No Glee Over Ward at Augusta

It hasn’t been the greatest of times lately for Lloyd Ward, chief executive of the U.S. Olympic Committee, who is embroiled in a growing controversy over ethics -- whether he directed USOC staff to help his brother with a deal to supply power generators to organizers of the Pan American Games.

The deal never went through and a USOC ethics panel chose not to cite Ward for a violation. However, you might think the hot water he was in would be a source of humor to the hierarchy at Augusta National Golf Club, where Ward is a member and was the first to publicly call into question the club’s membership policy of not inviting women.

That is not the case. Insiders say that although they suspect Ward of leaking the club’s membership list to the media, they take no joy in Ward’s problems and don’t discuss either him or his situation at all.

Busy Baddeley

Good thing he’s only 21, because chances are Aaron Baddeley is going to be pretty worn out by the end of next weekend.

Baddeley was runner-up to Ernie Els at the Sony Open in Honolulu on Sunday, then made it to Phoenix to play in Monday’s pro-am. He caught a red-eye from Honolulu, landed at 8:15 at Phoenix, and was on the driving range by 11 a.m.

The Sony Open was Baddeley’s first event as a member of the PGA Tour, and now he plays the Phoenix Open and, next week, the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

More Baddeley

He’s there for the asking. Bag deal? None. Clothing contract? Nope. Club deal? No. Logo on his cap? Only the name of his Web site, Badds.com.

Baddeley had 14 Titleist clubs at the Sony, but he isn’t paid to use them and neither was he paid to wear the white shirt and purple checkered pants he wore Sunday. According to his agent, Baddeley’s only endorsement deals are with Nike for balls, shoes and gloves, and they all expire this year.

Fast Starts

Els is the sixth pro since the 1940s to win the first two events of the year. The others are Byron Nelson (1946), Lloyd Mangrum (1953), Johnny Miller (1974 when he won his first three, 1975), Gil Morgan (1983) and Steve Jones (1989).

Shark, Ahoy

The new owner of the world’s largest aluminum motor yacht is none other than Greg Norman. Called “Aussie Rules,” it’s a 285-foot craft that cost $70 million. The yacht has seven auxiliary boats, two hyperbaric chambers and a $1-million home theater.

Real Estate News

For a mere $29.5 million, you can buy the Fairview estate near the 13th green at Pebble Beach Golf Links. For that, you get ocean views, nine bathrooms, 6,500 square feet of living space and the warm, fuzzy feeling of knowing Elizabeth Taylor filmed “National Velvet” there in 1944.

Let’s work the numbers: With a $6-million down payment, a standard 30-year mortgage probably means monthly payments of about $156,000.

Older, Wiser

The LPGA officially sanctioned it a year ago and the Women’s Senior Golf Tour is for players 45 and older, but you have to wonder if they didn’t get the memo. The PGA Tour couldn’t get away from the “senior” name in its over-50 tour fast enough. It’s now known as the Champions Tour.

That means either the PGA Tour is more vain than the women, or they’ve got a more acute sense of branding. You choose.