Nantz has praise for Hazeltine, fans

On Sunday morning, Jim Nantz, the great sports announcer for CBS, hinted he had a feeling that Tiger Woods' run of perfection going into the final round of a major championship might be coming to an end.

Woods had won all 14 times he held the 54-hole lead at a major, but on Sunday he shot 3-over-par 75 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska and surprisingly lost to Y.E. Yang of South Korea.

"Today, who knows what's going to happen," Nantz said. "You know Tiger always wins in this situation. But, you know, maybe there's going to be a day, one day, where he doesn't win in this particular situation, where he leads going into the final round of a major. You never know what history is about to be written."

Nantz said he sees Woods a fair amount when he does CBS' golf broadcasts but doesn't get to spend much time with the world's greatest golfer. "I did not visit with him after the round last night; it was just too many people around him," Nantz said. "I will say this, though, he's won the great majority of his events on our air, which means that I've had to document Tiger walking up the 18th hole on his way to victory more than anyone."

By beating the previously unbeatable Woods, Yang certainly figures to be able to cash in on this victory in worldwide endorsements.

"There was a very nice financial windfall that came my way [in 2002]," said Rich Beem, who beat Woods by a stroke at the '02 PGA at Hazeltine. "It certainly doesn't hurt the bottom line any. ... It's probably worth between $7 million and $15 million during your lifetime."

Nantz had great praise for both Hazeltine and the Minnesota fans. "We've tried to make it very clear that this course is in spectacular shape and that Jim Nicol and his crew have been great," he said. "... This course is in superb shape and hopefully we're articulating it that way."

Club shut down So now Woods has finished second twice at Hazeltine. The club almost immediately is going to start preparing for the next big tournament to be held there, the 2016 Ryder Cup.

Hazeltine will begin work on a new clubhouse in September. The greens and fairways will also be shut down for a long period to redo them.

The club spent $18 million to get the course in shape and to build the tents and cover other expenses of putting on a major championship. It split profits with the PGA of America. Nobody knows what the windfall will be until all the bills are paid. However, some officials estimate that Hazeltine will earn between $2.5 million and $4 million, and the plan is to put all of the money into the golf course and the new clubhouse.

In addition, the course -- which was listed as a PGA Championship-record 7,674 yards this weekend -- might be expanded even more.

"Most other golf courses around the country aren't fortunate enough to be able to add additional length," said Tim Rainey, president of the club. "So, I think the USGA [which runs the U.S. Open], when they're looking at club designs and ball design, have to continue to look at putting limits, because these guys are such tremendous athletes, and how far they hit the ball these days is just incredible. ... When you look at them, they're 160 pounds wringing wet and they can drive the ball 325 yards. It's just simply amazing.

While most other clubs in this area aren't in favor of giving up the golf course to allow tournaments to be played on their sites, Hazeltine goes the other direction.

"One of the important things that we do, when a person inquires about a membership at Hazeltine, we make sure that they read our mission statement," Rainey said. "And our mission statement clearly states that our goal is to continue to host major championships here at Hazeltine. And if a member can't deal with that, then they should look to go someplace else."

Jottings Ivan Maisel of ESPN named Gophers wide receiver Eric Decker to his preseason All-America team. And the Sporting News described Adam Weber-to-Decker as the steadiest combo.

The day after the Twins recalled pitcher Jeff Manship, his former Notre Dame teammate Jeff Samardzija was sent down to the minors by the Cubs. Samardzija, a pitcher who also was a standout wide receiver for the Irish, received a five-year, $10 million contract from the Cubs in 2007 so that he would pass up football and stick with baseball. Manship, a 14th-round pick paid a minimum bonus, is 35-21 with a 3.21 ERA in the minors. Samardzija was 19-22 with a 4.16 ERA in the minors and is 2-2 with a 5.04 ERA with the Cubs.

Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson was asked to give his opinion of veteran Carl Pavano, who has gone seven innings in each of his two starts with his new team. "Control pitcher. Really has a plan of what he's doing," Anderson said. "Works the ball in and out. Changes speeds. We like what we see. He's a veteran. He's going to help the young kids, just by talking the game, in situations and leading by example. The kids can watch how he approaches the game and attacks the hitters."

Cory Joseph, brother of Gophers men's basketball player Devoe Joseph and one of the top-recruited players in the country, has been spending some time on campus. Cory made an outstanding showing in the Adidas Nations tournament, averaging 22.8 points with the Canadian team, which lost to the United States 85-83 in the championship game earlier this month. The Gophers will have three scholarships available after this season, and you can rest assured he can have one.