Awtrey: My 10 favorite guys to rub elbows with on TOUR

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He's a three-time major champion, but Padraig Harrington is still worried about hurting people's feelings.

One of the first questions people ask, once they learn you write about the PGA TOUR, is: What's Tiger Woods really like?

The answer is: Ask the five people who really know him.

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You see, just because you cover golf doesn't mean you know the golfers. You only get 10-15 minutes to ask questions to the big stars in a group session with 30-50 others. That's no way to forge a relationship. So the chances of getting to know guys like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are beyond slim. It's not like the old days, when reporters got a chance to know superstars like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

Which brings us to another frequently asked question (followed only by "Who do you think is going to win the (insert major tournament name here)?") The question is: Who is the nicest guy on the PGA TOUR?

Good question and one worth answering, albeit through a filter. You get to know some people better than others. And while you can't know them all, you can determine whether they should be excluded for consideration because they were observed being rude to a fan, nasty to a volunteer or refused to acknowledge a legitimate question from a member of the media.

Here are 10 guys I know from first-hand experience who are nice guys. These are the kind of guys you go to when you need an opinion or a question answered. These are guys who will stop and chat for a minute, even when they bogeyed the 18th hole or just exited the trailer after signing for a 78.

Again, this is not a list of all the nice guys on TOUR. It's just 10 guys with whom I personally enjoy rubbing elbows.

Stewart Cink: My No. 1 favorite guy out there. He's funny, witty, generous, humble and a genuinely good guy. You get an honest answer from Stewart, even to a question that may be tough or uncomfortable. He'll return a phone call, keep an appointment and always have something you can use. One day he'll win a major championship (hopefully this year) and will make a great choice to eventually be captain of the Ryder Cup team.

Padraig Harrington: He's such a nice guy that he hired a handful of Irish writers to chronicle his success at The Open Championship because he didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Not all three-time major champions are as gracious.

Heath Slocum: He once stopped hitting balls in the sun on the range at Bay Hill to answer two or three questions. "Want to do it later?" he was asked. "Nah, let's talk now. I think I may be here a while, and you don't want to stand here in the sun all afternoon." More than one guy would let you stand there and bake for 45 minutes, then walk away like you're Mr. Cellophane.

Ryuji Imada: There's a big Ryuji Imada fan who sleeps in one of the upstairs bedrooms at the house. That's what happens when you take 10 seconds to sign a program and clown around a minute with the kids on the autograph line. You'll never convince my 18-year-old son that Ryuji isn't the coolest guy on TOUR.

Billy Andrade: He holds citizenship in more states than anyone else on TOUR. He's from Rhode Island but lives in Georgia; they both claim him. So does North Carolina (a Wake Forest man), New York (he tore up the Westchester Classic for years), Nevada (won in Vegas) and Mexico (loved it in Cancun.) He once signed a hat for my son, "John, you shouldn't have any trouble beating your dad." Honesty is always appreciated.

Brett Quigley: Meet him once and he remembers your face. Meet him twice and he remembers your name.

Bart Bryant: He once sat in a tent and recorded a hole-by-hole description of East Lake Golf Club that my former newspaper could post on a Web site, at one point saying, "Wait. Let me do that hole over. That didn't sound right." And when it was apparent he wasn't going to qualify to defend his own title at THE TOUR Championship, he still showed up for media day and did his due diligence.

Charles Howell III: Always polite and willing to shake your hand and chat for a minute, whether things are going well or going poorly.

Troy Matteson: I caught up with him when he broke through for his first career victory in 2006 and made an appointment for the next day outside the locker room at Disney. He showed up! Not everyone does.

Jason Bohn: A colleague was converted to a Jason Bohn fan during the Masters, when he overheard Jason, who was standing outside the entrance to the men's grill, say with a sense of awe, "I can't believe I'm here. This is so cool." The colleague said, "I am so pulling for Jason Bohn."

That's 10 of the good guys. There are many others, too, and everyone has their own list. Think there are 10 boneheads out there? You betcha. Some of them are the regular knucklehead suspects. Some might surprise you, too. (One guy with a great national reputation ran through the catering kitchen at Riviera Country Club to flee a couple of innocent questions.)

But that's another story and another list for another day.

Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.