They say the Masters doesn't really start until the back nine on Sunday. Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland learned that the hard way. The 21-year-old had a four-stroke lead entering the final round, but came undone on the back nine. He went triple-bogey, bogey, double-bogey after the turn on his way to an 80 that tied the worst final-round score by a 54-hole leader in the tournament's 75-year history.

One of the most successful player-caddy partnerships in the history of golf ended in a bitter split. After winning 13 major championships with Steve Williams on his bag, Woods announced in June that he was firing his longtime caddy/confidant, saying it was "time for a change." Williams reacted with dismay and anger, and the divorce quickly turned ugly. There was an icy handshake between the two at the Presidents Cup in November, but it was clear that the damage to their friendship had been done.

The combustible former PGA Championship and British Open champion walked off the course and headed for the courtesy cars during the Australian Open, after becoming upset with a ruling on the 10th hole that penalized him two strokes. He casually putted out on the 10th and took a triple-bogey 7. On the 11th, he reportedly hit ‘six or seven’ balls into the water, before a tour official joined him. Moments later, Daly shook hands with playing partners Craig Parry and Hunter Mahan and walked off the course. He would later claim on Twitter that he ran out of balls.

Kevin Na gave frustrated golfers everywhere a bit of solace by taking a jaw-dropping 16 on the ninth hole at the Valero Texas Open in April. Na, shown here leaving the scoring trailer after discussing his score with rules officials, needed a lengthy video review of the hole to determine the number of strokes to enter for the hole on his scorecard. It was the worst recorded score on one hole at a PGA Tour event since John Daly's 18 on the par-5 sixth hole at Bay Hill in 1998.

There are several numbers out there -- from average number of rounds played per year to a decline in the number of American players in the world rankings -- to suggest that the sport is trending down in the US. According to published reports, the National Golf Foundation survey indicated that 3.6 million people took up the game in 2010 and 4.6 million gave it up. That may make it easier to get a tee time at the local muni, but it's bad news for those who make their living in the golf industry.