Clearwater wins Champions Tour Q-school

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — Two-time PGA Tour winner Keith Clearwater won the Champions Tour's national qualifying tournament Friday, closing with an even-par 72 in windy conditions at TPC Eagle Trace for a three-stroke victory over Lee Rinker, Frankie Minoza and Phil Blackmar.

The 51-year-old Clearwater finished at 16-under 272 to earn the first of five fully exempt spot on the 2011 tour. He shot a 9-under 63 on Thursday.

"It feels good to finish something and get it done," Clearwater said. "It was difficult today playing in this wind and every shot was hard; maybe five to 10 shots harder than yesterday. It meant having to make good choices and make a lot of 3-, 4-, and 5-footers. It was a tough day, so I was very pleased to make the putts when I needed to and keep that distance I had most of the day. This allows me to make my schedule for next year and play every week, so I'm looking forward to that."

Minoza shot a 67, Blackmar had a 68, and Rinker closed with a 72.

John Morse earned the fifth and final fully exempt spot, beating Robert Thompson and Roger Chapman with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff. Morse missed a 4-foot par putt on the final hole of regulation to drop into a tie with Thompson and Chapman at 12 under.

Chapman, Thompson, Mark Mouland, Jim Rutledge, Steve Haskins, J.L. Lewis and Fred Holton earned conditionally exempt status. The rest of the top 30 finishers and ties will be eligible to compete for spots in open qualifiers at all co-sponsored events.

Mathis wins to earn PGA Tour cardConfidence continues to build for rookie Gavin

PGA Tour Confidential: Hong Kong Open

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.

POULTER'S PROSPECTS
Jim Gorant, senior editor, Sports Illustrated: Lot's o' stuff out there, but let's begin with the actual golf. Ian Poulter held on to win the Euro tour event in Hong Kong, tying a tour scoring record in the process. What do we make of Poulter? Is this who he is, a borderline top 10 guy with attention-getting pants, or does he have what it takes to do more?

Jim Herre, managing editor, SI Golf Group: Poulter has a ton of game but has been pretty much a no-show in the majors.

Rick Lipsey, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: Poulter is a cool dude with big game. I love him.

Michael Bamberger, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: Poulter has a ton of game, and I'd be surprised if he went 0-for-life in the majors.

Damon Hack, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: If I can trot out an NFL saying, he is who we think he is: brash, talented, chatty, bratty and, at times, brilliant. I think he'll nab a major — and have a few more fashion faux pas — before his career is done.

Farrell Evans, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: Poulter is another very good player, but he's not yet a great player. A lot of good players win majors when Tiger and Phil don't bring their best games. So he has to take advantage when he gets into contention.

Gary Van Sickle, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: Consistency apparently isn't Ian's strong suit. You never know when he'll decide to play well. For that reason, it's hard to pin down just how good he is. Certainly good enough to win a major, but that doesn't guarantee that he will.

David Dusek, deputy editor, Golf.com: I think he showed a lot at Royal Birkdale. All the attention was being paid to Greg Norman on Sunday, but Ian stormed back to finish solo second in 2008. Yes, that was two years ago, but in a new era of golf without a dominant player, I think Poulter's confidence will help him win a major someday.

Van Sickle: I'd agree with that. If you were forced to bet on whether Poulter will win a major, you'd definitely put your money on Yes He Will.

Jeff Ritter, senior producer, Golf.com: Had to look it up, and I was surprised Poulter is already 34. It's possible he hits his prime over next few years and maybe snags a major. Hard to imagine he'll ever climb to No. 1, as he brashly predicted a couple of years ago.

Van Sickle: I don't know, it's suddenly not so hard to get to No. 1. At least, not as hard as it used to be. Another thing about Poulter: Give him credit for his crazy fashion stuff because the Tour needs guys like that, Payne Stewart types who have personality and like to show it off. Even if Poulter never wins a major, his colorful aura is good for the game. He's entertaining.

Dusek: He's also got a good sense for business. The clothing he wears is made by his own brand, Ian Poulter Design. He's never going to make Tiger/Phil-level endorsements, but Ian's accountant has been busy this year.

MCDOWELL STUMBLES
Gorant: For the second week in a row, Graeme McDowell started the final round with a chance to win. In Hong Kong he shot himself in the foot with a two-over on the front nine. Should we begin to wonder if G-Mack has peaked?

Dusek: No. McDowell is coming to the end of a long, emotional breakout season. Multiple victories, a major win, a Ryder Cup — he's done it all this season. If he starts to run out of gas down the stretch, in late November, I don't think it's anything to worry about. He's now one of golf's elite players.

Hack: I agree with Dusek. Graeme is probably more worn out than anything. Kudos to him for scrapping this late into November.

Van Sickle: I don't think G-Mac was scrapping into November. I think the term is cashing in.

Bamberger: G-Mack's year was the U.S. Open and the Ryder Cup. So now we know he's not Tiger, somebody who always has his cleated foot on somebody's neck, ready to close the deal. I wouldn't read anything into what he does (or has done) since Wales.

Herre: I think he's coming into his prime. The numbers show that his stroke average has been trending down for the past several years and hit an all-time low this season. He'll be one of many Euros to watch in 2011.

Van Sickle: The guy has been a birdie machine ever since his days at Alabama-Birmingham. He's seemed like a can't-miss player for a long time, and now he has arrived.

Dusek: I don't see any reason why McDowell can't achieve everything someone like Padraig Harrington, another relatively late bloomer from Europe, has achieved.

KC's Espinoza reflects on his World Cup experiencePGA Tour Confidential: Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Poulter takes 2-stroke lead in Hong Kong Open

HONG KONG (AP) — Ian Poulter shot a 6-under 64 Saturday for a two-stroke lead through three rounds at the Hong Kong Open.

The Englishman followed up his second-round 60 by sinking birdies on the final two holes, pulling clear of U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell (63). Simon Dyson of England shot a 65 to trail by three strokes.

Poulter holed out from 20 feet for a birdie on 18 to a huge cheer from the crowd.

"With Graeme pressing and Simon pressing, you know, I wanted to make sure that I went into tomorrow with a little lead, so it was huge," Poulter said of his strong finish.

Poulter started with a birdie on the second and then eagled the 551-yard, par-5 third in his third straight round without a bogey.

McDowell shot the best round of the day. The Northern Irishman had an eagle on the 10th, driving the green on a hole that was shortened to 287 yards before making a long putt.

That began an impressive back nine that brought consecutive birdies at 13th, 14th and 15th.

Rory McIlroy (66)- runner-up in 2008 and 2009 - is four shots behind the leader along with American Anthony Kang (67).

Harrington ends drought, wins Iskandar Johor OpenGoats earn historic win in Houston

Bettencourt leads Pebble Beach Invitational

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — PGA Tour winner Matt Bettencourt shot an 8-under 64 at Del Monte on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead in the Pebble Beach Invitational, while Annika Sorenstam opened with a 69 at Del Monte in a rare competitive start since her retirement in 2008.

Bettencourt, the Reno-Tahoe Open winner in July who finished 114th on the 2010 money list, had two eagles, five birdies and a bogey in the Callaway Golf-sponsored tournament that features 76 male and female players.

"I started slow, but hit a great shot on No. 9 from about 250 yards to 12 feet and got the eagle," said Bettencourt, who tied for fourth in the tournament last year. "I didn't know I was in the lead, but I knew 64 or 65 was out here. Del Monte on a day like today is a pretty benign course."

Bettencourt birdied three of the final four holes, but missed a 15-inch birdie putt on the 14th.

"I was good round, although I left some putts out there," he said.

LPGA Tour player Morgan Pressel, PGA Tour veteran Bryce Molder and New York club pro Heath Wassen opened with 66s, also at Del Monte.

Five players, including Champions Tour player Tom Purtzer, shot 67s.

Ten of the top 11 opening-round scores were posted at Del Monte, which is used in rotation with Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach for the first three rounds. The final round will be played at Pebble Beach.

Defending champion Mark Brooks, the only three-time Pebble Beach Invitational winner, had a 77 at Del Monte. Juli Inkster, who in 1990 become only female player to win the event, shot a 2-under 70 at Pebble Beach.

The winner will receive $60,000 from the $300,000 purse.

Sorenstam makes rare appearance at Pebble BeachConfidence continues to build for rookie Gavin

Nine candidates keen to host 2015 Solheim Cup

DENHAM, England (AP) — The Ladies European Tour says nine candidates have declared an interest in hosting the Solheim Cup between Europe and the United States in 2015.

Six of the nine have made their bids public while the other three wish to remain anonymous after the deadline for applications passed Oct. 29.

Germany has bidders in Hamburg and Berlin while Spain has candidates in La Manga and an unspecified course on the Costa del Sol. The Prosper Golf Resort in Celadna, Czech Republic, and the Forest Pines Resort in Lincolnshire, England, also intend to bid.

The Tour will announce the winning bid in 2011.

The next edition of the biennial match will be in County Meath, Ireland, next year.

Report: GM negotiating to sponsor world eventGalaxy ready to head home after “tough week”

Woods rebuilding his image as crash anniversary nears

(AP) — Tiger Woods in on Twitter, and that's not all.

Newsweek posted an op-ed piece by Woods on Wednesday titled, "How I've Redefined Victory." He is scheduled to be a guest for two segments Thursday on ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike in the Morning."

As he approaches the one-year anniversary of a Thanksgiving night car accident that wrecked his image, these are some of the signs that Woods is entering a rebuilding stage.

"It's a positive step for him," said Mark Steinberg, his agent at IMG. "He's making the effort to do some things different."

Woods has had a Twitter account since June 2009 - his sign name, "Tiger Woods" was secured about a year before that - but the only tweets were to announce his Twitter page, Facebook page and a redesign of his website.

Then came a tweet at 11:08 a.m. Wednesday: "What's up everyone. Finally decided to try out twitter!"

Woods had just over 90,000 followers until that tweet. Within three hours, he had added over 40,000 more followers, adding them by the thousands each hour. A person confirmed that he was typing the tweet himself, and Woods added this: "Yep, it's me. I think I like this twitter thing. You guys are awesome. Thanks for all the love."

"Tiger wants to do some things a little differently moving forward," Steinberg said. "He wants to be a little more connected to the fans, and this is just one new addition."

Woods is identified at the bottom of the Newsweek op-ed piece as "founder of the Tiger Woods Foundation, which has helped educate more than 10 million kids."

He writes about how much is life was out of balance and his priorities were out of order a year ago, when he was caught in numerous extramarital affairs that cost him three major endorsements and eventually led to his divorce from Elin Nordegren.

"At first, I didn't want to look inward," Woods wrote. "Frankly, I was scared of what I would find - what I had become. But I'm grateful that I did examine my life because it has made me more grounded than I've ever been; I hope that with reflection will come wisdom."

Woods said he spends some evenings alone with his two children, and it's helping him appreciate what he had overlooked.

"Giving my son, Charlie, a bath, for example, beats chipping another bucket of balls. Making mac and cheese for him and his sister, Sam, is better than dining in any restaurant," he wrote.

He ends the op-ed piece by writing, "I'm not the same man I was a year go. And that's a good thing."

Steinberg said it has not been decided if Woods will make an appearance on television during the next few weeks.

Woods, who lost his No. 1 ranking two weeks ago to Lee Westwood, recently returned from two weeks of tournaments in Asia and Australia, where he posted consecutive top 10s for the first time this season, but didn't come close to winning either one. By failing to defend his title in the Australian Masters, it marked the first time in his career he went a calendar year without a win.

He next plays the week after Thanksgiving at his Chevron World Challenge, his final tournament of 2010.

Galaxy ready to head home after “tough week”Woods not surprised by drop in ranking

Sorenstam makes rare appearance at Pebble Beach

PEBBLE BEACH, CALIF. (AP) — Annika Sorenstam will make a rare pro tournament appearance Thursday when she participates in the Pebble Beach Invitational.

The annual event held at Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Del Monte Golf Course, is the only head-to-head, 72-hole competition among the men and women who compete on the four major professional tours.

Sorenstam retired from the LPGA Tour following the 2008 season, and she hasn't won since the Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open on the Asian Pro Tour on Nov. 2, 2008. Six months earlier, Sorenstam won the last of her 72 LPGA titles at the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill in Virginia.

Since her retirement, Sorenstam has played sporadically in invitational and charity tournaments. She finished tied for 12th on Oct. 12 in the Mission Hills Star Trophy in China.

Defending champion Mark Brooks, a seven-time PGA Tour winner, and about a dozen players among the top 125 on the tour's money list are entered in the $300,000 tournament.

Ryan Palmer, who last week in Florida completed his most successful PGA Tour season with a 19th-place finish at the Children's Miracle Network Classic, is the top player on the money list in the field. Palmer had five top-10 finishes, including his title at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January, and was 17th in earnings with $2,985,296.

Brooks, whose last PGA Tour win was the 1996 PGA Championship, birdied the final three holes last year en route to a 3-under 69 and a two-stroke win over D.A. Points and Rickie Fowler.

Brooks, who will be eligible for the Champions Tour next March, also won the event 1993 and 2002. He also finished second in 1990 to Juli Inkster, the only woman to win the tournament.

Matt Bettencourt, Bill Lunde, Derek Lamely and Cameron Beckman, who all won PGA Tour events this season, are also in the field.

In addition to Sorenstam and Inskter, seven players among this season's top 30 on the LPGA money list are in the tournament. Morgan Pressel at No. 13 leads the field.

Tommy Armour III, who won the event in 2008 and 2009 while a member of the PGA Tour, is among eight Champions Tour entrants. Former U.S. Open winner Scott Simpson is also among the eight Champions Tour entrants.

Jamie Lovemark, the top money earner on this season's Nationwide Tour, will be among 17 Nationwide Tour entrants.

The low 40 professional scores and ties will advance after the 54-hole cut for the final round Sunday at Pebble Beach.

Goats earn historic win in HoustonMathis wins to earn PGA Tour card

Barron, Tryon among big names at Q-School seeking another PGA Tour shot

Joseph Bramlett is a 22-year-old former star at Stanford who qualified for the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and got a sponsor's exemption into last month's Frys.com Open.

Mac O'Grady is a 59-year-old free thinker with an enviable swing whose best golf would seem to be behind him.

They are both in Monterey, Calif., at the Bayonet and Black Horse courses, for the second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School, a stress-fest that attracts hopeless romantics, the briefly famous, PGA Tour winners, can't-miss kids that missed, and others.

The 72-hole event began at Houston's Redstone Golf Club on Tuesday, and at five other sites across the country Wednesday.

The major tours are mostly dark this week, with Europe as the lone exception.

Rory McIlroy, sporting a new, blond hairdo, is at the UBS Hong Kong Open, where he's finished second two years in a row.

Others in the field for Europe's penultimate event include Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, Y.E. Yang and John Daly.

Stateside, the PGA Tour ended at Disney World last Sunday, but this week nevertheless promises four of the most significant and compelling days in golf, as long as you know where to look.

Stage two is full of college hot shots like Bramlett, but more compelling are the guys who peaked not so long ago (2004 British Open winner Todd Hamilton, who's at TPC Craig Ranch, in McKinney, Texas), the human-interest stories (two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton at Hombre Golf Club in Panama City, Fla.), and the five-minute phenoms (Ty Tryon, Southern Hills Plantation Club, Brooksville, Fla.; David Gossett, Redstone).

James Driscoll, who lost a one-hole playoff to Zach Johnson at the 2009 Valero Texas Open, was the early leader at Redstone after shooting a first-round 66 on Tuesday. Gossett shot 73, while Doug Barron shot 74.

Click here to follow the latest scores from Q-School.

The PGA Tour suspended Barron, 41, for testing positive for a beta-blocker and testosterone last year, but with his suspension over and with a newly won Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) from the Tour, the Memphis golfer said he felt great Tuesday.

After briefly flashing across your TV screen only to quickly disappear again, he and Driscoll are trying to elbow their way back onto the main stage, but they're just two of many such players.

Like Bramlett and Compton, Tryon qualified for the U.S. Open at Pebble last summer, but unlike them he made the cut. It provided just a glimmer of hope, but really, that's all it takes.

Greg Owen took a two-shot lead into the 17th hole at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in 2006, only to three-putt from three feet and fall into a tie with Rod Pampling, who won the tournament when Owen lipped out his 13-foot par putt on 18.

He's been trying to give himself another chance ever since.

Owen dropped out of the top 125 in '07 but made hay on the Nationwide in '08, playing his way back onto the PGA Tour for '09. He earned a respectable $764,000 that year, only to struggle again this season: 10 made cuts, 183rd in money ($269,000).

Money takes on a different meaning at Q-School.

It costs players $2,500 to enter pre-qualifying, and if they get through that, $4,500 to enter stage one of actual Q-School. The second stage costs $4,000, the third $3,500.

Today, Owen is at Hombre, which will split the field onto two courses called the Bad and the Ugly. For the feared, loathed second stage of Q-School, that sounds about right.

Of the 448 players who got this far, only about 156 plus ties will make the third and final stage — bleak odds, but not terrible.

What's terrible is that there is no safety net this week, making the second stage like the grim salesmanship competition in Glengarry Glen Ross, which compels viewers to feel for old Shelley Levene (Jack Lemmon) because, well, third place, you're fired.

Tadd Fujikawa, onetime darling of the Sony Open in Hawaii, who won an eGolf Tour event in August, is at the Bayonet and Black Horse courses. So is Brett Quigley, who has won $10.5 million in 14 seasons on the PGA Tour.

A couple of years ago Geoff Ogilvy was asked if there were any more great Australian golfers we should be keeping an eye on.

"Andrew Buckle," Ogilvy said.

Buckle is at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, Calif., for stage two this week. (We're still keeping an eye on him.) So is Bob May, who famously lost a playoff to Tiger Woods at the 2000 PGA Championship.

Then there are the guys you've never heard of but whom you cheer for anyway, like Zane Scotland, who sounds like he should be a Glaswegian children's entertainer but is at Hombre this week.

Golf Channel will televise the third and final stage at Orange County National in Orlando, Dec. 1-6. The top 25 plus ties will get their Tour cards. The rest go to the Nationwide in 2011.

The six-round third stage is the only one that's televised, but it can be hard to watch. Jaxon Brigman shot the qualifying score on the number at Doral in 1999 only to inadvertently sign for one shot worse and miss his Tour card.

Alas, we are a nation of second chances. Brigman, 39, is at TPC Craig Ranch this week, still trying. Unless you prematurely donated your heart to science, you kind of hope he gets through.

Gore holds on to win Nationwide Tour eventGoats earn historic win in Houston

Golfer blinded by bad shot sues pal for no 'Fore!'

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Two doctors are playing golf on Long Island. One hits such a poor shot from the rough that it hits his partner, standing somewhere off to the side, in the head. Whose fault is that?

New York's top court will hear arguments Tuesday about whether Dr. Anoop Kapoor was negligent and should have yelled, "Fore!" as a warning before the shot. A judge dismissed Dr. Azad Anand's lawsuit, finding he took on the primary risk by golfing.

A midlevel court, divided 3-1, agreed, concluding Anand was "not in the foreseeable danger zone" and his friend had no duty to yell the customary warning. Anand was blinded in one eye.

The Appellate Division majority also questioned whether even a negligent failure to warn another golfer before taking a swing is inconsistent with the doctrine that anyone stepping onto the course assumes the risk of getting hit.

A dissenting justice said there's a factual question under existing case law about whether Kapoor violated the sport's rule, "unreasonably increased" his partner's risk and caused the accident.

The Court of Appeals is expected to rule next month after hearing oral arguments Tuesday.

The men, frequent golf partners, were playing in October 2002 at the Dix Hills Park Golf Course with another friend, Balram Verma. After hitting a second shot on the first hole, each set off to find his ball.

Anand testified that he was hit as soon as he found his ball and turned around, about 15 to 20 feet away from Kapoor.

Verma testified that Anand was 15 to 20 feet away from Kapoor and about 50 degrees away from the intended line of flight for Kapoor's shot.

Kapoor testified that Anand was farther away and at an angle of 60 to 80 degrees. He said he shouted a warning when he realized the ball was headed toward Anand. Neither friend said he heard a warning.

According to the British Golf Museum, the term "fore" may have come from forecaddie, meaning someone employed to go ahead of players to see where their balls landIn his 1881 "The Golfer's Handbook," Robert Forgan wrote that a golfer shouts the word "to give the alarm to anyone in his way."

McDowell falls into tie with Maybin at ValderramaConfidence continues to build for rookie Gavin

After tumultuous season, Woods still stuck on 82 wins

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The trophy case for Tiger Woods is collecting dust.

He finally gave the big crowds at Victoria Golf Club something to cheer in the final hour of the Australian Masters by making two eagles in a four-hole stretch and closing with a 6-under 65 to get his name on the leaderboard for the first time all weekend.

At one point he was two shots behind, but Woods knew better. There was no point in sticking around. This tournament was going to be like so many others in a season that can't end soon enough. He stuffed his golf clubs into the trunk of a black sedan waiting to take him to the airport so he could head home.

For the first time in his career, Woods is no longer the defending champion of anything, anywhere in the world.

"I tried all week," he said. "Unfortunately, I didn't do it. I didn't play good enough. Didn't make enough putts. That's what happens."

When he won the Australian Masters a year ago at Kingston Heath, it was his 82nd victory around the world.

That remains his last.

Twelve days later, Woods ran his SUV over a fire hydrant and into a tree, and it wasn't long before allegations of infidelity came gushing out. What followed was a year not many could have expected. He sat out for nearly five months, including two months in a rehabilitation clinic. He changed swing coaches. His wife divorced him.

And he didn't win a single tournament - not even close.

Stuart Appleby made it official an hour later when he birdied the last two holes for his own 65, which turned into a one-shot victory when Adam Bland missed a 10-foot eagle putt on the last hole that would have forced a playoff.

Woods finished alone in fourth, recording consecutive top 10s for the first time all year. He finished three shots behind, the closest he has been to a winner since he was three back of Graeme McDowell at the U.S. Open.

Perhaps it was only fitting that Appleby posed with the crystal trophy before thousands who stuck around for the ceremony.

Tournament organizers, determined to raise the profile of the Australian Masters by bringing it world renowned players, signed up Sergio Garcia in the spring and added Camilo Villegas, Kapalua winner Geoff Ogilvy and Robert Allenby, the highest-ranked Australian. Woods also returned to defend his title.

Their faces were on the promotional posters around Melbourne. They were the guests at the gala dinner. Appleby wasn't even invited to take part in a press conference before the tournament, even though he got his name in the PGA Tour record book this year by becoming only the second player to close with a 59, at The Greenbrier Classic.

"I noticed it, but it was not even close to annoying me," Appleby said Sunday after closing with a 6-under 65 for a one-shot victory. "I have an ego, no doubt about it. But it wasn't like, 'Oh, they haven't got me up there?' It's the Tiger Woods show, and the others. You know what? It didn't play out that way."

Woods still has one tournament left in 2010. After two weeks at home - including Thanksgiving, the day his troubles began - he hosts the Chevron World Challenge with a world-class field of 18 players. Woods has not lost at Sherwood since 2005.

He feels his game is coming around under Sean Foley, although he only sees patches of it for now, such as the final six holes he played at Victoria, or the end of his Ryder Cup singles match when he played the final seven holes in 7-under par.

"It's coming in streaks," Woods said. "I played like this in the Ryder Cup, got into a streak there, went pretty low for 15 holes. This is very similar to that. I just need to get it for all 18 holes, and eventually, for all 72. The streaks are longer now."

How much longer will it take? Woods laughed.

"Hopefully, in two weeks at Chevron," he said.

The culprit at the Australian Masters, as has been the case for so much of the year, was his putting. On greens that were slower than he realized - even tougher with weekend rain and cloud cover - Woods finally switched putters.

He ditched his trusted Scotty Cameron for a Nike Method, a heel-shafted putter that he practices with at home. It helps him get a little more pace on the ball, which is why he switched to a similar Nike putter for three rounds at the British Open.

Both times, the result was not inspiring.

Woods missed two par putts inside 4 feet on the front nine Sunday, falling as many as 12 shots behind. The finish he put together only looked good for the final score.

"I struggled this week with the speed of the greens," he said.

Appleby had no such trouble, especially at the end. He rallied from a seven-shot deficit in the final round, stayed in the game by making a 30-foot par putt on the 16th, pulled ahead with a 25-foot birdie on the 17th and two-putted for birdie on the final hole.

It was a big win for Appleby, every bit as important as The Greenbrier, for different reasons. It had been nine years since he last won on Australian soil, and his victory Sunday gave him a sweep of the biggest tournaments Down Under. He already had won the Australian PGA Championship and the Australian Open.

And there's nothing better than winning at home.

"We play around the world for big money and big tournaments and big fancy ratings and everything like that," he said. "But you come home to Australia, and it's real. That's probably hurt me too many times, really wanting to win."

Right now, Woods would take a win just about anywhere.

Appleby ends drought in Australia; Tiger closes strongRBNY fans don't need a trophy to define D.C. rivalry

Appleby ends drought in Australia; Tiger closes strong

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Stuart Appleby received hardly any fanfare at the Australian Masters until he slipped on the gold jacket that a year ago belonged to Tiger Woods.

He wasn't among the five faces on promotional posters around Melbourne, nor was he invited to the gala dinner. And even though none of the others had more wins this year - and none had ever shot a 59 to win a PGA Tour event - that was fine with him.

"I noticed it, but it was not even close to annoying me," Appleby said Sunday after closing with a 6-under 65 for a one-shot victory. "I have an ego, no doubt about it. But it wasn't like, 'Oh, they haven't got me up there?' It's the Tiger Woods show, and the others. You know what? It didn't play out that way."

The only entertainment value from Woods came in his final hour, when he made two eagles over the final four holes and shot 65 to match his best score of the year. He still ended a full year without winning, as he finished in fourth place as the defending champion.

"I didn't play good enough," Woods said. "I didn't make enough putts. That's what happens."

Appleby was as golden as the winner's jacket he wore.

He rallied from a seven-shot deficit in the final round, stayed in the game by making a 30-foot par putt on the 16th, pulled ahead with a 25-foot birdie on the 17th and two-putted for birdie on the final hole.

Adam Bland, who had a three-shot lead going into the final round, was the last one with a chance to catch him. Bland hit 6-iron to 10 feet on the par-5 18th, but missed the eagle putt that would have forced a playoff.

Appleby already had reason to celebrate this year, winning The Greenbrier Classic with a 59 on the last day. This might have been even sweeter. It has been nine years since he won on home soil, dating to the 2001 Australian Open.

It wasn't from a lack of effort, or attention.

"We play around the world for big money and big tournaments and big fancy ratings and everything like that," he said. "But you come home to Australia, and it's real. That's probably hurt me too many times, really wanting to win."

Not many would have given him much of a chance going into the final round seven shots behind. With four birdies on the front nine, he got back into the game, then holed the two long putts to finally win the third leg of the Australian Slam. He previously won the Australian PGA and the Australian Open.

Appleby finished at 10-under 274 and won for the 12th time worldwide.

About his only mistake was nearly missing the trophy presentation. Coming out of the bathroom, he saw what looked to be the closing ceremony on a big video screen, then heard his name announced as the winner and sprinted under the grandstands and onto the 18th green. Another big gallery - the Sunday attendance approached 18,000 - stuck around to watch him.

Appleby thanked them, realizing that they weren't all there to watch him.

Woods was not quite the same character they saw a year ago at Kingston Heath, when record crowds topped 100,000 for the four rounds and the world's No. 1 player - at the time, anyway - delivered a memorable performance with a wire-to-wire win.

That was his 82nd victory around the world. It remains his last.

Twelve days later, Woods was in a car accident outside his Florida home and soon after came revelations of extramarital affairs. He sat out for nearly months, struggled through the year with his game, was divorced from his wife and is still piecing his game together with a brand new swing.

It remains a work in progress. He didn't show up on the leaderboard at Victoria Golf Club until the final hour.

The culprit all week was putting, and Woods replaced his reliable Scotty Cameron putter with a Nike Method version, which he uses at home in practice. It was the second time this year he swapped out putters, also doing it for three rounds at the British Open. Both times, he attributed the switch to slow greens. It wasn't terribly effective either time.

Woods missed two par putts inside 4 feet on the front nine and fell as many as 12 shots behind. He played the final six holes in 6 under, highlighted by the eagle putts on the par-4 15th and a 15-footer on the par-5 18th that brought the only fist pump of the week.

"It would have been nice if I had gotten off to that start," Woods said.

He finished three shots back at 7-under 277, the closest he has been to the winner all year. He also was three behind Graeme McDowell at Pebble Beach in the U.S. Open.

Woods now gets two weeks at home - including Thanksgiving, where his troubles all began - before finishing out the year in California for his Chevron World Challenge.

"I can do this in streaks," he said of his final six holes, and referring to his Ryder Cup singles match when he played the last seven holes in 7 under par. "Unfortunately, I haven't done this for an entire round. It takes time. The streaks are now lasting longer. I still need to do it for an entire round. Obviously, I didn't do it for 72 holes."

Appleby finished his amazing day by signing dozens of flags, along with a couple of posters that featured Woods, Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby, Sergio Garcia and Camilo Villegas.

"They could have put, 'Mr. 59' in capital letters down the bottom," Appleby joked. "I don't need a picture."

Tiger makes up no ground in the rainGalaxy ready to head home after “tough week”

Lee Westwood remains at top of world rankings

LONDON (AP) — Lee Westwood has kept his place at the top of the world golf rankings for the third straight week despite not playing last week.

Former No. 1 Tiger Woods remained second after finishing fourth at the Australian Masters on Sunday.

The only change in the top 10 was Graeme McDowell's move to ninth from 10th, jumping ahead of Rory McIlroy.

Adam Scott moved from 41st to 20th after winning the Singapore Open on Monday.

Mickelson, Westwood paired at HSBC ChampionsGalaxy ready to head home after “tough week”

Ishikawa wins Taiheiyo Masters for third title

GOTEMBA, Japan (AP) — Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa won the Taiheiyo Masters on Sunday, shooting a 5-under 67 to hold off Australian Brendan Jones for his third title of the year on the Japanese tour.

The 19-year-old Ishikawa had seven birdies and two bogeys at the Taiheiyo Club's Gotemba Course to finish at 14-under 274.

Jones, who won this event in 2007, also closed with a 67, pulling within a stroke of Ishikawa when he made a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th. Ishikawa responded with a birdie on the last hole to secure the win.

Dynamo turn a corner in tie vs. CrewManassero seeks visa for HSBC Champions in China

Garrigus wins at Disney to keep PGA Tour card

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Robert Garrigus shot an 8-under 64 to win the Children's Miracle Network Classic on Sunday, allowing him to keep his PGA Tour card and atoning for his colossal collapse earlier this year at Memphis.

Garrigus finished three shots clear of Roland Thatcher for his first tour victory.

"It's an unbelievable feeling," he said simply.

Garrigus began the week 122nd in earnings and needed a solid finish to stay inside the top 125 - the cutoff for full PGA Tour status. Thatcher shot a final-round 70 and jumped from 179th to 122nd to keep his playing privileges, blowing a four-stroke lead but keeping his job.

The victory was sweet redemption for Garrigus.

He made triple-bogey with a three-shot lead on the final hole at Memphis, allowing Lee Westwood to win his only event this year - a win that allowed him to earn the No. 1 ranking.

The anxiety was on dozens of others to keep their cards, but no more than at the top.

Garrigus began the final round five strokes behind Thatcher - who led everyone by at least four - and put pressure on a player who needed an even stronger finish. Thatcher had to have at least a solo second place or he was heading to qualifying school next week.

That won't be necessary for either of them now.

Thatcher imploded with three bogeys on the back nine, including back-to-back at 16 and 17, when he badly misread putts. But he saved his card with a pressure-packed par putt from 5-feet on No. 18, barely pumping his fist while taking a huge sigh in relief.

"You'll never see a happier guy who just vomited away a tournament," Thatcher said.

Garrigus can relate.

In Memphis earlier this year, he knocked his tee shot into the woods, then hit one off a tree and eventually settled for triple-bogey. Then he bogeyed the first playoff hole.

It was a similar scenario this time around.

Garrigus had a two-stroke lead before he teed off on 18, but the shot found a patch of rough far left. Fortunately, the ball kicked back right, rolled onto the fringe and eventually had an easier approach to save par.

Thatcher joined Mark Wilson (123) and Michael Connell (115) as the only players this week to jump inside the top 125 after starting the week outside of it.

Meanwhile, Troy Merritt defeated Rickie Fowler and Aaron Baddeley in a playoff to win the $1 million Kodak Challenge.

Roland Thatcher eyeing fairy-tale ending at DisneyConfidence continues to build for rookie Gavin

Roland Thatcher eyeing fairy-tale ending at Disney

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Roland Thatcher was at home a year ago after missing the cut at Disney, stressfully updating the live money list on his computer to see if he would finish high enough to keep his PGA Tour card.

Things will be up to him Sunday.

Thatcher is on his way to an improbable bid to keep his card, shooting a 2-under 70 on Saturday in the Children's Miracle Network Classic to take a four-stroke lead over Chris Stroud into the final round. Five others are within five strokes of Thatcher.

"In a way, I'm in a much better situation this year because I control my own destiny, and that's a quality thing," Thatcher said. "And I have a chance to win a tournament, which is huge."

No pressure or anything: Thatcher will only be playing for his job.

He needs a victory or solo second-place finish to vault into the top 125 - the cutoff for full status - to retain his card. Nos. 126-150 will get partial status.

Quite a different scenario than last year.

Thatcher began a year ago at Disney at 119th in earnings. He missed the cut and couldn't stop watching the tour's website at home, with his name bouncing in and out of the top 125 several times during the live projections.

An anxiety-filled day, for sure.

"My wife left the house. She actually called my best friend at the time to come over and basically baby-sit me," said Thatcher, who eventually finished 121st to keep his card. "She couldn't deal with it anymore. I didn't blame her either. That was probably not the best way to handle it."

Only a disastrous finish kept him from being able to relax more this Sunday.

Thatcher had a six-shot lead when hit his approach on the 17th hole way right of the green, the ball landed just short of the water and was stuck in the mud. His right foot almost knee-high in the water, Thatcher chipped out and the ball caromed off a camera tower. He two-putted for a double-bogey, then bogeyed No. 18 to finish at 18 under.

"It's nice to be closer than I was," said Stroud, who also shot a 70. "I was trying to not pay too much attention to it, but he was running away with the tournament."

Thatcher isn't the only one fighting for a tour card.

Three others who began barely inside the top 125 - Joe Durant (120), Woody Austin (123) and Michael Allen (124) - missed the cut. Durant should be safe, but Austin and Allen are projected to fall out.

It will be an anxiety-filled day for a handful of others still playing Sunday. The projected money list can fluctuate by the second, and there are countless scenarios for some to keep their cards.

"Third or better by myself, obviously in any of those orders, and that'll get me to next year," said Brett Wetterich, who shot a 68 and was tied for third - five strokes back. Wetterich began the week 159th on the money list but also has a medical exemption that could get him into the first tournament next year and give another chance to earn enough.

For everyone in the field, Thatcher's history should at least provide some comfort.

He only needed to make par on the final hole in the final round of qualifying school in 2001 in West Palm Beach. Instead, his approach shot bounced off the cart path and onto the clubhouse roof and missed out.

Even in the big leagues, Thatcher has often been disappointing.

He has missed far more cuts (64) than he's made (45) on the PGA Tour. Thatcher's only top-10 finish this year came in New Orleans, and he would have needed an outright win this week to retain his card if it wasn't for that.

Thatcher was such a long shot at Disney he already signed up for the second stage of qualifying school near Houston next week. All Disney was supposed to provide was some momentum.

Now it might deliver a tour card.

"At least this week, regardless of what happens Sunday, I'm in charge of it," Thrasher said. "I don't need to be sitting there. It's a very uncomfortable situation to be really rooting against your friends is what it really comes down to. As crass as that sounds, that's what I was doing last year.

"And this year all I need to be doing is rooting for me."

Stroud edges Fowler, others for lead at DisneyDynamo turn a corner in tie vs. Crew

Tiger makes up no ground in the rain

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Whatever hopes Tiger Woods had of getting back into the mix at the Australian Masters ended quickly.

His 5-foot birdie putt on the easy opening hole didn't even touch the edge of the cup. Then came a three-putt from some 60 feet on the second hole, with his 4-foot par attempt missing to the right.

It was like that all day, as it has been all week.

"If I had putted normally, that's a couple of shots each day and I'm right there in the tournament," Woods said.

He hasn't. And he's not.

Adam Bland, who was 75th on the Nationwide Tour money list and his headed to the second stage of PGA Tour qualifying school next week in California, kept a smile on his face in miserable weather and shot a 1-under 70 to build a three-shot lead going into the final round.

Woods shot an even-par 71 and was 10 shots behind, leaving him resigned to going an entire year without a victory.

It was at Kingston Heath a year ago that Woods was atop the leaderboard from the opening round until he slipped on the gold jacket, winning the Australian Masters for the 82nd victory of his career.

He's still waiting on the next one, barring the largest comeback of his career.

"Unfortunately, I'm so far back that I've got to play a great round, and then I need help," Woods said. "The only thing I can control is hopefully to go out there and put a low one on the board."

All the low scores belonged to everyone else on a rainy day at Victoria Golf Club.

Ryan Haller had a 5-under 66 on a day so rugged that the average score was nearly 3 shots over par. Kieran Pratt, a 22-year-old Australian who only turned pro eight days earlier, got the shock of his life when he wound up in the same group with Woods. The kid was one shot better than the No. 2 player in the world.

"I saw him walking to the range on day one, and it's just unreal seeing him," Pratt said. "To play with him was really cool."

And posting a better score?

"Icing on the cake," Pratt said.

Bland briefly slipped into a share of the lead with Andre Stolz after a bogey on the tough eighth hole, but a birdie on the par-5 ninth allowed him to regain the outright lead. Over the final four holes, he had two looks at eagle - a driver on the par-4 15th and he reached the par-5 18th easily. Both times he settled for birdie, which was just fine.

"It was tough today - raining all day, and windy and pretty much miserable - but I just tried to stay happy and enjoy the day , and I did enjoy it," Bland said. "So it was good."

Bland was at 11-under 202 and will be in the last group on what is expected to be another soggy round with Daniel Gaunt, who shot a 68 and was at 8-under 205.

Stolz shot 72 and was another shot back.

Stuart Appleby was making a move until a double bogey on the par-5 17th forced him to settle for a 69, leaving him seven shots behind and perhaps in need of the kind of closing round he had at The Greenbrier this year, when he became only the second player in PGA Tour history to close with a 59.

Geoff Ogilvy, a member at Victoria as a teenager, shot 69 and was in the group at 211.

Woods was the only player to struggle. Sergio Garcia, who showed signs of turning the corner Friday with a 65, turned into a prophet. He cautioned people not to get overly excited about one good round, saying he could just as easily shoot 75 the next day. He shot a 77 and is no longer a factor.

Woods took himself out of the hunt earlier.

Along with missing two short putts to start his round, he was at least 60 feet short of the hole on four of the opening six holes, twice taking three-putt bogeys. He made another bogey on No. 8 with a bunker shot - well short of the flag again - that sailed over the back of the green and might have gone farther if not for hitting a pole holding the gallery ropes.

He countered with birdies on the ninth, then made all pars until a birdie on the par-5 18th.

"Again, I struggled with the pace of the greens," Woods said. "I left countless putts short, got off to a bad start the first couple of holes. Consequently, I didn't get anything going. I had a hard time making the adjustment."

Woods attributed his poor distance control to the weather - cool, at times windy and raining.

"The ball was flying nowhere," Woods said. "I just had to be committed to hitting the ball lower and harder. I hit a few good ones coming in, but not enough."

Someone asked Bland how he managed to stay so relaxed while being atop the leaderboard since Thursday. For him it was easy, considering he has been uptight the past three months as his hopes for a PGA Tour card slipped away.

"It was just beating my head against a brick wall," he said. "Hopefully, we can turn that around."

Woods shoots 72, drops 9 strokes back in AustraliaConfidence continues to build for rookie Gavin

Stroud edges Fowler, others for lead at Disney

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Chris Stroud is doing his best to make sure Rickie Fowler's memorable rookie season doesn't have a fairy-tale ending at Disney World.

Stroud shot a 10-under 62 in the opening round of the Children's Miracle Network Classic on Thursday, surging past Fowler by four strokes and taking the clubhouse lead after play was halted because of darkness. Roland Thatcher was three shots off the pace, and four others were tied with Fowler in third.

"No matter what golf course we play, no matter how hard they set it up, no matter how hard the conditions, somebody always shoots 62, 63 or 64," Stroud said. "It just happens to be me this week."

The late surge eclipsed an impressive day by Fowler.

The 21-year-old Fowler had eight birdies and two bogeys and showed no signs of jet lag after returning from the HSBC Champions in Shanghai. He led for most of the day until Stroud moved atop the leaderboard with 10 birdies before dusk. Fourteen players were still on the course when play was called.

Fowler has been bouncing around the globe with a busy schedule, from Wales to Las Vegas to Asia - among other stops - and then back to Florida on Monday. He was so tired in his only practice round that all he did was hit some range balls for about 30 minutes before heading back to bed.

As luck would have it, he got the day's first tee time at 6:45 a.m. Then had to wait when fog delayed it an hour.

"It's been more power naps at night. I don't think I've slept more than four hours straight," Fowler said. "When you're flying that much, it definitely feels like I hadn't touched the club for a week."

This is a familiar turf for Fowler.

Last year, he had just turned pro out of Oklahoma State and was only one shot off the lead after the first round at Disney. But he plummeted down the leaderboard through the weekend and was never in contention.

This year, Fowler has done everything but win.

He had second-place finishes at the Memorial and Phoenix, has $2.6 million in earnings, is well inside the top 50 in the world ranking, earned a spot on the Ryder Cup team and atoned for his surprising selection with an incredible birdie for an unlikely half-point.

All that's missing is a trophy.

"Definitely need to get that first win under the belt, get the monkey off my back and go from there," he said.

There was also another incentive for Fowler to come to Disney.

He is one shot behind Troy Merritt and Aaron Baddeley - who moved into a tie Thursday - for the Kodak Challenge. The contest designates a hole at 30 tournaments and keeps score throughout the year, and the lowest score for those who played at least 18 holes takes home the $1 million prize.

"I figure Rickie or Aaron are going to make birdie, and I'm sure Rickie's trying his hardest," Merritt said.

The battle at the bottom of the leaderboard for Tour cards is taking shape.

With Disney being the final tour stop of the season, it's the last chance for players to move up on the money list and secure their Tour cards for next year. Only the top 125 will have full status next year, but players who finish No. 126-150 on the money list will get conditional status that allows them to enter more than a dozen tournaments.

The scores can often fluctuate the first two days with players swapping between the Magnolia and Palm courses. Only the Magnolia Course is used on the weekend.

But Friday - cut day - is often where the biggest moves are made. All Stroud, who is 119th on the money list, will likely need to do is make the cut. And Thatcher, 179th on the money list, needs to finish alone in at least second place to move in the top 125.

After one round, that's exactly where he's at.

Goats earn historic win in HoustonTour cards up for grabs at PGA finale at Disney

Woods shoots 72, drops 9 strokes back in Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Tiger Woods is in the same spot Down Under as he's been everywhere else in the world - trying to catch up to the leaders and on the verge of becoming an also-ran.

Right when it looked as though Woods was poised to give himself a chance at winning for the first time all year, he struggled in blustery conditions Friday at the Australian Masters and wound up with a 1-over 72.

That put him nine shots behind Adam Bland, who is leaving Sunday night for the second stage of Q-school on the PGA Tour. Bland played in the same side of the draw as Woods, in 20 mph wind that blew sand out of the bunkers, and finished strong for a 4-under 67.

Bland was at 10-under 132 and had a two-shot lead over Andre Stolz, who also had a 67. No one else was within three shots of them, while Sergio Garcia had the best round of the day - also in a strong wind - and his best score of the year with a 65 to get within six shots.

The Australian Masters is the final title defense of the year for Woods, and he hasn't come close in any of the others. His best finish in a title defense was a tie for 15th at the BMW Championship in Chicago.

Woods again played two perfect shots on the par-5 17th for a two-putt birdie, and again took himself out of an easy birdie with a poor tee shot on the par-5 18th. This one was on a dirt path, and Woods' attempt to hook it around a tea tree didn't work out. It sailed toward a corporate box, and he had to settle for par.

He was at 1-under 141 and tied for 16th with Camilo Villegas (70).

"It was frustrating, because I hit the ball well pretty much off the tee, and wasn't quite as sharp with the irons," Woods said.

Just like on Thursday, when he opened with a 69, Woods didn't make a putt longer than 8 feet. The problem Friday was that most of those putts were for par.

Bland, a left-hander from Australia, played the Nationwide Tour this year and didn't come close to finishing in the top 25 to earn his PGA Tour card. Instead, he leaves for California after the week for the second stage of Q-school, and the only reason he didn't go over early to inspect the courses was he thought he might find some confidence at Victoria.

So far, he has.

"I haven't been playing well, so I thought I would use this event to try and get a little bit of confidence, and hopefully build some game, something I can go over there with, that can get me through those two stages," Bland said.

Woods is looking for confidence, too, and not finding it.

This was the strongest wind he has faced since the Ryder Cup on Friday morning, and that lasted only an hour when the opening session was halted because of wet conditions.

Woods had a hard time trusting his new move under coach Sean Foley, trying instead to simply work the ball with the wind and get by. But he made careless bogeys, either though his iron play or short game, and kept falling further behind.

Asked about the progress with his swing change, Woods said, "It was tougher today."

"When the wind blows this hard, just like anybody I tend to revert back to some of the old stuff," he said. "I struggled with that today. I tried to be as committed as I possibly could. It was a little more difficult than I thought it should have been, but I got through it."

The rain began falling soon after Woods hooked his final tee shot, and more - much more - is expected.

The forecast was for heavy rain to start falling overnight and throughout much of the third round, this after Melbourne already has gone through an unusually wet time of the year.

That could soften Victoria, which has been playing so firm that players are aiming at spots on the greens, and sometimes the fairway, to try to get the ball close to the hole.

"It will be a lot more target golf," Bland said.

Stuart Appleby, not among the five players the Australian Masters promoted, had a 69 and was in the group at 2-under 140. Geoff Ogilvy, who has been home in Australia for the last six weeks and is not going back to America until he defends his title in Hawaii, birdied the last two holes for a 70 that brought him back to even par.

Saturday is shaping up as a big one for Woods. With only 15 players in front of him, he is still in the game. Even so, it continues a troubling pattern for a former No. 1 player in search of his first win in a year.

When he failed to birdie the 18th from about 15 feet above the hole - it stayed a foot left of the cup the whole way - it marked the seventh time in 14 tournaments this year that Woods went into the weekend at least nine shots behind.

The closest he has been to the lead through 36 holes was at the Masters - two shots - in his return to golf, which now seems like a lot longer than seven months ago.

Dynamo turn a corner in tie vs. CrewKaymer struggles, McDowell leads in Spain

Fowler, Kodak Challenge add intrigue to season finale in Orlando

Aaron Baddeley was set to play the JBWere Australian Masters this week, but he pulled out of the event so he could tee it up at the Children's Miracle Network Classic (a.k.a. Disney), the last official PGA Tour event of 2010.

Rickie Fowler is coming off starts in Malaysia and China but will also play the Disney — if he can just cope with the 11-hour time difference between Shanghai and Orlando.

They are in O-town not to chase the Snitch at Disney's new Harry Potter theme park but to track down Troy Merritt.

At 17 under par, Merritt, the skinny rookie from Boise State, leads Baddeley and Fowler by a shot in the $1 million, winner-take-all Kodak Challenge. The three would be tied if Merritt hadn't rolled in a critical, 16-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th, the Kodak hole, on the last day of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Vegas two weeks ago.

"It was the only thing I asked for for my birthday, which was the following day," Merritt said. "And I got my birthday wish. Walking off the green I had the shakes so bad. Now I know what the shakes are."

This is only the second year for the Kodak Challenge, which highlights one hole per tournament for players to post their best single score during the event. Players must play at least 18 of the 30 holes throughout the year to be eligible for the cash, and the best 18 scores are used to determine the winner.

Having chatted about the Kodak with Baddeley and Fowler, and knowing their schedules, Merritt thought they might not bother showing up to the Disney. No such luck.Baddeley has not played the tournament since 2004, but he was drawn to Orlando not only to play for the Kodak lucre — "It is a big chunk of change," he said — but also to try to move from 110th on the money list into the top 70.

That would get him into most top-tier tournaments in 2011. He figures he needs a top-three finish.

Merritt added the RBC Canadian Open and Turning Stone Championship to his schedule last summer when he realized he was in good shape to win the $1 million bonus.He birdied the Kodak hole in both events, chipping in on the final day at Turning Stone.

The Disney's Kodak hole will be the par-4 17th at the Walt Disney World Magnolia Course — players will also use the shorter Palm Course — which can play as either a brutally long, 485-yard par-4 with water, or a 295-yard cupcake.

"There's a rumor that they're going to move the tee up to the ladies tee to make it drivable," said Kevin Streelman, who won the inaugural Kodak last year but is off this week.

"I don't think they're going to do that," Merritt said. "That would take away the integrity of the golf hole. If it were up to me, we would be playing from the middle of the 16th fairway at about 550 yards, par 4."

Streelman birdied the Disney's 17th hole to win last year, from a tee that made the hole play just 395 yards — a driver and a flip wedge as opposed to a driver and a 3- or 4-iron. He and his wife, Courtney, used the $1 million bonus to pay off their house in Scottsdale, Ariz. They helped out their families and gave some of it to charity.

"A huge blessing and a huge bonus," Streelman said.

The former Duke golfer has the Tiffany-made trophy on display at home, and when he turned 32 last week and had friends over for a birthday party, it caught the attention of Baddeley and Bubba Watson, who decided to play a prank.

They snapped a photo of Baddeley holding the cup as if he'd already won it, and sent it into the world via Twitter.

"Sure enough, within five minutes Troy was talking trash back to them on Twitter," Streelman said, laughing.

Should either Baddeley or Fowler birdie the hole, and Merritt fail to birdie it, there would be a playoff in which the golfers keep playing 17 until somebody wins.

BATTLE FOR THE TOP 125
The Kodak is one of two subplots at the CMNC, the other being the time-honored scramble to finish the season at 125th or higher on the money list.

At 121st on the money list, Merritt said his first priority this week will be playing well enough to make some money and make sure five players don't pass him. He is more than $37,000 ahead of No. 125, Troy Matteson. (Matteson is exempt through 2011 after winning the '09 Frys.com Open.)

Other players have more work to do. Cameron Percy climbed to just 144th in earnings after losing a three-man playoff to Jonathan Byrd in Las Vegas two weeks ago.

"Guys get a little more serious," Baddeley said of the vibe this week. "Guys have their swing coaches out or they have their psychologist out, really trying to do whatever they can to try and keep their cards for next year."

WORLD RANKING
Fowler is the highest ranked player in the field at 28, followed by Sean O'Hair (32) and Stewart Cink (44).

ON TV
Golf Channel will air the Disney from 1-4 p.m. and replay it from 7-10 p.m. EST all four days.

RED NUMBERS
The last four winners of the Disney have been in their 40s: Stephen Ames, Davis Love III, Ames and Joe Durant.

(Ames is suffering from a bad back and won't be able to try to defend his title this week.)

Two players, Stuart Appleby and Paul Goydos, have shot 59 so far on Tour this year. It's not out of the realm of possibility that we'll see a third this week.

"Courses here are in good shape," Cink said. "Gonna be low scoring again, I think."

Ames shot a final-round 64 to get to 18 under and win in '09. Love III won the year before that at 25 under.

THE UNDERCARD
Michael Allen (second at last week's Schwab Cup Championship), Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Lehman, Steve Lowery and Tom Pernice Jr. will compete for low oldie, what with no more events on the Champions Tour.

Chris Wilson, Dean Wilson and Mark Wilson will vie for low Wilson.

Mike Perez, brother of Tour winner Pat, gets a rare start on the PGA Tour this week.

It's tough to get to the top, but perhaps tougher to stay there. Among those searching for their old form this week: Rich Beem, Chris DiMarco, Todd Hamilton, Lee Janzen and Vijay Singh.

OTHER TOURS
Michelle Wie has been tweeting about the excellent guacamole south of the border in advance of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico.This week marks her first title defense on the LPGA.

The semi-retired Ochoa will make her first start since winning the pro-celebrity Star Trophy at Mission Hills C.C. in China, where she beat Colin Montgomerie by two strokes. Her husband, Aeromexico CEO Andres Conesa, will caddie.

Marquee names in the 36-player field also include N.Y. Choi, Paula Creamer, Christie Kerr, Brittany Lincicome, Ai Miyazato, Suzann Pettersen, Morgan Pressel and Yani Tseng.

Golf Channel will air all four rounds from 4-6:30 p.m. ET.

Nowak confirms Union in market for playersTour cards up for grabs at PGA finale at Disney

Tour cards up for grabs at PGA finale at Disney

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Briny Baird left the wife and kids at home this week to go to Disney World. After all, this trip is no vacation.

At No. 126 on the money list, it's only business. Baird joins others at the season-ending Children's Miracle Network Classic on Thursday who are near the cut line to keep their PGA Tour card. Only the top 125 will have full status next year.

The pressure to perform and living about two hours away in Jupiter, Fla., forced him to rethink doubling the event as a family vacation.

"I'm like, 'What are we doing? We're coming up for the week because we got free Disney passes?" Baird said. "If I play well, I think we can afford the Disney passes."

Probably more than that.

Players who finish No. 126-150 on the money list will get conditional status, allowing them to enter more than a dozen tournaments. But it can be a hectic year figuring out schedules each week. Not to mention hoping for sponsor's exemptions or missing out on some of the most prestigious tournaments.

And what a fitting site for the finale.

The place that declares at the entrance gates "Where Dreams Come True" will crush as many hopes as it fulfills this weekend. With so many in search of that fairy tale ending, some will inevitably fall short.

"It's a great place to come play," Baird said. "Obviously, I don't think I'm up here because it's a great place to play."

Nerves are often all over the course, too.

Players overswing on drives. They short-arm putts and take chances they otherwise wouldn't. Even around the plush clubhouse, complete with a playroom for kids, these are anxious times for many.

"I can imagine that guys just want to get out there and get things rolling right away and get it over with so they don't have to think about it for another 12 months," said Troy Merritt, who is at No. 121 on the money list.

At least Merrit has another incentive.

Merritt leads Rickie Fowler and Aaron Baddeley by one stroke in the Kodak Challenge. The contest designates a hole at 30 tournaments and keeps score throughout the year, and the lowest score for those who played at least 18 holes wins the $1 million prize. This week's hole is No. 17 on the Magnolia Course.

But the major payday is merely a subplot this week. Stephen Ames, who has won it two of the last three years, is out with a back injury.

Even for those who are safe, the stress from others is clearly visible.

"Guys get a little more serious, guys have their swing coaches out or they have their psychologist out, really trying to do whatever they can to try and keep their cards for next year," said Baddeley, who's assured of keeping his full status. "You don't laugh at them because you could be in that position."

Last year, only two players who started inside the top 125 at Disney fell out and lost their cards: Former No. 1 David Duval and Robert Garrigus. Duval rebounded this year and will have full status after he earned enough money despite playing fewer tournaments. Garrigus enters at 122nd and again is in danger of not having full status.

Maybe nobody knows that feeling of barely missing the final cut more than Baird.

Baird finished 126th in 2005 in one of the worst ways imaginable: An event in Mississippi was rained out and rescheduled at the end of the season. If the tournament had been canceled, he would have never lost his card. As it turned out, Baird went from 125 that week to 126.

Absolute heartbreak.

But Baird isn't overly concerned about keeping his full status this week. The 38-year-old believes he could enter enough tournaments next year to get back his card if things don't go his way at Disney. He's already signed up for qualifying school just in case.

Of course, a solid outing and he won't have to worry about his schedule.

"I'm not going to downplay it. There's a significant difference," Baird said. "You're going to get to pick and choose your tournaments, and that's huge."

After long road, Duval earns back PGA Tour cardNew FCD striker Rodríguez nearing full fitness

Molinari holds steady to win HSBC Champions

SHANGHAI (AP) — The experience of losing to one No. 1 player in the world helped Francesco Molinari beat another.

When last seen on a world stage, Molinari was helpless against Tiger Woods in Ryder Cup singles, when the former world No. 1 steamrolled the Italian for an easy victory at Celtic Manor.

One month later at the HSBC Champions, Molinari turned in a world-class performance against the new No. 1.

In an exquisite duel with Lee Westwood that came down to the last putt, Molinari played bogey-free Sunday at Sheshan International for a 5-under 67, giving him a one-shot victory and a World Golf Championship title.

"It's been four fantastic days, and especially the last two playing head-to-head with Lee was really tough," Molinari said. "I think the experience of playing with Tiger in the Ryder Cup definitely helped me in the last couple of days, because when you are playing against No. 1 in the world, it is not easy to always stick to the game plan and do your game."

Woods was 7 under over the last seven holes in that Ryder Cup match against Molinari. He wasn't even close to that level at the HSBC Champions, where even a 68 on the final day still put him 12 shots behind in a tie for sixth.

He ended his PGA Tour season without a win for the first time in his career.

"That's just the way it goes," Woods said. "It's not like I didn't try. It just didn't happen this year. But I'm pleased with the progress I've made of late. Things are building and heading in the right direction, which is good."

Richie Ramsay of Scotland closed with a 71 and tied for third with Luke Donald of England, who faltered to a 73. For Ramsay, it was enough to secure a spot in the Race to Dubai finale at the end of the month.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland had a 67 for a European sweep of the top five spots.

But this was Molinari's show. No one had a lower score in three of the four rounds, and he finished at 19-under 269.

It spoiled the debut of Westwood atop the world ranking, yet the 37-year-old Englishman could find little to regret except for a few bad breaks down the stretch and one poor flop shot at the worst time.

After making a 10-foot par on the 15th to stay one shot behind, Westwood his 3-wood on the 288-yard 16th and thought he was in perfect shape until his tee shot hit the back of a bunker and bounced forward, leaving him in an awkward spot with a pot bunker between him and the flag. His flop shot was fat and didn't clear the bunker, while Molinari hit lob wedge to 4 feet for birdie and a two-shot lead.

Still two shots behind playing the par-5 18th - this after making a 15-foot par save - Westwood hit 5-iron to the green and turned in disbelief when the ball crawled up a slope and didn't come back down toward the pin.

Instead, he had a 25-foot eagle putt to force a playoff, but the ball stayed left of the hole.

"I expected it to be running down, like 3 or 4 feet," Westwood said. "Just needed the breaks to win, and it didn't happen."

Even so, he put up a fight that was worthy of his ranking.

Westwood, coping with a calf injury all summer, was playing only his second stroke-play tournament in three months. He still managed to play without a bogey on the weekend - he went the last 43 holes without dropping a shot - and his 67 in the final round put him at 18-under 270. It was good enough to beat the rest of the field by nine shots.

The golf was at such a high level that neither player in the final group made a bogey, and Molinari figured he was going to have to make birdie on just about every hole to stay in front.

He only played it safe at the end, knowing Westwood would need an eagle to beat him. From the top tier of the 18th green, Molinari hit a beautiful lag, which he tapped in for par. Fireworks lit up the hazy sky over Sheshan International, and Molinari's older brother, Edoardo, was among those behind the 18th green ready to celebrate.

Until this year, the European Tour had never had more than one Italian win a tournament. Now there have been three in the last two months, starting with Edoardo Molinari at the Johnnie Walker Championship, and most recently Matteo Manassero.

"I was on tour the last few years basically on my own as an Italian," Francesco Molinari said. "So it was very good to see them this year coming through. And obviously, when they won, I wanted to win, as well. It made me work a little bit harder because I wanted to contribute to the golden moment of Italian golf."

Molinari, who earned $1.2 million, moved to No. 14 in the world ranking, three spots ahead of his brother.

Westwood was a runner-up for the fourth time this year - including the British Open and the Masters. This gave him a larger cushion in the battle for No. 1 in the world, although he still could lose it when he next plays the Dubai World Championship in three weeks.

PGA champion Martin Kaymer shot 71 and tied for 30th. Masters champion Phil Mickelson had a 73 and tied for 41st. They are playing next week in the Singapore Open.

Woods remains at No. 2 and heads Down Under to defend at the Australian Masters.

"It wasn't really about the rankings," Westwood said. "It was about trying to win this week. The rankings come as a consequence of playing well, and I'm playing well. I know I am. Today is just very typical of how I've played for the last two years."

Q&A: Bolton midfielder Stuart HoldenMickelson, Westwood paired at HSBC Champions

Mickelson to start 2011 season in Abu Dhabi

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Phil Mickelson plans to start the 2011 in the desert, as he has done so often in his career.

Just not the California desert.

Mickelson, who only recently began to expand his global horizons, said he is planning to make the Abu Dhabi Championship his first tournament of the new year. It will be held the same week as the Bob Hope Classic.

"I've wanted to go to the UAE (United Arab Emirates) for a while, and this is the perfect time," Mickelson said, adding his entire family and swing coach Butch Harmon will be going with him. "It should give me great weather to work on my game, and it gives me a chance to get to the UAE. The whole family is going, and they're pretty excited about it."

This figures to be the second straight year that the Bob Hope Classic gets more attention for who's not there.

A year ago, the PGA Tour granted nine conflicting releases to players to compete in Abu Dhabi. Tournament officials at the Hope were not thrilled, although they overlooked the fact that six of those players were European and all nine were European Tour members. What caused such consternation is one release went to Anthony Kim, who went to high school in the Palm Springs area.

Mickelson is a two-time champion at the Bob Hope Classic, although he has lost interest in recent years when the tournament started moving away from its traditional rotation of golf courses.

The four-time major champion is taking an interest in playing overseas, and making the most of it. He is immensely popular in China, where he is building golf courses and teaching academies. There also is appearance money to be made, part of the game for years.

"I feel like there's an obligation as a player to try to bring the game to different parts of the world," Mickelson said. "The UAE, especially Abu Dhabi, and China seem to be our greatest growth opportunities."

Mickelson will go straight from Abu Dhabi to Torrey Pines for the start of his busy West Coast swing. He plans to play Phoenix, Pebble Beach and Riviera, but is undecided on the Match Play Championship. He said that would depend on his kids' spring break.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: The PGA Tour is starting to compile its ballots for player of the year, with Jim Furyk sure to be one of the candidates after his three-win season and capturing the FedEx Cup.

Furyk already has wrapped up one such award.

The PGA of America honor is based on points, which Furyk has clinched with 60. He received 10 points for each of his wins at Innisbrook, Hilton Head and the Tour Championship, and 18 points for being second on the money list and 12 points for being fifth in the adjusting scoring average.

Matt Kuchar won the money list and the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average, although he has only one victory. Phil Mickelson was the only PGA Tour member to win a major, but he didn't win anything else.

One thing Furyk and Kuchar share is a perk that often gets overlooked. Any PGA Tour player who wins the money list or the FedEx Cup receives a five-year exemption on tour.

KODAK CHALLENGE: Troy Merritt is in decent shape to keep his PGA Tour card as a rookie, at No. 121 on the money list, and some $37,000 clear of No. 125. He's in even better shape to claim the $1 million prize from the Kodak Challenge, which goes to a player's best cumulative score on 18 out of 30 holes from various tour events.

But it won't be without a fight.

Merritt has a one-shot lead over Rickie Fowler and Aaron Baddeley, and both of them are coming to Disney. Baddeley withdrew from the Australian Masters, while Fowler is coming to Florida after tournaments in Malaysia and Shanghai.

"I didn't want to just give it to Troy," Fowler said with a grin. "Got to make Troy work for it."

For the 21-year-old Fowler, it's more than just $1 million.

He already has had a dream rookie season - more than $2.6 million in earnings, well inside the top 50 in the world ranking, a spot on the Ryder Cup team. The one thing missing is a trophy, and that's another reason to go to Disney.

"I'm not in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions," Fowler said, savvy enough to know the winners-only tournament at Kapalua only changed its name a few days earlier. "This is another shot at having a chance to win."

CADDIE NIGHT: One of the best nights of the year is in Shanghai when the European Tour loopers gather downstairs at the hotel bar for their "Caddie of the Year" program.

Caddies vote throughout the week for the best caddie and a few other awards.

The main winner was Ken Comboy, voted caddie of the year. He works for Graeme McDowell, who had a decent year - U.S. Open champion at Pebble Beach, two European Tour victories and that massive birdie putt at Celtic Manor to give Europe victory in the Ryder Cup.

John McLaren, now working for Luke Donald, got the award for worst dressed.

And the best switch of the year might have been unanimous - Craig Connelly, who began the year working for Graeme Storm until he got an offer to caddy for a young German named Martin Kaymer. They went on to three wins, including the PGA Championship.

It was standing room only for most of the night, a festive occasion that was attended by most of the caddies at the HSBC Champions no matter what tour they work, along with a host of players that ranged from Lee Westwood, Donald, McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Ryan Palmer and Rickie Fowler.

CARD TIME: Disney is the final PGA Tour event of the year, and the last chance for players to finish among the top 125 on the money list to secure their full cards for next year. Troy Matteson, already exempt for 2011 because of a win last season, is at No. 125 and has a lead of nearly $13,000 over Briny Baird.

Two players with a lot riding at Disney spent last week in Shanghai.

Heath Slocum is at No. 30 on the money list by $132 over Ryan Moore. That's significant because the top 30 on the money list get into the Masters next year, and Moore already is eligible for Augusta National.

Richard S. Johnson of Sweden is No. 131 on the money list, and he qualified for the HSBC Champions by winning in Sweden. He was due to arrive in Florida sometime Monday, then try to shake off the jet lag and try to earn the $50,000 that might be necessary to finish among the top 125 on the money list.

DIVOTS: Tiger Woods failed to win a World Golf Championship for the first time since the series began in 1999. ... Padraig Harrington made an albatross on the 14th hole of the third round at the HSBC Championship, the seventh one of the year on the PGA Tour. ... With the Presidents Cup in Australia next November, the European Tour is planning to push back its season-ending Dubai World Championship to the first full week in December.

STAT OF THE WEEK: Of the four majors and four World Golf Championships, Americans had only two victories this year - Phil Mickelson (Masters) and Hunter Mahan (Bridgestone Invitational).

FINAL WORD: "When I'm comfortable and when I'm happy, there's not many people than can play better than me." - Sergio Garcia.

3 tied for lead at Nationwide Tour ChampionshipRBNY fans don't need a trophy to define D.C. rivalry

Cook wins season finale, Langer takes points title

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — John Cook learned much of what he knows about golf from Ken Venturi. Now Cook has a long-awaited victory at a course Venturi once called home.

With his mentor's voice ringing in his ears, Cook successfully defended his title in the Champions Tour's season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship on Sunday at Harding Park, beating Bay Area native Michael Allen by two strokes.

"One of the great achievements," Cook said. "His voice was in my head all day long and for some reason it just clicked in. So I had a little extra in there. I'm very happy and proud that I could, you know, be a part of his legacy here."

Cook shot a 4-under 67 in steady drizzle after rain delayed the start of play, holing a 15-foot par putt on the 18th hole for his fifth career title.

Bernhard Langer (69) tied for third with David Frost (71) at 12 under to wrap up the Schwab Cup points race and $1 million annuity. Fred Couples, the only player in position to catch Langer entering the tournament, closed with a 67 to tie for 10th at 9 under. Couples got $500,000 annuity.

"Looking back it's been an unbelievable year," said Langer, who won the Senior British and U.S. Senior opens in consecutive weeks. "The thing I (hadn't) done so far is winning the Schwab Cup, so this was a big deal for me. To come out on top is a great feeling and it's worth all the hard work over the years."

Cook began the day a shot behind Allen, but birdied two of the first three holes to take the lead for good. Cook finished at 17 under and earned $440,000 for his fifth career victory on the 50-and-over tour.

Allen shot a 70 in the rainy, windy conditions that hampered his tee shots and forced the 2009 Senior PGA Championship winner to scramble most of the day.

"He really had that blade rolling," Allen said. "On that front nine there were a lot of two-shot swings that made it tough for me to come back, especially when I wasn't firing on all cylinders."

Cook won for the first time since his record-setting performance at Sonoma, and also had his ninth straight round in the 60s.

"If I'd have gone through this year with a win it would have been disappointing to say the least," said Cook, who had five runner-up finishes this season. "People remember who your champions are and it's about winning out here."

Cook won the event by five strokes in 2009 at the Sonoma Golf Club and led each of the first two rounds this year before Allen's record-setting 10-under 61 on Saturday turned it into a two-man race.

It quickly turned into a survival test in the difficult conditions. All week, players have been allowed to lift, clean and place their golf ball because of issues on some fairways.

Cook was steady off the tee and made only one mistake when he bogeyed No. 5, a 429-yard par 4. It was only his second bogey of the tournament. The turning point came on the par-5 10th.

Allen, who had bogeys on Nos. 4 and 6, birdied No. 9, then sank a 30-foot putt for birdie on the next hole to get to 15 under and a temporary tie for first. Cook responded with his own birdie from 10 feet above the hole, hanging onto the lead and silencing the pro-Allen crowd.

"I pretty much matched Michael," Cook said. "When he kind of got something rolling, I matched. And then I hit some really quality shots down the stretch.

Cook added another birdie on No. 16, while Allen could do no better than par. Allen made par saves out of the sand on Nos. 11 and 17 and had a chance at forcing a playoff on the final hole before Cook's clinching putt.

Langer made a brief run with a birdie on No. 9 to get to 12 under, but parred out the rest of the way. A five-time winner on tour this season, the German star is all but certain to win his third consecutive Jack Nicklaus Trophy as the tour's player of the year.

Additionally, Langer won the Arnold Palmer Award as the tour's leading money-winner and is the third player to lead the money list three times. Don January (1980, '83, '84) and Hale Irwin (1997, '98, 2002) are the others.

"I came out here three years ago trying to be one of the dominant players," Langer said. "I had no clue that this was going to happen."

Defense the key to Kansas City's fortunesAllen’s 61 highlights Schwab Cup Championship

PGA Tour Confidential: HSBC Champions

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.

YEAR OF THE MOLINARIS
John Garrity, contributing writer, Sports Illustrated: Welcome, fellow One Worlders, to the Asian edition of PGA Tour Confidential. Our headline story comes from Shanghai, where restaurant suppliers are cranking out placemats heralding 2010 as the "Year of the Molinaris." Seriously, if you'd told me a decade ago that Italians would be dominating pro golf and that China would be building more golf courses than the U.S., I'd have questioned your sanity. So let's start with Francesco Molinari's unblinking dismissal of a star-studded field at the WGC-HSBC Champions. Are you guys as stoked as I am about the Molinari brothers' emergence as international stars?

Cameron Morfit, senior writer, Golf Magazine: As stoked as you? No, probably not. But that's probably only because I haven't written a feature about them. Judging by your enthusiasm for these guys, to know them is to love them.

Jim Herre, managing editor, SI Golf Group: Impressive how Francesco closed the deal. Capped a great year by the Europeans.

Gary Van Sickle, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: Just what the European Tour needs — more twenty-something studs. It just shows how one great player from a country can inspire the next generation and start a wave. Greg Norman helped turn Australia into a golf factory. Nick Faldo certainly inspired the current crop of English stars. Martin Kaymer probably discovered golf only because of Bernhard Langer. And now, 15 years after Costantino Rocca put Italy on the golfing map, here come the Molinaris. They really seem like a breath of fresh air, two guys who enjoy the competition and show it.

David Dusek, deputy editor, Golf.com: There is so much depth over there it's crazy. A few years ago there was speculation that the Nationwide Tour might be the second-best in the world. You don't hear that anymore. The best players are always attracted to the big-bucks of the U.S. tour, but week-to-week European Tour events are getting stacked with highly ranked players — homegrown highly ranked players.

Farrell Evans, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: The Molinari brothers are good young players, but there are a lot of good young players from all over the world. The talent well is as deep as it's ever been from a worldwide perspective.

Morfit: Maybe I'm forgetting a year somewhere, but I can't remember a season where we saw the emergence of more exciting players than 2010. Rory. Ryo. Rickie. Matteo. Bros Molinari. And of course Ben Crane.

Alan Shipnuck, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: I agree that the story of this year is the emergence of so many strong young players. Tiger and Phil combined to win only once, and that vacuum created a lot of opportunity. Even if both get back to where they were, they'll find it's harder to win because all these young studs are just gonna keep coming.

Morfit: I have to say the result dispelled one myth: Edoardo was supposed to be the brother who was clutch and could actually putt. Now it seems that description applies to both of them.

Mark Godich, senior editor, Sports Illustrated: That half-point they stole on the 18th hole at the Ryder Cup had to do a lot for their confidence.

Morfit: Good point, Mark. And Francesco said getting demolished by Tiger in singles actually helped him in a weird way.

Shipnuck: They're definitely a breath of fresh air. How cool will it be when they go head-to-head to determine a big tourney?

Morfit: If they're like the Williams sisters in tennis, it'll be a pillow fight.

Damon Hack, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: I think it would be more like the Mannings than the Williams sisters. The brothers would spend 18 holes trying to take each other down. Would be compelling theater.

Shipnuck: Both of the Molinaris are swell guys, but they seem to have an admirable competitiveness. I think each would love the chance to beat the other.

KC's Espinoza reflects on his World Cup experiencePGA Tour Confidential: Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Molinari stays in front of Westwood at HSBC Champions

SHANGHAI (AP) — The No. 1 ranking belongs to Lee Westwood for at least another week, which is the least of his concerns.

No matter how well he played Saturday in the HSBC Champions, where he kept bogeys off his card and matched the low score of the third round at Sheshan International with a 5-under 67, it still wasn't enough to overtake Francesco Molinari.

Molinari holed a 7-iron from 160 yards for eagle. When it looked as if there might be a two-shot swing, he knocked in a 10-foot par putt on the 16th hole to stay in the lead. And after Westwood chipped to tap-in birdie range on the par-5 18th, Molinari ended his up-and-down day with a 10-foot birdie for a 67 to stay one shot clear.

So when Westwood was asked how it felt to stay No. 1 in the world - virtually a lock the way Tiger Woods, Martin Kaymer and Phil Mickelson all fell apart - he made his intentions perfectly clear.

"I haven't thought about world rankings or anything like that," Westwood said. "I'm here to try and win the HSBC Champions. The world rankings are just something that reflects the way you play."

After his answer was translated into Chinese, Westwood took hold of the microphone for one last comment.

"Can I follow on?" he said. "When I play a golf tournament, I look at the leaderboard, but I don't see any other names. I see my name and the scores. And right now, I'm one behind the leader, which won't win the golf tournament. So I've got to get above."

That's proving to be quite a chore.

Molinari has more recent experience playing with the world's No. 1 than anyone, and he's faring much better this week.

He faced Woods in singles at the Ryder Cup, where the former No. 1 put on a dazzling display of shotmaking to reach 9-under par through 15 holes when he closed out the match.

Now comes Westwood, who replaced Woods atop the ranking last week and is playing as if he belongs there.

"They are both exceptional players," Molinari said. "Tiger played really well at the Ryder Cup against me, and Lee is playing very well this week. To be honest with you, I can't see a lot of difference between them."

Molinari stayed in control with a shot he never saw - a soft 7-iron right at the flag on the 13th. Once it cleared a ridge in front of the green, he tamped down his divot and heard a loud cheer, then smiled when he realized it went in.

Westwood followed with a 9-iron to 6 feet for a mere birdie, doing his best to stay in range.

"It was a really eventful round, and it was a bit of a roller coaster, because I hit some great shots and some not-so-great shots," said Molinari, who was at 14-under 202. "To still be one in front of Lee going into Sunday, it's a really good position."

Luke Donald of England squeezed everything out of his game for a 68 that left him four shots behind on a Shanghai leaderboard that had a European Tour feel. A year after an All-American final group, the top six players in the final World Golf Championship of the year are European Tour members.

The best American this year has been Woods, which isn't saying much.

He could have returned to No. 1 by finishing ahead of Westwood, but that went awry quickly. He hooked his tee shot into the hazard on the par-5 second for bogey, then came up well short of the third green with a wedge for another bogey. Woods finished with a 73, and was 11 shots behind the leader.

Barring the greatest comeback in tour history, it will end his streak of 14 straight years with at least one PGA Tour victory. The record is 17 years, held by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Woods turns 35 next month, and this isn't a streak he can start over.

"Not a very good day," Woods said. "I missed a lot of makable putts, didn't hit the ball very well and just never got anything going."

Mickelson, the defending champion in Shanghai, made only one birdie against five bogeys in his round of 76, falling 14 shots back. Kaymer, the PGA champion who also had a chance to go to No. 1, shot 74 and is 13 shots behind.

Molinari, looking for his first victory of the year, has stayed one shot ahead of Westwood since the opening round. About the only player capable of interrupting this duel is Donald, who will join them in a final group filled with European Ryder Cup players.

Ernie Els, who can join Woods and Mickelson as the only players to win two World Golf Championships in one year, recovered from a 38 on the opening nine to shoot 71. He was at 8-under 208, along with Ross Fisher (69) and Richie Ramsay (71).

Padraig Harrington was in the group at 6 under thanks to the shot of the tournament. He holed a fairway metal for an albatross on the par-5 14th hole, although he dropped two shots after that in his round of 70.

"I've never had an albatross," Harrington said. "I was hoping it was going to go close, but obviously when they all jumped up - you can never quite be sure in China - but when they all jumped up, I suspected it got in the hole. It was a nice bonus."

As far as catching the leaders? Harrington feels they are too far ahead.

Westwood only has one shot to make up, but that has proved difficult through three rounds.

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