Dufner has lead all to himself at PGA Championship

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. (AP) — Jason Dufner has never won a tour event. He's trying to hang on at the PGA Championship. Dufner has a one-stroke lead over Keegan Bradley with six holes to play Sunday, rolling in a 15-foot birdie putt at the 12th to reclaim the outright lead at Atlanta Athletic Club. The 34-year-old Dufner, who lives two hours away in Auburn, Ala., heard chants of "War Eagle" as he kept up his steady play. He started with five straight pars before a birdie at the sixth, a short par-4. He rolled in a 20-footer at No. 8 for another birdie and made the turn with a two-stroke lead. Bradley briefly claimed a share of the lead at the 12th, sticking a 7-iron to 2 feet and tapping in for eagle. Robert Karlsson also made an eagle at the 12th and was two shots off the lead.

McIlroy returns, shoots 73 in the 2nd round of PGA

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. (AP) — Just about any other week, Rory McIlroy would've already been heading for home. Not this one. Even with an aching right wrist, he's not giving up on chasing down Steve Stricker. McIlroy struggled through the second round of the PGA Championship on Friday with his injured wrist all taped up. A 3-over 73 - which included a triple bogey - left a daunting deficit heading to the weekend. Stricker had not even teed off by the time McIlroy finished, having extended his advantage on the U.S. Open champion without hitting a shot. But sweltering Atlanta Athletic Club was showing its teeth Friday. Stricker, who opened with a bogey-free 63 and just missed the lowest score in major championship history, bogeyed two of the first six holes in the second round. He was still at 6 under, but D.A. Points, Adam Scott, Jerry Kelly and Scott Verplank were all within two strokes of the lead. The 44-year-old Stricker was bidding for his first major title. He's 0-for-52 in his career but keeps making a run at it, having finished in the top 10 at all four of golf's biggest events. Stricker had a shot at the first 62 in major championship history on Thursday. A 10-foot birdie putt at his final hole skidded by the right edge of the cup. In the second round, Points posted the best round from the morning starters, a 67 that pushed him to 4-under 136 at the midway point. Scott, coming off a win at Firestone with Tiger Woods' former caddie Steve Williams on the bag, was 3 under through 11 holes. "It feels great," Points said, "but it's only Friday. It's going to feel a lot better when it's Sunday." What about Woods? He was trying desperately to make the cut. His score climbed to 9 over when he plugged a wedge in the bunker at the par-5 fifth, leading to bogey, and took another with an ugly three-putt at the seventh. But Woods closed the front side with back-to-back birdies, moving within three strokes of the projected cut line. He's failed to make it to the weekend in a major only twice in his professional career: The 2006 U.S. Open and the British Open two years ago. Just making it through the first two days was an accomplishment for McIlroy, given what he did on his third hole of the tournament. The 22-year-old from Northern Ireland strained a tendon when he foolishly took a swing with his ball sitting against a thick tree root. He considered quitting a couple of times Thursday, but felt comfortable about carrying on after getting an MRI and being told by the medical staff that he couldn't do any more damage. "If it wasn't a major," he said, "I probably would've stopped." McIlroy blew away the field at Congressional two months ago with a record-setting 16-under score. He's become the new face of the game with Woods struggling, arriving at Atlanta Athletic Club as the favorite. One ill-advised swing might have ruined his chances. McIlroy said his wrist didn't hurt as much in the second round. Actually, a shaky putter was his main problem. "I feel like I'm hitting the ball OK," he said. "I gave myself a few chances but I just didn't putt very well at all. I'm struggling on the greens this week." There was also a misjudged tee shot at the par-3 17th. Torn between clubs, he actually went for a little more distance with a 6-iron. But he took a little bit off his swing, got the ball a little too high and watched in disbelief as a slight breeze carried it into the water. He had to take a drop, then three-putted. Coming off a 40-foot birdie putt at the 16th that got him into the red, the triple bogey was a momentum killer. "It was tough to come back from that," McIlroy said. But he's not conceding the Wanamaker Trophy to Stricker or anyone else. "I hope to make a good run at it the next couple of days," McIlroy said. "I feel as if I can still make birdies out there. If I didn't think I could contend, I probably wouldn't be playing." Anders Hansen was at 137 after posting a 69, his second straight round in the 60s. Davis Love III also was at 3 under midway through his round. Former PGA champion Shaun Micheel, who opened with a surprising 66, tumbled off the leaderboard. He played his first 11 holes at 9 over and finished with a 78, leaving him more concerned about making the cut than winning the tournament. So many wacky things happened on the first day at this course in Atlanta's sprawling northern suburbs, Stricker's brilliance and McIlroy's injury were only part of the story. Woods opened with a 77, his worst score ever in the PGA. Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa put six - yes, SIX! - balls in the water and wound up with an 85, the highest score of his professional career. The groundskeepers had to contend with mowers gone wild, hastily repairing two greens that were damaged while being clipped. The craziness extended into Friday, when Brandt Snedeker showed up about 2 minutes late for his 8:10 a.m. tee time and was assessed a two-stroke penalty. Snedeker thought he was teeing off at 8:20 and sprinted from the putting green to the tee when he realized his mistake. He didn't get there quick enough to avoid the penalty. "It's embarrassing," said Snedeker, who shot 73 with the extra strokes and was likely to miss the cut. "I feel like I'm 2 years old."

J.B. Holmes withdraws from PGA with illness

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. (AP) — J.B. Holmes has withdrawn from the PGA Championship because of an illness. Holmes shot a 10-over 80 in the opening round and was unlikely to make the cut.

One year after his bunker blunder, Dustin Johnson eyes his first major title

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — It's been one year since Dustin Johnson suffered one of the most crushing final-hole penalties in major championship history. But don't expect him to sulk about it. Don't expect him to read a rules sheet, either. Clinging to a one-shot lead at the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, Johnson illegally and unknowingly grounded his club in a scruffy fairway bunker on the 72nd hole. He was popped with a two-shot penalty when he completed the hole, and the gaffe cost him a spot in the Bubba Watson-Martin Kaymer playoff, which Kaymer eventually won. Johnson told reporters here Wednesday afternoon that despite that expensive mistake, he still doesn't read the rules sheet that's provided to all players when they first arrive at a course for an event. "No, I've never looked at one and probably never will," he said with a laugh. "I know the rules." Johnson, who tees off Thursday with Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia at 1:25 p.m , said he never got too angry at the ruling and blames himself for the mistake. He's also never watched a video replay of that final hole, but said he's still often reminded of it. "I've just seen the pictures," he said. "It seems like all the pictures that people want me to sign are me hitting that shot. It's like, 'Thank you.'" Johnson, and the room, cracked up. The pro also added that he doesn't expect identifying bunkers here at Atlanta Athletic Club to be a problem. "Here the bunkers are all defined — it's not going to be an issue." In addition to last year's PGA, Johnson has been in contention in other majors. At the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, he took a three-shot lead into the final round before detonating with an 82 , and Graeme McDowell took the title. Last month at the British Open, Johnson's weekend surge was halted when he pushed a long iron O.B. on the 14th hole on Sunday and finished tied for second with Phil Mickelson. Couple those results with "Bunkergate," and it's a troubling trend. Still, Johnson is upbeat this week, and said that he has taken some positives away from the near-misses. "I've played well in the final rounds of the last two majors where I've really been in contention," he said. "There's one shot here or one shot there and I've probably got a victory. You know, just got to keep working on it and putting myself in position to win." Johnson played a relaxed nine holes Wednesday alongside Cameron Tringale. On Tuesday, the entertainment value — and the stakes — were higher when D.J. partnered with Steve Marino and took on Phil Mickelson and Jeff Overton in a money game. He said the practice-round competitions aren't just about the cash, but an opportunity to hone his game for tournament play. "We have a lot of fun. That's the main thing when we're out there playing," he said. "It helps you, especially on Tuesday, to put a little pressure on yourself when you know you need to hit a good shot or you need to make a putt, to kind of see where your game is at, to see what's going on. "But I enjoy playing with Phil. You know, we talk smack to each other, it's fun." And which team won Tuesday's match? "We pushed," Johnson said with a smile. To win his first career major this week, he'll need to be one shot better. Tweet

Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer drops Tiger Woods

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer says it's ended its 10-year commercial relationship with Tiger Woods and hopes he can "overcome his difficulties." Tag Heuer chief executive Jean-Christophe Babin says in a statement the company is "confident that Tiger will eventually regain full trust with the public." Woods has "huge talent and mental strength (which) will help him overcome his difficulties," Babin says. Tag Heuer stopped promoting Woods' image in the United States in December 2009, weeks after revelations about his marital problems began to emerge. Babin said then Tag Heuer had to "take account of the sensitivity of some consumers." Tag Heuer will continue to support Woods's charitable foundation through sales of a watch he designed.

Steve Williams' victory dance draws mixed reaction

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. (AP) — Tiger Woods' former caddie drew a mixed reaction to the way he gloated over his new boss' first victory with him on the bag. Some understood Steve Williams' frustration after being dumped by Woods. Others thought the caddie went overboard in his comments to the media, taking attention away from the guy who actually won the World Golf Championship at Firestone, Adam Scott. The crowd chanted Williams' name as he walked up to the 18th green with Scott, who pulled away for a four-stroke victory. Afterward, Williams gave an interview that was nearly twice as long as the Aussie's, calling it "the best win I've ever had" - remember, he caddied for 13 of Woods' major titles - and making it clear he felt his ex-boss had treated him unfairly. Steve Stricker said Monday that Williams was clearly upset and eager to let his feelings out after the acrimonious split. "I'm not going to say if he went overboard or not," Stricker said after a practice round for the final major of the year, the PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club. "It's just too bad their relationship had to end like that." A pair of English golfers, who weren't at Firestone but watched the tournament on television, both went on Twitter to take shots at Williams. "Cannot believe they have interviewed Steve Williams. Nice of him to take away from Scotty's win. Says it all," Chris Wood wrote. Oliver Wilson chimed in, "Steve Williams taken all the attention off Adam scotts fantastic win! Played great and nobody is talking about him this morning!!!" He added a hash tag to his tweet with the word "shameful." Stricker was more diplomatic. "This is all media driven. The media is looking for a story here," he said. "I don't know the whole situation. I've heard two different stories, and I don't know which one is the real story. But, obviously, he was upset to the point that he said what he did in front of everybody. That's his right." Woods also played at Firestone, his first tournament in three months, and finished 18 shots behind Scott. That only added to Williams' glee. "Stevie was obviously hurt. He gave his all to Tiger for 13 years," said Nick Faldo, who will be an analyst on CBS' broadcast of the PGA Championship. "I'm sure there was an element to that where he was saying, 'Hey, look what I've just done, mate.' I know Stevie is getting praise and criticism, both ways. That's kind of normal for him. That's Stevie." PLAYING UP: Some players were griping about the length of the Highlands Course - listed at 7,467 yards for a par-70 layout - but the PGA of America could make things interesting at a couple of holes. Start with the 13th, the shortest par 4 at 372 yards but also the tightest, with tall pines lining both sides of the fairway and a sharp dogleg to the right. There were markers at both the front and back tee boxes during Monday's practice round, setting up two totally different tee shots. From the closer position, the players have a shot at going for the green, if they can frame a shot around the trees and avoid a bunker on the right. The 425-yard sixth also sets up plenty of intrigue. The PGA could move the tee forward to play 295 yards, which brings a pond into play for anyone that tries to go for the green with his tee shots. There's also bunkers in front and behind the putting surface. "It's always nice to have a bit of a change, especially on a course like this. It's so long," Scotland's Martin Laird said. "Giving the guys a little bit of a surprise never hurts." TV COVERAGE: Golf fans won't have to be at the course to catch a glimpse of the practice range and putting green during the PGA Championship. The 360-degree camera on PGA.com will be streaming a live feed from each spot at Atlanta Athletic Club, allowing users to rotate the view to any direction from where the camera is placed. For the first two rounds, the camera will be at the practice range from 8:30-10 a.m. EDT, the putting green from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.; the tee box at No. 1 from 2-4 p.m.; and the 15th green from 5-7 p.m. TNT says it's the first time the camera has been used at a professional golf tournament. DIVOTS: Foreign-born players have won the past three PGA Championships: Padraig Harrington of Ireland in 2008, Y.E. Yang of South Korea in 2009, and Martin Kaymer of Germany last year. ... Atlanta Athletic Club is among 15 clubs that have hosted the year's final major more than once. This is the third PGA Championship in Atlanta, which also hosted in 1981 and 2001. ... If the PGA Championship produces a fourth first-time major winner this year, it will be the first time that's happened since 2003. ... The Highlands Course is 254 yards longer than it was when it hosted the PGA a decade ago.

New Golf Books Index

Throughout the year, we'll be keeping you up to date on the golf books of 2011 — what's out, what's coming out, and what they're all about. Check below for 2010's books. 2011 AUGUST The 40 Toughest Shots in Golf: A Pro's Guide To Better Shot Making and Lower Scoring Authors: Todd Sones with John Montelone Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing OK, raise your hands if you look forward to deep rough, fried eggs, uneven lies, hardpan and threading the needle through the trees. Didn't think so. Still, they're the sorts of predicaments we find ourselves in all too often. By effectively assembling a bagful of well-illustrated plans for escaping from dozens of these situations, Sones, a Top 100 Teacher, may not change your outlook about getting into trouble, but he'll certainly bolster your confidence — and technique — for getting out. The Scratch Golfer's Ultimate Trivia Book Author: Don Wade Publisher: Sterling With its hundreds and hundreds of multiple-choice teasers clumped into categories from Bobby Jones to Tools of the Trade, if "Trivia's" not the most mind-numbing golf book of the year, it may well be the most addictive. What other volume reveals that Mark Rolfing was Dan Quayle's college roommate, that Frank Connor and Ellsworth Vines were the only gents to have competed in U.S. Opens in both golf and tennis, and that the 1930 greens fee for hotel guests at Pebble Beach was — get the defibrillator ready — $1.50? And there's more where that came from. Lots more. JULY The Swinger: A Novel Authors: Michael Bamberger and Alan Shipnuck Publisher: Simon & Schuster Consider the set-up: His real name is Herbert, but all call him Tree, and he's the greatest golfer in the history of the solar system. He's rich, he's famous, he's got a spectacular wife, adorable kids, and a yacht almost as big as his ... libido. You can guess the rest, right? Not so fast. With SI's own Bamberger and Shipnuck at the keyboards, the obvious isn't so obvious and it's ha-ha funnier than real life. Sure, the scandal's a hoot, the fall's titanic, and the players -- on and off the course -- identifiable without a scorecard, but this is still a novel, which means after the fall, there's even hope for redemption. Golf Course of Rhymes: Links Between Golf and Poetry Through the Ages Author: Leon S. White, Ph.D. Publisher: Golfiana Press Now for something completely different. White, a retired MIT professor, lets the big doggerel eat in an appealing collection that covers the fairways with reasonable rhymes from Poets Laureate (Britain's John Betjman and America's Billy Collins) to more familiarly versed in other genres, among them Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, Grantland Rice, Ring Lardner, E.C. (as in Clerihew) Bentley, Robert Trent Jones, Jr., Chick Evans -- yes, that Chick Evans -- and the ubiqiutuos and always reliable Unknown. White seasons his mix with contributions from his own pen, and enjoyable commentary from end to end. Golf Fitness Author: Karen Palacios-Jansen and the editors of Golf Fitness Magazine Publisher: Taylor Trade There's not a swing tip in its pages, but "Fitness" can only improve your game -- and overall health. Filled with stretches, exercises, and full routines (including those of Masters champ Trevor Immelman and LPGA titleist Suzanne Peterson), "Fitness" extends itself to address nutrition, weight, pain and mental outlook. Gary Player pens the foreward. How fitting. Putter Perfection: The Groundbreaking Guide to Finding the Right Fit For Your Game Author: Sean Weir Publisher: Overspin Media So, which putter is hurting your game more, the one holding the stick or the flat stick itself? Weir contends the inanimate one is as organic to success on the greens as the one with DNA, and devotes just under 100 informative pages to what you need to know to assure that the putter and the putter holding it can coexist in peace and harmony. JUNE Wonder Girl: The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrickson Zaharias Author: Don Van Natta Jr. Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Like that other Babe, this one also casts a mighty shadow. Talented, audacious, and full of pizzazz, she was one of a kind, a tower of sporting achievement, and golf is forever fortunate she chose to embrace the game after mastering so many others. She didn't just promote golf, she barnstormed for it, making the cuts in several PGA events. Her presence alone jumpstarted the fledgeling LPGA, then her courageous return from colon cancer to win the 1954 Women's Open jumpstarted the national imagination. She was so Bunyonesque a character that it's easy to overlook the reality: like that other Babe, her life was just that, a life -- as fragile and flawed as it was fabulous. Van Natta rectifies the oversight. In his sweeping bio, her heart beats loudly on every page. Deane Beman: Golf's Driving Force Author: Adam Schupak Publisher: East Cottage Press In his 20 years as PGA commissioner, Beman's vision changed the face of tournament golf. He steered a collection of events into a juggernaut, built the charity base, lassoed sponsors, sowed the seeds of the Players Championship and the TPCs, shepherded the separation of the Tour from the PGA, fought insurrections, forged alliances, battled equipment makers, raised profiles, and made a lot of people a lot of money. Schupak's scrupulously researched chronicle does more than give Beman his overdue due; by telling Beman's story, he compellingly charts the behind-the-scenes maneuverings that transformed a not-so-simple game into billion-dollar enterprise. Let There Be Pebble: A Middle Handicapper's Year in America's Garden of Golf Author: Zachary Michael Jack Publisher: University of Nebraska Press Every golfer goes through some variation of the mid-life crisis. Not everyone gets to do it on the Monterrey Peninsula. Once the obvious envy is removed from the equation, what's left is an inviting escapade into discovering -- through a diverse cast from Michael Murphy and Clint Eastwood to the caddie corps and the author himself -- why Pebble and its high-rent environs are always so absorbing, especially in an Open season. MAY Four Days in July: Tom Watson, the 2009 Open Championship and a Tournament for the Ages Author: Jim Huber Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books The drama was heart-stoppingly rich in the moment, and remains heart-breakingly rich in retrospect. Watson. 59 years old. Turnberry. The Open. Huber, whose sterling commentaries grace CNN and TNT, carefully reconstructs the unforgettable week in a lively narrative filled with the recollections of those who lived it -- from participants like Watson, his caddie Neil Oxman, and eventual winner Stewart Cink to such interested and interesting parties as Nicklaus, Trevino, and Player. Huber's chronicle is elegant and detailed. It just doesn't change the ending. Championship Golf Courses of Great Britain and Ireland: The Essential Guide to 43 Major Courses Publisher: AA Publishing The British Automobile Association has always had a knack with drivers. In this lavishly illustrated tour guide fit for any golfer's coffee table, the venerable AA displays its mastery of several other parts of the game, not the least of which is inspiring golf dreams. The nearly four dozen included courses cover the waterfront, the parkland, and the heathland from Royals -- like St. George's, Dornoch, Porthcawl and County Down -- to the peerless: St. Andrews, Aberdovey, Ballybunion and Sunningdale. Each has its own pictorial spread and brief write-up. Even better, each arrives with 18 hole-by-hole drawings that amount to a set of tantalizing yardage books. Which should come as no surprise. If the AA can't map a journey, who can? The World Atlas of Golf: The Greatest Courses and How They Are Played Editor: Mark Rowlinson Publisher: Hamlyn When first published in 1976, the "Atlas," now in its sixth incarnation, was a revelation, an instant cornerstone to any golf library. Focusing on the course itself -- as a cunning piece of craftsmanship, not just a destination or a battlefield -- it was big. It was brash. It was smart. It was colorful. It still is, thankfully. It still covers every continent. It's still full of analysis, insight, history, architecture, and advice. And it still comes with its marvelous defining feature: detailed overhead drawings of each of the 80 included courses (though, alas, given satellite photography not every routing is hand painted anymore.) But the original arrived with a murders' row of wordsmiths behind it -- the cosmopolitan foursome of Herbert Warren Wind, Pat Ward-Thomas, Charles Price and Peter Thomson -- and time has sadly erased their contributions and replaced their presence with lesser pens. Mesmerizing and addictive as the "Atlas" remains, nothing can replace the backbone and style of its Founding Fathers. The Art of the Swing: Short Game Swing-Sequencing Secrets That Will Improve Your Total Game in 30 Days Author: Stan Utley with Matthew Rudy Publisher: Gotham Short game guru Utley uses his sequencing concepts to -- well, the book's subtitle tells the story. What it doesn't tell is this: "Art" is the first instructional to incorporate Smartphone TagReader technology. So, in addition to photographs interspersed through the text, tags are sprinkled throughout; point your iPhone or Blackberry and click, and a video appropriate to the point Utley's making magically appears. If only sorting out the swing were that easy. Golf List Mania!: The Most Authoritative and Opinionated Rankings of the Best and Worst in the Game Authors: Leonard Shapiro and Ed Sherman Publisher: Running Press Nicklaus's own list of his five favorite victories? Certainly authoritative. Shapiro on the 10 Greatest Golf Traditions and Sherman on the 11 Greatest Shots of All Time? Opinionated, to be sure. There's much to digest and argue with in "Mania," but, then, what else are lists for? Guest lists contributed by Ian-Baker Finch, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Dan Jenkins, and even Errie Ball, the last survivor of the original Masters, add to the entertainment. Driving Lessons: A Father, Son, and the Healing Power of Golf Author: Steve Friedman Publisher: Rodale You can always tell when Father's Day's on the horizon; squint and you'll see subtitles like this one's. Though Friedman's short, mid-life memoir of reconnection hits the requisite shots of the genre -- lives in flux, father-son loose ends, renewal on the links -- Friedman's a skilled enough writer not to let the conventions sink him. When he was growing up, golf stood between him and his father. In middle-age, he finally ask his father to teach him how to play. Instead of spooning out the treacle, Friedman lets his story resonate with a deprecating wit he directs at himself. Golfing With Dad: The Game's Greatest Players Reflect on Their Fathers and the Game They Love Author: David Barrett Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing You can always tell when Father's Day's on the horizon ... but why sound like a broken record? When a gaggle of tour pros -- from Arnie, Jack and Phil to Peter Jacobson, Christina Kim, and J.J. Henry -- look back on the moments they shared on course with their fathers, expect the expected, and for the most part, that's what "Dad" delivers. There are a few different strokes here and there -- like Brittany Lincicome's dad, a scratch player, sacrifices his own Jones for the game to foster his daughter's -- just not enough to cut the sugar high. Science and Golf: Proceedings of the First World Scientific Congress of Golf Editor: A.J. Cochran Publisher: Routledge In 1990, golf-savvy scientists from around the globe convened for a conference at -- where else? -- the University of St. Andrews to present their research to other golf-savvy scientists. With titles such as "The Analysis of Time Series Decomposition Techniques to the Analysis of Golf Performance" and "The Effect of Sand Type on Ball Impacts, Angle of Repose and Stability of Footing in Golf Bunkers," this collection may not find its way to the bedside table, but some of the presenters have become household names in the game: Gary Wiren, Bob Rotella, and Dave Pelz. Even a quick delve into Rotella's co-written "A Closer Look at the Mind in Golf" can find the seed of several best-sellers planted within.