Nine players had or shared the lead during the third round of the Byron Nelson Championship. Yet when play ended Saturday, Jason Dufner was the one alone at the top of the leaderboard for the second day in a row. Unfazed by more breezy conditions, Dufner shot a 1-under 69 for an 8-under 202 total. He had a one-stroke lead over Jason Day, J.J. Henry and Dicky Pride.

SIMPLY GOLDEN: California has picked a great time to play its best golf, with the Golden Bears picking up a third win in their last four starts in claiming the West Regional at the par-70 Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto, Calif. Cal followed a standout second round (15-under 265) that catapulted them into the lead with Saturday's best round of 11-under 269, clearing San Diego State by six shots.

Australian golfer Jake Stirling has become the second Australian to win the individual medal at the 2012 NJCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship. Stirling, 22, is a member of Victoria Golf Club and has spent several years at Meridian Community College in Mississippi. He claimed the individual title at the prestigious championship by taking the lead and then making crucial pars on his final two holes to edge out his nearest rival by just one shot.

Five players are 11 under, one shot back of the leaders. Those players are James Hahn (69), Alex Prugh (66), 2007 BMW Charity Pro-Am champion Nick Flanagan (67), Robert Streb (70) and Andy Pope (70). Australian Cameron Percy, the second-round leader, had a roller coaster day on the challenging Chanticleer Course. Percy's 75 dropped him into a tie for eighth with Tyrone Van Aswegan of South Africa, two shots off the pace at 10 under.

Australian Jason Day has moved into a share of second position at the HP Byron Nelson Championship after firing a third-round three-under 67. Starting the day in a share of ninth spot, Day (seven-under) is now part of the pack, which also features Americans JJ Henry (67) and Dicky Pride (69), who are chasing leader Jason Dufner (eight-under).

Defending champion Tom Watson has withdrawn from next week's Senior PGA Championship. Watson has been recovering from a pinched nerve in his wrist. He is still expected to be at Harbor Shores before the tournament, and will host the champions' dinner on Tuesday. Watson beat David Eger in a playoff to win last year's event in Louisville, Ky.

Pressel's best finish in 2012 was a T-20 at the Kia Classic. She is looking for her first victory since 2008. After a rousing comeback victory over No. 2 seed Na Yeon Choi Saturday morning, Pressel defeated Anna Nordqvist 5 and 4 Saturday afternoon. For Pressel, who will face 24-year-old Azahara Munoz of Spain on Sunday, this week has been a big step forward. (Candie Kung and Vicky Hurst will square off in the other semifinal.)

Patience will be at a premium on Sunday. Tricky crosswinds that made for challenging scoring conditions in Saturday's third round may very well blow again in the final round. Add a bunched-up leaderboard and the usual pressure that comes with being in contention at a PGA TOUR event, and the test of nerves and composure will be just as important as a test of skill. Perhaps more. The 54-hole leader, Jason Dufner, knows this. That hasn't always been the case.

Graeme McDowell defeated Sergio Garcia to book a semi-final with Rafael Cabrera-Bello at the Volvo World Match Play Championship. McDowell and Spaniard Garcia could not be separated over 18 holes of their quarter-final at Finca Cortesin on Saturday (local time), with the Northern Irishman eventually triumphing on the first playoff hole.

Q. Can you talk about the big chip there at the end? PHIL MICKELSON: It was a fun way to end the day. It was a day where I had a lot of opportunities to get right back in the mix and made four or five mistakes there, sloppy bogeys, but I made some good birdies today and had some good things happen.

A breakdown of the third and final round of the NCAA South Central Regional, played at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky.: Team winner: Chattanooga (5-under 859) Individual winner: Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga (13-under 203) Also moving on: 2. Texas A&M (860), 3. UCLA (863), 4. Virginia Tech (874), 5. Memphis (874)

The battle for the lone individual advancing (low player not a member of qualifying team) to the NCAA finals came down to not only a pair of freshmen, but a pair from the same West Coast Conference. Jonathan De Los Reye of St. Mary’s and Grant Forrest of San Diego complete regulation tied for 10th at 2-over 218. Starting the playoff on the par-5, 18th hole, De Los Reye hit his second shot on the green, about 50 feet from the hole, and two-putted, sinking a four-footer for birdie as Forrest, who was the WCC Freshman of Year, was conceded par.

"We are in Spain and it wasn't exactly 'el clasico' but I got the job done," said McDowell, who holed the winning putt for Europe at the Ryder Cup in 2010. McDowell will play another Spaniard in the semis after Rafael Cabrera-Bello rallied from 3 down to win 3 and 1 against compatriot Alvaro Quiros, who had earlier ended reigning champion Ian Poulter's eight-match unbeaten run in the event.

World No.1 Yani Tseng and women's US Open champion So Yeon Ryu were among the casualties at the Sybase Match Play Championship. Ryu, the world No.13, was eliminated by American Vicky Hurst in their quarter-final on Saturday. Hurst, ranked 37, will now face Taiwan's Candie Kung in Sunday's semi-final, with the winner progressing to the final later that afternoon.

In the semifinals Sunday, Pressel will face Munoz, and Kung will take on Hurst. Pressel, who has struggled all season, is the most interesting story. The soon-to-be 24-year-old rallied from 2-down with three holes to play to stun No. 2 ranked Na Yeon Choi in 19 holes in the morning and rolled over Anna Nordqvist of Sweden 5 and 4 in the afternoon quarterfinal in the surprise-filled event at the Hamilton Farm Golf Club.

A celebrity team including Ryder Cup winning captain Colin Montgomerie and BBC radio and TV personality Chris Evans are claiming a new British record after playing 18 holes of golf today - in less than 11 minutes. Evans joined a team of eight of the world’s top golfers at the London Golf Club, a European Tour Destination, near Ash, Kent, as they completed their round in 10 minutes and 53 seconds, with the Radio 2 DJ holing the final putt to beat the previous record by an impressive one minute and 54 seconds.

"This is the first year that the two NJVC golf tournaments -- one held in the Washington metro area and another to be held in the St. Louis metro area in the fall -- will benefit the company's new philanthropic partner, the USO," said Jody Tedesco, NJVC president. "NJVC is most proud of its new relationship with the USO: an organization that possesses such a great and vibrant history supporting the nation's troops and their families around the world."

"The top players on Tour continue to rely on Aldila's RIP Technology™ (Reverse Interlaminar Placement) because it provides them with lower torque, increased tip stability and better tip stiffness control," said Stewart Bahl, Aldila's Marketing Manager. The Most Accurate Driver at The Players Championship benefited from Aldila's RIP Beta in his driver. He finished the tournament with an overall accuracy rating of 76.8 percent compared to the Field's average of 60.89 percent.

Darron Stiles took advantage of soft conditions, firing an 8-under-par 64 today to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation. This unique Nationwide Tour event features 168 professionals, plus amateurs and celebrities in a better-ball format hosted by three different golf courses in Greenville and Spartanburg, S.C.

Defending champion Suzann Pettersen didn't last long at the Sybase Match Play Championship, and neither did three well-known Americans. The third-ranked Pettersen was eliminated 3 and 1 by relative unknown Jodi Ewart of England on Thursday in the first round of the LPGA Tour event, while Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome and Michelle Wie lost to some equally obscure fellow Americans.

"I just kind of got hot I guess and every putt I hit went in, that's the best I can explain it to be honest," Gibson said. As he faced an eight-foot birdie putt on his final hole Gibson knew history was in the offing but felt calm. "I wasn't nervous. I had this song playing in my head. It is that new one from the Eli Young Band. It was in there all day.

Mainly, the inquiries and rumblings will circle around “pay for play” on the PGA Tour. Unlike their counterparts in Europe, the PGA Tour does not allow tournament organizers to pay players appearance fees to compete in their events. But nothing prevents players and companies from forming alliances or partnerships that benefit both parties.

Brandt Snedeker’s European adventure continued on Thursday at the Volvo World Match Play Championship when the American teed off in the first round against Thomas Bjorn with just 10 clubs in his bag, all of them borrowed. Snedeker’s golf clubs were lost on his trip to Spain and didn’t arrive until after he’d teed off for his first-round match. After going 3 up through his first four holes Snedeker’s clubs finally arrived and he added his normal putter, 3-wood, hybrid and lob wedge to his bag, but he’d already holed a number of long putts using a replacement TaylorMade Corza Ghost putter and decided to stay with it the rest of the match.

"The upro mx+ device is the result of extensive listening to what golfers want out of a distance measuring device out on the course," said Dr. Alan Hocknell, Senior Vice President, Research & Development, Callaway Golf. "Active listening was followed by a lot of hard work to deliver an easy to use, meaningful experience that will help golfers see more and know more out on the course, and give them the confidence to hit better shots."

The former Open Champion won the 16th with a par to go one-up and then made birdie from five feet on the next after his six iron tee shot kicked off the bank right of the green. "It came out absolutely beautiful," said Lawrie, who beat Hanson into second place at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters earlier this year. "But it wasn't much of a game - neither of us holed any putts."

Three days after his flight to Spain needed an emergency landing because a passenger suffered a heart attack, American Brandt Snedeker used borrowed irons and a putter from the pro shop to win his opener Thursday at the World Match Play Championship. Because his luggage got lost, Snedeker also used a driver lent to him by Australian rival John Senden. Starting out with just 10 clubs in a replacement bag, Snedeker managed to beat Danish Ryder Cup veteran Thomas Bjorn 5 and 4. 

“I guess you could say it was a good battle, because it was a battle,” said Garcia. “That's about it pretty much. “I think the one that has the most credit today is the people that were following us for not walking off after nine probably, because I can't really imagine that that was a lot of fun to watch. We weren't playing very good.

“It's not that I am tired,” Mickelson said after an opening-round even-par 70 that left him five strokes off the lead. “I have not been able to get the score that I feel I should be getting. I'm frustrated that I'm letting shots slide here or there and not capitalizing on some birdie opportunities.” His opening round included two birdies, two bogeys and a bevy of disappointing pars, the result of a cringe-worthy 33 total putts in the round.

Now that N.C. State has secured its place at Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn., Marsh can breathe again. Through three days at the NCAA Central Regional, the Wolfpack remained firmly in the seventh spot on the leaderboard, just one spot above the magic eight that would earn a trip to the season’s grand finale. Though technically safe, Marsh said she never considered it that way until the last putt dropped. That last putt, by the way, was a birdie at No. 18 from freshman Augusta James.

Darron Stiles took advantage of soft conditions, firing an 8-under-par 64 today to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation. This unique Nationwide Tour event features 168 professionals, plus amateurs and celebrities in a better-ball format hosted by three different golf courses in Greenville and Spartanburg, S.C.

Laird, who has been a global golf ambassador for Aberdeen Asset Management since the beginning of the year, may play most of his golf on the US PGA Tour, where he won the 2009 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and the 2011 Arnold Palmer Invitational, but he is a proud Scotsman who loves nothing more than returning to his homeland to perform in front his own people.  “Playing in Scotland is something I really love coming home for,” said Laird. 

The Ryder Cup star, who has also won the WGC-Accenture Match Play, then went three ahead with a ten foot putt at the ninth and five footer on the short 12th. “I said John was going to be a very steady opponent, and he was on front nine,” he said. “I think he made nine straight pars. I took advantage of the par five third hole, and I think if anything, on the next hole with driving it in the water, I think he played a little bit too safe. It's a driveable par four and he should have tried to knock it on.”

“Playing in Scotland is something I really love coming home for,” said Laird. “The Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open is one of the most important events on my schedule so I am really looking forward to getting back to Castle Stuart in July. “I think most Scots who live abroad and spend most of their time away from Scotland have an extra sense of patriotism and I am no different. The more time you spend out of the country the more you find yourself promoting it.

Marc Leishman has been on the verge of a breakthrough all season, with nine made cuts in 11 starts, but no finish better than 17th. That breakthrough may be about to happen this week. Leishman took the early Byron Nelson Championship first-round lead with a 5-under 65, thanks to a pair of eagles on the back nine.

American Brandt Snedeker pulled off a truly remarkable win over Thomas Björn on the opening day of the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain. The 31 year old won the opening three holes with only 11 clubs - all borrowed - in his bag as he waited for his own set to arrive.

Despite a turbulent last three years, Tiger Woods remains the world's most powerful athlete, according to Forbes magazine. Woods ranks first among athletes for the 11th consecutive year on the annual Forbes Celebrity 100 list released Wednesday. The 14-time major winner is 12th overall, down from sixth last year. Jennifer Lopez ranked first.

PGA TOUR players are in Texas celebrating what would have been Byron Nelson’s 100th birthday this year at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.  The tournament is seeing some old familiar faces like Phil Mickelson who is playing for the first time in five years;  Ernie Els, who hasn’t played in the event in years to do a scheduling conflict and same goes for Adam Scott.

Defending champion Ian Poulter struck first against Australian John Senden when the Volvo World Match Play Championship began in Spain. The Englishman produced a birdie at the long third, while Alvaro Quiros hooked his opening drive and double-bogeyed the hole to fall one down to fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia.

Mayor of Doncaster, Peter Davies, said: “It is a great honour that the European Tour is considering Doncaster for the expansion of their network of carefully selected golf destinations. “The attractive site at Rossington Hall is a perfect location for tournament golf, being minutes from Doncaster’s international airport and close to the planned link road leading to the national motorway network. “Doncaster is already home to a world class horse racing venue and international golf would further enhance our reputation for quality sport.

The match-play terror from Ryder Cups past believes the format is the game's most compelling and perfect for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. “Most other sports are one-on-one,” said Poulter on Wednesday, according to the Telegraph in the United Kingdom. “And that’s why I think viewers enjoy match play more. It’s more exciting and plays out better on TV. I think match play would suit the Olympics better.”

Colin Montgomerie believes American golf fans are less aware of how to behave on the golf course than their British counterparts. "I don't think the golf fans in America are members of golf clubs in the way they are here," Montgomerie said to BBC Radio. "At Wentworth next week (for the European Tour's BMW PGA Championship), most of the fans will be golfers and understand and respect the etiquette of the game."

Annika Sorenstam sat down with LPGA players Suzann Pettersen & Yani Tseng at the Annika & Friends event last week. When asked about World #1, Yani Tseng said that she has learned a great deal about being the best player in the world including how to get used to people recognizing her more often when she is out in public. She enjoys the recognition and knows that she has to continue to work hard and put herself under pressure very often in order to stay World #1.

The RAZR fit driver can now be purchased in your colour of choice that matches your cap and golf towel. Even the Callaway HEX Chrome golf balls have been recoloured for a limited release. It does look cool and I'm all for more colour in the game. And as we all know, if your golf game isn't up to scratch, it is good to at least look the part.

"My team has worked hard all year and it really paid off today," said Ofelia Lopez, the director of golf at the University of Texas-Pan American. "They came out with fire and determination and looking to win a title. And it happened." Lopez was particularly impressed with Kirakossian, a junior from Oregon. "He has always been our go-to guy," said Lopez. "He plays to win and plays for his team. That's what a leader is all about. That's what being a team captain is all about."

The Nike Method Midnight putter is available in new milled head shapes with a dark chrome finish and will be offered in three new models: Method Midnight 006, 007, and 008. All three models rely on polymetal face groove technology, which combine steel and polymer. The ground-breaking Method putter technology was born of innovation and fueled by the demands of Nike Golf's Tour athletes. With major-winning technology, this putter delivers the roll, feel, and sound necessary for clutch putts in big moments.

St Enodoc's neighbour, Trevose, is set against the backdrop of the majestic Trevose Head and in benign conditions the 6,973-yard championship course offers good scoring opportunities though the character and challenge of the course are transformed when the wind blows in from the sea. Trevose has also staged a number of amateur tournaments including the 2008 Brabazon Trophy and this year will host the McGregor Trophy. 

"It was a sensational round - definitely the best of my career," said Santos, 29. "It was amazing to have the crowds here supporting me. It would be difficult to imagine a better win than this." Santos' performance highlighted a three-win week for Titleist Pro V1x players around the world, including victories by Toru Taniguchi (Japan) and Ryan Cairns (South Africa). Titleist golf ball loyalists have now combined for 57 wins across the worldwide professional tours in 2012, more than eight times the nearest competitor with seven, and more than all competitors combined.

“Most other sports are one-on-one,” said the Englishman, who defends his Volvo World Matchplay title here at Finca Cortesin this week. “And that’s why I think viewers enjoy matchplay more. It’s more exciting and plays out better on TV. I think matchplay would suit the Olympics better.” As one of the finest mano-a-mano exponents, it is little surprise Poulter craves to see more matchplay on the schedule.

Keegan's skiing background definitely helped him progress faster, says Jim McLean, who started working with Bradley in 2009, a season when he played more Hooters Tour events than Nationwide. "He has this innate sense of how to be alive on his feet," McLean says. "Even when we were incorporating new changes, he never stopped swinging like he was popping out of a starting gate."

Poulter, who begins his title defence against Australian John Senden in the first of the group games on Thursday, said: "I love the buzz of it. "I love the fact that the holes tick away pretty quickly and I like looking straight at the guy you're playing. "I like the pressure of you have to hole a putt to win the hole or halve the hole or you have to hole to make your opponent hole his.

Ernie Els saw some photos earlier this week of his win at the HP Byron Nelson Championship back in 1995. Even for someone who doesn't seem greatly affected by the passage of time, Els struggled to comprehend the 17-year difference between then and now. "Amazing how quickly time goes," he said. A year later, Phil Mickelson won here, the eighth of his PGA TOUR career that has since grown to 40 wins and a place -- with Els -- in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

"I've been so frustrated with the whole thing because I've been trying so hard. Too hard probably - not to justify the Open win, but to back it up," he said. "I'll just keep going - it will turn round at some stage." The only tournaments which Clarke has seen through to the final day so far this season are the Volvo Golf Champions in South Africa, where he was 20th out of 35, and the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami in which he was 43rd out of 72, but neither had a halfway cut.

Ian Poulter said last week in Sawgrass that if he won the Players Championship he would treat himself to a Ferrari Enzo. He finished tied for 25th but got an Enzo anyway. Instead of a £1 million super-car, however, his is a labradoodle puppy, which gives an altogether different kind of woof. “It’s a nice consolation,” Poulter said with a grin.

It's one of the nice little moments that play out over the course of a PGA TOUR season. Just a quick, 30-second exchange that always makes me smile. On Sunday morning, Peggy Nelson will stand just inside the starter's tent on the first tee and personally greet every one of the players in the field of the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

"I think it's a young 30," said Price, an Australian who is playing on the Nationwide Tour this season. "These young guys that are a year or two out of college don't seem like they are that much younger than me." Price, who turned 30 on May 6, is coming off his best finish of the season when he tied for 16th at the Stadion Classic at the University of Georgia. He's had three top-25 showings and if his putting can get on track there are sure to be several more top-25 finishes.

Even before crushing the U.S. team's hopes last year, Pettersen won the only match-play event on the LPGA Tour. She's back to defend at this week's Sybase Match Play Championship, opening up against Jodi Ewart of England tomorrow. "You have to bring your 'A' game and you can't take anything for granted," Pettersen said Wednesday at Hamilton Farm G.C. "If you're playing Cristie [Kerr], or you're playing who ever else it might be, you just have to bring it on and take on every shot and try to win as many holes as you can."

"I don't know where they are with their decision-making ... but I think match play would suit the Olympics better than a stroke-play event," the Englishman said Wednesday. The proposed Olympic competition for men and women is a 72-hole individual stroke-play tournament, but Poulter surely would be installed among the favorites if there was a late change. One of the grittiest players on the circuit, Poulter looks to be the man to beat when he defends his title at this week's World Match Play Championship in Spain.

This year will be Curtis’ fifth appearance in the BMW PGA Championship, and his inclusion brings the number of Major Champions in the field to 15, with his compatriots Rich Beem and Shaun Micheel playing, as well as Northern Irish trio Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy, Europe’s Ryder Cup Captain José María Olazábal, Irishman Padraig Harrington, South Africans Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Charl Schwartzel, Scotland’s Paul Lawrie, Martin Kaymer of Germany, New Zealander Michael Campbell and Canadian Mike Weir

Harbor Shores is the centerpiece of the redevelopment of Benton Harbor, a community in the southwest corner of Michigan on the shores of Lake Michigan. The residential component surrounding the public course has 12 neighborhoods with nearly 800 homes, recreational elements, a marina village, conference center and restaurants.

This marks the fourth year the match-play format will be used for the top eight teams, and in each of the past three years, the eventual winner was not an overwhelming favorite. Were they a longshot? No. But they certainly were not one of the top picks. Ranked No. 14 heading to Inverness, Texas A&M won the 2009 title. Augusta State has won the last two titles with slightly better rankings – No. 5 in 2010 and No. 8 in 2011.

Brian Beattie, Head of Marketing for Dale Farm, said: “With the tournament returning to Northern Ireland this summer for the first time in almost 50 years and the quality of local golfing talent at an all-time high, Dale Farm is delighted to put our brand name to this year’s Irish Open, which will draw interest from right across the globe. The event is a fantastic opportunity to showcase our range of dairy products, made using the finest Northern Irish milk.

In past years, the result has often been a PGA Tour schedule – and to a lesser degree, schedules on other international circuits – that is comprised of the haves and have-nots. More and more, though, those lines are blurring, with players electing to compete at certain tournaments based on venue, placement on the schedule and, of course, sponsorship tie-ins as opposed to perceived stature of the event itself. “It's very difficult because every week there is a great tournament on,” Adam Scott explained.

“Match play is one of the games which I love to play,” said eighth seed Poulter, who faces Australian John Senden and Portugal Masters winner Tom Lewis in the first round. “I love the buzz of it. I love the fact that the holes tick away pretty quickly, and I like looking straight at the guys you're playing.  “I just like the buzz you get from it. It kind of puts you under pressure, and it's a great format, which we don't play enough of.

When he eventually arrived in Malaga on a connecting flight, he discovered his clubs and suitcase had been lost along the way, forcing him to use a makeshift set for Wednesday's pro-am. "It's been weird," Snedeker told The Associated Press in an interview at the Finca Cortesin course. "It's been a long couple of days, but it's worth it to get here."

“It's exciting to be a part of this tournament,” he said. “I've played a couple of times, as it was formerly at Wentworth, and it has a great history of champions. Match play is always nice to play - we don't get the opportunity to do it that much.  “You're looking at 24 great players, I try not to look at a group and go ‘that's a difficult group or that's an easy group’, because it's 18 holes of match play and anybody can beat anybody at this stage. You just have to go through and take it match by match.

US Tour star Brandt Snedeker’s preparations weren’t ideal for his match with Denmark’s Thomas Björn. The 31-year-old had to tee off with only ten borrowed clubs, with his own set delayed in transit from the States. However, Snedeker was unaffected by the drama - some flawless golf saw him to a 5&4 victory. “I made key putts for birdie that got the momentum going my way.  

“The tournament’s pro-am will be held on June 13 to give an exclusive chance to local amateur golfers to compete with Asia’s top professional golfers. Moreover, the tournament will be broadcast live on True Sport and a one-hour highlights package will be shown on the Asian Tour’s global television platform while the event will also be featured on the Asian Tour Golf Show.” Kanokphand Chulakasem, Director of Professional Sports Competitions Division, Sport Authority of Thailand, said: “The Queen’s Cup Bangkok Airways – SAT Samui Golf Tournament 2012 is one of the major golf tournaments each year which continues to significantly develop Thai golf to the next level.

“I hit some great shots and I left it quite close for several short putts from three to six feet. That obviously makes a difference and allows you to score low,” added the 33-year old from Buenos Aires, who leads by two over a trio of fellow Argentines at the Chaco Golf Club. Currently ranked sixth among the players trying to claim the ten cards the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica awards through the 2012 TLA Order of Merit, Acevedo could secure his spot comfortably if he manages to finish the week well.

The Legends Tour, official tour for LPGA professionals age 45 and over, along with Hannaford Supermarkets, hosted a Media Day this morning at Falmouth Country Club to announce details of the upcoming Hannaford Community Challenge, presented by Kraft Foods. Legends Tour CEO and 27-time LPGA Tour champion Jane Blalock was joined by 2011 Solheim Cup Captain and five-time Legends Tour winner Rosie Jones to share perspective on this inaugural tournament - and the first of its kind in the state of Maine.

Kim Bi-o conquered strong winds and an errant driver on Thursday to shoot a four-under par 68 and  claim a one-shot lead after the first round of the SK Telecom Open at Pinx Golf Club on South Korea's holiday island of Jeju. "The wind made it tough at the start and I wasn't driving very well but after about five holes it started to come together," said Kim Bi-o, who also won OneAsia's Nanshan China Masters last year.

Wolstenholme will be hoping to go one better this year as he attempts to build on his fine start to the season at La Quinta Golf and Country Club on the southern coast of Spain, just outside Marbella. But his task has been made harder by the presence of 26 players from the top 30 of last year’s Order of Merit, who comprise what is arguably the strongest field in the tournament’s history.

Mickelson is ranked 10th in the world and is one of two top-10 players in the Nelson field, the other being fifth-ranked Matt Kuchar, who of course is coming off the biggest win of his career at the Players Championship last weekend. Still, any number of players could wind up hoisting the trophy this Sunday in Dallas, just like golf’s other two big tournaments this week, both of them match-play events, which are notorious for their unpredictability.

Byron Nelson was such a substantial human being. He was filled with kindness. He just had a way about him. He, like Hogan, were so proud to be golfers, but they went about it in their own very different own way. Don't think that Byron Nelson wasn't competitive because he was in his own way.

Led by Anthony Maccaglia’s 4-under 68, Oglethorpe University jumped out to take the first-round lead at the NCAA Division III men’s golf championship on May 15. The Stormy Petrels shot an opening-round 3-under 285 at the Las Colinas Course at Mission Inn in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. They lead second-place Claremont-Mudd Scripps by four strokes while Christopher Newport is third in the team standings after carding a 2-over 290.

Mickelson is the most recent inductee, joining Els in the Hall in ceremonies in St. Augustine, Fla., just last week. Mickelson is a four-time major champion while Els, who was inducted in 2011, has three to his credit. Scott, who turns 32 in July, has yet to win his first major championship. Even so, he has a pretty impressive resume with the 2004 PLAYERS, 2006 TOUR Championship and 2011 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational among those eight TOUR victories.

“We look forward to returning to Tucson next year for what promises to be another exciting Accenture Match Play Championship,” said Roxanne Taylor, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Accenture. “The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain has been a great venue for world-class competition, and Tucson has been a terrific host city, particularly with the tremendous support from the Conquistadores.”

“I'm looking forward to it,” said the 32 year old. “I just hope that I can get my game in good shape for tomorrow, and have a couple of good days to qualify for Saturday and then we'll see what happens.  “Everybody knows how exciting and how special it is for any guy to play in his own country. In this case, obviously for me being Spanish and playing here in Spain is always very special.

"The Tucson Conquistadores are thrilled to see the Accenture Match Play Championship return to The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain for 2013," said Jim Berwick, 2013 tournament chairman. "Our organization has worked to help the PGA TOUR stage an amazing, world-class event here in Tucson, with the end result being a positive impact on local kids through the charity dollars the tournament generates. We've had a great run at The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain over the past few years and look forward to continuing that momentum in 2013."

Marino underwent surgery on his right knee in October to repair a torn meniscus. He played in three events in January, making the cut at the Humana Challenge and Farmers Insurance Open before returning to the disabled list. “This is one of those injuries that takes time to heal and rehab,” Marino said. “I tried to play in January but I experienced a lot of swelling and pain. If you try to come back too early you can do more damage."

Tiger Woods' former coach, Hank Haney, believes his former pupil is struggling with consistency. “It looks like he’s having a great spurt when he hits the ball good at times, and then he struggles at times," Haney said, according to mlive.com. "It just shows you how hard the game is, and just how great he was."

“I've always loved this tournament, I love what the Nelson family has done,” he said Wednesday. “Unfortunately, the last few years it's been a scheduling thing.” The tournament switched places with the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial this year, leading Mickelson to pick one Dallas-Fort Worth event over the other.

“I checked it twice. I don’t know how I even missed it,” Inglis said Tuesday evening, according to the Eugene Register-Guard. “I guess I was just caught up in the excitement. I don’t know. I keep replaying it in my head - what I missed, what I did wrong - and I don’t know how I missed it."

"I love the cut and thrust of match play and find it a refreshing change from the usual stroke-play format we play week in, week out," said Poulter, who is coming off a 25th-place finish at the Players Championship. "With the fact it's Ryder Cup year, I think it will be even more exciting." Brandt Snedeker, who is battling to be part of the United States team for the match in Medinah near Chicago from Sept. 28-30, is the only American in the 24-man field at the Finca Cortesin course near Malaga.

Pettersen mowed down a formidable cast of foes winning this event in 2011. It’s eye-opening to look a year later at who she beat. She eliminated four players who are now among the top seven in the world. “I didn’t feel like I had an easy route,” Pettersen told GolfChannel.com in a telephone interview. “I feel like I had to take down everyone around me [in the world rankings].” Pettersen defeated current world No. 7 Stacy Lewis, No. 1 Yani Tseng and No. 2 Na Yeon Choi on her way to knocking off No. 5 Cristie Kerr in the finals.

“We have gotten slower on Tour. College has gotten just incredibly slow,” said Woods, who is normally reserved when it comes to Tour policy. “It's so bad that now we are giving the guys the ability to use lasers to try to speed up play, and they are still in 5:45, six (hours) plus (rounds).” For Woods and most other Tour types the fix is simple, instead of accumulated fines and a complicated system of warnings, the circuit’s sluggish should be penalized a stroke every time they run afoul the official’s stopwatch.

Ernie Els is competing at the Byron Nelson Championship for the first time since 2006, but it’s a tournament he’s wanted to play again for years. “Because of that tournament in England that had the same damn date for so many years – and we redesigned the course, so I had a commitment to go there,” he said Wednesday. “But I always wanted to come back here, and now that they changed the date in England, I'm grateful for that.”

Two weeks ago it was Rickie Fowler who converted to a left-hand low, cross-handed putting grip, which he’d used in the past, just days before winning his first PGA Tour title at the Wells Fargo Championship. “In a way, left‑hand low freed me up a little bit from the fairway, and I feel like I'm managing my way around the course very well,” said Fowler, who followed his first Tour title with a runner-up showing at TPC Sawgrass.

For the first time ever, Golf Channel is giving you a glance into an LPGA Pro-Am with a chance to eaves drop on conversations between players and their caddies. Tonight at 5PM & 9PM ET tune in for an hour-long tournament special on the Sybase Match Play Championship Pro-Am providing an all-access pass to Natalie Gulbis, Jessica Korda, Suzann Pettersen and Stacy Lewis who will be fitted with microphones during the Pro-Am. 

Well, at the end of the day I would have a difficult time explaining to my kids why dad was a member of all men’s club. [Whan is not a member at Augusta.] And I really doubt by the time my kids are my age this will even be a topic. They’ll have female members by then. It’s a private club they can do what they want. 

Joey Snyder III woke up early Monday morning in his family’s Scottsdale, Ariz., home and explained to his two young daughters that he needed to go to work. Sophie, 5, and Caroline, 3, were confused at first, then upset that their dad was leaving. They didn’t understand. They couldn’t understand. One of the most commonly asked questions in our society is, “So, what do you do for a living?” yet for so many of us the answer is an enigma wrapped in a conundrum.

"It really inspires me," he said Wednesday on "Morning Drive." "It puts me back to where I was in hard times and it's a great message that I feel like I'm involved in sharing. Getting the message out about being an organ donor and what it's done for me is more important than just the golf." The golf isn't going poorly, however. Compton has made eight cuts in 12 starts, earning $175,573 this season.

“Soren Hansen said to me at breakfast that morning, ‘This trip has 63 written all over it’ and I said, ‘It could be 83’,” said Karlsson. “It was an unbelievable round and my putter was on fire that day. I’d had hardly any sleep and only just made it onto the tee in time on the Saturday morning, so to shoot 62 and set a new course record was quite unexpected.

Matt Kuchar has an idea to combat slow play – at least on a limited basis. "It might be interesting to have a tournament with a shot clock,” said the recent Players Championship winner. "An event where there is a full‑on shot clock on everybody on every shot. You would hope it wouldn't be a hard course."

This year marks the fifth consecutive year that Sun Mountain's top-selling cart bag, the C-130, has been awarded Hot List Gold. Regarding the C-130 cart bag, the editors said, "Features include a 15-way divided top, nine forward-facing pockets and a lined pouch for a distance-measuring device. A slot lets the cart strap pass through the pockets without restricting access." The Sun Mountain Three 5 rounded out the bags recognized as award winning. The 2012 Three 5 is built to carry. The Three 5 is light, uses the X-Strap® Dual Strap System and Sun Mountain's state-of-the-art roller bottom leg mechanism.

"At Golf Tournament in a Box we seek out the best in the industry to partner with, Every Brand Apparel's commitment to supporting and educating tournament directors as well as providing premium yet affordable products aligns with our goals to improve every tournament we have the honor of working with." said John Bladholm, Partner of Golf Tournament in a Box.

"Annika & Friends was a huge success and golfers and celebrities had the chance to experience the Southern hospitality of our top Florida resort," says Rick Hileman, PGA Director of Golf Operations at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. "All of the celebrities were incredibly enthusiastic about visiting Sandestin and helping such a terrific cause." All proceeds from the event have been earmarked for the ANNIKA Foundation and SPARK, the nation's leading physical education program for children. The organizations are working together to combat childhood obesity in elementary schools.

"We are thrilled to be the host site for the Golf Channel's hit show the Big Break," stated Robbie Leming, general manager, Ocean Club Golf Course. "The Ocean Club presents an ideal setting for this type of show because of the incredible setting on display at each hole. The weather and course conditions could not have been better while filming - it truly displays what golfers experience when they visit our property. We hope visitors will take advantage of the stay and play packages to experience it all for themselves."

Pro Am’s will be played at Blackwater, Emerald, Middlemount, Dysart and Moranbah, with the final event of the 2012 series to be contested at Glenden. Defending Champion Brad Andrews will return to try and make it three wins in five years, but he won’t have it all his own way. This year will see one of the strongest fields being assembled at each Pro Am, with Asian Tour regulars Adam Blyth, Gavin Flint and Tony Carolan all looking to add their name to the Mining Town Series honour board.

Matt Kuchar, fresh off winning The Players Championship, is here. So is Phil Mickelson, making his first appearance in five years. Other major winners such as Ernie Els, defending champion Keegan Bradley, Y.E. Yang and Vijay Singh will tee it up at TPC Four Seasons Resort & Club in Las Colinas this week. But the Nelson seems to be a place for young golfers to emerge.

Fenton posted his winning score of four under par 68 in the morning field and had to wait all day to see if his score would hold up. With a quality afternoon field, inlcuding Jarred Moseley, James Carr and Victorian Ben Wharton who has been in winning form, it was going to be a nervouse wait for Fenton.

"I could remember walking off the 18th green at Augusta National thinking I can't believe the round is already over," Kuchar said. "I had so much fun, I couldn't believe that. I was in the clubhouse having a cheeseburger, I didn't want the day to end." But while the Masters and Augusta National whets your appetite for golf, the U.S. Open, on pretty much any venue, can make you lose your lunch. "I can remember walking off the 18th green at Olympic, I just [wanted] to go home and take a nap," he said.

"I turned pro at 17 with a five handicap in 1986 and then got to play with these boys each week - anything that happened after that was a bonus," Lawrie told the Tour website. "I think that's helped me longevity-wise. I still see it as 'I can't believe I'm out here winning and competing'. "I still enjoy playing. I think I play more for fun now than I used to do with my sons coming up and being good golfers.

Jason Day is another who made the Nelson tournament his first win. The Queenslander claimed the crystal at Los Colinas back in 2010 and the Aussie backed his title defence up last year with a solo fifth. He unfortunately missed the cut last week at the Players but will be carrying good memories into this week’s event I’m sure.

Sadly someone always has to be first to leave and it was especially heartbreaking to see the youngest of the 12 take the walk of shame after giving up college golf to play on the Big Break.  Remember, all contestants have to be professionals to play.   As Aubrey said during Happy Hour, those 75 yards felt like 250. I am sure Meghan Hardin was feeling every onen of them when she found herself in elimination.

Garcia dedicated his Masters triumph to the late Seve Ballesteros as he cantered to an 11-shot win - matching the third-largest victory margin in PGA European Tour history. The 31-year-old Spaniard shot a closing 63 on the Club de Campo del Mediterraneo course, where he once was boys champion, to finish on 27 under par as he secured his first title for almost three years. The two previous biggest wins were by Tiger Woods, who won the 2000 US Open by 15, and Ernie Els who won the 2005 Asian Open by 13 shots.

"It might be interesting to have a tournament with a shot clock," said Kuchar, getting ready for this week's HP Byron Nelson Championship at TPC Las Colinas. "You would hope it wouldn't be on a hard course. In certain places, if you have 3-footers, and you miss, it's seven feet coming back. But I would be interested to see a shot clock thrown out there."

Na is certainly not alone. Fast players find that it serves them no purpose to be fast. Slow play rules. And it's not getting any better. "Worse," said Tiger Woods at the Players. "Last week [at the Wells Fargo], we were playing in 4:40 and there's no wind. That's hard to believe. We've gotten slower on tour. College [golf] has gotten incredibly slow. It's so bad that now we are giving the guys the ability to use lasers [for yardages] to try to speed up play, and they are still 5:45, six hours-plus."

Touring pros don't get paid if they don't play. Similarly, fantasy gamers don't score when guys rest. We're entering that phase of the season during which the value of starts increases. Read my Fantasy Mailbag on Wednesday for more on this critical dynamic in piecing together a league championship.

The principal benefit of the Straight Trax is to help promote a straight back, straight through putting stroke. Another is stroke height, an area on which instructors are focusing more, Hansen said. "If you take it back inside you're going to hit a rail. If you lift the putter you're going to hit a rail. The way we designed it was to make it intuitive, where you're getting physical feedback."

The PGA TOUR travels to TPC Four Seasons this week for HP Byron Nelson Championship. Here's how the PGATOUR.COM experts sized up the top contenders: ADAM SCOTT. Scott maintains his game is close to top form -- and I believe him. He tied for 15th at THE PLAYERS and tied for eighth at the Masters. Toss in the fact that he won this event in 2008 and tied for third in 2006, and Scott is the logical choice.

Tseng is seeking to win the Sybase Match Play Championship for the first time. She made it to the quarterfinals the last two years before being eliminated. As an amateur, she won match-play formats claiming the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and the North & South Women’s Amateur in 2005. Though Tseng is dominating women’s golf, she said she doesn’t believe she has reached the level of former No. 1s Annika Sorenstam or Lorena Ochoa.

Players and caddies at the BMW Charity Pro-Am will be wearing "Leuk the Duck" pins this week as a show of support for their friend Jarrod Lyle, who is fighting leukemia. The disease first struck Lyle as a teenager but he fought it and became a member of the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour. It returned in March. The Shepparton, Victoria, Australia native is currently undergoing chemotherapy in his homeland.

So Bubba Watson says that he has never taken a golf lesson. I admire Bubba's enormous talent, his desire to improve and his work ethic. And I was impressed by his Masters victory, but has he really never taken a golf lesson?

Patrick Reed continues to find his way into PGA Tour events. Reed doesn’t have a Tour card, but will be making his fourth start in five weeks at this week’s HP Byron Nelson Championship. He won the Nelson’s Monday qualifier by three shots with a 64 at Lantana (Texas) Golf Club. “He loves that environment, the you-against-me mentality,” said Reed’s college coach, Josh Gregory.

“I have heard everything from A to Z,” his manager, David Winkle, said Tuesday from Dallas. Of late, the latter rumor has spread like a virus on a cross-country flight. Winkle unequivocally denied it. “Dustin is not serving a drug suspension,” Winkle said evenly. “I will make it clear -- he has been injured. He is playing golf again, he is very rusty but champing at the bit to get back out there.”

Tee times were released Tuesday for the HP Byron Nelson Championship and here are a few featured groups to watch: Players Championship winner Matt Kuchar will tee it up with Vijay Singh and Padraig Harrington. With the victory Sunday Kuchar has recorded five top-10 finishes in his last seven starts. Singh was a winner of this event in 2003 and Harrington has two top-10s this season. This will be Harrington’s first start at the Byron Nelson.

"A lot of things went right for us to have the week we did," Players executive director Matt Rapp said. "The temperatures were moderate, and we didn’t have the rain delay we had last year [on Saturday]. The hospitality areas we created or upgraded were huge hits. Military Appreciation Day was very popular once again [around 20,000 people were on the course Wednesday]. And we had a very popular guy with strong local ties in contention every day and eventually winning the tournament, and that always helps local interest."

Aldila has taken the RIP name and turned it into a family affair. The RIP series, or family, includes five shafts for 2012. Obviously the purpose here is to provide the right shaft for any golfer, regardless of his or her ball speed or swing characteristics. This is a reflection of the modern fitting movement. Golfers want to be fit with precision, and golf companies want to offer products for a wide range of players.

Na really has a problem, doesn't he? He says he can't pull the trigger because he feels uncomfortable over the ball with his posture and his setup. Na is simply thinking way too much, intently focusing on his swing rather than his target. I've never seen a case like Na's, which I would call the 'Swing Yips.' Somehow, Na improved a little between the third and fourth rounds. On Sunday, he still took an agonizingly huge number of waggles and re-swings, but he was at times a bit quicker. 

With the second half of the season under way, the race for spots in the FedExCup Playoffs really heats up. Knowing that every shot could be the difference between earning one of 125-positions in a four-event sprint for the $10 million top prize adds even more pressure to every swing. Five of the week's six top movers were outside the top 125 at the start of THE PLAYERS Championship and now three of those five are holding a spot in the current playoff picture.

TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas plays host this week, a par-70 layout that is among the more difficult courses tee-to-green that players will see this year. Although many of the world's best are in Europe for the Volvo Match Play, the Nelson field still boasts former champions Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott, as well as Matt Kuchar who is fresh off his win at TPC Sawgrass.

Hanson has already accrued four top five finishes in six starts so far this season, most notably a tied third finish at the first Major of the year, the Masters Tournament at Augusta, where the Ryder Cup star led going into the final round before eventually finishing two shy of the deciding play-off after a closing 73, while Lawrie has already hoisted a trophy aloft this season in the shape of the Qatar Masters title in February. Columbia’s Camillo Villegas fills the final place in an otherwise European ‘Greg Norman Group’.

“We’ve never done very good with wedges,” said TaylorMade vice president Sean Toulon. “We really wanted to do something special with the ATV.” Added noted instructor Jim Flick, who is employed by TaylorMade: “I think it’s the most innovative product we’ve ever done.” So what exactly did TaylorMade do? First, according to Toulon, the company drew inspiration from the Ping Eye2 lob wedge of the 1980s. That Ping wedge became famous for both its looks and its performance.

I still enjoy playing.  I think I play more for fun now than I used to do with my sons coming up and being good golfers.  I think playing with them is a help. About three or four years ago, I thought I might just scale this down a bit and play a little bit less.  Then the boys got pretty keen into golf and I started playing a bit more at home and I've kicked on a bit again. He added: “I can see me getting to 600 appearances now. To get to 700, where Sam is at, is a huge number. Playing for 40 years is just an incredible record.  I think we'll leave Sam at the top for a while. I don't think I'm in danger of overtaking him but I’d like to get to 600.”

To celebrate the launch of the app Cleveland Golf/Srixon short game ambassador, Ben Clayton, is giving half-price lessons to anyone who purchases the app via the Apple store, Blackberry App World and Google Play. Split into six sections, the app offers a variety of tips and drills to help improve their short game. Filmed on location at Lumine Golf Club near Tarragona in Spain, Cleveland Golf/Srixon short game ambassador Ben Clayton offers advice on bunker play, pitching, chipping and escaping unexpected trouble out on the course.

Jiménez, a former tournament champion, was part of the winning European team when he made his fourth Ryder Cup appearance at Celtic Manor in 2010. Bjorn was part of Colin Montgomerie’s backroom team as a Vice-Captain in Wales, having been on the winning side in two Ryder Cups as a player in 1997 and 2002. With a smile and a cigar never far from his lips, Jiménez’s relaxed on-course demeanour belies a steely determination when it comes to closing out tournament wins and the 2005 Wales Open champion tasted victory three times in 2010 before making a telling contribution to Europe’s Ryder Cup success at Celtic Manor.

The Evian Masters is one of the highest profile events on the Ladies’ European Tour and next year will become the fifth major championship on the LPGA Tour schedule. As well as attracting leading players such as Yani Tseng, Paula Creamer, Catriona Matthew, Suzann Pettersen and Michelle Wie, the tournament is often attended by a glittering array of celebrities from sport and film. 

Volvik Chairman Moon Kyung-ahn said: “Following our recent alliance with the Asian Tour, we are proud to unveil the Volvik Hildesheim Open J Golf Series with the joint cooperation of the Asian Tour and Korean Golf Tour. “This new event promises to be an exciting addition onto the Asian Tour and Korean Golf Tour Schedules and we will do everything possible to ensure a successful launch. Through this venture, Korean fans will have a great opportunity to watch the top stars from the Asian Tour competing against Korea’s leading golfers.

Equipped with the Lamkin Smooth Wrap grip, the winner played steady golf all week. He remained in complete control of his game throughout the tournament and carded a final round score of 70 to secure a 2 shot victory at 13 under. The Smooth Wrap grip is a custom golf grip Lamkin offers to Tour players. It is part of the company’s wrap-grip line, which also includes the top-selling Perma-Wrap family of golf grips.  The Smooth Wrap grip uses the same material and unbuffed finishing process as the Perma-Wrap and Perma-Wrap Classic resulting in an extremely tacky and comfortable surface feel.

Sunrise Golf and Country Club in Taipei, the course where Yani Tseng trained as a junior before returning last year to win an LPGA event, will host the seventh Faldo Series Chinese Taipei Championship on June 19-20.  The ladies world number one is a past winner of Sir Nick Faldo’s global golf development programme.

The Abierto del Nordeste is making its second appearance as an official TLA event only seven months after its 2011 edition. Hosted by the Chaco Golf Club and also counting for the local TPG Tour, the tournament provides 300,000 Argentine Pesos in prize money, a figure just under US $70,000 dollars at the current exchange rate.

He now has the chance of rewriting the record books as he attempts to become the first Qualifying School graduate to win four times in the season after gaining a European Tour card. Grace, who faces American Brandt Snedeker and Denmark’s Thomas Björn in the group stage, celebrates his 24th birthday on Sunday and he is hoping for a double celebration as he looks to continue his remarkable 2012 season.

The 2012 Volvo World Match Play field of 24 players will be drawn into eight groups of three. Group matches will be played on Thursday and Friday. The top two players in each group will progress to the knock-out stages consisting of the last 16 and quarter-finals, played on Saturday and semi-finals and final, played on Sunday. All matches will be contested over 18 holes of match play.

“He gave us a few tips along the way but made us feel comfortable out there on the course. I play at least once a week when the weather is good but living in Manchester it’s not always that nice. I don’t take the golf too seriously – it’s more a relaxing thing. “It’s the perfect way to wind down after the season and have a mental break. We’re slowly coming down to earth after some big celebrations. It’s still not really sunk in the fashion we won the title. 

Georgia Hall of Dorset holds a one-stroke lead over Kelly Tidy of Lancashire after both lady golfers carded one-under 74s in the second round of the 2012 English Women’s Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale Links. The leading duo are four shots ahead of a group of four players who share third place: Holly Clyburn (Woodhall Spa), Gill Nutter (Formby Ladies'), Kerry Smith (Waterlooville) and Emily Taylor (Royal Lytham & St Anne).

“I didn’t make a lot of birdies today, because greens were definitely slower and I struggled to find some pace,” he said. “The greens at Vaal de Grace are quite tricky because they have different levels and you have to be accurate with your approaches. We had some ice this morning and I suspect they cut the greens longer than the first day because I had to use a lot of back spin today.

Poulter is aiming to become the first player to successfully defend the title since Ernie Els completed his second hat-trick of victories in 2004. Seve Ballesteros, Hale Irwin and Gary Player are the only other players to have retained the title. Twelve months ago Poulter confirmed his reputation as one of the game’s great match play exponents when he defeated Luke Donald in the final, and he will be looking to repeat that performance on his first appearance of the season on European soil.

It isn’t presumptuous to think that as part of that domino theory, the major victory never would have happened without first winning the Nelson. “This tournament might have set up my whole career, to be honest with you,” Bradley said. “People don't realize what the stress level is of a rookie on the PGA Tour, trying to keep your card. I played on the Hooters Tour and thinking about going back is scary. And to know I was on the Tour for at least two-and-a-half more years was huge.

Ben Ludlam of Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, received the Phil Mickelson Award presented by the Phil and Amy Mickelson Foundation as the most outstanding freshman in NJCAA Division I men’s golf.?? Ludlam recently won the NJCAA District III Championship. He also had three top-5 finishes and two top-10s this season.

''Before I go, I would like to talk about slow play,'' Woods wrote. ''It's been an ongoing problem on the PGA Tour for a long time.'' That was in 2008. When he finished The Players Championship on Sunday, Woods measured progress with one word. ''Worse,'' he said.

“I definitely think it's going to be a little bit different this week being match play but my form is still the same.  I'm still hitting the ball well and giving myself chances. Especially in match play, if you can keep that going, it puts the pressure on the other guys. “I haven't played match play for a long time, but it's something I really look forward to as a pro.  I think the last time I played a match‑play event I won as an amateur and that was nice and I think match play suits my game a little bit.  I'm not a guy that gives up quickly, so I fight to the end and take it from there.

Santos turned the screw, posting two more birdies at the 12th and 13th holes to move into the lead before producing a finale the best golfers in the world would be proud of. A birdie at the 16th was followed by another gain at the par three 17th where he holed a snaking 40ft putt to all but guarantee victory. At the 18th, to the delight of the crowds gathered around the green, he hit his second shot to two feet and holed out for yet another birdie to set a new record low total – 22 under par 266 – for the event.

“I have heard everything from A to Z,” Winkle told CBSSports.com on Tuesday. “Dustin is not serving a drug suspension. I will make it clear – he has been injured. He is playing golf again, he is very rusty but chomping at the bit to get back out there.” Johnson was originally scheduled to play in the Byron Nelson Classic this week but took his name off the commitment sheet before the Friday deadline.

The defending champion here said that even though he’s endured criticism personally, it’s never come in the form of an official warning. “I have struggled with it a little bit,” he admitted. “I have never once been put on the clock on the PGA Tour, so I've never felt that I have affected others, which if I did, I would be mortified. I think if it's a serious issue, maybe they need to start penalizing or fining, something like that.”

The 2012 Irish Open will be played in Northern Ireland for the first time in almost 60 years when the iconic links of Royal Portrush hosts a tournament which includes several Major winners, most notably the current Open and US Open Champions, Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy. McGinley, who visited Royal Portrush to help conclude the three-year agreement with Robert Frame, Business Development Manager of BMW in Northern Ireland, recalled some of his favourite memories of the world-famous course close to the Giant’s Causeway.

On May 22 at 8 p.m. ET, Golf Channel will look back at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park in New York, when Tiger Woods captured his second U.S. Open title and eighth major championship. Woods withstood a boisterous New York gallery, leading the tournament wire to wire and finishing as the only player under par at Bethpage.

Kuchar said it took five swings in 2006 to become comfortable with the swing that now defines his career, which includes last week's Players Championship to go along with three other PGA Tour wins. Immediately confident in the results, Kuchar trusted his new action quickly. "When you're getting good results immediately," he said, "it's easy to believe in it, trust it and keep doing it."

The PGA Tour returns to Texas for the third time this year, heading to Dallas for the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Keegan Bradley is the defending champion here, earning his first PGA Tour in in a playoff one year ago. 1. Jason Day: The winner of the 2010 Nelson was also fifth here last year. He's coming around nicely with a T-9 finish in Charlotte. 2. Matt Kuchar: Winning in back-to-back weeks is tough - ask Rickie Fowler - but Kuchar deserves credit for his consistency. He was T-6 here a year ago.

“I’m trying to get comfortable with my waggles. It’s usually a little waggle, half waggle, little waggle, half waggle, and boom, supposed to pull the trigger. But if it doesn’t work, I’ve got to go in pairs. So it’ll go four; and if it doesn’t work, it’ll go six; and after that, just ‑‑ there’s a lot going on in my head.", Na said. “And I’m not being nice to myself, trust me. I’m ripping myself. Honestly, I’m trying, and it’s hard for me, too”.

The tournament will consist of 72 holes (four rounds) for men and 54 holes (three rounds) for women. The format is "captain's choice" (scramble) and teams will change each day of the competition. All participants must have a USGA handicap index and show a Military ID at registration. The field will be capped at 880 men and 128 women. 

''There's no other course that less people have worked out than this one,'' Geoff Ogilvy said, who is still trying to do just that. He closed with a 69 on Sunday. It was only his third round in the 60s in 11 years at The Players Championship. This from a guy who has won a U.S. Open and two World Golf Championships. He's got a little bit of game. Perhaps more startling is Tiger Woods.

Ernie Els searching for an elusive win After playing at a blistering pace to try to make it into the Masters (which he didn't), Els has become a bit inconsistent of late, missing two cuts and losing in a playoff at the Zurich Classic. A lot of it has to do with his putting, especially from shorter distances. There have been weeks this year where he has made everything in sight within ten feet, and then others where he would miss two footers left and right. 

Fred Couples, who has a masters degree from the Yogi Berra School of Communications, was once lamenting about the overuse of the word "great" in contemporary culture. "I'm not great," Freddy said in an honest evaluation of a game that produced 15 PGA Tour wins and one major championship. "I'm good," Couples said, shifting into full Yogi mode, "but good's not bad." Which brings us to Matt Kuchar.

There's no other course that less people have worked out than this one," Geoff Ogilvy said, who is still trying to do just that. He closed with a 69 on Sunday. It was only his third round in the 60s in 11 years at The Players Championship. This from a guy who has won a U.S. Open and two World Golf Championships. He's got a little bit of game. Perhaps more startling is Tiger Woods.

After a bit of a slow start and an injury that forced him to withdraw from the Masters, missing several weeks made Day even hungrier heading to the second half of the season. "It fuels the hunger," said Day, who plays this week in the HP Byron Nelson Championship, which he won two years ago for his first and only PGA Tour victory. "I was so bored at home, I wanted to just get back out there and play.

2010 Australian Amateur champion Matt Jager has secured playing privileges for the Canadian Tour after finishing T10 at qualifying school last week. The 23-year-old overcame a horror first round 78 to climb back into the mix and finish one over for the four rounds, nine shots behind eventual winner Andrew Roque of the US.

The European Seniors Tour got underway last week with Peter Fowler being asked to help “cut the ribbon” in a special ceremony to launch the 2012 season at Mallorca. Fowler won the 2011 Order of Merit and has proved a popular figure on the over-50's circuit where he is playing some of the best golf of his career.

Following a final-round 73 that included a dismal front-nine 40, he offered this stunning assessment: "Just one of those things where Joe (LaCava) and I were talking about that on the front nine, I didn't really hit any bad shots, and all of a sudden, I had a bogey, a birdie and a double," Woods said.

"It was a very difficult decision not to play in the SK Telecom Open as I enjoyed it so much last year, but on balance I needed to work further on my game before resuming playing," Barnes said. "I love Korean food and the course was great too."

Reed's recent run began when he entered the Monday fray for a spot at the Valero Texas Open. He was offered a sponsor's exemption into the field during the qualifier, going on to finish T-35 at TPC San Antonio. Reed managed to get through Monday qualifying the next two weeks, including driving through the night to qualify for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Reed finished T-24 in the Crescent City before again qualifying in Charlotte, where he cashed a T-32 check.

This week’s Sybase Match Play Championship brackets are out. World No. 1 Yani Tseng opens against Jeong Jang Thursday in the Patty Berg division in the first round at Hamilton Farms Golf Club in Gladstone, N.J. The division includes Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Catriona Matthew and Brittany Lang. World rankings were used to seed players.

Watching Sunday as Matt Kuchar scored the biggest victory of his professional golf career was not only thrilling, but also brought me a great deal of personal joy. In case you just dropped in from another galaxy and missed it, Kuchar won this year’s Players Championship at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. No, it’s not a major championship, but many consider it the next best thing.

TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving is hosting for the 27th time. After eight years as a singular host from 1986-1993, it shared the pre-cut rotation with Cottonwood Valley Golf Club for 14 editions. Since 2008, the TPC Four Seasons Resort has flown solo.

European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal will pull 10 automatic qualifiers from two separate points lists. The top 5 players on the European Points List after the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles will make the team

The TOUR remains in the Lone Star State and heads to the Dallas area for the second leg of the Texas Swing. Learn more about this week's host, TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas.

Kuchar's extremely flat swing is custom-made for hitting fairway bunker shots. Matt's 5-iron on the 14th hole during the final round may have been the most clutch of his career. Although greenside bunker shots benefit from elevating the club quickly in the backswing, allowing for a steeper angle of attack into the sand, fairway bunker shots require the opposite.

"I feel like my mental game is one of my stronger suits," he said. "Not a whole lot gets under my skin. I'm good about letting things just roll off and not affect me." Martin Laird, Zach Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Ben Curtis all had varying opportunities to win the golf tournament Sunday, and all faltered at a critical juncture. Laird bogeyed the 14th and the 18th holes, the latter of which he nearly put his second shot into the water on the left.

"We're tickled to death," Justice said of Woods' commitment. "To me, he's the most recognizable name in sports." Woods, who missed three months last year recovering from leg injuries, contemplated making his return at The Greenbrier Classic. He ultimately decided to give his legs one more week and instead returned at Firestone.

After many top-10s the past several years, Matt Kuchar broke through Sunday at The Players for his first victory since the 2010 Barclays. The win moved him to No. 5 in the world rankings and he's also the second highest ranked American. And what should golf fans make of Tiger Woods' T-40 finish at TPC Sawgrass, a venue that during the past decade hasn't been very kind to him? Our experts analyze all that and more in our latest edition of Monday Four-Ball.

Dustin Johnson will return to the PGA Tour at the Memorial Tournament, May 31-June 3. Johnson has been sidelined since late March due to back pain and subsequent injury. “Obviously, I can’t wait to get back out and compete,” said Johnson in a news release.  “I came into this year with some big goals, including making our Ryder Cup team, so I’ve got some serious ground to make up this summer.”

Featuring an innovative and easy-to-use online interface for customers to select their own colour choices on RAZR Fit’s clubhead and grip, as well as a myriad of shaft model and other custom configurations. udesign by Callaway presents the opportunity to design thousands of unique versions of the award-winning RAZR Fit Driver, giving golfers the ability to express their individualism on the course like never before.

Patrick Kelly of Boston West, Lincolnshire, the recent winner of the boys title in this month’s 2012 Fairhaven Trophies, and Nick Marsh from Huddersfield, Yorkshire, will be the England Golf representatives in the 54-hole Rudersdal Junior Open at Furesoe Golf Club near Copenhagen on 26th – 27th May 2012. The Fairhaven success was 17-year-old Kelly’s first ‘top level’ title although he has come close on several occasions. He finished runner-up in last year’s British Boys Championship, losing to Harrison Greenberry (Exeter G&CC) on the 37th hole of the final at Burnham & Berrow.

“It is the best place to meet golfers face to face and we’re looking forward to inspiring thousands on the beauty of playing golf in Ireland over the course of the three days. “The Solheim Cup provided Ireland with a massive boon last year and it will be extra special to have Alison Nicholas joining us this year.”

The success of “Big Break” can be measured by its longevity, ranking just behind shows such as “Amazing Race” and “Real World.” Ryann O’Toole, a member of the 2012 U.S. Solheim Cup team, was working a booth at the PGA Merchandise Show in January when a customer walked by and asked, “Weren’t you on the ‘Big Break’?”

Kevin Na did not deserve the verbal abuse he encountered in Sunday’s final round of The Players Championship. He did not deserve to be heckled as he stood over his ball, struggling to start his swing. He did not deserve all the “C’mon, pull the trigger” comments. He did not deserve the “Na Na, Na Na Na Na, goodbye” chorus on the back nine. Na was braced for the worst. His battle to initiate his golf swing was well documented. Everybody knew about it.

“I felt like I was one of the better players coming into this year out there, and I’m just trying to back it up,” List said. “My goal is to finish (No. 1). It’s a big difference between No. 1 and No. 25 on the money list. I’d love to get a few more wins to get that (three-win) promotion. Anything short of that, I don’t think I’d be doing myself justice this year.”

The heckling was over the top, with drunken fans bellowing for Na to “pull the trigger” and with others singing “Na Na Na Na, hey hey hey, goodbye” when he rinsed his tee shot at the 13th hole. Heckling is almost a fan’s right in most sports, but it’s necessarily different in golf, and it must remain different despite the mainstream sentiment that golf would be immensely more popular if fans had a larger and rowdier say.

“We are pleased and excited to have one of the all-time greats in the game join The Greenbrier Classic’s 2012 field,” said Jim Justice, chairman and owner of The Greenbrier, in a news release. “Tiger is one of the biggest stars in all of sport and he brings significant attention to any event he enters.” It will mark Woods' first start in the event. He intended to play in the tournament, which follows the AT&T National at Congressional CC, last season but was recovering from knee and ankle injuries and was told by his doctors not to compete.

Cummings and Lin both finished at 2-over 146 and were named co-winners in the Boys 15-18 division. Cummings, a Dublin, Ireland-born player who is ranked No. 114 by Golfweek, took the first-round lead with a 3-under 69, then returned a 77 on Day 2. Lin ranked No. 114, shot 72-74. Lin, who lives in Bradenton, also recently won the IMG junior event at the Golf Club at North Hampton. Cummings and Lin won by three strokes over Esteban Castro of Bogota, Columbia, and Prem Samritpricha and Spencer Schultz, both of Bradenton.

GolfBuddy has done so with its latest offering, the GolfBuddy Voice, that with the push of a button audibly provides yardage to the middle of the green (or front or back). It might not be for everyone; the sound of a ringing cell phone is a nuisance on the golf course, so presumably -- for somet -- will be a talking rangefinder. But it does come with volume control.

One week previously, Tjaart van der Walt had also finished runner-up at the Africa Open, a result which earned the South African €115,000 in prize money and helped him to second place behind Elson in the Re-Rank.  Scotland’s Craig Lee, who finished tied eighth in the same tournament, finished third in the Re-Rank with earnings of €76,201, whilst Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren came fourth on €54,750 thanks mainly to his tied fourth finish at last week’s Madeira Islands Open – Portugal.

The Nationwide Tour swings back into action this week with the always-popular BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation in South Carolina. The tournament features celebrities from the entertainment and sports world. The expanded field spreads the tournament out over three courses -- Thornblade Club in Greer, S.C., Greenville Country Club in Greenville, S.C. and The Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg, S.C. The Golf Channel will be broadcasting the tournament that has a $600,000 purse with $108,000 going to the winner.

“The texture on the face does two things,” says Austie Rollinson, principal designer for Odyssey putters. “It reduces surface contact and increases edge contact between the face and the ball. Reducing the surface contact during impact helps to create a solid, yet soft sound at impact. That sound equates to feel, so it is a great feeling insert.” As for the oval design, Rollinson says he did that to create lots of edges that would increase the friction between the face and the ball for a smoother, more consistent roll.

Pure grips comes at golfers in two different ways. First, with a product it believes is superior in that category, thanks largely to a proprietary EPDM rubber formula that makes its grips as durable as they are tacky. Secondly, its tapeless installation method that is designed to provide ultimate stability and hold as it eliminates drying time, as well as the need for adhesive tapes or solvents.

In the latest U.S. Ryder Cup standings, Matt Kuchar's Players Championship win has him at third while Tiger Woods fell out of the top eight.

With 10 holes to play in the Fundokin Ladies, Inbee Park trailed fellow dual LPGA-JLPGA member Shanshan Feng by 2 shots, thanks to her bogey on the 440-yard 8th hole right on the heels of Feng's birdie.  But Park roared back with 3 birdies in her last 10 holes of bogey-free golf that gave her a 2-shot victory over Feng and brought her total number of JLPGA wins to 4 in the last 3 seasons.

Lee Westwood will look to mop up with his fill-in caddie while regular looper Billy Foster is on the mend. Westwood announced Monday on Twitter he has asked Kiwi caddie Michael Waite, also known as "Sponge," to substitute for Foster. Waite has worked for Ian Baker-Finch, Michael Campbell and Robert Allenby in the past. Foster injured his right knee two weeks ago ahead of the Wells Fargo Championship while competing in a charity soccer game. He will be out at least until the Open Championship in July.

“I get asked that question a lot,” said his father, Peter Kuchar. “He just felt that one of these days the putter was going to get hot and when that happened, it would happen.” “His strongest attribute is how patient and how mentally strong he is,” said his caddie, Lance Bennett. “He’s able to stay even – not get too mad or too excited.”

Poulter is aiming to become the first player to successfully defend the title since Ernie Els completed his second hat-trick of victories in 2004. Seve Ballesteros, Hale Irwin and Gary Player are the only other players to have retained the title. Twelve months ago Poulter confirmed his reputation as one of the game’s great match play exponents when he defeated Luke Donald in the final, and he will be looking to repeat that performance on his first appearance of the season on European soil.

The 29-year-old Glaswegian finished tied for second at the Players Championship at Sawgrass at the weekend. Laird closed with a five-under-par 67 to finish on 11 under, two strokes behind winner Matt Kuchar. "I'm obviously very happy with how I played," said the Scot. Laird went out in 33 with birdies at the second, seventh and then moved into the joint lead with Kuchar thanks to a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th.

“Friday was the best I’ve seen him hit the ball all year long,” Harmon said Monday on “Morning Drive”. Woods shot 4-under 68 in the second round at TPC Sawgrass after opening in 2-over 74. Saturday, Woods hit 10 of 14 fairways and 15 greens in regulation. However, he had 33 putts on his way to an even-par 72.

Sergio Garcia against fellow Spaniard Alvaro Quiros and Justin Rose against English countryman Robert Rock will be two of the group clashes in this week's Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain. In a change from last year, only the best-ranked 16 players in the 24-strong field have been seeded for the group stage, while the remaining eight players will go into a draw on Tuesday to join them.

Players champion Matt Kuchar is now fifth in the Official World Golf Raking. With his fourth PGA Tour win and first since the 2010 Barclays, Kuchar moved up 11 spots to crack the top five for the first time in his career. Luke Donald, who finished solo sixth, remains second to Rory McIlroy. Donald needed to finish better than solo fourth to overtake McIlroy, who missed the cut at Sawgrass for the third time in three starts.

Paul Casey has withdrawn from the Volvo World Match Play Championship due to injury.  Sweden’s Robert Karlsson has been offered and accepted the invitation from Volvo to replace Casey. Robert Karlsson expressed his delight saying: “I am absolutely thrilled to receive this invitation and will head over to Spain tonight to prepare. I have only qualified once before so this is a great opportunity for me, especially in a Ryder Cup year, and I am really excited about the week ahead.”

"You just have to look at the past winners to see how important the tournament is," Brian Wallace noted. "With this in mind, we were eager to create a true test of links golf on one of the most treasured layouts on the Ayrshire coast. It is especially poignant that such an important event should be taking place during our 125-year celebrations. It is certainly going to be an exciting and very busy year at Barassie." 

Rigorously tested for accuracy, Ernest Sports' ES12 is designed to immediately provide critical information (shot distance and golf ball speed) while the golfer is on the practice range. The Ernest Sports mobile app then uses that data to record practice sessions, analyzing actual historical data to make club suggestions and track improvement. Additional functionality includes note taking ability, weather information, and digital scorecards with sharing to Twitter and Facebook or email.

"When we create a golf club," says Randall Henry, president of Henry-Griffitts, "we make sure we do it right. That's exactly what we've done with this new PRAXIS HY Hybrid model. When you combine the best technology with the best teachers and the best factory, you have a mix that can't be beat.

It's been a long journey to this point, with Kuchar winning at tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, where his parents, including mother Meg, make their home. "You dream about stuff like this," Peter Kuchar said. "But to do it right here in our hometown and our backyard. … the best thing about it is, every time I drive in here for the rest of my life, I'm going to see his picture [on flag poles that border the entrance to the course]. To me, that gives me chills." 

Matt Kuchar is your 2012 Players champion. In past Confidentials, as Kuchar was racking up top-10 finishes and padding his bank account, some folks on this panel said Kooch wasn't converting more of those close finishes into Ws because he lacked a killer instinct and was just too darn nice for big-time golf.

he leader was beginning his final round at the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday as Bob Estes stood in the parking lot digesting his final-round 65, which tied for the low round of the week. Like many on the property, Estes was thinking about the curious case of Kevin Na, the leader, who reminded Estes of a teenager in Abilene, Texas, who couldn’t get settled over the ball, who kept looking at the target, who couldn’t pull the trigger. Estes had the same problem as Na. “It was just as bad,” said Estes, 46. “It was embarrassing.”

The battle for the No. 1 ranking has been a game of musical chairs this season. Luke Donald knew he had to finish fourth on his own this week to pull the seat away from Rory McIlroy. When the music stopped, he came up just short. The Northern Irishman’s backside gets to keep the seat warm -- until next time. The No. 1 spot has changed five times this year already. Donald finished tied sixth, so at least the Englishman can notch another top 10.

American Matt Kuchar won golf's richest event at Sawgrass on Sunday night - and denied Scotland's Martin Laird for the second time in his career. Laird came close to pulling off a stunning victory at the Players Championship after starting the final day six behind. But a bogey on the last by the 29-year-old Glaswegian for a round of 67 left Kuchar two in front with four holes to play and the world number 16 did not let things slip.

Under the right circumstances, it might have been a shot for the ages, a moment to remember in Masters lore. We might still be talking about that hellacious 3-wood shot Matt Kuchar hit to the 15th green beneath the white-hot glare of the Masters final round, and that clutch eagle putt he poured in to briefly tie for the lead.

Sixteen-year-old Charley Hull looks like the real deal. That much seems obvious after her latest performance. Hull made her debut on the Ladies European Tour and was even more impressive than she was on her LPGA debut. The precocious amateur did not return a score over par in the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open at the National Golf Club in Antalya. Rounds of 73, 72, 73 and 73 gave the amateur from Woburn GC (Ian Poulter’s home club) a four-round total of 291, 1 under par. 

“I felt like I did it well in spurts again,” said Woods, who finished at 1-under 287. “I just need to be a little bit more consistent.” Woods began the final round in a tie for 34th, 10 shots off the lead. Crisp ballstriking is paramount on the Players Stadium Course, but never more so than on Sunday. Seventeen of the 18 hole locations were placed within four yards of the edge of the green, and the wind gusted to 25 mph. To go low, you need to play aggressively. And to play aggressively, of course, you need to be committed to your swing.

A couple hours later, he'd made the biggest move up the leader board on Sunday, closing with a 65 to jump into the top five at the time of signing his card. "I was so far back, and I was just trying to have a decent finish," Toms said. "So, you know, no reason why I shouldn't shoot at a flag. What's the difference in 44th and 34th? That's the way I was playing out there, and I just happened to play a great round of golf."

"Unfortunately, despite having had intensive treatment since last Thursday, I have been advised not to play in the Volvo World Match Play Championship," he said in a statement. "I am absolutely gutted as it is one of my favourite events and I was really looking forward to a week of match play to kick-start my season. "I am very sorry to miss out, especially as Volvo were kind enough to give me an invite."

"I was so far back," Toms said. "I was just trying to have a decent finish. So, there's no reason why I shouldn't shoot at a flag. What's the difference between 44th and 34th? That's the way I was playing out there and I just happened to play a great round of golf." Perhaps Toms should play with abandon more often here. After two bogeys in the first three holes, Toms closed the front nine with four straight birdies.

Playing alongside Rickie Fowler and among a gallery that will surely be a sea of orange, Ben Curtis will probably feel like an invisible man during the final round of the Players. But for a guy who has played most of the past six years in obscurity, that shouldn't be a problem. After nearly six years without a victory, Curtis came out of nowhere to win the Valero Texas Open last month. He's proving that performance was no fluke.

"Last week, we were playing 4:40 (on Thursday and Friday at Quail Hollow) and there's no wind. That's hard to believe." It was worse than Woods thought. He took 4 hours, 52 minutes to play on Friday before missing the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship. Slow play has become a higher-profile issue as Woods and his peers make their dissatisfaction with the pace more public. It has been on display this week at TPC Sawgrass as 54-hole leader Kevin Na has struggled to – as he says – "pull the trigger."

The 24-year-old beat Finland's Ursula Wikstrom by three with a seven-under-par total which matched the tournament record. Boeljon, who started the European Ladies Tour season with a win in Australia, started the final round with a bogey and was caught by Spain's Carlota Ciganda, who birdied two of the first three. Ciganda fell away, however, and a run of three birdies in four holes established the three-stroke margin by the turn.

Woods was happy with his final round of 1-over 73 at The Players Championship despite scoring poorly on the front nine. "I didn't really hit any bad shots and, all of a sudden, I had a bogey, a birdie and a double (bogey)," he said. "We were looking back on it and didn't hit any bad shots and here you are at 2-over for the day." For as well as Woods said he struck the ball on Sunday, a four-hole stretch left Woods in danger of sliding all the way to his worst 72-hole total in this championship.

Kevin Na is the leader (-12) heading into the final round of the Players Championship at Sawgrass. Yet his odd pre-shot routine consisting of numerous waggles–and sometimes his inability to swing the club, forcing him to back away and yell at himself–have generated a lot of negative commentary about his pace of play. (ESPN’s article was over the top, and borderline offensive.) Na has the closest thing to come to having the yips off the tee.

“Course knowledge was really important, especially on the second day when the wind got up,” said Tomlinson, a former junior member of Sir Nick Faldo’s home club at Welwyn Garden City.  “I’m delighted to get my first win of the season and can’t wait for the Grand Final at Lough Erne.” 12-year-old Holly Muse (Girls’ Under-16), another member of West Lancashire, also made the most of local knowledge to seal her place in the 16th Faldo Series Grand Final, to be hosted by six-time Major Champion Faldo at Lough Erne Resort in Northern Ireland.

The Champions Tour is idle until the first major of the season, the Senior PGA Championship at The Golf Club at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, MI, May 21-27. The purse is $2,000,000 with the winner receiving double Charles Schwab Cup points. Last year, Tom Watson defeated David Eger at the first extra hole of a sudden-death playoff to claim the title and become the oldest winner of a major championship since the Champions Tour began in 1980.

Rife Putters would like to congratulate the winner of the Players Championship on his stunning victory this weekend. Equipped with a 44 ½ inch Rife Barbados belly putter, the new world No.5 rolled in a par putt on the 18th to finish with a final round 70 for a 2 shot victory at 13 under.

The high quality cotton is combed to provide maximum softness and comfort.  The Polo Shirt features ProQuip branded buttons, which give the garment a refined style and aesthetic. Designed to coordinate with its popular water-repellent knitwear range, ProQuip’s new and embroiderable 100% Cotton Pique Polo Shirt is available in six popular colours: Black; White; Red; Navy, Royal and Sky in sizes: S-XXL.

“I really enjoyed the training,” said Mr Ogilvie who already has an impressive golf CV, having helped organise major competitions and refereed at amateur level.   “It has added the skills to my knowledge to be able to teach golf, something I thought of taking on as a career as I approach retirement in my current profession. I would advocate the course to anyone and I am certainly considering taking it further.”

A major flaw of conventional umbrella design is that in even light winds the fabric can tear away from a tip or comes away from the ribs. The Blunt solution is a uniquely tensioned canopy combined with a flatter aerodynamic profile. This revolution in umbrella design also eliminates any sharp edges and weak points. The Blunt performs better and lasts longer thanks to its revolutionary RADIAL TENSIONING SYSTEM (RTS).

“I’m starting to play the best golf I’ve ever played,” said Estes, a four-time PGA Tour winner.  “I’ve kept myself young. I’m a young 46. Training, diet, sleep, chiropractor, no kids yet.” Estes’ new swing is even younger. It’s less than a year old. He used it to post a 7-under-par 65 Sunday at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course. It was his lowest round in 21 years at The Players Championship by two shots.

“I guess it could be fate,” he said afterward. TPC Sawgrass’ closing trio allows the golf gods to play so many tricks, both good and bad. We’ve seen it all there. Kevin Na will start Sunday with a one-shot lead over Matt Kuchar, thanks in large part to his strong play over TPC Sawgrass’ closing stretch. Na has waggled his way around those three holes in 5 under, thanks to five birdies and no bogeys. He finished Saturday’s 68 with birdies on 16 and 18, the latter coming on a 15-foot putt.

He is the first Portuguese player to win a European Tour event in his home country, and he said: “It is very emotional and I haven’t got the words to describe how I feel. “To win my first European Tour event in my own country is very special. The putt on the 17th was unbelievable, and I knew then that victory was mine. “It was a sensational round – definitely the best of my career. It was amazing to have the crowds here supporting me. It would be difficult to imagine a better win than this.

“It was incredible,” said Del Moral. “I putted beautifully and it gives me a lot of confidence. I had nine holes in a row – the entire front nine – with only one putt. And the ones that I missed hardly missed at all, they were so close to going in. My putting really was outstanding. “It was tough mentally on the back nine. I have been working on my swing for a while and this is the first time I’ve been up there in a tournament and it feels like it is in place.

"I don't know how he is doing it, I'll be honest," Maltbie said on the Golf Channel. "It is amazing." Added Chamblee: "The fact is he hits marvelous shots. It's almost like all of the angst is unjustified." The weird part in all this? It's nothing new. In fact, Na had been known more for his deliberate play on the greens than his waggles on the tee. But a little more than a year ago, at the Masters, he began working with swing coach Dale Lynch to change his setup, more forward, higher backswing. It was totally different ... and totally uncomfortable.

"There's so much on the line that I just have to sometimes back off," Na said. "Or I'll force myself to take it back, and on the way down, I'll pull up and go over the top (of the ball). As ugly as it is, and as painful as it is, believe me, it's really tough for me. And I'm trying." Kuchar had the lead until hitting wedge into the water at the island-green 17th and escaping with bogey, and he saved par from the rough-covered moguls to the right of the 18th green. He had one stretch of eight holes without a par, making six birdies and a bogey.

Kevin Na is slow to pull the trigger, and quick to make fun of himself. In what made for painful viewing Saturday in The Players Championship -- for fans at the TPC Sawgrass and those watching from home -- Na took hundreds of waggles as he set up over the ball, backed off the shot if he didn't feel comfortable and a couple of times purposely missed so he could start over.

"Different" is how Kuchar described the afternoon, and he can say that again. This guy is as reliable as a Swiss watch, yet he finished with two poor swings in the last half hour, which might be a modern outdoor record for him. Kuchar fatted a gap wedge into the water at No. 17, where he rescued a bogey. When Kuchar then struck an impure pitching wedge to the 18th, even caddie Lance Bennett blinked. That just doesn't happen to golf's ATM machine.

"I feel like I'm in kind of an underdog position," Fowler said, with a half-smile. "Maybe overlooked at the start of the week; that won last week, may be a little tired. "I'm ready to go. Like I said last week, it's all about giving yourself chances out here, and I gave myself a chance last week on Sunday and took advantage of it and giving myself a chance here going into Sunday. Go out tomorrow, have some fun, give it our best shot and see where that puts us."

"I feel like I'm kind of in an underdog position,'' he said. "Maybe overlooked at the start of the week, because [I] won last week, maybe a little tired. But I'm ready to go. It's all about giving yourself chances out here, and I gave myself a chance last week on Sunday and took advantage of it -- and giving myself a chance here going into Sunday.'' Fowler's 66 moved him into the lead for a time before he settled for third place, three strokes behind 54-hole leader Kevin Na and two back of Matt Kuchar.

After three rounds of The Players, Kevin Na has the fewest strokes, by one, and the most waggles, by about 500. A gun-hating liberal probably has an easier time pulling the trigger. Na shot 68 Saturday at TPC Sawgrass. But people seemed to spend more time counting his long waggles, short waggles and whiff-like swings when stepping out of address than his number of strokes.

Kevin Na led The Players Championship at Sawgrass, but Rickie Fowler’s sparkling 66 was the day’s outstanding effort in Florida. Fowler claimed his maiden victory on the US PGA Tour when beating World Number One Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points in a play-off at the Wells Fargo Championship last week.

Rickie Fowler has given himself the chance of back-to-back wins after a brilliant third-round charge in the Players Championship at Sawgrass. Six days after beating fellow 23-year-old Rory McIlroy in a play-off for his first PGA Tour victory, Fowler shot 66 in blustery conditions at golf's richest event. It could have been even better. Fowler three-putted from just off the final green and as a consequence will go into the concluding 18 holes nine under par - three behind fellow American Kevin Na.

Woods never charged, making two birdies and two bogeys a day after making six birdies in a second-round 68. His birdie on the par-3 13th got him back to even par for the day and he parred his way home. On Saturday, he was just 1 under on the par 5s, making a birdie on the 11th. He used words like "misread" on a couple putts, "tough getting the ball close" for his iron play and that the "wind was dancing a little bit."

Rickie Fowler puffed out his chest and smiled from beneath his backwards hat. “I’m a PGA Tour winner now,” he said, responding to an inquiry about how this Sunday would differ from all those others when he was playing under the pressure that was dispatched by last week’s win at the Wells Fargo Championship.

"I love seeing it, especially the little kids running around with my hat on that is kind of flopping around, slightly large for them," Fowler said after Saturday's 66 at TPC Sawgrass threw him into the mix at the Players at nine under par through 54 holes.  "I get a laugh out of it and feel honored when there's 40- or 50-year-old guys that are cruising around in all orange," Fowler said. "It's fun.  It kind of shows you that they're having fun.  

As the world continues to monitor Tiger Woods' widely talked about "process," perhaps this is one tournament to omit from the discussion. The 14-time major champion certainly hasn't played great at TPC Sawgrass this week, but then again, that's not saying much. Since his lone win at the Players in 2001, Woods has just one top-10 finish in the event, a solo eighth in 2009. Barring something spectacular on Sunday, he won't add to that total after a Saturday 72 kept him in the middle of the pack of those playing the weekend.

Earlier this week PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem figured that stroke penalties for slow play weren’t necessary. After nine languid holes with Kevin Na on Saturday, your scribe would be curious what the commish thought of waterboarding for the habitually slow? Na is slow. Slow like continental drifts. Slow like his Round 3 playing partner Zach Johnson was named an honorary starter for next year’s Masters by the time the two finished at TPC Sawgrass. OK, too much. But you get the picture.

Del Moral birdied his last three holes to move to 17 under for the tournament on the mountainous Santo da Serra course. The Valencia-born Del Moral, who is seeking a first win on the European Tour, made nine one-putts over the back nine.

“Had some fun out there today,” Fowler said afterward. “I mean, other than bogeying the last, I'd have to say it was a fairly perfect round.” Perhaps the biggest question about his second consecutive title contention is whether it happened because of last week’s win or in spite of it. To his credit, Fowler took certain precautions prior to The Players in order to ensure he would be fresh for this week’s tournament.

Fowler then moved to nine under with a four on the par five 11th, and Kuchar joined him courtesy of a birdie on the second. Martin Kaymer, a Major Champion in 2010, was a notable name among the chasing pack; the German’s four birdies in his opening 12 holes cancelled out a bogey to see him to five under.

"It seemed like it was a lot of back and forth," said Kuchar, who now holds the Tour's longest active cuts-made streak at 17 tournaments. The strange back nine began as Kuchar piped a drive 304 yards down and through the fairway at No. 10. "That's not like me," he said. "I cut the corner and it just rolled. It was a hot ball." Kuchar made birdie at the 10th for his third in a row. He bogeyed the par-5 11th, bounced back with two birdies, then dropped another shot at 14 before his last birdie of the side at 15.

"After I get done I'm pretty tired," he said, "because not only am I grinding against the course, but I'm fighting against myself." The excruciating pace was caused largely by Na's idiosyncratic pre-shot routine. Na is first lined up by caddie Kenny Harms, then takes seemingly forever over the ball before swinging. He takes a number of practice swings, ranging from quarter-swing waggles to complete swings with an intentional miss of the ball. 

The Friday grind to earn a weekend tee time. While the mere challenge of trying to make the cut can be dismissed at times by millionaire golfers, Keegan Bradley had no problem saying that it weighed on his mind as he came to the closing holes at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in a warm Friday twilight.

It’s a fine tournament, and Sunday we’ll get a quality winner, but competing here almost seems as if one is playing with a falling bank safe hanging somewhere overhead. Watery disaster lurks at Nos. 17 and 18, so a player is never really home until he signs for a score afterward. And therein lies the unpredictability of who’s going to win. Simpson was rolling along at 1 under par, rinsed balls at 16 and 17, and suddenly, he’s back in Charlotte for the weekend.

The Spaniard started the day at eight under par and five shots off the lead held by England’s Oliver Wilson, but six birdies on the front nine – four in a row from the sixth – propelled him into the lead, one shot ahead Wilson, who was level par through eight holes. Also on 13 under was Swede Mikael Lundberg, who scorched through the field with an eight under par 64 to set the clubhouse lead.

For those looking for an early favorite on Saturday at TPC Sawgrass, GTC suggests they keep a close eye on Jonathan Byrd. Following Byrd’s second-round 70 to move to within two strokes of the lead the St. Simons Island, Ga., resident drove home to attend his son Jackson’s tee-ball game that began at 6:30 p.m. Jackson’s team won the game and the father/son combo celebrated the victory with a snow cone at St. Simons’ Mallery Park. GTC calls that good karma.

"I putted beautifully and it gives me a lot of confidence. I had nine holes in a row - the entire front nine - with only one putt. And the ones that I missed were so close to going in. "It was tough mentally on the back nine. I have been working on my swing for a while and this is the first time I've been up there in a tournament and it feels like it is in place. "Last week at the Spanish Open I played well, but didn't putt well.

Wikstrom came back into the picture when birdies at the 12th and 17th gave her a 71. Big move of the day came from Spaniard Carlota Ciganda. She fired a professional women's course record of 66 and will resume three behind in fourth place. The 21-year-old Tour rookie from Pamplona, winner of the Spanish Championship two weeks ago, mixed nine birdies with two bogeys and said: "It was one of those days when everything went right.

“Her I am, 144 yards out, I just hit one in the hole and I have no one here to witness this,” Welker narrates as he races his golf cart down the fairway to the green of an unnamed course. “I just holed this in for eagle. I ripped a 7-iron into the wind...., it came down and literally it bounced like two times and went in the hole.”

Woods is still a semi-long shot to win this thing. He's tied for 30th, and six strokes off the lead held by Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar and the human rain delay, Kevin Na. Plus, this course and Woods have had their share of fistfights. But unlike McIlroy, who is 3-for-3 on Friday trunk slamming at The Players, Woods is sticking around. He shot a 4-under-par 68 on Friday, a half-dozen shots better than his opening-round 74. 

Today I brought in that trusty Hex Black to a “hit and giggle” tournament.  It was a scramble and I was the anchor.  The course was South Mountain, a very big and tough course with about a billion places to lose a golf ball.  The pressure was on as I came into the day having played the special Hex Black some 96.5 holes.  I kept it in play nicely from hole 15 (our starting hole in the shotgun) to hole 18.  I shot the photo above right after hole 18, which was the 100th hole I’d played with the ball.

Missing the cut for a second straight tournament -- a first in his professional career -- was a very real possibility for Tiger Woods as he began play in the second round of The Players Championship on Friday. And that chance still existed as he made the turn, even coming off consecutive birdies, which put him on the cut line with nine holes to play.

When the field is cut to the low 70 scores and ties each Friday on the PGA TOUR, the temptation is to spotlight the leaders while focusing the debate on which one can hang on to, or widen, the lead. But if you're trying on Friday night or early Saturday to identify the player most likely to be overlapping the big Waterford Crystal trophy given to the winner of THE PLAYERS Championship on Sunday, you might want to look further than the top of the leaderboard, where Zach Johnson (66), Kevin Na (69) and Matt Kuchar (68) are tied for the lead at 8-under 136.

Given that the smile’s permanent and the wave to say thanks is as natural as breathing for him, it is understandable to presume that Matt Kuchar is always upbeat. Well, the smooth and seemingly effortless 68 that he authored in Friday’s second round of The Players Championship – a score that pushed him into a share of the lead at 8-under 136 – did nothing to dull the bliss that seems to envelope Kuchar.

In position: 2. Vanderbilt (600), 3. Virginia (605), T-4. Purdue, Oregon (608), 6. Auburn (610), 7. North Carolina State (611), 8. Ohio State (612) Chasing: 9. Tennessee (614), 10. Florida State (615), 11. Georgia (617), Arkansas (618) Listen up, girls: Head coach Andrea Gaston watched her team build a one-shot lead Thursday at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio, before making this statement: “Hopefully we’ll separate ourselves even more tomorrow.”

"I was trying to shoot my number today," Woods said. "Sixty-six was my number today. I figured that would have been a good way to go into the weekend, being probably four or five back. But I'm still with a good chance." Everyone has a chance going into the weekend, including Woods and Phil Mickelson, the Hall of Fame's newest member. They were six shots behind. But they are chasing the gang from Sea Island — home of Kuchar and Johnson, along with PGA Tour rookie Harris English, who was one shot out of the lead.

Jim Furyk turns 42 on Saturday, the day of the third round at THE PLAYERS Championship, and he certainly will have a lot of family around to celebrate his birthday. Better yet, they'll be able to celebrate on the golf course, as he finished Friday afternoon at 2 under to make sure he was around for the weekend. "He missed the cut last year and that was very hard," said wife Tabitha. "He loves this tournament and would love to have a chance to one day win it. "

English duo Luke Donald and Lee Westwood scented the opportunity to move to the summit of the World Rankings after current leader Rory McIlroy carded 76. The Ulsterman began with a solid 72, but ended today on four over - a score that ensured he would not be around tomorrow with the projected cut at level par.

That Woods set out well past the lunch hour in his quest to keep from missing his first cut at the Tour’s flagship event only complicated things. The winds were swirling, the ground was baking to bouncy perfection and when he played his first seven holes in a relatively uneventful even par one could almost hear “Air Tiger” warming up for another premature trip to south Florida. But amid the day’s worst winds he began his climb back to relevancy, back to this decade.

Oliver Wilson of England shot a 7-under 65 Friday to take a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the Madeira Islands Open. He has nine second-place finishes on the European Tour but has yet to win. He lost his main tour card at the end of last year.

After a good effort to pitch his ball to 15 feet beyond the cup, Na made bogey to immediately lose the solo lead he had just gained. Na caught a good break at the 14th, when his tee shot kicked left off of a mound into a decent sidehill stance in the rough. The Vegas native came up short, however, landing in the sand he had hoped to find on the previous hole. While friend Scott Piercy had an adventure of his own in making a crushing double bogey, Na calmly landed his explosion to three feet for an easy par.

Watson pulled out of the Wells Fargo Championship and The Players Championship to spend time at home with his wife, Angie, and newly adopted son, Caleb, who cannot leave Florida while the adoption process is finalized. He tweeted he will likely take the entire month of May off from the PGA Tour. Asked by a fan on Twitter if he is itching to get back to playing, Watson replied, "Not missing golf at all."

Actor Chris Rich is best known for playing Brock Hart on the television series "Reba". He has also had guest appearances on popular shows including "Murphy Brown", "ER", "Boston Legal", "Desperate Housewives" and "Melissa and Joey". This will be Rich's first time playing in the tournament. Reggie Smith is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, coach and front office executive. During his 17-year big league career Smith appeared in 1,987 games, hit 314 home runs and appeared in four World Series, capturing the title once.

Stricker shot 74 on Friday to miss the cut at 6 over for two rounds. He was looking to make a 50th consecutive cut. The last cut he missed was at the 2009 PGA Championship. Three of the next four longest active streaks also ended Friday. Gary Woodland had made 22 cuts in a row but shot the same two-round total as Stricker. Webb Simpson missed the cut as well, ending a streak of 18 cuts made. Hunter Mahan shot 76 in the second round to miss out on a 17th consecutive cut.

Kevin Na, Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar share the lead at the halfway mark of The Players Championship at 8 under. After an opening 74, it was questionable whether Tiger Woods would make the cut. He fired a 4-under 68 in the second round to get to 2 under overall and advance to the weekend.

Charlie Wi will never be as famous as his childhood rival Tiger Woods. Heck, he's not even close to being the most well-known "Wi" in golf, with that honor going to the LPGA's Michelle Wie. Still, the 40-year old has carved out a solid career on the PGA Tour, already topping the $1 million mark in earnings this season for a sixth-straight year. And things could only get a lot better this week.

"I just find it pretty difficult," he said. "Off the tee I find it pretty difficult around here. You have really got to position yourself in the fairway and give yourself at least a chance to get at some of these pins. I just didn't do that over the last couple of days." And playing in the morning, with the wind down and the greens not as firm as they will be in the weekend, there was a score to be had out there, just not in this threesome.

The Ulsterman began with a solid 72, but ended today on four over - a score that ensured he would not be around tomorrow with the projected cut at level par. That gives Westwood and Donald the opportunity to become World Number One; the latter would manage that with a top four finish, while the former needs to emerge victorious and hope his current playing partner does not come second.

“I played nicely,” said the 31 year old, who was in the European Team at the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla. “The fact I haven’t had a bogey for two rounds shows I’m playing solidly and sensibly. “I actually feel like I left a few out there today. I missed three putts from inside six feet. But I made a couple of really good par saves – not from bad shots, just because the course is tricky. “There’s a long way to go and the scoring will carry on being low, but I’ll keep pushing on trying to make birdies. There will inevitably be some mistakes at the weekend but it’s just a question of trying to limit them. You’ve got to be patient.

The course dates to an 11-hole layout done in 1912 that was part of a big resort. The club claims Donald Ross paternity, though that link lies somewhere between tenuous and unprovable. The real documented connection is through golf professional John R. Inglis, who appears to have supervised construction of a few Ross courses in the Southeast before settling in at Aiken (1915-1939) as teacher, promoter and designer/ builder of a seven-hole loop (Nos. 8-14) that completed the course’s out-and- back routing.

"I didn't have the best warm-up and I didn't hit my best shots out on the golf course, but managed to get it around," he said. "I'm playing fairly good, so my scratchy stuff was good enough today." Scott, the winner here in 2004, shot 70 at the Stadium Course to get to 6 under at the midpoint of the tournament.

''I was trying to shoot my number today,'' Woods said. ''Sixty-six was my number today. I figured that would have been a good way to go into the weekend, being probably four or five back. But I'm still with a good chance.'' Everyone has a chance going into the weekend, including Woods and Phil Mickelson, the Hall of Fame's newest member. They were six shots behind. But they are chasing the gang from Sea Island – home of Kuchar and Johnson, along with PGA Tour rookie Harris English, who was one shot out of the lead.

"I feel like I got some fans yesterday," he said. "I saw someone on Twitter started a Free Brian Harman movement. I thought that was hilarious." Harman will have two more days to impress his new gallery as he fired 68 on Friday to reach 3 under for the tournament, five back of leader Zach Johnson.

“The course is playing very differently from how it was yesterday. It’s a lot softer today and the ball is stopping very quickly on the greens, which wasn’t the case yesterday. It was easier hitting into the greens today.” Wilson, who has finished runner-up nine times in his European Tour career, credited a technical alteration with his resurgent form, adding: “I changed the loft in my putter and it is working. The less I think about the set-up the better, and if you are standing over putts and know they are rolling well, it makes a big difference.”

“The course is playing very differently from how it was yesterday. It’s a lot softer today and the ball is stopping very quickly on the greens, which wasn’t the case yesterday. It was easier hitting into the greens today.” Wilson, who has finished runner-up nine times in his European Tour career, credited a technical alteration with his resurgent form, adding: “I changed the loft in my putter and it is working. The less I think about the set-up the better, and if you are standing over putts and know they are rolling well, it makes a big difference.”

Down in joint 100th place after his initial 74, Woods appeared in danger of two consecutive missed cuts for the first time in his career. But in a far more impressive display he had four successive birdies from the eighth, shot 68 and moved up nearly 70 places to two under. Laird made further good progress until he came to the famed closing stretch.

"You really have to position your ball well off the fairway, to give yourself at least a chance to get to some of these pins," he said. A year off from the tournament did not help. McIlroy skipped this event last year in a move partially motivated by the politics of then-agent Chubby Chandler. McIlroy anticipated doing better the third time here.

Six years later, the event will try to bring the memory of Nelson front and center with its first ever Argyle Saturday on May 19. The tournament is asking players to wear argyle clothing or accessories and the caddies will receive special argyle print towels for the day.

Ian Poulter, whose seven-under-par 65 shared the lead with Martin Laird, ranked in the top 10 following an opening round for the first time in his last 24 PGA Tour starts. Poulter's last top-10 standing after opening-day play came off a five-under 66 at Cog Hill that put him solo third in the 2010 BMW Championship.

Team officials hope to have everyone in attendance wear green in honor of Watson's playoff triumph last month at Augusta National. Watson will don his green jacket at the team's Community Maritime Park. Watson pulled out of the Wells Fargo Championship and The Players Championship to spend time at home with his wife, Angie, and newly adopted son, Caleb, who cannot leave Florida while the adoption process is finalized. He tweeted he will likely take the entire month of May off from the PGA Tour.

Perhaps most affected by the crawl around the Stadium Course was Brian Harman. Placed into the field after a bizarre first-tee withdrawal by D.A. Points, Harman took 4 hours, 40 minutes to play by himself in a tee time invented to precede the afternoon wave.  Colt Knost was in the group Harman ran into, along with Matt Every and Harris English. Knost did not blame his opening 79 on the pace, but was not happy about it.

There will be a live auction, which will include golf trips to Ireland to play some of Ireland and Northern Ireland's championship links courses and opportunities to play some of the top golf courses in the United States. "Each year, I SO look forward to visiting with old and new friends who attend the Ann Liguori Foundation Charity Golf Classic. We all gather for an important cause and a lovely day of fun and fellowship. We have lots of goodies to offer our participants, thanks to our wonderful sponsors and donors. Maidstone is one of our golfer's favorite venues. It promises to be a very special day," says Ann Liguori.

"Sun Mountain is a very good partner of the Symetra Tour - Road to the LPGA and provides our players the very best equipment so they can play their best," said Symetra Tour CEO Zayra Calderon. "The Sun Mountain golf bag exchange program and Sun Mountain Skills Summit are two programs that our players look forward to every year and greatly appreciate."

"The Hoofer is a wonderful example of how E2 has enabled us to advance comfort, adjustability and durability while ensuring that our bags can be fit to any player's body type and carrying style," said John A. Solheim, PING Chairman & CEO. "At PING, our emphasis on innovation, performance and custom-fitting extends well beyond golf clubs. The Hoofer winning 'Hot List' Gold is further validation of our efforts to make sure every product carrying the PING name is the highest quality."

No, the issue today is the PGA Tour’s contradictory procedure toward the year’s first major championship. There isn’t any doubt that the Masters is important, but where is the line drawn to consider an event, as Finchem stated, “too important”? This may not be a new subject for debate, but it’s one to which the commissioner responded in such a contrasting manner that its ugly head has reared again. After all, rules are rules. Unless, as Finchem preached, rules can be broken for subjective reasons.

Velasco's 64 included nine birdies -- four straight from the ninth hole -- and one bogey. He had the fewest putts (25) on the mountainous Santo da Serra course. "I played very consistent all day long and gave myself a lot of birdie chances," Velasco said. "It's been a long time since I played this well. I didn't realize I had four birdies in a row as I was just so focused."

If Adams keeps playing this way, he could have that many people just from the media asking him questions come Sunday evening at TPC Sawgrass. A Thursday 66 at TPC Sawgrass made the 36-year old an unlikely first-round contender at the Players. "Obviously, any time you finish a nine with five-straight birdies, it's a good day," Adams said. "I was fortunate to get out early. Had perfect greens; I was the first group out."

Tiger Woods brought a small degree of normalcy, not necessarily a good thing for him at Sawgrass. He has never broken 70 in his 15 years at The Players Championship, and he extended that streak with a sloppy 74. This might be costly, however, because it put him in a tie for 100th and put him in serious danger of missing the cut for the second straight week. He has missed only eight cuts in his career.

“He’s got it,” Fowler said. “I would say he’s probably a little freer at home. It’s just kind of him and his golf cart and clubs. If he’s able to get that feeling a little more out here, that’s where he might gain the most.” If Woods doesn’t get that feeling Friday at The Players Championship, he may be free to return to Medalist for the weekend.

Mark Russell, PGA Tour vice president of rules and competition, called it a "very unusual situation" and said he could "never remember a player withdrawing right before he's supposed to play." Harman, who will also play Friday as a single, can expect to be waiting to hit a lot on a day where rounds appear to be on a five-and-a-half hour pace. After nearly not hitting a single shot after coming to Ponte Vedra Beach, though, we doubt he'll be complaining too much.

Irishman Harrington and England's Ian Poulter, both former runners-up in the tournament, were one under par, as well as former winner Henrik Stenson and Argentina’s Angel Cabrera. Harrington birdied the second and third, bogeyed the sixth and eighth after straying into the rough, but pitched to seven feet for another birdie at the long ninth.

Tickets sales for the weekend play at next month's Irish Open at Royal Portrush are now close to a sell-out, tournament organisers said on Thursday. Championship director Antonia Beggs revealed that spectators turning up at the gate on the Saturday and Sunday may have to be turned away. The organisers' total crowd target for the tournament from Tuesday 26 June to Sunday 1 July is 103,000 spectators.

“Very unusual situation,” Russell said. “It happened very quickly. We didn’t have time to react.” “I don't think he could have done anything differently," said Points' agent, Brad Buffoni. "He was actually fine, going through his normal pre-round routine, but 25 minutes before his tee time, he tweaked his back. He ran to the fitness trailer and did everything he could to try and play. "If there is anything negative his way, I don't believe it's fair."

Tiger Woods has played seven holes so far today at the PLAYERS Championship.  He started on the back nine with a bogey on the 10th hole, but just finished playing the island green 17th with a birdie.  Tiger is currently at even par with two bogeys and two birdies.

His enthusiasm for the PGA Tour's crown jewel showed on Thursday, as Crane fired a first-round 67 to get into contention at 5 under.  "Today, I just really managed my game really well, kept the ball out of the rough and had some great opportunities on the par 5s and was able to have a couple eagle putts. Things opened up early, was a couple under early, and that always makes you feel better. All in all, just really played well."

Antonia Beggs, Championship Director of the Irish Open, added: “The combination of substantial advance ticket sales and the success of the home grown Irish players were the catalysts behind today’s important announcement in Belfast. “With such large spectator numbers expected for the Irish Open, all the key bodies and authorities have put their weight behind this Traffic and Transportation Plan and we at The European Tour would like to thank everyone closely associated with this strategy for their cooperation in creating a plan which we are confident will enhance the experience of attending this superb tournament.”

"I played awesome today, made a lot of putts," Na said. "The only thing was on No. 1, my ball got caught up in a tree, and we all know it stayed up in the tree, but unless you can identify the ball, it's a lost ball. ... But besides that, I was very pleased with my round." Na went out in bogey-free 30 on the back nine at the Stadium Course, turning with visions of the course record (63) before he caught an unlucky break.

“I have fought injuries my entire career, and it’s just something that I just deal with every week," he said. "I have my good days, bad days. Cold weather, that isn’t great for a man that needs a brand new hip. But it’s just the hand I was dealt, and I just deal with it.” Adams has struggled in 2012, missing eight cuts in 14 starts, with his best finish a tie for ninth at Puerto Rico after a getting cortisone shot at the conclusion of the West Coast Swing.

“I hardly holed anything all day though so it was nice to get one rolling in at pace on the last. It makes lunch taste a bit sweeter. The longest putt I had for birdie all round was about four feet, so I hit it close and holed out well, but didn’t hole any long ones, even though I felt like I putted well. “Today the course was very much for the taking. It doesn’t get much easier than that. There were a few pins tucked away but it’s the best chance of scoring you’re going to get so it was good to take advantage of that.

A day later the Tour again colored outside the lines to sidestep one of the most embarrassing episodes in pro golf history since Roberto De Vicenzo mixed up his math and lost a Masters. It was a day that began at 7 a.m. for Brian Harman, an up-and-coming Tour rookie and this week’s first alternate into The Players Championship. After hitting some warm-up shots on TPC Sawgrass’ practice tee Harman informed Tour officials he’d be in the clubhouse if someone withdrew.

This is the hottest question in golf right now: is Tiger Woods finished as a golfer nonpareil? I've read a batch of Tiger career-obituaries over the past month from many seasoned observers who believe "the Woods era" is gone. Woods has won only one official tournament in the past two years. He suffered his worst-ever Masters when finishing tied-40th five weeks ago. And in his last eight rounds of golf he has failed to break 70, which, by Woods's previous standards pre-2010, seems a minor blasphemy.

UCLA's Patrick Cantlay, Texas' Jordan Spieth and Stanford's Patrick Rodgers will vie for the award at the annual banquet set for May 21 at 8 p.m. EDT. Golfweek will broadcast the award show live on Golfweek.com, complete with player and coach interviews. The 2012 class is the youngest in the award's 11-year history. Spieth and Rodgers are entering the final weeks of their freshman campaign, and Cantlay is a sophomore. Before this year, only two freshmen (Cantlay and Oklahoma State's Rickie Fowler, in 2008) had been finalists.

"They've made life better, plain and simple," he said. "When I'm with them, nothing else exists in the world. And that's really neat to be present like that and to feel that love, that warmth and that interaction because literally nothing else exists. The whole world disappears when I'm with them." Maybe not entirely. Woods is not always able to escape the day job when with his kids.

“I told him he wasn’t hitting that shot,” Henry said. “I’d be blackballed from the caddie wagon if he hit that shot close.” As for his caddie? “I’d be embarrassed if I did hit a good shot,” explained Mark Brooks.Yes, that Mark Brooks – the same Mark Brooks who won the 1996 PGA Championship and has competed in this very tournament on 21 different occasions during his career.

Mickeslon spoke lovingly about how he met wife Amy and how the PGA Tour family and friends helped him deal with the emotions of having her diagnosed with cancer. He’s had a loving, visible partner through his journey. What can Woods say about the mother of his two children who was there for most of his wins and majors? PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem spoke at Mickelson’s Hall of Fame induction, thanking him for being a role model, contributing to charitable causes, helping young players, capturing the enthusiasm of the fans and for enhancing the image of the Tour.

"I am talking about the crazed goings-on that occurred on the 17th green. I think we have to learn from this and perhaps adopt more of a football-style approach, whereby stewards circle the green as the end approaches to ensure things do not spill over. "I am not trying to be a killjoy in saying that. The crowd all week had been incredible and those final moments were wonderful.

"We had a fairly large indoor golf facility, but there is only so much putting and driving you can get students to do. We were looking at ways to make it more interesting and interactive," says Devon Brouse, Golf Director & Head Coach at Purdue University.

"Preserving Intended Line and Maintaining Intended Touch are critical to Precision Putting" said Simplicity Putter Physicist/Designer Duane Engdahl. "This new putter not only does that, but it simply feels better and we all know that when it feels better it works better!"

"Hollywood Golf Club is honored to continue our long history of hosting USGA and regional golf association events and is thrilled to have been chosen to host the 2014 USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship," said Paul D. Drobbin, the club's president. "We look forward to welcoming the United States Golf Association, the players, guests and spectators. Our members, staff, volunteers and the community are excited to provide an outstanding venue for this national championship."

"SCOR4161 is the most revolutionary development in golf equipment since the introduction of hybrids 10 years ago," stated Koehler. "No one's ever put this much technology into scoring clubs before and we are willing to let our wedges prove that to anyone. SCOR's vertically enhanced sweet spot delivers better trajectories and distance control and our patented V-SOLE never met a lie it didn't like. 

To complement the PGA TOUR's visit to the Jacksonville area, the TGIF TOUR Apparel Line will officially debut in conjunction with the week-long TGIF TOUR event, through Tuesday, May 14, at Edwin Watts Golf's South 3rd Street location in Jacksonville Beach. The TGIF TOUR Apparel Line offers a stylish and economical collection of men's polo shirts and shorts made from high-quality performance moisture wicking, breathable fabrics that perform in all conditions.

It's cheaper than renting a real helicopter, and much more practical. Fans and players noticed O.B. 1 flying over the 18th hole Tuesday but it created only a slight buzzing noise as it flew back and forth from tee-to-green and landed on top of the hill overlooking the 18th tee. Buezas explained that the TV networks wanted shots with fans and players on the hole. He and McClung had already filmed all 18 holes of the Stadium Course since last June, and have edited two hours of video to 20 minutes of flyover shots.

“I’ve played it maybe 50 times,” said Cauley, 21. “Never in conditions like this.” Just four years ago, Cauley finished third in an AJGA event at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course. His parents, Bill and Melba, live 10 minutes away from the course. “I always dreamed of winning this tournament, having friends and family here,” Cauley said.

Fowler and Woods have never been paired together on the PGA TOUR, though they have played together a few times at The Medalist in Jupiter, Fla., where both are members. "We enjoy each other, and I enjoy practicing with him and being around him," said Fowler, who is coming off his first career win last week. "Obviously Hunter, the third party of our pairing, we've had some good times together."

“There were two or three kids there that I thought would go on to have professional careers, but John definitely wasn’t one of them,” said Zeke Salas, an assistant professional there at the time. Salas is Huh’s caddie today. He said Huh’s talent isn’t what brought them together. It was Huh's attitude.

he par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass is the most infamous hole in golf and plays a massive role in determining who wins one of the most significant events in the sport, The Players Championship. What should be done with this island hole? Should it be left as it is, be moved to earlier in the rotation or be blown up? GolfChannel.com writers weigh in.

This year Brewin Dolphin is celebrating its 250th anniversary with a number of exciting initiatives such as Chelsea Flower Show in London and the Commodores’ Cup in Cowes – so adding such a prestigious event like the Irish Open to the events calendar is very fitting. The Irish Open returns to Northern Ireland for the first time in 59 years this year, making this a very special occasion for players and spectators alike.

"I've been through a lot," Funk said. "It's been a battle. I had (the knee) replaced and I had a staph infection ... I had 18 drainings. Just a lot of issues with that. And then last year, I tore up my thumb and had two surgeries on that. "I've been really blessed with this opportunity to play again and to play at a high level. I had to fight hard, I tell you, I didn't want to give up yet. I love it too much. I don't like playing and losing. I don't like playing with these guys and not being in the mix."

"Up to five guys will have some kind of Nationwide Tour status (in 2013)," said Nationwide Tour president Bill Calfee on Monday. "The leading money winner will likely be fully exempt, with the next four having some kind of conditional status." With the PGA Tour providing financial involvement for the operations of the Canadian Tour last December, the PGA Tour is considering the possibility of a similar feeder system as PGA Tour Latinoamerica.

The Symetra Tour, the developmental circuit for the LPGA, will allow players to use pull carts in competition this season for the first time. The decision came as part of an extension of a sponsorship agreement with equipment maker Sun Mountain, whose product will be designated the official walking cart of the tour.

One of the key sales points for the T-2000 is the pivoting grip which twists.  This is a handle at the top of the bag where the user holds it.  When turning or moving the bag around the handle turns and reduces strain and awkwardness in the wrist and arms.  The pivot handle does its job well. The top of the bag, as you can see in the above photo, is padded with a nice thick wrap-around to protect the clubs.

''I think the last couple of months have not been as exciting because Rory and I really haven't been playing in the same events,'' Donald said. ''I think that will change a little bit, and hopefully there will be some situations coming up in the next few months where we'll be playing in the same tournament and both having a chance to win the tournament.'' As for a clear No. 1, Donald said that can only happen by winning a major or multiple tournaments - along with the other players not playing well.

Bae also is set apart from his fellow rookies in that he has won 11 times internationally. He nearly won his first PGA Tour event in March, falling in the playoff that Luke Donald won at Transitions. Bae was the Japan PGA Tour’s leading money winner last season. At No. 35 in the Official World Golf Ranking, he is ranked higher than Jim Furyk, Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy, Paul Casey, Ryo Ishikawa and fellow countryman Y.E. Yang.

“We are particularly pleased that two Chelsea legends in Roberto and Gianfranco will be joining us on May 23, and we very much hope to welcome Roberto as the first man to guide the club to Champions League glory.” The Pro-Am, which will feature the top three in the Official World Golf Ranking in Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood, gets underway at 8am on Wednesday May 23, with the afternoon groups set to tee off at 1pm.

"The pressure here is very different," he said. "I've never played in a major, but this event has a distinctly different feel than every other I've played." Experience was almost universally stressed by the rookies. J.J. Killeen played a practice round with '07 winner Phil Mickelson, who needed 14 tries to conquer TPC Sawgrass. "I played with Phil and Brendan Steele, and they both said to simply play the course as much as you can," Killeen said.

"Participation of 144 players in this year's tournament was our best ever," said Marguerita Cheng, CFP®, President of the Financial Planning Association of the National Capital Area. "Our membership continues to grow as financial planners and advisors recognize the importance of advancing the financial planning profession and enriching the lives of others"

“This tournament, along with Saint Omer and the Kazakhstan Open, are like three Majors for the Challenge Tour,” said Jensen. “The prize fund is much larger than what we usually play for on the Challenge Tour so it’s important to play well in these events. “If you do well in two or even all three you know you’re going to be up there in the Rankings.

"The micro merino crew neck sweater is an essential layering piece that's with me every time I get on a plane," said Ashworth. "It's super simple yet incredibly versatile and perfect for the chilly 'June Gloom' mornings we get in So. Cal when you need a light layer."

The uniquely designed SmarTee also functions as a divot repair tool as you swing through a course. We all know there's almost nothing worse than playing a course with unrepaired divots everywhere, so we've made it easy for you and your fellow players to keep your favorite courses smooth and ready to go.

"The micro merino crew neck sweater is an essential layering piece that's with me every time I get on a plane," says Ashworth. "It's super simple yet incredibly versatile and perfect for the chilly 'June Gloom' mornings we get in So. Cal when you need a light layer."

"This fundraiser is about paying it forward, by enabling girls to experience the 5 E's of Girls Golf: Empower, Enrich, Engage, Exercise and Energize," said EWGA Chief Executive Officer Pam Swensen. "We greatly appreciate the support Stephanie and Sophia are helping provide, and we know the EWGA, LPGA and USGA make significant, positive differences in girls' lives on and off the course."

"We are extremely excited to travel to Orlando, Fla., to the Bay Hill Club & Lodge," said Jason Ross, AJGA Vice President of Tournament Development. "The combination of the excellent PGA Tour venue with one of the most unique events on the AJGA schedule is sure to provide a great week of golf with plenty of excitement."

"Australian golf is amazingly affordable to those of us in a country where just about every basic purchase makes you feel like you're edging one step closer to bankruptcy. A few elite, big-city clubs in Australia top out at $20,000 (U.S.) for initiation fees, but most are much less, and annual dues are in the $3,500 range."

"I had a few issues going on physically there," said Woods. "I was wondering whether I should have played, and because this is a big event I tried to tee it up, and it didn't work out." Woods was an absolute mess back then. He stunk it up so bad that green flies began circling his swing. After that front-nine 42, critics and doubters -- and you could fill Camden Yards with them -- declared Woods done.

"We went to the vicinity of where they thought the fan picked up the ball, and it was a trampled down area," Mallon said. "They gave me a drop, I had to pitch out to the fairway and I hit 7-iron to a foot for my par." Three days later, Mallon closed with a 65 for a two-shot win over Annika Sorenstam.

OneAsia heads to Korea for the first event of a two week swing in the region. This week the Professionals will tee up at Namseoul Golf and Country Club for The 31st GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship. Traditionally playing in Korea has presented some challenges for the Australian players with the Korean’s shining on homesoil. Could this be the week that we see an Australian claim the title?

"And I know he'll never do that because he's letting his ego get in the way of common sense," Chamblee said on a conference call for The Players Championship, which starts Thursday. "He wants to prove to people he's right. He would rather prove to people he's right than be right." Woods has been down this road, though not with so many detours.

"Guys, I've done this before. I've been through this," Woods said during a news conference Tuesday at TPC Sawgrass, where The Players Championship begins Thursday. "Actually a lot of you guys actually lived it with me, went through those periods where I wasn't quite where I wanted to be. I had some pretty good runs after that, and this is no different.

Rory McIlroy acknowledged Tuesday that he made a mistake in skipping The Players Championship a year ago at TPC Sawgrass. "Looking back on it, it wasn't one of my brightest moments," said McIlroy, who regained the No. 1 world ranking Sunday after losing in a playoff to Rickie Fowler at the Wells Fargo Championship. "I mean, I'm glad to be back."

The 23-year-old missed the cut on two previous visits and has yet to break par on the 7,215-yard par-72 lay-out. He and Lee Westwood chose to miss the event last year but both have returned. "It wasn't one of my brightest moments," McIlroy admitted. "I'm glad to be back, it's a very big tournament and one that I'd love to win one day".

The biggest obstacle to winning here back-to-back is having the focus required for eight consecutive rounds at the Stadium Course, TPC Sawgrass. "You have to control your emotions," Choi said on Tuesday. "You have to set your expectations low and not ignore all of the risks that are out there. If you lose one shot, then that could be it. That could be the end of the tournament."

He’s becoming too mechanical . . . He’s playing golf swing instead of golf . . . He has to rebuild his confidence . . . He’s flummoxed by trouble on the right . . . He’s standing too far away from the ball . . . His putting nerves are shot . . . His brain is addled. The scrutiny of Woods’ swing changes comes like gusts, intermittently blowing into his world.

A growing category in rangefinders is the GPS device resembling a wristwatch. The latest to join the fray is Bushnell, a leading player in the rangefinder market, both GPS and laser (and even a hybrid). Bushnell has introduced the Neo+ Golf GPS Watch.

Choi still struggles with English but is unabashed about expressing his Christian faith. He says it animates everything he does, from how he comports himself on the golf course to what he does with his finances. Given that he has -- in the 14 years since he earned his PGA TOUR card at the 1998 Qualifying School -- earned more that $26 million playing golf, that is a quite a statement.

Looking back on it, it wasn't one of my brightest moments,” said McIlroy, the 2011 U.S. Open champion from Northern Ireland. “I mean, I'm glad to be back." American Bubba Watson, the recent Masters champion, answered the question of how important the Players is to him by skipping it this week - under circumstances that many don’t understand - but why would the international audience bail?

The biggest move of the week belonged not to Fowler, but to Arjun Atwal. Atwal, who won the 2010 Wyndham Championship to regain full status on TOUR, made just his second cut in a dozen 2012 starts last week. His tie for 21st pushed him from a tie for 217th up to No. 173 in the latest standings -- a 44-position leap up the ranks. 

"Simply, he needs to fire Sean (Foley), call Butch (Harmon)," Chamblee said Tuesday during a media call ahead of The Players Championship. "I think that would get it done right there." Foley is Woods’ current swing instructor; Harmon worked with Woods from 1993-2004.

"We've always had a great camaraderie, been good buddies," said Fowler, whose South Florida home is now near McIlroy's Florida base. "I definitely respect him as a player, and I feel like he respects me as well. Or at least I hope so. "But I've had a lot of fun playing against him. We first played against each other at the Walker Cup in '07 and I look forward to playing against him and hopefully having plenty more tournaments like this where we're battling back and forth and there's going to be times where he's going to come out on top and times where I come out on top. I look forward to possibly doing that for a long time."

The Madeira Islands Open represents an excellent opportunity for Challenge Tour players to not only win a European Tour card instantly, but to stamp their authority on the Rankings early in the season. A win in the event at Porto Santo this week would give the champion exemption on The European Tour until the end of 2013, and the prize fund of €675,000 – far higher than any other event on the Challenge Tour schedule – makes it the equivalent of a Major Championship.

“I think when you start to look at Rickie Fowler, there's no doubt that he's enormously talented, but I look at him more along the lines of a Hubert Green or a Lanny Watkins. He has got a very fast tempo to his golf swing. He's pretty narrow, but with a ton of lag on the way down, and it's very explosive. I think he's going to be successful, and he's going to be great for golf, but in the long haul.

“I had been playing really badly, but that week everything just clicked,” said Gane.  “And that result meant I got my card at the end of the season. It was great. “The prize money is so much greater this week and in Saint Omer (the Saint Omer Open presented by Neuflize OBC) so it’s massive for Challenge Tour players and for players like me who have a lower ranking and need to do well in the re-rank.

The best thing about The Players Championship isn’t the PGA Tour marketing division-driven “fifth major” status or the devious don’t-call-it-an-island peninsula green at the 17th hole. It’s the fact that this venue doesn’t play to the strength of any one type of player. We’ve seen big bombers and short knockers, great ball-strikers and precision putters all find success – and failure – on this course.

Tiger Woods will begin his quest for a second Players Championship on Thursday with Hunter Mahan and Rickie Fowler. The Golf Boys will join Woods on the 10th tee at the Stadium Course of TPC Sawgrass at 8:39 a.m. ET. Woods won earlier this year at Bay Hill, while Mahan has notched wins in Houston and the WGC-Accenture Match Play.

“You won’t find a bounce number etched anywhere into the ATV clubhead because the sole takes on different bounces depending on how you position the club for the type of shot you’re hitting, including where your hands are positioned in relation to the clubhead and depending on whether the face is square or to what degree it’s open,” he says.

The i20 fairways are made of stainless steel and feature a compact, traditional head designed to launch shots high and straight. A black-matte finish is intended, not only to give the clubs a sleek look, but also to absorb light, so players may focus on their shots without distraction. As for the i20 hybrids, they boast a deep CG in a small-profile head, so golfers can launch their shots high and land them softly.

“I've actually put a 2‑iron in the bag this week, which I'll hit a lot off the tee just to try and keep it in play,” he said Tuesday. “I don't mind sacrificing distance as long as you're hitting from the fairways here.” The idea is all part of a strategy on a TPC Sawgrass course where he’s missed the cut in both previous starts and didn’t play a year ago.

European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal plans to cut the number of vice captains to two for the title defense against the United States in September. The Spaniard says although U.S. captain Davis Love III will likely have four assistants, "it's a lot of headaches if you have more than two."

May marks the beginning of the Adirondack golfing season. With 13 courses in the Lake Placid region, including five signature championship courses, a golfing vacation to Lake Placid is not your average outing. Enjoy striking scenery, test your skills on challenging layouts and take advantage of Lake Placid golf packages for additional savings on rounds at area courses and lodging throughout the summer.

“I think the first time I met Tiger I was a little star struck,” recalled McIlroy, who said the meeting occurred in Scotty Cameron’s putting studio when he was 15 years old. “I watched him on TV winning majors by 15 and 12 and doing things that no one else could.” How nervous was he? Even more than when he met a prominent world leader years later.

"I'm proud of my Irish heritage and I've wanted to represent it in the Irish national championship," said Bradley, whose roots are in Co Cork. Edoardo and Francesco Molinari will also play in the 28 June-1 July event. The participation of the Italian brothers means half of the victorious 2010 European Ryder Cup team have confirmed their entry.

The American is the third of the four current major champions to sign up for the event, to be played at the Royal Portrush Golf Club. Bradley, who has yet to play a professional tournament in Europe, will be up against US Open champion Rory McIlroy and last year's Open winner Darren Clarke.

Well, that time came last week in Charlotte as Fowler turned it on to defeat McIlroy and American D.A Points at the first hole of sudden death to win the Wells Fargo Championship. For Rickie it was a major relief to finally get that monkey, which was turning into a gorilla, off his back and post his first win on the PGA Tour. His career was starting to mimic another young American player who burst onto the scene back in the mid-90s.

"By introducing new designs every month, we continually provide marks that suit the desires for all golfers - men, women and juniors," says Cabell Fooshe, Vice President of Tin Cup. "There are Tin Cups for every individual, whether you prefer game improvement assistance or wish to showcase your personality with an easy-to-apply symbol."

The following individuals advanced to sectional U.S. Open qualifying. The 2012 U.S. Open will take place June 14-17 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif.

The champion of Golf Channel’s Big Break Atlantis reality competition will have the opportunity to put her golf career on the fast track with an invitation to compete in the 2012 LPGA Kingsmill Championship (Sept. 6-9) on the LPGA Tour and $50,000 in cash -- one of the biggest prizes in the series’ 17-season history.

Golf Channel and NBC will combine to present 22 hours of live tournament coverage Thursday-Sunday, with limited commercial interruption from TPC Sawgrass. Throughout the week, Golf Channel will air 54 hours of comprehensive news and instruction programming from The PLAYERS Championship, headlined by its franchise news show, Live From THE PLAYERS, which will include complete coverage of the World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, pre-tournament news conferences and wrap-around news coverage before and after tournament play.

McIlroy's rise to the top of the world ranking has come from a Woods-like string of consistent play. He has now finished in the top five in 12 of his last 14 events worldwide. What's not Woods-like, however, is that the 23-year old has only taken home trophies at two of those tournaments. In one, the Honda Classic, he held off a Woods charge, but he's let two far more prestigious events get away from him in the WGC-Accenture Match Play -- where he lost in the final to Hunter Mahan -- and now this latest close call.

The Honda Classic and PGA National Resort & Spa have reached a new four-year agreement to keep the event at the resort's Champion Course through 2016, according to the Palm Beach Post. The Palm Beach Gardens tournament has been held at the Champion Course, which features the three-hole stretch known as the "Bear Trap" since 2007.

The World Golf Hall of Fame will induct five new members on Monday night. The Class of 2012 consists of three golfers (Phil Mickelson, Sandy Lyle and Hollis Stacy, and two members of the media (writer Dan Jenkins and broadcaster Peter Alliss). Each of the five have contributed to the game of golf in his or her unique way. Here are essays about each of the inductees:

Greg Paterson has a lot of experience, can go low and has demonstrated he is a winner under pressure. Would be good to see Greg throwing his hat into the ring after perhaps being treated very shoddily in a number of people's eyes. Scott Gibson and Grant Forrest have still to return from America, which shall add to the competitiveness for team places.

Golf fans throughout the world will once again have access to extensive coverage of THE PLAYERS Championship on air, on radio and on line. Whether it is the 22 hours of live, limited-interruption telecasts on Golf Channel and NBC Sports, four-round coverage of LIVE@ THE PLAYERS streaming on PGATOUR.COM, 

Casey said: “I am very grateful to Volvo for giving me this invite as I would have hated to miss out on what is one of my favourite events of the year. Having been injured at the start of the season, I am beginning to get a little more tournament tough and I think the match play format will suit me very well.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- A total of 145 players will tee off Thursday for the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship. Here's a quick look at each one (in alphabetical order).

Cole Madey of West Linn, Ore. and Haley Moore of Escondido, Calif. won the AJGA Junior All-Star at Cypress Ridge GC in Arroyo Grande, Calif. Cypress Ridge, one of 11 events in the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy Junior All-Star Series for boys and girls ages 12-15, is the first AJGA victory for both players. Madey shot 4-under 140 (69-71) to win the boys division by two strokes over Eddy Lai, of San Jose, Calif. 

Pornanong Phatlum has won an LPGA event, but she's not yet an LPGA winner. What? Phatlum, from Thailand, won the 2012 LPGA Brasil Cup. But since that's a 2-day tournament whose money doesn't count toward the LPGA money list, it's an "unofficial" tourney. But there's nothing "unofficial" about the spending value of the $100,000-plus payday Phatlum earned!

Following the PGA Championship on August 12, Davis Love III will have eight players automatically qualify for his U.S. Ryder Cup team at Medinah. After the Wells Fargo Championship, here are the top eight in the standings (with points earned and last week's position in the top 8 in parentheses): 1. Bubba Watson (4,798.40; 1), 2. Phil Mickelson (3,793.75; 2)

"Yes, it would be nice to be a Ryder Cup captain," Lyle said Monday on "Morning Drive," "but there have been a lot of good men who have been overlooked or just weren't there at the right time. I could be one of those."  Lyle didn’t help his chances when, in 2009, he accused victorious 2010 captain Colin Montgomerie of cheating. 

“Careers are going to be extended 10 or 12 years beyond what they used to,” Mickelson said. “I think it would be a good thing for the Hall [age] requirement to go to 50.” Mickelson offered himself as an example. He recently won his 40th career victory at Pebble Beach, two months after his election to the Hall of Fame was announced.

"That's nice. It's a little consolation," McIlroy said. "I would rather win the tournament, but yeah, it's good. "I want to try and play well for the next few weeks and try and solidify my spot there at Number One and hopefully start by doing that next week and giving myself another chance to win." It means the top spot in world golf has changed hands five times in the last two months and ten times in the last 18 months, with Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer also holding the position.

"After launching the TRUE tour we began to receive email upon email from female customers asking for a TRUE of their own and we are proud to offer the TRUE isis for them," said Rob Rigg, president of TRUE linkswear. "Like all of our shoes, the TRUE isis will deliver the barefoot experience, this time to an entirely new audience."

"The rapid adoption of the TRS Ballistic line is reminiscent of how our Last Bag quickly became the most used golf travel cover among Tour players more than a decade ago," says company founder Jeff Herold. "The bottom line is that these guys travel for a living and they rely on the products of the absolute best quality to ensure their belongings arrive unscathed."

"It is extremely satisfying to be honored with four 'Hot List' Gold Medals from among our various Callaway golf ball offerings," said Steve Ogg, Vice President, Global Golf Ball Category, Callaway Golf. "It took a great deal of effort from our golf ball R&D and Operations teams."

ormer Razorback Stacy Lewis fired a final round 69 winning the 2012 Mobile Bay LPGA Classic last week. Since that victory, the four-time All-Southestern Confrence and All-American for the Razorbacks has been busy meeting her media requirements.

"After 20 years of this, I've learned to stay pretty calm," said Fowler's mother, Lynn, referring to all the days of junior golf, amateur golf and now professional golf. "It's easy watching normal rounds. A playoff hole is sort of like watching match play. Every stroke counts, every hole counts. You feel like you're going to throw up every time they swing the club." That wasn't the case when Fowler lofted that wedge shot onto the 18th green in the playoff. 

"I couldn't see it. I heard it hit the pin and then I heard everybody just go nuts. When I went up there and saw it had disappeared I blacked out to be honest," said Swafford. "To hole out a bunker shot to win a golf tournament is amazing." Swafford waited out the field and wound up one better than Luke List, last week's winner of the South Georgia Classic, and two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen, who birdied seven of his last eight holes, including the final five.

"It was a storybook-type week," Funk said. Tied with one hole left, Funk hit his approach on No. 18 to 2 feet. Lehman missed his birdie putt, and Funk tapped in for a 5-under 67 and his seventh victory on the 50-and-over tour and first since the 2010 Tradition. He finished at 14 under.

Nationwide Tour rookie Hudson Swafford fired a nine-under 62 to clinch a one-stroke victory at the Stadion Classic in Georgia, while New South Welshman Aron Price was the best placed Australian. Price shared 16th place with New Zealander Steve Alker, while fellow Australian Andre Stolz was next best in a tie for 27th.

Rickie Fowler has claimed his first PGA Tour win with a playoff victory at the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina, while Australian Jason Day finished in the top 10. The 23-year-old American won a three-way playoff against Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points with a birdie on the opening extra hole. Fowler started Sunday's final round in sixth position and carded a three-under-par round of 69 to finish at 14-under overall at the Quail Hollow Club.

Rickie Fowler wasn't the only winner on Sunday at Quail Hollow. The other was the future of golf. For a game many feared would be in serious trouble in the post-Tiger Woods era -- we might have arrived there already -- it sure has made an inspiring comeback during the last 11 months. June 2011: Rory McIlroy, 22, conquers the field in the U.S. Open at Congressional. August 2011: Keegan Bradley, 25, captures the PGA, the first major he ever played. May 2012: Rickey Fowler, 23, seizes his long-awaited inaugural tour victory.

“He loved to win, we all loved to win, but he did it with great theatre,” said Lyle. Alliss was similarly awed by the World Golf Hall of Fame and Museum, his exhibits now proudly on display. “To see the bits and pieces that my wife has put together, it makes you very proud of your family and what you've done in your life and what your father did.  The only reason I went into the game of golf was because my father was a golf professional, and I followed on.

It is remarkable for a few reasons. He obviously had talent, as his swing is so smooth it's hard to believe he is only three years old in this video. Secondly, his parents must have had a lot of faith in his ability, because despite the swing control, I would still be a little worried about that back swing getting caught up in the TV set.

The Dutchman did it in style, too. He won by 11 shots over Germany’s Moritz Lampert. Rounds of 67-67-71-68 around the par-70 Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club course gave Huizing a 7-under 273. It is the second-best winning total behind James Heath’s 18-under 266 in 2004. Huizing, from Soest, Holland, was the only player to return three rounds under par. In fact, with scores averaging 75 each round over this year’s Open Championship course, Huizing’s total was even more impressive.

Francesco Molinari shot a 7-under 65 Sunday to win the Spanish Open by three strokes, the first Italian to capture the European Tour event. Molinari finished at 8-under 280 in the 100th edition of the tournament for his third victory on the tour. He entered the final round four strokes behind the leader, England's Simon Dyson, who shot a 76 and tied for 12th place. "It's just to win any tournament on the European Tour, but one with the history of this one, in the year of the centenary, is something fantastic," Molinari said.

In a run that was reminiscent of Rory McIlroy’s closing flurry at Quail Hollow in 2010, Lee Westwood roared out with a front-nine 30 but couldn’t maintain that pace on the back nine and finished with a 66.

• His third European Tour International Schedule victory in his 205th European Tour event., • Moves to €708,209 in The Race to Dubai., • Could move back into the top 30 of the Official World Golf Ranking, from 46th., • His first victory since the 2010 WGC – HSBC Champions.

Lefty finished with a 1-under 71 for a 6-under total and was tied for 28th when he left the golf course but he had a busy Sunday night planned before heading to north Florida. When asked if he’d completed his acceptance speech for Monday’s induction he smiled widely. “I have started it. I’ll work on it tonight,” he said.

Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum won in a runaway Sunday at the HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup in Rio de Janeiro. At 13-under, Phatlum (67) finished four shots ahead of Amy Hung (65) and five ahead of Paula Creamer (69) and Chella Choi (67) in the unofficial event at Itanhanga Golf Club. Phatlum claimed the $108,000 first-place check. Suzann Pettersen finished tied for 10th, eight shots back.

Players came from all over the country with entrants from England, Wales and Scotland including one competitor who left Glasgow at 1.00am to be at the club for the event.  “We were amazed that the event went ahead given the downpours over the days preceding the tournament.  It is testament to the course and green-keeping staff that they kept the course open and in such amazing condition.” Commented Jason Morris, Director of Golf at Mid Amateur Golf.

Molinari was ranked 14th in the world when he beat Lee Westwood at the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai nearly 18 months ago, but this was his first success since then. While he celebrated his third European Tour victory, however, overnight leader Simon Dyson was left to reflect on a 76 that dealt a big blow to his hopes of a Ryder Cup debut in September.

For 43 holes, Morgan Pressel was making the Salonpas Cup look as easy as she did when she won the JLPGA's 1st major of 2010.  Standing on the 8th tee, she was -12 and bogey-free in the weather-shortened event and things were looking up for her, as her playing partners were running into trouble on the front.

"I gave myself a lot of opportunities to make some birdies and made it fairly stress free on myself," Fowler said Saturday after shooting a 5-under 67. The improved putting can be attributed to the combination of less pressure on his short game and the decision to go left-hand low with his stroke. Fowler made the change last week in New Orleans, leading to a season-best 65 in the second round and a T-10 finish. 

Lee Westwood is the only man who can stand in between Rory McIlroy and the No. 1 ranking this week. It appears he’s up for the challenge. Westwood shot 30 on the front nine Sunday at Quail Hollow that included four birdies and an eagle at the par-5 seventh.

The World Number 36, the highest-ranked player in the field, led by one overnight but immediately birdied the first from 18 feet then chipped in from the bunker at the second at Reale Club de Golf de Sevilla. That took the Englishman to seven under par, two clear of Dane Søren Kjeldsen, who matched Dyson’s birdie at the first.

Morgan Pressel’s bid to win her second Salonpas Cup championship in three years was derailed Sunday in Japan. South Korea’s Sun Ju Ahn, the ninth-ranked player in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings, defeated Pressel and Inbee Park in a playoff in a Japan LPGA Tour major at Ibaraki Golf Club. Ahn is the highest ranked player in the world who isn’t a member of the American-based LPGA. She was the Japan LPGA Tour’s leading money winner the last two seasons.

The Players is golf's richest tournament, with South Korea's KJ Choi winning just over £1m by beating American David Toms in last year's event. Danes Thomas Bjorn and Anders Hansen, Korean KT Kim and Americans Anthony Kim, Paul Goydos and Steve Marino are all missing the tournament, which starts on Thursday, 10 May.

Simon Dyson tops the scoring after three rounds thanks in part to some strong form from the tee that has seen him rank tenth in Driving Accuracy this week hitting 61.9 per cent of his fairways. With all the rain adding to the already dense rough, accuracy has been paramount, a fact proven further by Soren Kjeldsen who ranks second in this Genworth statistical category as well as on the leader board.

McIlroy hit an incredible drive on the par-4 16th, blistering one 377 yards down the right side of the fairway, leaving him with only 102 yards to the hole. But he finished with a bogey after three-putting from 15 feet. McIlroy attributes his newfound strength to an intense weight program. 

Kroeger's morning-after version is pretty convincing. He said he was standing on the left side of the putting green on the fifth hole when Woods sent his approach from 261 yards deep into the trees. “It came behind us, over our heads,” he said. “I heard nothing but leaves, and not any clean contact with any trees. I don't think the ball kicked out and I did not see any ball on the ground.”

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who shot a final-round 62 in 2010 to make the Wellls Fargo Championship his first PGA TOUR victory, is two strokes behind along with Nick Watney, who is staying with Simpson this week and led after two rounds. Watney bogeyed the final hole in a round of 72 while the Northern Irishman, who turned 23 on Friday and got a surprise visit from his parents, surged toward the top of the leaderboard with a 66.

The course he psyched himself out on back in '89 has been nothing but good to him these last few years as a fiftysomething. A T-4 as a rookie in 2009, a T-9 in 2010, another T-4 in 2011. And now? With 18 holes left, Lehman is poised to jumpstart his 2012 season. Of course, so is Fred Funk, who shares the second-round lead at the Insperity Championship with him at 9-under 135.

Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player showed no mercy winning the Houston Greats of Golf Challenge by two shots after Saturday's second round of the Insperity Championship at The Woodlands Country Club, Tournament Course.

"It seems like when guys on this level do get nervous, it seems like every time they focus a little better, they just tighten up their thoughts a lot better," Simpson said. "Seems like when I'm more nervous, for the most part, I play better. It's not a good thing when we get comfortable out there because you start getting lazy and losing focus on your target."

"It's fun to be back in contention and be in the mix," Funk said. "I just want to be in the mix." Lehman and Funk played together Saturday and were never separated by more than one shot on the leaderboard. Lehman made three bogeys on his back nine, but moved back to 9 under with a birdie on No. 17.

Larrazabal's countrymen Jorge Campillo (fourth) and Alejandro Canizares (fifth) are also in range of the leader, sitting two and three shots off the pace heading into the final round. Canizares shot the day's lowest round - four-under - which included just a solitary bogey, three birdies and an eagle on the par-five 16th.

Thailand's Pornanong Phatlum and France's Karine Icher each 7-under 66 on Saturday to share the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour's 36-hole Brazil Cup exhibition event. American Katie Futcher was a shot behind at Itanhanga Golf Club, and Norway's Suzann Pettersen matched Brittany Lang and Candie Kung at 68. Paula Creamer and Christina Kim shot 69.

"That ball was going in the trees and would have been a lot more difficult," McIlroy said. "It was nice to get a lucky break like that." To show his gratitude, after McIlroy hit his approach onto the 18th green, he signed the glove and gave it to Hagadorn.

Woods is stuck on 14 professional majors and he missed the cut at this weekend's Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte. The 36-year-old Woods ended a 30-month victory drought with a win at Bay Hill this year, but then had his worst performance as a pro at the Masters last month.

Morgan Pressel moved into position to win her fourth worldwide title, her second Salonpas Cup title in three years on the Japan LPGA Tour. Pressel’s 7-under-par 65 Saturday moved her to 11-under 133, two shots ahead of Jiyai Shin going into the final round of the rain-shortened event. The first round was washed out, reducing the tournament to 54 holes. Pressel is seven shots ahead of Japanese star Ai Miyazato, who is tied for 10th.

"Your mind just shuts down, which is the greatest thing in the world," said Horschel about his zoning out. "You don't think much. You see the shot, you see the line on the green and you just go ahead and hit it. You don't worry about the speed." Horschel's putting has been much improved the last few weeks following a session with his coach at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.

I've just been patient. I've not made a score like that for a long time in these conditions. It's good for the confidence," Bourdy said. "I'm very happy about this round, particularly in these conditions. I made eight birdies and just two bogeys. "Yesterday one over was not so bad in that wind, but today I played really well, I felt comfortable and very solid, very consistent and I also made some important putts, so I'll try to keep going like this."

The 53-year-old Lehman had an eagle and five birdies on the first eight holes on the back nine Friday, then bogeyed the par-4 18th for a 7-under 65 and a one-shot lead after the first round of the Champions Tour’s Insperity Championship. Fred Funk and Houston native Tom Jenkins were tied for second, and past winners John Cook and Bernhard Langer topped a large group at 68.

"I think last week was a wake-up call for me," Watney said. "And I've worked really hard these five days leading into this event. I think it just shows I'm making progress. Who knows what's going to happen this weekend, but I'm really excited for it. More hard work, and hopefully I'll be in this position a lot more."

Italian teen Matteo Manassero boosted his hopes of making the U.S. Open on Friday by moving into contention with a 2-under 70 after the second round at the 100th Spanish Open. Manassero finished at 4 under overall, one stroke behind leader Gregory Bourdy (66) in windy conditions. The 19-year-old Manassero shared second place with Jorge Campillo (72) of Spain and the England duo of Robert Rock (72) and Simon Dyson (69).

McIlroy finished his round in style with a nine-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole, which was just the third birdie of the day on No. 9. "I'm pretty happy with six under," McIlroy said. "It could be better, but I'll take it." McIlroy hit seven of 14 fairways, took 29 putts and enjoyed a relatively low-stress walk, which was a sharp contrast to one of the players competing in a group directly in front of him. Tiger Woods played erratically for much of the morning and will likely miss the cut.

“Think about me telling (Woods) he’s got to go back (to where he hit his second shot on the par 5) based on the evidence,” said Tour official Mark Russell, who made the ruling on the fifth hole. “Then I think it would be the other way around. You guys would be telling me, ‘Have you lost your mind?’” Even those paired with Woods agreed. “It got picked up by a fan for sure,” Geoff Ogilvy said. “Don’t think there was any doubt.”

“I am a little disappointed in the finish, but they’re tough holes,” Cink said. “Even though I missed a very short putt on the last hole, about a 4-foot putt, you’re still not devastated with making bogey on the last hole.” In 10 starts this season, Cink’s best finish is a T-13 at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. His track record at Quail Hollow sings a different tune. Cink has three top-10s at the course, including a T-9 last year.

So, Tiger dropped in the pine straw, flopped onto the green and walked off with a ho-hum par. Of course, the debate over the free drop was rendered moot when Woods failed to birdie the par-5 seventh, lipped out a 4-foot birdie putt on 8 and left his long birdie bid on the last hole some 5 feet short. It amounted to a second-round 73, an even-par 144, an early exit. It also amounted to the most dramatic missed cut of his career.

Nick Watney answered what he referred to as a wake-up call at the Wells Fargo Championship by taking the lead. Tiger Woods might need one after missing the cut. Watney had gone nine straight rounds on the PGA Tour without breaking 70 and had failed to crack the top 10 in all nine of his stroke-play tournaments this year. He worked hard to change that, and it paid off Friday with an 8-under 64 that gave him a one-shot lead over Webb Simpson going into the weekend.

LPGA pros who want to play when golf becomes a part of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 are getting a flavor of the host country this week. “The Olympics are one of the greatest things that sports has,” Creamer said Friday in a news conference. “I love watching people represent their country, and the fact that golf is now a part of that is very special and very motivating. Hopefully in 2016, I’ll be back here.”

The U.S. Golf Association announced Friday it has accepted a record 1,364 entries for the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open, to be played July 5-8 at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wis. The number of entries surpassed the previous record of 1,296, set at Oakmont Country Club in 2010, when Paula Creamer won her first major title. It is the ninth consecutive year the number of entries for the championship has exceeded 1,000.

Today is Rory McIlory’s 23rd birthday.  Best birthday wishes to Rory. 22 was a fantastic year. Can’t wait to see what 23 brings for this amazing talent.

"I’ve decided to pull out of the Players. I need to spend more time with (his son) Caleb and (wife) Angie, plan to take at least a month off.  #familytime,” Watson tweeted. Goydos is empathetic with Watson's feelings, having earned the time away from the sport. "It's not that easy to leave home," he said. "He's in a position where he doesn't have to. There's nothing wrong with being right. He earned it. He won the green jacket.

After shooting a first-round 2-over 74 at Quail Hollow on Thursday, Anthony Kim withdrew from the Wells Fargo Championship. Kim cited a nagging wrist injury. This is the third consecutive event from which Kim has withdrawn. Kim pulled out of the Shell Houston Open after opening with 79 and withdrew after playing the first 14 holes of the Valero Texas Open in 8 over par.

The NEO+ Golf GPS Watch is the latest product to join the Bushnell family of devices offering Distance Made Simple. The lightweight watch is simple to operate and comfortable to wear, giving golfer's accurate front/back/center and shot distance measurements on 25,000 preloaded courses with no membership fees, more than has have ever been made available via GPS.

Golf Life, the premiere 30-minute Golf Lifestyle program in the U.S., announced the 2nd episode of the season is set to premiere on Sunday, May 5th, with several repeat airings scheduled throughout the month. Golf Life can be seen in over 90 million households nationwide, via regional sports networks, including Fox Sports Net, Comcast sports networks and Root Sports. read more

Lanny Wadkins returns to television Friday after a five-year absence, serving as a lead analyst for Golf Channel's coverage of the Insperity Championship on the Champions Tour. "I'm excited to work with my friends at the Golf Channel, talking about guys I played with and competed against for over 40 years," he said. 

"I was nervous playing with Tiger. I prayed a lot out there," said Simpson, who lives about a mile away from Quail Hollow and already was on edge about trying to perform well for the neighbors. "Once I made a couple birdies, I kind of enjoyed it."

Watson announced his decision Thursday afternoon on Twitter, saying he needed to spend more time with his wife, Angie, and the 2-month-old son they adopted just two weeks before he captured his first major at Augusta National. "The Players is one of the best weeks of the year but bonding with my son and wife is what it is all about right now," Watson tweeted.

“I’ve decided to pull out of the Players. I need to spend more time with (his son) Caleb and (wife) Angie, plan to take at least a month off.  #familytime,” Watson tweeted. Watson said he was exhausted last week when he tied for 18th at the Zurich Classic, where he was the defending champion, and will miss The Players for the first time since 2006. In five Players starts Watson had missed three cuts and his best finish was a tie for 37th.

Louis Oosthuzien’s heroic performance in winning the Maybank Malaysian Open, just a week after suffering a heart-breaking play-off defeat at the Masters Tournament, has earned the South African The Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Month Award for April.  Oosthuizen battled jetlag, high humidity and a world-class field at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, in the Malaysian capital, to seal his fifth European Tour title and swiftly banish the disappointment of missing out on his second Major Championship.

“Look at (Zurich champion Jason) Dufner,” said Fowler, whose Thursday 66 is his lowest opening round this year. “Look at how many times he’d been close. In a way it all has to fall into place. You’re going to have to get some good bounces and be a little lucky.”

“I’m very happy, I played really solid,” said Molinari. “It was as tough as it can get.  “The rough is just brutal, and the wind and rain make it hard to keep the ball on the fairway, but I played very well. “It’s a shame that I had two birdie chances on the last two holes and I made a bogey and a par, but overall I am very happy. The greens are quite soft, but it's really hard to get the ball on the fairways.

“Some girls need to hit balls for 8 hours. Others can take a couple of days off and be perfectly fine. Then it’s back to the grind. I feel like I have a really good balance. If I practice a little bit more, I might be better, but that’s not something I want to sacrifice right now. Maybe when I’m 30. I think it’ll kick in eventually."

“All the time,” Lewis said. “We hear about it all the time. This being a U.S.-based tour, we need Americans playing well to get events back here in the United States. It’s really important. I know, for me, losing the Solheim Cup was really motivating to get out and get better and to be ready for this year. “I want to be atop the American Solheim Cup points list. I want to be the No. 1 American, and I’m putting the work in to get there.”

"My record in the U.S. Open is not good and I understand that it is a major, but I feel I have more chance of playing well at the BMW International Open the week after," Lawrie said Wednesday at the Spanish Open. "I know people are going to be surprised ... but I stand more chance of earning Ryder Cup points at the BMW in Cologne than in the U.S. Open in California."

Pablo Larrazábal led the home challenge on the opening morning of the Reale Seguros Open de España as the Spaniard moved into an early lead at Real Club de Golf de Sevilla. The in-form 28 year old, who has finished in the top 25 in five of his nine European Tour starts this year including the last four, moved to three under par with birdies at the 11th, 12th and 17th.

Tiger is ready to return to the golf course for the first time since the Masters at this week’s Wells Fargo Championship.   Woods has spent the last few weeks working with swing coach Sean Foley on his ball position, posture and alignment.  Hopefully all his hard work pays off and he can bring home his second Wells Fargo Championship title as well as his second title for the year.

"It got to the point where we could not provide as consistent green speeds as we wanted to," Vlach said. "We would have to dial it back on some to keep the locations. That is something we as a staff and the competitors do not want. By reducing the slopes, we can now have every green exactly the same speed and get more locations."

PGA Professional David Hutsell will board a flight this Saturday on his way to serving as the second reigning PGA Professional National Champion and Middle Atlantic PGA member to compete in the Japan PGA Championship.

"We're excited to continue the positive momentum and strong community support for our 2012 tournament," said Tom McChesney, Island Resort & Casino General Manager. "Those community leaders and ticket sales participants became our most avid fans for the inaugural championship, and we can't wait to see them in the gallery to support these rising professional stars this year."

PHIL MICKELSON:  Well, I'm very appreciative of being inducted this year.  I wouldn't be opposed to moving the age to 50 because I think now with fitness being a bigger part of the TOUR, guys' careers going longer, I think that would probably be a better point to reflect on your career as opposed to being inducted while you're right in the middle of it.

"Coore deliberately left acres of room on the right-hand side of this fairway, knowing how difficult it was for golfers who bail out from the tee to then blindly throw their approach shot beyond a gnarly sand dune and onto an unseen landing strip above their feet. Approach shots from the left are no picnic, but from the right this is one of the most intimidating shots in the country."

"I don't want to be burned out by the time I'm 30," said the Northern Irishman, who will be celebrating his 23rd birthday on Friday at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte. "I want to try and prolong my career as much as I can. I sometimes take a little bit too much out of myself, especially at the end of the season.

Phil Mickelson is not one to ever miss the subtly of the moment, so when he entered the Quail Hollow press room Wednesday afternoon he deadpanned, “Didn’t you guys see my video?” It was classic Lefty and a not-so-subtle jab at Tiger Woods, who skipped this week’s pre-tournament news conference at the Wells Fargo Championship and instead posted a video on his website answering questions he’d received from fans via social media.

It wasn't easy, but Jason Dufner survived a two-hole playoff with Ernie Els to claim his first PGA TOUR victory with a 2-under-par 35-35=70 in the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Dufner bounced back from his only bogey of the day at the sixth with birdies at the seventh and eighth, and added another at the 10th. The real drama started at the 16th, when he hit his tee shot into a hazard to the left of the fairway.

“It’s a good golf course,” Westwood said. “You have to be on your game. If you are, you can score well, and if you’re not, you get penalized.” McIlroy preceded his 2011 U.S. Open victory with a win here in 2010, a victory capped by a final-round 62. Lucas Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, won here last year. Six of the nine winners here have won a major championship.

"I wouldn't be opposed to moving the age to 50," Mickelson said Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Championship, "because I think now with fitness being a bigger part of the Tour (and) guys' careers going longer, I think that would probably be a better point to reflect on your career as opposed to being inducted while you're right in the middle of it."

"He gets too tall, too much on his heels, too much knee flex ... and when he tried to put the ball up into the air, he tried to do it the old way. The old way is fine. But when you mix half of that with half of this, they're not agreeing. They're not in alignment with each other.'' Woods complained during the Masters about getting caught up between two swings, and said during a brief conversation on the course Wednesday that he was pleased with the progress he's made in the past few weeks.

Here is a list of the 43 players who have already qualified to play in the inaugural season of PGA TOUR Latinoamerica in 2012

"Rio would be nice," the 42-year-old told BBC Scotland. "I might still be around, you never know. "It probably would be something for me to consider since my children would be old enough to come along and appreciate the atmosphere.

Gary Woodland has withdrawn from the Wells Fargo Championship to give his injured left wrist another week to heal. Woodland injured his wrist during the third round of the Masters, continued to play and withdrew after the round. He says there is no structural damage and doctors have cleared him to play. But the former Kansas star has decided to rest the wrist. He plans to play next week at The Players Championship.

“When I look back on that Masters I don’t look at it as a mistake, (whereas) the ’06 U.S. Open where I hit a tree with my second shot,” Mickelson said. “Most people look at that and think the drive (at the 72nd hole) was what cost me that tournament. I drove it like that the whole week.”

That said, Haas has played well at Quail Hollow in the past so that could be a good omen. He's got four top-25 finishes at the Wells Fargo Championship, including last year's solo fourth. "I'm very close, not far off, but certainly the last five weeks, Augusta especially, Hilton Head, missing the cut there, I didn't feel like I played that poorly at either one,"

“One (event) in seven (weeks),” smiles Rory McIlroy, correcting a reporter who mistakenly suggested that the Ulsterman had been on a one-week on/six-week off schedule the last month or so. McIlroy’s Twitter account lists the world No. 2’s location as “everywhere.” Given his status the last few weeks it wouldn’t have been entirely inappropriate to list himself as semi-retired as well.

PGA Tour Latinoamérica released its inaugural schedule Wednesday, announcing an 11-tournament docket of 72-hole events running from September through December. Seven countries will play host to events in the four-month season.

"I'm not the poster child for the TOUR for a reason," Kim said. "I don't go to Bible study every day. Do I believe in God? Yeah, but not because it's 'in.' I don't care what's 'in.' I'm here to win golf tournaments, get better, learn about life and hopefully one day when I have kids can tell them, 'Hey don't do that; your dad was stupid enough to do that.'"

“That was one of my goals coming into the year,” Lewis told GolfChannel.com. “I’m getting there. I knew I really needed a win to kind of leapfrog some people and get up there. I’m on track right now. I just need to keep playing good golf.” Lewis said being top American moves her close to the real prize in the world rankings.

All things considered it was a relatively short work day for Tiger Woods on Wednesday at Quail Hollow. The former Wells Fargo champion teed off in the pro-am at 7:30 a.m. ET, posted a respectable 6-under-par team total, signed autographs for 15 minutes and bolted the property just past noon without being asked, or having to answer, a single, on-the-record question from the media.

“At the Masters I was kind of struggling with my ball-striking a little bit. Sean (Foley) and I have worked on it. It had to do with my posture, my setup wasn’t quite right and takeaway,” Woods said. “I worked on that and we just needed to do hundreds of reps and it’s getting dialed in.”

The U.S. Golf Association had 9,006 entrants into qualifying for the 112th U.S. Open at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif., June 14-17. Local qualifying is currently underway, with players advancing to 13 sectional sites, 11 in the U.S., one in Japan and one in England. Here are results from local qualifying: (A) equals alternate; (a) equals amateur

Stacy Lewis finished the final round at 3-under 69, which secured her second LPGA title with a 17-under 271 total score. She won the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Championship, and has finished top 10 in five of the eight events this year. "We're very proud of Stacy and her outstanding performance," says Ron McPherson, President and CEO of Antigua. "Having Stacy Lewis wear our exciting 2012 apparel on the LPGA tour is a great honor, as well as showcase, for us."

"As an avid golfer, I count on Golfsmith to provide the products and hi-tech golf gadgets I need to help improve my game and shave shots from my score," said Paul Nicholson, senior director of global marketing, companion products, Motorola Mobility. "Golfsmith is known for providing unmatched golf expertise to its customers and we're thrilled the company has added MOTOACTV Golf Edition to its cutting-edge product line-up."

"With the RIP (Reverse Interlaminar Placement), Aldila engineers employed patent-pending technology and exclusive materials to completely transform shaft design from the inside out providing players with shot control," said Stewart Bahl, Aldila's Marketing Manager. "RIP Technology provides lower torque, increased tip stability and better tip stiffness control." read more

TRS Ballistic is Made-in-the-USA and specifically crafted to complement the first-class travel experience. It showcases a sleek, amazingly functional design and the most durable materials used in the luggage world today. Inspired by the needs of discerning globetrotters, all pieces are constructed from U.S. woven INVISTA CORDURA® 1050 denier Nylon Ballistic fabric, which offers double the abrasion resistance and four times the tear resistance of other premium materials.

“The move to Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club comes with a number of benefits for our Professionals including access to the expansive onsite facilities,” said Queensland Executive Officer Broc Greenhalgh. “It makes perfect sense that we are based on a golf course and we hope this will increase face-to-face contact with our Professionals as well as opportunities to leverage our partnership with such a strong brand as Sanctuary Cove.”

“It’s been a very hectic couple of months, but a very happy couple of months,” Reed said. “I’m in a great state of mind and very happy. She’s keeping me calm. She’s the most positive one on the golf course. When I get down, she picks me up.” Reed proposed to Karain, whom he met while attending high school in Baton Rouge, La., in January, shortly after returning from a victory in a professional event in Trinidad & Tobago. They also moved to Houston that month.

Notre Dame successfully defended its title Tuesday at the Big East Championship. The Irish finished 16 shots ahead of runner-up Louisville. At No. 60 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, Notre Dame entered as the highest-ranked team in the field.

John Huh (C) ... Despite the fact that he's the only PGA TOUR rookie with a victory, and he has four other top 15s, including a T2 in his last start in San Antonio, there is a contingent that refuses to hop aboard the bandwagon. However, he's the exception to my rule of the learning curve requiring three years to pay dividends. His only weakness is inexperience, and he's proving that it really isn't. Chris Stroud (B) ... Top 25s in five of his last six starts entering this week. Ranks 16th on TOUR in Strokes Gained-Putting, fourth in scrambling and 13th in bogey avoidance.

10. Harbour Town – Gets the nod over Torrey Pines and Greenbrier's Old White, although many Tour pros would have the Hilton Head track in the middle of the pack. A clever, unique voyage with a strong variety of holes. Could use a trimming of overhanging limbs in the fairways, but I’m a critic, not a landscaper.

Dufner’s putter grip of choice: Dufner used an oversized SuperStroke Slim Lite Splash grip on his putter. The company offers three sizes of grips (including an Ultra Slim, which Ryan Palmer used to finish T-4). Dufner first started using the grip the Monday of last year’s PGA Championship, where he lost in a playoff to Keegan Bradley. Eighteen players used SuperStroke grips at Zurich, a record for the company.

"We try to be strategic with our exemptions," tournament director Nathan Grube said. "We try to think, Where is the next Bubba Watson? Where is the next Phil Mickelson, the next Tiger Woods? They're out there. They are looking for starts, and building a relationship with them is something we take very, very seriously."

So McIlroy took it over again in much less dramatic fashion than when he won the Honda Classic in early March, holding off a hard-charging Tiger Woods and his final-round 62 to claim the top spot for the first time in his career. Now McIlroy has lost it, also while not playing, as Donald regained the No. 1 ranking with a third-place finish in New Orleans.

Ryder Cup Captain José María Olazábal, Miguel Angel Jiménez, Alvaro Quiros, Pablo Martín, José Manuel Lara, Rafael Cabrera Bella, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño, Pablo Larrazabal, Ignacio Garrido and Alejandro Cañizares, were joined by the likes of Jorge Campillo, Alvaro Velasco, Carlos del Moral, Alfredo Garcia Heredia, Manuel Quiros and Borja Etchart, and others on the putting green in Seville, all hoping to land a home victory on his historic occasion.

Let’s face it: Roberts on the bag completes the picture of Els that we are used to seeing. They had planned to reunite at the start of 2012, only a freak accident sidelined the veteran caddie and delayed his return to work until early April at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island, S.C.

According to swing coach Tom Creavy, who says the timing of Se Ri Pak's shoulder injury "couldn't have been worse," it is unlikely the LPGA Hall of Famer will be able to play in the U.S. Women's Open at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wis., the site of her most memorable victory as a professional.

Greg Norman will make his Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship debut when the event visits Fox Chapel Golf Club for the first time, June 26 - July 1, tournament officials announced today. Norman joins a star studded field that already includes fellow World Golf Hall of Fame members Tom Kite, Hale Irwin and 2012 inductee Sandy Lyle.

"It is extremely satisfying to be honored with four 'Hot List' Gold Medals from among our various Callaway golf ball offerings," said Steve Ogg, Vice President, Global Golf Ball Category, Callaway Golf. "It took a great deal of effort from our golf ball R&D and Operations teams to develop not only our new HEX Black Tour ball, but also the new HEX Chrome product. Our goal is to offer the best performing golf ball at every price point and we feel we have achieved that with these new golf balls and the rest of our 2012 offerings."

Bottom Line: The Motorola MotoACTV is a digital golf GPS and workout assistant that can be worn on the wrist. It offers excellent GPS yardages and other golf functions, but with other goodies such as MP3 player and fitness tracker. Pros: • Small and intuitive to use • Great depth of features • Very accurate yardages via GPS • Excellent way to review post-round performance

Nicklaus, Palmer, Player and Trevino. Back together again for the first time in a long time, and probably for the last time in a golf competition, Jack, Arnie, Gary and Lee will be putting on a show this weekend, playing in a one-time event -- just for the fun of it.

After a record-setting performance at rain-softened Congressional, the defending champion is counting on the U.S. Open to truly return to "golf's toughest test" on the San Francisco shoreline. Just listening to USGA executive director Mike Davis explain the Lake Course's layout Monday from three time zones away made McIlroy chuckle. "I feel like I just played a practice round listening to Mike," McIlroy said on a conference call from Charlotte, N.C., where he is playing in the Wells Fargo Championship this week. "I'm expecting this to be a tough and tricky test."

Michael Collins, ESPN.com senior golf writer: Rory McIlroy Seems as soon as Luke Donald takes the No. 1 world ranking, Rory plays the next week and takes it right back from him. That's gonna happen again after this week in Charlotte. And just like at the Honda, Luke's not playing. 

Once Dufner does set the club behind the ball, he begins his swing almost immediately. This is a really good aspect to copy because the longer the club sits in a stationary position, the greater the chance that tension can build.

“We don’t like to use the word, ‘public,’” Dan Weadock, The International’s president and chief executive, told us recently. “We prefer, ‘semi-public,’ which is really what the status of The Oaks is now. It’s still a member’s course with full-paying members having access to both courses on a preferred basis.”

A high end club has embarked on a bunker renovation.  They will be changing the bunker edge style and replacing the sand.  Why change the edge style?  To keep up with modern fashion I suppose, but it won't be long (5-10 years) before their changes are either out of fashion again, or the owners realize how much more these fancy new edges cost to maintain.  But I am not going to discuss maintenance costs, only capital costs today.

"All in all, pretty good week being tired, coming back for the first time after winning the Masters, all this different media attention," said Watson, who withdrew from this week's Wells Fargo Championship. "It's something you got to get used to. (It) wears on you, tires you out. Somehow I finished -- I'm in the top 20. A lot of guys wished they did that."

“The R11S is the realization of every ounce of innovation, adjustability and performance we could package in a bigger, more aerodynamic clubhead,” says Sean Toulon, executive vice president at TaylorMade. “And with the proper fitting, we know golfers of all skill levels will be longer and straighter off the tee.”

McIlroy was 16 under par and eight clear of the rest at Congressional near Washington, and said: "The thing that made the scoring low was the fact they got so much rain before. "Last year was a bit of an exception. I'm expecting something around level par isn't going to be too far away."

The Insperity Championship has an earlier slot on the Champions Tour schedule, moving up from last year's October dates. Brad Faxon, in his sixth start on the Champions Tour, claimed his first victory last year at The Woodlands when the final round was washed out.

For all the revelry New Orleans offers, its on­going posthurricane recovery gives the week its gravitas. Tour players get glimpses of the city’s evolution during their crosstown drives to the TPC. “The first year after ­Katrina it was like a war zone,” says Appleby. “Now you can see how much has been cleaned up and rebuilt. 

This year, THE PLAYERS Closing Ceremonies will be held on the Lower Clubhouse Lawn, where THE PLAYERS Trophy will be on display all week, allowing fans to surround the stage and get closer than ever to the new champion (and 2011 champion K.J. Choi, who will award the trophy). Not only will the ceremony be televised live on Golf Channel -- giving fans the chance to be seen on TV -- but the 2012 winner will also sign a limited number of commemorative PLAYERS pin flags to distribute to some of the lucky fans in attendance.

“I come away satisfied and will gain a lot of confidence from playing here,” said the law student, who fired rounds of 65, 72 and 68. “I like playing with the pros as I play better. It motivates me and helps me improve. “My mother and father always supported me to play golf but both always told me that studies come first.

What have you been working on since the Masters? “Great question,” Woods deadpanned. “At the Masters, I was kind of struggling with my ball striking a little bit, and Sean (Foley) and I fixed it. It had to do with my posture. My setup wasn’t quite right, as well as my takeaway.”

Biggest Surprises: 1- So Yeon Ryu - We all expected her to be good in her rookie year, but few expected her to be this good. She has finished in the top 4, four times. She has yet to miss a cut this year. She is quickly on the road to becoming an elite player.

Dartmouth students are known for their intelligence and creativity, so perhaps it’s no surprise that a few nights per week in his quaint dorm room in Hanover, N.H., Peter Williamson unfurls a putting mat on the worn-out carpet and strokes 800 consecutive 8-footers during the cruel winter months.

The 2012 Spanish Open Golf Championship at Real Club de Golf de Sevilla gets underway on Thursday as the European Tour returns to mainland Europe after the Asian Golf swing.

Moor Allerton Golf Club is one of the first UK golf courses to be designed by the great American golf architect Robert Trent Jones. His others include Spyglass Hill, Hazeltine and Sotogrande. Featuring his trademark shallow bunkers, huge teeing grounds, lakes and large contoured greens, Moor Allerton is typical of Trent Jones's work. And, with three loops of nine holes that all start and finish at the Clubhouse, enjoying this stunning Leeds-based golf course couldn't be easier.

"That week in China in 2010 I putted really well and had a clear mind," he said. "If you have a good week with the putter, you normally go pretty close to winning. "To get back to that level, I need to focus on consistency, get a few putts dropping and have a clear mind with good thoughts on the course." Felton sums up the feelings of a lot of professionals when asked to describe what separates champions from the also-rans.

Glenlola Collegiate’s Victoria Craig and Jessica Ross both returned 27 gross points each in the blustery and wet conditions to win the Senior Cup by 8 points from Roscommon’s Mean Scoil Mhuire gan Smal. In the Junior Cup, Gemma McCarthy signed for 24 gross points and after her team mate Abbie Kiely returned 14 gross points, victory was theirs over Ursuline College Sligo by 7 points.