Hedblom shoots 67 to win title in Scotland

GLENEAGLES, Scotland(AP) Peter Hedblom of Sweden shot a 5-under 67 Sunday to win the Johnnie Walker Championship title by one stroke over Martin Erlandsson.

Erlandsson had 10 birdies for a 62 and second place. Hedblom won his third European Tour title at 13-under 275.

``This was my first on European soil, so to do it at the 'Home of Golf' - Scotland - is unbelievable,'' Hedblom said.

Former British Open champion Paul Lawrie closed with a 69 to share third place with defending champion Gregory Havret (67), three strokes behind the leader.

Gary Orr also made 10 birdies for a 64 on Gleneagles Course, but had a double-bogey on No. 5 and finished fifth.

Erlandsson birdied the second and fourth holes, then seven in a row from the sixth, just one shy of the European Tour record. He also birdied the 17th.

``I was trying to not let things run away in my head too much,'' he said. ``I played free and that was the key.''

The longest putt in his birdie run was from 20 feet at the 10th.

Hedblom shoots 68 to take lead at Johnnie Walker

Final 2 players selected for US Walker Cup team

FAR HILLS, N.J. (AP) — U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist Peter Uihlein and Cameron Tringale are the final two amateur players selected to the U.S. Walker Cup team.

Uihlein is the third Oklahoma State player chosen for this year's team. The sophomore from Orlando, Fla., joins teammates Rickie Fowler and Morgan Hoffmann.

Tringale, of Laguna Niguel, Calif., reached the third round of match play at the Amateur at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla.

Fifty-year-old Tim Jackson, the medalist at the Amateur, and Ben Martin, of Greenwood, S.C., are the alternates.

The biennial Walker Cup matches, pitting an American team against a team representing Great Britain and Ireland, will take place Sept. 12-13 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.

Replacements step up for CrewTop seeded Jackson ousted at US Amateur

McNulty, Roberts tied at 11 under at Boeing

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (AP) — Mark McNulty went to the range after the first round of the Boeing Classic to try to figure out how a sizzling first nine holes got away from him.

McNulty didn't make the same mistake in Saturday's second round. McNulty shot a 7-under 65 and shares the lead heading to Sunday's final round.

Loren Roberts had four birdies in his final six holes to match McNulty's 65 and finish at 11 under. The duo holds a two-shot lead over Bernhard Langer and first-round leader Mark O'Meara.

McNulty was 4 under on his first nine holes Saturday, then made another four birdies on the back nine. He birdied Nos. 14 and 15, then curled in a long birdie putt on the 16th to share the lowest round of the tournament.

A few minutes later, Roberts matched McNulty's number with his birdie on 18.

McNulty has four top-10 finishes this year, including a victory at the Principal Charity Classic and a runner-up finish at the Senior British Open.

Thanks to his touch around the green, Roberts scrambled to a bogey-free round of 66. The steady putter made three consecutive birdies on 7, 8 and 9, then did the same thing on the back nine with consecutive birdies at 14, 15 and 16 before his birdie at 18.

Roberts won the Senior British Open last month, beating McNulty in a playoff.

Langer had a 6-under 66. He saved par on the 12th with a 15-foot putt, then got up and down from a greenside pot bunker on the 14th.

He narrowly avoiding hitting the ball into the hazard on the par-5 15th, as his second shot caught a tree limb and fell in a bunker instead. Langer ended up making bogey on 15, but rebounded with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17.

O'Meara led by two shots after the first round, but missed a number of short birdie putts throughout his second round. O'Meara suddenly found his putting stroke in the closing holes with birdies at 14, 15 and 16. He stumbled with a bogey at 17 when his tee shot on the par-3 hole missed the green, but rallied with a birdie at 18.

Craig Stadler came back from a jumbled pack to surge into contention. Dusting off a putter that was sitting in his closet for about five years, Stadler made six birdies for the second straight day. The difference Saturday was that Stadler didn't throw in the two double bogeys that ruined his first round.

Stadler heads to Sunday three shots back.

Funk leads by three shots at Senior British OpenEast notes: Revs’ playoff push well underway

U.S. Amateur set for The Country Club in 2013

BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) — The 2013 U.S. Amateur Championship will be played at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., on the 100th anniversary of Francis Ouimet's stunning victory in the U.S. Open.

It could be the first step toward a U.S. Open returning to The Country Club, similar to Merion Golf Club hosting the U.S. Amateur before being awarded a bigger prize.

Ouimet (WEE-met) was a 20-year-old amateur when he beat top English pros Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in the 1913 Open. The victory is credited with spreading the popularity of golf in America.

The Country Club also hosted the Open in 1963 and 1988, as well as the 1999 Ryder Cup.

Jackson medalist after stroke play at U.S. AmateurHouston, Seattle split points in Texas

Hedblom shoots 68 to take lead at Johnnie Walker

GLENEAGLES, Scotland (AP) — Peter Hedblom shot a 4-under 68 Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Paul Lawrie after three rounds at the Johnnie Walker Championship.

The 39-year-old Swede, who lost a playoff at the Dutch Open last week, was at 8-under 208. Lawrie (73) dropped into second place after bogeys on Nos. 15-16 Gleneagles.

``I didn't feel that good or hit it that good in my warmup but I played really well, very similar to last week,'' Hedblom said. ``In the past I have struggled after a good week but this time I have tried to bring the confidence from last week into this week.''

Hedblom's only two victories came at the 1996 Moroccan Open and the 2007 Malaysian Open.

Steven O'Hara, who barely made the cut Friday, had the day's best round with a 66 in the morning. He was two strokes behind Hedblom and tied for third with Jamie Donaldson (70), Gregory Bourdy (71) and Soren Hansen (71).

Colin Montgomerie, who also barely made the cut, shot 72 and ended up in 32nd. Europe's Ryder Cup captain is hoping for a top-20 finish.

``A decent round tomorrow could get me there,'' Montgomerie said.

Lawrie said he found it difficult in the toughest wind of the week but felt unlucky to be 1 over after five holes when he could have been 2 under.

He bogeyed the 10th and then birdied three of the next four before making the two late bogeys.

``At 15, I had 168 yards to the pin and hit a full 9 iron into the bunker,'' the 1999 British Open champion said. ``At 16, I had just 131 into the wind and I tried to chip a little 8 iron and the wind died and it went into the bunker. Worst shot you've ever seen.''

O'Hara began with a 15-footer for eagle at the second and added one from 40 feet for birdie at the short.

``The greens were much better so early compared with yesterday afternoon and I was able to hole some putts,'' said the Scot, who made five more birdies, including three in a row from the 12th.

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Harrington: 'This is a major golf course'

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Count Padraig Harrington among the biggest fans of Liberty National, The Barclays' love-it-or-hate-it site nearly at the foot of the Statue of Liberty.

"This is a phenomenal golf course. I think this is good enough for a major. This is a major golf course we are playing here," the Irishman said Friday after following his first-round 67 with a 75 in rainy morning conditions.

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"This is a superb test, really puts us right on the limit. This is exactly what we should be playing. This is an excellent golf course. It may look good, but the actual layout of the golf course, it's a real test out there and, at all stages, you've got to pay attention. If you want us to play good golf, if you want to shoot 20 under, yeah, there's other golf courses, but it's like playing a major out there. You've got to pay attention all the time to every shot."

Paul Goydos, two strokes behind leader Webb Simpson, put all the talk about the $250 million layout in perspective.

"I think that if we didn't have anything to complain about, we wouldn't be able to talk," Goydos after rounds of 65 and 71. "I just think that the course is fine. I think obviously it's easy to say that when I'm 6-under par. I'm sure the guys I played with on Tuesday are going, `Listen to him now.'

"But I still think that one of the things that overcomes a lot of things is good conditioning. You can put a mediocre golf course in great shape and then it becomes a great golf course, but you put a great golf course in bad shape it becomes a mediocre golf course. They have done a great job of setting up the course."

Goydos provided a good one-liner, too, noting that the undulating greens "look like my shirts after I've packed them."

VILLEGAS WITHDRAWS: Camilo Villegas withdrew after nine holes because of a wrist injury, the first time he has pulled out of a tournament in his PGA Tour career.

Making his 106th tour start, the Colombian was 7 over for the round and 11 over for the tournament. Last year, he won the final two FedEx Cup events and finished second in the playoff standings. He entered the tournament 35th in the points race.

Villegas felt a twinge Thursday, then again when lifting a weight. But he said it felt fine on the range and during his round, until he found himself in a bad lie next to a stake on the 17th hole - his eighth of the day.

"The way I was playing, I just took a 5-wood and said, 'I'm going to slap at this as hard as I can,"' Villegas said. "That's when I felt it. I thought the way I was going, it was not worth it to make it worse."

As he cleaned out his locker, Villegas wasn't sure what to do next. He finally got a PGA Tour rules official on the radio to learn the proper procedure.

"I guess there's a first time for everything," he said.

Villegas said he would have the wrist checked out "just to see what's going on."

FEDEX CUT: U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover played his first 11 holes Friday morning with only 13 clubs after cracking his driver on the range Thursday night.

Playoffs sponsor FedEx delivered a replacement Nike driver to Liberty National and Glover finally got the club on the third tee, his 12th hole of the day. He hit a 326-yard drive - his longest of the day - and ended up parring the hole.

Glover finished with a 10-over 81 - the highest score of his PGA Tour career - and missed the cut with a 14-over total. He shot a 75 on Thursday.

Masters champion Angel Cabrera also missed the cut, shooting 72-80. British Open winner Stewart Cink was even par, and PGA winner Y.E. Yang was 1 over.

ELIMINATED: Mark Calcavecchia and 12 other players who failed to advance to weekend play dropped out of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Calcavecchia followed an opening 69 with a 79 to miss the cut by a stroke, failing to earn any points. He entered The Barclays 111th in the standings, with only the top 100 advancing to the Deutsche Bank Championship next week in Norton, Mass.

Michael Allen (101st), Robert Garrigus (102nd), Aaron Baddeley (103rd), James Driscoll (104th), Jeff Quinney (105th), Tim Herron (106th), Chris DiMarco (113th), David Mathis (118th), Roland Thatcher (122nd) and Jeff Maggert (123rd) also missed the cut. Steve Flesch (114th) was disqualified, while Chris Stroud (117th) withdrew.

With Fredrik Jacobson (107th), Heath Slocum (124th) and Richard S. Johnson (108th) near the top of the leaderboard, and nine other players outside the top 100 still left in the tournament, No. 94 Ben Curtis and others players in the 90s who missed the cut are in danger of dropping out. After the Deutsche Bank, the field will be cut to 70 for the BMW Championship in Lemont, Ill., and to 30 for the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

SLUMPING SINGH: Defending champion Vijay Singh shot 75-75 to miss the cut.

Singh won The Barclays last year at Ridgewood, then took the Deutsche Bank Championship the following week and went on to win the FedEx Cup. The Fijian, 59th in the points race, has won The Barclays a record four times - three at Westchester Country Club. He's winless this year and has only three top-10 finishes in 20 starts.

EARLY EXITS: Mathew Goggin, Michael Letzig and Chris Stroud withdrew and Steve Flesch was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

Goggin was 11 over through eight holes when he pulled out, citing a back injury. The Australian was 18 over overall. He four-putted the par-3 second for a triple bogey, had two double bogeys and four bogeys.

Letzig withdrew with a hole to play because of a wrist injury. He opened with a 69 and was 3 over for the tournament. Stroud left after a first-round 77 to return home to spend time with his pregnant wife. Flesch signed for a birdie instead of a par on No. 6, but it didn't really cost him because he would have missed the cut by a stroke.

DIVOTS: Charles Howell III and Bill Haas were the only players from the morning wave to break par. Both shot 70. ... The 2010 tournament will be played at Ridgewood, followed by a trip to Plainfield Country Club in 2011.

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Crew visit Obama at White HouseDaly to return to Aussie Open after camera clash

11 Solheim Cup teammates return to work

NORTH PLAINS, Ore. (AP) — The members of the U.S. Solheim Cup team return to their day jobs Friday at the LPGA Safeway Classic.

Eleven of the 12 American women who defeated a team from Europe last weekend at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., are playing in the tour event at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.

Among them is Cristie Kerr, the defending champion of the Safeway Classic, who was admittedly still recovering from the emotional international victory.

``Just a very exciting week,'' she said. ``A lot of fun, hanging out with teammates and you know, building friendships. And we played some pretty fantastic golf.''

Paula Creamer, now an opponent of Kerr's rather than a teammate, echoed the sentiment.

``It's a very physically and mentally draining week,'' she said as she fought off a bug from last weekend's nonstop action. ``You're just constantly on the go, there's not much sleep.''

Juli Inkster was the lone member of the Solheim Cup team who was not playing in Oregon after withdrawing earlier this week.

The biennial competition proved to be something of a coming-out party for 19-year-old Michelle Wie, who has been touted as the next big thing since she was a 13-year-old with a big swing and a mouth full of braces.

Wie helped lead the team to a 16-12 victory with a 3-0-1 record. In the end, she hoisted an American flag and paraded it around the 18th green with her teammates.

``I really think she kind of came out of her shell,'' Kerr said.

Wie, playing a full schedule on the tour for the first time this year, said the experience should benefit her - not just at the Safeway Classic but beyond.

``I think I gained a lot of confidence from last week so I think that will help me,'' she said. ``But I've been feeling like I've played well all year. I just want to do better.''

The Stanford student hasn't missed a cut in 13 starts. She's been in the top 10 five times, and she ranks 17th on the money list.

Wie and her colleagues will try to maintain the Solheim buzz this week on a course they've never seen before.

The Safeway Classic was played for the previous 19 years at Columbia Edgewater Country Club near Portland International Airport.

Pumpkin Ridge, which opened in 2009, is made up of the private Witch Hollow course and the public Ghost Greek Course, about a 20 minute drive west of Portland. The Club has hosted numerous events, including the 1996 U.S. Amateur, won by Tiger Woods, and the 2003 U.S. Women's Open.

The par-72, 6,457-yard course features three straight par-5 holes. Lorena Ochoa, who won the Safeway Classic in 2007, said her strategy is to get to those holes at one or two under, then gain some ground.

``I think it's fun for us and fun for the spectators,'' she said.

Last year at Columbia Edgewater, Kerr beat Swedes Helen Alfredsson and Sophie Gustafson with a 15-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole.

Kerr joked that when she wins on a course, it's almost a given that she won't play there again the next year.

``It's par for the course for me. If I win I'm guaranteed to be on a different course next year. I think (for) 10 of my 12 wins this happened,'' she said.

Renteria adjusting to life in new countrySparked by a surprisingly spirited Michelle Wie, the U.S. team won the Solheim Cup

Top seeded Jackson ousted at US Amateur

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — With just two holes left to play at the U.S. Amateur, Steve Zeigler found himself in just the type of situation he relishes.

At the end of a grueling day at Southern Hills Country Club, he needed to win back-to-back holes just to keep going. He came up with a pair of birdies to extend the match, then finally finished off Dan Woltman from Wisconsin in 22 holes to advance to the quarterfinals.

``To have that pressure on your back, it makes you attentive. It makes you extremely focused. It can put you in this tunnel vision sort of mode that I had for the last eight holes there,'' said Zeigler, a junior at Stanford.

``It felt like a dream.''

Zeigler got up and down from a greenside bunker to make birdie at No. 17, then got close enough with his 7 iron approach shot on No. 18 to drill another pressure-packed putt.

``That's what I play for. I've had very, very cool golf experiences and that's easily in the top three. Maybe the best golf experience I've ever had in my life,'' Zeigler said. ``He didn't make a bogey from the eighth hole until the last one and I was 2 down. To have to make birdies on a course like this just to come back is just about impossible.

``He played so steady. He played so well. I feel very fortunate to have come out on top.''

Zeigler was 3 down after seven holes before Woltman bogeyed No. 8. Woltman then ran off 12 straight pars before making bogey at the fourth extra hole - at the same spot where he'd started pulling away with a birdie the first time through.

``My heart was thumping for a while,'' Zeigler said.

Zeigler advances to face Byeong-Hun An of South Korea, who needed two extra holes to beat Mike Van Sickle, the son of Sports Illustrated golf writer Gary Van Sickle.

The other quarterfinals pit fourth-seeded Ben Martin against Arkansas senior David Lingmerth, Oklahoma State sophomore Peter Uihlein against Texas senior Charlie Holland and Fresno State freshman Bhavik Patel of against Phillip Mollica, Martin's former teammate at Clemson.

Martin is the only one of the top 20 qualifiers to reach the final eight.

Holland beat top seed Tim Jackson 1 up in his first of two rounds Thursday, and Mollica took out No. 2 seed Mark Anderson 1 up in the round of 16 in the afternoon.

Uihlein, whose father, Wally, is the CEO of the company that owns the Titleist brand, advanced with a pair of 2 and 1 victories, against Connor Driscoll of UCLA in the morning and Connor Arendell of Louisville in the afternoon. He is the last of the Oklahoma college players left after former Tulsa golfer Nico Geyger lost 2 and 1 to Martin.

Uihlien finished off Arendell at 355-yard 17th with a 6 iron off the tee that landed at the top of a ridge. With 97 yards left, he hit a wedge within 10 feet of the pin and watched as Arendell tried to chip in from just off the green for a miracle birdie to keep the match going. When his ball kept rolling off the front side of the green, he conceded the match to Uihlein.

Like Zeigler, Uihlein is trying to rally for a spot on the Walker Cup team. Just four months ago, he'd been benched by Oklahoma State coach Mike McGraw and shipped off to an NAIA tournament in Oklahoma City. Since that win at the Gaillardia Intercollegiate, he's been on a tear.

``Just with where I was six months ago and how I was playing, just to be considered (for the Walker Cup), definitely that's a plus,'' Uihlein said. ``I feel like I've fought my way back onto it, and that's all I could ask for.''

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Jackson medalist after stroke play at U.S. Amateur

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Tim Jackson shot a second-round 72 to leave him at even par and earn medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur on Tuesday, even after he was assessed a one-shot penalty for slow play at the conclusion of his round.

Get the latest scores from the U.S. Amateur

The 50-year-old became the oldest player in the history of the tournament to lead after stroke play. The top 64 in the field of 312 move into match play Wednesday at South Hills Country Club, with the 36-hole final set for Sunday.

The trio of Ben Martin of Greenwood, S.C., Will Strickler of Gainesville, Fla., and Mark Anderson of Beauford, S.C., finished a stroke behind Jackson.

Norman’s magic produces share of Senior Open leadJoseph leads Revs past Sounders FC

Singh to leave IMG after 18 years

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Vijay Singh has changed putters and caddies throughout his career. Now comes one of the more significant changes. The 46-year-old Fijian is leaving his management company.

Singh says he has ended his management agreement with IMG. He will use longtime adviser David Lightner of FSM Capital and Charley Moore, a former IMG agent who now is an operating partner of New York-based Falconhead Capital.

Singh had been with IMG for 18 years and was close friends with IMG owner Ted Forstman, his frequent partner in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

``I have been represented by IMG for quite some time and am thankful for their years of service,'' Singh said in a statement. ``I have many good friends there, and nothing is changing at that level. However, I feel this is the appropriate time to take my career management in a new direction. I spoke with Teddy last week, who is a personal friend, and we had a productive conversation. He knows I wish him and everybody at IMG nothing but the best.''

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SHANGHAI: Even after the FedEx Cup ends, another strong field is in the making at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, which is now part of the World Golf Championships series.

Phil Mickelson is the latest to commit to the tournament, to be played Nov. 5-8. That gives Shanghai a field that already includes Tiger Woods, Geoff Ogilvy, British Open champion Stewart Cink, PGA champion Y.E. Yang, Players champion Henrik Stenson and defending champion Sergio Garcia.

``After the Open Championship, it's hard to think of a bigger or better tournament held outside the U.S.,'' said Mickelson, who won the HSBC Champions two years ago. ``This tournament already had everything in place and deserved to be part of the WGC series. It has always gotten strong fields and so has a great reputation worldwide.''

The tournament is a winners-only field based on the strongest events in each of the major tours. Among those who have yet to qualify include three-time major champion Padraig Harrington, although he might be able to get in as one of two players from the world ranking not already eligible.

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FEDEX FLAW?: One scenario that must have PGA Tour officials nervous is that Tiger Woods could win three straight playoff events and still not win the FedEx Cup.

To make the Tour Championship meaningful, points will be reset after three playoff events. The leader will have only a 250-point lead over second place, and a 1,900-point lead over 10th place.

If the leader - Woods, for example - finishes fifth at the Tour Championship, he could lose the FedEx Cup if someone from the top 10 wins at East Lake. That got Vijay Singh's attention Tuesday.

``If a guy goes out and wins two or three events, and shows up at the Tour Championship and doesn't win, is it fair?'' he said.

Then again, Singh showed up at East Lake last year and was assured of winning as long as he made his tee time each day.

``I don't know which is the best combination,'' Singh said. ``They will have to try this and if it doesn't work, they will tweak it again. So right now, everybody seems to think it's pretty good.''

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WIRE TO WIRE: Tiger Woods has gone wire-to-wire in only seven of his 70 victories on the PGA Tour, another example that holding the lead for four days is never easy.

That's what makes Ben Curtis so proud of his rare achievement.

Curtis led from start-to-finish at the now-defunct Booz Allen Classic, during which it rained so much at the TPC Avenel that the tournament was not completed until Tuesday.

``I've got one record Tiger will never beat,'' Curtis said. ``I had to sleep on the lead for five nights.''

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FEWER DESIGNS: Jack Nicklaus' design company has more than 340 courses in play around the world. But the work has slowed to a crawl because of the global economic downturn.

``It's not very good,'' he said recently about the climate for new layouts.

Nicklaus designed the 18 holes at Punta Espada, home of the Cap Cana stop on the Champions Tour. But after putting in nine holes at the Las Iguanas course at the same exclusive resort in the Dominican Republic, the decision was made to wait a year to finish it, largely because of the downturn. Nicklaus is opening the first Golden Bear Lodge & Spa at Cap Cana.

Apparently the market for signature courses isn't bad everywhere.

``Our business primarily has been China, Korea, Russia, South Africa - all those places have continued to move forward,'' Nicklaus said. ``Most other places and the United States, it's been very, very slow. I think we'll see a turn in the next six months or so.''

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HOLDING PATTERN: Michael Sim of Australia won his third Nationwide Tour event to earn instant promotion to the PGA Tour, although his timing could not have been worse. Four of the next five weeks on the PGA Tour are occupied by the four FedEx Cup playoff events, and the other week is dark. Sim won't get a chance to play the PGA Tour until Oct. 1 at the Turning Stone Resort.

He said he might continue playing the Nationwide Tour to stay sharp.

Because the Official World Golf Ranking award points to the Nationwide Tour, Sim has risen to No. 57 in the world. That would give him a chance to crack the top 50 by the end of the year and qualify for the Masters. And it raises another question in the immediate future. Might he earn consideration as a captain's pick for the Presidents Cup team?

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DIVOTS: The Barclays Singapore Open, the richest national open in Asia with a $5 million purse, will be part of the European Tour schedule next year. It will be held three weeks before the season-ending Dubai World Championship. ... Eight rookies on the PGA Tour qualified for the playoffs. Jeff Klauk at No. 60 has the highest seed. ... Vijay Singh will be trying to win The Barclays on a third golf course. He previous won at Westchester and Ridgewood.

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STAT OF THE WEEK: Michael Bradley (Puerto Rico Open) is the only PGA Tour winner this year who did not qualify for the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup.

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FINAL WORD: ``I would put myself up on that shot against almost anybody in the world with how good that was. I mean, it was ridiculous.'' - Cristie Kerr, on a chip shot from behind the 17th green at the Solheim Cup.

Crew visit Obama at White HouseTiger Woods enters opening playoff event at The Barclays

Sparked by a surprisingly spirited Michelle Wie, the U.S. team won the Solheim Cup

Michelle Wie's golf game has always been built on her sublime physical gifts and an obsession with technical precision, but during her roller-coaster career one key ingredient has been mostly missing: passion. She has often seemed to approach tournaments like a joyless middle manager running through a to-do list, her youthful spunk stolen by crushing amounts of hype, money and unfulfilled expectations. But everything changed for Wie at last week's Solheim Cup, played at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.

The U.S. team retained the Cup with a surge in Sunday singles that was entirely predictable given that the Americans had used the same formula to take the previous two Cups. Wie was the real revelation. The 19-year-old rookie, six years removed from her last victory of any kind, made the U.S. team only because of Beth Daniel's leap of faith with a captain's pick, but Wie stole the show as the best player and biggest cheerleader on a young team searching for an identity. Her 3-0-1 record was the sparkliest of this Cup, but more surprising than the points Wie earned was her fist-pumping, foot-stomping, thigh-slapping fervor. A self-described "hermit" who has rarely revealed herself, Wie developed a goofy, giggly chemistry with her teammates and felt so at ease in her new surroundings that her traditionally grim game face was replaced by a radiant smile.

"It's been stunning to see the change in her," said Cristie Kerr, who went 2-1-1 in her fifth Solheim Cup. "It's as if she's grown up right before our eyes."

Wie's blossoming was not accidental, as her teammates went out of their way to bring her out of her shell, sometimes through old-fashioned hazing. "Angela Stanford was on Michelle Wie the first day we practiced," said Daniel. "She's digging at her, and Michelle's going right back, toe-to-toe. And Michelle is like, 'Why are you picking on me?' Angela said, 'Because you have to be tough for this event. I'm going to make you tough.'"

In the Solheim's opening session, the Friday-morning four-ball, Wie made four birdies in the first 16 holes to carry partner Morgan Pressel, but a sloppy finish allowed Catriona Matthew and Maria Hjorth to steal a halve. For a lesson on how to close, Wie needed to look no further than teammates Kerr and Paula Creamer and their match versus the powerhouse team of Suzann Pettersen and Sophie Gustafson. Creamer dropped a 45-foot bomb on the 16th hole to put the U.S. 1 up, and then Kerr slammed the door with birdies on the final two holes. Creamer, 23, also starred in the key match of the afternoon foursomes, making a 20-footer on the 17th hole to close out Matthew and Janice Moodie. The victory made Creamer's partner, 49-year-old Juli Inkster, the alltime U.S. points leader (with 18) and staked the Americans to a 4 1/2-3 1/2 first-day lead.

Creamer, like all the Americans, professed to being inspired by Inkster, who had left most of her teammates in tears with a heartfelt pep talk on the eve of what she said would be her final Cup as a player. Said Stanford, "We want to win this for our country and our captain, but we also want to win for Juli."

Saturday was when Wie took over the Cup. She was sent out in the first morning four-ball match alongside the irrepressible Christina Kim, 25, who spent the match jawing at Wie and shamelessly playing to the crowd while intermittently producing clutch shots. Wie was sensational in making five birdies in the first 11 holes during a commanding 5-and-4 victory over Helen Alfredsson and Tania Elosegui, and she and Kim celebrated on the 14th green with a series of elaborate handshakes and zany dance steps that were punctuated by Wie's giving her partner a light spank on the booty to the cheers of thousands of mildly mystified fans. Afterward Kim's voice was nearly shot, while a giddy Wie said, "This is the most fun I've ever had playing golf. I'm still shaking from the round."

Europe squared the Solheim Cup by taking the final two four-ball matches on the 18th hole, the key blow being Anna Nordqvist's 20-footer for birdie. The momentum carried over to afternoon foursomes as Europe won two of the first three matches to claim its first lead of the week. Wie and Kerr were the last Yanks standing, in a tussle against Hjorth and Nordqvist. Wie seemed to thrive on the pressure, hitting it stiff on 10 and 11 to stake the U.S. to a 2-up lead and then making a key 31/2-footer on 12 to preserve the margin.

The inability to consistently hole clutch putts has long been the only bugaboo in Wie's game, and she knows it. The week before the Solheim she rang up Dave Stockton, the Champions tour putting oracle. Across a pair of four-hour lessons, Stockton studied Wie's mechanical action and diagnosed that she was aiming to the right and then pulling her putts with an overactive right hand. Stockton revamped Wie's alignment and ball position and persuaded her to shorten her preputt routine, but mostly they focused on improving her feel by treating putting as more art than science. Says Stockton, "I told her, When putting becomes the strongest part of your game, can you imagine how much fun you're going to have?"

Sparked by a surprisingly spirited Michelle Wie, the U.S. team won the Solheim CupDC making James feel welcome

Sparked by a surprisingly spirited Michelle Wie, the U.S. team won the Solheim Cup

Michelle Wie's golf game has always been built on her sublime physical gifts and an obsession with technical precision, but during her roller-coaster career one key ingredient has been mostly missing: passion. She has often seemed to approach tournaments like a joyless middle manager running through a to-do list, her youthful spunk stolen by crushing amounts of hype, money and unfulfilled expectations. But everything changed for Wie at last week's Solheim Cup, played at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.

The U.S. team retained the Cup with a surge in Sunday singles that was entirely predictable given that the Americans had used the same formula to take the previous two Cups. Wie was the real revelation. The 19-year-old rookie, six years removed from her last victory of any kind, made the U.S. team only because of Beth Daniel's leap of faith with a captain's pick, but Wie stole the show as the best player and biggest cheerleader on a young team searching for an identity. Her 3-0-1 record was the sparkliest of this Cup, but more surprising than the points Wie earned was her fist-pumping, foot-stomping, thigh-slapping fervor. A self-described "hermit" who has rarely revealed herself, Wie developed a goofy, giggly chemistry with her teammates and felt so at ease in her new surroundings that her traditionally grim game face was replaced by a radiant smile.

"It's been stunning to see the change in her," said Cristie Kerr, who went 2-1-1 in her fifth Solheim Cup. "It's as if she's grown up right before our eyes."

Wie's blossoming was not accidental, as her teammates went out of their way to bring her out of her shell, sometimes through old-fashioned hazing. "Angela Stanford was on Michelle Wie the first day we practiced," said Daniel. "She's digging at her, and Michelle's going right back, toe-to-toe. And Michelle is like, 'Why are you picking on me?' Angela said, 'Because you have to be tough for this event. I'm going to make you tough.'"

In the Solheim's opening session, the Friday-morning four-ball, Wie made four birdies in the first 16 holes to carry partner Morgan Pressel, but a sloppy finish allowed Catriona Matthew and Maria Hjorth to steal a halve. For a lesson on how to close, Wie needed to look no further than teammates Kerr and Paula Creamer and their match versus the powerhouse team of Suzann Pettersen and Sophie Gustafson. Creamer dropped a 45-foot bomb on the 16th hole to put the U.S. 1 up, and then Kerr slammed the door with birdies on the final two holes. Creamer, 23, also starred in the key match of the afternoon foursomes, making a 20-footer on the 17th hole to close out Matthew and Janice Moodie. The victory made Creamer's partner, 49-year-old Juli Inkster, the alltime U.S. points leader (with 18) and staked the Americans to a 4 1/2-3 1/2 first-day lead.

Creamer, like all the Americans, professed to being inspired by Inkster, who had left most of her teammates in tears with a heartfelt pep talk on the eve of what she said would be her final Cup as a player. Said Stanford, "We want to win this for our country and our captain, but we also want to win for Juli."

Saturday was when Wie took over the Cup. She was sent out in the first morning four-ball match alongside the irrepressible Christina Kim, 25, who spent the match jawing at Wie and shamelessly playing to the crowd while intermittently producing clutch shots. Wie was sensational in making five birdies in the first 11 holes during a commanding 5-and-4 victory over Helen Alfredsson and Tania Elosegui, and she and Kim celebrated on the 14th green with a series of elaborate handshakes and zany dance steps that were punctuated by Wie's giving her partner a light spank on the booty to the cheers of thousands of mildly mystified fans. Afterward Kim's voice was nearly shot, while a giddy Wie said, "This is the most fun I've ever had playing golf. I'm still shaking from the round."

Europe squared the Solheim Cup by taking the final two four-ball matches on the 18th hole, the key blow being Anna Nordqvist's 20-footer for birdie. The momentum carried over to afternoon foursomes as Europe won two of the first three matches to claim its first lead of the week. Wie and Kerr were the last Yanks standing, in a tussle against Hjorth and Nordqvist. Wie seemed to thrive on the pressure, hitting it stiff on 10 and 11 to stake the U.S. to a 2-up lead and then making a key 31/2-footer on 12 to preserve the margin.

The inability to consistently hole clutch putts has long been the only bugaboo in Wie's game, and she knows it. The week before the Solheim she rang up Dave Stockton, the Champions tour putting oracle. Across a pair of four-hour lessons, Stockton studied Wie's mechanical action and diagnosed that she was aiming to the right and then pulling her putts with an overactive right hand. Stockton revamped Wie's alignment and ball position and persuaded her to shorten her preputt routine, but mostly they focused on improving her feel by treating putting as more art than science. Says Stockton, "I told her, When putting becomes the strongest part of your game, can you imagine how much fun you're going to have?"

Renteria adjusting to life in new countryEurope looking for historic Solheim Cup victory

Dottie Pepper on the Solheim Cup

The Solheim Cup provided a great week when the LPGA needed one. Here are a few gripes and highlights.

• Slow-heim The morning four-balls took nearly six hours — my clothes were out of style by the afternoon sessions. Pitiful. The course setup was too long and too rigid. Fans were leaving in frustration to watch the late matches on TV. How about graduated rough and multiple teeing grounds?

• Ochocinco syndrome I know Christina Kim (below) loves the galleries and is a ham, but she should be a little more respectful of the game. In the NFL she'd have been given 18 excessive celebration penalties.

• The golf Phenomenal! One European team was five under par in foursomes on Saturday. Sunday was a birdie festival for both sides.

• Michelle Wie The rookie and captain's pick was 3-0-1. Beth Daniel was brilliant to keep her sequestered with the team and free of the micromanagement she usually endures. Shame on her parents if they don't see this and let her be her own boss going forward.

• Becky Brewerton, Tania Elosegui and Diana Luna The LPGA would be better if they played here more often.

• The fans Almost 120,000, from 49 states and nine countries, proved themselves tougher than the traffic.

• Juli Inkster A huge back-nine rally on Sunday earned the U.S. a valuable half point. She's played her last match, but look for Meg Mallon to be captain in 2011, then Inkster in '13. The Cup will survive her uniform choices and dance choreography. I think.

• Chicago This could be a building block for a regular tour stop in the Windy City.

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East notes: Revs’ playoff push well underwayWheeee! Solheim Cup a breakthrough for Wie

Five things you need to know about the FedEx Cup

Nobody asked but here are five things you ought to know about the FedEx Cup playoffs, which start this week with the Barclay's at Liberty National:

One. Tiger Woods is playing. That may be all you really need to know. Woods skipped this event two years ago but not this time. You can expect the TV coverage to show Tiger's every shot. Probably even him pulling into the parking lot.

Two. The FedEx Cup points — those annoying and meaningless point totals which Golf Channel and CBS kept jamming down your throats all year — don't reset for the playoffs this year, as in the past two years. The points will continue to accumulate until the final 30 players advance to the Tour Championship, the last stop. It never made sense before to have this contrived points list all season and then throw it out when the playoffs start.

At the Tour Championship, in NASCAR terms, everyone will be reset to the same lap and theoretically have a chance to win the $10 million first prize. The top five players in points are guaranteed to have a chance to win.

Three. Be prepared to be shocked. The point standings could be more volatile than a bad day on the New York Stock Exchange. A win in one of the FedEx Cup playoff events will be worth five times more than a regular season tour event. That's right, five times — 2,500 points in the playoffs versus 500 points before. That should contribute to a worst-to-first potential to make the race a little more exciting. In the FedEx Cup's first two years, there was little doubt about the outcome going into the final event. The revisions should rectify that.

Four. This is still the most lucrative cash extravaganza in golf. The money is, for lack of a better word, staggering. The $10 million first prize by itself would rank 91st on the PGA Tour's all-time money list. A third-place FedEx Cup finish is worth $2 million, still way more than what any of the four major championships pay out and about double most regular-season events. The guy who finishes dead last, 125th in points, still gets a little something for the effort — $70,000. Given the economic downturn and the rough shape that some PGA Tour sponsors are in, it's going to be pretty interesting to see what happens to this pay scale in the next iteration of the FedEx Cup, if there is one. FedEx reportedly put up $50 million a year for six years. That deal may be tough to match but a renewal is still three years away.

Five. Did we mention that Tiger Woods is playing? Thought so.

Tiger Woods enters opening playoff event at The BarclaysDC can’t find spark in Toronto

PGA Tour Confidential: The Wyndham Championship

Every week of the 2009 PGA Tour season, the editorial staff of the SI Golf Group will conduct an e-mail roundtable. Check in on Mondays for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors.

Gary Van Sickle, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: Greetings from Tulsa on U.S. Amateur Eve. The Americans won a close Solheim Cup. Sergio Garcia kicked away a back-nine lead against a pack of undistinguished pursuers in Greensboro, a big comedown from last year when he contended for the PGA and the Tour Championship. The FedEx Cup starts later this week, something we greet with the same excitement as NFL preseason games. The senior circuit entertained its 11th major of the year, or whatever, at the Tradition. A big week.

Ladies first. The Americans were heavily favored, mainly because the Europeans were untested. Perhaps they shouldn't have been, given how few of the Americans have won anything in the last 12 months. Either way, it was a great effort by Europe, and the LPGA got what it needed — a close, exciting Solheim Cup. Paula Creamer was a big star for the U.S., making two huge putts to win matches the first day, then scored a big early point in Sunday's singles. Michelle Wie didn't lose a match, despite not looking so great with the putter, but you have to give her credit. Juli Inkster made a nice rally in singles, perhaps the swing match that turned the tide on Sunday. Give em 'all three stars.

Alan Shipnuck, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: I don't think the Solheim needed saving, but this should quiet the kvetching for another couple of years. Europe played very inspired golf in forging an 8-8 tie over the first two days, and during singles they were in control of seven matches until the tide turned on the back nine. It was thrilling, competitive golf. The real story, though, is Michelle Wie. She was the best player on either team and showed the kind of passion that has always been missing in her game. This will be remembered as the week her career finally took off.

Jim Herre, editor, Sports Illustrated Golf Plus: I thought Wie looked pretty good on the greens. She made a bunch of clutch 10- and 15-footers the first two days. Plus, I liked the way Michelle came back to take out a salty Helen Alfredsson on Sunday.

Ryan Reiterman, producer, Golf.com: How awesome was Wie's drive on 18? She swung so hard she did a Gary Player follow-through. She seemed to be less technical all week and just played with a lot of feel and emotion. Great to see.

Damon Hack, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: I also think we'll look back at this year's Solheim Cup as the turning point to Michelle Wie's career. She has been fully accepted now — by her peers, by the fans, by almost everyone. She looked awfully comfortable today. It'd be hard to imagine her not taking her 3-0-1 week and turning it into some LPGA hardware.

Herre: I agree, Damon. Wouldn't be surprised to see her get that first W before the season ends.

Dick Friedman, senior editor, Sports Illustrated: Definitely significant that Wie's parents, while on the scene, weren't allowed to hover. That may have loosened her up.

Cameron Morfit, senior writer, Golf Magazine: Totally agree that this week was just what she needed. I'm happy to see a girl like that thrive with her peers and her elders. She needs a steady diet of that, not more time with her folks.

Van Sickle: How many times have we said that about Ryder Cuppers, that after this, now they're going to be big winners? Hunter Mahan and others come to mind. Of course, Wie has a talent potential relative to her tour that they didn't. The LPGA certainly hopes this is a turning point for Wie. She could be its big cross-cultural American superstar.

Farrell Evans, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: Wie was easily the best golfer in the competition. But I'm not sure she's ready to win consistently on the LPGA Tour. She doesn't putt well enough and there are plenty of women with her length. She's not going to win a putting contest.

Friedman: Remember, too, that Michelle was a captain's pick. A no-brainer, maybe, but Beth Daniel could have gone another way.

Shipnuck: I don't want to scoop my forthcoming SI story, but Wie began working with Dave Stockton last week and the results were immediate. She had the best putting week of her life under tremendous pressure, and I expect she'll only build on it.

Hack: Alan, you might want to pass that Stockton phone number on to Sergio.

Jim Gorant, senior editor, Sports Illustrated Golf Plus: Like Jim H. said earlier, I thought she putted very well until the pressure rose on the back nine on Sunday. Then she started missing right again. By the way, dont want to scoop your scooping of your scoop, but they were talking about the Stockton stuff on TV.

Shipnuck: Yeah, but I got the great man on the phone and he spilled some great stuff for me. Read all about it Tuesday on Golf.com.

Van Sickle: Sergio and Monty had a history of putting great in the Ryder Cup and then not so much in stroke play when they don't have teammates backing them up. Credit Wie for addressing a weakness and going to the source for putting knowledge — the great Dave Stockton.

Hack: I wonder if Michelle's folks will see what we're seeing and let her go (and grow). This is the first time she has won anything — anything — since 2003. She's got to feel on top of the world right now.

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MLS Fantasy Tips: Week 19Wheeee! Solheim Cup a breakthrough for Wie

Riley, Garcia share lead at rainy Wyndham

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Sergio Garcia followed through on a fairway shot when he heard a noise that has become all too familiar this weekend at Sedgefield Country Club.

The air horn sounded once again, signifying yet another weather delay at a Wyndham Championship - where most of the movement on "Moving Day" involved scurrying to the clubhouse to beat the waves of showers.

Garcia and Chris Riley were both 13 under par through 10 holes to share the clubhouse lead Saturday night when play was stopped midway through the third round of the rain-plagued tournament.

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Steve Marino, Fred Couples, Kevin Stadler and Justin Rose were 12 under and Brandt Snedeker and Bill Haas were 11 under through varying stages of their rounds when play was suspended due to darkness.

Tournament officials said the round was scheduled to resume Sunday at 7:30 a.m., with a second cut and the final round to begin at roughly 11 a.m.

"These are tough weeks," Riley said. "Seems like we've been doing this all year but, you know, going to bed at 10 (p.m.) and waking up at 5 (a.m.) to play golf ... we're athletes. So I guess we can do it."

During yet another long day with abbreviated play at the Donald Ross-designed course at Sedgefield - where two weather delays combined to last nearly 5 1/2 hours - there were a few highlights.

Marino, who started the round six strokes off the pace, had seven birdies to vault up the leaderboard - including one on the par-3 No. 16 in which his tee shot landed 7 inches from the flagstick. He shot 63 to move to 198, and was one of 24 players to finish the round.

"We were talking about it when we went back out on (No. 14), if we were going to make it or not," Marino said. "We knew it was going to be close. The guys in front of us motored and we made it. I'm really thrilled about that."

Couples, the U.S. President's Cup captain who's still considering his final picks, birdied four of his first eight holes to move into contention for his first victory since 2003. And Rose had five birdies to rally after starting the round four strokes back.

But once again, the dominant storyline at this stop-and-start tournament was the weather.

Play was halted twice during Day 3 because of heavy rains and lightning. After the second round was completed midmorning, the start of Round 3 was pushed back 2 1/2 hours while a band of thunderstorms passed through.

Then, nearly four hours into the third round, everyone went for cover again while another wave of storms pelted the central North Carolina piedmont. Cups overflowed with water, fairways more closely resembled streams and power was briefly knocked out to the clubhouse during a television interview with Couples.

After a 2-hour, 49-minute delay - the third weather-related suspension of the tournament - play finally resumed for about an hour before dusk fell. Organizers already had been racing to play catch-up after a 4-hour delay during the first round.

"There was a lot of stopping and starting for everybody," Couples said.

Riley opened his round with an eagle on No. 1, using a 9-iron to knock his approach shot about 165 yards into the hole. After the delay, he ran a 55-foot eagle putt to within 3 feet on No. 5 and tapped it in for birdie.

The former UNLV player who's contending for his second top-10 finish of the year - and second career PGA Tour victory - shared the 36-hole lead with Maggert and Ryan Moore at 11-under 129.

Garcia caught Riley on the 10th - he made a 33-foot birdie putt on that hole, while Riley missed a 10-foot par putt and tapped in for bogey. Garcia was standing over a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 11 when play was stopped for the day.

Standing in the way: A weather-created, 26-hole marathon Sunday for both Riley and Garcia. Then again, that's nothing new during this tournament for Riley - who took his first lead Friday while playing 21 holes.

"It's what we play for - definitely tests your ability of what you've been working on," Riley said. "Guys like Sergio (have) been there so many times it's probably just like playing golf to them. To guys like me, it's different."

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Reds move into tie for Eastern leadMatthew, Sergas share early lead at British Open

Wheeee! Solheim Cup a breakthrough for Wie

SUGAR GROVE, Ill.(AP) This was the Michelle Wie everyone was waiting to see.

Freed up by the support of her teammates, Wie played with the skill, confidence and daring that has long been expected of her. She went 3-0-1 in her Solheim Cup debut - the best performance by any American - and looks primed to finally deliver on her considerable promise.

``People have seen a different side of me,'' Wie said after her tough, 1-up victory over former Europe captain Helen Alfredsson on Sunday. ``It's just been a lot of fun. There's nothing to describe it. ... This week in general has given me such a confidence boost.''

Wie has been saddled since grade school with the burden of being the female equivalent of Tiger Woods. She can outdrive some men - she launched a 305-yarder on one par-5 Sunday, leaving her an 8-iron to the green - and won the Women's Amateur Public Links at 13, making her the youngest winner of a USGA championship for adults. She teed it up with the men, and was in contention for major championships long before she had her driver's license.

But at 19, the LPGA Tour rookie is still looking for her first professional victory. Injuries and other missteps had some wondering if she would eventually find her stride or be the latest phenom to flame out.

Based on this week, it's not even a question.

``I would bet you a large amount of money that Michelle will win before the year is out,'' Juli Inkster said after the Americans won their third straight Solheim Cup with a 16-12 decision over Europe.

That's a bold statement, but few who saw Wie at Rich Harvest Farms would bet against it.

Wie drew one of the toughest assignments Sunday. Not only was she the third American out, she was playing Alfredsson. And on the par-5 No. 2, Alfredsson let Wie know this wasn't going to be a gimme, putting her second shot four feet from the pin.

Not to be outdone, Wie hit to three feet.

``I think that second shot was the best shot I've ever hit. Ever,'' Wie said as a few teammates nodded their heads. ``I gave myself a little pat on the back, I wasn't ashamed to do that.''

That eagle set the tone, and Wie was up 3 after six holes. But Alfredsson capitalized on Wie's poor tee shot on the eighth hole, and the match was squared after the 11th hole.

``Helen just played fantastic in a couple of holes,'' Wie said. ``She played great the whole day. It was tough, I had to pull some stuff on her.''

Like a monstrous drive.

Wie's drive on the par-5 15th was so long - 305 yards, to be exact - she needed only an 8-iron to reach the green in two. Yes, an 8-iron. She two-putted from 20 feet for the birdie and the lead.

``I'm 44, I don't hit it that far anymore. I never did, actually,'' Alfredsson said.

Alfredsson hit a bad tee shot on 16, a par 3, allowing Wie to pick up another hole and guarantee that, at worst, she'd get a half-point out of the match.

She lost the 17th hole, and was so amped up after another bomb on 18 that she started walking as soon as she hit it, leaving her tee stuck in the box. She hit her approach to 25 feet below the hole, and left it 2 feet short. Alfredsson's 35-foot eagle putt was short, too, and Wie tapped in to win the match.

``Michelle was playing so well that it was just hard not to pick her,'' said U.S. captain Beth Daniel, who used one of her two picks on Wie. ``And she has continued that good play this week.''

Equally impressive has been her attitude. Though Wie lets loose with the occasional fist pump, she often comes across as aloof or reserved.

Not this week.

She may not ever be as energetic as Christina Kim - then again, who is? - but she was animated from the minute she walked onto the first tee Friday morning. She yelled and pumped her fist after big shots, even ran forward when she thought a key putt was going in.

When she and Kim won their fourball match Saturday, it was Wie who turned to the crowd and cupped her hand to her ear, asking for more noise. She laughed when fans gave her her own cheer, a loud ``Wheee!''

And when the Americans had clinched their victory Sunday, she grabbed a big American flag and ran around the 18th green.

``I feel like I played great this week, and hopefully that will carry over,'' Wie said. ``But you never know about golf. You can have a good week, you can have a bad week. But I know I had fun this week. I know I tried my hardest.''

Lewis: US faces formidable foe in MexicoU.S., Europe tied heading to singles at Solheim Cup

Michelle Wie has strong debut at Solheim Cup

SUGAR GROVE, Ill. (AP) — Michelle Wie saw the masses, heard the chants and knew this was going to be a special day no matter where her shots landed.

Her performance was mostly good. The experience was better.

Wie got her first taste of Solheim Cup play on Friday and was still savoring it long after she left the course.

"I think this was the most fun I've ever had playing," she said. "It was just unbelievable - the crowd, the cheers, everything about it. It was the most fun I've ever had on the golf course."

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Wie has competed in majors and gone up against the men, but those experiences didn't compare to this. Adding to the fun was the fact that Wie had a decent round, with four birdies before a bumpy finish that left her and Morgan Pressel halved with Women's British Open champion Catriona Matthew and Maria Hjorth in the morning fourball session.

She then watched the afternoon session, as did Pressel and Brittany Lang, with American captain Beth Daniel opting to conserve players' energy rather than have them play five rounds this weekend.

Pressel and Wie were 2-down through 11 holes before making a run over the final seven. Wie birdied the 13th to pull even and converted a 10-footer for par on the next hole, allowing Pressel to knock in an 8-foot birdie.

But they lost the lead on 18.

Wie, who bogeyed No. 17, drove her final tee shot into deep rough and, when she punched out, the ball landed in a muddy divot. Rules officials gave her relief even though the spot hadn't been marked - they hadn't thought they needed to since it was between shots - and European captain Alison Nicholas questioned them for a few minutes.

"They didn't think anyone was going to hit it there, so they didn't mark it," Wie said. "And my ball got there, and I was like wondering if it was a ground repair or not. So then I guess they were just talking about why it wasn't marked, and they just wanted an explanation."

Wie's next shot hit a front bunker, anyway, and Pressel's chip from the rough went to the other side of the green. Matthew made a 12-footer for the Europeans, wiping out the Americans' lead.

That sour finish aside, it was a sweet day for Wie.

Hailed as the LPGA's answer to Tiger Woods ever since she captured the Women's Amateur Public Links at 13 and became the youngest winner of a USGA championship for adults, Wie hasn't quite lived up to that billing over the past six years.

Players grumbled about the attention she received early on, and there were reports of a rivalry with Pressel, who also burst onto the scene at a young age. Her attempts to play with the men have failed, and although Wie has contended at the majors, she is still seeking her first win on the women's tour.

Even so, Wie was 13th in the Solheim Cup standings after an 11th-place tie at the British Open. Not bad considering she only started collecting points this year and had played a limited schedule since she was 13.

She's finished among the top 10 in five of 13 tournaments this year, and Daniel said it was a "no-brainer" to take Wie with one of her two captains picks.

Now, other players are getting to know her a little better this week. Wie and Pressel are even staying at the same place, and if there was a rivalry, that ended a long time ago. When someone asked about it, Pressel deferred to Lang, who said: "That's a pretty easy one. I didn't know you were enemies."

Pressel added: "That's how the media portrayed us."

Wie, sitting between them, simply let the other two do the talking. She was still smiling, though. Still savoring the day.

"Walking down each tee box to each green felt like you were walking down 18 in contention in a major, and you times that by 100, and that's what it felt like," Wie said, as her parents Bo and B.J. looked on in the interview room.

Fans chanted "USA! USA!" and roared with every big shot. They wore shirts and jackets emblazoned with the red, white and blue, and they carried flags. She saw the Junior Solheim Cup team singing, too, and said it was "just so awesome."

Was she surprised? Not exactly.

"It was just the coolest thing I've ever done," she said. "I mean, it was unbelievable. You just get the fire. Every putt and every shot you're thinking, 'God, let's make this crowd erupt. They're ready to explode, and let's do it.' I mean, that was all I was thinking."

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Kimura lifts Rapids past visiting FCDU.S., Europe tied heading to singles at Solheim Cup

U.S., Europe tied heading to singles at Solheim Cup

SUGAR GROVE, Ill. (AP) — The sun went down over Rich Harvest Farms and everybody's nerves seemed to go with it.

Cristie Kerr nearly took the head off a fake swan. Michelle Wie chunked a fairway shot that somehow made its way through - not around - a tree.

Europeans Anna Nordqvist and Maria Hjorth couldn't capitalize on any of it, and when Saturday's 12 hours of golf were finally over, the United States had pulled into an 8-8 tie in the Solheim Cup that felt more like a lead. The United States has a .602 winning percentage in singles over the course of the tournament, and has lost only three times in singles.

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The last time? That would be 2003, also the last time Europe won the Solheim Cup.

The Americans need 14 points to win a third straight Solheim Cup, while Europe needs 14 1/2 points to claim it on U.S. soil for the first time.

"I'm just really proud of them the way they came back. It was not looking too good for us for a while, and they really rallied in those last couple of matches there in the afternoon," U.S. captain Beth Daniel said. "That was huge. Also, it should be a huge momentum swing for us to come back that way. They feel like they're ahead, and they should feel that way."

For the Europeans, it was an opportunity lost.

They managed to erase the one-point lead the Americans had after the first day, and looked midway through the afternoon as if they might go into Sunday ahead. But with the U.S. history in singles, they couldn't afford to give anything away - especially with points there for the taking down the stretch.

"After being one point down yesterday and bringing it back to all square, I'm happy with that," captain Alison Nicholas said. "Singles is always difficult. We haven't been that good over the years, but we have won that series. We've got nothing to lose and hopefully we'll just do a bit better than we have in the past."

When Wie and Christina Kim easily beat Helen Alfredsson and Tania Elosegui 5-and-4 in the opening fourball match, it looked as if it might be the start of a big day for the Americans. Kerr was holing out from the fairway two holes back about the same time, and the Americans had a lead in another match, too.

As Wie and Kim bumped hips and hugged it out on the green, the raucous crowd chanted "The Cup stays here."

It was way too early for that.

Europe rallied to win the fourballs 2 1/2-1 1/2 and tie tournament up, then took an early lead in foursomes with two easy wins.

"It looked like we were going to go in down a point or two, and to be even is big," Daniel said. "It's really big."

Pretty, however, it was not.

Morgan Pressel missed an 18-footer on 17 that would have won her and Kristy McPherson's foursomes match against Alfredsson and Suzann Pettersen. With Pettersen making a long putt for birdie, the Europeans had a chance to halve the match. But Pettersen missed a 25-footer, and Pressel made her putt to give the Americans a 2-up victory.

"We knew just how important our match was," Pressel said.

So did Wie and Kerr.

Kerr is one of the steadiest players on the U.S. team, which made her decision on 17 all the more shocking. Wie's tee shot found rough on the right side, and there was a big pond between Kerr and the green. The Americans were 2 up, and Hjorth had gone in the sand off the tee.

Instead of playing it safe, Kerr decided to go for it. Sure enough, the ball skipped through the water, nearly hitting one of the fake swans in the middle. Wie mishit the next shot and flew the green, landing in deep rough. Kerr's flop shot for a bogey skirted the hole, but didn't drop.

Advantage Europeans? Nope. Hjorth missed a 6-footer for bogey and the hole, and Wie rolled in a 3-footer for the half.

"That halve on that hole was ridiculous," Kerr said.

The Americans caught more breaks on 18. Kerr's drive kicked out into the fairway after hitting a tree, Wie found her own way through a tree. Kerr's approach flew the green, leaving Wie with a long putt. She got it close, curving the ball around the edge of the cup and bringing her teammates to their feet.

But the ball wouldn't drop. Neither, though, would a short putt by Hjorth.

"We did lose some ground today, but we're still tied going into singles," Pressel said. "We've got 12 points available and we have a very, very, very strong team."

And no one is stronger than Wie at this point.

Expectations for the big-hitting Hawaiian have been huge since she was in grade school, but injuries and other missteps have cost her and she's yet to have that breakthrough performance. This week might be it.

She put an approach shot within 18 inches from 149 yards out on the sixth hole of her fourball match with Kim, starting a run that gave the Americans four straight holes. She didn't flinch when she needed to make big shots with Kerr. Her drives were impressive, as always, and she showed a deftness with her short game.

Perhaps most impressive was how animated she was. Oh, she's given fist pumps before, even yelled a few times. But this was Michelle Unplugged. She sprinted along the side of the green after making a nice chip. She played to the crowd, waving her arms and cupping her hand to her ear to urge them to cheer louder. She and Kim even had a special handshake.

"She was so pumped up, I was worried about it," Daniel said.

She needn't have been.

"We just had a ball out there," Wie said. "It was just fun."

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Wizards pay for lack of intensityEurope looking for historic Solheim Cup victory

Europe looking for historic Solheim Cup victory

SUGAR GROVE, Ill. (AP) — Just once, Laura Davies wants to experience how it feels to win the Solheim Cup on someone else's turf.

The Americans have done it. Twice, in fact.

``To overcome the crowds and the American team, which is always first-class and they always come in playing really well, which they've done again, and just to beat them over here, I think the sense of satisfaction Sunday night would be beyond anything I've achieved,'' Davies said.

Look at the statistics and all the chatter ahead of Friday's start at Rich Harvest Farms, though, and it would appear another year will go by without Davies getting her wish.

The U.S. team includes two of the world's four best players, while four of Europe's players are ranked 125th or lower. Then there's that gaping hole left by Annika Sorenstam's retirement. Sorenstam was a staple of the European team the last decade, and her 22 match victories and 24 points are the most by any player, European or American.

The Americans also have won the last two Solheim Cups, and have considerable home-field advantage. The stands behind the first tee were packed with red, white and blue-clad fans on a fall-like Friday morning, and they didn't even need Christina Kim's prompting to let loose with cheers of ``U-S-A! U-S-A!'' ``Paula, Cristie'' and ``U-S-A, all the way'' before Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr teed off in the first fourball match.

The Europeans did get a little love, with one fan waving a Scottish flag and a brief chorus of ``We all root for the European team.''

But there was little doubt this was the Americans' show.

``I think, obviously, everybody's writing us off as the underdogs,'' Europe's Janice Moodie said.

Just don't tell the Americans that.

Angela Stanford waited all of about 30 seconds Thursday before saying she's sick of hearing about the Americans being favorites. The Solheim Cup, after all, is match play, where quirky things happen more often than not. Entire events can turn on one putt, and the best team on paper isn't always the one celebrating on Sunday.

``We need to go out and play like we're the underdogs because I think that they're going to be ready to play and they're going to be ready to fight,'' Stanford said. ``It's one thing to think, yeah, we have a lot of talent and we're stacked. But you can't go in thinking that the ball is just going to go in the hole. I mean, it's still golf.''

Just look at last weekend's shocking finish at the PGA Championship.

Tiger Woods had won the two weeks leading up to the PGA, was atop the leaderboard at Hazeltine National all week and was 14-for-14 when he began the final round of a major with a lead. Yet it was little-known Y.E. Yang who walked off with the Wanamaker Trophy, not Woods.

``Everyone knows we have not won on American soil,'' Europe captain Alison Nicholas said. ``There has to be a first time on some stage in some place. My word is, 'possible.'''

The first two days of the Solheim Cup consist of 16 team matches and the tournament closes with 12 singles matches. As defending champions, the Americans need 14 of the 28 points to retain the cup. Europe needs 14 1/2.

Play began with the fourball matches - each player plays their own ball, and low score counts as the team score - and things could get interesting early. At 6,670 yards, Rich Harvest Farms is the longest course in Solheim Cup history, and players will feel every inch of it Friday after more rain fell overnight.

Kerr and Creamer face Suzann Pettersen and Sophie Gustafson in the opening match. Kerr and Creamer are the Nos. 3 and 4 players in the world, respectively, but Pettersen might be Europe's most consistent player, and she and Gustafson have a long history together at the Solheim Cup.

The final match pits Morgan Pressel and Michelle Wie against Catriona Matthew and Maria Hjorth. Pressel and Wie, of course, are the face of golf's youth movement, players who were holding their own against the grown-ups as teenagers. Wie is a Solheim Cup rookie while Pressel beat Sorenstam in a key singles match in 2007.

Matthew is one of Europe's veterans, and she won the Women's British Open two weeks ago.

``The perception in our team room is that we have to play our best golf to beat this team. And we do,'' U.S. captain Beth Daniel said. ``Match play, anything can happen.''

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Tiger Woods enters opening playoff event at The Barclays

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Tiger Woods entered The Barlcays on Friday, an indication that the world's No. 1 player plans to compete in all four FedEx Cup playoff events for the first time.

In a tough economic year in which PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has asked the players to do more for the sponsors, Woods came through in a big way by agreeing to compete in The Barclays. He has not played the tournament since 2003, when it was held in June, and he has not played since Barclays took over as title sponsor in 2005.

Barclays' contract with the PGA Tour is up for renewal next year.

Woods is assured of being the No. 1 seed when the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup begins Thursday with The Barclays. A new points system means players are more likely to lose ground if they take a week off.

Even so, that likely didn't have a bearing on Woods' decision. He skipped the opening playoff event in 2007 during the first year of the FedEx Cup, then tied for second and won the last two events to easily claim the $10 million bonus.

He did not play last year because of knee surgery.

``The Barclays has been an exciting kickoff to the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup each of the first two years. Having Tiger in the field this year will, no doubt, bring even more excitement to the tournament,'' tournament director Pete Mele said.

A change in the schedule also helps.

The Barclays will be followed by the Deutsche Bank Championship outside Boston, then the BMW Championship in the Chicago suburb. The tour will take a week off before the final event - with the points reset - at the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

Woods has not played a regular PGA Tour event in the New York area since the Buick Classic at Westchester in 2003. He played Westchester three times without winning.

The Barclays will be played this year at Liberty National. The 125-man field will not be set until the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship this week in Greenboro, N.C.

Should he play all four playoff events, as expected, Woods will have played seven times in a nine-week stretch dating to the Buick Open.

Greg Norman withdraws from Jeld-Wen TraditionMidfield workhorses give Dallas hope

Daly to return to Aussie Open after camera clash

SYDNEY (AP) — John Daly plans to return to the Australian Open a year after being fined for smashing a fan's camera into a tree during the tournament.

Golf Australia announced Tuesday that the two-time major winner will join the field for the tournament at Sydney's New South Wales Golf Club from Dec. 3-6.

``I am looking forward to returning to play the 2009 Australian Open and am particularly excited about playing the course at La Perouse for the first time. I have heard so many great things about the course,'' Daly said in a statement.

He'll play the Australian PGA Championship at Coolum, on Queensland state's Sunshine Coast, the week after the Australian Open.

Daly hopes his back is better by then. He cited an old back injury after pulling out of the PGA Championship in Minnesota on Thursday, when he shot a first-round 78.

He said the injury occurred three years ago while trying to stop mid-swing when he heard the sound of a camera as he was taking a shot.

Daly received a suspended fine from the PGA of Australia at the last Australian Open after taking a spectator's camera and throwing it at a tree at Royal Sydney's 9th hole.

Daly told Brad Clegg, ``You want it back, I'll buy you a new one.''

Organizers took no action, saying Daly had been bothered by Clegg, who was taking photos at close range despite a ban on cameras at the course.

Daly recently returned to the PGA Tour following a six-month suspension for several off-course incidents. He played mostly in Europe during the six-month suspension.

Daly, the 1991 PGA Championship winner and 1995 British Open champion, has a strong following Down Under.

He missed three consecutive cuts last year on a late-season trip to Australia, where his history extends back seven years at Coolum. After taking a triple-bogey 7 on his last hole at the 2002 Australian PGA championships, Daly threw his putter and ball into a greenside pond and later failed to sign for a 78 on his scorecard, disqualifying himself from the tournament.

He was fined by the Australasian PGA Tour and ordered to write a letter of apology to a tour official he verbally abused.

Since his last visit to Australia, he's lost weight following lap-band surgery. He often wears bright-colored pants as part of his wardrobe.

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Greg Norman withdraws from Jeld-Wen Tradition

SUNRIVER, Ore. (AP) — Greg Norman has withdrawn from the Jeld-Wen Tradition tournament because of a sore back.

The Tradition, the fourth of five majors on the Champions Tour, got under way Thursday at Crosswater Golf Club in central Oregon.

It would have been Norman's first appearance in the event, and sixth start on the Champions Tour this year.

The Hall of Famer from Australia, who joined the tour for senior golfers in 2005, won 20 times on the PGA Tour. Known as the Shark, Norman was the world's top-ranked golfer for 331 weeks during the 1990s.

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My Shot: Upset by Tiger's Cussing? Hell, No!

The world's greatest golfer managed to keep the G in the PGA, but even Tiger Woods has an off day or two. There were a few times when Tiger's summer turned to simmer, and when the fur starts to fly, so does the profanity.

When Woods can't drop a putt, he drops an f bomb. When he can't drill a tee shot, he drills his bag with his driver. He exploded when his British turned brutish, and he missed the cut for only the sixth time in his pro career.

The coarse language and club acrobatics aren't anything we don't hear and see on courses every day. But this was Tiger Woods, who is supposed to set an example, especially for children. And this is golf, the "gentleman's game," in which virtue is supposed to trump vitriol.

Well, I've got two words for you, and they're not "you're away." Get real! If Tiger wants to go ballistic and wax scatological, let him.

There is nothing golf needs more now than emotion, and Woods is one of the only players who ever shows any. (Lucas Glover, anyone?) The man is a pro with millions in the bank, and the fire in his belly — plus the steam coming out of his ears and the vulgarities from his mouth — show that he cares about more than cashing checks, which can't be said of everyone carrying a PGA Tour card.

He's right: Second suc ... uh, isn't good.

The namby-pambys in the blogosphere have been whining that golf — horrors! — could turn into the NFL or, worse, tennis. Maybe it's time the game entered the big leagues of visible emotion. It survived when Tommy (Thunder) Bolt was hurling eight-irons and invective, when Steve (the Volcano) Pate erupted and when Tom Weiskopf unleashed tirades. But they were labeled "characters," not bad influences. And their acts of madness displayed a humanity that today's pros seem to lack.

As for our children, c'mon. It's O.K. to hear Dad curse a blue streak when he hammers his thumb but not when Tiger hammers one six feet past the hole? (Anyway, why are kids watching golf on a Saturday afternoon? Shouldn't they be outdoors?) This is emotion, this is the heat of battle, this is life. Maybe youngsters need to learn that some things matter.

One more upside to a blue Tiger. It shows that golf is hard, even for him. That's a good thing, because he usually makes it look too easy. Then Joe and Josephine Public give it a try, can't smoke a six-iron 200 yards from a fairway bunker to four feet, and give up.

No one said golf was supposed to be easy. Or easy listening.

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Y. E. Yang stunned the golf world by overtaking Tiger Woods to become the first Asian man to win a major title

There was no way to prepare for the scene that played out on Sunday evening on the final green of the 91st PGA Championship. Tiger Woods was going through the motions of lining up a par putt that meant ... absolutely nothing. On the edge of the green, 37-year-old Y.E. Yang of South Korea was jubilantly pumping his fists, having just stolen a tournament that had been all but conceded to Woods two days earlier. The fans around the green at Hazeltine National Golf Club, in Chaska, Minn., were muted, sensing that to cheer for Yang would further diminish Woods, who had lost not only a tournament but also his aura of indomitability. The game's most ruthless closer was now on the business end of the biggest golf upset since a 20-year-old former caddie named Francis Oiumet beat Harry Vardon and Ted Ray at the 1913 U.S. Open.

For all of his accomplishments it was Woods's 14-for-14 record at closing out 54-hole leads in the majors that most contributed to his reputation for invincibility. That has been shattered now, not only because Tiger lost but also because of who beat him — a happy-go-lucky player who didn't take up the game until age 19 and now becomes the first Asian male to win a major. Then there was the stunning way that Woods submitted to defeat. The game's most imaginative shotmaker could never hit it close when it really mattered; the greatest clutch putter in history needed 33 putts, repeatedly blowing opportunities to put away, and then catch, Yang. Woods has always had a metaphysical mastery of the moment, an unparalleled ability to summon the right shot at the right time, but this time it was Yang who produced the decisive magic.

Having missed out on a record-tying fifth PGA Championship victory and 15th major title, Tiger could do little more than blame his putter and offer some hollow philosophical words. "It was just a bad day at the wrong time, and that's the way it goes," he said.

Yang's victory completes one of golf's most unlikely journeys. He grew up working on his family's vegetable and rice farm on the island of Jeju. In his teens Yang was an aspiring bodybuilder whose grandest dream was to someday own his own gym. A knee injury at 18 ended his heavy-duty weightlifting, and he found his way to a local driving range, where he giddily whacked balls into a net with a baseball grip. Self-taught with instructional videos, Yang was breaking par within three years but his development was slowed when he served almost two years of compulsory military service. (The country-club softies who have made a habit of lying down for Woods have collectively done little farming and spent even less time guarding naval installations.) By 1997 Yang had earned a place on the small-potatoes Korean PGA tour, and over the years he steadily moved up to the Asian and then Japanese tours. Heading to Hazeltine he had nine worldwide wins across four tours, including the PGA Tour's Honda Classic in March. Still, there was nothing to hint at the breakthrough that was to come at the PGA.

During the first round Tiger hit 12 fairways and 15 greens in regulation while firing a flawless 67 that gave him the outright lead. Yang was six back after a scrappy 73. On Friday a big prairie wind blew across Hazeltine, and of the top 15 players heading into the round Woods was the only one to break par, with a two-under 70 that stretched his lead to four strokes. Little noticed was Yang's remarkable turnabout during the second round. After bogeying four of his first five holes, he roared back with an eagle and four birdies for a 70 that left him tied for ninth, six strokes back.

Saturday brought ideal scoring conditions but instead of trying to blow open the tournament, Woods played prevent defense, aiming at the middle of most greens and following with delicate lag putts. "I felt that with my lead, I erred on the side of caution most of the time," he said of a ho-hum 71 that featured two birdies against one bogey. His lead was cut to two, though, thanks to the go-for-broke play of Yang, who continued to attack Hazeltine en route to the low round of the day, a 67. Asked about sharing a leader board with Woods, Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els, Yang said graciously, "It's a privilege to be listed on top with those names, great names and great players that I admire and respect."

But Els and Harrington and so many others carry the scar tissue from assorted Tiger maulings. Yang actually came in undefeated in showdowns with Woods, having tangled with him only once before with a tournament on the line: in Shanghai, when he trumped Tiger by two strokes to win the 2006 HSBC Champions, one of Asia's biggest events. Still, when Yang found out on Saturday night that he would be paired with Woods for the final round, "My heart nearly exploded from being so nervous," he said, and no wonder: In Woods's 14 major championship victories his Sunday scoring average was almost four strokes lower than his playing partner's.

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For first time, Tiger Woods doesn't make golf look easy

A few years back, I first wrote how Tiger Woods had done something that no other golfer — not Nicklaus or Hogan or Jones or Watson — had ever done. He had made golf look easy. And by easy, I don't mean effortless — though, of course, Tiger can make golf look effortless. I mean something else: He has taken out golf's elements of chance. He has removed the degree of difficulty. He has turned this big, sprawling, perplexing and ever-evolving game into something simple, something definitive. Something that makes sense.

Golf was never supposed to make sense. It was always supposed to be this wild ride in the wind. It was always supposed to be about holding up under pressure and taking your medicine and enjoying the lucky bounces and playing the ball where it lies. "There was only one time in my life when I went into a tournament knowing I was going to win and then won it," Tom Watson once told me. When I asked him what tournament, he refused to say. It's his happy secret. It's the one time he beat this mysterious game.

But, Tiger seemed to feel that way all that time. He boiled the game down to stark and powerful basics. If you make all your 12-foot par putts, you will make no bogeys. If you have practiced a shot for every occasion, then you will never have an occasion without a shot. If you turn double bogeys into bogeys and bogeys into pars, if you chip in more than most and often hit the ball close from the middle of the fairway, if you win all the tournaments you lead on Sunday and you play well enough to lead on Sunday all the time, well, there's just not much mystery left in the game. Tiger had been trained from a young age and later trained himself to play golf this way, without sentimentality, without reserve and without miscalculations. Nobody else in the world could play golf like that. Sometimes Tiger would just not play well. But mostly he did, and when he did, there were really only two possibilities. Tiger would either beat you, or you would beat yourself. Either way ... same thing.

And so, on the 17th green Sunday at the PGA Championship, it seemed entirely certain that one of those two things would happen to a 37-year-old golfer from Korea named Y.E. Yang. Tiger would beat him, or Yang would beat himself. The two choices. The only surprising thing was that it had taken this long to get to the choices. Yang had spent a wonderful afternoon in Minnesota smiling and waving to the crowd and making good shots and riding the top of the leaderboard. At the 17th, he led Tiger Woods by a stroke. The announcers on television had spent much of the afternoon marveling at Yang's calm — commenting at great length about his composure ("He seems cool as a cucumber!"), his vital signs ("He's breathing well!"), his mental state ("Positive body language!") and his sense of well being ("Look at him smiling!"). It was fun. It could not last.

Yang's good play — especially while other more famous golfers like Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh self destructed — was surprising, but probably less surprising than the tentative way Tiger Woods played. That was a thunderbolt. He laid up on a Par 5. He left putts short. He seemed utterly unlike the predator that we had come to know — all afternoon long he backed off shots and tossed blades of grass into the wind. All afternoon long, everyone just waited for Tiger to take over, to hit some kind of definitive shot, to turn Y.E. Yang into another in a long line of noble but defeated opponents. But Tiger wavered. He waffled. Which way is the wind blowing? He hit great shots, of course, because he's Tiger Woods. But, he lacked conviction.

And it was Yang, at the 14th hole, who hit the definitive shot. He chipped in for eagle with Woods' ball just 12 feet away from birdie. That remarkable chip gave Yang a two-shot lead. The announcers exclaimed that Woods was "shocked," and maybe he was but you could not see it on his face. He stepped up to his own ball and knocked in his own birdie putt to immediately cut the margin to 1 shot. Woods then walked toward the 15th hole with a determined stride, as if he was just about ready to put away all the foolishness. "They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain/And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again."

One thing about Tiger ... he's always had this remarkable sense of time. I don't mean TIMING, though of course Woods has always had great timing too — he tends to know when a great shot will be a dagger, when a sunk putt will drain his opponent of hope. This is part of what makes him such a great match-play golfer.

But here I mean a sense of time. Woods seems to know that eventually his moment and his chance will present itself. I often think about this game I saw Larry Bird play once in the late '80s or early 90s — a meaningless NBA regular season game in Charlotte. Bird wasn't himself by then; his back was hurting and he was more legend than star. But he was still awfully good, and what struck me that day was that while everyone else on the floor was playing the game live, Bird was playing it on rewind. He played as if he had already seen the game before and knew how it turned out. There was utterly no tension in his game, no anxiety, no break in his rhythm. When he missed a shot, he acted as if that was just PART OF THE PLAN — like the Celtics needed that missed shot to win. Same with every turnover, every foul, every brilliant pass, every timeout. It wasn't as if Bird was controlling the game — he wasn't quite good enough to control at that stage of his career. No, it was like he was an actor in a movie and he had already read the script.

Good day brings Harrington closer to WoodsKimura lifts Rapids past visiting FCD