Inspired when he was younger by a 900-foot tall vision of Jesus . . . how did he know it was 900 feet? . . .

Roberts set out to spread the word, and to raise a bit of money on the side. In fact, in the 1980s, he told his considerable television audience that God had appeared to him and informed him that he had to raise $8m or he would die within a year. He quickly brought in over $9m.

Which got us to thinking about Erik Wolf, a club pro from California, who finished second last here with rounds of 83 and 77. Wolf had struggled to make a career on tour, and when his cash ran out in 2002, he filed for bankruptcy and became a used-car salesman.

"When I quit golf, that was the most depressing time of my life, " Wolf said. "I was a class-A professional, but I had no heart to play golf because I was broke."

But not surprisingly for these parts, salvation was at hand. He was waiting in a queue at a fast-food restaurant when, he said, something just hit him and he rediscovered his love for golf and found religion at the same time. A burger and fries in one hand, and the Lord in the other. Just about sums up Tulsa.

? ? ? The inaugural FedEx Cup play-offs, with Padraig Harrington comfortably qualified at 18th place in the standings, get under way the week after next at Westchester with the Barclays Championship, and culminate at the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

There has been some confusing talk here about the $10m cheque the overall FedEx Cup winner will pick up for his troubles. In fact, it's not prize money that can be cashed, it's effectively a pension which cannot be touched until retirement age, so a few sharp-minded caddies have been wondering how they're going to get their hands on their usual cut of 10 per cent if their man happens to triumph.

While curiously, KJ Choi said he would give the $10m to charity . . . the beneficiaries would have to wait until he was 65 . . . Scott Verplank had a slightly different take on any claim by a caddie. "It would be hard to pay on something you don't get, " he explained. "Maybe sign a contract which says, 'My grandkids will pay you'."

? ? ? If there were fulsome tributes to Seve Ballesteros when he announced his retirement at last month's British Open, one-time bitter rival Paul Azinger added his own few words earlier in the week.

"Who was more patriotic than Seve or myself when we butted heads? I mean, we loved it. We stood our ground, but when I got sick, he was one of the first who called me.

I love and respect him. He probably doesn't feel the same way about me, I don't know.

But he helped me identify who I am as a player because of our matches in the past."

? ? ? If the security around Tiger Woods is greater than for any other competitor, it's nothing compared to the group of armed police which surrounded Hubert Green as he was on his way to victory at the US Open at Southern Hills 30 years ago.

The FBI had received a call from a woman during the final round that Green would be shot as he putted out on the 15th green. Both the organisers and the police took the threat seriously and told Green he could leave the course and finish the tournament the following day, but he chose to play on.

As he stood over his putt on the 15th, Green said he had a sensation that he was about to be shot. He wasn't and he went on to win. Kind of redefines playing under pressure.

? ? ? Hats off to Caroline Harrington, well actually, not hats off at Southern Hills where the heat index (temperature and humidity combined) has reached 110 degrees every day this week.

Padraig Harrington's wife walked nine holes in the first round, and then was offered a lift for the remaining nine in a golf cart, but then on Friday and yesterday, she did the full 18 holes on foot in the searing heat.

Devotion to duty, especially given that she's five months pregnant.

? ? ? Bob Estes, who was a reserve for the championship, opted to buy himself a budget plane ticket to Tulsa for $175 in the hope that he might get a chance to tee it up if one of the field was forced to withdraw before the first round began. Apparently, the PGA Tour's private jet company had offered to fly him from Austin, Texas for $9,000, however, Estes passed on that one.

"I would fly around the world for $9,000, but not to Tulsa, " he said.

? ? ? If it was slightly surprising when Paul McGinley (left) said he would prefer the sort of temperatures the players have been coping with here to the cold, there were no eyebrows raised when Aaron Oberholser, who lives on the edge of the Arizona desert, came out with the same viewpoint.

"Cold hurts more, " said Oberholser who has had treatment recently for a disc problem in his back. "At the British Open in the final round it was killing me. I took four Advil and I could still feel it. But with the heat out here, it was fine."