In His View, Arnie, Bear Could End Augusta Flap

The flap over women and Augusta National Golf Club keeps growing and some media members have suggested that prominent players such as Tiger Woods should pressure Augusta by threatening to boycott the Masters if no female members are admitted.

Ian O’Connor of USA Today says that a couple of other prominent golfers might make more headway should they take a stand because they are members of the Georgia club.

“Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus can make this mess disappear faster than a two-foot birdie putt,” O’Connor writes.

“So Palmer should quit playing the abdicating King, and Nicklaus the dancing Bear.... Don’t ask a black kid to suspend his pursuit of history at a club with racist roots and sexist codes before you ask two white legends to quit paying dues to that very club.”

Trivia time: The 1973 PGA Tour Q-school medalist has won 19 times on the PGA Tour during his career -- the most by any Q-school medalist. Who is he?

And the runner-up is: Even under revised eligibility criteria announced last week, Greg Norman, Tom Lehman, Mark Calcavecchia, Paul Azinger and Jesper Parnevik currently do not qualify for the 2003 Masters.

That group has combined for 13 top-five finishes, including five runner-up finishes: Norman in 1986, 1987 and 1996; Calcavecchia in 1988 and Lehman in 1994.

Looks like second place is wide open for Phil Mickelson.

Get in line: After the overtime coin flip gaffe by Detroit Lion Coach Marty Mornhinweg, Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune believes Mornhinweg might have a future as T.J. Simers’ son-in-law: “I’m thinking Marty Mornhinweg goes from taking the wind or the ball to asking, ‘Paper or plastic?’ ”

Doh! Three burglars were arrested in Winsted, Conn., and charged with trying to sell a stolen baseball autographed by Jackie Robinson.

Two facts thwarted their plan:

First, they stole the ball, appraised at $10,000, from the home of Winsted Mayor John Forrest.

Second, they tried to sell it to an undercover policeman.

No need for martyrs: Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle has some advice for the law enforcement officers assigned to defend goalposts after college football games: “We appreciate your courage and sense of duty. However, if you are faced with a stampeding crowd of 5,000 drunken frat twits, run.

“That’s a goalpost, not the Alamo.”

Trivia answer: Ben Crenshaw.

And finally: At a charity fund-raiser hosted by New England Patriot linebacker Willie McGinest on Friday night at Revere, Mass., many in attendance were in the giving mood ... giving punches, that is.

About 40 police officers broke up a brawl at the “Thanksgiving Jam.”

Police said about 300 of the 1,000 people in attendance were involved, though there were no serious injuries and McGinest was not involved.

Oh yeah, this was the second time in the last four years the charity event has ended in violence.

Nothing like the good ol’ holiday spirit.