Here are the television times for the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open

Thursday and Friday
GOLF - 4 pm

Saturday and Sunday
GOLF/CBS - 1/3 pm

While recovering from some surgery, I’ve spent a relaxing afternoon watching the 2004 movie Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius. I’ve got it on my list of best golf movies.

A rewatching confirms my previous assessment: it’s a beautifully filmed period piece, but is probably a bit slow for non golf fans. For me, the best scenes are the ones that show the incredible strain that competitive golf put on Jones. One of Jones’ most famous quotes is that (and I’m paraphrasing here) competitive golf is played on a five inch course—the space between the ears. My assumption always has been that he was talking about the necessity of playing thinking man’s golf. But watching the film made me think that perhaps he was talking about dealing with his stress.

I also thought it was a nice bit at the end, when Jones is on a drive with OB Keeler. All your life, Keeler says, you’ve been doing things for other people: you played golf for your dad, got degrees for your mother and gave up golf for your wife. What, he asks, are you going to do for yourself? At that point, Jones pulls the car off the road to a pasture and tells Keeler that he’s going to build a golf course—and that this is the first tee. It’s my homage to St. Andrews, he says. Then, as he tees up and swings, the pasture then morphs into a panorama of Augusta National.

Great stuff. And worth a rewatching.

Everyone is good at something. Here’s a golf game that takes advantage of that. Before the game, make a list of accomplishments for which players receive points. Here are a few examples:

Fairway hit
One putt
Green in regulation
Hole out from bunker
Hole out from fairway
Up and Down

and so on.

During the round, each player totals their points as they meet the various criteria. Player with the most points at the end of the round collects.

$101.99 Callaway X22 Stand Bag; Orig $169.99, $77.99 Hyperlite 3.0 Stand Bag; Orig $129.99 at SportsAuthority.com

This weeks’ PGA Tour stop, the Waste Management Phoenix Open, has what looks like a fun lineup. Webb Simpson is the favorite (and why not?) at 14/1. He’s followed by last week’s winner, Brandt Snedeker (whom I’m surprised is still in the lineup) at 20/1. Martin Laird and Nick Watney are in at 22/1. Then there’s a big pile at 25/1, including Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Bill Haas.

Given the egalitarian state of the Tour these days, practically anyone could win this event. The one I’d most like to see win is Phil, of course. But—even taking into account the fact that he has been (rightfully) distracted by family issues—his short game and putting are off. Phil has always been wild off the tee, but has made up for it with his crazy good wedge play and putting. Without those ...

If you’re looking for a feel-good story this week, how about JB Holmes. He’s a two-time winner (2006, 2008), who is coming off brain surgery for structural defects on the cerebellum called Chiari malformations. The initial surgery went well, but a month later doctors discovered he was allergic to an adhesive used in the titanium plate in his skull. He was airlifted from his home in Kentucky to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for another surgery. Holmes actually returned to the tour last week, where he missed the cut after opening with a 76. He recovered in the second round, though, with a 69.

Rickie Fowler may be the best bet overall, however. He was T13 last year, and in second alone in 2010.  He also shot a 62 on this course last year.

The complete odds for the Waste Management Phoenix Open are below, courtesy of Bovada, the world’s largest betting destination.

An interesting bit of golf and baseball history is up for auction: a scorecard signed by Babe Ruth.

As of this moment, the bid is $2,148