Bo Van Pelt leads Asia Pacific Classic

SELANGOR, Malaysia (AP) — Bo Van Pelt shot a 4-under 67 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over fellow Indiana player Jeff Overton after the third round of the Asia Pacific Classic. Van Pelt, the winner of the PGA Tour's 2009 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, had a 16-under 197 total at The Mines in the second-year event sanctioned by the PGA Tour and Asian Tour. "I just love to play to compete," Van Pelt said "It's not about the money. That's what gets my juices flowing. Like my grandpa always told me, 'You can't take it with you.' "Obviously, any time you're near the lead with 18 to go, you're excited. That's why we practice and why we enter tournaments. That's all you can ask for, to have a chance to win on Sunday. It's exciting, and I'm looking forward to it. It's been a while since I won a golf tournament, so it would be great." Overton, tied for second-round lead with Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson after a course-record 62, had a 69. "It wasn't my day on the greens," Overton said "Didn't make anything." Overton noted the Hoosier connection at the top of the leaderboard. "It's crazy," Overton said. "We're from the same state, Indiana, and probably the only two players in the field or on tour from Indiana. To actually come all the way here, a 12-hour time change, halfway around the world to play golf with each other, it'll be fun." Jacobson (71) and Mark Wilson (67) were 13 under. Van Pelt bogeyed the opening two holes, but countered with birdies on Nos. 3 and 5. He also birdied the 12th and made three more on Nos. 15-17. "I didn't make a big deal after bogeying the opening two holes," the former Oklahoma State star said. "I told myself it wasn't the end of the world and just concentrated on playing my shots. "I think that's the biggest thing I've learned, experience-wise. As much as golf as I've played, in the times I've let a bad start lead to a bad round, it was probably when I made too big a deal out of it, got upset or got quicker (with my swing). I think today was just a good example of not making a big deal out of it and trying to hit good golf shots." Three-time major winner Vijay Singh followed his second-round 64 with a 66 to join Jason Dufner (65) and Malaysia's Danny Chia (6) at 11 under. "I guess the expectation is building up now," Chia said. "Every day when I begin my round, I don't really think about the result. I just want to play my golf. I only started looking at the leaderboard on the second last hole and told myself, 'Hey, I still got an outside chance.'" Defending champion Ben Crane was 8 under after a 68. The winner will receive $1.3 million from the $6.1 million purse.

Sergio Garcia wins Andalucia Masters by 1 shot

SOTOGRANDE, Spain (AP) — Sergio Garcia held off fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez to win the Andalucia Masters by one shot on Sunday for his second straight European Tour victory. Garcia shook off two early bogeys with two birdies on a flawless back nine to card an even 71 and finish with a 6-under total of 278 at the Valderrama course. "It's very, very special. Valderrama ... I have so much history here and unfortunately it wasn't as good as this until now," said Garcia, who had previously finished runner-up three times on the course. Jimenez seized the lead early when Garcia three-putted the sixth hole and bogeyed the next. The 47-year-old Jimenez dropped shots on the 13th and 15th before making a pair of birdies to press Garcia until the last hole. Jimenez had a chance at pulling even with a birdie on the 18th, but his 15-foot putt fell short and Garcia calmly made par. "On 18, we decided to play a little more conservatively and make sure we hit the fairway," Garcia told the European Tour website. "I've been in that situation three or four times on this course. It wasn't easy, but I believed in my ability. To be able to hit the chip I hit there and roll the putt in with the pressure, it was nice." Richie Ramsay of Scotland, who led for the first two rounds, finished two shots back in third, with Irish golfer Shane Lowry a further shot behind in fourth. The 31-year old Garcia won the Castello Masters by 11 strokes last weekend to end a nearly three-year title drought. "It's been two amazing weeks," said Garcia, who became the first Spaniard to win a stroke play event at the cork tree-lined Valderrama course. "I wasn't as good as probably the last 13 days, but we hung on and managed to pull through." Once ranked No. 2, Garcia had dropped outside the top 75 after near-misses at the 2007 British Open at Carnoustie and 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills. His fifth European Tour win on his home soil will lift him back into the top 20. It also qualified him for next week's WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai and moved him to the top of the European Ryder Cup points race. "Ryder Cup years are always special for me," he said. "So hopefully we can make that team."

McIlroy takes 3-stroke lead in Shanghai Masters

SHANGHAI (AP) — U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday to increase his lead to three strokes after the third round of the Shanghai Masters. The 22-year-old star from Northern Ireland made seven birdies in another bogey-free round on Lake Malaren's Jack Nicklaus-designed Masters course to finish at 18-under 198. "Another good day on the course! Excited to have a chance to get another win this year!" McIlroy tweeted, adding the hashtag "itsbeentoolong." American Anthony Kim was second after a 65. He's coming off a third-place finish last week in the Asian Tour event in South Korea. South Korea's Noh Seung-yul was 14 under after a 67. Ian Poulter (67) and Hunter Mahan (68) were 11 under, second-ranked Lee Westwood (70) and Geoff Ogilvy (66) were another stroke back, and Robert Karlsson (72), Padraig Harrington (73) and Y.E. Yang (68) were 6 under. Louis Oosthuizen struggled in the windy, overcast conditions, shooting a 76 to finish at 4 under. The 2010 British Open champion had a double bogey on the par-5 13th and made four bogeys. The 30 players are vying for the $2 million first prize, the richest in golf. All the top players are getting appearance money, and last place pays $25,000. Because the International Management Group-run event isn't sanctioned by a major tour, it doesn't have world-ranking points. The World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions is next week at nearby Sheshan International.

McIlroy take 2-stroke lead in Shanghai Masters

SHANGHAI (AP) — U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy shot a 3-under 69 on Friday to increase his lead to two strokes after the second round of the Shanghai Masters. After opening with a bogey-free 64, McIlroy struggled on the front nine, bogeying the fourth hole and dropping two strokes when he drove into the water on the par-4 ninth. The 22-year-old star from Northern Ireland recovered with four birdies on the back nine to finish at 11-under 133 on Lake Malaren's Jack Nicklaus-designed Masters course. "I liked the birdie on 18, and had a good back nine," McIlroy said. "To shoot four birdies kept me going after the double bogey." Noh Seung-yul was second after a 63. The 20-year-old South Korean player birdied three of the last four holes. He began the round tied for 18th after an opening 72. "I had hurt my ankle and not been able to practice too much and also not be able to swing as hard as I would like," Noh said. "I just decided to be careful with how I played. I putted well and chose good options, which obviously helped my score." The 30 players are vying for the $2 million first prize, the richest in golf. All the top players are getting appearance money, and last place pays $25,000. Because the International Management Group-run event isn't sanctioned by a major tour, it doesn't have world-ranking points. Louis Oosthuizen (66) and Anthony Kim (68) were 8 under, and Padraig Harrington (70) and Hunter Mahan (72) were another stroke back. Ian Poulter (71) and Robert Karlsson (69) were 6 under, and John Daly followed his opening 69 with a 70 to match Lee Westwood (70), Colin Montgomerie (69) and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel (69) at 5 under. The World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions is next week at nearby Sheshan International.

Robert Allenby leads Asia Pacific Classic

SELANGOR, Malaysia (AP) — Australia's Robert Allenby shot an 8-under 63 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas after the first round of the Asia Pacific Classic, the second-year event sanctioned by the PGA Tour and Asian Tour. Allenby birdied four of the first six holes and three of the last four in his bogey-free round at The Mines Resort and Golf Club. "I got away with a nice par on the 18th. I made lots of nice putts and hit the ball really well all day," Allenby said. "I had just one wayward tee shot at the last, but I made a good par to save at the last." Winless since the 2009 Australian Masters, Allenby was a captain's pick for the upcoming Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne - the 40-year-old Australian's home course. "I've been playing well for a while, but I just haven't really put the scores on the board," Allenby said. "I've been making a lot of birdies, but a few others have been slipping in there. So to have a bogey-free round and to shoot 8 under around here is a great score." He won his first pro title in Malaysia in the 1992 Perak Masters. Vegas birdied the final four holes. "I had a really good round and hit the ball well," said Vegas, the PGA Tour rookie who won the Bob Hope Classic in January. "I felt like I hit a lot of good putts as well. Hopefully, I can keep the momentum going for the next three days." Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson opened with a 65, and Americans Bo Van Pelt, Cameron Tringale and Jimmy Walker were another stroke back. "I hit a perfect bunker shot," said Jacobson, the Travelers Championship winner this summer for his first PGA Tour title. "That was a bit of a nice one to get. It was 25 yards, with the bunker a little left of the green. If I could have upped-and-downed it from there I would have been really happy." Mark Wilson, Stewart Cink, Jeff Overton, Scott Stallings and John Senden were four strokes back at 67. Defending champion Ben Crane shot a 69. The winner will receive $1.3 million from the $6.1 million purse.

A different ballot for the PGA Tour

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The PGA Tour was going to send its postseason awards ballot to the players on Tuesday until realizing the World Golf Championship in Shanghai counts as official if a PGA Tour member wins. So it will wait until after the HSBC Champions next week. On a slow news day, this became a controversy, and in some corners a conspiracy against Luke Donald. Now players will have only a month, instead of six weeks, to decide which box to check. They might need longer than that to find someone who had a better year than Donald. If what Donald did at Disney was that special - and it was - then it won't be forgotten. Would it not have been worse if the tour became aware of an oversight and chose to do nothing at all? Of course, this could have been avoided if the PGA Tour treated the HSBC Champions like the other three WGC events. It's still a "world" event, even though it's not held in global communities such as Marana, Ariz., and Akron, Ohio. Now that's a controversy. That also can wait. In the two weeks that players will be on pins and needles waiting for those PGA Tour ballots, here are some other awards worth mulling over. BEST MAJOR: It was the first time since 2003 that four players captured their first major, and all were compelling for reasons beyond that. Darren Clarke scores sentimental points, a popular champion whose best golf appeared to be behind him. Rory McIlroy represented the youth movement and smashed scoring records at the U.S. Open. The PGA Championship gets credit for being the only major to go overtime, but that only meant more TV commercials. There simply was no topping Charl Schwartzel at Augusta National. Eight players had a share of the lead at some point in the final round, and the South African became the first Masters champion to birdie the last four holes. So spectacular was the finish that it overshadowed his 60-foot chip for birdie on No. 1 and holing out from the fairway for eagle on No. 3. COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR: This award typically goes to a player who returned from some sort of injury, or barring any candidates, a player who really stunk it up the year before. In this case, the vote is for McIlroy. The lasting image from the Masters is the 22-year-old burying his head in the crook of his arm when he finished four-putting the 12th hole from 12 feet on his way to blowing a four-shot lead with an 80 in the final round. Yes, he's young and resilient. But to bounce back two months later and win the U.S. Open by eight shots with a record score was remarkable. By the way, if Steve Stricker goes 5-0 at the Presidents Cup after sitting out nearly two months with a neck injury, does the PGA Tour put him back on the ballot? SHOT OF THE YEAR: The best shots come from the biggest moments, and it's hard to argue with Bill Haas splashing out of the water from left of the 17th hole in a playoff at East Lake to save par and stay in the hunt for the $10 million FedEx Cup, which he won. It was a great shot. It was a greater moment. And because of the water level, it was a great break. For a pure golf shot that not many saw? Go back to Honolulu at the start of the season, when Steve Marino needed an eagle on the last hole to tie for the lead. With his feet in the bunker and the ball chest-high on the side of a hill, Marino hit fairway metal from 234 yards that landed on the front of the green and stopped 40 feet away. He missed the putt. Another consideration would be Stricker, tied for the lead at the John Deere Classic on the 18th hole, his feet pressed against the back of the bunker, the ball below his feet and water between him and the green. From 182 yards, he hit 6-iron just through the green and made the putt to win. BIGGEST BREAKUP: In a peculiar year, this gets plenty of candidates. Start with Tiger Woods and Steve Williams, his caddie for 12 years and 13 majors. It started with Williams going to work for Adam Scott at the U.S. Open, featured a nasty departure a month later, and culminated with Williams' television interview at Firestone calling it the "best win I've ever had." And then there was McIlroy's abrupt departure from agent Chubby Chandler, a surprising turn of events after a summer filled with talk about the "Chubby Slam." The award, however, goes to Mark Steinberg and IMG. Steinberg for so many years was seen primarily as Woods' agent and known in some quarters as "Dr. No" for his propensity to rarely say "Yes." However, he also was the head of the powerful IMG golf division and a major player when it came to creating new tournaments around the world and finding a spot for them on the schedule. BEST PERFORMER: Donald wins under any definition. He turned in the best year, no matter what happens in Shanghai, with two wins, the most money and the lowest scoring average. If that's not enough, his top 10 finishes - 14 of 19 - was the highest rate this side of Woods. Under the circumstances, was there a better performance than his six straight birdies on the back nine at Disney? Still, his best performance came in the high desert of Arizona at the Match Play Championship. Donald never trailed in any of his six matches. Even more incredible, he never played the 18th hole except in a practice round.

Flash to the past: star golfers return Down Under

COOLUM, Australia (AP) — Not since the heady days of regular appearances by Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer have so many top players decided to travel Down Under to play in three Australasian PGA tour events spread over six weeks. Credit the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne in mid-November for having a large part to do with it. The challenge for Australian golf officials will be to find a way to entice stars like Tiger Woods, British Open champion Darren Clarke and top-ranked Luke Donald to return next year. The Australian Open at Sydney from Nov. 10-13, in particular, reaped the benefit of players who wanted to arrive a week ahead of the Nov. 17-20 Presidents Cup to get over jet lag and familiarize themselves with Australian conditions. Captain's pick Woods and his U.S. teammates Matt Kuchar, David Toms, Nick Watney and Hunter Mahan are among the Australian Open entries at The Lakes, along with U.S. captain Fred Couples, his International counterpart Greg Norman, defending champion and International team member Geoff Ogilvy and Adam Scott. "Our field is the best we've ever had," Stephen Pitt, chief executive officer of Golf Australia, which has direct responsibility for the Australian Open, told The Associated Press. "It's not so much all the great players, but the depth, and they're all in terrific form." Also scheduled to play at The Lakes are U.S. Presidents Cup teammates Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson and U.S. Tour Championship winner Bill Haas and International team members Jason Day and captain's pick Robert Allenby of Australia. That's eight of 12 American team members and all five Australians in the International team, including two-time Australian Open champion Aaron Baddeley. The Australian PGA on the Hyatt Regency resort course at Coolum from Nov. 24-27, the week after the Presidents Cup, will feature Day, Watson, Y.E. Yang, Norman, Ogilvy and Scott, to be joined by Northern Irishman Clarke and American Rickie Fowler. Even the Australian Masters, which Woods won in 2009 and will be played Dec. 15-18 in Melbourne, has managed to attract a strong field despite its closeness to the holiday season. U.S. PGA Tour money title winner Donald, who won Sunday's Children's Miracle Network Classic at Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Italian teenager Matteo Manassero and Ian Poulter will be at Victoria Golf Club with defending Australian Masters champion Stuart Appleby. Only three of the top 10-ranked players won't make it Down Under - Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer, who play regularly on the European Tour, which still has five tournaments remaining this year. Phil Mickelson, a member of the U.S. Presidents Cup team, is playing in Singapore the week before the Royal Melbourne event, as is International team member Yang. The star power is a welcome sign - the Australasian Tour has been in decline over the past decade, losing several tournaments due to lack of sponsorship and watching prize money fall behind most events in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The Australian Open and Australian PGA each offer total prize money of $1.5 million this year, with the winner getting $270,000. Most U.S PGA tour events offer purses of at least of $5 million, with the winner often collecting a million dollars. Pitt says the influx of top golfers is an opportunity for the Australian tour to showcase its world-class courses and hospitality, regardless of the lack of prize money. "The bar is very clearly being raised for us, and the challenge will be to maintain some sort of growth to follow on from this year," Pitt said. "The feedback we get from players is that they've always wanted to play the Australian Open in particular, and that's recognition of the status of the tournament. Now we've got to tap into that, give the players a really good experience, and get them to come back." The biggest attraction of the past five years was Woods at the 2009 Australian Masters, which he won after being paid $3 million in appearance money, half of that paid by the Victoria state government. Weeks later, news of his infidelities surfaced, followed by a divorce, injuries and swing changes, leaving his win at Kingston Heath in Melbourne his last tour victory anywhere. He returned to Melbourne a year later to unsuccessfully defend his Masters title when it was played at the Victoria layout. Tim Clark of South Africa won the Australian Open in 2008, but the last non-Australian winner before that was Westwood in 1997. That's a big difference from Player's seven Australian Open titles beginning in 1958 and ending in 1974, Nicklaus' six, including four in the 1970s, and Norman's five, the first in 1980 and the last in 1996. Palmer won his only Australian Open title in 1966 while five-time British Open champion Peter Thomson has three of his native Open trophies. Even in 1966, the Australian Open offered a relatively small purse. When Palmer won at Royal Queensland in Brisbane, his first-place prize money of $1,600 was part of a $6,000 total purse. Nicklaus and Player won the Australian Open the previous two years, so the big three then apparently didn't come Down Under for the money. The Australian PGA has had mostly homegrown and two New Zealand winners since Seve Ballesteros won in 1981. The exceptions were Scotland's Andrew Coltart in 1994 and 1997 and England's David Howell in 1998. Peter Heiniger, the head professional at the Coolum course, says the PGA entry list will have its best international field since the days when Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam and other top players made their way from Europe to Australia. "There is no doubt about it, the profile will be greatly influenced by this summer of golf," Heiniger says. "I think the sponsors will want to jump on board over the next few months. Hopefully, this year will provide a bonus for the years to come."

Donald makes a clear case for player of the year

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Luke Donald can only hope that shooting 30 on his last nine holes to win at Disney was the hard part. His sole reason for entering the final PGA Tour event of the year was to keep alive his bid to become the first player to win the money title on both sides of the Atlantic. The bonus of capturing the PGA Tour money title was that it surely would make him the frontrunner, if not the overwhelming favorite, as player of the year. Donald was better than everyone on the PGA Tour in two of the most relevant categories - money and scoring average. He and six others tied for most wins (two). Of that group, only Keegan Bradley won a major. More telling is that in 14 of his 19 tournaments, Donald finished in the top 10. That's a rate of 74 percent, a level of consistency matched only by Tiger Woods in the last 15 years. There's a reason he has been No. 1 in the world since May. And if that's not enough, Disney provided a rare head-to-head competition with Donald and Webb Simpson playing in the same group all four days. In a winner-take-all situation, Donald birdied six straight holes on the back nine to win. The ballots go out in two weeks, after the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, where the only person who could possibly cloud the decision is Bradley. Even though he has missed 10 cuts and only has four top 10s, he could attract votes with three wins, including a major and a World Golf Championship. Either way, picking the winner is not as easy as it should be. Remember, this is a vote of the players. Perhaps it's only a coincidence that as PGA Tour members start deliberating on player of the year, EA Sports announced the winners of a contest in which fans voted to determine who would join Woods on the cover of its next video game. The winners were Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy, two of the most popular young players in the game. The hope is that player voting doesn't turn into a popularity contest, too. A year ago, Fowler was chosen PGA Tour rookie of the year over McIlroy in a vote that made little sense. Fowler finished only four spots ahead of McIlroy in the money list (No. 22 to No. 26), but failed to win a tournament. McIlroy not only shot 62 on the last day to win at Quail Hollow, he finished third in two majors. Then again, the case could be made that Fowler was a true rookie devoted exclusively to the PGA Tour, while McIlroy was in his third full year as a pro and spent most of his time on the European Tour. Could something like that happen again? Robert Garrigus said he had made up his mind before the tournament even started last week. "I would vote for Webb," he said. "I mean, he's had such an unbelievable year. If you look at how many top 10s he's made (12), it's almost more than some guys have played in tournaments. What has he made, $6 million? That's Tiger money, and that's pretty special. "And not taking anything away from anything Luke has done, but it's pretty neat to see an American do that - finally." So much for looking at performance over passport on the PGA Tour. Then there was Scott Gutschewski, who played with Donald and Simpson in the final round at Disney and witnessed a performance that he described several times simply as "awesome." Does this clear up who wins player of the year? Gutschewski suddenly was at a loss for words. "Is he the best player in the world? Probably," he said almost begrudgingly. "Playing part-time on the PGA Tour, does he get the player of the year? It's a good argument. It's a tough call." Just because Donald is English does not make him a part-time player. The NCAA champion from Northwestern has been a regular in America since 1997. He has two homes, none in England - one is his primary residence outside Chicago, the other in south Florida. Donald has averaged 20.5 starts a year since his rookie season in 2002. Not even Woods plays that many. The rookie vote last year also took place after Europe won the Ryder Cup (again). Is that a factor? It shouldn't be, but with so much attention on the rise of world golf - particularly European golf - there has been a noticeable "us against them" mentality among some Americans. "Obviously when it comes to voting, there's going to be some leniency toward your friends," Donald said. "There's still more American players on the U.S. tour, and I'm sure Rickie has more followers and peers that follow him on the U.S. tour. Again, it's a vote, so it's totally subjective." Donald was asked if he could make a case for anyone else as player of the year, an awkward question in the immediate aftermath of the most gratifying win of his career. "Not sure I could at the moment," he said. "I think I've answered everyone's questions." No matter what happens in Shanghai, the lasting image when it comes to player of the year should be Disney. Except for two majors - Charl Schwartzel making birdie on his last four holes to win the Masters, McIlroy obliterating the scoring record at the U.S. Open to win by eight - Donald's final round at Disney might have been the best performance of the year. Forget for a moment that Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck presented him the bronze trophy. It's a rare occasion in golf when a player knows an opportunity might never come along again, and it's win or else. Think back to Woods in the 2001 Masters attempting to become the only player to hold all four professional majors. That's why Donald's win at Disney rates so high. A chance like this might not come along again, and he seized it in a manner expected of the No. 1 player in the world. It was the kind of performance only seen from Woods at the height of his game. Think of it this way. What if it had been Woods who, in the final tournament of the year that he had to win, shot 30 on the back nine? What if it had been Woods who had as many wins as anyone else, including a World Golf Championship? What if it had been Woods who won the money title and the Vardon Trophy and had 74 percent of his finishes in the top 10? Would there even be a discussion?

Leonard, Kim, Stenson tied at Disney

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Justin Leonard described his round Friday at Disney as a "fun, easy day," and it was every bit of that. He had a 9-under 63 for his lowest round of the year, putting him in a tie for the lead with Henrik Stenson and Bio Kim at the Children's Miracle Network Classic. It was only after his round that he felt as though he was on Thunder Mountain without ever leaving the golf course. Leonard is at No. 144 on the PGA Tour money list and not the least bit worried about keeping his card because he already is exempt through 2012. Because of a misprint in the media guide, reporters didn't understand how he was exempt, leading to confusion - and a brief spell of panic for Leonard - while tour officials researched the regulations to confirm the answer. By the time he headed for the Magic Kingdom for the parade with his four children, all was well. The leaders were at 12-under 132, two shots clear of Nick O'Hern. Gary Woodland was in the group at 9-under 135. The money list is magic at Disney. Webb Simpson and Luke Donald are battling for the money title, and they both played the opening two rounds at 7-under 137, meaning they will be paired again Saturday. Simpson has a $363,029 lead, so the third round looms large for Donald. The stress is at the bottom. The players at Nos. 123, 124 and 125 - D.J. Trahan, Bobby Gates and James Driscoll - all made the cut. Kim is at No. 168 and will have to finish no worse than second to avoid Q-school. Stenson, who had a 64 on the Palm Course, is at No. 180 but is exempt through 2014 from winning The Players Championship. Leonard also has no concern about next year. "I did call the tour a couple months ago and asked about my status. I'm exempt for next year, so I'm not playing with that kind of pressure," Leonard said in his press conference. "I don't know how, I just am. I gave the same look to the telephone. 'How is this guy still exempt?'" It was a reasonable question, for his exempt status on his biography page showed him exempt through his position on the money list in 2010. In the exempt ranking at the front of the media guide, however, it shows him in the winner's category. The answer took time. Andy Pazder, the chief of operations, was out of the state on business and did not have immediate access to the records. It required an official at Ponte Vedra Beach headquarters to go through each year's regulations to provide the correct answer. That took time, and a tour official at Disney didn't want to keep Leonard waiting. He told him the staff was checking on it. "Are you going to eat?" media official Mark Stevens said to him. "I already ate," Leonard replied. "I think I'm going to go throw up." As it turned out, Leonard had the correct information all along. His British Open win in 1997 came with a 10-year exemption. Starting in 2003, the tour began adding to the 10-year exemption with every win. Leonard won five times after 2003, thus he is exempt through 2012. Leonard is not exempt for the Tournament of Champions in Kapalua to start next year, and that's something he now has a chance to remedy at Disney. Over the last few months, he has gone to Morris Pickens to develop some practice strategies, and Dave Stockton Jr. for help getting back to his natural putting stroke. It has paid off so far at Disney, where he took advantage on the Palm for a bogey-free round of 63. Kim had a 65 on the tougher Magnolia Course, and his spot on the leaderboard was far more critical. "I'm not afraid of Q-school, because I'm only 21 and I've got a lot of things to do and a lot of tournaments to do," Kim said. Far more fearful was undergoing heart surgery in his native South Korea while the FedEx Cup playoffs were going on. He previously had the surgery for an irregular heartbeat when he was 11, and knew he was having a problem when he nearly fainted at the Wyndham Championship in August. He was back to playing golf before long, and now is hopeful of a big week. Simpson had a bogey on the final hole at Magnolia for a 69, while Donald battled a sinus infection and a lack of energy on his way to a 71 as they at least stayed in the game. Their battle was summed up on the 12th hole, when Donald stuffed his tee shot into 2 feet, and Simpson followed with a shot into 3 feet. Both made birdie. "I think both of us are in the same mindset and trying to win the golf tournament," Simpson said. "We want to beat not only each other, but we want to beat the field. I feel that's just natural as competitors. He's got a little further to go. All it takes is a good weekend, and he would be right there." Donald can finish no worse than a two-way tie for second, provided Simpson finishes down the leaderboard. It's a tall order for Donald, the No. 1 player in the world. "I'm going to need to go low on the weekend," Donald said. That won't be the case for a pair of British Open champions, David Duval and Ben Curtis, who both missed the cut. Duval was outside the top 150 on the money list, meaning he would have to go through two stages of Q-school to get his card back. Having gone through Q-school last year, the former world No. 1 is likely to take a year relying on sponsor exemptions and his status as a past champion. Curtis was at No. 149 and likely to fall out of the top 150. Curtis still has the option of playing the European Tour, where he is exempt, while also playing the PGA Tour. Meanwhile, four players from the Champions Tour all made the cut. Michael Allen, whose only win was the Senior PGA Championship two years ago, had a 66 and was in the group at 9-under 135. Others playing the weekend are Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Pernice Jr. and Tom Lehman. Leonard (63) and Stenson (64) played on the easier Palm course, while Kim had a 65 on the Magnolia.

McIlroy splits from agent Chandler after 4 years

LONDON (AP) — U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy split from agent Chubby Chandler on Friday to join Ryder Cup partner Graeme McDowell at a Dublin management company. The 22-year-old Northern Irishman had been represented by Chandler's International Sports Management since turning professional in 2007. McIlroy will now be affiliated with Horizon. "I am now keen to move onto the next stage of my career and I feel this will be facilitated by a fresh view and a new structure around me," McIlroy said in a statement. ISM said it took "great pride ... in guiding him successfully through his formative years as a professional golfer." McIlroy, ranked No. 3, thanked Chandler for his "guidance, representation and management." "Chubby and his team have played a very important role in my success to date," he said. "I have made great progress under their management and for that I will always be grateful."

Arnold Palmer christens Hilton Head redesign

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Arnold Palmer thought long and hard 40 years ago about moving to Hilton Head. And it was easy to see why after the reception the legendary golfer received Thursday in his latest visit to the island. Palmer was on hand to christen his latest signature course, a redesigned Wexford Plantation layout. He was cheered and celebrated by several hundred fans that turned out to revel in his every move. Palmer gained the undying affection of the region when he won the first-ever Heritage Classic in 1969, bringing national exposure to a largely unknown recreation area. He said he and late wife, Winnie, loved the area and considered locating here back in the late 1960s before choosing Bay Hill, Fla., which hosts Palmer's annual PGA Tour event each March. Those feelings haven't let up for either side more than four decades later. "Winning here was very important in many ways," Palmer said. "I loved Hilton Head and really considered settling here." The fans acted like he already had, following their idol's every move and applauding everything he did, even shouting down a resident at the clinic who had some questions about the redesigned 11th hole could lower his home's resale value. They laughed at his jokes, snapped pictures with cellphones and clapped at just about everything Palmer did. "We all became part of 'Arnie's Army,' didn't we?" said Porter Morgan, a Wexford member. Palmer took a tour of all 18 holes, then put on a clinic for spectators, showing off the swing that in its heyday won four Masters, a U.S. Open and a British Open among 62 PGA Tour titles. These days, the 82-year-old Palmer said he barely plays and does not practice the way he used to as his swing-speed has slowed significantly. "Someone asked, 'Why don't you have your spikes on?'" Palmer said. "I don't even need them." Still, Palmer hit several crisp shots and took questions from the gallery. He was asked about his start in golf and recounted how at 2, he began going to the course with his golf professional father, Deacon, because of Palmer's newborn sister. His father fashioned clubs out of small sticks for his toddler to grip and swing. A few years later, Palmer was playing every day and practicing as often as he could. He's made some sacrifices because of age, using hybrid irons instead of the blades he struck as a younger man. Palmer said he still puts together his clubs from pieces sent to him. Palmer kept urging those ringing his clinic area to push back, joking that he couldn't be sure what direction his shots might fly. He needed have worried, striking the ball solidly on the new practice range built in January and February. About his only wayward ball came on the ceremonial opening drive on the first tee when he hooked his shot into the trees. "No, that doesn't count," said Palmer, sounding like every duffer who ever played the game. The crowd egged him on for a mulligan, which Palmer struck much better to land in the fairway. The driver will be framed and hung in Wexford Plantation's clubhouse. Hilton Head Mayer Drew Laughlin read a proclamation making Thursday, "Arnold Palmer Day" on the island. "I don't know that I deserve it, but it's fun," he said. Palmer said he followed the Heritage tournament's recent search for a replacement title sponsor after Verizon left and did what he could to encourage businesses to look at backing the tournament. RBC stepped in this past June to sponsor the PGA Tour event the next five years. Palmer keeps up with the game and enjoys watching young, rising stars like Webb Simpson and Rory McIlroy reinvent the sport. Palmer wishes the business side of things was as strong as what he sees on the PGA Tour. He said his design company is down from 29 people to three as the demand for courses has declined. He is among those bidding to design the Olympic golf course when the sport's makes its debut for the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. He also hopes golf's young bombers don't make smaller, tighter layouts like Harbour Town Golf Links, site of Palmer's Heritage victory 42 years ago, obsolete. Palmer remembered the narrow fairways and small greens designed by Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus. "It was so narrow, I had to walk single file with my caddie," he said. "But the straightness I hit it with is really what afforded me the championship."

McGowan takes two-shot lead at Castello Masters

CATELLON, Spain (AP) — Ross McGowan shot a 7-under 64 on Thursday to take a two-shot lead after the opening round of the Castello Masters. The Englishman, ranked No. 543, holed his approach to the par-4 No. 17 for an eagle and made five birdies in a faultless round that left him two strokes ahead of Paraguay's Fabrizio Zanotti and England's Richard McEvoy. "It's nice to be playing well again and up in contention. I'm just trying to play each shot at a time and put up a good result at the end of the week," said McGowan, who carded a 64 to lead the Madrid Masters two weeks ago before falling out of the running. Hometown favorite Sergio Garcia shot 67, leaving him among a group of players at 4 under that includes Northern Ireland's Michael Hoey - making his first appearance since winning the Dunhill Links. The 31-year-old Garcia, searching for his first European Tour win in almost three years, was 1 over at the turn before sinking five birdies on the back nine. "It was a slow start, but ... then I got going," he said. Defending champion Matteo Manassero opened with five straight birdies, but a double-bogey on No. 15 slowed him down and he finished with a 69. Tom Lewis, last week's Portugal Masters champion, recovered from a poor start and finished with a 71, while American Anthony Kang shot 70 and two-time major winner John Daly had a 73.

Fred Couples wins Champions Tour event

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Fred Couples ran away with the Champions Tour's AT&T Championship, shooting a bogey-free 6-under 66 on Sunday for a seven-stroke victory - the largest margin on the 50-and-over tour this year. Couples opened with rounds of 65 and 62 and finished at 23 under on TPC San Antonio's Canyons Course. He won for the second time this season and sixth time in two seasons on the tour. "I haven't had a seven-shot lead since '92 or '90 or whenever the heck it was," said Couples, who teed it up ahead by seven to start the day. "I probably may never ever get another one. It's a weird feeling, and I was kind of unnerved (on the front side). But once we got to the back nine I played much better and I pulled away to a lead that was plenty." Mark Calcavecchia shot a 66 to finish second. Charles Schwab Cup points leader Tom Lehman and John Cook tied for third at 14 under. They also closed with 66s. The closest anyone came in the final round was four strokes when Calcavecchia holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole, but Couples birdied five of the last eight holes, including the final two. Last year at The Woodlands outside Houston, he also had a seven-stroke victory. Couples' 54-hole total of 193 broke the tournament record of 195 set by Mark McNulty in 2005 on the par-71 Oak Hills Country Club course. Couples earned $270,000, giving him $957,753 in nine starts on the Champions Tour this year. He's the U.S. captain for the Presidents Cup next month in Australia. Couples birdied the first three holes to start each of the opening two rounds. On Sunday, he parred the first five holes. His first birdie came on the par-5 sixth, but Calcavecchia matched it to stay six back. Calcavecchia, second in the Schwab Cup standings, made it a bit interesting. After Couples lipped out a birdie putt from about 5 feet on the seventh, Calcavecchia stuck his tee shot on the par-3 eighth to 10 feet and sank the putt. And his 12-footer on No. 10 cut Couples' lead to four. "Even then I knew I was in a battle for second," Calcavecchia said, "and that's what I was aiming for." Calcavecchia left a birdie putt on the edge on No. 11 from 15 feet, and Couples made his from 8 to get the lead back to five. He holed a 10-footer No. 12 to go to 20 under and six ahead. "Nos. 11 and 12 are very good driving holes and those were probably two of the best drives I hit all day and I birdied them both," Couples said. "Unless (Calcavecchia) was going to birdie every hole, the odds were against him catching me." It was the final full field on the Champions Tour. The top 30 in the point standings are headed to the Charles Schwab Cup on Nov. 3-6 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

Crane rallies to win McGladrey Classic

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Ben Crane wasn't sure why he was even playing the McGladrey Classic. The real mystery came Sunday afternoon, when he sat down next to a shiny silver trophy. "What the heck am I doing here?" Crane said. His wife is expecting their third child, though a Caesarian section is scheduled for Monday in Dallas. Crane thought about withdrawing five minutes before his tee time Thursday because of a sore hip that was getting worse. And with 11 holes left in the tournament, he was seven shots out of the lead. Crane ran off four straight birdies around the turn, then another batch of four straight birdies for a 7-under 63. He wound up winning in a playoff when Webb Simpson missed a short par putt on the second extra hole. "I'm in a little bit of shock - a lot of shock," Crane said. "I don't know how those guys played, but I know I played just about as good as I can play." Michael Thompson, a 25-year-old tour rookie who had a one-shot lead going into the final round, stretched the margin to three shots on the front nine until he stalled. He hit his tee shot into a hazard on the 18th hole, made bogey and shot 69 to finish one shot out of the playoff. Billy Horschel, also playing in the last group, imploded early and late and shot 75. Simpson closed with a 66, despite not making a birdie over his last seven holes. The playoff - the 18th this year on the PGA Tour to extend a record - looked as though it might go longer when Crane made a 5-foot comebacker for par on the 17th. Simpson only had to knock in a putt just over 3 feet for par, but it caught the right edge and spun away. "As soon as I hit it, I looked up expecting it to be going in, and saw it catching the right lip," Simpson said. "It was unfortunate to end that way." Despite missing a chance to become the PGA Tour's only three-time winner this year, Simpson's runner-up finish gave him a commanding lead over Luke Donald in his late bid to win the tour's money title. Crane, who earned $720,000 for his first win this year, and Simpson finished at 15-under 265 at Sea Island. Starting the day five shots out of the lead, Crane thought a 63 or 62 might be enough. He really didn't pay much attention, not realizing until he saw a leaderboard on the 16th hole that he was still in the game. His 7-iron on the 14th stopped a foot from going in. His 3-wood on the par-5 15th set up a two-putt birdie from long range. Once he knew the score, Crane was at his best with the putter, holing birdie putts of about 20 feet on the 16th and 17th. "I thought, 'Well, I need to make two birdies in three holes.' Do you guys have any idea how many times we say that to ourselves? And how many times does it actually happen?" It did on Sunday, giving Crane is fourth career win. With his runner-up finish, Simpson moved to the top of the money list by $363,029 over Donald. Both have entered the season-ending tournament next week in Disney, though Donald's task became a lot more difficult. At the very least, Donald would have to finish no worse than a two-way for second to have any chance to move past Simpson and resume his bid to become the first player to win money titles on the PGA Tour and European Tour. Donald already has a comfortable lead in Europe. "Finishing second is going to make it a lot harder for Luke," Simpson said. "But I'm sure he's going to play well. He's played well most every week this year. I still wouldn't be surprised if I have a little work to do next week." Crane was playing his last official PGA Tour event of the year. His wife, Heather, is home in the Dallas area and they arranged for the birth to be on Monday. If all goes well - and Crane gets good news from a hip scan Wednesday - he might go to Malaysia to defend his title in the unofficial Asia Pacific Classic. Thompson missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the 15th that would have given him the outright lead, and then his nerves started to show with errant tee shots. He got away with one on the 16th, but not on the final hole, when his tee shot went into the hazard and cost him a penalty drop. "All I think about on those tee shots is just hit in the middle of club face," Thompson said. "And for one reason, that one tee shot I didn't. And It got me." The small consolation was a third-place finish that assures him keeping his card for next year. Also locking up his card was Bud Cauley, the 21-year-old who left Alabama after his junior season to turn pro. Cauley shot 67 and tied for 15th to earn $64,000, and now is the equivalent of No. 112 on the money list. He is only the sixth player to go from college and earn his tour card without having to through Q-school, and Cauley joins Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson as the only players to accomplish that feat in eight starts or fewer. "It's very exciting for me," Cauley said. "I can't wait to come out here and play all year out here." A pair of major champions had their best finish of the year. Louis Oosthuizen, who won at St. Andrews last summer, was one shot out of the lead until a bogey on the 18th. He closed with a 66 to finish fourth. Former Masters champion Trevor Immelman, slowed the last two years by a wrist injury that eventually required surgery, had a 69 and finished finish. It was Immelman's first top 10 since 2008. DIVOTS: Scott McCarron shot a 68 to tie for sixth, earning a spot in the field next week at Disney. He also moved to No. 145 on the money list, which would at least give him conditional status next year if he stays there. ... Going into the final tournament, James Driscoll is at No. 125 on the money list by $6,287 over Bill Lunde, who already is exempt next year. Billy Mayfair, who won Q-school last year, is at No. 127 by $12,367.

Unheralded Lewis wins Portugal Masters by 2

VILAMOURA, Portugal (AP) — English golfer Tom Lewis shot a 7-under 65 to come from four shots back to win the Portugal Masters on Sunday. Lewis managed five of his seven birdies over the last seven holes for a two shot victory over Rafael Cabrera-Bello, who held a four-stroke lead going into the final round. The Spanish golfer hit into the water on his way to a double bogey 7 at the 12th to see his chances at victory fade. The 20-year-old Lewis finished with a 21-under total of 267 to win in his third event since turning professional. Gregory Havret (64), David Lynn (64), Christian Nilsson (71), Thomas Bjorne (71) and Jamie Donaldson (67) finished two strokes back of the unranked Lewis, who won $568,135.

Simpson takes big step toward money title

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Webb Simpson signed up for the McGladrey Classic because it gave him a shot at winning the PGA Tour money title. He played Thursday as though he was intent on doing just that. Simpson matched his best score of the year in the opening round at Sea Island, making eight birdies for a 7-under 63 that gave him a share of the lead with tour rookie Zack Miller. "There's no way I can play this golf tournament without thinking about the money title," Simpson said. "I'm thinking about it every day. But I'm not over every shot thinking, 'This is for the money title.' It's more that I'm just trying my best to get focused on winning the golf tournament." At this rate, he stands a reasonable chance at both. Simpson has won twice in his last five tournaments, leaving him $68,971 behind Luke Donald on the money list with two tournaments remaining. Donald isn't playing this week, and he has until 5 p.m. Friday to decide whether to play Disney next week in the final event of the PGA Tour season. Also at stake is the PGA Tour player of the year award, with no clear favorite. No player has more than two wins and, while Donald has only one win in the United States, he has been No. 1 in the world since May. For Donald and Simpson, the money title could go a long way in collecting votes. Simpson needs to finish at least in 15th place alone to surpass Donald, although he looked as if he had bigger plans the way he worked his way around the Seaside course, even as the breeze picked up late in the morning. Deliberate by nature, Simpson at times switched clubs two or three times, although it paid off on the fourth hole when he went back to a 7-iron and dropped his shot some 4 feet from the cup for a birdie. The only glitch was a poor approach from the middle of the 18th fairway in the middle of his round for a bogey. Simpson isn't alone in having money on his mind this week. Miller is trying not to think about it. He hasn't made a cut since the Viking Classic in July and has fallen to No. 146 on the money list. If he doesn't get into the top 150, he'll have to return to the second stage of Q-school. But he has tried to take whatever positives he could find out of the last few months, learning to base happiness on something besides his scores. It was hard not to be happy with a 63, especially after going birdie-birdie-eagle early in his round, the longest of those a 4-footer for eagle on No. 15 after a perfect 5-iron. Martin Piller was tied for the lead until a bogey on the last hole put him in a large group at 64. That included Scott McCarron, who is No. 163 on the money list and birdied his last three holes. McCarron, like so many others in the Fall Series events, is trying to get inside the top 125 to secure his full PGA Tour card for next year. Also at 64 was Billy Horschel, who is No. 139 on the money list. They were followed by a group at 65 that included two-time major champion Angel Cabrera, Ben Crane, Nick O'Hern and Richard S. Johnson of Sweden. Johnson had to go through Q-school last year, and started the year with a nagging injury to his right shoulder. He continued to play because he couldn't afford to fall further down the priority list, and it has cost him. Johnson is at No. 186 on the money list, headed back to Q-school unless he can turn around his fortunes quickly. "Now I've got to get back to my old swing," he said. "When you're swinging injured, you get into some bad habits. I've been playing nicely at home, but it's just a matter of bringing it out here." That sounds a lot like Tiger Woods, and Johnson also plays out of The Medalist in south Florida. "I haven't shot a 62 yet," he said, referring to Woods' setting the course record two weeks ago. "It's been more like 65 and 66." Either way, those scores don't count when it comes to playing the tour and needing to make something happen quickly. Bud Cauley, the 21-year-old who left Alabama after his junior season to turn pro this summer, opened with a 68. Cauley is poised to become only the sixth player to go from college to getting his tour card without going through Q-school. He is the equivalent of No. 114 on the money list, and a solid start only helped that cause. Simpson was as deliberate over his schedule as he is over a golf shot. He said he had some 15 options to consider because of his plans to go overseas for the first time, which includes the Presidents Cup in Australia. He has settled on the Singapore Open a week before the Nov. 17-20 matches at Royal Melbourne. There was some consideration for Asia, although once he adjusted his international travel to make room for the McGladrey Classic, it was an easy decision. Even so, he had to switch from vacation mode to find the game that brought him wins in Greensboro and Boston, and it didn't take long once he left the practice range. "I did have a little question in my mind, 'Would I be able to turn the brain back on and get in the competitive mode again?'" Simpson said. He answered with a 63, matching the score he posted in the third and final round at Plainfield in The Barclays. Divots: Matt Kuchar, who has earned more than $9 million on the PGA Tour in the last two years, has signed with Excel Sports Management and will be represented by Mark Steinberg. Kuchar joins a golf stable that includes Tiger Woods and former U.S. Women's Amateur champion Danielle Kang. ... Tournament host Davis Love III has his son, 17-year-old Dru, caddying for him this week. Love opened with a 69. ... Rickie Fowler, coming off his first professional win last week in South Korea, shot 73.

Luke Donald adds Disney to his schedule

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Calif. (AP) — Luke Donald is not going to give up the PGA Tour money title without a fight. Donald decided Friday to enter the PGA Tour's final tournament next week at Disney, a response to Webb Simpson playing this week in the McGladrey Classic at Sea Island. Donald made a birdie on the final hole of the Tour Championship to tie for third, pushing him to the top of the money list by $68,971 over Simpson. Donald is trying to become the first player to win the money title on the PGA Tour and European Tour. It could be the first time since 2003 that the PGA Tour money title came down to the final tournament of the year.

Simpson eyes PGA Tour money title lead week at McGladrey Classic

Webb Simpson has earned $5.77 million on the PGA Tour this season, and yet he will tee it up at the McGladrey Classic in Sea Island, Ga., in hopes of finishing the year atop the money list. He is just under $69,000 behind Luke Donald, who would be the first player to win the money title on both sides of the Atlantic. (Donald leads the European Tour money list by a comfortable margin.) Should Simpson pull ahead, Donald could elect to play Disney next week, which would mean Simpson would have to play it, which would make the Disney less for Charles Howell III fans than Thurston Howell III fans. At the other end of the money list is Paul Casey, who played well for most of last week's Frys.com Open before fading to a T7 finish. Casey, whose summer was a casualty of a mysterious foot injury, rose from 135th to 127th on the money list at CordeValle, and has more work to do at Sea Island to crack the top 125. "It's not perfect," Casey said of his right foot after shooting a second-round 64 at the Frys.com at CordeValle, "but now I can walk without limping and I feel like I'm — to be honest it's probably the best I've hit the golf ball all year, and even though the toe isn't 100 percent, it's great news." Matt Jones, the Australian who played at Arizona State, is 125th, while sometime Golf Channel broadcaster Steve Flesch is 126th. Andres Gonzales, the mutton-chopped, mulleted endomorph who calls himself "half man, half amazing," and who keeps tweeting Tiger Woods to see if they can hook up for a practice round, is languishing at 213th in earnings. He could use a big week. Among the most intriguing players at Sea Island will be Bud Cauley, the 21 -year-old who left Alabama after his junior year and turned pro in March, and Rickie Fowler, 22, who won for the first time as a pro in Korea last weekend. Cauley has no status on the PGA Tour, but qualified for the U.S. Open at Congressional, where he finished in the back of the pack, and has made the most of his sponsor's exemptions. He finished third at the Frys.com last weekend, which got him into the McGladrey, an event he'd planned to try to Monday-qualify for after a red-eye flight Sunday. "This is definitely a lot easier," he said at CordeValle. His $340,000 payday at CordeValle pushed the diminutive Cauley up to $671,150 in earnings after just seven starts, which would put him 114th on the money list. He will almost certainly earn his card for 2012, bypassing Q school and becoming just the sixth player to accomplish the feat, the first since Ryan Moore. Fowler, who won the Korea Open by six strokes over Rory McIlroy, is perhaps America's most exciting and marketable young golfer, which is no small thing given how fast Tiger Woods has fallen from grace. If the stylish Fowler can leverage that hard-won breakthrough into a string of Ws, golf may attract some attention even in the midst of the baseball playoffs and the NFL and college football seasons. There isn't much left on the 2011 calendar: two Fall Series events, the HSBC Champions (always a strong field), the Aussie Open, PGA and Masters, and the Presidents Cup — that's about it. Oh, and if you count the Chevron Challenge as a real tournament, there's that, too. Woods did the Chevron media day Tuesday, and said he was grateful to have barely qualified to play in the event he hosts. "I had points rolling off from '09," Woods said, explaining how he's fallen to 52nd in the World Ranking. "I had a very good year that year. I won, what, seven times around the world, so all those points are coming off. Unfortunately, I fell quite a bit, and I fell fast. Good news is, by playing next year, I have no points coming off — so I can start rebuilding." Seniors down to their last full-field tournament The Champions Tour's AT&T Championship at TPC San Antonio is the last chance for the 50-and-overs to climb into the top 30 on the money list and qualify for the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship at TPC Harding Park. The good news for Tom Pernice Jr. was that he made the cut and finished T36 at the Frys.com Open last weekend. The bad news was he missed the Insperity Championship and fell from 27th to 30th on the senior money list. Brad Faxon, who got his first Champions victory at the Insperity, is 39th on the Schwab Cup points list. The AT&T Canyons Course, designed by Pete Dye and Bruce Leitzke, is a new venue for the AT&T Championship. (Verizon and Sprint users are presumably still welcome.) This will be San Antonio's 27th straight year as host city, the longest streak for any metropolitan area on the Champions tour, and TPC San Antonio, which also hosts the PGA Tour's Valero Texas Open, becomes one of three golf facilities to host two PGA Tour-sanctioned events. The others: TPC Sawgrass, which hosts the Players and the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open, and Pebble Beach, home of the AT&T Pro-Am and the Nature Valley First Tee Open. Short game: Jamie Lovemark, the Nationwide Tour's player of the year last year, who had back surgery over the summer and hasn't competed since the Shell Houston Open in May, will play the Nationwide's Miccosukee Championship in Miami. … Daniel Chopra is 25th on the Nationwide money list, with an $11,864 lead over Marco Dawson with two full-field events remaining. The top 25 make it to the PGA Tour next year. … In his last three Nationwide starts, Miguel Carballo of Argentina lost in a playoff, tied for seventh, and last weekend won, climbing to fifth on the money list, up from 60th Sept. 18. … Martin Kaymer will be the highest-ranked player (No. 6) at the Euro tour's Portugal Masters at Oceanico Victoria Golf Course. Also in the field are Alvaro Quiros, who won the tournament in '08, Thomas Bjorn, a three-time winner this year, and Padraig Harrington. … Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer, Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr and Christina Kim are among those who will try to stop the juggernaut that is Yani Tseng at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. Tweet

PGA Tour Confidential: Tiger's return at the Frys.com Open

Every week of the 2011 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. ASSESSING TIGER’S LATEST COMEBACK Mike Walker, senior editor, Golf Magazine : Welcome back to another round of PGA Tour Confidential. We’ve got a lot to get through, so let’s get started with the topic of the week: Tiger Woods. (Sorry, Briny Baird and Bryce Molder.) After pronouncing himself fit and healthy enough for sufficient practice time with swing coach Sean Foley, Tiger showed up at the Frys.com Open at CordeValle and finished T30, with rounds of 73-68-68-68. What did you think of Tiger’s performance this week, and did he change your view of his long-term prospects? Mark Godich, senior editor, Sports Illustrated : It was about what I expected: some spectacular shot-making, but the consistency still isn't there. He has to be concerned about the short game. The putter is not cooperating, and what is up with his bunker play? I'll say it again: the guy needs to play more. Michael Bamberger, senior writer, Sports Illustrated : Tiger always talks about getting in his reps. He played four rounds with a cut in the first time in forever. He needs way more reps. There's no evidence that he's going to get them. David Dusek, deputy editor, Golf.com : Tiger made some good swings, some bad swings, threw his driver, missed some putts, made some putts and continued to play inconsistent golf. It's what I expected to see. Gary Van Sickle, senior writer, Sports Illustrated : A mixed bag for Tiger. Some good signs, some causes for concern. As Mr. Bamberger said, he needs more reps, more tournaments. Have a question for Gary Van Sickle's mailbag? E-mail editor@golf.com or ask it on Facebook. Jim Gorant, senior editor, Sports Illustrated : Tiger's performance was a Turn of the Screw type of thing: you can see whatever you want to see. If you think he's done, you'll focus on the missed putts and fairways and mediocre finish. If you believe he’s going to win again, you'll see the holed putts, moments of crisp iron play and improvement from his last appearance. I think he looks like he's on the way, but this week won't change anyone's mind. Stephanie Wei, contributor, SI Golf+ : Tiger shot three straight rounds in the 60s for the first time this year, which shows progress. I can't believe we're applauding him for his "consistent" play and T30 finish at the Frys.com Open. How times have changed! Damon Hack, senior writer, Sports Illustrated : I can't get jazzed about a T30 during football season. Three 68s are solid, but this is Tiger Woods we're talking about. Charlie Hanger, executive editor, Golf.com : Definitely inconsistent, but he’s making enough birdies to win some matches at the Presidents Cup. Couples must be feeling pretty good about his pick. Not great, but pretty good. Imagine Freddy’s mood if Tiger had blown up and missed the cut? Alan Shipnuck, senior writer, Sports Illustrated : I actually thought he showed improvement. The scary thing is that Tiger plays well in stretches and then makes a truly awful swing. He's just as likely to miss left as right. That just destroys your confidence. Van Sickle: Alan is right. He doesn't look like one of the 12 best players in America and certainly doesn't seem ready for a Presidents Cup. Of course, he's a captain's pick so it's not as if he's expected to play all five matches. If he were going to step aside and let Keegan Bradley take his place, he would've done so by now. Fred can fit Tiger in when and where he wants in Australia. But I don't think we'll see him five times. Godich: Fred has to be wondering how wise it would be to send him out in alternate shot. Rick Lipsey, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated : It would be very surprising if Tiger sits even one match. Bamberger: I agree. Tiger's strength is his intimidation factor, not based on how he's playing but on his 14 majors. Van Sickle: I disagree. If Tiger is playing like this, I'd be very surprised if he didn't sit for at least one match. Fred has to be more concerned about whether Steve Stricker is going to be healthy enough to play. Tell us what you think: Did Tiger show that he is deserving of being a Presidents Cup captain's pick? SHOULD TIGER PLAY ANOTHER FALL SERIES EVENT? Walker: : After his round, Tiger said he wouldn’t be adding another Fall Series event prior to the Presidents Cup because he was “pretty busy.” Bad idea, or will this tournament and some more practice with coach Sean Foley in Florida be enough to get ready for November? Dusek: Busy with what? If Tiger's children are going to be staying with him, I give him a partial pass, but he's been "off" since the PGA Championship in early August. Tiger said he needs to play more, to compete more, but instead of adding another event he's going back into hibernation. Bad idea. Shipnuck: All he needs is more reps. Which he'll get in, like, a month. His schedule is utterly baffling. Wei: I get that he wants to be a good dad, but would it be impossible to switch weekends or something? The Disney is right up the road from him. Godich: With all the good shots he hit this week, Tiger had something he could have really built on. I don't know what more reps with Foley will do. The only way Tiger is going to get his edge back is by teeing it up in competition. Jim Herre, managing editor, SI Golf Group This tournament was all about keeping the critics off Fred Couples’s back. Our Presidents Cup captain first said that TW didn’t have to prove anything to be a captain’s pick. Outrage ensued. Then Couples said TW had to play in a Fall Series event, and he did. Van Sickle: Once again, Tiger wins no charm points for his curt Golf Channel interview, in which he largely failed to answer the questions. He completely dodged the question about the state of his game now. Nothing has changed; it's still Tiger against the world (all of us). I'm sure he can't wait to reclaim his place at the top, but that day, if it ever happens, is a ways off. You'd think it wouldn't be too tough to play a tour event in Orlando. But that's his choice. It's too early to second guess it. Bamberger: Just the suggestion of Tiger playing more fall golf must bruise his ego. He should play more, of course, but we see him only as a professional golfer, and he sees much more. Hack: It would have been cool to see Tiger on a love-of-the-game barnstorming tour of the Fall Series. Not realistic, I know, but cool. Van Sickle: Another reason for Tiger to play more, especially early next year, is the circus atmosphere at the Frys.com, caused by his rare appearance. Tiger playing is like spotting a rare endangered bird or Howard Hughes. That just adds to the pressure of the week for him. He needs to get out and play 20 or 22 times on Tour next year and get his career back to normal. At least, normal for him. Bamberger: Tiger's never played a heavy schedule, and he certainly won't start now. The less he plays, the more demand there is for him. Godich: He doesn't care about the demand. He just wants to win majors. Tell us what you think: Should Tiger play another Fall Series event?

British Open returns to 'Home of Golf' in 2015

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — Organizers say the 2015 British Open will be held at the Old Course at St. Andrews. The event has been staged at the famous Scottish venue known as the "Home of Golf" every five years since 1990. Peter Dawson, chief executive of tournament organizer Royal & Ancient, says "St. Andrews has proved time and again that it is perfectly equipped to host The Open and I am certain we will yet again see a worthy winner lift the claret jug." St. Andrews has hosted the British Open 28 times, most recently in 2010 when Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa won by seven shots.

Faxon wins rain-shortened Insperity Championship

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) — Brad Faxon won the Insperity Championship without hitting a shot on Sunday when heavy rain washed out the final round of the Champions Tour's event. Faxon, an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour who turned 50 on Aug. 1, shot a 7-under 65 in windy conditions Saturday to take a one-stroke lead at 10-under at The Woodlands Country Club. Tommy Armour III was second, and Eduardo Romero finished two strokes back. Jay Haas, Olin Browne and Schwab Cup points leader Tom Lehman (70) followed at 7 under, and winner Fred Couples was 4 under. Faxon won his first title on the 50-and-over circuit in his sixth start. "I had passed all my goals this week, was hitting my irons a lot better and made a 4-footer on 18 on Saturday, which turned out to be the winning stroke," he said about the victory that he learned about when he received a text message while standing in the clubhouse. The round was washed out after two morning delays, Faxon was asked if had ever won a tournament as a pro or amateur, without hitting a shot because of weather on the final day. "Nope, never. Not one, definitely never," Faxon said. "I can't say I was hoping for a rainout because of what a win means out here, but I wanted to play. I was playing really good." Champions Tour official Brian Claar said tour regulations do not allow for a Monday finish. "There was no place to push the water it was came down so fast and we had already had so much rain today," Claar said. Armour remained winless on the tour, but did move into top 30 in the money standings to possible qualify for the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup. "Sure I wanted to play, but there was nothing we could," Armour said. "It's just what we have here. I am ready to go, but there nothing you can do about this." Lehman retained his large lead in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup points standing headed to the final two events of the season.

Yang equals record, takes Hana Bank lead

INCHEON, South Korea (AP) — Local youngster Soo-Jin Yang tied the course record as she took over the lead of the LPGA's Hana Bank Championship on Saturday, one stroke ahead of world No. 1 Yani Tseng. Yang shot up to the top of the leaderboard with a round of 65 and a two-round total of 10-under 134 at Sky 72 Golf Club's Ocean Course. The 20-year-old took advantage of ideal weather conditions to tie the course record set by Tseng just a day earlier. Yang, who is playing on a sponsor's invitation this week, had seven birdies and no bogeys. "I felt good starting yesterday, but the difference today was that I was able to capitalize on my chances," Yang said. Tseng shot a 70, recovering from two bogeys on her first three holes to fire off four straight birdies and claim a share of second place with two-time defending champion Na Yeon Choi, who had another bogey-free round. On the par-3 eight hole, Tseng got into trouble again after pushing her tee shot to the right into an unplayable lie. After taking a penalty stroke, she got up and down for a bogey. On the back nine, Tseng birdied Nos. 11 and 15 before dropping another stroke on No. 16. "I'm very disappointed. I made a lot of mistakes today, especially with putting," Tseng said. "If I can reduce the three-putts and not think too much I will do well tomorrow." Sunday's final group will be a rematch of the 2009 final round. That year, Choi and Tseng were also paired in the same group, with Choi outdueling Tseng by one stroke to win the tournament with a birdie on the final hole. South Koreans Jimin Kang and Chella Choi were at 7 under and compatriot Meena Lee was at 6 under. Americans Angela Standford and Brittany Lincicome were part of a group of five players tied another stroke back. Meanwhile, veteran Se Ri Pak was disqualified after the first round for inadvertently signing an incorrect scorecard. Pak signed for a three instead of a four on the 17th hole. "This was an honest mistake," Pak said. "I am sure my fans are disappointed, but no one is more disappointed than I am." LPGA vice president of Tournament Business Affairs Mike Nichols said Pak came forward to acknowledge her mistake, and said her "honesty and integrity in bringing this to the attention of the rules officials should be applauded."

Against long odds, Tom Doak opens a short course in the heart of Detroit

DETROIT — On Monday afternoon, 17-year-old Leticia Gittens was among 130 or so high-school seniors who helped Tom Doak usher in his latest design, a four-hole short course on the leafy campus of Marygrove College. With her peers watching her, photographers shooting her, and traffic rumbling by on McNichols Road behind her, Gittens stepped between two tee markers to strike a ceremonial first shot. In a sporty white zip-up and capri pants, she eyed her target, a flagstick about 75 yards away, then looked down at her ball and swung. Whiff. Then again. Whiff. And again. Whiff. On her fourth attempt, Gittens finally connected, first with the sod, then with the top of the ball. As the orb skittered off the tee box, she smiled. The gallery hollered. Doak tamped down the displaced earth. "I have a thing about replacing divots," he said, smiling. This wasn't your standard ribbon cutting. Then again, the Marygrove layout isn't your standard Doak design. Two years ago, at the request of the SI Golf Group, Doak agreed to donate the services of his Michigan-based Renaissance Golf Design to build a practice site at Marygrove not only for the student body, but also for participants of Midnight Golf, a 10-year-old mentoring program that combines life lessons with golf lessons to help inner-city high-school students find their way to college. The finished product — four short par 3s, a spacious bentgrass practice green, and a double-sided practice range that can accommodate as many as 26 golfers hitting limited-flight balls — won't appear on any Top 100 lists, but that was never the goal. In a city still reeling from the effects of the recession and the decimation of the auto industry, the little course is the result of big thinking, community activism, and dozens of tireless volunteers. It's also an inspired use of urban land. "To some, it is unbelievable that in the heart of the city, at Six Mile and Wyoming, there is a golf facility designed and donated by celebrated golf course architect Tom Doak," said Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, who spoke at Marygrove on Monday. "To me, it is a testament of the hope people have for Detroit and an example of things to come." The mayor joked that if Doak is seeking more work in downtown Detroit, where empty lots and abandoned buildings populate the landscape, the city would be happy to accommodate him. "If you need some property," Bing said, drawing laughter, "I've got a little bit that's going to be available." With the ceremonial tee shots struck — even Marygrove President David Fike, who admitted he has never played golf, jumped in and took a swipe — Doak led a tour of the property. His team, headed by Detroit native Brian Slawnik, felled some of the trees that dotted the site, but many were kept in place to help shape the holes. Brian Walters Photography Architect Tom Doak took a few swings at the grand opening. "It was an interesting design problem," Doak said after hitting a couple of tee shots of his own (pictured). "How do you get the most golf out of what's little more than five acres at a major urban intersection in Detroit? This is one of the most flexible projects we've ever tried to build, and it's going to evolve over time." "A lot of it is framing the views and picking the prettiest spots to play from," he added. Behind him, in the distance, rose Marygrove's architectural highlight: a pair of Gothic, copper-roofed towers that climb nearly 140 feet above the main entrance of the liberal arts building. The site isn't just scenic; it's also sustainable. Doak's team employed a low-irrigation grass seed mixture that requires little water and an environmentally friendly seaweed fertilizer. Indeed, the entire site is organically maintained, which Doak noted, "very few golf courses can say." When the tour concluded, the Midnight Golfers split into groups to sample their new home track. Brian Cairns, a PGA professional from nearby Fox Hills golf club who volunteers his teaching services to the program, sounded like a drill sergeant as he patrolled one end of the practice range. "Your arms are too far apart!" he barked to one of his students. "Tighten them up!" Cairns continued down the range, a florescent yellow Srixon cap tugged low over his brow. Evening had settled in, and so had a chill. Not that the teenagers seemed to mind. Behind the dozen or so of them beating balls, dozens more stood in lines, eagerly awaiting their turns for some whacks. "There you go!" Cairns said to another of his pupils who had just launched a high, soft fade. "It's not his first rodeo!" You don't have to look far to appreciate the significance of the golf facility. Behind the practice range, on the opposite side of McNichols Road, is a boarded-up building, which, according to faded letters across the storefront, was once occupied by a psychic. The space is deserted, the paint is peeling, and the former tenant is presumably long gone. It's a symbol of Detroit's struggles, and yet now, just across the street, a very different kind of symbol has become a reality. A Tom Doak course in downtown Detroit? Even a fortune-teller couldn't have seen that coming. Tweet

Another sluggish start for Tiger Woods

SAN MARTIN, Calif. (AP) — Anyone expecting a new and improved version of Tiger Woods saw much of the same old thing Thursday. An early birdie to raise hopes. A sudden tumble. And he couldn't make a putt. In his first tournament in seven weeks, Woods went 13 holes between his only two birdies at the Frys.com Open and had a 2-over 73 that put him in danger of missing consecutive cuts for the first time in his career. "That's probably one of the worst putting rounds I've ever had," Woods said. "I can't putt the ball any worse than I did today." Texas Open winner Brendan Steele opened with a 4-under 67 on a cool day at CordeValle with a few bursts of showers. He was joined in the lead by Briny Baird, Garrett Willis and Matt Bettencourt. Woods fell out of the top 50 in the world ranking this week for the first time in 15 years, and it showed. The best golf in his group came from UCLA sophomore Patrick Cantlay, the No. 1 amateur in the world, who opened with a 2-under 69. Woods was tied for 86th, although he was still only one shot out of the top 70 and ties that advance to the weekend. It marked the sixth straight round in which he failed to break par, and another occasion of having to scroll far down the leaderboard to find him. He had not played since missing the cut at the PGA Championship in August, finishing out of the top 100 for the first time in a major. Woods said the time off at least gave him time to practice, to nail down the major work in his swing change with Sean Foley, and to play 36 holes a day at home in Florida. Being back on the PGA Tour was different, even if it looked the same. There was nothing special about his game, although whatever he did right was derailed once he got on the greens. Woods missed three putts inside 6 feet, two of them for birdie. Even toward the end of his round, he froze when he saw a 4-foot par putt on the 16th hole take a 360-degree ride around the edge of the cup before falling. "The rest of the game was not too bad," Woods said. "I hit some bad shots, yes. But also, I hit some really good ones. And very pleased at the shots I was hitting most of the day. But I got nothing out of the round on the greens. And whatever momentum I could have gotten by hitting good shots ... you know, I just missed putts." He missed a 6-foot birdie attempt at the par-5 ninth, but saved par with a 12-footer - the longest putt he made all day - on the next hole. That appeared to give him a lift, for he stuffed his tee shot on the par-3 11th to 4 feet. The putt didn't even touch the hole. And then, Woods made a mess of the par-5 12th. From the left rough, the grass grabbed his club and pulled the shot toward the hazard. Woods never found the ball, had to return to the other side of a creek and lay up short of another hazard in front of the green. He had to work hard to two-putt from 35 feet for double bogey. The last time Woods missed consecutive cuts on the PGA Tour was in 1994, when he was an 18-year-old amateur. In fact, he missed his first seven cuts as an amateur. On the PGA Tour, he has missed the 36-hole cut only seven times in his career. "I need to put together a good round tomorrow and gradually piece my way back into the tournament," Woods said. The leaders didn't seem to have many problems, although the cold weather and occasional rain put low scores at a premium. Steele birdied his last two holes for a 31 on the back nine. Baird has made nearly $12 million on the PGA Tour - the most of anyone without having won a tournament - and at least gave himself hope by playing without a bogey. The group at 68 included a pair of Australians, Rod Pampling and Matt Jones, both on the bubble for finishing in the top 125 on the money list and keeping their PGA Tour cards. There are two more tournaments after this week. Money is not an issue for Cantlay - at least not yet. He has done so well this year, from being low amateur at the U.S. Open to his record-setting 60 at the Travelers Championship, that some feel he is ready for the PGA Tour. He wasn't all that impressed with a score that was four shots better than Woods. "He played how he played," Cantlay said. "I didn't have any expectations for what he was going to do, or what anybody else was going to do, except for myself." Cantlay is not one to easily get flustered, even playing with Woods, and it showed on the opening hole. Stepping up to his tee shot, he let out a gaping yawn, then smashed his drive down the fairway. For the rest of the day, the UCLA sophomore outplayed the 14-time major champion. Both rolled off the front of the green at No. 6, where Cantlay rattled in a 35-foot birdie putt, and then Woods came up 5 feet short and had to save par. On the par-5 ninth, Woods put his third shot just inside 6 feet from the cup. Cantlay holed his 10-footer for birdie, and Woods blocked his birdie putt. Cantlay went out in 32, and his lone mistake was a three-putt on the 13th when he missed a 2-footer. Woods started beautifully - a tee shot into the fairway, a short iron to 3 feet for birdie. Some three hours passed before his next birdie, however, and the day quickly became a struggle. Woods hit three bunker shots on No. 2 - two from the one in front of the green - for a bogey. He missed a 3-foot par putt on No. 3 and then hooked a tee shot on the fourth, looking down at his hand to suggest it slipped off the club in the rain. It was ordinary golf, the brand he has been playing for much of the last two years. Woods has another month off after CordeValle before the Australian Open and the Presidents Cup. He is under more scrutiny than usual as a captain's pick by Fred Couples, and a round like this is not going to make the skeptics go away. "I'm just playing to get competitive and win a golf tournament," Woods said. "It's not about validation. It's about going out there and playing. And right now, I'm six back."

Na Yeon Choi seeks third straight Hana Bank title

INCHEON, South Korea (AP) — Na Yeon Choi is looking for her third straight Hana Bank Championship when the LPGA Tour's annual swing through Asia begins Friday at the South Korean port city of Incheon. The 23-year-old Korean is ranked No. 4 but has failed to win on tour this season. She will be up against 48 of the top 52 earners on the LPGA money list at the Sky 72 Golf Club's Ocean Course just west of Seoul. "I have a lot of pressure (to win), but I hope to use that pressure in a good way," Choi said. "I won a Korea LPGA tournament a month ago, so I have a lot of confidence, especially at this golf course." Also in the field is top-ranked Yani Tseng of Taiwan, who has five wins this year - including two majors that made her the youngest LPGA player to reach five in a career. Tseng currently dominates all the year-end awards races, including the money list, the Rolex Player of the Year and the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average. Despite the success, however, Tseng continues to be a student of the game. "Every tournament I just try my best," she said. "I need to keep working hard and keep learning. There are a lot of things that I can achieve." Cristie Kerr also returns after forfeiting her final-day singles match for the United States this month at the Solheim Cup due to tendinitis in her right wrist. The U.S. team eventually lost by a point, giving Europe its first win since 2003. Kerr said she is monitoring her wrist and is hopeful she will be able to compete. "Tendinitis sometimes flares up and sometimes it goes away completely," Kerr said. "We're just going to have to take it day-by-day and see." The LPGA Tour will move to Malaysia and Taiwan after South Korea, followed by the Mizuno Classic in Japan in the first week of November. The "Asia Swing" was originally scheduled to begin a week earlier with the inaugural Imperial Springs tournament in Guangzhou, China. However, the China Golf Association notified the LPGA just two weeks before the event was supposed to begin that the tournament would be canceled.

All signs point to Woods playing well at the Frys.com Open

Tiger Woods returns to the PGA Tour this week and for once it’s not a moment too soon. In the last couple years, Tiger has been repeatedly sidelined by scandal, injuries, marital problems — we all know the list — and each time he returned it felt like he was rushing to get back from something. The 2010 Masters. The 2011 Players Championship. The 2011 PGA Championship. When he returns at the Frys.com Open at Cordevalle in Northern California, he’ll be coming back on his own timetable. The dust has finally settled, and I expect Tiger to play well. Everything points toward a good week for Tiger. He’s now had plenty of time to work with new swing coach, Sean Foley. If it’s going to work with Foley, then we should start to see it this week. I know it was only a practice round, but that 62 at Medalist he shot last week is a good sign. The caddie change is also good for him. Things had obviously gotten stale with Steve Williams, and Joe LaCava, an experience caddie whom Tiger knows and respects, is the perfect replacement. The venue is a great place for him as well. No disrespect to the Frys.com Open, but Tiger won’t have to deal with the pressure of a major this week. Nor will he dominate the media coverage. This isn’t northern Wisconsin; the Bay Area has a lot of other things going on. Tiger should swinging more comfortably than he has in a long time. I’ll be watching three things extra-closely this week that should show if Tiger’s on the right path. 1. His driver: I want to see him going at the ball hard and not losing balls to the right. 2. His health: He should be as healthy as he’s ever going to be. He turns 36 this December (can you believe that?) and it never gets any easier coming back from injury. Basically, he’s learning to deal with things that basically hurt all the time. 3. His short game: If he’s going to come back, it’s crucial he look comfortable on and around the greens. We always talk about Phil Mickelson’s brilliance in the short game -- and Mickelson is spectacular—but when Tiger is on his game no one comes close to his chipping and pitching. I’m not predicting a win. There’s going to be some rust—how could there not be—but I expect him to play well, as well as we’ve seen in a long time. (The Masters is a special case because he’ll always be able to compete on that course.) He’s going to hit some loose shots—that’s inevitable with a hard swing. The important thing is that he misses correctly. At the height of his game, Tiger could make birdies and pars with his short game from places no one thought possible. His problem this year is that he’s been missing in the wrong places, places where he couldn’t recover from. It’s strange see Tiger at a Fall Series event. In a lot of ways, it’s like 1996 all over again. His critics in the media and the public aren’t giving him a free pass anymore. Tiger knows a lot of people are writing him off and I think he feels he has a lot to prove. I’ve been skeptical based on what I saw earlier in the year. But this is the perfect scenario: new swing, new caddie, easy tournament. He’s going out there to get his game back. Those of us who’ve watched him since his junior golf days want to see signs that he’s going in the right direction and some flashes of the old Tiger Woods. I don’t want to see him hitting houses, making poor chips, and missing four-footers. If that happens again, it’s time to start really worrying. Tweet

Hot? Na, Tiger and Northern Ireland. Not? Rory, Watney and the LPGA

HOT 1. Kevin Na. A survivor of a 16 on a par 4 and a near-whiff, he's now a PGA Tour winner. I can't decide if he's the most fragile or the toughest guy in golf. 2. Tiger Woods. Does anybody really care what a Tour pro shoots when he's off-duty? In Tiger's case, yes. The course record at Medalist is intriguing and only serves to ratchet up the hype for his return this week at the Frys.com Open, which will be a veritable Tiger-palooza. And that's just for showing up. Imagine if he wins! 3. Northern Ireland. At this point I'm guessing you could just pull some random guy off the street in Portrush and give him a logoed polo and he would be able to go out and win an important golf tournament. 4. Kenny Perry. The big-hearted country boy has looked adrift on the senior tour, but he got an emotional first win by playing to honor his sister Kay, who died on the eve of the final round. When it was over, all of Franklin, Ky., cried along with KP. 5. Justin Timberlake. He could be squiring starlets or making multi-platinum records, but instead he puts a big effort into a little PGA Tour event, and the worthy cause it supports. Pretty cool. NOT 1. PGA Tour schedulers. It'd be even cooler if the Tour would give JT a decent date in the "regular season" to ensure his involvement and the long-term health of the tourney. I say add Vegas to the desert swing in February and move Pebble to better weather in the summer, but that's just me. 2. Rory McIlroy. Golf's boy king is still trying to build on his U.S. Open breakthrough. On Sunday at the Dunhill he tore up the Old Course for 11 holes to take the lead but then looked strangely tentative coming home, settling for another disappointing near-miss. It's clear Rory can blow away fields when he's on-song. The harder part is learning to win Sunday dogfights. I guess we'll have to be a little more patient. 3. Nick Watney. He was in prime position to become the only three-time winner on Tour and interject himself into the player of the year debate, but he had to settle for just another lucrative week. See, Nick, the better you play the more we expect of you. Just ask Rory. 4. The LPGA. The tour has its best buzz in years from Lexi Thompson's historic victory and an electric Solheim Cup, so of course the Asian swing begins this week, and we won't get Lexi or another domestic event until lateNovember. Oy. 5. Kenny Harms. Kevin Na's poor caddie is compelled to plum-bob on every green for his boss. Even for a six-figure payday I'm not sure I could endure this soul-sucking ritual. Tweet

Hoey holds off McIlroy to win Dunhill Links

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — Northern Ireland's Michael Hoey edged countrymen Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell to win the Dunhill Links Championship by two shots on Sunday, continuing his country's recent success in world golf. Hoey, ranked No. 271, lost his three-shot overnight lead early in the final round but regrouped well, birdying three of the last four holes for a 4-under 68. His 22-under total broke the tournament record, set by Lee Westwood eight years ago, by one shot. McIlroy's closing 65 gave him second place - two shots clear of McDowell (69) and Scotland's George Murray (67), who finished tied for third. Hoey's third career title was worth $800,000. But it was the way he held off McIlroy and McDowell - the last two U.S. Open champions - that pleased him most. "They are major champions ... they have been my inspirations," said Hoey, who has struggled to fulfill his potential after winning the British Amateur title in 2001. "It's taken me a long time to kick on. My belief has been high and low but I got my consistency back this week. ... Winning the Dunhill Links, it doesn't get much better." Hoey led or held a share of the lead after every round of this week's prestigious pro-am played over three of Scotland's best courses - St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. "My short game's been the best it's ever been this week," said Hoey, who had a 66 in each of the first three rounds. This was the first-ever Northern Irish 1-2-3 at a European Tour event, just adding to the country's strong run in the sport. McIlroy, McDowell and current British Open champion Darren Clarke each have won a major in the last 15 months. McIlroy, seeking a fourth career win and first since the U.S. Open in June, began the day five shots back of Hoey. But he holed a wedge for an eagle at the par-4 No. 3, sparking a charge to the top. After six holes, McIlroy, McDowell and Hoey were tied at 18 under overcast skies, and McIlroy pulled a shot clear after making birdies at Nos. 7, 9 and 11. By that stage, he was closing in on the course record of 63 he set at the British Open last year. But the 22-year-old McIlroy failed to pick up a shot in his final seven holes and was run down by Hoey, his old playing partner in Belfast and someone he looked up to as a budding amateur. "It's good to see all us boys up there but I'm obviously disappointed it wasn't me that's lifting the trophy," McIlroy said. "But considering that I was 3 over after 11 holes in this tournament, I've come back and played some really good golf. I've still got a few tournaments left this year to try to get a win or two." Like McIlroy, the 15th-ranked McDowell only made one birdie on the back nine, with a host of putts slipping by the cup, but still left St. Andrews happy after finding his form following a poor summer. "Great things are ahead for me. I'm much happier with my game," McDowell said. "But when a guy plays like Michael played down the stretch, you can't have any complaints. No one lost the tournament today, Michael just played fantastic."

Matsuyama repeats as Asian Amateur champion

SINGAPORE (AP) — Hideki Matsuyama of Japan played his final 42 holes without a bogey Sunday and closed with a 5-under 67 to win the Asian Amateur Championship for the second straight year, earning another invitation to Augusta National to play in the Masters. Matsuyama never trailed after the first hole at The Singapore Island Country Club. He had to make par on the 605-yard closing hole for a one-shot victory over Lee Soo-min, who birdied the last hole for a tournament-best 64. A year ago, Matsuyama won by five shots. He was more nervous this time, knowing what was at stake. "At last year's Asian Amateur Championship, I was able to enjoy the tournament because it was my first time and I did not have a lot of pressure," said Matsuyama, a 19-year-old student at Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai, which caught the brunt of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. "But this time, since I knew that I had to win to play Augusta again, it was extra pressure for me and it is something I've never been through before. "I think it was because I wanted so badly to go back to play Augusta again." Matsuyama tied for 27th at the Masters this year, the only amateur to make the cut. The Japanese amateur wasn't good enough to play in the Asian Amateur Championship when it began in 2009 under the guidance of Augusta National Golf Club and the Royal & Ancient. Matsuyama only got into the tournament last year because as the host country, Japan was allowed a maximum of 10 players. Matsuyama now is No. 4 in the world amateur ranking, and making quite a name for himself. This was the third straight amateur event Matsuyama won this year, following the Japan Collegiate Championship and the World University Championship. Along with getting into the Masters, Matsuyama is exempt into the final stage of British Open qualifying next spring, which will be held in Thailand on the same course where the Asian Amateur Championship will be played in 2012.

Michael Hoey, Graeme McDowell keep good times rolling for Northern Ireland at Dunhill Links

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — The Dunhill Links Championship leaderboard looked more like the Northern Irish Open after the conclusion of the third round. Michael Hoey was top of the bill at 18 under par after a 66 at Carnoustie. He'll play in the final group with fellow countryman Graeme McDowell, who is three shots behind after a 67 at St. Andrews. Rory McIlroy is at 13 under par after a 66 over the Old Course on a day with hardly a breath of wind that rendered the grand old lady of Fife toothless. She coughed up two 63s, by Luke Donald and Simon Dyson, which equaled McIlroy's course record set at the 2010 British Open, and a 64 from Padraig Harrington, which propelled him into contention at 13 under par. Donald and Dyson are 13 under, Louis Oosthuizen is 14 under, Masters champion Charl Schwartzel 12 under, Lee Westwood 11 under, and there was even smile from Colin Montgomerie, who bogeyed the 17th but then had to pose on the Swilken Bridge for the obligatory photo with his amateur partner Michael Douglas. Monty shot a 66 to be 10 under par and at the back of the stellar pack chasing Hoey. "So you want to talk about Northern Ireland's continued domination of world golf," McDowell said, chuckling after his round. "It's unfathomable what's been happening with three majors champions in me, Rory and Darren. When you've got Rory coming out of your country that's a pretty good start and Darren's always had the talent." But just what the heck are they drinking up there in Ulster? Do they have some kind of secret elixir that is giving their golfers superpowers? If they do, they're not telling. "There's nothing special in the water up there in Northern Ireland," McDowell said. Whatever it is they should distil it, bottle it and sell it. McDowell and Hoey played in amateur teams together for Ulster and Ireland and used to hang out as teenagers at Royal Portrush. Hoey, the 2001 British Amateur Champion, won the Madeira Islands Open earlier this year, but he was supposed to challenging for major trophies along with McDowell and McIlroy after playing alongside McDowell and Donald in the 2001 Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team that beat the United States at Sea Island, Ga. Now at age 32 Hoey has his chance to graduate to the big leagues at the home of golf, but his mental frailties in the spotlight are well-known. Hoey is honest enough to admit it himself. "Just been really hard on myself," Hoey said. "Trying to relax is obviously what I need to do. Golf is very mental." McDowell said that Hoey will be tough to catch on Sunday at St Andrews. "He's ice cold," McDowell said. "He doesn't get up and doesn't get down. You always thought at 18 that he was going to be a world beater but he never really kicked on." Talking up Hoey was typical of the always-classy McDowell, but don't think for one second he's ready to wave his playing partner through to the finishing line. Especially since he's been staying away from one of his favorite pubs this week. "I've always felt this is a tournament I can win," said McDowell, who lost a playoff here to Stephen Gallacher in 2004. "I've always said keeping out of the Jigger Inn is birdie number one." After the hangover he has endured since his U.S. Open victory last year, McDowell was delighted to be back on a leaderboard among the game's elite. "It's great to be going out on a golf course like St. Andrews with a chance to win," he said. McIlroy also claimed to have no idea why Northern Ireland's golfers have the Midas touch at the moment. "I don't know if we are feeding off on another or whatever it is," McIlroy said. "I don't think it's going to last forever. I hope it does. It's great to see Michael up there and great to see G-Mac on a bit of form as well." McIlroy has been carrying around a secret weapon in attempt to keep his swing sharp. Not so much a comfort blanket as a comfort club. His coach Michael Bannon has given him a cut-down wedge that McIlroy said he swings in front of mirrors in hotels. "It just gives me a chance to swing inside so at least I'm swinging a club and developing some sort of feeling if I'm not hitting balls," McIlroy said. "I've had it for the last couple of years. I've been carrying it around with me. It's not like I go to the toilet and bring the club with me." McIlroy has to make up five shots on Hoey but believes he still has a chance. "I definitely feel there's a low score out there," he said. "You can shoot 62 or 63." But if the Northern Irish are planning yet another celebration at a seemingly never-ending party, then they had better beware Dyson, who was in a buoyant mood after that course-record-equaling 63. The Englishman has won twice this season and when it seemed all of Ireland gathered at the Irish Open in July to welcome their major heroes Clarke, McIlroy and McDowell and to cheer on a home winner, guess who the party pooper was? Yep, Dyson. Tweet