PLEASE NOTE that The Wire will not be published Thursday, November 27 or Friday, November 28 due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Look for the next issue of The Wire on Monday, December 1. ...

GolfGM, a leading provider of golf business purchasing solutions, prepares to launch GolfGM Corporate. Buyers will be able to utilize a standard Web browser to review vendor catalogs, compare products, place orders, review history of those orders, and even request quotes from vendors. ...

The Smurfit European Open at The K Club in Ireland will be played at the South Course for the first time in 2004. The North Course has hosted the event for the past nine years but the new 7,300-yard Arnold Palmer-designed South Course will take center stage next summer from July 1-4. ...

Thomas Bjorn won the Japan PGA Tour's Dunlop Phoenix Open on Sunday wearing ECCO golf shoes. Others who wore ECCO golf shoes to victories in 2003 are the LPGA Tour's Hilary Lunke and Champions Tour players Dana Quigley and Jim Ahern. ...

Golf course architect Clyde Johnston recently completed his second tour of duty at a military golf course with the grand re-opening of the Sound of Freedom Golf Course, formerly Cherry Point Golf Course at Cherry Point Marine Air Corps Station in Havelok, NC. ...

KYJ Network, based in Seoul, Korea, joins the worldwide partnership of Gaylord Sports Management, International Sports Management and AJB Sports Management. ...

This Friday, November 25, Larry Lambrecht will talk about his new book "Emerald Gems: The Links of Ireland" during the show Golf Central on The Golf Channel. Check your local listings for the time. ...

A new Web site for the World Logo Ball Association debuted this month at www.logoball.com, providing an environment for logo golf ball collectors to buy, sell and trade logo golf balls and learn more about the hobby. ...

Golf bag manufacturer X-Sports announces that it will exhibit its 2004 product line at the upcoming 2004 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, in booth number 3945. ...

Golf Headquarters recognized several members at its retail association's recent annual awards banquet several members were recognized. Bob Polivka received the 2003 Chairman's Award, Vince McLoughlin received the 2003 Award of Merit, Joe Finizio and Joe Thomas were recognized for outstanding support of Golf Headquarters and Dale Robbins was also recognized for his outstanding leadership. ...

The Goodwin Golf Division of Golf Plus USA, Inc., installs its RangerPlus GPS System on 73 golf carts at Wachusett Country Club in West Boylston, Mass. ...

The past three winners of the US$700,000 Omega Hong Kong Open, defending champion Fredrik Jacobson from Sweden, Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal and Englishman Simon Dyson have confirmed they will participate in next week's prestigious championship.

Jack Nicklaus' concession of a two-and-a-half-foot par putt to Tony Jacklin that gave Great Britain a tie with the United States in the 1969 Ryder Cup has historically been viewed as one of the game's most magnanimous gestures of sporting goodwill.

Last Sunday, the United States not only conceded a tie to the Internationals, but also agreed to share the Presidents Cup. The gesture was as hollow in meaning as Nicklaus' gesture 34 years earlier was rich. Captains Nicklaus and Gary Player, long-time competitors and friends, agreed that sharing the Cup was for the good of the game, that after four days of head-to-head competition it would have been a shame to have one team lose.

Sorry, but that is empty rhetoric.

What was the purpose of the playoff in the first place? Why did they drag it out three holes? Had there been ample amount of sunlight, would they have played a fourth hole? Maybe a fifth?

The playoff rule is written into the captains' agreement. Each captain must select one player to represent their respective side in a sudden death playoff. The winner decides which team will hold the Cup for the next two years. Simple enough.

Instead, Nicklaus and Player took it upon themselves to alter the rules. In golf, the integrity of the game is at the forefront of any discussion about rules. So what message does this send?

In golf, a rule is a rule with little to no area for alternative interpretation.

"Personally I don't think there should be a sudden death playoff," Player said. "When you have your [playoff] in a major championship or a golf tournament, you're representing yourself. Yes, there should be a sudden death playoff -- maybe, it's debatable.

"But an event like this, 12 players on each team, why should one man represent the playoff instead of the entire team? So I think if there's a tie, in my personal opinion, in the future, it should be shared."

In the future.

And that is fine, but for the time being the rules state a playoff must determine the winner.

Tiger Woods said he did not want to come back on Monday to finish the playoff.

"It's not right," he said. "It's just not the right thing to do."

There were likely many others who shared the same sentiment, but for other reasons.

Seven Americans were headed to Sun City for the 18-player Nedbank Golf Challenge, which offers a hefty payout to the winner. In fact, 15 of the 18 players in the field, including Americans Kenny Perry, Chris DiMarco, Jay Haas, Charles Howell III, Jerry Kelly and Fred Funk - South African Tim Clark replaced David Toms at the last minute - played in the Presidents Cup.

The proper move by both captains would have been to keep playing, even if it meant staying over to Monday. And then if officials believe a change should be made to the result of ties, then so be it.

By parting ways like they did, they cheapened an event seeking an identity in the shadow of the Ryder Cup, which allows the holder of the Cup to retain it in the event of a tie.

Essentially, the teams and captains threw away four days of ebb-and-flow drama that ultimately came down to two of the world's top three golfers - Woods and Ernie Els - in a playoff. In two years, the Presidents Cup matches come back to the United States. But why make the Internationals bother with making the trip, how about just calling the whole event a draw? Share the Cup for eternity.