Golf notebook: R&A believes McIlroy might be Irish in IOC's eyes

Golf notebook: R&A believes McIlroy might be Irish in IOC's eyes










Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange April 29, 2013 2:30 AMThe SportsXchange


--It looked as if Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland might have a difficult decision to make if he decides to play when golf returns to the Olympic Games for the first time in 112 years in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro.

McIlroy has loyalties to Ireland and Great Britain, and he caused a little fuss last year when he said he felt more British and might play for the Brits.

However, Chief Executive Peter Dawson of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews said McIlroy inadvertently might have made his decision earlier in his career.

"Because of Rory's history of playing for Ireland at amateur level and at World Cup level, there may be a regulation within the Olympic rules which would determine who he would have to play (for)," Dawson said. "We are still looking at the matter, but under that regulation, he could play under Irish colors.

"It's quite ambiguous as there are regulations within the IOC that if you play previous world championships for a certain country, that has to carry with you."

Dawson noted, however, that golf doesn't have the same structure as other sports.

"But I would very much like to take this burden of choice away from the player, if possible, because it's not fair," Dawson said. "I think Rory has made it pretty clear, and what I have heard privately, he is worried about it and the last thing we want is a player worrying about it."

The deadly violence that plagued Northern Ireland has subsided, but religious tensions still run high, and if McIlroy chose to represent Ireland, he could face a backlash from the Loyalist community, which is predominantly Protestant.

If he decided to play for Great Britain, he might anger Republicans, who are predominantly Roman Catholic.

McIlroy told the BBC earlier this year that he might not play in the Olympics if he believes that playing for one side or the other might cause too many problems.

--NEC Corporation, in a joint announcement with the PGA Tour, said through NEC Latin America that the company is expanding its presence on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica by becoming the umbrella sponsor of the 15-event circuit.

The sponsorship, which took place immediately, changed the name of the tour to NEC Series-PGA Tour Latinoamerica.

The announcement was made last week at the NEC Roberto De Vicenzo Invitational, which was played at the Club de Golf del Uruguay.

"We are extremely pleased to announce this landmark sponsorship for the tour and to welcome NEC as an umbrella sponsor of PGA TOUR Latinoamerica," said Jack Warfield, president of NEC Series-PGA TOUR Latinoamerica.

"We look forward to working with our partners at NEC to maximize its presence on the Tour as we continue to build the PGA Tour's presence throughout Latin America."

NEC sponsored a popular PGA Tour event, the World Series of Golf at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, for 15 years, through 1998.

When that tournament because one of the first World Golf Championships events in 1999, the company continued its sponsorship for seven years until Bridgestone took over as title sponsor.

"We are very excited to reinforce our presence with the PGA Tour through PGA Tour Latinoamerica," said Carlos Martinangeli, chief operating officer and senior vice president of NEC Latin America.

"As a former World Golf Championships sponsor, NEC well understands the importance and effectiveness of sponsorship for golf tournaments. The NEC Series-PGA Tour Latinoamerica will expand NEC's presence in Latin America and beyond."

One week after losing to Adam Scott in a playoff at the Masters earlier this month, two-time major champion Angel Cabrera returned home to Argentina and captured a PGA Tour Latinoamerica event, the Abierto OSDE del Centro, on his home course at Cordoba Golf Club.

--The Wells Fargo Championship will be played this week at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., even though several greens on the course underwent emergency maintenance in recent days.

The eighth and 10th greens were completely re-sodded only nine days before the scheduled start on Thursday, and the 12th and 13th greens were re-sodded in selected places.

Reportedly, 14 of the 18 greens will be a bit bumpy for the tournament.

"They would not have been in acceptable condition," said Andy Pazder, the PGA Tour's senior vice president of tournament administration. "It was a rather extraordinary step."

Johnson Wagner, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour and a member at Quail Hollow, reportedly played the course a few weeks ago, when temporary greens were in place on the eighth and 10th holes.

According to Wagner, the problems with the 10th green can be traced back to excessive top-dressing of the bentgrass greens by the PGA Tour's agronomy staff in the weeks leading up to the event.

"It went from a perfectly sodded green three weeks ago, which I thought was unbelievable, to being dead," Johnson said. "We're hoping to make it through this tournament unscathed.

"It's unfortunate because we put on such a great golf course and a great event for, I guess, this is our 11th year, and it's going to leave a sour taste in our mouths for this year."

With a limited time to make repairs, the re-sodding of the eighth and 10th greens was done with strips 40 feet long by four feet wide, to minimize the number of seams.

Padzer disagreed with Johnson's assessment of why the greens needed to be repaired and, in the case of the eighth and 10th holes, completely re-sodded.

"There were a number of factors involved which contributed to the decline in conditions of the 10th green," Padzer said. "But over-top-dressing was not one of them."


After the tournament this week, all 18 greens will be torn up and replaced with a more heat-tolerant MiniVerde Bermudagrass as Quail Hollow prepares to host the 2017 PGA Championship.

--Every avid golf fan knows that Jack Nicklaus' 18 major championships are the benchmark in the sport, a goal Tiger Woods has chased since putting the Golden Bear's achievements on his wall as a youngster.

However, Nicklaus will tell you that at some point about the time he claimed his last major title at the 1986 Masters, he lost two majors.

And he's not exactly sure when it happened.

"I was probably at 17 or 18 majors, including the (U.S.) Amateurs, and all of a sudden I had 15 or 16," Nicklaus said recently. "What happened here? All of a sudden it became 'professional' majors."

In his prime, Nicklaus was in pursuit of Bobby Jones, whose 13 major titles included five U.S. Amateur Championships and one British Amateur Championship.

Nicklaus captured the U.S. Amateur twice.

"When I passed Jones' record, it was with the amateurs," Nicklaus said. "It related back to Jones."

Nicklaus passed Jones when he captured the 1973 PGA Championship at Canterbury Golf Club in Beachwood, Ohio, and it was record-breaking one way or the other, because his 12th professional major eclipsed Walter Hagen's pro record of 11.

Nicklaus' best guess is that the U.S. Amateur was no longer considered a major when Woods won it a record three straight times from 1994 to 1996.

"Because they didn't really count Tiger's as majors," Nicklaus said. "Rather than counting Tiger's as majors, they didn't do that, and they sort of took mine away."

By the old standard, Nicklaus still leads Woods 20-17.

--Chief executive officer Martin Senn of Zurich Insurance Group announced that the company is extending its sponsorship of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans by five years.

The company did not disclose its financial commitment, but Senn said the tournament creates nearly $30 million in annual spending in the New Orleans area.

The new deal expires in 2019.

"This extension shows Zurich's continued commitment to New Orleans and its people," Senn said during a press conference at TPC Louisiana. "Our sponsorship has allowed us to build valuable relationships with the Fore!Kids Foundation and the PGA Tour.

"Together we have raised more than $9 million to support local charities, whose mission is to help children in need in the New Orleans area. The Zurich Classic has paid dividends on many levels, and I am confident that Zurich's bonds with New Orleans will grow even stronger in the years ahead."

Zurich took over as title sponsor of the New Orleans event in 2005, less than a year before Hurricane Katrina devastated south Louisiana.

Senn said the opportunity to promote the region's recovery after the storm only further motivated Zurich to maintain its ties to the tournament beyond its previous agreement.

The Zurich Classic has helped rebuild 450 homes in St. Bernard Parish, which was hard-hit by Hurricane Katrina.

--Al Geiberger is auctioning off the clubs he played when he became the first player in the history of the PGA Tour to shoot 59, a feat he accomplished at Colonial Country Club in the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic in 1977.

The clubs are part of a vast collection of memorabilia that Geiberger, who won 11 times on the PGA Tour, 10 titles on the Champions Tour and 30 times in his pro career, is selling off through Green Jacket Auctions.

"Rather than have my most important memorabilia from my golf career gather dust in storage, I have decided to share it with the world," the 75-year-old Geiberger wrote on his Facebook page.

"Green Jacket Auctions is now looking for bidders to find a cherished home for some of my most significant artifacts. A good home is important to me."

The clubs, being sold as a set, include a Spalding Al Geiberger model driver, a TopFlite 4-wood, TopFlite Legacy 2- and 3-irons, Spalding Al Geiberger 4- through 9- irons, a Wilson sand wedge, a TopFlite wedge and a Con-Sole wedge.

Being sold separately is the Ping Pal putter he used in his record-setting round.

In addition, Geiberger also is auctioning the Wanamaker Trophy and the gold medal he received for winning the 1966 PGA Championship at Firestone Country Club

Already, nearly $16,000 has been bid for his Wanamaker Trophy, while bids on his clubs from the round of 59 are approaching $4,000.

Also available at auction are the clubs with which Geiberger captured the PGA Championship, the trophy from his victory in the Memphis Classic, the silver medal he received for finishing second in the U.S. Open in 1969, crystals for making eagles at the Masters and his 1975 Ryder Cup money clip.

Representatives of Green Jacket Auctions went to Geiberger's home in La Quinta, Calif., to film the pilot episode of a new reality TV show based on Green Jacket Auctions.

Geiberger never saw the footage of his 59, taken by two Memphis television stations, until a few months ago, according to Larry Bohannan of The Desert Sun in Palm Springs.

One station taped over its copy and the lost its tape.

However, a copy was found in an attic in Pennsylvania, and the Golf Channel surprised Geiberger by showing him perhaps the only remaining footage of the historic round.

The four ensuing 59s on the PGA Tour, posted by Chip Beck in the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational, by David Duval in the 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, by Paul Goydos in the 2010 John Deere Classic, and by Stuart Appleby in the 2010 John Deere Classic, have been televised.

Inside the Ropes: Garcia no longer moping over lack of major title

Inside the Ropes: Garcia no longer moping over lack of major title










Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange April 29, 2013 2:30 AMThe SportsXchange


When Adam Scott captured the Masters, he crossed his name off the list of best players without a major title.

Sergio Garcia, who tied for eighth at Augusta, remains the poster boy.

Garcia, whose signature moment is chasing Tiger Woodsall the way to the finish of the 1999 PGA Championship at Medinah, often seems further from major glory than he was as a precocious 19-year-old.

"We all have a chance of winning a major," said Garcia, who is in the field this week at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C. "I've had a couple (of opportunities). It's just a matter of seeing if it happens at that time or who you go against.

"Unfortunately, my chance in '99, it was against the best player in the world, and I came up a little short. But I'm still working hard to get that first major and keep going from there, and that's the goal. ...

"I don't really care (about the label, best player to never win a major). I would love to get rid of it, yes."

Garcia, who at 33 has outgrown his nickname, "El Nino" (The Boy, or The Child), has finished in the top 10 on 18 occasions at the Grand Slam events, including second three times. He seemed to hit a new low in the majors last year in the Masters.

After starting with 72-68 to rank among the leaders, he was devastated after shooting 3-over-par 75 in the third round to fall out of contention en route to a tie for 12th. Garcia said out loud that he simply wasn't good enough.

"If I felt like I could win, I would do it," he told Spanish reporters. "Unfortunately at the moment, unless I get really lucky in one of the weeks, I can't really play much better than I played this week. And I'm going to finish 13th or 15th. What does that show you?

"That's the reality. I'm not good enough, and today I know it. I've been trying for 13 years, and I don't feel capable of winning. I don't know what happened to me. Maybe it's something psychological. ...

"After 13 years, my chances are over. I'm not good enough for the majors. That's it. I'm not good enough. I had my chances and opportunities and I wasted them. I have no more options. I wasted my options. ... Tell me something I can do."

Garcia went through more major misery this year at Augusta National, tying for the first-round lead with a brilliant 66, but followed that up with 76-73-70.

This time, he was not as emotional about yet another major failure, only resigned to that fact.

"I think I am where I deserve, and you have to be happy with that," said Garcia, who is playing well, having finished in the top 20 in eight of his nine events this season on both major tours and is leading the European Tour's Race to Dubai.

"I tried as hard as I could every single day. Unfortunately a couple of the days didn't go my way. I had two very good days and two not-so-good ones. So overall I can't be too disappointed with it. ...

"Probably overall the best I've played at the Masters. Unfortunately I didn't score very well (the last three days)."

There will be plenty more chances for Garcia, but that's what they kept saying about Colin Montgomerie, the best player from golf's last generation who has never won a major title and at the age of 49 would need a miracle.

In both cases, it remains a mystery as to why it hasn't happened.

"(Garcia) came out like Tiger, and it looked so easy," said Jesper Parnevik, Garcia's former Ryder Cup partner. "But in his mind, he hasn't lived up to expectations."

And in everyone else's, too.

Other than 1999, the closest he has come to winning a major was losing in a playoff to Padraig Harrington in the 2007 Open Championship at Carnoustie and tying for second to Harrington the following year in the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills.


In 2008, Garcia enjoyed what until now has been his career year, winning three times on three continents, capturing the Castello Masters in Spain, the HSBC Champions in China and the Players Championship, the so-called "Fifth Major," at TPC Sawgrass.

Early the following year, Garcia's life and game began to unravel at the same time after his girlfriend, Morgan Leigh Norman, daughter of Greg Norman, broke up with him.

He was gutted.

Garcia, who admitted that his romance with Norman probably was the first time he really was in love, foundered on and off the course, and his family was legitimately concerned about his mental well-being.

"Obviously, the break-up with Morgan did not help," Garcia said. "You get over some things; others take a little longer. I wasn't sad because my relationship was public because everybody knew about it. I was sad because of my feelings. It is within me. It is in my heart. I am not thinking what other people are thinking about it. ...

"It was her doing, not mine. It is unfortunate, one of those things. Do I think of her all the time? No. It is pretty much back in the past now. It happens to everybody. It happens to some people when they are 15, some when they are 25, some in their 40s. Breakups are never nice."

Garcia, once No. 3 in the World Golf Rankings, fell out of the top 50 as he slumped for nearly two seasons before winning the Castello Masters and Andalucia Masters on consecutive weeks late in the 2011 Euro Tour season.

Last year, he captured the Wyndham Championship, his first victory on the PGA Tour since the 2008 Players, and he is back in the top 20 of the World Golf Rankings.

There remains, however, that missing major piece to the puzzle.

"If I don't have a major, what can I do?" Garcia said. "Some guys need to win a major, some guys don't."

His best chance this year might come in the Open Championship at Muirfield, which he calls "the best links course in the world," and where he won the 1998 English Amateur Championship.

To win there, perhaps he simply needs to channel his inner El Nino.



COMING UP

PGA TOUR: Wells Fargo Championship at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 3-7 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel; Saturday and Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel and 3-6 p.m. EDT on CBS.

LAST YEAR: Rickie Fowler hit a brilliant approach shot on the first playoff hole and sank a four-foot birdie putt to turn back Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points for his first victory in his 67th start on the PGA Tour. Fowler, who carded six birdies in a span of 11 holes while closing with a 3-under-par 69, hit his approach shot close from 133 yards with a wedge on the playoff hole and won for the second times a pro, his other title coming when he also outplayed McIlroy to win the 2011 Kolon Korea Open. McIlroy, who closed with a 70 that included a bogey on the 17th hole, still took over the No. 1 spot in the World Golf Rankings. Points, who shot 71, took a one-stroke lead to the final hole of regulation, but he had to sink a six-foot bogey putt to get into the playoff. Overnight leader Webb Simpson had a chance to join the playoff, but he missed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole and closed with a 73.



CHAMPIONS TOUR: Insperity Championship at The Woodlands Country Club in The Woodlands, Texas, Friday through Sunday.

TV: Friday, 7:30-9:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday, 6:30-9:30 p.m. EDT, and Sunday, 7-9:30 p.m. EDT, on the Golf Channel each day.

LAST YEAR: Fred Funk birdied four of the last five holes to capture his seventh victory on the Champions Tour, but first in two years, by one stroke over Tom Lehman. The 55-year-old Funk, who added a victory in the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn later in the season, hit his approach shot from 157 yards with a 5-iron to within two feet of the 72nd hole. After Lehman missed his birdie putt from 12 feet, Funk tapped in for his birdie and first victory since the 2010 Jeld-Wen Tradition. Funk, who captured the 1992 Shell Houston Open at The Woodlands for one of his eight victories on the PGA Tour, became the first player since Tom Watson to claim victories on the same course on the regular tour and the senior circuit. Watson won the 1980 Open Championship and the 2007 Senior British Open at Muirfield, Scotland.



LPGA TOUR: Kingsmill Championship on the River Course at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va., Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday and Sunday, 3-6 p.m. EDT, on the Golf Channel each day.

LAST YEAR: Jiyai Shin of South Korea won the second-longest playoff in LPGA Tour history with a par on the ninth extra hole after Paula Creamer three-putted for bogey from 30 feet. The 24-year-old Shin, who claimed her ninth victory on the U.S. tour and added two more later in the year, sank a three-foot putt for par after Creamer's par bid from five feet spun out of the hole. Creamer, who closed with a 1-under-par 71, missed a five-foot putt on the final hole of regulation that would have given her the victory. Shin and Creamer played the 18th hole even eight times in the playoff before darkness closed in. They returned the next morning and needed only one hole to decide the outcome, this time playing No. 16. Jo Ann Prentice won the longest playoff in LPGA Tour history, winning the 1972 Corpus Christi Civitan Open on the 10th extra hole.

Golf rankings, player capsules

Golf rankings, player capsules










Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange April 29, 2013 2:31 AMThe SportsXchange


The Sports Xchange's 2013 PGA Tour rankings, selected by TSX Golf Staff, based on 2012-2013 performance.



1. Tiger Woods, United States -- Officials of the Wells Fargo Championship were confident that Woods was going to play this week in their tournament, which he won in 2007. He also finished fourth when he played at Quail Hollow in 2009 after missing his title defense because of knee surgery. However, agent Mark Steinberg said last week that Woods would not play in Charlotte, giving Tiger a three-week break between the Masters and the Players Championship. ... Woods has missed the cut in his last two appearances at Quail Hollow, in 2010 and last year after finishing no worse than a tie for 11th (in 2005) in his previous four appearances, but that apparently had little to do with his decision. He usually takes three weeks off after the first major of the year, but because of a change in the PGA Tour schedule this season, the Wells Fargo is being played three weeks after the Masters. So, he won't be back until next week at the Players Championship, in which he has not had great success since winning in 2002. ... Tiger did make a commitment to another tournament last week, the AT&T National, of which he is the host, and he will be defending his title near the end of June at Congressional. Woods won the tournament last year by two strokes over Bo Van Pelt, and he also prevailed by one stroke over Hunter Mahan in 2009. He's been pretty good in tournaments that he hosts, having won the World Challenge a record five times at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif.



2. Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland -- If there's a place for McIlroy to really find his game, it might be at Quail Hollow, where he will be playing this week in the Wells Fargo Championship for the third time. He claimed his first PGA Tour title there in 2010, and after missing the cut as the defending champion, he finished in a tie for second last year, losing out when Rickie Fowler made a birdie to win on the second playoff hole. ... Rory seems to have been getting closer to his 2012 form in three of his last four tournaments, registering a tie for eighth in the WGC-Cadillac Championship, finishing second to Martin Laird of Scotland in the Valero Texas Open and tying for 25th in the Masters, where he played well other than a 7-over-par 79 in the third round. Slow starts have dogged him all season, as he has not broken 70 in the first round in any of his five PGA Tour events, so he must give himself a chance by getting off the blocks quickly on Thursday. ... McIlroy shot 66-62 on the weekend at Quail Hollow three years ago to claim a four-stroke victory over Phil Mickelson, finishing with an exclamation point when he holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the final hole. However, he shot 75-72--147 the following year to miss the cut in his title defense. Last year, he shot 69-68 in the middle rounds before closing with a 2-under-par 70, making a bogey on No. 17 and missing a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole that would have given him the victory.



3. Brandt Snedeker, United States -- Snedeker remains second in the FedEx Cup standings thanks to a brilliant run early this season, but he has not fully regained that form after an hip injury put him on the sideline for two months. He did have his moments in the Masters before closing with a 3-over-par 75 at Augusta to finish in a tie for sixth, but he came back the following week with an unimpressive tie for 59th in the RBC Heritage, and he has not broken 70 in 11 of his last 12 rounds. ... Sneds has not finished better than a tie for 55th in three appearances at the Wells Fargo Championship, so it was easy for him to pass on the tournament, having not teed it up there since 2010. He will be looking to reverse his fortunes in the Players Championship next week because he also has not done well at TPC Sawgrass, missing the cut in his last four appearances after tying for 12th in 2007. ... Snedeker said the strained intercostal muscle he sustained earlier this season is healed and that the break actually came at a good time because he had played five times in the first six weeks of the season. He believes that might have helped in his strong performance at the Masters, even though he faltered on Sunday, because he was fresh going into the first major of the year. And he could afford to take some time off, having posted four finishes in the top three, including his victory in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.



4. Adam Scott, Australia -- Australian greats Greg Norman and Peter Thomsen, and others, are touting Scott to win more majors now that he has broken through, but it will be interesting to see how his new-found status as Masters champion affects his game moving forward. Many first-time major winners have struggled initially. Bubba Watson has not won in the past year, and some have very good players have not claimed more than one Grand Slam title; see Davis Love III, David Toms and Tom Kite, among others. We'll get our first glimpse of the post-Masters Scott next week in the Players Championship. ... Scott has been a supporter of the big three Australian events at the end of the year, and officials of those tournaments are holding their collective breaths about the Masters champion because he usually plays only two per year. He is defending champion of the Australian Masters, which will be played at Royal Melbourne, so that seems to be a no-brainer. Scott surprisingly didn't claim his first pro victory Down Under until the 2009 Australian Open, probably the biggest of the three events, so he probably will play that one, too. However, the Australian PGA is played at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast, right down the highway from his home at Sanctuary Cove, so that one will be difficult to pass up. ... You knew Steve Williams, Scott's outspoken caddie, would make his own news after the Masters, and he didn't disappoint. Tiger Woods' former bagman said Scott's winning 15-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole at Augusta National might be the highlight of his career because his boss asked him to make the read.



5. Phil Mickelson, United States -- There might be a victory waiting for Lefty at Quail Hollow, where he is playing this week for the 10th consecutive season, because he has played so well in the Wells Fargo Championship. He has finished in the top 10 in six of his nine appearances in the tournament, never missing the cut, although he tied for 26th a year ago, with a tie for 36th in 2005 his worst result in Charlotte. ... Mickelson came closest to winning the tournament in 2010, when he shot 4-under-par 68 in the second and final rounds, only to have Rory McIlroy race past him, leaving him four shots back in second place. Lefty had bookend 67s in 2007, but a 75 in the third round eventually left him a tie for fifth, three strokes behind winner Sean O'Hair. Two years ago, he posted three scores in the 60s but again did himself in on Saturday with a 74 that led to a tie for ninth, five strokes out of the playoff in which Lucas Glover defeated Jonathan Byrd. In 2007, he tied for third, four shots behind winner Tiger Woods. ... You can't say that the first part of Mickelson's season has been a disaster, since he captured the Waste Management Phoenix Open with a brilliant four-day performance, and he finished third in the WGC-Cadillac Championship. However, Mickelson has to be disappointed that he has not found that consistency more often, with only two other finishes in the top 25 and a tie for 54th in his favorite tournament, the Masters.



6. Dustin Johnson, United States -- Johnson was all set to play in the Ballantine's Championship at Blackstone Golf Club in Incheon, South Korea, for the second time in the last three years, but he withdrew early last week because of the political unrest in the region. Zach Johnson and Alvaro Quiros of Spain also decided not to play in the tournament, co-sponsored by the European Tour and the Asian Tour, because of threats made against South Korea by its neighbor, North Korea and that country's leader, Kim Jong-un. ... DJ tied for fourth in the Ballantine's two years ago and planned to play in the event again last year, but he was forced to stay home because of a back injury. After pulling out of the South Korean event, he committed to play for the fourth time in the Wells Fargo Championship this week at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C. It will be a much shorter trip, since he lives part of the year in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Johnson tweeted to his friend and Wells Fargo defending champion, Rickie Fowler, that he was looking forward to giving him a run for his money at Quail Hollow. ... Johnson seems capable of doing exactly that after snapping out of a slump that lasted for three months following his victory to start the season in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. He has missed the cut in two of his three appearances at Quail Hollow, in 2008 and 2011, while finishing in a tie for 29th in 2010. That year, he was in the hunt most of the way after shooting 7-under-par 65 in round two but closed with a 77.



7. Luke Donald, England -- Donald has finally started playing like a guy who has been No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings for 56 weeks in the last two years. He posted his first two top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season in his last three tournaments, tying for fourth in the Tampa Bay Championship and tying for third in the RBC Heritage, with a tie for 25th in the Masters sandwiched in between those results. Donald, who has been in the top 10 of the World Golf Rankings for the last 139 weeks, the longest current streak, hopes to bring his best stuff to TPC Sawgrass next week for the Players Championship. ... Luke didn't figure to play in the Wells Fargo Championship this week, having missed the cut three times in his five appearances at Quail Hollow, but he has finished sixth or better in the Players in each of the last two years and three times overall, so he might be ready for a breakthrough in the so-called "Fifth Major." He will arrive in Ponte Vedra Beach in his best form since he captured the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan late last year, his third victory of the season on three continents. ... Donald's normally precise game has been slightly off for most of this season, as he has hit the fairways and greens only a shade over 60 percent of the time. Since he has missed the green so often, he has been able to average a deceptive 28.05 putts per round, but more telling is that he ranks 49th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained-putting at .294.



8. Matt Kuchar, United States -- Kuchar might be ready to make the jump from the talented pack of players who have not claimed a major title, especially after his tie for eighth in the Masters. Before he gets his next chance in a month in the U.S. Open at Merion, he will defend his title next week at the Players Championship. By winning at TPC Sawgrass and following that up with his victory over defending champion Hunter Mahan earlier this year in the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, he has shown that he is capable of winning with all the best players in the world in the field. ... Kooch, who is third in the FedEx Cup standings behind Tiger Woods and defending Fed Ex champion Brandt Snedeker, has claimed victories in four of the last five PGA Tour seasons, missing only in 2011, when he finished second twice. It's time for him to step up and claim multiple victories in a season for the first time and perhaps make the next one a major. ... Kuchar started his career quickly with two finishes in the top three in only 11 tournaments in 2001, before breaking through for his first victory the following season in the Honda Classic. However, he fell into a deep slump and did not win again until the 2009 Turning Stone Resort Championship. Kooch has since become one of best players around, at No. 10 in the World Golf Rankings, and he leads the PGA Tour with 33 top-10 finishes in the past three-plus seasons.



9. Webb Simpson, United States -- Coming off his playoff defeat to Graeme McDowell in the RBC Heritage, Simpson will play for the 12th time this season this week in the Wells Fargo Championship. He still has not won since the U.S. Open last June at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, but he does have five finishes in the top 10 and 11 in the top 25 during that stretch, so he's probably not that far away from winning on the PGA Tour for the third consecutive season. ... Webb is playing right down the road from his house this week in the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow. The North Carolina native, who graduated from Wake Forest in 2008, had his best chance to win at home last year, taking a one-stroke lead into the final round after sinking a 12-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole Saturday. However, after opening with rounds of 65-68-69, he closed with a 1-over-par 73 and missed by one stroke the playoff in which Rickie Fowler defeated Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points, missing a 25-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole. After carding only four bogeys in the first three rounds, he recorded four on Sunday, including a costly one at the 16th hole that kept him out of the playoff. ... This will be his fifth consecutive appearance at Quail Hollow, and after missing the cut in 2008 and 2009, he finally seemed to figure out the course when he tied for 21st two years ago. If he can continue that upward momentum and pick up where he left off at Harbour Town, this would be the perfect place to claim the fourth victory of his PGA Tour career.




10. Justin Rose, England -- Rosy was on the fringe of contention throughout the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but he never made a definitive move on the leaders and wound up in a tie for 15th. Still, he finished in the top 25 for the sixth time in as many tournaments on the PGA Tour this season and for the eighth time in eight events on both major tours. That includes runner-up finishes in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. If the Englishman keeps putting himself in position, he should win again soon. ... Rose never has played well in his five appearances in the Wells Fargo Championship, failing to finish in the top 25 even once, so he won't be in the field at Quail Hollow this week. He's played only eight times this season on the two major tours, so he should be relatively fresh when he shows up for his 10th appearance in the Players Championship next week. ... Rose opened with 68-69 last week at TPC Louisiana, but he could not go low in the third round and lost contact with the leaders even though he posted a 2-under-par 70. He closed with another 69 and simply did not make enough birdies to really make a push up the leaderboard. His ball-striking was very good, as he hit 39 of 56 fairways and 61 of 72 greens in regulation, but he was not as sharp as he needed to be with the putter. Rose averaged 31.0 putts per round, taking at least 30 each day.



11. Bubba Watson, United States -- In his first tournament since giving up the title of reigning Masters champion, Bubba was a bit inconsistent, but he closed strong to finish in a tie for 15th in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which he won two years ago. It was his best finish in a stroke-play event since he tied for fourth in the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions, and he also tied for ninth in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. ... After taking only a week off following his title defense in the Masters, Watson is playing three consecutive weeks on the PGA Tour, moving on to the Wells Fargo Championship this week followed by the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. He will tee it up at Quail Hollow for the sixth time, and he has only one real strong effort to show for it. Bubba missed the cut in two of his first three appearances in Charlotte before tying for second in 2009, one stroke behind winner Sean O'Hair. He has posted only four scores in the 60s in 19 rounds at Quail Hollow, bested by a 7-under-par 65 in round two in 2009. ... Watson opened with a 1-over-par 73 last week at TPC Louisiana but rallied to make the cut by shooting 7-under-par 65 on Friday, bouncing back with eight birdies after an opening bogey. After a 72 on Saturday, he climbed the leaderboard with a closing 66. He carded seven birdies in each of his low rounds but could manage a total of only five the other two days. Bubba had broken 70 only once in his previous 10 rounds, but with some consistency, he could challenge at Quail Hollow.



12. Keegan Bradley, United States -- Trying to bounce back from a tie for 54th in the Masters, which included a 10-over-par 82 in round three, Bradley instead shot 69-74--143 and missed the cut by two strokes in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. It was his second missed weekend of the season (he also went home early at the Farmers Insurance Open), and his two recent poor outings came after he had finished in the top 10 in four consecutive tournaments. ... Bradley has teed it up 12 times already in the first four months of the PGA Tour season, so he is going to take a week off by skipping the Wells Fargo Championship, having missed the cut and failing to break the par of 72 in his only two appearances at Quail Hollow the last two years. He will be back next week to play in the Players Championship for the third time. ... If Keegan could have one hole back last week at TPC Louisiana, it would be No. 14 in round two after he started his day on the back nine. He mis-hit his first two shots on the 216-yard par-3, finally reached the green in three and missed a six-foot putt to card a double-bogey 5, the margin by which he missed the cut. He played bogey-free golf in his opening 69, but he had his three birdies in the first seven holes before finishing with 11 consecutive pars. Normally a strong ball-striker, he hit under 60 percent of the fairways and greens, and he averaged 29.0 putts per round with his belly putter.



13. Steve Stricker, United States -- Stricker has another week off during this season in which he is cutting back his schedule to what right now amounts to 11 tournaments, but he will be back next week for the Players Championship. He will be playing at TPC Sawgrass for the 17th time and will have to bring his best stuff, because he has missed the cut at Pete Dye's diabolical masterpiece eight times, including last year, and recorded only one top-10 finish. ... Last week, Strick missed the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, where in 2007 he shot 66-69 on the weekend to finish second, two strokes behind Tiger Woods. Perhaps surprisingly, he has not been back to Charlotte since 2008 to play a course that would seem to fit his game. Even though he has not been as sharp as he was earlier this season, when he finished in the top five in each of his first three tournaments, he was able to post what was a very respectable tie for 20th in the Masters despite it being only his fifth event of the year. ... The 46-year-old Stricker has been content to stay at home with his family for most of this year because although he loves the golf, he does not enjoy the travel. He said at the Masters that things have been warming up in Wisconsin. Although he continued to do most of his work in a double-wide trailer, hitting out into the snow, he said he was able to hit some balls off the grass that finally is growing. Stricker said he works on his game about three hours a day, including putting sessions in his basement.



14. Hunter Mahan, United States -- Trying to bounce back from his worst stretch of the season, including missed cuts in the Shell Houston Open and the Masters plus a 91st-place finish in the RBC Heritage, Mahan tries to get it going again this week in the Wells Fargo Championship. He also missed the secondary cut at Harbour Town, but it does not count as officially missing the cut because he made it through 36 holes. ... Hunter will tee it up at Quail Hollow on Thursday for the 10th consecutive year, and he keeps coming back even though he has never finished in the top 10. He missed the cut in three of first four appearances in the tournament, and he probably would have done the same in 2006, when he was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard after opening with a 9-over-par 81. However, Mahan finished in the top 25 in each of the next four years before tying for 53rd last year, with his best result a tie for 12th in 2007. He has failed to break 70 in 22 of the 26 rounds he has played in the Charlotte event. ... His recent skid came after he finished in the top 25 in seven consecutive tournaments, including second in defense of his title in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he lost in the final to Matt Kuchar. Mahan won twice in one season for the first time in his career last year, claiming the Accenture and the Shell Houston Open to get to five PGA Tour victories, but he has not reached the winner's circle since.



15. Lee Westwood, England -- Following a two-week break after yet another top-10 finish in a major without winning, a tie for eighth at the Masters, Westwood returns to the PGA Tour this week at the Wells Fargo Championship. He has played solid if not spectacular golf in his first season living in the United States after moving his family from Worksop, England, late last year. Lee has made the cut in each of his eight tournaments on the PGA Tour, including three finishes in the top 10 and five in the top 25. He made the move in part to better prepare for the three majors that are played in the United States. ... Westy will tee it up this week at Quail Hollow for the fifth time, and he has improved with each appearance. After missing the cut in 2006, he tied for 61st the following year and tied for 38th in 2010. Last year, he finally got into the chase, shooting 68-66 on the weekend to finish in a tie for fifth, three shots out of the playoff in which Rickie Fowler defeated Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points. Those were the first two times he broke 70 on the course in 14 rounds. ... Westwood has spent considerable time at his new home in South Florida working on his short game, and it has paid off. After averaging 30.06 putts last year, he has improved to 28.96. That has helped him get up and down for par more often, as he ranks seventh on the PGA Tour in scrambling at 67.24 percent after being 189th a year ago at 48.30.



16. Ernie Els, South Africa -- Els seemed to be in prime position to make a run in the final round before one shot proved costly late Saturday in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He hit his second shot into the water on the 16th hole and carded a double-bogey 6 en route to an even-par 72, the only day he did not break 70, and he eventually finished in a tie for 15th. That has to give him confidence moving forward after missing the cut in two of his last three outings. ... Following a three-week run on the PGA Tour that began at the Masters, giving him 12 tournaments played already this season, you might think Els would be looking to take a break. Instead, he is off to play this week in the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters at Royale Jakarta Golf Club before returning to the PGA Tour next week for the Players Championship. Only then will he take a two-week break before flying off again to play in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, outside London, where he still owns a home. ... Ernie played his best golf at TPC Louisiana when he carded a bogey-free 67 in the first round, and he bounced back from his worst round of the tournament on Saturday by closing with a 68. He hit only 33 of 56 fairways and 49 of 72 greens in regulation, but he averaged 26.5 putts per round with his belly model. He has talked about going back to a conventional putter, but he is sticking with the longer one for now.



17. Ian Poulter, England -- After missing the cut in the Masters, the first time he missed the weekend since the 2011 Deutsche Bank Championship 21 events ago on the PGA Tour, Poulter added the Wells Fargo Championship to his schedule. He is trying to cut back after a busy schedule around the world last season, but apparently he figured he needed more competitive work ahead of the Players Championship next week after playing only six times this year. ... Poults is making his fifth appearance at Quail Hollow and seems to have figured out the course after missing the cut in his first two tries in 2005 and 2007. He tied for 25th in 2008 and posted his best finish with a tie for fifth in 2009, winding up three strokes behind champion Sean O'Hair. When he closed with a 3-under-69 that year, it was the first time he broke par in 12 rounds on the course. He is a combined 10 under in his last two appearances in Charlotte. ... After tying for ninth in the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Poulter took six weeks off and played well when he returned, finishing fourth in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. However, he has not posted a result in the top 20 since, with his best finish a tie for 21st in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he was in the conversation before closing with a 3-over-par 75. Poulter has failed to break 70 in seven of his last eight rounds and has hit the fairways and greens less that 60 percent of the time this season. His putter has bailed him out at times, as he ranks 19th in strokes gained putting at .626, and 24th with an average of 28.29 putts per round.



18. Jason Dufner, United States -- In the first title defense of his PGA Tour career, Duf played his best golf in only one round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He shot 5-under-par 67 in the third round on his way to a tie for 42nd. He's hoping for better when he is the title defender again at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in two weeks. ... With 12 tournaments under his belt already this season, including two on the Middle East swing of the European Tour, Dufner is taking a break this week. Duf is taking a pass on the Wells Fargo Championship after missing the cut in three of his four appearances at Quail Hollow, the exception being a tie for fifth in 2009. He will be back next week to tee it up in the Players Championship for the fifth time. ... Dufner opened with 71-71--142 last week at TPC Louisiana to make the cut right on the number, avoiding his third missed weekend of the season. He missed the cut only once in his breakthrough season last year at the age of 35. After carding a bogey on the 15th hole on Friday, he closed with three consecutive pars to get through to the last two rounds. After recording a total of seven birdies in the first two rounds, he had that many in round three alone before making only two on Sunday. He made only one big number all week, hitting his tee ball into the water and taking a double-bogey 5 at No. 3 while closing with a 72.



19. Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland -- G-Mac rose 10 spots to No. 8 in the World Golf Rankings two weeks ago by winning the RBC Heritage, and he figures to remain in the top 10 heading into the Players Championship next week. Despite missing the cut in the Masters, you could see him coming, because he had been in contention several times already this season. He tied for fifth in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, tied for ninth in the Honda Classic and tied for third in the WGC-Cadillac Championship, finishing behind only winner Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker. ... McDowell is skipping the Wells Fargo Championship this week, no big surprise, as he has not been back since shooting 76-75--151 to miss the cut by six strokes in his only appearance at Quail Hollow in 2008. However, he will be busy in May, because after the Players he has committed to the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in England for the 11th consecutive year, and the Volvo World Match Play Championship, which he lost in the final to Nicolas Colsaerts last year, in Bulgaria. ... G-Mac had not won anywhere in the world since claiming the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and three other titles in 2010 before he broke through to capture the unofficial World Challenge last December. He had multiple victories on the European Tour in 2008, claiming the Ballantine's Championship and the Barclays Scottish Open, so winning at Harbour Town could lead to more since he has a history of winning in bunches.



20. Zach Johnson, United States -- After consultations in recent weeks by his management team with the State Department, Zach decided to withdraw from the Ballantine's Championship at Blackstone Golf Club in Incheon, South Korea, because of political unrest on the Korean Peninsula. Actually, Johnson had some talks of his own with his wife and mother that might have weighed just as heavily on his decision not to fly into the troubled region, where North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong-un, have made nuclear and other threats against South Korea. Dustin Johnson and Alvaro Quiros of Spain also withdrew. ... Johnson added that he spoke to people with knowledge of the situation in South Korea and was told that things were not as bad as some might assume and that he would be safe, but he decided not to take the chance. Zach added that he did not want to get stuck in South Korea if the situation escalated and flights were canceled. He said tournament organizers were sympathetic when he told them he wasn't coming, and he said he hopes to play in the Ballantine's in the future. ... With an opening created in his schedule, Johnson then committed to the Wells Fargo Championship this week, a week ahead of the Players Championship. He didn't have the tournament on his schedule because the planned long trip to South Korea, but now he will be teeing it up at Quail Hollow for the 10th consecutive year. Johnson's only top-10 finish in the tournament was a tie for sixth in 2011, when he opened with a 1-over-par 73 before reeling off scores of 69-67-68.



Others receiving consideration: Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa; Nick Watney, United States; Rickie Fowler, United States; Bill Haas, United States; Charl Schwartzel, South Africa; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Jim Furyk, United States; Carl Pettersson, Sweden; Bo Van Pelt, United States; Peter Hanson, Sweden; Jason Day, Australia; John Merrick, United States; Charles Howell III, United States; Tim Clark, South Africa; Michael Thompson, United States; Martin Laird, Scotland; Angel Cabrera, Argentina; Kevin Streelman, United States; D.A. Points, United States; Billy Horschel, United States.

Graeme McDowell Surging at Right Time

Graeme McDowell Surging at Right Time
Match Play Win, His Second in a Month, Makes G-Mac a U.S. Open Favorite










Mark McLaughlin May 19, 2013 11:32 AMYahoo! Contributor Network




COMMENTARY | He couldn't let the kid steal his thunder for too long.

Graeme McDowell, who ended a 40-year European drought at the U.S. Open with his br
eakthrough win at Pebble Beach in 2010, has spent the last two plus years operating in the shadows of heralded fellow Ulsterman and former world No. 1 Rory McIlroy.



While McIlroy struggles to regain his dominant 2012 form, G-Mac has found his groove again. McDowell rallied to win the European Tour's Volvo World Match Play Championship Sunday in Bulgaria 2 & 1 over Thailand'sThongchai Jaidee, his second victory in a month.

With the win, he should rise into the top five in the Official World Golf Ranking, his highest placement since March 2011.

Since his U.S. Open victory, G-Mac has become a fixture in golf's biggest events. He teed off in the final group Sunday at last year's U.S. Open at Olympic Club and British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Anne's but fell just short in both instances. He dispatched Hunter Mahan to clinch the 2010 Ryder Cup for Europe and has also taken down Tiger Woods in his own tournament twice in the last three years at the Chevron World Challenge.

But it hasn't been since 2010 that G-Mac has strung together two wins in a year. And he's got plenty of golf ahead of him this season.

"I feel this is building blocks for something good this year and beyond," McDowell said after winning the RBC Heritage in April.

G-Mac flexed the strengths of his game in the match play win in Bulgaria. He overtook Jaidee in the championship by keeping his ball in play and waiting for his opponent to make mistakes.

"This course really suited my game, accuracy off the tee," McDowell said at the trophy presentation after his eighth European Tour win. "I felt strong all week."

G-Mac could be forgiven for taking his eye off his little, white Srixon. The amiable 33-year-old got engaged at the European Tour's season-ending DP World Tour Championship last November and spent an extended offseason putting the finishing touches on his new bar and grill in Orlando, Nona Blue.

Any rust from that break quickly wore off. He strung together three straight top 10 finishes in late February/early March on the PGA Tour before edging Webb Simpson in a playoff to win the RBC Heritage.

If his form can hold, McDowell will be one of the favorites when the U.S. Open returns to Merion Golf Club next month. In his last four outings at our national championship, he has a win, a tie for second and two other showings in the top 18. He wasn't a factor in McIlroy's record-breaking win on a softened Congressional Country Club in 2011 but when conditions are difficult, G-Mac should be right there.

He's fifth in driving accuracy on the PGA Tour, which will be a critical on a short Merion course where the fairways will certainly be pinched to offset a setup that will be less than 7,000 yards. But more than a solid swing, G-Mac possesses the optimistic mindset necessary to bounce back from the inevitable bad breaks and occasional bogeys that an Open will throw at you.

McDowell is the type of a guy you'd want to share a pint with. Win or lose, he's always a straight shooter with the media. And he's a loyal friend, acting as the unofficial spokesman and defender of McIlroy through the youngster's adjustment to the fame and commitments of a being a superstar.

Could G-Mac achieve similar status? Another major victory would go a long way.

"I didn't get a lot out of my year last year in many ways, but I knew in the bottom of my heart that my game was getting better and better all the time," McDowell said after his win at Harbour Town.

G-Mac is about as content and confident as a golfer can be right now. Don't be surprised if you see the Irishman smiling again a few Sundays from now at a golf course outside Philadelphia.

Mark McLaughlin has reported on the PGA Tour for the New York Post, FoxSports.com, Greensboro News & Record, and Burlington (N.C.) Times-News. He is a past member of the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association. Follow him on Twitter @markmacduke.

Johnson captures first LPGA title

Johnson captures first LPGA title










The Sports Xchange May 19, 2013 7:50 PMThe SportsXchange



MOBILE, Ala. - Jennifer Johnson shot her second straight round of 7-under 65 to capture her first tour victory at the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic on Sunday.

Johnson's four-day total of 21-under-par 267 on Magnolia Grove's Crossing Course was a tournament record and gave her a one-stroke victory over Jessica Korda andPornanong Phatlum.

Johnson had one top-10 finish in her LPGA career before Sunday - an eighth-place showing in another Alabama tournament, the 2011 Navistar LPGA Classic in Prattville.

"I'm a little shocked," Johnson said. "The whole back nine, I didn't know what was happening."

Third-round leader Chella Choi had one bogey in the first two rounds. But she turned the back nine into a free-for-all by bogeying back-to-back par-4s on the 11th and 12th holes. That dropped her to 18-under.

Johnson was the first to get to 19-under down the stretch. She birdied from 12 feet on the par-3 14th hole, which played the toughest on the course Sunday.

Choi got it back together to join her at 19-under with a 15-foot birdie putt on 13.

Phatlum, who carded a 9-under 63, birdied 17, second-round leader Korda birdied 15 and Jiyai Shin birdied 18 to finish at 63 all at about the same time to get to 19-under.

Choi gave a fist pump on her birdie putt on the 15th, but the ball wiggled out, and she stayed at 19-under.

Phatlum finished with three straight birdies to walk off the course at 20-under.

Johnson pulled even with a birdie on the par-5 16th after leaving her eagle putt about a foot short.

Despite having to take a free drop when she overhit the 16th and the ball rolled against the TV-camera tower, Korda stayed in contention by getting a birdie the par-5 to join Johnson and Phatlum at 20-under.

Johnson rolled in a 15-footer for a birdie on 17 to get clear of the clubhouse leader, Phatlum, by going to 21-under.

"The birdie putt on 17, that's when I started thinking a little bit more about winning the tournament," Johnson said. "The putter has kind of been the missing link because I'm hitting the ball so well. And when they go in, it really helps score."

When Korda put her tee shot on the 17th into the greenside bunker, threw her pitch well over the hole and had her par putt wiggle past the right edge for a bogey, Johnson was two strokes clear of anyone on the course and safely on the 18th green.

She two-putted to finish at 21-under, leaving Choi and Anna Nordqvist in need of birdies on the final two holes to force a playoff.

Despite all the birdies dropped during the tournament, neither could do it.

Johnson wins first LPGA title

Johnson wins first LPGA title










The Sports Xchange May 19, 2013 8:50 PMThe SportsXchange


MOBILE, Ala. -- Jennifer Johnson started using what she called a "spaceship" putter this week, and it launched her into a higher orbit in the LPGA.

Johnson shot her second straight round of 7-under 65 to capture her first tour victory at the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic on Sunday.

Johnson's four-day total of 21-under-par 267 on Magnolia Grove's Crossing Course was a tournament record and gave her a one-stroke victory over Jessica Korda andPornanong Phatlum.

Johnson had one top-10 finish in her LPGA career before Sunday -- an eighth-place showing in another Alabama tournament, the 2011 Navistar LPGA Classic in Prattville.

"I was putting with kind of a traditional blade-style putter," Johnson said, "and I went to a Futura, which looks like a spaceship -- I call it the spaceship -- and it's just flowing better with my stroke, more like a pendulum, and it just feels good.

"Before this week, I had experimented with more of a forward press, and it just doesn't fit my style of putting. So I worked with my coach on making it kind of more like a pendulum, and this new putter that I put in play really emphasizes that, and so I can stroke it easier and I don't have to work as hard to get it like rolling on line.

"The putter has kind of been the missing link because I'm hitting the ball so well. And when they go in, it really helps score."

Johnson birdied four of the final six holes on Sunday to win a shootout in which nine players bettered the tournament record of 17-under-par.

"It was pretty intense for me," Johnson said. "I was telling my caddie, 'Man, I haven't seen that much tension on a golf course in a while.' And he's telling me, 'What? What's intense?' So he was trying to keep me loose, crack some jokes. ... It was like birdies after birdies, and you had to keep making them to keep up.


"I'm a little shocked. I didn't even realize I shot 65. The whole back nine was kind of like a -- I don't know. I don't know what was happening."

Third-round leader Chella Choi had one bogey in the first two rounds. But she turned the back nine into a free-for-all by bogeying back-to-back par-4s on the 11th and 12th holes. That dropped her to 18-under.

Johnson was the first to get to 19-under down the stretch. She birdied from 12 feet on the par-3 14th hole, which played the toughest on the course on Sunday.

Choi got it back together to join her at 19-under with a 15-foot birdie putt on 13.

Phatlum, who carded a 9-under 63, birdied 17, second-round leader Korda birdied 15 and Jiyai Shin birdied 18 to finish at 63 all at about the same time to get to 19-under.

Choi gave a fist pump on her birdie putt on the 15th, but the ball wiggled out, and she stayed at 19-under.

Phatlum finished with three straight birdies to walk off the course at 20-under.

Johnson pulled even with a birdie on the par-5 16th after leaving her eagle putt about a foot short.

Despite having to take a free drop when she overshot the 16th and the ball rolled against the TV-camera tower, Korda stayed in contention by getting a birdie on the par-5 to join Johnson and Phatlum at 20-under.

Johnson rolled in a 15-footer for a birdie on 17 to get clear of the clubhouse leader, Phatlum, by going to 21-under.

"Before I hit my birdie putt on 17," Johnson said, "I saw that Pornanong was tied with me at 20, and I didn't want a playoff. So I was like, 'I'm going to make this thing.'"

When Korda put her tee shot on the 17th into the greenside bunker, threw her pitch well over the hole and had her par putt wiggle past the right edge for a bogey, Johnson was two strokes clear of anyone on the course and safely on the 18th green.

She two-putted to finish at 21-under, leaving Choi and Anna Nordqvist in need of birdies on the final two holes to force a playoff. Despite all the birdies dropped during the tournament, neither could do it.

"It means a lot," said Johnson, who won $180,000. "Since I played my first tournament, I was 9, and when I was about 12 or 13, I wanted to play on the LPGA. So like nine years, this is kind of what I've worked for."

Korda came back with a birdie on 18 to finish tied with Phatlum for second.

Shin, 17-year-old Ariya Jutanugarn, Hall of Famer Karrie Webb, Nordqvist and Choi finished tied for fourth at 19-under.

Jutanungarn was playing on a sponsor exemption. In five LPGA outings this season, her worst finish is still fourth.

Defending champion Stacy Lewis, who shot herself back into contention with a 9-under 63 on Saturday, had a 5-under round Sunday and finished alone in ninth at 18-under. Last year, she won the tournament with a then-record 17-under 271, the score that tied for 10th this year, shot by Hee Kyung Seo and first-round leader Lexi Thompson.

Has Lee Westwood Turned it Around?

Has Lee Westwood Turned it Around?
The Former No. 1’s Strong Showing at the BMW PGA in England Continues a Streak of Solid Play, Positioning Him Well for the U.S. Open











Mark McLaughlin May 25, 2013 8:10 PM




COMMENTARY | Lee Westwood has made some bold moves in 2013 to improve his chances in the majors and have more of an impa
ct on the PGA Tour.



The results so far have been mixed as the Englishman has tumbled out of the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking. I owe part of the drop to quirks in the system as Westwood has carded four straight top 10 finishes in the U.S., including ties for eighth at both the Masters and the Players Championship.

What Westwood hasn't done lately is win and it will take a trophy to get him back in the conversation. He has a great chance to end a victory drought stretching back to last June at this week's BMW PGA Championship in Surrey, England.

Playing in just his second European Tour event of the season, Westwood fired a 5-under-par 67 Saturday to enter the final round just one shot off the lead held by Spain's Alejandro Canizares.

Despite the string of high finishes, Westwood admits that his ball-striking, long the strength of his game, could be better.

"If my long game starts to come together, I could be dangerous,'' Westwood said Friday before his breakout third round.

A long maligned short game has been the difference of late. In fact, Westwood was so efficient at scrambling for pars in the second round at Wentworth that playing partner Ernie Els remarked, "Bit of a short game wizard now."

The numbers back up Els' description. Westwood ranks sixth on the PGA Tour in scrambling even with a middling putting performance. That compares to a scrambling rank of 189th in 2012.

"Even Johnny Miller last week said something about my short game. I nearly fell over," Westwood said after the third round.

Such touch will come in handy three weeks from now at the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club, where the USGA is sure to grow the rough around the greens to offset shorter approaches.

Making his first trip to England since moving to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida last fall, Westwood thinks concentrating on the PGA Tour was the correct decision.

"It's pretty cold and wet out there, so I'm not regretting the move right now."

A Westwood win, which would be his first in 20 tries at the BMW PGA, would deflect some of the negative press surrounding the European Tour's signature event.

The controversy started earlier in the week with Sergio Garcia's "fried chicken" comment about Tiger Woods and grew worse when Euro tour chief George O'Grady made matters worse in trying to cover for Sergio. While Garcia got himself back into contention Saturday, several of the tour's biggest stars - Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter and Luke Donald - didn't survive the cut at a rainy, chilly Wentworth Club.

"The Mechanic" Back in Business

Miguel-Angel Jimenez made his first cut at the BMW PGA Championship since breaking his leg in a skiing accident in December.

Dubbed "The Mechanic" for his love of exotic autos and eccentric behavior, Jimenez shot a 5-under-par 67 Saturday to vault into contention at 4-under through three rounds.

Jimenez still has the game to contend on the European Tour - he won the UBS Hong Kong Open in his last start before the injury - but he could really make an impact on the Champions Tour. The Spaniard turns 50 next May and I could see him winning often as Bernhard Langer has done.

Mark McLaughlin has reported on the PGA Tour for the New York Post, FoxSports.com, Greensboro News & Record, and Burlington (N.C.) Times-News. He is a past member of the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association. Follow him on Twitter @markmacduke.

Chapman cards nine birdies in third-round 66

Chapman cards nine birdies in third-round 66











PGA.COM May 25, 2013 9:08 PM

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(The PGA of America)



By John Kim, PGA.com Coordinating Producer

ST. LOUIS -- Roger Chapman put himself in a tough position to defend his title after the first two rounds of the Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid -- shooting 72-74 to barely make the cut on the number.

But despite digging himself into that 4-over hole at blustery Bellerive Country Club, and having a 6:57 AM CT tee time for Saturday, Chapman showed he was not prepared to relinquish the Alfred S. Bourne trophy without a spirited fight. The tall Englishman fired an impressive 5-under-par 66 that included nine birdies to vault up the leaderboard on moving day.

"I bogeyed the first and I thought, well, here we go," Chapman said following his third round. "Getting up at five o'clock for bogey at the first.

"But then I had four birdies in a row. So that sort of got the momentum going, which I severely lacked the first two rounds."

Chapman, who also won the U.S. Senior Open last year, had one of the most colorful scorecards of the day, with four bogeys and five pars to go with his nine birdies in the round. His four straight birdies came on holes 2-5. He also added birdies at 8, 11, 15, 17 and 18, where he made a curling 35-foot putt, to move up 47 spots into a then-tie for 21st. It may not be enough to earn him a successful defense of his title but it served notice that he was not here in a ceremonial role.

"I think that the first two rounds you're a bit under pressure to put in a good defense and probably thinking about just making the cut was the wrong attitude," Chapman stated. "The last few holes yesterday afternoon I sort of messed up and all of a sudden you're on the cut line and you're thinking, well, don't defend and miss the cut. So, but now I made the cut, the pressure's off a bit, just go out and play and that's what I did."

Moreno moves on top in Bahamas LPGA Classic

Moreno moves on top in Bahamas LPGA Classic










The Sports Xchange May 25, 2013 10:10 PMThe SportsXchange



The Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic has hardly gone as smooth as silk this weekend after flooding shortened the first two rounds at the Ocean Club Golf Course in Nassau, Bahamas, to 24 holes, but Paola Moreno has handled the elements as well as anyone.

Moreno shot a 4-under-par 41 on the abbreviated 12-hole, par-45 layout Saturday in the second round of the inaugural event to take a one-shot lead over Lindsey Wright.

The Colombian is at 9-under 81 heading into the final round on Sunday with a chance to claim her first LPGA Tour victory. Her best career finish is a tie for 23rd at the LPGA Lotte Championship earlier this year.

Eun-Hee Ji and Julieta Granada were tied for third at 7 under. Cristie Kerr, Hee Kyung Seo, Mina Harigae, Ilhee Lee, Hee Young Park, Anna Nordqvist and first-round co-leader Heather Bowie Young were next at 6 under.

Moreno carded four birdies in the second round and is bogey free after 24 holes.

"It's been exciting and I just focus on what I can control and the holes ahead of me," Moreno said, "I'm very excited for tomorrow.

"Nerves are good. Yeah, of course. I mean I prepare myself for these kind of situations, to play the last day and hopefully win tournaments."

Wright had the best round of the day with a 7-under 38 that featured seven birdies. The Australian also is seeking her first LPGA title. Her best finish on the tour is second in the 2009 LPGA Championship.

"I just played faultless golf, really," Wright said. "I didn't make any mistakes. I made a ton of putts."

Kerr shot a 5-under 40 in the second round, giving her a shot at a second win this month. In her last event, she won Kingsmill Championship.

"I hit it really good, gave myself a lot of chances," Kerr said. "It played a little more difficult today even, I think, because of the wind."

The tournament will finish with 12 holes again Sunday, but the course will be modified, substituting the 18th hole for the fourth hole and making it a par 47. Completion of 36 holes would make it an official event.

LPGA officials shortened the tournament to 12 holes on Friday, Saturday and Sunday after the course was flooded Tuesday with more than a foot of rain. A number of holes are unplayable.

McIlroy hopes he's shaping up into a contender

McIlroy hopes he's shaping up into a contender











PGA.COM June 12, 2013 9:42 AM

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Rory McIlroy attributes the strain he's been under to wanting to improve on his breakthrough 2012 season.(Getty …


By Dan Gelston, Associated Press

ARDMORE, Pa. - From No. 1 to just one of many, Rory McIlroy's game has clearly hit a rocky patch.

No wonder he's considered making Philly's most famous run.

"I was half thinking of going to the steps in the city, the Rocky steps," he said. "Wherever they are, going to run up those. Just because we are where we are."

McIlroy has more in mind that landing triumphantly at the top of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's steps. He'd like to leave an imprint on Philadelphia as the U.S. Open champion.

First, he needs to find the eye of the tiger, even at the risk of catching Tiger's eye. McIlroy will be part of the feature group the opening two rounds, playing alongside Tiger Woods andAdam Scott - Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the world ranking.

Woods, Scott, Graeme McDowell have been rattled off at the top of the list of contenders who can win this week atMerion Golf Club. In just six months, McIlroy has gone from golf's next great player to a mere afterthought at Merion.

Most weeks, he hasn't come close to winning. The 24-year-old from Northern Ireland believes, though, his game is rounding into form, and it might help that conditions at Merion are soft because of days of rain, just as it was at Congressional for his record U.S. Open win.


"I much prefer this sort of golf," he said Tuesday. "I expect the scores to be a little lower than what they would be if the course was a little firmer and dryer."

McIlroy won the 2012 PGA championship on Kiawah Island to go along with his U.S. Open title in 2011. But he finished 25th at the Masters this year and is coming of a brutal 78 at the Memorial Tournament. He barely made the cut and finished 57th. He has a 33rd and a 45th on his resume and, most notably, quit in the middle of a round at the Honda Classic.

He played well to get in contention at the Valero Texas Open in early April, finishing second with a final-round 66 for his best finish of the year.

"This year, I feel like my game's actually in good shape," he said, referring to his Open chances. "I feel coming in this year I've got a way better chance than I did last year."

McIlroy attributed the strain to wanting to improve on his breakthrough season, when he won the PGA Championship, five tournaments around the world, money titles on the two biggest tours and established himself as the best player in golf.

McIlroy, who started the year in a slump and still hasn't won, struggled to balance his game with his business. He signed with Nike for what is said to be upward of $20 million a year and then left Dublin-basedHorizon Sports Management to set up his own management group.

He said the toughest part of this season has been "managing the expectations, probably of myself and other people."

"You want to contend and win tournaments and I haven't done enough of that this year," he said.


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Perhaps he could have continued to work on his game under the radar and without fanfare had it not been for that first-day grouping.

With just about every camera, reporter and fan at the course turned to the McIlroy-Woods-Scott grouping, the buzz from first hole of the tournament might well feel more like the first hole of a playoff. And maybe that can give McIlroy's game a jolt.

"It gets you focused from the first shot," he said. "There's going to be a lot of attention on that group and it's just nice to be a part of it."

Starting May 6, 2012, McIlroy spent 32 straight weeks at No. 1 before relinquishing the top spot to Woods after his win at Bay Hill.

Reaching No. 1 again is a worry for another day. Up first, conquering those Scottish-style bunkers known as the "white faces of Merion."

"As long as I just put it on the fairway, I feel like I can take advantage," he said.

McIlroy planned to unwind Tuesday night by watching the San Antonio Spurs play the Miami Heat in the NBAfinals. The Heat Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh might be the only trio in sports this week that can top Woods-McIlroy-Scott in A-list star power.

"They can sort of help each other out, where we're trying to do our own thing," McIlroy said. "We're trying to beat one another. But it's nice again to pair the top-three ranked players in the world. It's a cool idea and I'm just happy to be a part of it."

He'll be happier to walk out of Merion a champion again.