Tee 2 Green with Barry Sharpe - - February 28/09

Sports results can be so unpredictable. Take for example the plight of Tiger Woods who comes back from rehabilitative leg surgery after being away from the PGA TOUR for eight months, fit as a fiddle and ready to face his arch rival and chief nemesis, Phil Mickelson.

The Hype for Tiger's return in this week's WGC Accenture Match Play Championship was unprecedented. The news of his sudden demise after one round was like a punctured balloon at a child's birthday party.

Ergo some recent headlines from the Vancouver Sun and Province web sites leading up today:

Mickelson Makes His Return To Winner's Circle At Riviera

Woods eager to feel competitive thrill

Tiger Woods' game after surgery may be pure physics

Media frenzy over Woods catches Mickelson by surprise

No sweeter sight for PGA than healthy Woods teeing off

Return of the King

Tiger Wins Opener

Woods Exit Leaves Mickelson As Highest Seed

Of course being the unpredictable sport that golf is, Mickelson was eliminated in his very next round:

Mickelson beaten by Cink as Fisher upsets Furyk

and our final headline from Friday's action:

Teenage Sensation Steals The Show

. . . the account of how British golf sensation Rory McIlroy spoiled the euphoria of Tim Clark, the man who spoiled Tiger Woods' return in the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship.

Aw, the magic of the unpredictable world of sport.

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The sale of Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club on Coquitlam's Eagle Mountain by owner Wesbild Holdings Ltd., to a Korean buyer became official Friday. The price tag was reportedly in the vicinity of $12 million and the package included Westwood's 3,000-square foot clubhouse along with the par-72 18-hole course and it's nearby nine-hole golf academy, in total about 270 acres.

According to one former associate who helped get the whole project started after Intrawest bought the 1,410-acre parcel from the provincial government In 1989, the trick now is to turn Westwood Plateau into a money maker. About 20,000 residents now live in some gorgeous homes in the area but there's no more room for expansion . . . unless of course the new owner decides to improve upon the existing driving range.