Tiger tales, TOUR 'Harmony' and oldies but goodies

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Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Fred Funk have had very different 2009 seasons, but they've all done work to be proud of.

A few things to ponder as we close in on the last major of the year and those dog days of summer:

What isn't Tiger Woods closing in on these days?

We talk about the magic 18 majors, but what about the equally daunting 82? After last week's pedestrian -- by his standards -- win at the Buick Open, you have to think Sam Snead's all-time record is in danger. The same goes for Kathy Whitworth's untouchable 88 wins.

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Tiger could definitely tie -- or even pass -- Jack Nicklaus' 73 wins by the end of the year. He's already won four times and is playing an event this week -- the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational -- that he's already won six times in the last 10 years. And last year didn't count since he was rehabbing that knee.

Add in the fact that he's the way-front runner for his 10th Player of the Year title, ninth money title and ninth Vardon Trophy ... All this in a year that hasn't been a great one by his standards.

Think about it. He's had to settle for shares of sixth at the Masters and U.S. Open. He missed the cut at the Open Championship, and he got angry. He had a crummy start at the Buick Open and ... turned it around. The questions about his knee? He certainly did have to adjust to that and a swing change, but he's still won four of 11 tournaments this year.

All this in a year when he's struggled to find fairways (he's tied with Brian Vranesh for 103rd in driving accuracy) and greens (he's 29th, and guys like Greg Owen and Scott Sterling are in the top 10).

A lot could change in the coming weeks -- but probably won't. So could this be his best season with his B-game?

Working on your favorite list for next week's PGA Championship at Hazeltine? If so, we'd like to offer up a tidbit you might want to consider.

In case you hadn't noticed, the majors this year have had quite the Harmonious feel to them.

First up, Masters champ Angel Cabrera works with Charlie Epps, who just happened to be the late Dick Harmon's closest friend and is close to all the other brothers.

Then there's U.S. Open champ Lucas Glover, who was still learning from Dick when he passed away a few years ago. And Stewart Cink? He works with Butch Harmon.

Next up? Well, Phil Mickelson could be a possibility along with quite a few others. But, we'll let you contemplate that.

Question is, if Tiger wins, does that close out the Harmonious year since he used to work with Butch? Hmm.

Keep an eye on Matt Bettencourt. The man best known for having his clubs stolen in a smash-and-grab in the hotel parking lot while he was having breakfast before heading over to the HP Byron Nelson Championship is on the verge.

Yes, he's backed up twice in his last two big chances -- a closing 75 at the John Deere Classic and a closing 78 last week at the Buick Open -- but that share of fifth at the Memorial and a tie for 10th at the U.S. Open weren't aberrations. Think of the Deere and Buick as a learning curve.

And what about the more seasoned players?

Fred Funk lost the British Senior Open in a playoff. He won the U.S. Senior Open in a breeze.

You could say he's on a roll. We choose to say Funk never ceases to amaze us.

He won THE PLAYERS Championship just a few months short of his 49th birthday and the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun at the age of 50. He made runs at a few other TOUR events in 2007 and 2008, too. But this latest run? He won one senior major and almost won another with a bad shoulder -- a torn labrum -- and knee that could be a few weeks away from surgery.

You'd never know it though. He bounced down the fairways at Crooked Stick, chirping his way to his second senior major and a USGA record 20-under total -- yep, better than a Tiger win -- and engaging the crowd in an Arnie sort of way. And he had everyone joking about how one of the straightest drivers in the game took down a course named Crooked Stick.

What you should be thinking about? The guys on the Champions Tour know what they're in for in the coming years. But once Funk gets healthy, he may be back out on the PGA TOUR making another run or two out there.

And while we're talking about impressive ... how about Catriona Matthew winning the Women's British Open 10 weeks after giving birth to her second daughter? Want to know how impressive that was? Ask 49-year-old Juli Inkster who will be playing on her eighth Solheim Cup team in the next few weeks and has two daughters older than some of players she's competing against.

Tom Watson stories just keep coming, don't they? I got an e-mail from an old neighbor late last week, who is a huge Watson -- both golf and the man -- fan. That got me thinking about a U.S. Open in the late 1980s, early 90s when an aggressive volunteer stopped me in the middle of the locker room and told me that I wasn't allowed in there. Women were allowed in the locker room, trust me. He obviously hadn't gotten the memo, which was often the case back then.

After a few verbal rounds with the man, I told him I wasn't moving and he could call in USGA officials and ask them. I'd wait.

A second later, Watson walked past me, put his arm around me and asked how I'd been. He hadn't seen me in a while. I figured he had heard what was going on and it was his way of telling the man I did belong. I never asked him. I did, however, see the volunteer's jaw drop -- almost to the floor -- and Watson grin.