All discussion welcome. Any tournament, player, aspect of the game, etc. If you play the game, share thoughts, too.

A big talking point right now is the upcoming game between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Details here:

On various forums, and in golf publications, some see it as something exciting, a contest between two of the best - whilst others see it as taking the spotlight away from younger players, as being distasteful, etc. Then there's the money to be made, that's brought a lot of negativity out.

I can't really condemn money in sport for two reasons: one, it's all on us, we choose to watch sports - and can stop watching if we feel it's costing us too much to fill other people's pockets; two, condemn one sport and you condemn a lot of sports. With some exceptions, the most popular sports do appear to pay big to people (I realise that's an over-simplification, and we could go into detail about what is paid to female soccer players, etc.).

All in all, even those columnists who seem dismayed by the Woods/Mickelson match end their comments with, "I'll be watching it..." Many will enjoy it.

On an unrelated note, Australian golfer Wayne Riley, in the latest issue of GOLF MONTHLY, put forward a case for a mixed world cup. I, personally, would have no problem with the ladies mixing it up with the men. It might also encourage more women to play golf.

Any thoughts?

First, they are both past their prime.

Second, they have gone against each time literally hundreds of times, pretty much week in week out, for years and years.

Third, the variability of performance is much greater in golf than for most other sports, so that the event is likely to be a damp squib. In sports like tennis or basketball you will see the best player dominate on a fairly consistent basis. In golf, a great player is one who wins a handful of times a year. We could easily see one of the two just have a bad day and then the other walks away with it. The duel in the sun is cherished because that kind of fire meets fire performance is rare.

As for the ladies mixing it up with the men -- unlike many other sports, there is no rule precluding women from playing with men in golf. Michelle Wie, for example, has entered a few PGA tour events, with invitation from sponsors (the first time at the age of 13! She made the cut once, at the age of 16). In terms of a mixed team event, I'd have no problem with that -- in fact, it would probably work well and might help to even out the dominance of the US.

In terms of encouraging women to play golf, it all helps, though the LPGA is pretty well established. If I had a daughter who was good at sports, the richest avenue would undoubtedly be tennis, which basically offers equal rewards for women as men. After that, golf would probably be the next best choice in terms of financial rewards. So, I think women's golf is less in need of a boost than many other sports, but as I say, it all helps.

I'll add to the topic whenever there's any interesting news - or there's a debate to be had. I'm watching more golf than ever lately, having slightly lost interest in football, motorsports, etc.

I've lost interest in F1, football (soccer to any US friends reading this), cricket and so much else. Even have to muster up enthusiasm for snooker now. 

Yet I'm more enthusiastic about golf than ever.

Go to about 20:00 if interested:

Right or wrong?

Incidentally, I am seeing and reading much non-interest in the forthcoming Woods/Mickelson face-off. Many seem to lack even cursory interest in it. I am mildly interested.

In other sports, Herman Maier's return to world dominance after almost losing his right leg in a traffic accident eclipses Woods' return by some margin in my mind.

And then there's the Rumble in the Jungle.