The sovereign State of Qatar is now known as the State of Cudder, or Cutter. This, according to Golf Channel TV commentators and others (who also, coincidentally, follow Noder Daim football, I hear).

This weekend, the Qatar Masters, being played in, I guess, Cutter (which mysteriously shares geography with Qatar), is an exciting event this year, with the likes of Long John Daly striding around the top of the leaderboard. The tournament has been shortened to 54 holes due to wind, and that means one less day of railing to myself about Golf Channel’s odd accent, which seems to have its roots in the Deep South territory known as Lazy.

But aren’t these on-air word wizards also sports journalists, who work for an ever-growing media empire, whose essential job is to communicate? Whether it be instruction, entertainment, or sports coverage, choose one language and stick with it, please. You’ve chosen English, very good, good start in the U.S.A., now all you have to do is stop renaming friendly foreign states and football teams because they don’t roll trippingly off your tongue.

And if I ever see “your” on the www.golfchannel.com site instead of “you’re,” I am done with you. I will pack my things and move to Oreegone or or maybe even Pordo Reeko (but I’m still staying away from Eyerack).

PS: The Qatar Wikipedia page has a audio pronunciation of the name, for those who wish to practice before tripping over their tongue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar

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