. The triple-bogey he carded on the 10th forced the swashbuckling lefty to go into damage control. He ended up finishing the round at 2-over, but the damage had already been done.

Mickelson noted after his round that he had the fixes in place to rectify his issues off the tee. He better hope that's the case, because if he hits a few more wayward drives like the one of the par-4 10th, there's a good chance he could be heading home for the weekend.

Breaking down some of the notable opening-round Masters pairings

Masters week started on Monday, but things became official earlier today when tournament officials released opening-round pairings.

Who do you need to keep an eye on over the next couple of days? The highlighted pairing are the ones that deserve your attention.

7:50/10:57 a.m.: Craig Stadler, Brendan Steele, Tim Clark
8:01/11:09: Jose Maria Olazabal, Robert Garrigus, a-Randal Lewis
8:12/11:19: Larry Mize, Paul Lawrie, Anders Hansen
8:23/11:30: Ross Fisher, Ryan Palmer, Harrison Frazar
8:34/11:41: Ben Crenshaw, Robert Karlsson, a-Bryden Macpherson
8:45/11:52: Adam Scott, Bo Van Pelt, Martin Kaymer - Scott shows up having played only three tournaments this year. Three. It's safe to say he'll be fresh. Martin Kaymer could be contender if he quits over-thinking and plays his own game.
8:56/12:14 p.m.: Steve Stricker, Padraig Harrington, Stewart Cink
9:07/12:25: Aaron Baddeley, Kim Kyung-tae, Lucas Glover
9:18/12:36: Kyle Stanley, Jason Day, Bill Haas - Three of the best young players in the game today. One of them will win a major this year. You can take that to the bank.
9:29/12:47: Trevor Immelman, Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose
9:40/12:58: Tom Watson, Johnson Wagner, a-Hideki Matsuyama
10:02/1:09: Matt Kuchar, Geoff Ogilvy, Yang Yong-eun
10:13/1:20: Gary Woodland, Henrik Stenson, Alvaro Quiros - I hope Henrik Stenson doesn't mind hitting first from the fairway. Woodland is a great pick if he keeps it in the short grass.

10:24/1:31: Charl Schwartzel, Keegan Bradley, a-Kelly Kraft

10:35/1:42: Tiger Woods, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Sang-Moon Bae - The marquee name in this group? San Moon Bae. OK, it's Tiger Woods. But Bae has the game to be a future Masters champ. Jimenez? Well, he has this.

The rest of the pairings come after the jump.

Dog eats man's Masters tickets before he heads to Augusta

At first glance this story appears to be a bad April Fool's joke. There's no way a dog could eat a guy's Masters tickets, right? RIGHT?!?

Wrong. In one of the most bizarre stories I've seen in a long, long time, Russ Berkman of Seattle, Wash., came home from a trip to the store to find his dog, Sierra, had devoured all four of his Masters practice round tickets.

Berkman, who won the tickets in the Masters lottery, had already booked tee times and rooms in Myrtle Beach, S.C, the days leading up, and then planned to head to Augusta with his buddies to check out Wednesday's practice round and the Par-3 Contest.

But his dog had other plans, leaving only the strings from the tickets as evidence when he got home. According to sports radio station KJR in Seattle -- listen to the station's interview with Berkman -- things got serious when he realized that without the tickets, he'd have to call off the trip.

So he did what any golf fan would do: He poured Hydrogen peroxide -- it's safe for animals to ingest -- into his dog's mouth and waited for the remains of the tickets to come back up. They did. Along with a bunch of other things.

But wait, there's more! Berkman not only went through the puke to find the pieces of the tickets, he also took the time to piece the tickets (or what was left of them) together, in one final attempt to keep the trip alive.

As you can see from the photos, the puke-stained tickets look pretty worthless. But they were good enough to get Berkman a new set. After taking the photos, he called Augusta National, told them his story -- seriously, I would kill to hear that audio -- and officials decided to reissue the tickets.

I guess even Augusta National has a sense of humor. The good news for Berkman is he and his buddies will be at the Masters tomorrow for Wednesday's practice round. And after everything he went through, you have to believe the time spent at the course will be that much sweeter.

Follow Jonathan Wall on Twitter during Masters week: @jonathanrwall

Other popular content on Dogs That Chase Cars:

• Breaking down the opening-round Masters pairings
• Martin Kaymer's skip-shot hole-out
• WFAN reporter makes me feel sorry for Hank Haney

Video: Martin Kaymer skips one off the water at the Masters for a hole-in-one

Martin Kaymer has never had the best of luck when it comes to the Masters. Despite being the top player in the world at one point, the guy just can't seem to get past all the twists and turns at Augusta National (he even went so far as to alter how he shaped the ball prior to last year's tournament).

But maybe his luck is changing. During Monday's practice round, Kaymer hit one of the most incredible shots you're ever going to see, skipping his shot off the water, onto the 16th green ... and into the hole.

That's what you call a career shot, folks. And the fact that it happened at the Masters? Well, that just makes it even more special.

Who knows, maybe it's the kind of shot that allows Kaymer to wipe away all the bad memories and make a run this year. Even if it doesn't, he still has a memory that will certainly stick with him for the rest of his life.

IT'S MASTERS WEEK, BABY!!!!

Okay, screw it, I know it's not TECHNICALLY Monday yet, but I'm in Augusta, Georgia for the Masters and I'm pumped. One small, easy connection through Minnesota and a three hour drive in the rain later, and hey, I'm here! Driving through downtown Augusta, you can feel the hype, and I'm absolutely stoked to get out on the grounds in the AM. Also, I've already decided "golf fan/writer getting to see Augusta National" is the sports equivalent of shotgunning four Red Bulls in a row. I hope I can sleep.

And, as always, here is the Masters theme song to get you going Monday morning. Enjoy!

Where Brian Davis Does That, And Site News

No, I'm not sure what Brian Davis is doing there, but I smell a MasterCard commercial coming from it.

Anyway, as I type this, I am comfortably cruising to Augusta National Golf Club, the mecca of golf. It will be my first experience with the Masters, and to say I'm pumped would do just about everyone a disservice.

I will be writing (And Tweeting) all week over at CBS' Eye on Golf blog, so make sure to swing by and check it out. The one hiccup in this whole experience is I basically have to go dark on this page for the week, because the Masters people really only like you writing under the company you came with (understandable, if you ask me).

So, Mr. Jonathan Wall is going to help out for the week, giving you Masters updates and videos and funny stuff. Follow him on Twitter when you have a minute and enjoy the week.

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WFAN Reporters Actually Make Me Feel Sorry for Hank Haney

If you visit this site regularly, you know my feelings on the Hank Haney book about Tiger Woods. Haney taking personal information shared between him and Tiger and printing it to the masses is definitely not my cup of tea, and more than anything, seems to me to be a big bruise to man code.

But somehow (!), two radio reporters actually made me feel sorry for Hank.

WFAN's Craig Carton went off on Haney earlier this week in a telephone interview, calling the former Tiger instructor the "scum of the earth" before Haney finally hung up. The above YouTube clip is basically the meat and potatoes of the interview, but if you really want to listen to the whole thing, the audio is below.

Best way to get over feeling sorry for Haney? Go read the guy's Twitter page. I didn't know it was possible to continually pat yourself on your back via 140 characters, but the man sure does it. I think "The Big Miss" is Hank Haney's favorite book he's ever read.