World Golf: January 2010

Sunday, January 31, 2010

The new groove rule is making everyone in the game look ridiculous

SAN DIEGO — Welcome to the Farmers Insurance Open, formerly the San Diego Open, formerly the Buick Invitational, and now, by any name, the theater of the absurd.

On Thursday, an airplane buzzed Torrey Pines tugging a banner that read, "We miss you Tiger! Déjà vu Showgirls."

On Friday, an airplane soared overhead with a new banner: "We miss you too Tiger at Dreamgirls."

And a few hours later, after Phil Mickelson carded a 5-under-par 67 on the North Course — getting to 7-under for the tournament and four behind leaders Ryuji Imada and D.A. Points — things at this gorgeous seaside muni got downright silly.

That was when Mickelson was brought before the cameras to defend his use of an old Ping Eye2 wedge with square grooves. (A new, pros-only rule in 2010 bans most U-shaped grooves because they are too deep and too sharp. Ping Eye2s manufactured before April 1, 1990, are still legal.)

Scott McCarron, a fellow player who has moonlighted as a broadcaster on Golf Channel, had called Mickelson out (along with a few other players, Hunter Mahan among them) in Friday's San Francisco Chronicle :

"I think it's cheating and I'm appalled," McCarron said. "All those guys should be ashamed of themselves. As one of our premier players, [Mickelson] should be one of the guys who steps up and says this is wrong."

The world No. 2 tried to take the high road. Sort of.

"Well, I agree that the rule — it's a terrible rule, to change something that has this kind of loophole is nuts," Mickelson told Golf Channel reporter Jim Gray. "But it's not up to me or any other player to interpret what the interpretation of the rule is or the spirit of the rule. I understand black and white. And I think that myself or any other player is allowed to play those clubs because they're approved. End of story."

It takes a special issue to make all involved and even the game of golf itself look completely ridiculous. This is that issue.

Mickelson, Mahan, John Daly, Brad Adamonis and anyone else using the Ping wedges appear to hold themselves above the rules. They seem scared to adapt, and/or like smarty-pants kids who found a cool way to kind of/sort of fudge the letter of the law.

McCarron and others who have blown the whistle (Bob Estes at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Rocco Mediate at Torrey) look like narcs who ran to tell teacher.

"I don't like it at all, not one bit," Mediate said, going full schoolmarm. "It's against the spirit of the rule. We have to get rid of those clubs because they're square grooves. What else can you say?"

If these guys are so terrified to give up a competitive advantage, why don't they log onto eBay and get some ancient Ping wedges? Are they implying that the USGA and PGA Tour have become so weak and ineffectual that those organizations need goody-two-shoes players to mobilize as on-course police?

The USGA and PGA Tour look silly for allowing this situation in the first place. It's bad enough that pros and amateurs now play by different rules, but worse still that no one seems to be able to figure out what's okay and what's not. Or perhaps Mickelson is intentionally complicating the issue in his defense.

He actually uttered this phrase Friday:

"We have 'legal and conforming' grooves, and we have 'approved for play,' and I have sent in legal grooves that have not been approved, and these grooves [that he played Thursday and Friday] in my opinion are, just like Scott felt, are non-conforming grooves, but they are approved."

Got that?

The PGA Tour issued the following statement Friday:

"Leading up to the implementation, we have been aware that under the USGA Rules of Golf, the pre-1990 clubs would be allowed and that there was the potential that some players might choose to use them. We will monitor this situation as we move forward and under Tournament Regulations, we do have the ability to make a local rule which would not allow the clubs. There's been no decision made at this time."

In other words, uh, hang on until we think of something.

Mostly, though, the game of golf looks ridiculous, a sport even more provincial with rules even more laughably opaque than ever. It's not even clear the square grooves are doing much this week. SoCal is so soggy, every shot is stopping on a dime.

"I don't think there's that much difference between this club that I'm using and my other wedge," Mickelson said. "So there's a very good chance that I'll switch back, but not for the reason that I think I've been doing something wrong."

Trust us, Phil, you are, but then so are McCarron and Mediate, the USGA and the PGA Tour. At least the showgirls were right. We're all missing Woods, mired in a dumb controversy that speaks perfectly to golf's desperation in a post-Tiger world.

Points, Imada tied for lead at Torrey Quartet of clubs to play in Disney tournament

Points, Imada tied for lead at Torrey

SAN DIEGO (AP) — D.A. Points saved his best golf for the tougher course Friday at Torrey Pines and wound up in a share of the lead with Ryuji Imada in the Farmers Insurance Open.

Points avoided a shaky start with a series of good par saves, then finished strong with an eagle and a birdie over the final four holes on the South Course for a 7-under 65. Imada also played the South, which hosted the U.S. Open in 2008, and shot a 68.

Imada, who was runner-up to Tiger Woods by eight shots in 2008 at the PGA Tour event, has yet to make a bogey.

They were at 11-under 133, giving them a head start going into the weekend when it's far easier to keep track of who's doing well.

Torrey Pines has two of the most distinct courses on the PGA Tour, with the South playing 2 1/2 shots easier than the North. Points apparently didn't get the memo.

"Funny enough, I've played this course a lot more than I've played the other one, and I feel pretty comfortable out here," he said.

They were two strokes ahead of Matt Every, who had a 70 on the South, and Michael Sim of Australia, who had a tournament-best 62 on the North Course and finished with an eagle.

Robert Allenby, who opened with a 67 on what he called the "real course" - the South - didn't fare quite as well on the North as he struggled on the bumpy greens. He still had a 69 and was three shots back going into the weekend.

Phil Mickelson didn't go as low as he wanted, but he also finished with a flourish for a 67 that left him only four shots behind in his first tournament of the year. Mickelson spent most of his time after the round answering questions about the old Ping wedge in his bag with square grooves, and Scott McCarron accusing him of "cheating" for using it.

"I think he's saying the rule is a terrible rule," Mickelson said.

More important to Mickelson is having a chance on a hometown course that has befuddled him since the South Course was revamped to accommodate a U.S. Open. Mickelson is a three-time winner at Torrey Pines, but not since 2001. A victory this week would be his third in four starts, something he has never done in his career.

The final two rounds are held on the South Course, and some believe the tournament doesn't really start until Saturday.

Points, with a 36-hole lead for only the third time, relishes two more days on the South.

He not only played the U.S. Open, but the Junior World Championship at Torrey Pines twice. That brought back some sour memories, although it had nothing to do with his scores. Points said he tied for seventh at the Junior World his last year, which qualified him to compete in a junior event in Japan.

"Like a stupid kid, I didn't go to Japan," he said. "I went and played in the Maxfli Junior PGA because it was on ESPN, and I thought it would be cool to be on TV rather than to have the experience of going to Japan. I kind of regret that part."

He should get plenty of TV time on Saturday, the first network broadcast of the year.

Points and Imada also should have plenty of company.

Twenty players were separated by five shots going into the weekend on a course that can be punishing for short hitters who aren't in the fairway, and everyone who can't judge the distance to reach the proper spots on the greens.

Points appeared to have figured that out.

"The main thing for this course is obviously just making putts and driving in the fairway," he said. "My iron game isn't quite as sharp as I would love it to be, but certainly making putts is always a good way to make up for a little bit of a sloppy iron game."

Mickelson struggled on the greens, missing three birdie opportunities in a span of four holes. The other was the 323-yard second hole, where he pounded a driver that barely cleared a bunker and hopped onto the green for a two-putt birdie.

"I didn't have many birdie putts, but I was able to make all the tough par putts and kind of salvage the round," Mickelson said.

Allenby referred to the North Course as "Mickey Mouse-ish," and while his score didn't indicate that - a 69 - he had few complaints with his position. Allenby has two victories and a runner-up finish on three tours in his last three starts, and is playing as well as anyone.

The struggle was not so much the greens, but his emotions.

He wore a pink shirt with a purpose for the second round.

"One year ago today at 9 a.m., my mother drew her last breath," he said somberly.

Allenby's mother died of cancer on Jan. 29, and he spent Friday thinking about his shots, and thinking about his mother.

"I was up and down like a yo-yo," he said. "That was one of the worst times of my life. What I'm trying to do now is make this one of the best weeks of my life."

Palmer’s birdie gives him Sony title Henry will not be punished for handball

Friday, January 29, 2010

Gates leads New Zealand Open

QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand (AP) — American Robert Gates shot a 5-under 67 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead over Australia's Andrew Dodt after the second round of the Nationwide Tour's season-opening New Zealand Open.

Gates, the 6-foot-6 former Texas A&M player making his Nationwide Tour debut, had a 12-under 132 total at The Hills. Dodt shot a 68.

"I'm playing well, hit a lot of great shots and made some good putts," said Gates, who spent last season on the Canadian Tour. "There are no real weaknesses right now and while I hit a few bad irons I managed to get up and down. I still need to capitalize on some opportunities on some of the easier holes."

American D.J. Brigman (69) was three strokes back at 9 under, and countrymen Kevin Chappell (66) and Darron Stiles (69) were 8 under in the tournament also sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia. New Zealand's David Smail, tied with Gates and Dodt for the first-round lead after a 65 on Thursday, was 5 under after a 74.

Sun comes out, Prugh surges at Hope Classic Mathis dealt, Union active in draft trades

Mickelson to skip World Golf Championship

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Phil Mickelson is skipping the Match Play Championship next month in Arizona while he takes his kids on a vacation that was postponed because of his wife's cancer treatment.

Depending on the return of Tiger Woods, it could be the first time the 64-man field at the Match Play Championship is missing its two biggest stars when played in the United States.

The Match Play Championship is Feb. 17-21 outside Tucson, Ariz.

Mickelson said his wife, Amy, is responding well to breast cancer treatment and the long-term prognosis is good. He says medical procedures got in the way of previous vacations, and their three children are on spring break the week of Match Play.

Mickelson, the No. 2 player in the world, said other parts of his early schedule also might be affected.

Mickelson to start season in San Diego Quartet of clubs to play in Disney tournament

Brit bookies cut odds on Woods playing at Masters

LONDON (AP) — British bookmaker William Hill has cut the odds on Tiger Woods playing at the Masters.

The world's No. 1 golfer is taking an indefinite break from the game since a November car crash outside his home in Florida and reports of marital infidelity. Shortly after the crash, William Hill was giving 4-6 odds that Woods would be back in time for the Masters in April. On Wednesday, the company cut the odds to 1-4.

"We've only taken money on the one side that he will be playing there, so that's why we shortened it right up," William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said. "Everybody who's had a bet seems absolutely certain that he'll make it to Augusta."

Adams said they have taken 224 bets and 217 of them are that Woods will be playing at Augusta National. At 1-4 odds, a $4 bet returns $5; at 4-6 odds, a $6 bet returns $10.

Adams said the bets have come from all over the world, with at least one coming from Dubai via the Internet.

Although Woods has not spoken publicly since the Nov. 27 crash, a celebrity Web site reported last week that he was at a sex addiction clinic in Mississippi. Other reports say Woods and his Swedish wife Elin Nordegren, who have two children, were trying to work things out.

"Within the British press there's a suggestion that Elin has been to see him for a week. Apparently they are getting along quite well, or rather better," Adams said. "Therefore, obviously if on the private side things start perking up, then what better rehabilitation to him than getting on the golf course."

Woods has won the Masters four times. Adams said it's the "perfect" tournament for Woods to make his return.

"In terms of security and everything else like that, the Masters is perhaps the perfect place. Not just any old chap can get there. The crowds are pretty quiet," Adams said. "They aren't the sort who are going to start giving him a bit of the old leg-pulling halfway through.

"I really can see why everyone's backing it."

William Hill is also offering 5-2 odds that Woods will win this year's Masters, making him the favorite. But bettors will get their stake back if the American doesn't play. Phil Mickelson is the second favorite at 11-2.

"He's the favorite for every tournament he plays in," Adams said. "It's as simple as that."

Woods has won 14 major titles, and he needs four more to equal Jack Nicklaus' record of 18.

William Hill is offering 33-1 odds that Woods will win all four majors in 2010, 16-1 odds that he will win three, 4-1 for two and 11-8 for one. Bettors can also get 5-4 odds that Woods will not win any of the majors, but he has to play in all four for the bets to be valid.

Garcia: Woods will be back earlier than expected Five-a-side: What’s hot around the league

Phil Mickelson looks to give the PGA Tour a boost this week at Torrey Pines

SAN DIEGO — Phil Mickelson starts his season at the newly sponsored Farmers Insurance Open this week, hoping to pick up in 2010 where he left off in 2009, when an old-and-improved putting stroke carried him to victories at the Tour Championship and WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

The world No. 2 and San Diego native has won three times at Torrey Pines, but not since the 2001 Buick Invitational, after which "U.S. Open doctor" Rees Jones lengthened the South Course by more than 500 yards in order to land the '08 Open. Mickelson hopes his new/old forward press, which he utilized as a younger man and which he went back to under the tutelage of putting guru Dave Stockton Sr. late last year, will be enough to break his streak of futility here in his own backyard.

"He has shown that he is clear-and-away the second best player in the world," said Nick Watney, the defending champion here and, like Mickelson, a student of Butch Harmon.

"I'm sure he puts a lot of pressure on himself regardless of the situation."

Players wore turtlenecks, sweaters and jackets Tuesday as cool weather settled in over Torrey Pines, which was doused with rain last week and was expected to get more Wednesday. Length will be at a premium, especially on the 7,568-yard South Course.

"I'm not used to hitting long irons and woods into par-4s," said rookie Troy Merritt, who played the South with fellow rookie and Boise State alumnus Graham DeLaet on Tuesday. "It was pretty soft out there."

To say that all eyes will be on Phil would be an understatement. He is the Pitt to Tiger's Clooney, and seldom has golf needed him more. Golf Channel is promoting its next month or so as "Five weeks of Phil," because the game is desperate for a story other than the one the tabloids and mainstream news outlets have feasted on for months.

Victories by Bill Haas (at the Hope on Monday), Ryan Palmer (Sony Open) and Geoff Ogilvy (SBS Championship) to kick off the year have barely registered amid the noisy, Technicolor implosion of Woods. Just as no one immediately filled the void created by the absence of Woods during his 2008-'09 knee rehabilitation, no one has done so in the wake of his sex scandal and indefinite time away from the game in 2010.

Granted it's been only three weeks. The difference this year is how few players have even tried to fill the Tiger void, with so many forsaking the Tour's West Coast swing in favor of Europe's guaranteed appearance money in Abu Dhabi last week (Anthony Kim, among others) and Qatar this week (Kenny Perry).

Part of the problem for the PGA Tour is that more Europeans (Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter) are simply choosing to play in their own league, while at the same time more Europeans have barged into the top 10 in the World Ranking.

With the German Martin Kaymer's victory in Abu Dhabi last week, a record-tying six Euro Tour members are among the world's top 10 players.

Absences by some of the top Americans are tougher to stomach, especially at tournaments like the Hope, where Mike Weir was the highest-ranked player at No. 37.

"I've always thought that every couple years you should have to play pretty much every event," Rocco Mediate said. "Not every event, but if you skipped San Diego last year, you need to play every two or three years, which I think is not asking that much."

This week will mark Mediate's first start at Torrey since losing the 2008 U.S. Open to Woods in an epic Monday playoff. He struggled with personal issues last year, which Tod Leonard detailed in his excellent piece in the San Diego Union-Tribune , hurt his knee (to miss the 2009 Buick at Torrey) and fell to 145th on the money list. He now must rely on sponsor's exemptions to get into tournaments.

Lucky for Mediate and his ilk, West Coast fields have been so terrible those exemptions have been relatively easy to come by. Brad Adamonis and Tom Pernice Jr. got into the Farmers field Monday after two players withdrew and everyone from the list of Nationwide tour qualifiers had already gotten in.

"Something has to happen," Mediate said of tournaments that struggle to attract top talent, which until this year did not include the Tour stop at Torrey Pines. "I wish I had the answer, but I don't. But something needs to happen."

Mickelson will provide at least a temporary reprieve, if not the antidote to three weeks of weak fields (Hope), sparsely populated fields (SBS) and wet weather. He was expected to make his first public comments about the Woods scandal at a press conference set for 1 p.m. EST Wednesday.

• In other action, No. 4 Lee Westwood and No. 6 Kaymer headline the field at the Euro Tour's Commercialbank Qatar Masters, which also boasts No. 8 Paul Casey, Perry, Poulter and Garcia (Nos. 11-13, respectively).

• The Nationwide Tour begins its 2010 season with the Michael Hill New Zealand Open at the Hills Golf Club in Arrowtown, New Zealand. Defending champion Alex Prugh has since graduated to the PGA Tour, where he finished fifth at the Hope last week. He is in the field at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

• The Champions and LPGA tours are dark this week.

Chicago fills left back spot with Krzysztof Krol Mickelson to start season in San Diego

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Real Deal: 25-year-old Martin Kaymer might be the best young player in the world

Hot

1. Martin Kaymer. I hereby declare him the best player in the world under 30.

2. Mickelson-mania. It's all Phil all the time this week. Golf has never needed him more.

3. Bill Haas. In this case, there's no shame in being the second best golfer in the family. That 3-iron to the final hole at the Hope was as pure as it gets.

4. Tom Watson. Dude's 60 and playing some of the best golf of his life. Mind-boggling.

5. Colin Montgomerie. Three of his soon-to-be Ryder Cup stars battled it out in Abu Dhabi ... and none of them were named Harrington or Westwood or Garcia or Karlsson or Stenson. Meanwhile, the top 10 of the U.S. points list currently includes Haas, Chad Campbell, Ryan Palmer, Matt Kuchar ... and Tiger Woods.

Not

1. Bubba Watson. Still winless after all these years. Maybe he should spend less time wooing Ellen DeGeneres and more time tightening up his swing.

2. Tim Clark. Good news: He's now made more than $14 million on Tour. Bad news: That's a record for a guy without a victory. At least until Bubba catches him.

3. Tiger Woods. With Torrey being his traditional season debut, this is the first week his absence is really being felt.

4. Michael Campbell. The U.S. Open champ began his year going 83-77 in Abu Dhabi, deepening a slump that is going on three years. Has any good player ever had as many lows as Campbell?

5. Cali. I usually like to gloat about our climate but this wet winter has been a nightmare. The Hope was a mess, Torrey's gonna be a slog, and we haven't even gotten to Pebble yet.

MLS hopefuls converge for Player Combine Hot? Phil Mickelson. Not? Bubba Watson.

Hot? Phil Mickelson. Not? Bubba Watson.

Hot

1. Martin Kaymer. I hereby declare him the best player in the world under 30.

2. Mickelson-mania. It's all Phil all the time this week. Golf has never needed him more.

3. Bill Haas. In this case, there's no shame in being the second best golfer in the family. That 3-iron to the final hole at the Hope was as pure as it gets.

4. Tom Watson. Dude's 60 and playing some of the best golf of his life. Mind-boggling.

Not

1. Bubba Watson. Still winless after all these years. Maybe he should spend less time wooing Ellen DeGeneres and more time tightening up his swing.

2. Tim Clark. Good news: He's now made more than $14 million on Tour. Bad news: That's a record for a guy without a victory. At least until Bubba catches him.

3. Tiger Woods. With Torrey being his traditional season debut, this is the first week his absence is really being felt.

4. Michael Campbell. The U.S. Open champ began his year going 83-77 in Abu Dhabi, deepening a slump that is going on three years. Has any good player ever had as many lows as Campbell?

5. Cali. I usually like to gloat about our climate but this wet winter has been a nightmare. The Hope was a mess, Torrey's gonna be a slog, and we haven't even gotten to Pebble yet.

Mickelson to start season in San Diego Five-a-side: A short offseason

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

PGA Tour Confidential: Bob Hope Classic

Every week of the 2010 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 and join the conversation in the comments section below.

Gary Van Sickle, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: Welcome back, all. Photographers may have finally shot Tiger Woods last week, bundled up in a hoodie at the rehab clinic in Mississippi. How bad did those photos hurt Tiger's failing image? We still aren't near the end of this saga, are we?

Alan Shipnuck, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: They actually stirred a little sympathy in me. Tiger has always been so regal in the way he's carried himself. The person in those photos seemed meek and defeated.

[Have a question for Alan? Leave it here and he may answer you in this week's mailbag.]

Rick Lipsey, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: If Tiger and his team had dreamed up a worst-possible scenario for most every step of this mess, it wouldn't have been as bad as what's unfolded. If Tiger had issued a one-sentence "I'm going into rehab" statement, the rehab would've ended up as a non-event. Instead, the hoodie images get beamed around the world. As Farrell said way back, it's not the transgression that kills you, it's the cover up.

Shipnuck: Rick is correct is that this obsession with secrecy keeps hurting Tiger. He's always been a control freak and this story became uncontrollable a long time ago.

Van Sickle: Heads should roll at IMG, which continues to show that it has little interest in or understanding of the world's media. In their defense, the best spin doctor in the world couldn't diffuse this mess. It would be like trying to hold back Lake Michigan with a spork.

Lipsey: I disagree. A terrific adviser could have steered the TW ship differently and this whole thing would've been over, or on the relative backburner.

Michael Bamberger, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: I think Tiger's "strategy" of saying nothing will prove to be brilliant for him. He's rejecting all convention. In his silence he is saying what we've long suspected: I'm not doing any of this for you. Now it's confirmed. His attitude has always been take no prisoners. When he comes back, I'm guessing we'll see even more of that.

Van Sickle: Bambi is right on. I don't expect Tiger — or Phil, for that matter — to talk at length about Tiger's issues. When he finally returns, Tiger will say he had a problem, he got treatment for it and, hey, I'll answer a few golf questions now before I leave. That'll be it. No Oprah tell-all, ever.

Cameron Morfit, senior writer, Golf Magazine: There's a theory that people become more likable when they're flawed. I'm not sure if that's going to hold true for Tiger. Not the way things are going, anyway. We'll see what happens after he gets out of this program that he's allegedly in, and addresses the public again in a meaningful way. (No more robo-"statements" from his Web site.) He's gotta come clean, like Kobe, with some human emotion that we know he isn't faking. There is absolutely no other way.

Farrell Evans, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: Earl taught Tiger that the way to beat your naysayers was to kick ass on the golf course. He has never been chummy — he doesn't even go in the locker room — so why should he start now? As I've said before, Tiger doesn't owe us any explanation for his actions.

Morfit: He's gotten chummier in the last few years. I was surprised to see him hanging out with Stricker and the boys in the locker room at the Deutsche Bank, watching football before his round. It was almost like he knew he'd marooned himself on an island, and he was trying to figure out if he could get back to civilization.

Mark Godich, senior editor, Sports Illustrated: He would win a lot of fans back by spilling his guts. The longer he's quiet, the worse he looks. That makes me believe that he's calling all the shots on this one. Surely, someone he trusts has told him how bad he's looking in all of this.

Bamberger: I am so much more interested in watching Phil play Torrey than I am in whatever Tiger may or may not be doing in Hattiesburg. The new season begins this week.

Shipnuck: Amen, Bamby!

Gorant: I'm with Michael. More than anything I'm over attempting to play crisis-management expert.

Jim Herre, managing editor, SI Golf Group: Yes, couldn't agree more. Golf Channel says Phil has been tinkering and has a 6-degree driver in his bag. The guy is always looking for an edge.

Evans: If Tiger is in Mississippi, I hope he gets the help he needs. But I think we have to move on with the season. Phil has a chance now to be the main attraction.

Shipnuck: It will be fascinating to see how Phil, who's both media savvy and occasionally prone to controversy, handles all the Tiger questions this week.

Gorant: He won't say anything, but Amy and the kids will run onto the 18th green after every round.

Herre: I bet Phil will be circumspect when asked about TW. No upside to expounding on the subject.

Shipnuck: He knows that, but everyone else has weighed in, and now it's Phil's turn.

Bamberger: Phil will show his humanity, I would guess, when discussing Tiger. It's the main reason people love him. And don't love Tiger.

PGA Tour Confidential: Phil Mickelson’s resurgence, the new grooves rule, Tiger’s fall from grace and more Holden honored for public service

Bill Haas wins Hope Classic for 1st PGA victory

LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) — Bill Haas' hands were frigid and shaking when he stepped up to his second shot on the 90th hole, knowing he probably needed a birdie to win his first PGA Tour title at the Bob Hope Classic after 140 fruitless starts.

A $900,000 check and a Masters exemption were riding on this tense finish to a marathon tournament Monday. Haas even figured his famous father might be watching somewhere in the gallery, although he wasn't sure.

It was all a recipe for panic, but Haas cooked up something remarkable instead.

"It was the most nervous I've ever been," Haas said. "I've been nervous over 3-footers to finish fifth, but it was different knowing that if I executed this shot, it could mean the difference (between) winning or finishing fifth."

So he warmed his hands, steadied his will and nailed an aggressive approach shot on the 18th after his two co-leaders failed to do it. He then two-putted to a one-stroke victory, putting his name in Hope Classic lore alongside his father and finally doing what's been expected from the talented son of Jay Haas since shortly after he picked up a golf club.

Haas hugged his father after hitting a perilous 1-footer to finish one stroke ahead of Matt Kuchar, Tim Clark and Bubba Watson with an 8-under 64, but he did the toughest work with his 3-iron moments earlier. Determined not to come up short on the green or the scoreboard, Haas expertly dropped a 3-iron behind the pin, setting him up for 30-under 330 finish and the chance to scratch his name off the list of good players with no wins.

After six days and five rounds over four courses, the 27-year-old former can't-miss prospect finally had a PGA title and an achievement befitting his pedigree.

"Patience isn't one of my key virtues," Bill Haas said. "It's something I'm still trying to learn. This week, we were forced to be patient. Who knows? Maybe the rainout was good for me. It obviously was. It worked out for the best."

Nobody was more impressed than Jay Haas, who benefited from the rain that washed out Thursday's second round at the Hope Classic and pushed the finale to Monday. The 1988 Hope Classic winner was able to make it back to the mainland from his Champions Tour event in Hawaii in time to see his son in competition for the first time in about two years.

"To win the same tournament I won is special, and then for me to get to see it - that's really special," said Jay Haas, who texted his son on Sunday night with a simple message: "Hit when you're ready, and never before."

But Bill Haas didn't charge in front until the final hole after a backstretch battle with four players - three seeking their first Tour victories. He was the last of three co-leaders to play the par-5 18th, but Kuchar and South Africa's Clark both missed birdie putts at the Arnold Palmer Private course, with Kuchar lamenting his inexact approach shot before Clark laid up.

Haas made sure he had no regrets.

"I'd been wanting to win from the first tournament I played, but it's a process, and there's a lot to it," said Haas, a touted rookie in 2006. "It's special, but I don't know if it's a monkey off my back. I know how hard it was to win, and I'm grateful."

Fourth-round co-leader Watson also birdied the 18th after barely missing a chip for eagle, grabbing a share of second place.

Haas missed the cut at last week's Sony Open, but credited his steady play in Palm Springs to a tip he received from teaching pro Bill Harmon while practicing with his father in nearby Indian Wells last Monday.

"It's definitely neat that down the road, 22 years from now, we can look at both our names on the list here," Bill Haas said. "I'm not trying to compare myself to him. He's almost unreachable."

They're the eighth father-son combination to win on the PGA Tour, but Bill Haas spent most of the day trailing Kuchar, who came from three shots back and rocketed up the tight leaderboard.

Kuchar had eight birdies in his first 11 holes, but just one in the last seven. Although his 63 was the best final round, he wished for a better second shot on the 18th. His hybrid approach landed well back on the fringe, eventually leading to a missed 13-foot birdie putt.

"It's a hole where you're counting on making a 4," Kuchar said. "I put myself in a difficult situation ... but shooting 63 is fantastic. I wasn't sure if I had that much in me today. It was a great round of golf."

Rookie Alex Prugh, who shared the lead with Watson entering the final round, started slowly but closed with three straight birdies to finish fifth at 28 under in his third career PGA Tour event. Mike Weir, the 2003 champion, threatened before dropping back with a double bogey on the 13th, eventually finishing sixth at 26 under.

Kuchar went ahead with six birdies on the front nine at the Palmer course, surging past Watson and Prugh early in the round. Haas stayed close to Kuchar's blistering pace with five birdies on the first eight holes, and Clark caught up on the 15th hole with a 6 1/2-foot birdie putt.

Kuchar's fast start didn't shake Clark, who has never won on the PGA Tour. He has a runner-up finish for the sixth straight year, including his 2006 finish at the Masters.

"I made a bunch of birdies, (and) you would think that I putted my eyeballs out, but I missed a lot of short ones," Clark said.

"There's always going to be an exciting day with so many guys bunched in there, and I started to make some birdies on the back nine to get back into it," Clark added. "When you know you have to make birdies, it makes things a little bit easier."

DIVOTS: Vaughn Taylor, who lost a six-hole playoff at Turning Stone to Kuchar last October in the PGA Tour's most recent Monday finish, shot a final-round 67 to finish in the five-way tie for 10th. ... Shane Bertsch, who led with an opening-round 62, ended up tied for 71st after a 69-77-71-72 finish. ... Al and Brent Geiberger were the last father-son duo to win on the tour.

Sun comes out, Prugh surges at Hope Classic Africa tour a life lesson for KC youngsters

Sun comes out, Prugh surges at Hope Classic

LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) — Alex Prugh's last name rhymes with "Who?"

That's a good question - and a good young player leading the Bob Hope Classic.

The 25-year-old PGA Tour rookie surged ahead when the sun finally came out Saturday, shooting a 7-under 65 on the tough La Quinta course to take a one-stroke lead over Bubba Watson and fellow tour rookie Martin Flores.

With his third straight remarkably consistent round in the five-round, four-course tournament, Prugh pulled ahead at 21-under 195. Yet if the former University of Washington star had any strong feelings after his second straight bogey-free round, Prugh wasn't letting on.

"I was almost bored with myself a little bit," said Prugh, who trailed Watson by two strokes entering the third round. "It's not a bad thing. I was hitting the driver very well, and I kept on hitting fairway after fairway. ... Boring rounds are actually fine with me."

Prugh thinks the pro-am format keeps him away from any mental dangers that might otherwise arise from leading a PGA Tour tournament after three rounds. Perhaps helping amateurs with their game prevents him from overthinking his own.

Whatever the magic formula, Prugh is the first rookie to lead a round at the event since John Senden took the second-round lead in the 2002 tournament eventually won by Phil Mickelson.

"I'm just trying to entertain my amateur partners as well as I can, and hopefully they get their money's worth when they're out here," Prugh said.

Flores was every bit as impressive as Prugh, shooting the second straight 65 of his bogey-free tournament to pull into a tie with second-round leader Watson (68), who rallied after a slow start on the Arnold Palmer Private course.

Joe Ogilvie (68) was four strokes back at 17 under. Chad Collins (69), Tim Clark (67) and Bill Haas (66) were 16 under, and Mike Weir (67) was 15 under.

After rain washed out play Thursday and threatened Friday, the players finally reveled in perfect Palm Springs scoring weather. Amateurs, celebrities and pros alike were thrilled to see fewer fairway marshes and more sturdy greens, but two unheralded rookies made the biggest splashes by crowding around Watson, who's also seeking his first PGA Tour victory.

The long-hitting Watson was in prime position to pull away a bit after doing well on the two tougher courses during the rainy first two days, but he was 1 over after eight holes on the Palmer course Saturday before stringing together four birdies on the back nine. Although he's touting a new mental attitude this season, Watson couldn't help jabbing himself after wasting a chance.

"I just played bad," said Watson, the tour's second-longest driver last year. "The 68 was getting a lot out of my round today, so I'm not mad at a 68. It's just (that) I wanted to play better. My caddie kept yelling at me, trying to get me to pay attention and stay focused. I just hung in there."

After finishing 72nd last week at the Sony Open, Prugh played as well as a Pacific Northwest native might be expected to do on the Hope Classic's two rainy days. He shot an opening-round 64 on the easier Nicklaus Private course at PGA West, followed by a steady 66 on Friday at the Palmer course.

Prugh has played 41 straight holes without a bogey, while the 27-year-old Flores has yet to make a bogey in the tournament. The Texas native seemed a bit more excited than Prugh about the auspicious debuts of two Nationwide Tour regulars last year.

"There's a first for everything, and I just seemed to be very comfortable in this situation for some reason," said Flores, whose last bogey was on the 17th hole of his final round at the Sony Open last week. "I don't know why that is. I never want to come off as arrogant, but ... I'm just confident in my game, and I like that right now."

Prugh and Flores both played on the Nationwide Tour last year. Prugh won the New Zealand Open and earned his PGA Tour card by finishing 16th on the money list, while Flores didn't do particularly well in his nine starts, but earned his card by finishing fourth at the national qualifying tournament.

After two weeks, Prugh hasn't found the PGA Tour competition to be a whole lot stiffer than on the Nationwide Tour. With none of the tour's top 35 players in the Hope Classic field, he might have a point.

"The competition level is very similar," Prugh said. "I think you're very well prepared after coming out of there."

DIVOTS: Sony Open winner Ryan Palmer has rallied after his opening 72, moving up from 93rd place to a tie for 15th with a 64 on the Nicklaus course. ... Haas is the son of Jay Haas, the 1988 Hope winner. ... Kevin Steelman had lowest round Saturday, a 63 on the Nicklaus course. He was 9 under overall.

Africa tour a life lesson for KC youngsters Sun comes out, Prugh surges at Hope Classic

Monday, January 25, 2010

Watson wins season-opening Mitsubishi

KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii (AP) — Tom Watson had flashbacks of his painful British Open loss while standing over his birdie putt on the 18th green with his younger opponent hoping for a playoff and the gallery watching in suspense.

"I was thinking, 'Don't make a stroke like I made at Turnberry,"' Watson said. "'Make a good stroke like I thought I was going to do at Turnberry and didn't do. ... I can make this."'

Watson made sure history would not repeat itself by making the 4-footer to win the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship on Sunday. (Read PGA Tour Confidential, our weekly roundtable with the experts from Sports Illustrated and Golf Magazine.)

"This is what I live for in my career - to do what I did today," he said. "I don't think I'll have too many more, but I had this one."

The 60-year-old Watson became the 13th oldest player to win on the Champions Tour, birdieing the final two holes for one-stroke victory over senior newcomer Fred Couples.

Coming off a win with Jack Nicklaus in the Champions Skins at Kaanapali, Watson closed with a 7-under 65 to finish at 22-under 194 for his 13th Champions Tour title.

"It wasn't over until he said it was," Couples said.

After pushing his drive into the right rough, Watson hit a spectacular second shot with a pitching wedge from 147 yards that rolled 20 feet on the 18th green and stopped 4 feet from the hole.

Couples just missed his 15-foot birdie putt to the left on the final hole. Watson calmly sank the winner and waved his cap to the roaring crowd.

The big-hitting Couples, who led all players with a 314-yard average drive, closed with a bogey-free 64, the lowest round of the day. He turned 50 in October.

"I was giving up 10 years and 50 yards off the tee," Watson said.

It was a sweet victory for Watson, who made a magical run last year at the British Open before losing to Stewart Cink in a playoff. Watson wasn't in the mood for another playoff.

Watson said he's received many heartfelt letters from fans who were encouraged by his performance at Turnberry.

"It was humbling. It was unexpected for a guy that finished in second place at a golf tournament," he said.

He could get a few more after Sunday.

The 39-time PGA Tour winner is the oldest Champions Tour winner since Gil Morgan in the 2007 Wal-Mart First-Tee Open at Pebble Beach. Last year, there were no winners older than 55, something Watson early in the week said he hoped to "rectify."

Again, Watson torched the back nine with five birdies. He had six on each of the first two days.

"I started the back nine the way I started all week," Watson said. "I birdied the first three holes on the back nine and the game was on."

Couples called it "ridiculous."

Couples birdied the par-4 16th for a one-stroke lead over Watson at 21 under. After a big drive, he hit a wedge from 118 yards to 12 feet.

But Watson tied Couples for the lead on No. 17 by sinking a 6-foot birdie putt.

It was Watson's first victory in 34 career starts in Hawaii on the two tours.

"It's something that I've always wanted to do, is to win in Hawaii," said Watson, whose father died here 10 years ago. "He loved it over here. My mom loved it over here. I've always loved Hawaii."

Couples didn't seem too upset with the runner-up finish. His first question walking off the green was, "Who won the football game?"

"I had a wonderful time. I think I was 21-under par and didn't win a tournament. That hasn't happened too many times," said Couples, who was trying to become the 16th player to win his Champions Tour debut.

The 21-under par equaled the second-lowest score on the Champions Tour not to win a 54-hole event.

The 15-time PGA Tour winner hasn't hoisted a trophy since the 2003 Shell Houston Open. Last year, he had four top-10 finishes in 16 starts on the regular tour and finished 75th on the money list.

Couples took his first lead by eagling the 566-yard 10th to reach 18 under. He hit an iron from the first cut of rough, setting up his 6-foot putt.

While the fans came to see Couples, Watson may have had a slight homefield advantage.

Watson purchased one of the sprawling homes at Hualalai about a year ago. He was also teammates with the course designer, Nicklaus, a week ago at the Skins Game. They finished with 10 skins and $350,000 for their second victory in four years.

For his Mitsubishi victory, Watson takes home $315,000 and hook-shaped trophy. It was his first official win since teaming with Andy North to win the 2008 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.

Michael Allen birdied the final hole for a 66 to finish third at 18 under, a stroke ahead of Tom Lehman (68). Both men played last week in the PGA Tour's Sony Open, with Lehman tying for 16th and Allen tying for 25th.

The 64-year-old Hale Irwin, a two-time champion at Hualalai, closed with a 64 to finish fifth at 14 under. It was his second top-10 finish in a row after going 41 straight tournaments without one.

Watson leads at season-opening Mitsubishi MLS Generation adidas team opens tour with win

Kaymer wins Abu Dhabi Championship by 1 shot

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Martin Kaymer birdied the 18th hole Sunday to win the Abu Dhabi Championship for the second time in three years and record a fifth European Tour victory.

The German sank the 2-foot putt for his sixth birdie in a 6-under 66 to total 21-under 267 and beat Ian Poulter by a stroke. The Englishman had a 66 after missing a 15-foot birdie putt to force a playoff at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland was third at 269 after a 67.

"That was the nicest round of golf I have ever played on the European Tour," said Kaymer, who has a metal plate in his right foot from a go-kart crash last summer.

"All three of us played such good golf, we were going for the flags and going for everything. And to have come through that should be a real help if I make my Ryder Cup debut later this year."

Kaymer won the Abu Dhabi title in 2008 and finished runner-up last year. Over his past 12 rounds in Abu Dhabi, he is 56 under.

Kaymer led by a shot overnight and opened the final round with two birdies to keep pace with Poulter, who picked up three shots in his first three holes.

After Poulter laid up with his second shot at the par-5 18th, Kaymer smashed a 3-wood from 277 yards on to the green. The German two-putted to take the $391,000 winner's check.

Kaymer will rise to a career-high No. 6 in the world rankings irrespective of what happens at the Bob Hope Classic in Palm Springs. Poulter will climb two spots to No. 10, replacing McIlroy, who drops to No. 11.

Shane Lowry shot a 67 to be four shots back in fourth spot. It was the Irishman's first top-five finish on the European Tour since turning professional after winning last year's Irish Open as an amateur.

Fire flame out short of ultimate goals Australia’s Kulacz shoots 63 for Abu Dhabi lead

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Australia's Kulacz shoots 63 for Abu Dhabi lead

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rick Kulacz of Australia shot a 9-under 63 Friday for a one-shot lead at the Abu Dhabi Championship after two rounds.

Sergio Garcia shot 67 and was tied for second with Shane Lowry (65) and Peter Hanson (67) at 11 under.

Kulacz had 11 birdies and two bogeys and fell one shot short of equaling the Abu Dhabi Golf Club course record set by the Henrik Stenson four years ago. Kulacz played late on the second day after a strong breeze subsided off the Arabian Gulf.

Garcia had six birdies and one bogey despite a sore right hand.

Francesco Molinari had a hole-in-one at the 174-yard fourth hole with a 7-iron.

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Sun comes out, Prugh surges at Hope Classic

LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) — Alex Prugh's last name rhymes with "Who?"

That's a good question - and a good young player leading the Bob Hope Classic.

Whatever the magic formula, Prugh is the first rookie to lead a round at the event since John Senden took the second-round lead in the 2002 tournament eventually won by Phil Mickelson.

"I'm just trying to entertain my amateur partners as well as I can, and hopefully they get their money's worth when they're out here," Prugh said.

Joe Ogilvie (68) was four strokes back at 17 under. Chad Collins (69), Tim Clark (67) and Bill Haas (66) were 16 under, and Mike Weir (67) was 15 under.

"The competition level is very similar," Prugh said. "I think you're very well prepared after coming out of there."

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Saturday, January 23, 2010

Watson leads at season-opening Mitsubishi

KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii (AP) — Tom Watson is still being congratulated by fellow players and fans for his magical run at Turnberry last year. All he can think about, however, is how he lost.

"I finished second in the British Open, but the way I judge a year is, if it's been a success, I had a victory," Watson said. "I didn't have a victory last year."

He hopes 2010 will be a different.

The 60-year-old Watson shot a bogey-free 9-under 63 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead over senior newcomer Fred Couples and Tom Lehman in the Champions Tour's season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship.

Coming off a win with Jack Nicklaus in the Champions Skins at Kaanapali, Watson attacked the pins and was near-flawless with his putter.

Watson kicked off his scoring by chipping in for eagle from 25 feet on the 526-yard fourth hole. He added seven birdies, five on the back nine. It was his lowest round in the event since opening with a 63 in 2006 en route to a tie for fifth.

The Hall of Famer is starting the year already with some prize money in his pocket, a trophy on his shelf and a good look at Couples from last weekend. Watson and Nicklaus finished with 10 skins and $350,000 for their second Champions Skins victory in four years.

Players enjoyed a calm day at the Nicklaus-designed Hualalai, setting up numerous birdie attempts. Without any wind, the Kona Coast was blanked by volcanic fog, or "vog," from Kilauea.

The scoring average for the opening round was 68.9 with only three players above par.

"It's a quarterhorse race. It's a sprint," Watson said. "You just get on your horse and ride as fast and hard as you can and hope you don't trip."

Couples made his first official Champions Tour start, along with U.S. Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin, who had a 67. They each received sponsor exemptions, making them the first players to make their tour debuts at the winners-only event.

"It was everything I thought it would be," Couples said. "Today was a lot of fun."

Couples, who turned 50 in October, started and ended the round with birdies. He was clearly one of the biggest hitters and had the largest gallery following him.

"I'm not accustomed to huge crowds any more on the PGA Tour, but out here, it's nice to have enough people to come watch to keep the round going," said Couples, who plans to play 12 events on the PGA Tour and 10 senior events this year.

Lehman, who tied for 16th last week at the PGA Tour's Sony Open, overcame a triple bogey on the par-3 fifth hole. He had an eagle and eight birdies.

"I made a bunch of birdies right off the bat," he said. "The first seven holes, I made four birdies. I just happen to make that one oops right there in the middle of it all."

Lehman was cruising along with two birdies in the first four holes when he hit his tee shot into the sand on the fifth hole. He then overshot the green, with the ball bouncing into the water, which required taking a drop in the bunker.

He rebounded with birdies on the next two holes and then tore through the back nine. After making the turn, he sank a 9-foot eagle putt on the par-5 10th and birdied four of the next six holes.

Nick Price, Michael Allen, Phil Blackmar and Dan Forsman shot 66s.

Pavin was another stroke behind, along with two-time champion Hale Irwin, Peter Jacobsen, Bruce Lietzke and Keith Fergus. Defending champion Bernhard Langer, seeking his third straight player of the year title, was at 68.

This year's field of 36 has accounted for 287 PGA Tour titles, including 38 majors. The players include seven members of the World Golf Hall of Fame and 14 major winners.

Skarpnord leads LPGA Tour Q-school Africa tour a life lesson for KC youngsters

Mickelson to start season in San Diego

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Phil Mickelson will open his PGA Tour season next week in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

Mickelson had said after winning the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in November that he would take 10 weeks off and return at Torrey Pines, where he has won three times but not since 2001.

The tournament earlier this week found a title sponsor, but not much of a field. Mickelson is the only player from the top 10 in the world, with Robert Allenby and Ernie Els making it three out of the top 20.

Missing for the second straight year is Tiger Woods, who is taking an indefinite break from golf while he tries to save his marriage from his extramarital affairs.

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Friday, January 22, 2010

Tiger Woods in a clinic for sex addiction? Not a likely sentence, but real life has a way of playing tricks on you

Is it Tiger Woods? Your guess is as good as mine. It certainly looks like him. The shiny new sneakers. The little ankle socks. The skinny, almost delicate, forearm. The round, muscular (since 2000) shoulder. The athletic slouch. The effort to conceal himself. (Who wears the hood of a hoodie, over a baseball cap, but not the hoodie itself? In weather warm enough to wear shorts?) The face. Yep.

Tiger Woods in a clinic for sex addiction in Hattiesburg, Miss. Not a likely sentence, but real life has a way of playing tricks on you. Anyway, that's what the National Enquirer is saying. Consider the source. They usually have things dead-to-rights.

There used to be a Tour event played in Hattiesburg opposite the Masters called the Magnolia Classic. I was there once. A hundred and fifty guys playing for a check, huddled around a TV during rain delays, watching the CBS broadcast from Augusta. You finished your work in Hattiesburg and got out of Dodge. Nobody wanted to play Hattiesburg two years in a row, not even the winner. If you won, you figured you'd be playing Augusta 12 months later. Tiger — if it's Tiger — is surely looking to do nearly the same thing. Do his time in Hattiesburg. Get himself to Augusta.

They say it's a six-week program, there at the Pine Grove Behavioral Health & Addiction Services in Hattiesburg. They say he went in on Dec. 30. If that's correct, he'd be out in mid-February. Roger Federer, a Nike guy like Woods, says he's talked to Woods and expects him to return to golf soon. Sergio Garcia, an IMG guy like Woods, also expects Tiger to be back in the near future. They might know something. A good guess is he'll play Arnold Palmer's tournament at Bay Hill in Orlando, where Woods lives, in late March, and the Masters a couple of weeks later.

The poor bastard, the guy in those Enquirer snaps. He looks like a caged animal. It's hard not to feel sorry for him. Anyone who says Tiger brought his problems on himself is of course correct. You can imagine Elin's pain and embarrassment. But Tiger's whole life looks different since Thanksgiving, or it does to me. I used to watch that clip of li'l Tiger on the Mike Douglas Show and say, "What a swing!" Now I look at it and think, "He was a freak show." A golfing circus act. Jack was a prodigy, too, but he grew up in a different America, with different parents. Don't read too much into this. I don't know what I'm talking about.

He'll come back when he has something to say about his marriage, that they're going to try to make it work, or that it's over. That's why I think Woods hasn't talked. He probably doesn't know the answer yet. Elin's the most powerful person in sports right now. I don't imagine Tiger choosing Hattiesburg on his own. Really, his natural first step — if he even believes in the notion of sex addiction (questionable) — would be to bring the experts to Orlando. That's what he did when his knee rehab was going slowly in 2008. He flew in Dr. Anthony Galea from Toronto, with his blood-spinning methods. Tiger wants to lead a secretive life, but the modern world doesn't want him to. The votes are against him.

His closest friends are on his payroll. His caddie, Steve Williams, the Sgt. Schultz of professional golf, says of Tiger's affairs that he knew nothing, nossing . (Watch Hogan's Heroes, kids. Must-see TV). Mark ("give the kid a break") Steinberg, his IMG agent. Schoolboy pal Bryon Bell, who heads Woods's design company. When Woods returns, will they? That likely depends on Elin too. Of course Williams is saying he knew nothing.

In the meantime, while we're waiting to find out if that really is Woods in Hattiesburg, and when he will return, and who he will return with, let's do something radical. Let's reclaim golf. Before Thanksgiving, if you played the word association game with somebody who didn't follow golf, it went like this:

"I'll say the word, you say the first thing that comes to mind. Golf."
"Tiger Woods."

"Tiger Woods."
"Winner."

After Thanksgiving, it went like this:

"Golf."
"Tiger Woods."

"Tiger Woods."
"Sexaholic."

Maybe he was or is a sexaholic. Maybe there's no such thing. I'll leave that one to the therapists and doctors and patients at Pine Grove.

But this I know: golf is not Tiger Woods, and that photograph in the National Enquirer is definitely not golf. You're a golfer. You know real golf photography. Hy Peskin shooting Hogan at Merion. Robert Beck shooting Nicklaus at the Old Course. Fred Vuich shooting Woods at Augusta. Spring's coming, eventually. For Woods, for us. Better pictures with it.

In the meantime, let's hear from Arnold Palmer, the man who invented spring. There's been a lot of Tiger going around on the Internet, these Enquirer shots only the most recent of it. At one point, there was an e-mail going around that said Woods was holed up at Arnold's house at Bay Hill, working on things with Elin, hitting balls at night on the Bay Hill range. I checked it out. Nothing doing, none of it. Hitting balls at night at Bay Hill? "Our range doesn't even have lights," Palmer explained to a mutual friend.

What I do is hit 'em by the light of my headlights. Park the car on a slight decline and have at it. If you're reading, Tiger, it's a pretty fun nighttime activity.

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Golf's big names are playing this week, but not at the Bob Hope Classic

Bob Hope was almost too handsome to be a comedian, but what saved him was his nose, a small ski-jump that became part of the Hope brand. (Just check out the logo of his eponymous tournament, and every other drawing of the late American icon.)

What will save the Bob Hope Classic? For the second straight year it has no title sponsor, a fact that was made all the more conspicuous by Monday's announcement that Farmers Insurance will sponsor next week's Tour stop in San Diego.

Phil Mickelson, a two-time Hope champion who made the pro-am his season-opener, got turned off by the windy Classic Club (an ill-advised, 2006 addition to the rotation of courses that lasted only three years) and hasn't played the Hope since 2007.

The 2010 Hope, set to begin in the rain Wednesday, features another lefty as its marquee player: Mike Weir, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 37. A former Hope champion and an excellent mudder, Weir will get competition this week from Justin Leonard (2005 Hope champion, '08 runner-up) and a resurgent Ryan Moore.

John Merrick, who played well at times during last week's Sony Open and was second to Pat Perez at the 2009 Hope, also could be your 2010 Hope winner. So could 2006 Hope champion Chad Campbell, who looked solid at the Sony (T8).

On the Hope undercard:
David Duval (didn't make it out of Q-School) and rookies Jamie Lovemark (ditto) and Sam Saunders (ditto) will try to show they belong on Tour and gain entry into future tournaments on the 2010 schedule. Rickie Fowler looks to bounce back after falling flat with an opening-round 75 and MC at the Sony, while less celebrated first-year Tour pros Troy Merritt (T20) and Graham DeLaet (T25) try to maintain momentum.

And of course it wouldn't be the Hope without such aspiring golfers as Bo Jackson, Evan Longoria, Greg Maddux, Dr. Phil McGraw, Kurt Russell and Vinny Testaverde highlighting the celebrity field. (Alice Cooper has been playing this thing so long I'm making him an honorary pro this week. Congratulations, Alice!)

But the biggest news at this year's Hope, other than the dismal forecast (rain all the way into the weekend) is who is not playing.

Kenny Perry, the 1995 Hope champion, opted out of this year's Hope to get ready for next week's Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. The world No. 11 explained that he's always wanted to visit the Middle East, and he's getting "decent" appearance money.

Anthony Kim, who went to high school in La Quinta and plays out of the Madison Club there, will play the European Tour's Abu Dhabi Championship this week instead of his hometown tournament.

Abu Dhabi is also where Geoff Ogilvy will be making his first start since winning the SBS Championship, Sergio Garcia will tee it up for the first time since hurting his hand last November, and Rory McIlroy will kick off his 2010 season.

Also in the Abu Dhabi field: Defending champion Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Camilo Villegas and Todd Hamilton.

Abu Dhabi isn't the only place generating heat this week. Fred Couples and Corey Pavin (both former Hope champions) will make their Champions Tour debuts at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Meanwhile the Hope plods along, a tournament in search of an identity, whose hosts have included George Lopez, Arnold Palmer and now Yogi Berra since Hope died in 2003.

Perhaps someday Mickelson will return, the Euro Tour will stop handing out appearance fees, and the rest of the PGA Tour's upper echelon (and a title sponsor) will follow.

Until then the Bob Hope Classic will likely remain golf's version of the Catskills, a sad specter of a party that ended long ago.

Fire flame out short of ultimate goals PGA Tour still rules world ranking

Garcia: Woods will be back earlier than expected

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Sergio Garcia thinks it won't be long before Tiger Woods returns to tournament play.

Woods is taking an indefinite break from golf since his Nov. 27 car accident in Florida and subsequent revelations of extra marital affairs.

Woods has not been seen in public since the crash, and there has been no word on a date for his return.

"The best thing for Tiger at the moment is to get on the course and do what he knows best," said Garcia, who had a personal rivalry on the PGA Tour with Woods over the past 10 years. "Only he knows when he is going to come back. I have got the feeling that it's going to be earlier that what everybody thinks."

The Spaniard spoke Tuesday before the Abu Dhabi Championship, where he will return to action Thursday after a seven-week layoff for treatment of a tendon problem in his right wrist.

"I think he (Woods) is very strong mentally and it's not like the break he had for injury a couple of years back when he had the knee problem," Garcia said. "If you can't walk you can't swing. It's different."

While Woods' continued absence might make it easier for Garcia to end his elusive 11-year search for a victory in one of golf's four majors, he would prefer to achieve that feat playing against the world's best player.

"There's nothing better than playing against the best," Garcia said. "But there is always an upside and a downside. The downside when he is playing is that you know your chances of winning are a little lower.

"The upside is that when you know you are playing against him and you manage to beat him, it's always that much sweeter to have beaten the best. So for the game, it is not good that Tiger is out. We hope he gets back as soon as possible."

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Hot? Ryan Palmer. Not? Robert Allenby.

1. Jack. The ageless Bear turns 70 this week, and as an early b-day present to himself he scooped up $350,000 with partner Tom Watson at the Senior Skins game. How cool is golf? You wouldn't want to watch septuagenarian NBA veterans, but in our game the old-timers can still conjure some magic.

2. Ryan Palmer. After a rousing 72nd hole birdie at Sony, he now has three career victories. That's more than Aaron Baddeley, Luke Donald, Charles Howell, Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan, Ryan Moore, Justin Rose, Camilo Villegas and Nick Watney — to name just a few.

3. Hattiesburg, Miss. The Magnolia Classic is long gone, but little Hattiesburg is suddenly a focus of the golf world with tabloid reports that Tiger Woods is undergoing sex-addiction treatment there. Of course, one of the lessons of the ongoing Tiger saga is don't believe everything you read.

4. Charl Schwartzel. Two wins in two weeks has elevated him from a talented tease to one of the best players in the world, 25-and-under division. The lanky South African is now 52 under par over his last 11 rounds, and up to 35th in the World Ranking.

5. Tim Finchem. The PGA Tour commish pulled another rabbit out of the hat, scrounging up a title sponsor for next week's tourney at Torrey Pines at the last possible moment. Maybe this'll make him less testy at his next press conference.

Not

1. The Bob Hope field. Eight of the top 14 are competing against each other this week in the desert ... of Abu Dhabi.

2. Robert Allenby. With another blown opportunity at the Sony, it has been more than eight years since his last PGA Tour victory. But mediocrity can still be quite fulfilling: in that stretch Allenby has banked an astonishing $17 million.

3. Rickie Fowler. You might have to go back to the fall of '96, when a certain Stanford undergrad turned pro, to find comparable amounts of hype over a Tour rookie. Maybe this pressure was a factor in young Rickie's awful season debut at the Sony. He'll bounce back, but 75-72 to finish eight spots from DFL is not the start he or various multinational corporations wanted.

4. Ping Eye2s. Twenty years later these clubs are still causing problems.

5. 2018 Ryder Cup. According to GolfWeek, the raffle, er, selection process for 2018 consists of six sites across Europe, only two of which currently boast actual golf courses. The other four are under construction or merely the figments of someone's imagination. Hard to believe the course itself is such a secondary concern for these extravaganzas.

Have a question for Alan Shipnuck? Leave it in the comments section below and it might be included in Friday's mailbag. You can also follow Shipnuck on Twitter.

Africa tour a life lesson for KC youngsters Palmer’s birdie gives him Sony title

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Banned by PGA Tour, Doug Barron to try mini-tour

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Doug Barron, the first player to be suspended for violating the PGA Tour's anti-doping policy, has signed up to play a developmental tour in North Carolina.

Barron was handed a one-year suspension last fall when he tested positive for testosterone and propranolol - a beta-blocker that calms nerves - in June at the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn. He said he was using the drugs for health reasons under a doctor's supervision.

Barron last week paid his membership fee of $2,250 for the eGolf Professional Tour, which offers an 18-tournament schedule. A year ago, the top player on the mini-tour earned just over $140,000.

Stewart Moore, chief operating officer of eGolf Professional Tour, said it does not have a drug-testing plan and doesn't deny players the chance to compete based on another tour's policies.

"We're a developmental tour. That's what we do, develop players to eventually get there," Moore said Monday. "It's not our place to hold him back. We don't have anything implemented on our side, and we can't do anything based on what they do in Ponte Vedra."

The PGA Tour's headquarters are in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

None of the smaller tours outside those recognized by the World Golf Foundation have anti-doping policies, which cost millions of dollars to run.

Barron, a 40-year-old who hasn't had his PGA Tour card in three years, is challenging his PGA Tour suspension in federal court. He was denied a temporary restraining order in November to compete in the qualifying tournament.

He has said he used the steroid and beta-blocker for "therapeutic use" and did not try to hide it. The PGA Tour says doctors denied Barron's request for a therapeutic use exemption a year ago January for testosterone and the beta-blocker.

Africa tour a life lesson for KC youngsters Nine biggest golf stories that happened off the golf course

Looking back at the men who broke the color barrier in Ivy League golf

At Argyle Country Club in the rolling hills of Silver Spring, Md., the two golfers preparing to tee off aren't wearing aviator sunglasses and they no longer sport afros.

There's no sight of the persimmon Wilson Staff drivers that used to be "clutch," and the fitted white cotton Princeton golf shirts they once wore have been replaced with more colorful ones in, well, different sizes.

After all, it's no longer 1975.

On this brisk autumn day, no Ivy League opponents wait to be taken down, and Princeton Coach Bill Quackenbush is not urging on the two black players who broke the color barrier in Ivy League golf as surely as other athletes had done in other sports much earlier.

But that was more than three decades ago. Today, Rick Hyde (Princeton '75) and Burton Smith (Princeton '77) are simply two guys playing the game they love, the game they've always loved.

Although it has been 33 years, Princeton golf has never entirely left Hyde and Smith, nor should it. While there have been recent stories written about Andia Winslow, an African American golfer at Yale (class of 2004), little has been written about Hyde and Smith, who were pioneers before Winslow was born.

And while much has changed after 33 years, for these Princeton grads some things prove to be eternal: Same swings, same swagger, same chatter — all are evident as a middle-aged lefty tees it up and rips his first shot down the fairway of the 408-yard par-4.

"Just another day at the office," says Smith, twirling his MacGregor driver.

"Don't worry, that's the only shot he's got," says Hyde before bombing his drive down the left side of the fairway.

If anybody would know, it's Hyde, the first African American to play golf in the Ivies.

It's the same shot he witnessed as a Princeton junior back at Springdale Golf Club, home course of the Tigers, in 1974, whenSmith was a freshman walk-on.

"Burton was a wonderful breath of fresh air, a ray of light," says Hyde. "Once I realized, 'Hey, there's a brother who can play golf,' I was like, 'Oh, heck yeah!' So we played all the time. And it was cool."

Rick Hyde: An Anomaly

Long before coming to Princeton, a world of privilege and tradition, Hyde was just a black kid in Washington, D.C., beating balls on the courses that let him — black-friendly courses like Langston, East Potomac and Falls Road.

"There were only a few courses we could play," Hyde says. "All the private clubs — no black golfers on them at all. Which was not a big deal. I wasn't like, 'Oh, we can't play these courses — I'm sad.' I was a kid happy to be along with the other big guys."

One of those "big guys" was Lee Elder, who lived in Maryland back then and in '75 would become the first African American to play in the Masters.

"As a youngster, the guys would get me into these betting situations," Hyde says, "but I ain't playing Lee.... I know who you are, Lee Elder. I can't play you. You're going to beat me. I'm not going to just give you money!"

Back then, Hyde was an anomaly — a kid who never took lessons yet shot in the low 70s. He was a 14-year-old playing with a man like Elder and hustling with other "big guys" such as Chuck Thorpe, a long-hitter from Virginia and the brother of Jim Thorpe, a three-time PGA Tour winner who went on to win 13 other times on the Champions tour.

"If I could play with Chuck ... he was the player back then," Hyde says. "These guys were competitive. I wanted to play them. I wanted a match."

That's how Hyde learned to become a competitor — playing against "sharks in the water," he says.

"You learn when you don't have but the four dollars your mother gave you to buy a hamburger and you're in a match for $150, $200," says Hyde, "which was a lot of money back in the '60s, like $2,000 today. You know you can't afford to lose."

From Junior Golf to the Ivy League

The D.C. shark tank was a merciless proving ground, but Hyde showed he could swim in it. He did so well, in fact, that during summer breaks he played against professionals in state opens in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. As a senior in high school Hyde shot a 68 to win the 1970 Metropolitan Schoolboy Championship — and catch the eye of Princeton’s Quackenbush. But Hyde admits that he's still not sure how he wound up on the Tiger team.

"I didn't understand the whole dynamics of recruitment back then," he says. "I know I applied to Princeton and got in. I got to Princeton and the golf coach knew all about me and wanted me to play."

Lynn takes 2nd-round lead at Joburg Open MLS signs three seniors, four Generation adidas players

Monday, January 18, 2010

Palmer's birdie gives him Sony title

HONOLULU (AP) — Ryan Palmer expected the worst when his chip from 50 feet short of the 18th green came out a little strong.

Seconds later, he never felt better.

His chip struck the pin squarely, and instead of running about 8 feet past the hole, it settled a few inches away. Palmer tapped in for a birdie and a 4-under 66, giving him a one-shot victory in the Sony Open when Robert Allenby missed a 10-foot birdie putt.

"What a way to start the year," Palmer said.

All week long at the Sony Open, he tried to stay in the moment, a lesson he picked up earlier in the week while reading an article about defending champion Zach Johnson. The chip turned out to be the greatest moment of all.

"It was a good chip," Palmer said. "The grain was running against me. It was either going to hit it fat or do what I did. Fortunately, I got the good break."

The 33-year-old Texas was atop the leaderboard every day, and kept his composure in a tight final round at Waialae against Allenby and Steve Stricker, who was briefly tied for the lead and eventually finished third.

"What I got out of this is beyond words," Palmer said. "It's a great field. To do it every day ... my bad round was 2-under par. I never once got upset or impatient. What I did today was the best round of golf I ever experienced."

And it came with some pretty good perks.

Palmer, who finished 150th on the money list last year, is exempt on the PGA Tour through 2012. He's going to the Masters for the first time in five years. He can add The Players Championship and PGA Championship to his list, along with at least one World Golf Championship.

Allenby was trying to win his third consecutive tournament on three tours, a feat believed to have never been accomplished, and he gave himself every chance. He played bogey-free on the back nine, but he needed one more birdie. His second shot out of the rough on the 18th came out hot and over the green, and he did well to give himself a realistic chance at birdie and a playoff.

Allenby, who won the Nedbank Challenge on the Sunshine Tour and the Australian PGA Championship on the Australasian PGA Tour at the end of last year, closed with a 67.

"I had a couple of chances out there," Allenby said. "It's so easy to look back and say, 'I could have made that, I could have made that.' But at the end of the day, realistically, I needed to make a birdie at the last."

Palmer finished at 15-under 265 and earned $990,000.

Stricker had a 65 and finished two shots back. Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen closed with a tournament-best 62 and was atop the leaderboard as Palmer and Allenby were making the turn, although his 12-under 268 never looked as though it would be enough.

Palmer might not have been in this position without reading the article about Johnson and his strategy of not thinking ahead.

"I played each day for that day," Palmer said. "I wanted to win today."

About the time Goosen finished, Stricker hit a hybrid from the grassy collar of a bunker onto the par-5 ninth green for a birdie, then hit a good pitch to 3 1/2 feet on the 10th to join Goosen at 12 under. With so many holes left, and Palmer and Allenby behind him, it turned into a three-man race over the final two hours.

Stricker certainly had his chances, although it was an example that even one of the best putters in golf doesn't make everything. He lipped out a 5-foot birdie chance on the 12th and missed from 8 feet on the 14th. He also holed a birdie putt on the 13th that briefly put him in a tie for the lead, and a 25-footer on the 17th that kept alive his hopes.

But he found a bunker on the 18th, and Waialae sand makes it tough to get spin on the ball. His long bunker shot went 20 feet long and high of the hole, and Stricker's birdie putt to join the leaders grazed the edge of the cup.

"I did leave a couple out there," Stricker said. "It's a little disappointing. I hit the ball great today, gave myself a lot of opportunities. All of a sudden, I found myself doubting a couple of reads. I was getting confused a couple of times."

Allenby might have saved his chances early in the round. He had a sloppy three-putt on the fourth, then went through the green on the fifth with a sand wedge. His chip came out hot and ran 15 feet by the hole, and Allenby was so disgusted he kicked at the ground - with his left ankle, at least - but then holed the par putt.

Palmer's volatility came with his scores. He had a one-shot lead going to the back nine, then didn't make a par until he missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole. He birdied the 10th, 12th and 14th, all from inside 12 feet. He bogeyed the 11th and 13th from bunkers.

Allenby caught him again with a tough shot inside 3 feet on the 15th, and the duel was on.

Charles Howell III, who learned in the offseason his wife is expecting their first child, ended a stretch of 17 tournaments without a top 10 with a 66-64 weekend to tie for fifth with Carl Petterson (66) and Davis Love III, who holed out for eagle from the 16th fairway and closed with a 67.

Allenby leads Australian PGA FCD’s Burse made most of opportunity in 2009

Fujikawa headed for another island

HONOLULU (AP) — Tadd Fujikawa doesn't get many opportunities on the PGA Tour these days, so it was disappointing for the 19-year-old from Hawaii to fail to break par in both rounds and miss the cut in the Sony Open.

Next up is a big move, from one island to another, and a chance for Fujikawa to experience life on the tour.

Just not the PGA Tour.

Fujikawa has been spending most of his time at Sea Island in Georgia working with Todd Anderson and the stable of coaches who also work with Zach Johnson, Jonathan Byrd and others. He has signed up for eGolf Professional Tour - formerly the Tar Heel Tour - which features an 18-tournament schedule from February to October.

The membership fee is $2,000, and it cost $1,110 to enter each tournament, which is roughly last-place money. The tour pays the entry fee for PGA Tour qualifying for the top 20 players on its money list.

"Just try to go out there and play as much as I can and get some good experience playing tournaments," Fujikawa said.

Leaving paradise won't be terribly difficult, for Fujikawa and his mother, Lori, have rented a house at Sea Island for the last few years. Besides, an island is an island, right?

"It's sort of like this, except the water is kind of ... brown, to stay the least," Fujikawa said with a laugh. "I don't know, I never really went in the water there. I don't think I want to. Usually, if you can't see the bottom, that's not a good thing."

The golf? That's a different story.

"All of the tour pros there, and Davis (Love) and J-Byrd and all of those guys ... it's a good atmosphere," he said. "It really helps."

ZACH'S BIG BREAK: Zach Johnson was headed home from two weeks in Hawaii and might not resurface again until Arizona, giving him a full month away from the PGA Tour.

The former Masters champion played the Shark Shootout and the Chevron World Challenge in December and believes his game is sharp. He wants to concentrate heavily on the Florida swing, and doesn't want to overdo it on the West Coast. Of course, that would mean missing Riviera, one of his favorite stops.

"I just think it's the best thing to do," Johnson said. "I've talked to my counsel on that, and that's kind of how we are pointing right now. I don't think I can hit it hard if I don't take that time off."

Johnson also took a month off in 2008, returning to Riviera (the schedule was different that year) and the Match Play. He didn't win that year until the Fall Series, although that was the year after he won the Masters and he was coping with being a first-time major winner.

What he recalls about that year was being ready to play.

"I learned a lot in '08," Johnson said. "I took four weeks off in a row, and then I took six weeks off at the end of the year. I don't have the itch to play very often, and I had it. So I'm going to get that itch."

GLOBAL GOLF: The field was particularly strong at the Sony Open, with the winner to receive 50 world ranking points. That's up from last year, and is the equivalent to the field at the AT&T National last summer at Congressional.

PGA Tour points will dip significant next week with so many highly ranked players at Abu Dhabi, and none of the top 30 in the world expected to play at the Bob Hope Classic.

Chalk that up to more PGA Tour players taking up membership in Europe, and appearance money available in the Middle East.

Ernie Els wonders how long that will last.

"It will be interesting to see if they sustain that," he said, referring to travel habits of U.S.-based players. "Myself and Vijay did it for 15 years, and then he kind of stopped doing that because he came to live over here."

For players like Els, and several Europeans, traveling is simply a way of life, not a burden.

His global schedule has been questioned over the years, and Els jokingly said he might have done things differently had he won more than three majors.

"No, I come from South Africa," he said. "I've gotten this question my whole career. I don't think I would have done it any differently. That's just the way we were - we are. Gary Player was that way because he started in South Africa. And he started spreading his wings, I just kind of followed suit."

ANATOMY OF AN 8: For a guy whose young PGA Tour career has been solid but not spectacular, John Merrick received quite the perk when Nick Watney invited him to be his partner in the World Cup last fall in China.

The only bad memory was an 8 on a par 5. That's not unusual, except that it happened in the better-ball format.

"It would taken an hour for me to explain the comedy of errors we made," Merrick said. "We were just shaking our heads."

He at least offered an abridged version.

In short, Watney was in a bunker off the tee and laid up to 80 yards, in good shape. Merrick went for the green in two with a hybrid, leaks it a little right and goes into the water. Watney had 65 yards to the front of the green and it went 64 yards, into mucky grass near a lake. He tries to play out of the hazard and whiffs, then takes a drop and is on his way to an 8.

As for Merrick? He took his drop, caught a flier lie and sailed fourth shot over the green into a bunker, short-siding himself. He chunks his bunker shot, chips to 10 feet and misses the putt.

Merrick was first in the cup, so he got credit for the 8.

Africa tour a life lesson for KC youngsters Six-way tie for early lead at Sony Open

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Lynn takes 2nd-round lead at Joburg Open

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — David Lynn of England shot a 4-under 67 to take a one-stroke clubhouse lead at the Joburg Open after the second round was halted Friday because of a second lightning delay.

Play was called off with 30 players still to complete their rounds, and was set to resume early Saturday.

Lynn was at 12-under 130 after five birdies and a bogey. Charl Schwartzel of South Africa was a shot back after a 68.

"I got off to a good start, hitting it stiff on the first for birdie, and that put me in a good frame of mind," Lynn said. "I continued to play like I was playing yesterday. Yesterday I was a bit tentative with the putter. Today it was much easier though."

The tournament is played on the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington East and West courses, with Lynn and Schwartzel playing on the tougher East course on Friday after both had 63s on the West course Thursday.

Danny Willett of England headed a group of four players on 10 under after shooting a 67 on the West course. Veteran Hendrik Buhrmann of South Africa (65) was also in the tie for third, along with countryman Jbe' Kruger (69) and Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke (69).

Schwartzel's round was bogey free as he continued the consistent play he used to win last week's Africa Open.

"It seems like the form from last week is carrying over and with a good weekend, if I play like I'm playing, it could get very interesting," he said. "If you can eliminate the mistakes, you're always going to be playing good golf."

Defending champion Anders Hansen of Denmark was set to miss the cut despite a 68 that brought him to 2 under.

Schwartzel pulls 4 strokes clear at Joburg Open Cruz has life-changing experience in South Africa