Bear Stearns Chairman Jimmy Cayne isn’t the only Wall Street honcho who plays a lot of golf while his company endures hard times.

Let us tee up Mr. Stanley O’Neal, chairman and chief executive of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.

While the value of Merrill Lynch’s leveraged loans and mortgage investments are expected to fall like a birdie putt, O’Neal has found his stroke in recent months playing just as much, or more, golf than Cayne. (A Goldman Sachs analyst predicts Merrill will report some $4 billion in write downs when the brokerage and investment bank reports third quarter results next month.)

And Cayne caught all kinds of flack for golfing and playing cards while two lousy hedge funds tanked in July. A world-class bridge player, Cayne is a middlin’ golfer with a handicap of about 14.
   
But never mind that. O’Neal golfed like a champ this past summer. O’Neal’s golf handicap is an 8, but in early August he shot two rounds in the mid-70s.
   
O’Neal is a serious golfer.  He played 13 rounds of golf in August, according to Ghin.com, a Web site that tracks scores entered by golfers.
   
This month, O’Neal has not throttled back his golfing regimen as investors brace for bad news. Through Sept. 22, he had logged 7 rounds of golf, according to Ghin.com. On Saturday, Sept. 22, he played three rounds of golf in New York: Purchase Country Club in Westchester County, Waccabuc Country Club and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton.
   
He shot an 80, an 89 and a 90 during that golf spree, according to Ghin.com scores. 
   
But the boss is not Merrill’s most active golfer among senior management. That title would go to Robert McCann, Merrill’s global private client chief who oversees about 15,000 to 16,000 brokers and some $1.6 trillion in assets.
   
This month, McCann played 11 rounds of golf through Sept. 23, according to Ghin.com. 
   
Should all this golfing by Merrill bigshots make investors nervous? Does keeping your eye on the ball mean you’re not keeping your eye on the ball?
   
One (golfing) school of thought: Investors should embrace the old work-life balance thing. You gotta think executives will burn out if they just work, work, work. Besides, isn’t the golf course where executives cinch deals, forge customer relationships and build camaraderie. And it sure beats the ropes course or an eight-hour Six Sigma seminar.
   
Another view would be that golf and the exclusive country clubs where executives play are exclusionary in nature. And some might argue that a non-golfer might not have as much chance for advancement as a golfer.
    
There’s probably some truth in both points of view. 
   
But not to worry about Merrill.
   
The company’s co-Presidents, Greg Fleming and Ahmass Fakahany, are not known as golf enthusiasts. Both men, and even McCann, are seen as possible successors to O’Neal. 
   
Some Merrill insiders give a slight edge to Fleming. He is known to send wee hours e-mail messages to his team, and he takes notice of what time in the wee hours individuals respond.  

(Photo. Top, Reuters file. Bottom, Merrill Lynch)