On Woody Austin

(Photo: CA)

Woody Austin will defend his Stanford St. Jude Championship title when the tournament begins June 2.

Yet, how will he defend his comments in the Commercial Appeal?

Austin's win last year was the third of his career and first in 12 years, though he's had a litany of top 25 finishes. Yet, in the CA article, Austin comes across as bitter about how the sport has changed since Tiger Woods, other power players, technological advances and course alterations became the norm.

An excerpt:
Admiring the games of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson when he was young, Austin was fascinated by how the legendary foursome drew upon their shot-making skills to consistently win on the PGA Tour. Austin admits he's having a difficult time embracing a game today that so readily rewards power.

''The game has changed, it's entirely different,'' Austin, who will defend his title next week, said. ''The way I play this game, is old-style. I play this game from a precision standpoint. Ball-striking, controlling the golf ball, left to right, right to left, high, low, whatever.

''But the game is not about that anymore. It's about power. It's about length. At 44, not being a long hitter or a big guy to begin with, the game has changed.'' ...

''Back in the day when Nicklaus, Watson, Palmer and Trevino (dominated), most of those tournaments were...

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