And that’s exactly what Nick Swisher did.

“He’s full of it. That’s a total lie. That’s got to be a lie,” Swisher said.

The “lie” was that Kipnis, the Indians’ 26-year-old second baseman, in his second full season in the major leagues, still operates under the assumption he could be sent down at any moment.

Kipnis insists he feels no more comfortable this year than last. He does not consider himself “established” in the major leagues.

“No, no, I wouldn’t use the word established by any means,” he said.

“We’re getting comfortable with becoming an everyday player, but we still have a long ways to become a consistent player, a guy you can leave in the lineup every single day and not worry about. We’ve got to show more consistency. But I definitely think we’re moving in the right direction.”

If his use of the third person seemed an indicator of latent diva tendencies, it was only a momentary lapse. Kipnis slipped back into everyman mode to continue the rest of the conversation.

When asked if he feels a night-and-day improvement from last year, the “lie” crept in.

“No, not too much of a difference,” he said. “I don’t focus on those things. I’m just worrying about winning games and production and making sure I’m doing my part. The other stuff, if I’m inconsistent or slumping, or the possibility of being sent down, that’s for other guys to worry about, the front office people, too. My job is just to get ready to play the game.”

I can see where Kipnis believes batting .257 last season and .258 going into Friday night’s home game against the Washington Nationals might not have proved much. But in my mind, he’s the real deal. His counterpart at third base, Lonnie Chisenhall, seems to be going in the wrong direction, currently hitting well but fielding poorly at Triple-A Columbus, but Kipnis seems to have established himself.

Whether he thinks so or not.

Kipnis has All-Star potential, although unseating four-time selection Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees as a starter seems nearly impossible. (In the most recent vote totals released, Kipnis was not among the top five.)

Kipnis has proved he must be part of the Indians’ future. The only doubt in that regard would be his tendency for slumps. He batted .200 in April. Last year, he hit only .233 after the All-Star break, .277 before.

But this season, he rebounded with a .261 average in May and was hitting .350 in June going into Friday, which included .417 in the previous seven days and has an eight-game hitting streak after a first-inning double.

“I’m going to see him grow up right in front of my eyes,” Swisher said. “He has to be a big part of this organization. Talent-level through the roof.

“With the bad start he got off to, for him to keep his head up. … He’s got me, he’s got his dad Big G [Jason Giambi] who takes care of him all the time, he’s getting a lot of information. I think he’s doing a tremendous job.”

Tribe manager Terry Francona scoffed at the notion that Kipnis could still get sent to the minors.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Francona said.

But Francona and Swisher understand why Kipnis might feel that way.

“You’ve got to find that one thing that makes you go. Maybe that’s what gets him in the right mindset,” Swisher said.

“Everybody’s wound different, they use different methods, whether it’s a chip on your shoulder or comfort level or whatever,” Francona said. “Maybe that’s his.”

In essence, Kipnis is using fear for motivation.

“It’s the little uncertainty that kind of keeps you in a place where ‘Hey, I need to keep moving forward, I need to keep getting better, otherwise there’s someone gaining on my heels,’ ” Kipnis explained. “Even if there’s not, if you still have that mentality it keeps you pushing to become a better player.”

When it comes to pushing his own buttons, Kipnis seems to have several slights at the ready.

He said he “took a little more of a bumpy road than most” on his way to the majors, yet the second-round pick in 2009 made it to Cleveland in three years. Standing 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, he said he was always considered undersized, “as far as scouting and projection, those were never favorable for me.” He was converted from the outfield in 2010, when he was named the Tribe’s Minor-League Player of the Year. At one point, he and Cord Phelps were considered neck-and-neck in competition to be the Indians’ second baseman, but Kipnis pulled ahead.

“Just more people to prove wrong at the end of the day,” Kipnis said.

Kipnis might need all of this to remain driven. But when it comes to his production, he’s never had a problem winning over his manager.

Last year, Manny Acta called him “a dirtbag … one of those guys who’ll run through a wall to win.” Francona said what stands out to him is “every ball he hits, he runs to first base like his pants are on fire.”

Such blue-collar traits have already endeared him to Indians fans. After his first-inning double, he hustled to third on Swisher’s flyout to center, making it safely with a head-first slide.

Kipnis’ perceived slights sound more trivial than significant. The chance of him being shipped back to Triple-A Columbus seems nil. But if those are the matches that set Kipnis’ pants on fire, the Indians will happily douse the inferno.

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

Whether he was meditating or visualizing or clearing his thoughts, no one knew. One reporter who has covered him for years had never seen him take that pose before.

Watching at home, I felt like the NBA’s four-time Most Valuable Player was mulling which persona he wanted to assume against the San Antonio Spurs.

Cleveland LeBron or Miami LeBron?

Dominating LeBron or Distributing LeBron?

Selfish LeBron or Selfless LeBron?

That’s not to say Cleveland LeBron would always be the preferred choice. Cleveland LeBron never won anything. On many nights, Cleveland LeBron stood around and dribbled while his teammates waited for him to do something and all that produced was lethargy.

But the Miami Heat would take that one-man band version right now, especially coming off the 36-point pounding it suffered in San Antonio. They might be thrilled if James stood behind the 3-point arc, bouncing the ball and surveying the scene, poised like a lion ready to strike, then unleashing his fury in a flash.

It would love it if the L-Train were steamrolling the Spurs.

James seems caught in a conundrum. Should he be the Heat’s facilitator because he promised the Big Three would win “not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven” championships and thus far they have just one? Should he assume that role because the clock might be ticking on close friend Wade’s bad knee? Should he go against how he believes the game should be played?

Or should James forget about his teammates and channel the Cleveland LeBron who poured in 48 points in Game 5 of the 2007 playoffs against the Pistons in Detroit?

Considering that he’s scored 50 points in the first three games of the Finals, the basketball world would be fine with the latter.

The issue of him being more of a distributor than an aggressor came up after Game 1 and James had his answer ready.

“I’ve done more and lost before,” he said, according to the Associated Press. That could be the crux of James’ issue.

Going back to his days at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, James has prided himself on being a good teammate. Since then, he’s always seemed capable of winning every game by himself if he wanted to.

His eyes always light up when he’s compared to Magic Johnson for his passing skills. He’s averaging 7.3 assists against the Spurs, matching his season average. James has been taught that there’s no place for selfishness on a championship team.

But scoring two points in the first quarter of Games 2 and 3 is not the way to do it, either.

James has totaled 10 points and six assists in the first 36 minutes against the Spurs. That’s not the type of tone he needs to set, no matter how hot Wade or Chris Bosh or Mike Miller or Mario Chalmers are.

James has yet to score 20 points in the Finals after running off 33 consecutive games of 20 or more during the regular season. He’s averaging 16.7 points and 12.3 rebounds in the Finals, 10 points below his season average.

“I can’t have a performance like that and expect to win the game,” James said Tuesday after scoring 15 points on 7-of-21 shooting. Nine points came in the final 1:36 of the third quarter, which means for the other 46:24 he was virtually no threat. “I’ve got to shoot the ball better, and I’ve got to make better decisions. I’m not putting the blame on anybody; I’m owning everything I did.”

Ex-Cav Danny Green, now the Spurs’ 3-point whiz, delivered the most telling remarks about James.

“We know he’s not at his best right now,” Green said. “He missed a lot of shots that he normally makes.

“LeBron has kind of stopped himself out there and we’re getting a little lucky.”

James’ lack of energy prompted one questioner to ask Wade if James was sick. Presumably that’s not the reason.

But it seems almost impossible to comprehend that the NBA’s best player is having a crisis of confidence. Yet he’s shooting just 39 percent in the Finals, 23 percent (7-of-30) outside the paint. In Game 3, he did not go to the free-throw line for the first time since Dec. 2, 2009, when he was with the Cavs.

It might not be his confidence as much as the conundrum.

James seems to have conditioned himself to be happiest when he’s merely one of the Big Three. He seems to be trying to move away from his old moniker of “The Chosen One.” He doesn’t want to do it alone.

Sitting on the bench before the game with his eyes closed Tuesday, I’m sure James wasn’t really debating which LeBron should come out in the first quarter. But for the Heat to repeat as champion, Cleveland LeBron needs to return immediately.

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

Josh Williams’ path from Copley High School to the Columbus Crew has been filled with roadblocks and missteps and anxiety.

He never dreamed that quitting his club soccer team to play three sports with his neighborhood friends would make it tough to find a college scholarship. He never thought the nutritional supplement he bought at a national chain would contain a substance banned by Major League Soccer, especially since he grilled the salesperson about it. He never imagined he would get red-carded 20 minutes after scoring his first MLS goal.

But of all the twists and turns on his way to becoming a Crew starter, two days might stand out.

The first came in April 2010, when Williams was invited to participate in a Crew exhibition match against Marshall University. He didn’t expect to get much playing time, but early in the game two Crew players knocked heads, leaving one with a concussion. Williams was summoned to go in at left back, a position he’d never played before, and made an impression with what his dad called a “Wow” moment.

Important phone call

The second came in October 2010, when Williams took a cellphone call from an unknown number while sitting in a lecture hall at Cleveland State. The deadline for MLS rosters to be set was just hours away and Crew technical director Brian Bliss had a spot to fill after a draft pick failed his physical. Bliss told Williams to leave class and stay by the phone.

Not long after, Williams signed with the team he’d loved since he was 8.

His parents, Steve and Kathy Williams, sometimes marvel at their 25-year-old son’s persistence.

“He took such a different path to get there,” said Steve Williams, a customer service engineer for Siemens Health Care. “He quit the club scene for a while. He wasn’t drafted.

“As a junior and senior during his college days, I saw him go up against some older guys who had been in the pro leagues and thought, ‘He can play there.’ But I was amazed at his journey.”

Williams was somewhat naïve when he decided to quit playing for the Internationals club soccer team after his freshman year at Copley. He sat out freshman basketball, watching from the stands as his neighborhood friends competed, and hated what he was missing.

“I knew I was good at soccer, but I didn’t know which way I wanted to go at that point,” Williams said. “I just wanted to play with my friends, you only get that opportunity once.”

Three-sport player

So when his sophomore year began, Williams became a three-sport standout for the Indians. A soccer midfielder, he was twice chosen All-Ohio and shared the school’s career scoring mark when he left. He played point guard in basketball and was a power-hitting shortstop in baseball, drawing interest from the University of Kentucky and West Virginia.

He liked basketball and said it might have been his pick if he were taller than 6-foot-2. Baseball was too slow. So Williams elected to pursue soccer, but soon learned that college recruiters concentrated on club players.

Steve Williams thought he had University of Akron soccer coach Ken Lolla interested, but Lolla left for Louisville. When UA coach Caleb Porter wanted to see Williams play, it was basketball season.

His only Division I offer came from new Cleveland State coach Ali Kazemaini. The season before, the Vikings had gone winless. By the time Williams was elected captain as a junior and senior, they were playing in two consecutive Horizon League championship games.

After college, Williams joined the Internationals’ Premier Development League. He had an MLS trial in Kansas City, but sprained his ankle the day before he left.

“When they didn’t pick me up I wasn’t too surprised,” Williams said. “I was kind of adding fuel to the fire. That wasn’t going to stop me. I was at least going to try for another year.”

Williams returned to CSU to work on his degree in sports management, then got the call to participate in the Crew’s reserve game against Marshall.

“Josh had the most exciting play of the game,” Steve Williams said. “He stepped in and stole a ball. He went down the sideline, [Guillermo Barros] Schelotto fed him and he ripped a ball across the middle and this guy put a shot in for the goal.”

The play got him noticed, but months went by and Williams didn’t hear from the Crew again. His father put together a highlight tape and mailed it to MLS teams. Hours later, Bliss called. Two weeks after Williams signed, he was starting in the CONCACAF Championship in Guatemala.

Failed drug test

Still, there were setbacks. In April, 2011, Williams suffered a torn labrum in his right hip. That June, the MLS announced a 10-game suspension for Williams after he failed a drug test after buying a supplement at a national chain.

“I went to them right away,” Williams said. “The trainers knew what had happened. I addressed the team immediately. I told the coaching staff individually. I definitely feel fortunate they were on my side and believed in me. They didn’t have to. I wasn’t a starter then.”

Williams went to New York to meet with MLS commissioner Don Garber, who was also sympathetic. Garber reduced Williams’ fine from 10 to five percent of his salary and allowed him to train with the team when his hip improved, which normally wouldn’t have been allowed.

In 2012, Williams played in 30 games and started 27 with one goal and three assists. This season he has made 12 starts at right back and is third on the team in goals with three.

“For a defender, he’s better than average on the ball,” Bliss said in a telephone interview last week. “I think he’s a decent passer. Athletically he’s one of our better guys as far as running and turning and stopping and changing directions. He’s also driven by winning. Some guys might be better, but maybe they don’t have that extra intangible of wanting to win and wanting to compete and wanting to be the best guy in his area of the field.

“He doesn’t fly by the seat of his pants and make plays because he can cover stuff up with his athleticism. He reads the game pretty well, he understands what danger is and makes plays accordingly.”

A Crew fan growing up who idolized Brian McBride, Williams still has moments when he can’t believe this is his job.

“I wake up every day and I’m like, ‘Wow, I get to go play soccer for two hours.’ It’s still unbelievable to me,” he said.

“I never want to get complacent, I never want to feel like I’ve made it.”

After such a rugged journey, Williams can think no other way.

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

The winner of four PGA Tour events and his wife are parents of 6-year-old Liam and 5-year-old Addie. The television show touched a nerve and opened their eyes.

“These people had to choose between paying their utility bills versus eating. And they had three small children,” Candace said. “The kids were throwing bones in the garbage and the mom was in the trash saying, ‘We can make soup with those bones.’ I thought, ‘I wonder if that’s more of an issue than people are talking about?’ ”

Ben’s breakthrough came with his improbable victory in the 2003 British Open, but the Curtises took their time establishing the Ben Curtis Family Foundation, now awaiting approval by the Internal Revenue Service. The Kent State graduates finally settled on a project in Candace’s hometown of Kent, where they have lived for the past two years after moving from Stow.

On May 24, they held a trial run of their “Ben’s Birdie Bags” program at Holden Elementary School.

The Curtises learned that more than 70 percent of the students at Holden participated in the free or reduced lunch programs, according to Tom Larkin, assistant superintendent of Kent City Schools.

Nearly one in four children in Portage County is “food insecure,” a USDA measurement of regular access to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle, according to statistics provided by the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.

The biggest challenges for these children come on weekends, especially at the end of the month, and during spring break and Christmas. On Mondays, those who are undernourished don’t perform as well in class. So the Curtises enlisted the help of family for the experimental launch of the Birdie Bags, giving out about 230 backpacks filled with enough food to last students through the Memorial Day weekend.

Each child could take home a bag that held canned ravioli, a package of pasta, beef and chicken ramen noodles, microwavable macaroni and cheese, a small box of cereal, two packets of oatmeal, MooMates, Capri Sun drinks and all-natural fruit chews. It also included a $5 voucher for local produce at the Haymaker Farmers’ Market, open year round on Saturdays and located close to Holden.

Judging by the single-page questionnaire included in the bags, the program was a huge success, especially the vouchers, which at least one family used to buy a tomato plant.

The plan for the 2013-14 school year is to distribute Ben’s Birdie Bags at Holden on eight long weekends starting Aug. 30. The Curtises hope that’s just the start.

“In a perfect world we want to do all five elementary schools for every weekend of the school year,” Candace said. “Even if we could go to the high school and the junior high … we’d love to be able to help all of Northeast Ohio as well. I’ve got big hopes, but they keep reining me in.”

Ben said they plan to contact businesses in Kent, including fast food restaurants, to see if they would like to donate or include food coupons.

“We’d love to do all the long weekends, plus the families that are really in need, help them out a little more often,” Ben said at Muirfield Village Golf Club, where he was competing in the Memorial Tournament. “That’s something we’ve got to play by ear and see how the funds come.

“If Taco Bell or McDonald’s throws in a $10 coupon, if they’re the business that steps up, you’re not going to turn them down. At least they’re going to eat.”

Julie Troman just finished her fourth year as principal at Holden Elementary, but started there 20 years ago teaching kindergarten. She’s thankful that the Curtises chose her school, especially since Portage County does not participate in a federally funded backpack program.

“We’ve always known the need was there, we just haven’t had any whole school, large-scale way to address the need before and that’s what this program has been able to do,” Troman said.

“It doesn’t require a parent’s signature, it doesn’t require a form to be filled out or certification through a government agency. If someone takes it and doesn’t need it, we say, ‘Take it, anyway, and give it to a neighbor who needs it.’ We’ve really been able to make it our own without having to wade through mountains of red tape.”

Larkin said the Curtises contacted him last fall about starting their foundation. He pointed them to Holden, which has a much higher number of students on free and reduced lunches than the district average of 42 to 43 percent. In total, 753 children in the Kent system received some kind of subsidy for lunch in 2012-13.

In its infancy, the Birdie Bags program will be run by Candace, her mother Diane Beatty and sister-in-law Sara Beatty. It could turn into a full-time job for Sara, married to Candace’s brother Brett. Sara is reviving the business skills she used while working in human resources for Orlando’s Sea World, where she’d been employed since she was 14, before she and Brett returned to Stow to raise their two children.

Sara attended Holden, but was stunned by the number of children going hungry.

“I knew it wasn’t a wealthy area,” Sara said. “As a kid I would have never known there were that many hungry kids. We definitely weren’t wealthy; my parents had one car. Back then that was kind of normal. But [70 to] 80 percent, that’s bad.”

Just as surprised was Diane Beatty, who used to work at Franklin Elementary. Her husband, Jeff, Candace’s father, also attended Holden.

“I knew there were a lot of kids in the school I was in on free and reduced lunches. I worked in the cafeteria and took the money,” Diane said. “Back then there was a need for it. I’ve never been aware that kids were going hungry over the weekend. It never even entered my mind. Not here.”

The Curtises will try to get the word out before fall, mainly through their website, www.BenCurtisFoundation.org, and a Facebook page.

Nearly everyone has encouraged Candace to start small and watch the program grow. But there is no doubt the Curtises will help children no matter how many weekends the backpacks are sent home.

“We’ve seen communities really come together around these backpack programs for kids,” said Laura Bennett, chief operating officer of the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, which will partner with the Curtises. “It brings to light this horrible occurrence of kids really depending on the school day for their nutritional needs. Even addressing this one school is going to make an impact.”

Larkin marvels that while the Curtises could live in a gated golf community anywhere in the country, they chose to raise their children in Kent.

“That says a lot about them,” Larkin said. “I’ve been very impressed with how humble and genuine they are. They have been blessed with some circumstances, yet they are not losing touch with their roots and what’s important to them.”

Larkin is not the only one who raves about what the couple is doing.

“I love that enthusiasm, I love that energy, I love that giving spirit. There’s so much our kids can learn from people like Ben and Candace who say, ‘We’re in a good place right now, we want everybody to benefit from that,’ ” Troman said. “That’s how great ideas start, when people get excited. If all you do is think about the what-ifs and ‘Well, we can’t do that because,’ you never really get anywhere. A little bit of this is about bravely letting it go and seeing what happens. That’s how change happens, how good things happen for kids.

“I appreciate Candace has got all these great ideas. I don’t want her to lose sight of being so passionate and wanting to change the world. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to change the world.”

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

Winn may not have been the only one singing a happy tune as he departed. The atmosphere was upbeat, the mood optimistic. There has been much to like about the 2013 Browns this spring.

Starting quarterback Brandon Weeden threw darts and seemed to be grasping the new offense, although first-year coach Rob Chudzinski said he hasn’t been perfect. Top draft pick Barkevious Mingo looked relentless batting down passes. Defensive end Jabaal Sheard’s transition to outside linebacker appeared virtually seamless. Fourth-year cornerback Joe Haden made plays on a daily basis like a Pro Bowler, which everyone thought he would be long ago. The tempo picked up offensively; even the two-minute drill felt faster.

Players who thought former coach Eric Mangini was a detail fanatic have seen this regime go him one better. Inside linebacker D’Qwell Jackson pointed out the equipment he was wearing — wires visible underneath his white jersey — that measures how much he’s running.

“It measures everything,” Jackson said. “You feel like the organization is backing you as a player because they want a better brand of football. They’ll get it, as hard as we’re working so far.”

But there was still an elephant in the fieldhouse. That is the federal investigation into possible rebate fraud by Pilot Flying J, the family-owned truck stop business headed by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam.

While the NFL begins its quiet time until training camps open, with the Browns holding their first full-squad practice on July 25, there might be little news. But the specter of possible Pilot Flying J indictments loom, even though the government might not move quickly as it builds its case.

Haslam did not attend practice Thursday, but he and his father, Jim, were on the field for Wednesday’s drills, held in brilliant sunshine.

Wearing a pale orange dress shirt and gray slacks, Jimmy Haslam’s recent weight loss was not as evident as the day in May he showed up for organized team activities in tight jeans. That afternoon, the strain on Haslam seemed noticeable.

When his trim physique came up at the press conference announcing Jim Brown’s return to the Browns, Haslam said his wife, Dee, had him on a strict diet and exercise routine. But Haslam was disciplined about working out before the federal raid on his corporate headquarters in Knoxville.

At his press conference, Brown was asked how he felt about rejoining the Browns when the Pilot Flying J investigation was hanging over the organization. The change in Haslam’s body language was visible, as if he hated the subject encroaching on Brown’s big day.

But to Browns players, Haslam’s problems might not feel like a black cloud.

“If it wasn’t the Cleveland Browns I would say no,” Jackson said. “I tell you what, there’s always something lingering somewhere.

“It’s so far over our heads right now, we’re so focused on what we’re doing and trying to get used to new coaches and building rapport with new players, we’ve got our own work cut out.”

Those who might be most affected are the coaches, especially Chudzinski. He could fear that if Haslam is indicted, NFL owners could force Haslam to sell the team, putting Chudzinski’s tenure in jeopardy if there is more change at the top. He could wonder if he will be able to finish what he’s starting.

“You know what solves that? Winning,” Jackson said.

Jackson is correct on that point. If the Browns succeed and Chudzinski proves he’s a capable coach after four seasons and five games as an NFL offensive coordinator, he’ll have a future. Jackson said he’s seen no evidence of anything worrying Chudzinski, whom he knows from the coach’s first stint with the Browns in 2007-08.

Players headed to the airport excited about their coaching staff, including offensive coordinator Norv Turner and defensive coordinator Ray Horton, whom Jackson called “a head coach in waiting.” At the moment, Haslam’s legal woes don’t seem to be putting a damper on the atmosphere in Berea.

“We have a pretty good staff, better than most teams out here,” Jackson said. “You see it on the field, you see it in the style of coaching, how practice is being run, having fun in meetings. There’s a different vibe. I know I say it every year, but you feel like it’s a solid staff because you feel like no one’s going to be out of here next year, it’s going to be intact for a while. And we’ve got a good, solid group of guys to build a base from and just add pieces to the puzzle.”

Playing for his fourth coach in eight seasons, Jackson yearns for stability. With Chudzinski, Turner and Horton, it feels as if the Browns are finally catching up with the rest of the league. So it’s no wonder Jackson hopes the Browns’ charismatic owner can weather this crisis. On the field, the vibe is too intoxicating to ignore.

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

Although the Tribe closer is being investigated for a suspected marijuana shipment delivered to his rental home, according to the Rocky River police chief, I’m still more concerned about his strained right shoulder.

I’m more concerned about his erratic pitching than his past criticism of Indians management and Cleveland fans.

Perez has not been arrested or charged. If that happens, if the package is found to contain a large amount of a controlled substance, I might change my mind and consider this the last straw. So might the Indians.

No matter what happens, I am glad the Indians have an experienced manager in Terry Francona to handle it.

Francona might not have dealt with this scenario before, but he faced plenty of crises during the eight years he spent in the fishbowl that is the Boston Red Sox. Francona is known to be fair and compassionate with his players, and is also a close friend of Chris Antonetti and Tribe President Mark Shapiro. Francona seems more than capable of walking the line between doing the right thing for the team and doing the right thing for Perez.

Even before drug agents and postal inspectors showed up at Perez’s door Tuesday with a search warrant, the Indians faced the prospect of playing without Perez for awhile. He’s on the 15-day disabled list and was about to start throwing. But there was no guarantee he would be ready to return soon. Even before he was forced to leave a game in Boston on May 26 with what was later diagnosed as shoulder tendinitis, Perez did not seem the same. He missed time in spring training with shoulder pain, but this was not in the same area.

Francona has already been forced to make adjustments in the bullpen. Should Perez be sidelined longer because of legal issues, I feel better about the discussion Francona and Antonetti will have as they consider their options, even if it means putting Brett Myers in the bullpen when he returns from his stint on the DL.

I trust Francona will know if or when youngsters such as Cody Allen and Nick Hagadone are ready for more of a workload. I trust he can read the psyches of Joe Smith and Vinnie Pestano as they slide from seventh- and eighth-inning duty to eighth- and ninth-inning duty. I trust Francona will communicate with Perez to keep him from sliding into a funk of disgrace as Shin-Soo Choo did after a 2011 DUI arrest, although Choo’s was more of a cultural issue.

Wednesday’s news made me wonder how Major League Baseball’s drug policy compares with the NFL’s. In the document on the MLB Players Association’s website, the MLB penalties seem harsher. Those convicted of use or possession of a stimulant or drug of abuse are subject to a suspension of between 25 and 50 games for a first offense. For a second offense, it’s 50 to 100 games. A conviction on sale or distribution of a stimulant or drug of abuse carries a 60- to 90-game suspension for a first offense.

But major-league players are not subject to regular testing for drugs of abuse without reasonable cause, with MLB more concerned about performance enhancing substances and stimulants.

That doesn’t minimize the possible severity of the trouble Perez faces.

It would be easy for the Indians and their fans to sweep Perez’s missteps into a pile and consider it a mountain instead. But until now, it has been Perez’s mouth getting him into trouble.

Last season he criticized Indians management for its lack of spending, former manager Manny Acta, fans for their booing and poor attendance and Clevelanders’ blind loyalty to the Browns.

“That’s what I don’t understand,” Perez told the New York Times in 2012. “Their whole thing is, ‘We want a winner.’ Well, why do you support the Browns? They don’t win. They’ve never won. They left. You guys blindly support them. I don’t understand it. It’s a double standard, and I don’t know why.”

Last month Perez shut down his Twitter account after criticism following a couple of poor outings.

Should the package mailed to Perez lead to serious problems and eventually force the Indians to let him go, his comments regarding the Browns might prompt some fans to applaud his departure.

I won’t be on their side. I can’t indict a player for being passionate about his work, and his work environment.

So until more is known about Perez’s legal predicament, I will worry just as much about whether he’ll return to the form that produced 75 saves the past two seasons.

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

A trip to Korea and China, with return stops in Hawaii and Scottsdale, Ariz., will keep him from watching every shot.

The world’s greatest golfer has always done his part to grow the game globally, embracing that role since his competitive days against Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.

Such contributions led to Nicklaus’ selection as the 2013 Ambassador of Golf by Northeast Ohio Golf Charities. The winner of a record 18 professional major championships will be honored at Firestone Country Club on July 31, the eve of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.

In addition to a private reception that night, Nicklaus will be feted at the first tee in a 5:30 p.m. ceremony, which will include remarks by PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. It will be open to Bridgestone Wednesday ticket holders.

In 1990, Nicklaus’ wife, Barbara, was chosen for the award, given annually to a person who has internationally fostered the game’s ideals and shown concern for others off the course.

The PGA Tour will officially announce the choice of Nicklaus today.

“I am very honored to have been chosen to receive the Ambassador of Golf Award,” Nicklaus said in the release. “This is certainly a special and meaningful recognition. I feel blessed to be included among such a distinguished list of past recipients, including my wife, because there is no bigger fan of Barbara Nicklaus than me.”

Nicklaus, 73, a Columbus native, has been captivated by golf travel and was eager to take the game to foreign countries when the barriers of Communism fell.

“I always loved playing at the British Open. It was always my favorite tournament to go to every year because of the change in weather, the change of conditions, something I didn’t grow up on,” Nicklaus said Sunday before the final round of the Memorial Tournament, which he founded and hosts at Muirfield Village Golf Club. “I always enjoyed Australia. I always loved playing in the Sandbelt [a region home to about 400 courses].

“I thought it was fun to play golf around the world and Arnold did and Gary did.”

When he quit playing competitively — his last tournament came in 2005 — Nicklaus poured much of his time into his international golf course design company.

“When apartheid finished I wanted to go to South Africa,” he said. “When the Berlin Wall got taken down and they opened up the East [Germany], I wanted to go back and be a part of that, if they wanted to play golf, and they are. They’re doing a lot in Russia and those areas. China, we’re heavily involved the game.

“I can’t play any more, so as much as I can help grow the game in different areas, that’s what I have to do. It’s the same thing with junior golf and the Learning Leagues and The First Tee. I’ve got to do something.”

Firestone Country Club has been a special place for Nicklaus. As an 18-year-old amateur going into his sophomore year at Ohio State, he competed in his first professional tournament, the 1958 Rubber City Open, and finished 8 strokes behind winner Art Wall.

Nicklaus won seven times at Firestone, the same number of victories in Akron totaled by the world’s No. 1 player, Tiger Woods. Nicklaus took the 1975 PGA Championship and one American Golf Classic, beating Lee Elder in a five-hole playoff in 1968. He won the World Series of Golf four times (the inaugural in 1962, plus ’63, ’67 and ’70) when it was a 36-hole exhibition and claimed the first 72-hole World Series of Golf event in 1976.

“I’ve had a special affinity with Firestone my entire career,” Nicklaus told the Beacon Journal in 2004. “I played my first tour tournament there, I won the first World Series there, I won a PGA there. I’ve been fortunate to enjoy several significant victories and moments at Firestone.”

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

1981 Chi Chi Rodriguez; 1982 Bing Crosby; 1983 Byron Nelson; 1984 Gene Sarazen; 1985 President Gerald Ford; 1986 Bob Hope; 1987 Dinah Shore; 1988 Joe Dey; 1989 Frank Chirkinian; 1990 Barbara Nicklaus; 1991 Arnold Palmer; 1992 Nancy Lopez; 1993 Roberto De Vincenzo; 1994 President George H.W. Bush; 1995 Michael Bonnallack; 1995 Deane Beman; 1997 Peter Thomson; 1998 Ken Venturi; 1999 Gary Player; 2000 Ben Hogan and Sam Snead; 2001 Del de Windt; 2002 Joanne Carner; 2003 Robert Dedman, Sr. and Jack Vickers; 2004 Lee Trevino; 2005 Pete Dye; 2006 Ken Schofield; 2007 Tony Jacklin; 2008 Charlie Sifford; 2009 Hale Irwin; 2010 Tom Watson; 2011 Nick Price; and 2012 Nick Faldo.

— Marla Ridenour

He’d seen it happen to others whose performance slipped and they lost their playing privileges, sending them to golf’s minor league.

When it happened to him in 2006 it was the Nationwide Tour; it is now known as the web.com Tour. Whatever name his personal Siberia was called, Kuchar learned that the Henrico County Open was not the Honda Classic, even though he won both.

But Kuchar handled the professional crisis the right way. He realized what he had to do to regain what he’d lost. He didn’t beat himself up. He played his way back in, finishing No. 10 on the Nationwide money list to earn his 2007 PGA Tour card.

“I wasn’t going to let it bother me,” Kuchar said. “I think some guys look at it as an insult. Some guys don’t recover. I knew this was where I belonged.

“I think the mentality was the right mentality. I was going to take care of business and make my way back out on the PGA Tour.”

The reconstruction of Matt Kuchar now seems to be missing only one piece — a major championship. If he follows the advice of Jack Nicklaus and plays the course for a few days the week prior to a major, then takes the preceding weekend off, that may not be missing for long.

On Sunday at Muirfield Village Golf Club, Kuchar won for the sixth time on the PGA Tour, five of those after his Nationwide exile. The Memorial Tournament’s third-round leader held off a late birdie charge from Kevin Chappell, whose 68 was the only bogey-free round of the tournament.

After Chappell stuck his approach at No. 18 27 inches from the pin, Kuchar rolled in a 21-footer for birdie to complete his 68 and record a 2-stroke victory over Chappell. Kyle Stanley finished third, but never threatened after a 2-stroke swing at No. 11 when he bogeyed and Kuchar birdied.

The triumph, which earned Kuchar a $1.116 million first prize, gave Kuchar his first multiwin season on tour. He joined Tiger Woods, the only other player to achieve that feat in 2013. Kuchar’s effort came on the heels of a second-place finish last week at Colonial.

Tournament founder Nicklaus may have considered it only a matter of time for Kuchar, 34. In eight Memorial starts, Kuchar now has five top-10 finishes, all the past six years. Since the start of the 2010 season, Kuchar has 35 top 10s in 86 PGA Tour events.

“His bad shots hit greens, first of all,” Chappell said of Kuchar’s consistency. Kuchar led the field in greens in regulation (54 of 72) and in sand saves (7 of 7) and was second in strokes gained-putting. “And he’s really good with the putter.

“I think I heard [Nick] Faldo say on TV last week, ‘He’s not a 10 in every category of his game, but he’s better than a 7 in all aspects of the game.’ He just doesn’t make very many mistakes.”

Accepting his strengths and weaknesses took a while, Kuchar said.

“When I came out on tour playing with Ernie Els and Tiger Woods and they can hit these shots, these long irons, and stop them on greens, I said, ‘I don’t have that shot,’ ” Kuchar remembered. “Trying to figure out, ‘Maybe I play more like Steve Stricker and make my wedges a real asset.’ Just try not to hurt myself in any categories.

“Fortunately my golf game has gotten to the point where I feel like I’m closer to the Tigers, the Ernies, that I can do things with the golf ball that I never thought I’d be able to do.”

Even in that regard, Kuchar was helped by his Nationwide experience. He began hanging out with his buddies from Georgia Tech and they served as each other’s personal cheerleaders. One suggested he should work with golf instructor Chris O’Connell, a Notre Dame graduate named one of the top 100 teachers in America in 2013-14 by Golf magazine.

O’Connell changed Kuchar’s swing in 2006, creating what some tell Kuchar is the flattest motion they’ve ever seen. Kuchar didn’t fight the change because he got better right away.

As he came to accept his limitations and continued to improve, Kuchar began winning big. He took The Barclays, a FedExCup playoff event, in 2010, the Players Championship in 2012. This year he won a World Golf Championship, the Accenture Match Play.

He seemed to appreciate the Memorial because it was founded by Nicklaus, the ultimate family man. In the ceremony on the 18th green, Kuchar mentioned how thrilled he was to win with his wife, Sybi, and sons Cameron and Carson watching.

Carson, 3, high-fived Nicklaus, who was sitting in a folding chair as play finished at 18, but Nicklaus was stiffed by Cameron, 5. The boys rolled on the grass before their father picked up the trophy.

Kuchar believed such days would come again, even as he toiled in obscurity.

“When you’re playing junior golf, when you’re playing college golf, when you’re playing Nationwide golf, you still have the dreams of winning PGA Tour events, winning major championships,” Kuchar said. “No matter where you are, you sit back and watch the guys on TV and you want to be that guy. It feels awfully great to have these sort of dreams come true.”

For a player who wasn’t devastated by a bump in the road, who knows he doesn’t have to be a ‘10’ in every category to succeed, there could be more. The reconstruction of Matt Kuchar may be embarking on the high-rise phase.

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

“The last U.S. Open I won, I shot (78-67) the week before and missed the cut at Atlanta. Then I broke the Open record. So I wouldn’t read too much into that,” Nicklaus said, referring to the 1980 U.S. Open at Baltusrol.

Woods’ biggest blunder of his final round was a triple-bogey 6 on the 12th hole, his third. Woods shot par 72 for a 296 total that left him tied for 65th, 20 strokes behind winner Matt Kuchar.

In his worst finish at the Memorial in 1997 when he tied for 67th in his first appearance, Woods was 19 strokes behind winner Vijay Singh.

“It wasn’t that bad today. It was just one hole and it cost me a few shots,” Woods said.

Woods will take next week off to prepare for the U.S. Open at Merion June 13-16.

Asked what he will work on, Woods said, “Everything. You want everything clicking on all cylinders, especially in a U.S. Open because everything’s tested.”

Woods has won the Memorial five times, including last year. But on Saturday, Woods shot 79, the highest round he’s posted at Muirfield Village Golf Club. That included a 44 on the back nine (his front), his highest nine-hole score as a professional.

Nicklaus focused on Woods’ putting woes, as he tied for 57th in that category with 119 total putts.

“He’s an unbelievably great putter,” Nicklaus said. “He’s three-putted several times from four feet, where he’s tried to put it in the back of the cup and these greens are hard to put it in the back of the cup. This is a speed-putting golf course, not a ram-it-in-the-back golf course, unless you’re going uphill.”

Nicklaus believed that affected the rest of his game.

“When you don’t make anything all of a sudden you get discouraged and then you hit a bad shot and you try to make it up with a putt, then all of a sudden it multiplies,” Nicklaus said.

“I didn’t putt very well; I had bad speed all week,” Woods said. “The greens didn’t look that fast, but they were putting fast.”

Nicklaus said Woods’ problems won’t necessarily carry over to Merion.

“I would think going into the U.S. Open, Tiger would have rather not shot 79,” Nicklaus said. “But I don’t think that will affect him too much. Conditions are horrendous; we never have this kind of wind here.”

Figuring it out

Rory McIlroy barely made the cut, but the world’s No. 2 golfer shot even par Sunday for a 294 total, tying for 57th. He said he “found a couple little things” this weekend that should help him in the U.S. Open.

He will practice at Merion Tuesday and Wednesday after playing Oak Hill today, PGA Championship media day, attending as the defending champion.

“Just a little bit of adjustment with green-reading,” McIlroy said. “Everything I was reading I was reading it far right and I was pulling it. I guess it’s like whatever I see on a left-right putt sort of double it and whatever I see on a right to left not so much. It’s something that was good to figure out.”

Curtis in qualifier

Kent’s Ben Curtis shot a 3-over par 75 and finished tied for 41st. He will attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open today in the 36-hole Columbus sectional at the Lakes Golf and Country Club and Brookside Golf and Country Club.

Curtis said his back was still sore after suffering spasms on Thursday that nearly forced him to withdraw.

“Rest is going to help it,” said Curtis, who will take the rest of the week off.

Curtis said it didn’t help him that the wind died down after two days of gusts.

“It plays easy, I play like [crap],” he said. As for the week, Curtis said, “It was all right, it could be better. Just how I’ve been playing all year. Haven’t drove it good, a few three-putts here and there, that’s been it.”

Notes

Annika Sorenstam was selected as the 2014 Memorial honoree. At age 42, she is the youngest ever chosen by the Captains Club. Sorenstam totaled 89 victories worldwide, including 72 on the LPGA Tour, 10 of them majors. … Nicklaus met three of the five winners of the Jack Nicklaus Award given to college players of the year. When one remarked he heard this was good practice for the U.S. Open, Nicklaus remarked, “I don’t know, which Open? The British Open?” … Asked by a security escort where he wanted to go after finishing his interview, runner-up Kevin Chappell said, “I’ll sign some autographs. It’s the right thing to do.”

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

Otherwise the Memorial Tournament, thus far devoid of buzz, a signature shot or even a Tiger-Sergio spat, looks on the verge of another Bart Bryant or Carl Pettersson funk.

Unless the highest nine-hole score of Tiger Woods’ career is considered buzz.

With some of the field’s biggest names struggling, 2013 Masters Tournament champion Scott is the most compelling and charismatic figure on the leaderboard. Triumphs by third-round leader Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose or 2011 Masters winner Charl Schwartzel might do little to move the needle, but at least they stand in the top 15 of the World Golf Rankings.

Either of those four would be a notch above Kevin Chappell, Kyle Stanley, Matt Jones, Bill Haas, J.J. Henry or Scott Piercy, who fill out the rest of the top 10.

That’s not to say someone from the latter group wouldn’t be a deserving winner, especially considering the outrageous wind they’ve battled over the past two days. Saturday’s 30 mph gusts led television analysts to suggest that conditions were perhaps the toughest on the PGA Tour this year.

Asked how it’s possible to enjoy such a battering, Chappell said: “I guess it’s like a prize fighter. He enjoys winning, but I don’t know if he enjoys getting hit that much.”

But if Chappell or one of his unknown peers takes the $1.116 million first prize in today’s final round at Muirfield Village Golf Club, it will prompt the same ho-hum reaction as victories by Bryant in 2005 and Pettersson in 2006. Actually, that was the start of a string only a golf purist could love, with Pettersson followed by K.J. Choi and a third Memorial triumph by Kenny Perry.

All I recall of Choi’s championship was that he’d been inspired by a Jack Nicklaus book he read when he was 16. Kentuckians and admirers of God-fearing good guys celebrated Perry’s triple crown.

This Memorial needs a Paul Azinger hole-out from the bunker at No. 18. It needs a miraculous flop shot from Woods at No. 16 that tournament founder Nicklaus called one of the gutsiest he’s seen. It needs a 12-foot birdie putt by Tom Watson on the 72nd hole for his first victory in nearly nine years.

It needs drama in the worst way.

Otherwise, it is going to be remembered for Woods’ struggles, which included tying his third-highest scoring round at Muirfield Village with a 74 on Friday, only to see that surpassed by his highest-scoring round here, a 79, on Saturday. Woods’ 44 on the back nine, his front, was his highest nine-hole score as a professional by a shot. And the five-time Memorial champion, a winner of four of seven events this year, did it without a penalty stroke.

For two days, that’s been the talk of the town and the golfing world, especially with the U.S. Open at Merion in two weeks.

Woods, however, shared no thoughts with the media afterward, although playing partner Jim Furyk thought that was excusable.

“He wasn’t going to tell you anything you didn’t already see,” Furyk said. “We had a full camera crew with us the entire 18 holes and every shot he hit I’m sure was shown somewhere. It’s so rare for a guy who’s not playing well. If I go out and shoot 79 off the back nine on Saturday, no one sees a shot. For him it’s a different story.”

Henry, whose biggest claim to fame was earning a spot on the 1998 U.S. Ryder Cup team, also started at No. 10 and beat Woods by 12 strokes on that nine.

Henry sloughed that off by offering: “That just shows how difficult it is. Tiger’s the No. 1 world player in the world by far and I’m just trying to make a living.”

A victory by Kuchar, Rose or Schwartzel might satisfy the gallery, especially over-imbibers who love to yell “Kooch.” Kuchar counts the 2012 Players Championship among his five tour victories. Rose won the 2010 Memorial, his first of four tour triumphs. Schwartzel has nine more world-wide wins to go with his green jacket.

Kuchar is on a roll, earning more than $3 million in 2013 after totaling $13 million the previous three years. But the most interesting thing about him at the moment is his recent growth of beard. He said even if he wins today, coming on the heels of a second-place finish last week at Colonial, he will shave it off.

That will be over the objections of his wife, Sybi, whom he said loves the stubble that makes him look older than his 34 years.

“I never, ever thought I’d have a beard,” Kuchar said. “Most of the women in my family – my mother and my grandmother – dislike it. However it plays out [today], when I get back home I’ll shave it.”

Scott, who captured his first major at the Masters, could spare us a reprise of an old Victor Kiam Remington commercial. Scott’s opening-round 73 included a double-bogey 7 at the par-5 fifth hole. But since then, he’s quietly carded rounds of 70 and 69 to climb into a tie for seventh, 4 shots behind Kuchar.

A victory by Scott might add to his emotional breakthrough this season. It would also be savored by his caddie, Steve Williams, who used to work for Woods, although a news conference on the 18th green like Williams held after Scott claimed the 2011 Bridgestone Invitational was probably a once-in-a-lifetime, sock-it-to-him exhibition.

At this point, I’ll take a weeping Scott and a gloating Stevie, even if Williams keeps his “best week of my life” thoughts to himself. Drama comes in many forms — a touching tale, a scintillating shot, a record round. Any or all would be welcome to enliven this boring Memorial.

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

Curtis' even par 216 total left him tied for 27th and was 8 strokes better than Tiger Woods, who shot his highest score in the Memorial, carding a 79.

Curtis birdied Nos. 3, 10 and 16, but bogeyed Nos. 11 and 18 and double-bogeyed the par-4 No. 9.

"I didn’t really hit it good all day, especially off the tee, left myself a lot of hard up and downs, but overall I’m pretty happy," Curtis said. "I would have loved to have made par or birdie on the last, but with that pin, it’s a really tough pin.

"I’m not overly disappointed. It would have been nice to give myself a few more chances on the back. I think I had four looks at it, it would have been nice to get another one or two."

Most of Curtis' problems came on shots that strayed to the right.

"The shot on nine, I just missed it way to the right," he said. "Started off with a couple pulls, but it didn’t really hurt me. Especially the one on nine, I gave myself a decent chip, but messed that all up. Then 11, just missed it way to the right and had to hit a sand wedge back to the fairway, basically straight sideways."

Curtis wasn't sure what the conditions will be like for the final round. Heavy thunderstorms are predicted for Saturday night and could run into Sunday morning.

"Hopefully we get some decent weather, west wind," Curtis said. "I hear the storms are coming in tonight; a couple inches of rain. Hopefully the course can take it. We’ll see if we can get it in tomorrow."

When things are going well for the five-time Memorial Tournament champion, there’s no way that sigh is audible. Usually as the world’s No. 1 golfer leaves the green at Muirfield Village Golf Club and strides to the next tee, he is exhorted by fans, who shower him with compliments and cheers.

Friday was not that kind of day for Woods. His back nine was eerily quiet as he and playing partners Fred Couples and Keegan Bradley flirted with the 36-hole cut line.

Woods will escape that fate, which would have been unprecedented here. But as he fought gusting winds, his second-round 74 left him at 1-over 145, 10 strokes behind leader Bill Haas.

It was only Woods’ ninth time over par in 53 rounds at Muirfield Village. He’s gone higher than 74 only twice. One came during his first appearance in 1997, the other was 10 years ago.

The last time Woods shot a 74, on the second day of the 2009 event, he went on to win. But to show his consistency at Muirfield Village, in seven of the previous 13 years Woods played in the Memorial, he shot par or better in all four rounds.

That’s not to say he won’t make a run on the weekend — although it might not be enough to win — or that his game has suddenly deserted him two weeks before the U.S. Open. That’s far from the case. He has hit 24-of-28 fairways, 13-of-14 on Friday.

“I’m not too disappointed with it,” he said of his ball-striking. “On a golf course like this, with the wind gusts like this, it’s tough.”

But there were some ugly moments, like a double-bogey 7 at the par-5 15th hole, his sixth, where he missed the green with his third shot and three-putted from 4½ feet. He said a wind gust got him. That’s when panic set in for Tiger-watchers, at least when it came to missing the cut.

At No. 9 (his 18th), he said the wind wreaked havoc with his third shot as it popped high and landed short of the green, leading to a bogey.

His putting also let him down as he needed 30 for the second consecutive day. He turned away in disgust when he missed a 16-foot birdie attempt at No. 6, the ball sliding two feet past.

“I had a hard time with the speed,” Woods said. “They don’t look that fast, but they’re putting fast. It was kind of a mental thing I was struggling with out there. You try to stay below the hole as best you can, but sometimes you have to get the ball on the green.”

All the fun of Thursday, when Couples, 53, reveled in the fact that he shot 2 under and beat Woods by a stroke, turned into an every-man-for-himself struggle. The gallery, which included Ellen Tressel, wife of the former Ohio State football coach, didn’t get the rowdy start to the day it expected.

Those who took off work expecting to see fireworks from the tournament’s best pairing were forced to change their allegiance to Haas.

Woods finished before two weather delays and an overnight suspension struck. The rain, including some deluges, should dramatically change the speed of the greens. Scattered thunderstorms are forecast for the rest of the weekend. Target golf might improve Woods’ score, but also those of the rest of the field, making it tougher for him to catch up.

Woods was humbled for the day, but he didn’t seem ready to write off the weekend. Asked if he felt he was out of it, Woods said no, but didn’t elaborate, instead wondering whether tournament officials would alter weekend tee times because of the weather.

The leaderboard added some star power Friday, with 2012 Masters Tournament champion Bubba Watson shooting himself into contention, joining 2011 Masters winner Charl Schwartzel, the first-round leader. When second-round play was called for the day at 7:07 p.m. with 42 players still on the course, Matt Kuchar, Schwartzel, Watson and Kyle Stanley were 3 shots behind Haas, although only Kuchar had finished.

As out of character as Woods’ second-round performance was, it is only a blip on the radar when it comes to the big picture. He has won four out of seven events this year. Four out of eight sounds just as intimidating, especially with three majors remaining.

His gallery might have gone away disappointed, searching for a more entertaining venue for happy hour. But Woods’ problems seem minor. His occasional sighs of exasperation might soon be drowned out by cheers.

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.

The world’s second-ranked golfer didn’t have to stop and talk after firing a 78 Thursday in the Memorial Tournament, his highest opening round on the PGA Tour.

Especially when much of what’s going on in his career looks like a mess at the moment.

McIlroy, a 24-year-old from Northern Ireland, has been in a tricky spot like this before. Last year, he missed cuts in back-to-back tournaments at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in England and at the Memorial. He failed to play the weekend in four out of five events, including the U.S. Open.

He not only extricated himself from that supposed abyss, but he ran off with an 8-shot victory in the PGA Championship and closed the year with three more triumphs worldwide, claiming money titles on the PGA and European tours.

But instead of sticking with what was working, McIlroy made major changes.

He switched equipment, landing a deal with Nike that reportedly is worth $20 million to $25 million per year.

This month, he parted ways with Dublin, Ireland-based Horizon Sports Management. It was his second such departure after breaking from Chubby Chandler-led International Sports Management in October 2011.

McIlroy intends to form his own team of family and friends, headed by his father Gerry. McIlroy will follow the model used since 2003 by Adam Scott, who copied the personal office setup from Greg Norman.

With corporations like Nike, Bose and Omega knocking at McIlroy’s door, an international superstar needs no mega-firm in charge, as LeBron James would attest.

He’s opened himself up to second-guessing, but McIlroy insists that all this, including a highly publicized relationship with professional tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, is not interfering with what’s happening inside the ropes.

“No, once I’m here, I’m focused on what I need to do,” McIlroy said. “Right at the moment, it’s not happening for me.”

McIlroy’s score at Muirfield Village Golf Club left him 13 strokes behind leader Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion. McIlroy appears headed for his second consecutive missed cut at a course he ranks among his favorites, along with Firestone Country Club and Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C.

His 78 was the fifth worst he’s carded in 63 PGA Tour events, trailing only 80s at the 2012 Masters and 2010 British Open and 79s in last year’s second round of the Memorial and the 2013 Masters.

Only six players in the 120-man field shot higher than McIlroy.

His struggles included a 4-putt from 58 feet for double bogey at No. 12 en route to a 40 on the back nine (his front). His card also included six bogeys and two birdies. His putting problems — he needed 33 for the day, tied for 114th in the field — included a 4-foot miss at No. 12, a 5-foot miss at No. 13 and a 4-foot birdie miss at No. 9.

“The last four weeks have been the same,” McIlroy said. “I’ve missed a lot of short putts. It’s probably lack of confidence more than anything else. And those are the sort of putts that are important to keep the momentum of the round going.

“I don’t think I’ve played as bad as what the score suggests. The game just isn’t all there at the moment. I haven’t lived up to my own expectations this year … but I’m working hard to get the game back to where I know it can be.”

On Thursday, McIlroy hit only seven fairways. Five of his tee shots strayed to the right, which he called “my big miss all of this year.” Those big misses might prompt some to wonder whether he’s struggling to adjust to the Nike clubs.

But to McIlroy, what was most disturbing was he thought he was getting back on track, despite a poor week in bad conditions in England. After a much-criticized withdrawal at the Honda Classic in March, he had four top 10s in his next five PGA Tour events, including second in the Valero Texas Open. In his previous two in the United States, he tied for 10th in the Wells Fargo (at Quail Hollow), where he picked up his first tour victory in 2010.

“I felt like my game was good. I felt like I needed to hole some more putts and things would be OK,” McIlroy said.

“I’m pretty frustrated. I’m trying not to let it get to me. A few bad rounds of golf isn’t going to ruin anything. But I don’t have many explanations for this.”

McIlroy is not going to lose his cachet with these struggles. He’s already won two majors (his first was the 2011 U.S. Open) in his young career. He rebounded from last year’s missed-cut string with a vengeance.

And even when his confidence is at a low point, McIlroy isn’t afraid to talk, to allow the world a glimpse of his vulnerability. His willingness to reveal the chinks in his armor gives his admirers all the more reason to root for him.

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

Couples enjoyed the fact that he shot a 2-under par 70, one shot better than Woods. Bradley also finished 1-under, but it was the rare matchup with Woods that had Couples excited afterward. 

He's what Couples said:

Q: You kicked Tiger’s butt:
A: Somehow we got this pairing. We played last year together, too. He’s my all-time favorite. I’ve not been playing any golf; I skipped last week. To be honest, I sent him a text and said, ‘Do you really want me in this group? I’ve played no golf.’ You’re nervous playing with him, but I was more nervous because I hadn’t played since Savannah with Jay Haas and I didn’t play well there.

I did beat him. I’ve never played with Keegan and that was a lot of fun. He’s truly long off the tee and with his irons and can really play, we all know that. I look forward to tomorrow. I’m in great shape. In the afternoon there weren’t from what I saw a lot of scores in the 60s.

I just like it because I would never take a spot. I’m the President’s Cup captain, but I would never take a spot to come play because I’m going to see the guys. I practiced pretty hard yesterday. I wasn’t great, but I got it around. I was 3-under, doubled 8, from 90 yards at No. 9 I shanked a wedge into the water, which I don’t think I’ve ever done. It was just fun. I putted extremely well. I look forward to playing tomorrow.

Q: Did you feel relaxed out there?
A: No. This course is not easy and we don’t play it like this all the time. It played really, really fast. There were a lot of 3-woods off the tees, which I think helped me. Those guys hit it so far, it makes it entertaining. I only get to play with Tiger once in a while. For me personally, it was windy, the course is extremely hard, obviously there were some good scores in the morning. But tomorrow afternoon if the wind blows, it plays its way out of there and you see if someone can come out tomorrow afternoon and shoot 4 or 5 under, they’re going to be leading by a few if they’re one of those top five or six guys.

The course was awesome. Jack, we’re going to do a little dinner tonight for the members. I got to meet the President yesterday and I’m sitting down doing an interview with Jack today and played with Tiger. So tah-de-dah, what’s next?

Q: What was it like being with your old caddie Joe LaCava?
A: Three years ago I played with Dustin Johnson and Joe was caddying for Dustin. Last year I was out here with Tiger and Joe was caddying for him. This year I didn’t walk over to the bag as many times as I did. With Dustin I actually went over a couple times. Pretty funny, not trying to be smart, I went over there because I thought Joe was my caddie. He and Tiger, I think that’s a great match. Even 10 or 15 years ago I know Joe liked Tiger and vise-versa. It’s nice to see them working together.

Q: Were you up for the round today?
A: Yeah, if I knew I was going to make that putt to beat Tiger at 18 it might have been a little different. I won’t lie to you, I asked to see if I could get paired, it might be my last time really playing with Tiger. Maybe at Augusta I might get paired with him. If he can be leading after two rounds again maybe I’ll get a shot at him. That’s where it ends for me, after 36 holes there. I was blessed to play with him. My goal when I play with him is to try to hit it solid and stay out of his way and today was a good one.

Q: Why do you like playing with Tiger so much?
A: I don’t know. I can shoot free throws with Michael Jordan, who’s a friend, but I can’t do anything else with him. I can play golf with him. That’s not the same. In golf, he’s our best player and I play on the Champions Tour, so I rarely get to see him. When we’re at Augusta I always try to hit balls next to him. There’s a lot of guys. I used to always practice with Davis Love, the sound of the ball was incredible. Tiger, he’s Tiger. You saw it. He didn’t play great, but he still hit incredible shots. He didn’t putt very well for him. Otherwise he could be 3-under par easily and be right there. He’ll have to work tomorrow. But I just like the way he plays. He’s always sharp and he plays well.

Q: How was the trip to the White House?
A: The trip to the White House was great. Nick Price and his wife went up and my girlfriend. We got to spend 20 minutes with (Obama), his busy schedule. Nick went home and I came down here and practiced for a couple hours. It was fun. We got a couple stories.

Q: How was the putting green?
A: The putting green was good. He didn’t get to go out there. Marvin, his aide took us out there and we rolled a few. It’s a little slower than these greens, but good. They didn’t have any belly putters so I had to putt with a crutch. I didn’t hit many putts, I watched.

Q: Did you give him any tips?
A: We asked him to come here in October (for the Presidents Cup) and he said he couldn’t do it. Then we asked him again and he said he couldn’t do it. Then we said we’d check in a couple months from now. No tips. He was incredibly gracious. He’s very funny. He had a couple funny stories. It was really a very special 20 minutes.
 

The avalanche of attention paid to Sergio Garcia’s tiff with Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh’s lawsuit over deer antler spray, reaction to the upcoming anchored putter ban and Woods’ relationship with alpine skier Lindsey Vonn is obscuring the real story.

The master of few words cut to the chase Wednesday when the question of such gossip was raised at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

“I’ve won four times this year,” Woods said succinctly.

As he starts defense of his Memorial Tournament title today, Woods is five months into a season that could rival his groundbreaking achievements of 2000. He’s captured four out of seven events and earned nearly $6 million. It’s a winning percentage that surpasses 2000, when he prevailed in nine out of 20, missed the top 10 only three times and added more than $9 million to his bankroll. In 1999, he won eight out of 21.

In 2000 at Pebble Beach, Woods also posted a 15-stroke victory in the U.S. Open, which started what is known as the Tiger Slam, which saw him capture four consecutive majors.

We’ve seen glimpses of that kind of play from Woods, albeit without the runaway margin. He’s never won four tournaments by mid-May until this year.

Yet at the moment, the golf world seems more consumed with whether Garcia apologized to Woods face-to-face or via Twitter for his recent off-handed, racist-tinged remark about fried chicken. It was suggested that perhaps Woods should have gotten that over with last week, especially with the U.S. Open looming June 13-16.

“So I have to fly to Wentworth?” Woods asked, referring to the course in England where Garcia was playing in the European Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship.

Rather than wondering whether Woods is still stung by Garcia’s comment or their spat that started at the Players Championship, it is time for fans to sit back and enjoy Woods’ demonstration of golf domination.

I, for one, thought those days were long gone, especially after following him as he limped around Torrey Pines on one leg in an 18-hole U.S. Open playoff triumph over Rocco Mediate.

That afternoon in 2008 was his last major victory, but that drought seems in its final days. With the reconstruction of his swing under the tutelage of Sean Foley now complete, Woods seems at peace with his game, with his health, with his physical limitations, perhaps even with his love life.

Woods has won seven of his past 20 PGA Tour tournaments, starting with the Arnold Palmer Invitational last year. Although he’s cleaned up at six events — half of his 78 tour victories have come at the Bridgestone Invitational (seven), Arnold Palmer (eight), Cadillac Championship (seven), Farmers Insurance Open (seven), Memorial (give) and the BMW Championship (five) — Rory McIlroy isn’t so sure that matters any more.

“I thought that was pretty impressive,” McIlroy said of the aforementioned PGA Tour stat that was tweeted Tuesday night. “The guy is good wherever he goes. He can win anywhere.”

The remaining major venues this year — Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., for the U.S. Open, Muirfield for the British Open and Oak Hill in Rochester, N.Y., for the PGA Championship — are being touted as good fits for Tiger’s eye, especially the first two.

But as McIlroy suggested, it might not matter considering Woods’ frame of mind.

“All the stretches where I’ve played well, I felt good about what I was able to do as far as my misses and being able to fix it on the fly,” Woods said. “That’s huge. That took a little bit of time and I finally have turned the corner to that. I finally was starting to get to that point toward the end of last year.

“I’m at a point now where Sean and I really don’t do a lot of work, just alignment and little things. What you’re seeing this year is that I’ve gotten more precise and I’ve been able to work on other parts of my game and made them strengths.”

That is both a frightening and thrilling proposition. Frightening for his peers, thrilling for his followers (and the television networks).

Woods has played at only three of the six events he’s dominated. Still to be decided are the Memorial, the Bridgestone at Firestone Country Club Aug. 1-4 and the BMW Sept. 12-15, part of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Should Woods make a major breakthrough for No. 15 and resume his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18, it could spur another stunning run not seen since 2005-09, before his marital infidelities were revealed after a Thanksgiving 2009 car accident.

It’s not out of the question that Woods could surpass Sam Snead’s tour record of 82 career victories this year. In fact, barring injury, I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t.

So forget about deer antler spray and fried chicken and other meaningless antics from those who have no chance to beat Woods. There’s a show going on, one not to be missed.

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

Then, as Fowler put it, “Golf happened.”

While he dropped out of contention with an 84, Fowler had the best view of one of the greatest shots in Woods’ 78 career victories on the PGA Tour. On the 201-yard, par-3 16th, Woods executed a perfect flop shot from the rough 50 feet behind the pin for birdie.

Woods birdied three of the final four holes to win by 2 strokes, claiming his fifth Memorial and his 12th title in Ohio, coupled with his seven Bridgestone Invitational titles. Tournament founder Jack Nicklaus called Woods’ chip “the most unbelievable, gutsy shot I’ve ever seen.”

“That was pretty special to see,” Fowler remembered Tuesday at Muirfield Village Golf Club. “It was fun to see what he did there, how he handles himself coming down the stretch.”

Fowler said the afternoon was a learning experience, even though he tied for 52nd.

“I actually didn’t hit very many bad shots to start the round,” Fowler said. “I had a couple of putts that I missed and tried to push a little too hard … got a little ahead of myself.”

Fowler called on that experience in March in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He played in the last group with Woods again and shot 73 to tie for third, 5 strokes behind the winner, Woods.

Fowler’s demise at Bay Hill again came at No. 16, where he hit two approach shots into the water.

“I put myself in great position, 2 back with three to play and just ended up catching the shot a little heavy,” Fowler said. “But it was a little bit of a difference between shooting 84 here and then actually showing him I was around at Bay Hill and ready to play down the stretch. Golf is a learning process and that 84 was part of it.”

Fowler has just one victory on the tour, last year in the Wells Fargo Invitational. He has battled a back issue and struggled with his putting for the past six weeks. But he’s encouraged by his performance at Muirfield Village, where he finished second in 2010 behind Justin Rose and tied for 22nd in 2011.

“I’ve made a lot of birdies here,” Fowler said. “For some reason I enjoy a lot of Jack’s courses. I’m not sure if it’s a visual thing or what it is. But I’ve definitely made a lot of putts here and that’s one thing … the hole has been a little bit small and covered lately.”

2000 revisited?

With Woods recording four victories in seven events this year, some wonder if he’s primed for a season like 2000, when he won nine times in 20 tournaments and earned more than $9 million.

Asked if Woods is on the verge of a crazy run, Lee Westwood said: “I think he’s on one. How many tournaments has he played in this year? He’s won more than 50 percent. He’s obviously playing very well at the moment and whenever he tees it up, you’re going to expect he’s going to win, which is how it was 10 years ago.”

Helping Oklahoma

Fowler, who attended Oklahoma State, said last week at the Crowne Plaza Invitational he would match the first $100,000 in donations for Moore, Okla., tornado victims.

“It was never really like ‘Hey, I’m a successful athlete or celebrity, I have to give money,’ ” Fowler said. “It was more that I wanted to do it because of the ties in Oklahoma. Getting the fans involved last week, I think they [totaled] around 120,000, to get maybe half of them to donate, it was fun to get more people on board.”

Notable tee times

In Thursday’s first round, Woods goes off No. 1 at 1:16 p.m. with Keegan Bradley and Fred Couples. On Friday, they start at No. 10 at 8:26 a.m.

Other big-name pairings include Adam Scott, Ernie Els, Charl Schwartzel (8:15 a.m., No. 10, Thursday; 1:05 p.m., No. 1, Friday), Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose (8:26 a.m., No. 10; 1:16 p.m., No. 1), Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson, Hunter Mahan (1:05 p.m., No. 1; 8:15 a.m., No. 10). Kent resident Ben Curtis plays with fellow major winners Jim Furyk and Geoff Ogilvy (12:54 p.m., No. 10; 8:04 a.m., No. 1).

Notes

The 16th at Muirfield achieved the toughest par-3 ranking in 2012 with an average score of 3.368. Second was the 12th hole at Pebble Beach (3.327). … Curtis will attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open on Monday, playing 36 holes at Brookside Golf and Country Club and the Lakes Golf and Country Club. The tour-heavy list also includes Vijay Singh, Jason Day, Stuart Appleby, Camilo Villegas and Davis Love III. … Among those sitting out this year’s Memorial are Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia, who hasn’t come since 2008. Mickelson has played 13 times, with his best finishes a tie for fourth in 2006 and a tie for fifth in 2010. Last year, he shot 79 on Thursday and withdrew in the second round, with some speculating it was prompted by patrons’ disregard for the tour’s cellphone policy. … Westwood is playing in the Memorial for only the second time. “I’ve always watched it on TV,” Westwood said. “They say it’s a bit higher than the rest; it’s one to win on the PGA Tour.” ... Woods will meet the media today, along with Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy.

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

On Friday, they start at No. 10 at 8:26 a.m.

Other big-name pairings include Adam Scott, Ernie Els, Charl Schwartzel (8:15 a.m., No. 10; 1:05 p.m., No. 1), Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose (8:26 a.m., No. 10; 1:16 p.m., No. 1), Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson, Hunter Mahan (1:05 p.m., No. 1; 8:15 a.m., No. 10). Kent resident Ben Curtis enjoys a threesome with fellow major winners Jim Furyk and Geoff Ogilvy (12:54 p.m., No. 10; 8:04 a.m., No. 1).

Here's the complete list of Thursday's tee times:

No. 1

7:20 a.m. – Jason Day, Matt Jones, Nicolas Colsaerts
7:31 a.m. – John Senden, William McGirt, Jordan Spieth

7:42 a.m. – Charlie Beljan, Ryan Moore, Lucas Glover
7:53 a.m. – Johnson Wagner, Jonathan Byrd, Stewart Cink
8:04 a.m. – Scott Brown, Scott Piercy, Davis Love III
8:15 a.m. – Billy Horschel, Martin Laird, Lee Westwood
8:26 a.m. – Brandt Snedeker, Russell Henley, Luke Donald
8:37 a.m. – Marc Leishman, Carl Pettersson, George McNeil
8:48 a.m. – Ricky Barnes, David Lingmerth, Cameron Tringale
8:59 a.m. – Robert Garrigus, Ken Duke, James Hahn

No. 10

7:20 a.m. – Greg Chalmers, Josh Teater, Brandt Jobe
7:31 a.m. – Brian Davis, Erik Compton, David Hearn
7:42 a.m. – Ryo Ishikawa, Justin Hicks, Roberto Castro
7:53 a.m. – J.J. Henry, Mark Wilson, Justin Leonard
8:04 a.m. – Michael Thompson, K.J. Choi, Mike Weir
8:15 a.m. – Adam Scott, Ernie Els, Charl Schwartzel
8:26 a.m. – Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose
8:37 a.m. – Derek Ernst, Scott Stallings, Kyle Stanley
8:48 a.m. – James Driscoll, Luke Guthrie, Brian Harman
8:59 a.m. – Charlie Wi, Nicholas Thompson, Graham DeLaet

No. 1

12:10 p.m. – Matt Every, Jason Kokrak, Brian Stuard
12:21 p.m. – Pat Perez, Kevin Stadler, Robert Karlsson
12:32 p.m. – Camilo Villegas, Seung-Yul Noh, Fabian Gomez
12:43 p.m. – Zach Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Robert Allenby
12:54 p.m. – Rickie Fowler, Bryce Molder, John Huh
1:05 p.m. – Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson, Hunter Mahan
1:16 p.m. – Tiger Woods, Keegan Bradley, Fred Couples
1:27 p.m. – Ted Potter Jr., Vijay Singh, Trevor Immelman
1:38 p.m. – Bud Cauley, Jimmy Walker, Ben Kohles
1:49 p.m. – Justin Bolli, Guan Tianlang (a), Peter Williamson (a)

No. 10

12:10 p.m. – Brendon De Jonge, Kevin Chappell, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
12:21 p.m. – Charley Hoffman, Bo Van Pelt, Chris Stroud
12:32 p.m. – Jeff Overton, Tom Gillis, Branden Grace
12:43 p.m. – Tommy Gainey, Bill Haas, Kenny Perry
12:54 p.m. – Ben Curtis, Jim Furyk, Geoff Ogilvy
1:05 p.m. – Kevin Streelman, Dustin Johnson, Chris Kirk
1:16 p.m. – Sang-Moon Bae, D.A. Points, Nick Watney
1:27 p.m. – Brendan Steele, Gary Woodland, Aaron Baddeley
1:38 p.m. – Charles Howell III, Casey Wittenberg, Richard H. Lee
1:49 p.m. – George Coetzee, Shane Lowry, Steven Fox (a)