It's easy to spot Weyburn's Graham DeLaet on a PGA Tour golf course. Besides being the only Tour player with a bushy Duck Dynasty-like beard, DeLaet can be found simply by looking for the sea of Saskatchewan Roughriders and 'Canada' clothing among his gallery supporters.
In West Coast tour stops such as San Diego and Phoenix, DeLaet's fans had plenty to cheer about. The fifth-year Tour player had back-to-back runner-up finishes, earning him in the neighbourhood of $900,000 and solidifying his status as not only Canada's best professional golfer but one of the world's best.
His world ranking is now in the mid-20s and by the end of this season, few will be surprised if the 32-year-old Canuck is in the top 10.
"Let's see," mused Ryan Lavner of golfchannel.com after the golfer's runner-up finish at Phoenix. "Graham DeLaet's last four starts read as follows - T7-T6-T2-T2 - and he ranks inside the top 10 in every important statistical category. If he doesn't win by June, it'll be a massive upset."
After a sensational finish to the 2013 season, when he had back-to-back top-five finishes in the first two Fed-Ex Cup playoff tourneys, and then a 'Hello World'-type showing in the President's Cup, DeLaet's career is definitely on the upswing. His Official World Golf Ranking status means he is eligible to compete in the four majors this season, as well as the World Golf Championship events, high-money tournaments that open the door to even more world-ranking point opportunities.
"I have been playing well for the last few months," DeLaet told the Associated Press. "I really feel like I worked super hard in the off-season. It's nice to see it paying off."
DeLaet will drive down Magnolia Lane in Augusta, Ga., this April and likely not contend for the title. Only once has a Masters' rookie (Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979) ever won the season's first major. But getting his foot in the door at the Masters, and continuing to move up in the world rankings will bode well for DeLaet as he seeks to become No. 1 in the world, definitely not a far-fetched goal.
Mike Fraser, former Brandon sportswriter and now an Edmonton-based hockey scout, on Facebook: "All these journalists in Sochi complaining about their accommodations have obviously never stayed at the Ramada Inn in Prince Albert in December."
Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle: "If Frank Gore doesn't squeal when he hits a linebacker, why must Maria Sharapova when she hits a tennis ball?"
From Torben Rolfsen: "Roberto Luongo said the Canucks 'need to play 60 minutes.' I'm not sure the CBS news show has a team, but I'm betting the Canucks could score five or six goals against them."
TC Chong, on Oakland Raiders cheerleaders suing the team for violating labour laws by not even paying them as much as $5 per hour for time spent working: " 'You can do that?' asked CFL players."
Rolfsen again, on Warren Moon losing $200,000 in a scam involving Miami Heat tickets: "Now he knows how Knicks and Lakers celebrity fans feel."
Caption from an Onion.com photo from moments after the end of the Super Bowl: "Super Bowl Confetti Made Entirely From Shredded Concussion Studies."
Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald: "Seven hundred thousand people turned out for the Seattle Seahawks' Super Bowl victory parade. That was the second-largest gathering in Washington state this year, right behind the 705,000 people who swarmed Moe's Recreational Marijuana Shop on Jan. 1."
Randy Turner of the Winnipeg Free Press on Twitter: "A guy just proposed to his girlfriend on the Kiss Cam during the Leafs game tonight. First time anybody's got a ring there since 1967."
Norman Chad of the Washington Post: "Pete Carroll probably pumps his fist when the traffic signal changes."
Dickson again: "Peyton Manning was a last-minute entrant into the Pebble Beach Open. Manning's first two drives were batted down by Cliff Avril."
Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com: "Apparently six per cent of Americans take the day off after the Super Bowl. So the Denver Broncos were just 24 hours ahead of their time."
Among the top 10 clues Sochi wasn't ready for the Winter Olympics, from CBS's David Letterman:
- "Electronic surveillance of hotel rooms not yet installed.
- "Don't know which currency to accept for bribes.
- "Fans encouraged to park in Armenia."
Another one from Hough: "The) Super Bowl set a record for the most-watched television event in U.S. history, drawing 111.5 million viewers. Well, Americans do love a good train wreck."
Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg: "The Seattle Seahawks are now saying they could read Peyton Manning's signals. Turns out Omaha means: 'I am going to throw like Eli.'
Greg Cote of the Miami Herald, on Tim Tebow appearing as an obstetrician, a bull rider and a rock star in a Super Bowl ad. "Tebow previously portrayed an NFL quarterback, but was unconvincing in the role."
