Uh, apparently David Feherty passed gas.

Trying to sneak one out as he stood 10 feet away from the Woods braintrust, Feherty miscalculated worse than trying to hit a two iron off a downhill buried lie and trying to land it softly on the green. Instead of escaping unnoticed, the escaping flatulence fluttered Feherty’s buttocks with enough force to arouse Woods and Williams from their usually intense pre-shot routine. Even CBS microphones on the fairway picked up the sound and broadcast it for all the world to hear. Within seconds, Woods and caddy were laughing hysterically.

Feherty is an ex-golfer turned fairway golf reporter for CBS who’s best known for turning a witty phrase along with his inside-the-ropes golf commentary. Apparently his wit isn’t the only thing that get’s laughs, however.

The funny thing is, the clip of the incident made it on to YouTube by the next day, but details were so sketchy early on that most sources attributed the fart to Tiger. That’s what stardom gets you these days.

The 2009 Buick Open was supposed to be Buick’s last hurrah as a golf sponsor, at least for the foreseeable future. That’s why Tiger decided to play the event, even though it would take away from his preparation for the final major of 2009 (the PGA Championship at Hazeltine). Even though Tiger and Buick parted ways already last year, everyone still thinks of Tiger as Buick’s golf spokesman. To Tiger’s credit, he acknowledged  the importance of Buick’s committment to golf for the last 50 year and to Tiger’s own career for the last 10 not just by showing up for the tournament, but showing up with game and winning (everyone knows ratings are double when Tiger’s in the field and triple when he’s in contention on Sunday).

It was supposed to be a tournament that I looked by in my golden years and recalled as the last tournament Buick hosted in Michigan – the 69th PGA tour victory by Tiger Woods.

Instead, I’m afraid I’ll probably remember it as the tournament with the Feherty fart heard ’round the world.

I’m jacked.

Not just because Tiger’s back, but because I scored tickets for this event about 8 weeks ago in anticipation.

Scouring the schedule in late December, my guess was that Tiger would come back at either the Buick at Torrey Pines (which would have been a really cool way to come back at the same course he last had played), the Match Play in Tucson or the Doral closer to home in Florida. My gut reaction was that the Match Play was the perfect spot, so I put my guess into action and got tickets for myself and my 8 year-old son who wants to become a professional golfer.

When I first got the tickets in December (not easy on the pocket book, mind you, especially in the current economy), my son was excited, but the first thing he asked was, “is Tiger gonna be there?”

My best answer at that time was, “I hope so.”

As the weeks dragged on. my doubts grew. I just knew it would be so much easier for him to choose the Doral being closer to home.

But a few things kept my hopes alive. He was the defending champion. He always speaks nicely of Tucson and was pretty instrumental in getting the Match Play moved there instead of at La Costa where it rained every year.

But most of all, I held out hope because Tiger likes big tournaments, and whether or not the golfing world has accepted the WGC tournaments as majors, no one should doubt that Tiger views them as very important. Who knows, 30 or 40 years from now, the WGC championships could be viewed as the most important events. After all, the Masters wasn’t always considered a major. The point is, if you look at Tiger’s record, he definitely makes sure he’s available for every major he can, and also for every WGC event. He also elevates his game for the WGC’s in a similar way that he does for the majors. Just look at the record. It’s pretty obvious that Tiger thinks the WGC events are important.

Of course, the only important thing for me is that Tiger is playing in Tucson. And I have tickets. So now I get to go home and tell my 8 year old, without any doubt: “Tiger’s gonna be there!”

That moment will be worth as much as the tournament itself.

Now if you are just going by World Golf Ranking, the picking gets a little easier. Pick TIger at #1 and you are set. Even if he doesn’t play a single tournament in 2009, he would probably still hang on to that ranking. That’s because the World Golf rankings are designed to reward excellent play over a 2 year period of time. Guys who have one or two hot weeks each year don’t get the same kind of bump that grinders like Jim Furyk get — guys who always seem to be in the hunt, especially on tough course under severe conditions and against top competitors.

Okay, so I’m really beating around the bush here, I know. It’s just that I wanted to give myself plenty of “outs” before I put my reputation on the line and start naming names. But here goes.

Some of the guys to watch in 2009 became a little more familiar during the 2008 Ryder Cup. I think Anthony Kim is by far the one to keep your eye on the most. He came in to the tour without a lot of hype, but quickly showed that his game was rock solid. His single-plane swing is pretty to watch and his intensity and competitiveness are things you just can’t teach. I expect Anthony to win at least once in 2009, and maybe even 2 or 3 times.

Another Ryder Cup guy to watch is Hunter Mahan. He is a different kind of player than Kim, but the clutch shots and putts he made at the Ryder Cup should give him the confidence he needs to have a breakout year in 2009.

Camilo Villegas is another favorite of mine. Although you could say that 2008 was his breakout year, I think we are only going to see more of the same in 2009. Camilo is one of the most fit guys on tour, and that helps him survive the grind of the PGA tour. His game has really progressed nicely and at 22, he is just starting to understand some of the courses they play on a yearly basis. Having moved from 56th in the World rankings to #7 in 2008, it would seem hard to improve on that.  He may not get the consecutive vicotories in 2009 like he did at the BMW and the Tour championship. But I do expect Villegas to make a return to the winners circle somewhere in 2009, and I wouldn’t be even be surprised if it were at a major.

Sergio Garcia has been on many lists like this in the past, but never on mine. Why my change of heart? I saw a maturing Sergio in 2008. His game is as good as it’s ever going to get as a “feel player,” but that’s never been Sergio’s problem. He just hasn’t been able to handle the pressure of being the guy that was supposed to challenge Tiger. That rivalry never panned out. Oh yeah, Sergio can win occasionally in exhibitions at the Bighorn, but overall, Sergio has never even been in Tiger’s radar as far a threat to his throne. I don’t think Sergio will ever be that guy, but in 2008, I think Sergio finally figured that out too, and I believe it was liberating for him. He seemed at peace with his swing and his game, and even with some heart-breaking losses down the stretch. If not for Vijay’s fantastic finish to 2008, Sergio easily would have been the guy everyone was talking about during the FedEx cup. Look for the maturity and solid play to continue for Sergio in 2009.

My final pick is not an individual player, but I predict that one of the Australian boys will be a force to reckon with in 2009. They’ve all shown some real talent and moxie in the last 5 years – guys like Geoff Ogilvy, Adam Scott, Aaron Baddelley and Rod Pamperin have made some serious impacts on the PGA Tour. But none of them has had a sustained run where the rest of the field was worried about their presence. Look for that to change in 2009. Ogilvy could be the guy with his early season win at the Mercedes in Hawaii, but it could be any of the others too.

Will there be another Rocco Mediate in 2009? You know – a journeyman golfer who’s been around for a long time who suddenly has a phenomenal run and threatens to wrest a major away from destiny? Probably. It’s happened many times in the past. I have no idea who it might be this year, although Tommy Armour III was looking pretty darn good in 2008. I’d nominate him if I had to pick someone.

At the end of the year I’m sure I will look back and make all kinds of excuses for my predictions, but I’m sure the half-dozen men I mentioned today hope I’m spot on with my forecast. Only time will tell.

Nevertheless, with Tiger out of action for the rest of 2008 and possibly into 2009, it is a great opportunity for another golfer on tour to emrge as the go-to guy. Prevailing wisdom would have Phil be that guy. But recent play has not given any indication that Phil is the guy. Maybe he never will be.

Case in point was last week at the WGC at Firestone. Phil was in control on the back nine, at one point sitting at -12 with a 2 shot lead. But poor play down the stretch really hurt Phil.

After coming back to the pack, he came to the 17th tee needing a par-par finish to most likely tie for the lead and go into a playoff. So what does he do? He pulls out a driver and promptly pushes his tee shot into the fairway bunkers on the left side of the narrow fairway. I emphasize “narrow.” In fact it is so narrow that Tiger (who usually “owns” Firestone) never hits more than a stinger 3 wood, and usually just goes with a 2 or 3 iron off the tee. Even shorter hitters like Jim Furyk never hit a driver there. It’s just too risky for the small reward you get if you atually do find the fairway.

In case you didn’t see the debacle, Phil bogied that hole and had to try to birdie the tough 18th to get back into a plyoff. Didn’t happen.

In my mind, I knew that Phil was going to lose the tournament as soon as I saw the driver in his hand on the tee at 17. It just didn’t make sense. I understand his desire to be aggressive and his need to play his own game. But what he has to make into his own game is the smart types of plays that win tournamets.

It’s hard to criticize a guy who’s won over 30 times on tour. No other active player has won more expcept for Tiger. And that’s the problem. Tiger is an aggressive player too, but he has learned how to temper his aggressiveness at the right time and play smarter. It’s why he has doubled Phil’s win total in half the time.

Phil has an awesome opportunity to really dominate on the tour with Tiger out. But unfortunately, it is the inconsistent course management strategies that will keep Phil from doing it this year. Unless he learns to be like Tiger in that regard, he will always play second fiddle, even when Tiger’s not in the field.

Woods hobbled off Torrey Pines on Monday evening with the U.S. Open trophy in hand, only to shock the (golfing) world the next day with news that his 2008 season was ended. Woods was forced to miss the Buick Open in Flint, Michigan which he had committed to, as well as his own AT&T National at Congressional Country Club in Washington, D.C.

On his blog, Woods said,

As you probably know, I had reconstructive surgery on my left knee after winning the U.S. Open. I’m not sure how I got through the week, but it was definitely the biggest win of my pro career…

I’m wearing a full leg brace and will be on crutches for a few weeks. To be honest, I’m not sure when my rehabilitation will start. I can’t put weight on my leg yet. These are the longest days – it feels like a 38-hour day.

Hopefully Tiger will be able to begin the rehab soon. His intial plans are that he won’t play in tournament action again until the 2009 Masters. That’s a long time to be away from competitive golf. Lesser men have had long layoffs after injuries and never made it back to top form (Jim Furyk, Ernie Els and David Duval just off the top of my head). If anyone can do it, Tiger is the guy most people would put their money on.

As it is, we can only wait and see. But the way it is now, professional golf is 90% less exciting without Tiger in the hunt.