His Ears Seem to Be Ringing

Chris DiMarco was standing over a four-foot putt when he heard it, that familiar ring of a cellular phone. He stepped away from the putt, shot an annoyed look toward the gallery, then lined up again and made it. After retrieving his ball from the cup, he said, “Turn the phone off.�

Earlier this year, on the 16th green at TPC of Scottsdale, DiMarco was about to putt a three-footer for birdie when someone in the crowd stage-whispered “Noonan!� a la Caddyshack. DiMarco--who wound up winning the tournament--made the putt, then motioned for the heckler to be ejected, which he was.

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Jeff Maggert was disqualified after playing nine holes. Maggert bent his putter in disgust and continued to play with it. Maggert thought he would receive a two-shot penalty for playing with an illegal club, but he was wrong. Maggert, who had a three-over 74 on Thursday, was two over on his nine holes Friday.

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The PGA of America is switching the site of the 2005 PGA Championship from The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., to Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. Members at The Country Club said that demands on the club would be too much, based on their experience of hosting the 1999 Ryder Cup matches.

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Where does David Duval keep his British Open trophy? Not under lock and key, but on the counter of the golf shop at his home course, Pablo Creek, in the Jacksonville, Fla., area.

“I just wanted to let everybody see it,� said Duval. “I guess they’ve taken about a thousand pictures of people with it. I certainly wasn’t going to carry it with me, so I felt I’d leave it at home so people can enjoy the trophy.�

The scorecard of the 59 Duval shot to win the Bob Hope in 1999 is kept in a safe deposit box.

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That distinguished gentleman carrying a golf club and walking just outside the ropes with the Sergio Garcia group is his father and coach, Victor Garcia. He carries the club as both a cane--he has problems with a bum left foot--and as something to swing during the slower moments, presumably when his son is performing his umpteenth waggle over the ball.

“He knows that I know how to handle myself on a golf course and I know what to do,� Sergio said. “So, more than anything, he just tries to give me some confidence and keep me up. Like, ‘Come on! Let’s make a couple birdies!’ Sometimes it’s nice, when something’s not going right and I see him there encouraging me.�

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The L.A. Junior Chamber of Commerce, which has managed the tournament since 1926, announced the signing of Countrywide Credit Industries as the event’s presenting sponsor. Also, the tournament’s purse will be increased by $800,000 next year to $4.5 million.