- It has been reported that Ernie Els is considering making a late entry into the WGC Match Play after initially leaving the event off his pre-season schedule.  Considering that he’s already skipped the tournament twice (2004 and ’05) this might not seem terribly newsworthy – and Old Schooler that I am, I surely hold any event contested at match play in unduly high esteem, but...  Why would Els have planned on skipping this event in the first place?  Myopic readers may cite his less-than-impressive record (he suffered first-round losses in each of his last three appearances) but any suggestion that Els somehow dislikes the format is miles off base as the man has won an unprecedented seven World Match Play titles.  Travel issues?  Perhaps, but he’s taking this week off after playing in India, so that seems unlikely.  Some lingering rancor towards Tim Finchem dating back to their 2004 spat over how many events Els was playing overseas?  The WGC events are Finchem’s baby, after all...  But somehow I don’t think that’s it either.  Whatever the reason for Els' uncertainty, lets hope he plays.  This week’s Northern Trust Open has easily the finest field thus far assembled in 2008, and that’s without Big Ernie or Tiger Woods.  Is it really that hard to get all these guys in one place?

- Els’ countryman Retief Goosen returns to the battle today, having remained on the sidelines following complications from laser eye surgery in January.  Despite possessing an elite swing, an unflappable temperament and a putting stroke utterly proven under pressure, the two-time U.S. Open winner uncharacteristically struggled in 2007; indeed, if we ignore the T9 automatically designated by a round-of-16 loss at October’s World Match Play, he hasn’t logged a top-10 finish in an official American or European event since last year’s Masters.  What should we expect this week?  Tough to say because aside from any potential rustiness, Goosen’s record at Riviera has been limited to a T51 last year and a DQ in 2006 after missing his tee time in Wednesday’s pro-am.  One thing I know for certain: if a player with Goosen’s talent and résumé can fall into a slump, this is one humbling game indeed.

- Not surprisingly, a players meeting prior to the Northern Trust Open represented the first step towards a quick repeal of the PGA Tour’s new “Rule 78” governing the number of players making the cut.  Standard tour events have, since 1969, limited their weekend fields to the low 70 and ties, but in this era of unconscionably slow play, the occasional large number of ties has resulted in weekend logjams requiring threesomes and other odd accommodations.   The Tour policy board’s answer was “Rule 78” which, in its distilled form, basically said that if more than 78 players qualified after Friday, those tied in the lowest position would be credited with a made cut and paid accordingly, yet would not compete on the weekend.  But with those surviving on the number no longer given the chance to better their positions and fans confused over the Tour’s new “MDF” designation (“Made the cut, did not finish”), Rule 78 was inevitably destined for a short tenure.  The new proposal: To make a second cut on Saturday (when necessary) in hopes of trimming the field closer to 70 for Sunday’s final rounds, an approach which could be adopted in time for the Florida swing.  A long-term option?  Add a new category to the Tour’s catalog of published statistics listing the average amount of time each player takes to play standard shots.  Nothing like a little notoriety to get things moving…

- What’s wrong with this picture?  With the onetime Los Angeles Open boasting financial services company Northern Trust as a new sponsor, every player in this year’s field receives use of a courtesy car.  Previous sponsor Nissan – one of the world’s largest automobile makers – only provided vehicles to the upper half of the field.  Go figure…