A U.S. Open at Cog Hill? Tiger would be OK with that

Forget the $64,000 question.

The best player in the world, Tiger Woods, provided the answer to the $5 million question Wednesday following his Pro-Am round on newly renovated Cog Hill.

Can this course someday host a U.S. Open?

"I think it can; it depends how they set it up, though," Woods said. "If you get the rough up, the fairways would definitely be narrowed - and it depends how they set up the pins. But overall, if you get the right conditions, I certainly see them hosting one here."

That means course owner Frank Jemsek's $5 million gamble to bring in "Open Doctor" Rees Jones to upgrade the course may have been worth it.

Woods also said Cog Hill would be an ideal golf venue if Chicago secures the 2016 Olympics.

"It would be great," he said. "You would have to have it on a public venue just because of the nature of what the Olympics is all about, and certainly this course is stand-alone in public venues here in the Chicago area."

Hanging in there: It should come as no surprise that despite a slight uptick in daily ticket sales, corporate sponsorship for the BMW Championship is down about 20 percent this year compared to the 2007 event.

It's not just Cog Hill that has been suffering in the challenging economy. But while the present might be difficult, the future looks a little brighter, according to PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem.

"I do think that the environment is better," Finchem said. "The realization that we're in a very difficult downturn has set in, but there's more and more companies thinking about the future - that's what I see."

The King at 80: Arnold Palmer celebrates his 80th birthday Thursday and Padraig Harrington was asked to share a favorite story about The Legend.

"About 10 years ago he's playing a Seniors event, and they're interviewing him after the event, and he is buzzing - you've never seen a man with so much excitement and enthusiasm because he found the 'secret to the game,'" Harrington said. "I just love the fact he's played the game at least 50 years competitively, and he's still convinced that there's a secret - just like all of us."

He gone: Paul Casey of England withdrew from the BMW Championship on Wednesday, citing an injured rib muscle.

He said it: "In the past, you're hitting 9-iron or 8-iron into No. 14. Today I hit 3-iron. Same thing on No. 2; it's usually about an 8-iron, 7-iron in there, and today I hit a 3-iron. It plays a lot different."

- Tiger Woods after playing his first round on the renovated Dubsdread course at Cog Hill.