Hall of Fame Wide Receiver Jerry Rice has turned pro—pro golfer, that is.

Rice will make his Nationwide Tour debut April 12 at the Fresh Express Classic in Northern California. His Rice 127 Foundation is the beneficiary of the Tournament, and he’s playing on a sponsor’s exemption.

The greatest receiver of all time had previously won $10,000 competing in the 2009 American Century Celebrity Championship at Edgewood Tahoe with a 10th place finish.

Bad news for the PGA Tour. Computer Associates (CA) has dropped the World Golf Championships after this year.

I honestly don’t think they’ll have a problem finding a sponsor for this event. I’d expect to see a new one inside of a month.

From the Tour’s press release:

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.—The PGA TOUR and CA announced Wednesday that CA will not renew its title sponsorship of the World Golf Championships event at TPC Blue Monster in Doral, Fla.

“Since 2006, CA has enjoyed an incredible partnership with the PGA TOUR,” said Bill Hughes, Corporate Senior Vice President, Global Communications. “Our sponsorship of the World Golf Championships further strengthened our relationships with our customers, raised the visibility of CA’s brand worldwide, and provided a strong platform for our philanthropic efforts. Going forward, CA will be executing a new corporate marketing program focused on delivering more regional events and customer relationship programs around the world.

“As a result, we will no longer sponsor the World Golf Championships beyond 2010. Importantly, CA will continue to work closely with the PGA TOUR to identify additional opportunities that align with our new marketing initiatives. We would like to thank all CA employees, PGA TOUR executives and the hundreds of volunteers, and our agency partners, who worked tirelessly to make the CA Championship a truly world-class event.”

PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said: “On behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours, I’d like to thank CA for its commitment to the World Golf Championships as a whole and the CA Championship in particular over the past four years.

“The CA Championship has been a strong part of golf’s tradition to give back to the communities in which events are played, and CA’s support has enabled more than $4 million to be returned to local charities since 2007. We look forward to identifying future opportunities with CA to align its marking objectives with the PGA TOUR and professional golf.

“The CA Championship has provided some amazing tournaments with thrilling finishes, and this year’s return to the winner’s circle by Ernie Els was no exception. There is a tremendous amount of interest in the World Golf Championships—the great fields, global exposure, incredible venues—and we will move forward in securing a new title sponsor for the CA Championship. We are confident we will be at TPC Blue Monster at Doral next year.”

Farmers Insurance apparently decided that they enjoyed the results of sponsoring the San Diego Open (Formerly the Buick). They’ve signed on for four more years.

The purse will be 5.8 million—$500,000 more than Buick was offering.

That’s good news all around.

I had a conflict of interest with the WGC-CA Championship this past weekend: In my heart, I wanted Ernie Els to win; but I had Charl Schwartzel as one of my fantasy picks.

In the end, I cheered for Els. It’s been a long drought for the Big Easy. He hasn’t won in two years, but he handled this one in fine fashion, going bogey-free over the last 23 holes at a traditionally tough Doral. He looked great, and that beautiful swing was on full display.

Els now is forty years old, and I’m sure that in the back of his mind, he’s hoping for a renaissance of the sort that Vijay enjoyed over the past decade.

An Els resurgence would be great for the Tour. He’s a likable guy, and his cause is a noble one. After the win, Els mentioned that he was refocused on winning in part to bring greater attention to the plight of autistic children, of whom he has one of his own. Today (Monday after his victory), Els is participating in a charity fundraiser for a proposed $30 million Els Center For Excellence autism treatment facility in Florida.

I’m having a Masters fantasy in which Els, Steve Stricker and Phil Mickelson are at the top of the leaderboard heading into the Amen Corner.

Doral is called the Blue Monster because when it first was built back in 1960, people said that Alfred Kaskel was creating a “monster” in the middle of a swamp. When the course opened, it was known as the “Blue” course. With its swirling winds, water hazards and tough play, it soon became known as the “Blue Monster.”

The course originally was designed was Dick Wilson and later restored by Raymond Floyd.

Here are a few satellite images of the course. More after the jump.