Micheals claims Canadian Women's Amateur title @ Kingsville Golf Club

KINGSVILLE, Ont. — Coming to Canada proved to be a shrewd career move for Sydnee Michaels.

Like most college graduates, the 22-year-old UCLA product is busy plotting the rest of her life, and this past week her path swung through Kingsville Golf and Country Club, where Michaels dropped in to win the 2010 Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Amateur championship.

Along with the trophy and accolades she received after holding off a stiff challenge from fellow Californian Danielle Kang in Friday’s final round, Michaels also earned a valuable exemption into the LPGA’s CN Women’s Open next month in Winnipeg.

“I came here to win and to play in that (LPGA) event and I got it done,” Michaels, who hopes to turning professional later this year, said after carding an even-par 72 to finish 9-under 279 for the tournament, good enough for a two-stroke victory over Kang.

Canadian national team member Sara Maude Juneau of Fossambault, Que., was third at 4-under, followed by 14-year-old Casie Cathrea at 3-under and fellow American Jaclyn Sweeney, who finished fifth at even-par 288.

Michaels started her day with a four-shot lead over Kang, but it quickly evaporated with an unplayable lie at No. 3 that led to double bogey and another bogey at No. 4. Birdies by Kang at Nos. 1 and 4 combined with Michaels’ misadventures suddenly put Kang in front by a stroke.

It was the first time all week Michaels hadn’t led the championship.

“I had a couple of rough holes on the front nine and I was starting to go downhill,” said the 22-year-old.

Three holes later, she regained her composure and a share of the lead when she stuck an iron tight at No. 8 and sank a five-footer for birdie.

The 10th hole could have been a two-shot swing in Kang’s favour when she left herself a six-footer for birdie while Michaels was off the back with a ticklish chip to a sloping green.

Michaels saved par from 10 feet while Kang missed her putt.

“I didn’t trust my line,” Kang said of the pivotal miss. “I started off really well. My plan was to start off with a few birdies and shake her a bit and it did, but after the turn I missed a few putts.”

Michaels regained the lead for good with a birdie at No. 14, where Kang rammed an eagle putt five feet past and then added insult to injury by missing the comebacker.

Michaels pumped her first in the air after draining a long putt for birdie at 17 and a three-shot cushion coming home.

“That was also a crucial putt because it gave me a lot of breathing room,” said Michaels.

“It feels great, awesome (to win). I’m very proud and very honoured.

“I’m so excited to come up (to Canada) again next month.”

Also today, Beach Grove’s Erica Rivard is the top local golfer in a tie for 31st. She is plus two through 11 holes and plus 14 overall.

Kingsville’s Alyssa Getty moved into a tie for 53rd place with a 75 today. She is 22 over overall after shooting rounds of 79, 79, 77 and 75.

Amherstburg’s Cheryll Damphouse is tied for 65th at 26-over par. She had a 82 today.

Laura DeMarco of Essex is tied for 65th at 26-over par. She had a 79 today.

Yani Tseng leads by four heading into weekend @ Birkdale

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) -- Yani Tseng certainly is consistent.

The 21-year-old from Taiwan shot her second consecutive 4-under 68 on Friday, taking a four-shot lead after the second round of the Women's British Open. The American duo of Brittany Lincicome and Christie Kerr joined Amy Young of South Korea in the chase entering the weekend.

"There was no wind this morning and it was very calm, so it was nice out there," said Tseng, who is trying to win her third major championship. "The course played totally different than what we played the last three days, so it was really nice."

Rain washed over Royal Birkdale in the afternoon, making things difficult for the late starters -- including defending champion Catriona Matthew of Scotland, who missed the cut by seven strokes after making a 10 at the par-four 13th hole.

Her tee shot landed in a bush, and she eventually found the deep rough near the green. After three tries to hack her way out of it, Matthew ended up taking a penalty drop, chipping onto the green and two-putting for her 10 -- only to birdie the par 3 next hole.

"After the 10 I just wanted to get in," said Matthew, whose 10-2 sequence on her scorecard was part of a 9-over 81. She missed the cut at 12 over.

Kerr certainly didn't have any problems, posting the low round for the tournament with a 5-under 67. She made a pair of 10-footers for birdie on the first two holes, dropped a stroke at the eighth, then picked up four more birdies to join Lincicome and Young at 4 under.

"I played really well today," Kerr said. "I was determined to be more relaxed out there. I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself since getting the No. 1 ranking and I hadn't really realized that's what was going on. So I just went out and did my thing today."

Lincicome had a birdie at the second, then dropped four strokes in a three-hole stretch beginning at the 11th. She also took advantage of an easy finish at Royal Birkdale, though, with a birdie at No. 15, an eagle two holes later and another birdie at 18 for her 1-under 71.

Veteran Julie Inkster also shot herself into contention with a 2-under 70 that left her five shots off the lead, doing so in the worst of the weather. Suzann Pettersen of Norway shot a 68 and Sun Young Yoo of South Korea had an even-par 72 to join Inkster in a tie for fifth.

"It was rainy and tedious but I was very happy with the way I played," said the 50-year-old Inkster, who bogeyed the third hole but recovered with a birdie at the fourth. She picked up two more birdies at the 15th and 17th to finish her round with some momentum.

"There's a lot of good names up there but we're all going to be playing at the same time tomorrow," Inkster said, "so that's going to help."

Michelle Wie failed to take advantage of an early start time, hitting her first tee shot out of bounds. She ended up shooting a 4-over 76 that left her 10 strokes off the lead.

Fellow American Christina Kim went the other direction with a 4-under 68 that moved her into a tie at 2 under. She's joined by Frenchwoman Anne-Lise Caudal (73), Japan's Momoko Ueda (70), first-round leader Katherine Hull (74), and South Koreans In-Kyung Kim (72), Hee Kyung Seo (69), M.J. Hur (68) and Jiyai Shin (71).

"There was no wind when we started, so I said to myself that I've got to take advantage of the conditions," said Kerr, who won the LPGA Championship by 12 shots earlier this season.

"The last time I was here at Birkdale (in 2005), I got the wrong end of the split," Kerr said. "I had the worst of the weather in both the first and second rounds, but this time it has been different, so I knew I had a chance to do well."

Kerr and the rest of the field will still have to chase down Tseng, who has already won the LPGA Championship and Kraft Nabisco Championship in her brief professional career.

The precocious young player made five birdies on Friday and dropped her only shot on the 373-yard par-4 third, when she drove into the bunker on the left side of the fairway and failed to reach the green in regulation for the first time in 21 holes.

"I played another solid round and made a lot of putts," said Tseng, who had three birdies over the final five holes. "I have never led a major from the start before, but I feel confident and believe I can continue to play well."

Round 2 highlights from Greenbrier

MICHAELS LEADS AT CANADIAN WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

KINGSVILLE, Ont. - Sydnee Michaels shot 2-under 70 on Thursday to take a four-shot lead heading into the final round at the Royale Cup Canadian Women's Amateur Championship.

The 22-year-old California native made four twelve-foot putts for par in addition to scoring four birdies. She has a three-day total of 9-under 204.

Danielle Kang (70) is second place while Sara-Maude Juneau of Fossambault, Que., (70) is in third, seven shots off the pace.

"That was long waited for (referring to the birdie on 18)," Michaels said. "Danielle played really solid today, but it's golf, so anything can happen. Tomorrow I plan on just staying focused on what I'm doing and no one else."

Marie-Therese Torti of Candiac, Que., shot a 4-over 76 to hold first place in the Mid-Amateur division. She also holds the lead in the Mid-Masters division with a 227 at 11 over.

Kingsville's own 13 year old Alyssa Getty shot a solid third round 77.

Creamer 6 back after round 1 at the Women's British Open

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) -- Yani Tseng shot a 4-under 68 in the opening round of the Women's British Open at Royal Birkdale on Thursday, and is tied for the lead as she pursues her third major championship.

The rising star from Taiwan shot a bogey-free round that included a birdie and an eagle on the two finishing holes, putting her in a tie for the lead with Australian Katherine Hull.

"I played really, really solid. I hit all greens but one today and I putted pretty well," said Tseng, who already has won the Kraft Nabisco Championship this season to go with the LPGA Championship she won in 2008.

"The last two par-5s were just like long par-4s with the wind, so I stayed relaxed and tried to make birdies," Tseng said. "It was pretty good."

Hull was among the last players on the course and also made an eagle on the 18th hole -- in front of nearly deserted grandstands -- to join Tseng at 4 under. Hull dropped a stroke at the fourth hole before rattling off three birdies in a four-hole stretch beginning at No. 7.

"I hit a drive and a hybrid onto the last green and holed from 60 feet, a great way to finish," Hull said. "I had a long talk with my caddie last week and unearthed a secret to improve my game. I had become lazy with my routine and the improvement made all the difference."

Anne-Lise Caudal of France took the early lead with her round of 3-under 69, and she was matched later in the day by South Korea's Kim Lang and Sun Young Yoo, along with Brittany Lincicome of the United States.

"I've never played links golf before, only two practice rounds this week," said Caudal, the 2008 Portuguese Open winner. "I played really well today."

Like Caudal, Yang had only one bogey during her round, while Lincicome was in for a much more interesting trip around Royal Birkdale. She dropped three strokes on the first two holes before playing the rest of her round in 6-under par.

"I putted really well after four-putting the first for double-bogey. Afterwards I hit a lot of really long putts, which is unusual for me, but nice," Lincicome said. "Being a long hitter helped today as well, having wedges onto greens instead of mid-irons."

Fellow American Michelle Wie opened with a 2-under 70, as did In-Kyung Kim of South Korea.

"I felt good all the way round today," Wie said. "I hit some good putts, they just didn't go in until at the end."

Julie Inkster opened with a 71, along with Jiyai Shin, the South Korean star who won the Evian Masters in France last weekend. England's Laura Davies shot a level-par 72, LPGA champion Christie Kerr shot 73 and reigning U.S. Open champ Paula Creamer had a 74.

Defending champion Catriona Matthews was at 3-over 75 after the opening round.

"You need to know how to get the ball round this hard golf course in tough conditions," Davies said. "Experience counts for a lot in this sort of championship."

Highlights of round 1 @ Greenbrier

Why Tiger Woods continues to struggle

What happens when the World's No. 1 player, who possesses 14 major championships and 71 PGA Tour victories, can't sink a putt or hit a fairway?

Should we consult his statistics for the motive or simply question his sanity?

There is no question that the media frenzy Tiger endured was abusive, and continues to drain him personally. However, we are also far too aware of the dominant, unrivaled golf Woods played prior to the exposure of his sex scandal.

How will he get out of this rut? What is obstructing his success?

Is it in his mechanics or is it all in his head?

Statistic: Putts per round-29.56 (137th on Tour)

Though every aspect of competitive golf involves trust, if you don't trust your putting stroke then you are not going to win. Throughout the British Open, which was Woods' most recent competitive showing, Tiger's posture was stiff, he looked uncomfortable over the ball, and most of all, his putting stroke didn't look fluid.

His two fourth place finishes, first at the Master's and then at the US Open, were the confluence of a variety of struggles, but none more than his putting. From speed to break, Woods did not have the same command over the flat stick and it ultimately lost him both championships.

Sanity:

Tiger Woods is actually going through two sticky divorce settlements—one from his wife and one from his old, reliable putter.

That kind of adjustment, changing putters, especially after using the same putter for over a decade, is a gradual process. Expectations cannot be too high to start because the comfort and trust level with that new putter takes countless rounds to establish.

Statistic: Driving Accuracy Percentage- 60.61% (138th on Tour)
Driving Distance: 297. 3 yards (14th on Tour)

Why doesn't Tiger just hit irons and his 3-wood off the tee? He's more accurate with them and longer than most of his peers.

At the 2006 Open Championship, Tiger put on one of the most brilliant displays of golf strategy ever. Woods hit almost entirely long irons off the tee (just one driver all week) and only missed four fairways. That means he hit the fairway 92% of the time. And guess what—he won the Championship.

I understand that in today's professional world of golf, length is a crucial factor and Tiger does have a substantial amount of it with his massive Nike driver. However, when he misses fairways, he's instantly putting himself out of contention to produce birdies.

Sanity:

When you are standing on the tee, it's all about visualizing the shot you want to hit and where you want to place it. Though Tiger has never been the most accurate off the tee, he always had a deliberately slow and steady pre-shot routine in which viewers could clearly watch as he would pin point his shot off the tee.

At the British Open, and especially at the AT&T National, it seemed like he was not only rushing his pre-shot routine, but that he was praying that the ball would somehow find the fairway. His mechanics don't seem to be the issue, so the conclusion is that he needs to make a substantial mental adjustment to hit more fairways.

Statistic: Greens in Regulation- 65.56% (96th on the Tour)

Hitting greens is hard. Players have to factor in wind, slope of both the lie they're hitting off and the green they're hitting onto, distance, club selection, and then they have to actually execute the shot. That was once Tiger's forte.

When a player doesn't hit greens, it becomes that much harder to make birdies, simple as that. Tiger's approach shots have been so erratic that he has not been putting himself in position to make birdie putts.

For example, at the British Open it seemed like Tiger was either putting for birdie from 40-60 feet away or putting for par from 4-6 feet away. That is not how you win championships, and he knows that better than anyone.

Sanity:

Before the British Open, I wrote about how I firmly believed Tiger had the upper-hand in the event. This was because he discussed in an interview how he had regained his comfort executing an array of golf shots. Well, we know how that worked out: tie for 23rd.

Hitting golf shots close to the pin isn't just about perfect mechanics, just like throwing a strike or shooting a free throw isn't just about mechanics. Instead, it requires confidence in both one's technique and in one's ability to hit the shot.

Prior to hitting his approach shot, Tiger might be able to visualize the shot he needs to hit because he's done it before, but he doesn't actually seem confident that he's going to pull it off.

It's most noticeable in his held off finishes and shorter and faster back-swings. But most of all, because he knows just milliseconds after striking the ball that it's not what he wanted to do, it results in his notorious profanity and visible anger.

Statistic: Scoring Average- 70.14 (10th on Tour)

For the plethora of mistakes that Tiger Woods makes, he remains one of the greatest, if not the greatest, recovery players ever.

It's clear that his game is not where he wants it to be, but somehow he is still among the top-10 in Scoring Average, which is a true testament to his competitive relentlessness.

Woods has a multitude of shots in his repertoire that allow him to play from any and every spot on the golf course. We've seen him hit low, running shots under trees just as many times as we've seen him hit high, bending shots around trees. He's incredibly crafty, ultimately allowing him to remedy his mistakes off the tee, from the fairway, or on and around greens

Sanity:

It just seems like he wants to win more than anybody else.

Though his mental game is clearly not in the state it once was, he is still able to rally and respond to the adversity he faces.

Golfers have never been the most animated competitors; they don't dance after making a birdie or eagle like a football player would after making a touchdown. But Tiger lets his emotions roar.

Bleacher Report

Californians dominating Canadian Women’s Amateur

Photo: Leader Sydnee Micheals

KINGSVILLE, Ont. — West Coast girls are stealing the show at the 2010 Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Amateur Golf Championships at Kingsville Golf and Country Club.

Three California golfers are at the top of the leaderboard following Wednesday’s weather-interrupted second round.

First-round leader Sydnee Michaels, of Temecula, Calif., didn’t fire as low as Tuesday’s 66 but she stayed under par with a 71 that kept her four shots clear of the field at seven-under 137.

Fourteen-year-old Casie Cathrea, of Livermore, Calif., had the place buzzing with a four-under 68 to grab a share of second at three-under 141 with Danielle Kang of Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Kang, a 17-year-old sophomore at Pepperdine, had a one-under 71.

The leaders were safely in the clubhouse when severe weather forced RCGA officials to clear the course for a two-hour and two-minute delay.

Players were shuttled back into position by car and play resumed late in the afternoon.

You have to go four deep to find a Canadian on the leaderboard.

Stratford, Ont.’s Natalie Gleadall shot a second straight 71 to earn a share of fourth with American Jaclyn Sweeney.

National team member Sara Maude Juneau, from Fossambault, Que., is in seventh spot at even-par 144 on rounds of 71-73.

At least Canada can lay some claim to Cathrea whose father, Harry, grew up in Edmonton, Alta.

“I’ve played the course three times now and I like it better now than I did,” said Cathrea who opened with a one-over 73.

“I like the gold better than the red. I play better on hilly courses.”

The 2009 California amateur champion had seven birdies and three bogeys on her card. She birdied No. 1, 4, 9, 10, 12, 13 and 16.

“My putting and ball striking were good today,” said Cathrea, who closed out by sinking a 20-footer for birdie at No. 9 gold.

While this is her first Canadian Am, Cathrea already has an impressive resume that includes being the youngest qualifier for the LPGA’s CVS Challenge and the youngest player to ever reach the quarter-finals of the U.S. women’s amateur, which she did last year.

Already this year, she’s played in an LPGA event in May and she was part of Team USA at the Evian Masters Junior Cup in France earlier this month.

Michaels, a UCLA senior, relied on her putter to keep her in the red.

“My round was a little rough today,” she said.

“It wasn’t the prettiest but it was still under par. The course was playing quite a few more shots harder than yesterday. The pins were tougher and the wind was all over. My putter really saved me today. I hit a few poor shots on the back nine but I made some good par saves.”

She made her first bogeys of the tournament at No. 1 and 5 to go with birdies at No. 6, 10, 14 and 17. She lipped out for birdie on her last hole, No. 9 gold.

Kang stayed in the red despite two three-putts and a double bogey at the par-four 13th.

“I had a lot of birdies (five) but I made a lot of mistakes out there,” Kang said.

“I doubled from the middle of the fairway and I smacked a downhill putt, I don’t know why. Just simple stuff that I did wrong.”

The field was pared to low 70 and ties following the conclusion of Wednesday’s play in the fading daylight.

Ontario teaching pro Dave Bell in the US Senior Open @ Sahalee

Alphabetically, his name appears between Andy Bean and amateur Dan Bieber.

Tecumseh's Dave Bell is listed right there on the USGA's website, in the field for the 31st U.S. Senior Open, along with Fred Couples, Paul Azinger, Tom Watson, Peter Jacobsen, Mark O'Meara, Hale Irwin, Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite.

The 59-year-old Tecumseh Golf teaching pro will be assigned a locker at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash. just like his more famous senior counterparts when the tournament opens July 29.

"I've played in enough tournaments, hopefully I don't feel too uncomfortable," Bell said.

In 2001, Bell qualified for the Champions Tour Canadian Open in Mississagua but he knows this stage will be far bigger and the spotlight far brighter.

"I don't know how it will feel to see 20,000 people lining the fairway to see (Seattle native) Fred Couples," he said.

Bell and his wife Bonnie fly out Saturday so he can play practice rounds Sunday through Wednesday on the par-70 layout that hosted the 1998 PGA Championship and the 2002 World Golf Championship-NEC Invitational.

Bell made the field at a sectional qualifier at Meadowbrook Country Club in Northville, Mi., July 5. Marshall's John Morse won the event with a 70 but Bell tied for second with a 72 and earned the second spot in a playoff.

"I two putted for par and when the other guy missed a six-foot down hill putt it was like, oh my god, I'm going to the U.S. Open," Bell recalled.

He and Bonnie celebrated with a tank of gas and a coffee since they had to drive straight to Milton for the Canadian PGA championships which began the next day. Bell finished tied for 8th on rounds of 72-78-74--224.

He's packing new irons and wedges for this trip since the old ones didn't conform to the USGA restrictions on grooves.

"I played with them (Wednesday) and they were pretty good," he said. "They're not much different from what I had, except for the grooves of course. I'll have four days to work with them there."

As for his prospects at the biggest event on the schedule for the over-50 set, Bell plans to keep it simple.

"Knock it down the first fairway and go on from there. It's a matter of staying in the moment," he said. 'My game is always reasonable and I'm pretty good at keeping it around par. At a U.S. Open, that's OK."

Carl Pettersson charges on the back nine to capture Canadian Open title

The "german machine" Bernhard Langer wins the Senior British Open

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Bernhard Langer won his first 50-and-older major title Sunday, holding off a final-round challenge from Corey Pavin for a one-stroke victory in the Senior British Open.

The German shot a 1-over-par 72 at Carnoustie to finish at 5-under 279. Pavin, captain of the American Ryder Cup team, closed with a 70.

"I have always wanted to win the British Open," said the 52-year-old Langer, who won the Masters in Augusta, Ga., in 1985 and 1993. "I didn't. Now this is the next-best thing."

Langer, who had a birdie on the 15th hole, has 11 victories on the Champions Tour.

"This victory ranks very high and it's pretty close to my two U.S. Masters titles and some of my Ryder Cup stuff," he said.

Pavin finished three strokes ahead of Americans Fred Funk (72), Jay Don Blake (72) and Russ Cochran (72) and Australian Peter Senior (68).

"It's tough when you almost win," the 50-year-old Pavin said. "Bernhard didn't play his best golf today but he did what he needed to do and that's what it's all about."

Tom Watson (74) finished tied for 24th place at 290. The 60-year-old American said he plans to return next year to play in both the British Open and Senior British Open, as he did this year.

"Sometime I can see in the future when my level of play might not be good enough to come over here and play," Watson said. "That's when you have to make a decision, but I am not quite there yet."

Ji-yai Shin regains #1 ranking with win @ the Evian Masters

South Korea's Shin Ji-yai won her first LPGA title of the 2010 season with 14 under, 274, at the Evian Masters on Sunday (Korean Standard Time), nudging her three rivals by one shot.

She hit five under in the final fourth round held in Evian-les-Bains, France, chasing the third round leader, American Morgan Pressel. Her last and fifth birdie gave her the one stroke edge over Pressel, Alexis Thompson and her compatriot Choi Na-yeon.

"I'm so happy that I won a title after a long time. I know many people have waited for my victory and I'm so pleased to show this," Yonhap quoted Shin as saying, after the game.

"I have had many chances to hit birdies, but I was a little bit worried about my putt. I trusted myself."

The 22-year-old Shin is the first South Korean to win the Evian Masters. She takes home the winner's prize money of US$487,500, topping the official money list with a total of $1.16 million.

She now has seven LPGA Tour victories in two years, winning her first at the British Open in 2008.

She led the tour with three wins in the 2009 season and claimed the Rookie of the Year award, but had not been able win a title in the 2010 season before the Evian Masters.

Shin said she thought of a playoff when she finished the last 18th hole before Pressel.

"I just thought that I should hit a birdie first and wait for Pressel to finish," she said after hitting the last birdie, moving ahead by one stroke over Pressel. "I saw Pressel have a chance for a birdie there. While waiting for her shot, I told myself to focus on a playoff."

Shin held the No. 1 ranking for weeks after former No. 1 Lorena Ochoa retired earlier this season. She later had to leave the field for two weeks due to an appendectomy in June.

Kim Song-hee finished sixth with six under, and Jang Jeong hit eight under to rank eighth on the leaderboard.

Shin's victory marks the fifth title won by South Korean female golfers in the 2010 season.

First round highlights from the Canadian Open

Painful to watch Weir stumble through first round @ St. George's

All around the golf course, one got the sense of a finely manicured museum--peaceful save for patches of applause, the occasional drifting whine of distant generators, or the bumblebee drone of the Met Life blimp, buzzing overhead. It was, in other words, the opening round of a golf tournament.

But when Mike Weir strode out in the early afternoon, self-contained and brimming with focus, the mood changed. It got just a little electric, a little hopeful. Galleries swarmed after him like ants, and delivered the occasional roar that shook the leaves from the trees, when Weir wasn't doing it himself with a wayward tee shot on the seventh hole.

By the end of the day, however, the museum was silent again, save for patches of sympathetic applause. Weir has three top-10 finishes at the Canadian Open since 2003; he finished second in 2004. He's been like Tim Henman at Wimbledon, the nearly man at home.

This year, though, there's no nearly about it. Yesterday, Weir started out by missing putts, made the turn with an eagle and two bogeys, and then gradually disintegrated. He squibbed chips, his swing loose and uncoupled. He missed off the tee, and began to find the enthusiastic St. George's rough. He finished by knocking the ball into a fairway bunker, then off the front of a grandstand. Once on the 18th green, he two-putted from 12 feet for bogey, and a two-over-par 72.

And other than refusing to blame his sore right elbow, he didn't have much to say about it.

"It actually feels a lot better today. It feels a lot better," Weir said. "I just didn't play well." When asked what he was specifically unhappy with, Weir was unwilling to delve much further than that. "It was pretty obvious. I didn't play well. I mean, all aspects weren't great." When asked what he was struggling with, he just said, "My game."

And that was that, and it made for a lousy day for Canadian golf's patron saint. He had awoken to find the Toronto Sun had taken a perfectly reasonable article noting his recent decline in play -- he is 118th on the PGA money list this year, his driving distance numbers continue to erode in an era of bombers, he has missed the cut in four of his last six events, he hasn't won a tournament since 2007 -- and torqued it all the way up to 11.

The newspaper's front cover showed the 40-year-old Weir clutching at his tendinitis-affected elbow alongside the words, "IS WEIR WASHED UP?" The tabloid choice of words make it feel like a cheap shot at a guy who isn't healthy at the moment, and he was surely unhappy. But there was nothing much Weir could do about it.

"I found [St. George's] tough," Weir said. "It's a tough golf course. You hit it in the rough -- it's tough around the greens. The rough around the greens is very unpredictable, but if you drive it well and get it in the fairway you can score, but if you don't, it's going to be a tough golf course."

Calgary's Stephen Ames then came by to say the course played fair, though he said it was easier in the morning; he was immediately contradicted by an American gentleman named Brent Delahoussaye, who fired a cool 62 despite a 2:15 p.m. start time in one of the last groups of the day. Bad day for sweeping Canadian pronouncements, it seemed.

For the Canadian Open, too. Weir is the biggest name in a tournament that craves them, and while it's nice that David Duval and Trevor Immelman and Retief Goosen shot 67s, and that Camilo Villegas and Paul Casey managed 68s, and that Hunter Mahan got all the way to 65, nobody means more to this tournament than the guy from Bright's Grove, Ont.

But the timing was bad, and his game was missing, and this won't be Mike Weir's tournament, again. In fact, it doesn't feel like he's ever going to crest this particular hill. He is one PGA win from pushing past George Knudson and into first place among Canadians all-time, and it's getting harder to imagine him managing the feat.

Tournament director Bill Paul was talking about the young Canadian kids the other day, and he tried to explain why the next Mike Weir is hardly a foregone conclusion.

"Having three or four Mike Weirs on Tour would be good," he said. "But it's a tough tour to crack. It's tough. So many guys fighting for cards, and it's not an easy sport. I have a 14-year-old that plays Triple-A hockey, and everyone's trying to make the big show. And only one or two kids in his age group are going to make it."

Well, Mike Weir made it, and for that he should be proud. He's made plenty of money. He's done plenty worth doing. And he could find his game again, lurking around the dogleg. He's not done yet.

But this morning, Mike Weir is 40 years old and 10 shots back, and a comeback seems unlikely. It's not fair to write his career off after one bad day in his own country; he might not have blamed the elbow, but his swing said different. And given what Mike Weir has meant to Canadian golf, nobody should be gleefully piling on, newspapers or otherwise.

But the down slope awaits. No getting around it.

Morgan Pressel cards a 66 to take the first round lead @ the Evian Masters

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) -- Morgan Pressel of the United States birdied the first three holes and finished with a 6-under 66 Thursday to lead after the first round of the Evian Masters.

Melissa Reid of England and Sun-Ju Ahn of South Korea each birdied the last hole to join her in the lead.

Pressel started on the back nine and her birdie streak ended with a bogey on No. 13.

"It was a very solid day," Pressel said. "The only fairway I missed was on the last hole, and it was because it kind of got a weird bounce. I hit 15 greens. I felt like I was striking the ball well and gave myself a lot of chances."

Reid finished with eight birdies and two bogeys on a cool and rainy day.

The 22-year-old Reid won her first pro title in May at the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open. She's aiming for another strong showing against a tougher field at the Evian Masters.

"You play an event like this and you see how you compare against the big girls," she said. "So it was quite nice to shoot 66 today. I proved to myself that I can do it."

Song-Hee Kim and M.J. Hur of South Korea were a stroke behind the leaders.

Michelle Wie was tied for sixth after a 68. Defending champion Ai Miyazato of Japan was three shots behind the leaders after a 69, along with Suzann Pettersen and Angela Stanford.

Wie played a day after cutting short her pro-am round because of heat exhaustion. Wie said she was pleased with her round, even though she felt "a little tired."

Brittany Lincicome shot a 70, while Helen Alfredsson, Paula Creamer and Juli Inkster finished at 71. Laura Davies had an 81.

Louis Who? Oosthuizen wins Claret Jug by seven

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- Louis Oosthuizen is as low key as that comedian Rodney Dangerfield was brash. But until Sunday, the young South African didn’t get the respect he deserved, either.

Sure, Oosthuizen was taking a five-stroke lead into the final round of the 139th British Open on the Old Course. But there were precious few willing to part with a few pounds in the betting parlors of the historic Auld Grey Toon in expectation of a win.

After all, Oosthuizen had just won his first European Tour event earlier this year. Not to mention, he had only made the cut in one of the eight previous majors he’d played -- even then he finished a distant 73rd -- and only had broken 70 once in any of those venerable championships.

So what did Oosthuizen do Sunday? He not only won the British Open, he turned in a performance that was positively Tiger Woods-ian -- shooting a stress-free 71 that gave him a stirring seven-shot victory.

The margin was second only to the world No. 1’s 2005 victory at St. Andrews and two strokes shy of the largest at the British Open in 140 years. And in recognition of the victory, Oosthuizen moved to No. 15 in the world.

“He’s been unbelievable the whole week,” said Zach Rasego, Oosthuizen’s caddy for the last seven years. “The media didn’t give him a chance at all. But he’s done it before. He won a tournament at home by 14 shots.

“So it’s not like the boy can not play. I understand that this is a big tournament, but people didn’t give him a chance at all.”

Not when Englishman Paul Casey was hot on his heels and world No. 2 Lee Westwood, another wildly popular Brit, was within striking distance if he could only go low. It’s a situation Oosthuizen’s countryman, Gary Player, had faced many times during his World Golf Hall of Fame career.

So Player called Oosthuizen on Sunday morning, speaking first to his wife Nel-Mare and later to the future Open champion in their native Afrikaans. On the legendary South African President Nelson Mandela’s 92nd birthday, to boot.

“He was saying just to stay calm out there, have a lot of fun, and he said that the crowd was probably going to be on Paul's side,” Oosthuizen remembered. “But then he told me the story when he played against Arnold Palmer when he won his first Masters. He said, they wanted to throw stuff at me. But he was so focused on beating him in Augusta.”

Just as Oosthuizen was focused on beating anyone and everyone at the Old Course on Sunday.

Even so, there was a time on Sunday when the man his friends call “Shrek” -- yes, after the friendly animated green giant -- might have folded. A time when those pundits’ dire predictions were beginning to ring true.

But after Oosthuizen bogeyed the eighth hole and saw his lead shrink to just three, he came back like a champion -- driving the green at No. 9 and rolling in a 40-foot eagle that he was just hoping to two-putt to keep pace with Casey. Rasego wasn’t surprised.

“He made crucial putts and that really got him going,” the caddy said. “Like the putt that he made at 9 today after that dropped shot -- it showed character.”

Oosthuizen all but wrapped his hands around the handle of the Claret Jug with a birdie at the 12th hole. But he had a little bit of help in hoisting the storied trophy from Casey, who hit his tee shot there into a gorse bush and went on to make a humbling triple bogey.

Therein lies the answer to one reporter’s cheeky question -- When did you know it was your day and you weren't going to choke?

“I felt it was very tight,” Oosthuizen said, humoring the scribe after telling him that using the C-word wasn’t very nice. “Three shots was nothing playing the back nine. But the minute Paul hit it in the bush on 12 and making that 7 and me making that putt for birdie was a huge thing.

“You know, at that stage I had a lot of confidence in the holes that were coming up. … The toughest challenge then was 17, and I had eight shots leading 17. … When my tee shot was down on 18, I felt that was it.

“I'm definitely not going to 10-putt around there.”

Oosthuizen is a product of the Ernie Els Foundation and he gave tribute to his mentor, who won the 2002 British Open, in his acceptance speech. Rasego said the eight holes the two played in gale-force winds last Sunday helped prepare Oosthuizen for the challenge ahead. Els, for his part, was simply struck by his protégé’s demeanor.

“I played a practice round with him last Sunday and, typically for him, he didn’t give himself a chance,” Els said. “He is a quiet and unassuming guy, but he has shown everyone what a great champion he is.”

Even the men he beat couldn’t be too disappointed. Oosthuizen’s performance was so dominating that their own failings on Sunday didn’t seem as pronounced as if the margin had been closer. He ended up beating Westwood by seven and Casey, Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson by eight.

“I didn't say anything to him until he had actually holed out on 18, and then I just told him what I thought of that performance,” said Casey, who acknowledged Oosthuizen was in a “different league” this week.

“That was four days of tremendous golf. He didn't flinch today. His rhythm looked superb, he drove the ball beautifully, he was very calm. I've played with him many times, but that was a world class performance.”

As Oosthuizen teed off on the Road Hole as the shadows began to settle Sunday evening a lone bagpiper could be heard playing in the distance. But by the time he walked, tipping his cap, down the 18th fairway, though, you might as well have cued the vuvuzelas.

“I think he’ll be around for many years to come,” Retief Goosen said.

Tiger bid for 3rd Open @ St. Andrews vanishes with cold putter

By the time he finally got out of the bunker and walked off the fourth hole with a double bogey, he knew it was over.

No chance. No way. He couldn’t even think about shooting a number to pressure Louis Oosthuizen, let alone win make it a three-fer here at St. Andrews.

“I knew the start I needed to get off to,” said Woods, who closed with a 72 and finished at 3-under. “I was 2‑under through 3, and if I could somehow make 3 on 4 and somehow a birdie or an eagle on 5, that’s what could have happened, that’s what I felt like. But obviously that didn’t happen.”

Nothing much did go right for the man who had won the last two Opens played here at St. Andrews — by eight shots in 2000 and five in 2005. Oh, he played a solid opening round. Shot 67 and was four back. Putted the fool out of the ball too.

Then the speed disappeared.

He hit the ball better than he has in a long time. He was doing mostly all the right things off the tee and from the fairway.

But suddenly Woods was shoveling the ball along on the green — as in 126 putts for the week. They were wandering. Circling the lip. Sliding away. Staying out.

He went with the Nike Method the first three rounds, then broke off the relationship to go back to his old Scotty Cameron, the one he used in 13 of his 14 majors.

“Well, I feel satisfaction in the sense that I drove it on a string all week and hit my irons pretty good, but other than the first day, I did not putt well at all.” he said. “You just can’t play and expect to win golf tournaments if you have nine or ten three‑putts for a week. No one can win doing that. Got to clean that up before I tee it up again.”

He shrugged.

“It’s ironic that as soon as I start driving it on a string, I miss everything,” he said. “Maybe I should go back to spraying it all over the lot and make everything.”

Two holes pretty much summed up his final round , let alone whole week — the fourth and seventh. Both double bogeys.

“If I got something going, I would somehow find a way to stop the momentum,” he said. “That was either like I did today at 4 or making a three‑putt like I did yesterday, and I got it going, birdied 12, hit a good drive yesterday there, and then three‑putt two holes in a row. Basically that’s kind of what I did all week.”

Why did he change putters for the final round?

“ I just felt that my speed was off,” he said, “and just going back to something where I know how it comes off.”

Actually, he said, his putting is way off. He wasn’t steady over long putts all week. And, he couldn’t practice putting because there was no protected area.

“I couldn’t feel anchored,” he said. “Granted, where we’re going to be playing from here on in, it’s not going to blow like this, so I won’t have that problem.”

Tiger struggled with his putter early last year, but it came around. When asked the last time he tinkered with his putting stroke, Tiger said, simply, “Never.”

Yet with the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational — he’s won that six out of the last 10 years — and PGA Championship coming up (he lost a playoff to Y.E. Yang last August), he needs to get in a lot of reps in the next few weeks. As for putters? He declined to say which one was in or out of his bag.

And this Open? No, it doesn’t take the sting out to know that Oosthuizen ran away early. Nor that he’s missing another opportunity to creep closet to Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 majors.

“That’s just the way it goes,” he said .”I’m not going to win all of them. I’ve lost a lot more than I’ve won.”

Rory McIlroy left wondering what could have been

He was walking up the 72nd hole reflecting about what might have been.

About those five or 10 shots he wished he could have saved Friday. About his opening 63. About his chance to run off and hide and win his first major championship.

Rory McIlroy knew it would happen. He talked about it Saturday night. One minute he’s throwing out a 63 and talking major. The next he’s wondering what hit him.

That the 21-year-old fought back to share third at this 139th British Open speaks volumes about what’s in front of him. About the next major — the PGA Championship. About the way he righted a week that could have gone so terribly wrong.

McIlroy started 11 shots behind leader Louis Oosthuizen and wound up eight back. He threw out a closing 68 to go with his 63-80-69 start. He looked ahead, but not before he admitted he looked back.

” You know, if I had just sort of stuck in a little bit more on Friday and held it together more, it could have been a different story,” McIlroy said. “But the other three rounds I played very, very solidly. After that 80 on Friday, I felt as if I came back well by shooting 7‑under at the weekend.

“You know, the game is there, and I can take a lot of positives out of this week.”

He can also admit more than a disappointment.

” I knew that I had a good chance coming in here, and it was nice to sort of be there for a while,” said McIlroy who won the Quail Hollow Championship this spring. “You know, yeah, I’m still a bit disappointed to be honest, because I know if I could have played anywhere decent on Friday, I could have been a lot closer to the lead. I’m not saying that I could have got to 17‑under, but I definitely could have been contending for second place anyway.”

He was. But when you open with a 63 . . . . “You fancy your chances going into the next three days,” he said. “It just so happened to be it got very windy on Friday and I just didn’t feel with it very well.”

Would a practice round in that kind of weather have helped? Maybe.

“I probably could have handled it a bit better, but I hadn’t played in wind like that for a long time,” he said. “So it was a bit of a new experience.”

So was joining that elite group of players who have shot 63s at majors. So was reminding the golf world that his share of third place at last year’s PGA or the share of 10th at last year’s U.S. Open were not just blips.

“I’m sure I’ll wake up in the morning and just look at ‑‑ I was 16 under for three rounds of golf around St. Andrews in the Open,” he said, “and just one bad round. It’s fine.”

McIlroy sizzles with a record-tying 63 @ St. Andrews

Rory McIlroy fired a 61 at Royal Portrush when he was just 16. Oh, and there was that 62 at the Quail Hollow Championship earlier this year that sparked McIlroy to his first PGA TOUR victory.

But make no mistake. Thursday’s 63 at St. Andrews that enabled the 21-year-old from Northern Ireland to put his name in the record books was pretty darn special.

No one has shot lower in a major championship. And only 21 other men -- men like Greg Norman, Payne Stewart, Johnny Miller, Nick Faldo, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, to name a few -- have equaled the score McIlroy shot during the first round of the British Open.

McIlroy’s round of 9 under at the Home of Golf staked him to a three-stroke lead at the time, and he missed a putt at the Road Hole that might have given him to record outright.

"I think it probably is the most special just because it’s at St. Andrews and it’s the Open Championship," McIlroy said. "I think the 61 was probably slightly better, if I’m honest. I don’t know if it was because I was 16 or because to shoot 61 around Portrush, especially the reputation that Portrush has back home, to go and shoot a score like that on it was pretty nice.

"But this is definitely up there. It’s nice to put my name on the few guys that have shot 63 in majors. It would have been lovely to shoot 62, but I can’t really complain."

For eight holes on Thursday, though, McIlroy’s round wasn’t really all that impressive. He had birdied his third hole and reeled off five straight pars. Then he came to No. 9, a relatively innocuous 352-yard par 4 that looks out onto the North Sea.

McIlroy hit a driver there and watched as it scooted up the turf and settled 15 feet from the pin. He nailed the eagle putt and suddenly found himself 3 under. Birdies on his next three holes followed, and McIlroy was off to the races -- shooting a 30 on the back nine.

"I was actually trying to go left of the two bunkers in the middle of the fairway but pushed it a little bit, and hit it well enough that I was able to carry the bunkers and just run up onto the green," McIlroy reported.

McIlroy added a birdie at the par-5 14th and another at the next hole. He may have missed a relatively short one at the difficult 17th, but closed out his round with a final birdie on No. 18 in front of thousands of appreciative fans in the massive grandstands.

That eagle was the catalyst.

"I had missed a few chances early on, and I was going up the seventh hole at 1 under par and saying to myself, if we can turn in 33 here, 3 under par, it would be a good front nine and get going from there," McIlroy said. "I was able to do that. As I said, it just kicked on from there.

"I think it does take something in your round, a little spark, a little something to get you going, and I think that was the point today where my round really got going."

McIlroy, who knew taking advantage of Thursday’s benign conditions would be key, first played the Old Course in the St. Andrews Links in 2007. He has learned to appreciate the subtlety of the course and feels that it suits his eye.

"I like the fact that you can hit driver off the tee, and with your second shots, even if the pin is in the middle of the green or over a slope or something, you’ve got to be so inventive or so imaginative," McIlroy said. "You have to cut them up in the air or run them up, and you can play so many different shots at this golf course and you need a lot of imagination.

"It’s just a very fun golf course to play. If I had one course to play, this would probably be the course.”

McIlroy certainly had fun on Thursday.

Tiger carded a 67 with new putter in the bag

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (PA) -- Tiger Woods was left in an unfamiliar position at St. Andrews Thursday after being joined by Rory McIlroy in golf's "63 Club."

Woods, who equaled the major championship record round himself at the PGA Championship three years ago, has led after each of the last seven rounds of the British Open at the Home of Golf.

This time, in his first tournament in Britain since his sex scandal, the world No. 1 has four strokes to make up on the Northern Irishman. But the fact that it is "only" four with 54 holes to play means Woods still represents a real danger.

Asked what advice he would give 21-year-old McIlroy now, he said: "Just keep doing what he's doing.

"Obviously he's doing what he needs to do and he's got a long way to go. He knows how to win golf tournaments and he'll be fine,” he added. "It's a pretty impressive round no doubt. Rory kept it going -- he played well through 'the Loop', but he also finished it off well even when the wind started picking up."

Because of the slow greens this week, Woods took out of his bag the putter with which he has won 13 of his 14 majors, including the last two Opens at St. Andrews by eight and five shots. He is clearly prepared to give the new blade a chance.

"I'm very pleased with it,” he stated after three-putting the 17th for bogey and then doing the same from the Valley of Sin on the last for par. "As I said, it comes off faster and these greens are just the slowest I've seen in a long time, if ever, and especially with the moisture they have out there.

"Today felt awkward because there was absolutely no wind whatsoever and you never play a links golf course with no wind,” he explained. "With the conditions you had to go get it -- you had to take advantage of it. I felt like I did a pretty good job of that today and I let the round mature.

"We all saw was Rory was doing, what JD (John Daly) was doing -- it just goes to show you that the golf course could have been had,” he added. “To be in the top 10, you had to be 5 under -- you don't see that at too many majors. We've got three more rounds. I'm in good shape. As of right now we're on the good side of the draw, but you don't know tomorrow."

This is only the seventh tournament Woods has played since taking four months off to deal with the fallout from his private life. He has had fourth-places finishes in both the Masters -- his first event back -- and U.S. Open, but nothing better in his other starts.

"It's getting better every week,” he said of his swing. “Every week I'm playing, the things I've been working on have been starting to come together. I'm hitting shots that I haven't hit in a long time. It's building."

As for the crowd's reaction to him throughout the day, he was delighted.

"They've always been respectful and enthusiastic here. There's no reason it would be any different -- they were great out there today,” he said. "They were just enthusiastic -- we were making a bunch of birdies, so they had a lot to cheer about."

Woods was playing with Justin Rose and Camilo Villegas. Rose, winner of two of his last three events in the United States, birdied the first two, but failed to build on that and signed for a 70, while Villegas had three birdies in four holes around the turn and shot 68.

A 12-footer at the second gave Woods his first birdie, and after picking up further shots on the seventh and ninth for an outward 33 he had three more in a row from the 12th. But at the treacherous 17th -- a hole he played in 2 over when he finished at a record 18 under in 2000 and 1 over when he was 14 under in 2005 -- he missed the fairway, couldn’t get his second close and paid the price.

Daly T3 after first round 66 @ St. Andrews

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) -- Trading his mullet for a wacky outfit, John Daly rekindled memories of his stunning win at the Old Course in 1995.

The trouble-plagued golfer took advantage of calm conditions at St. Andrews by shooting a 6-under 66 on Thursday, equaling the best round of his British Open career.

No one made a bolder fashion statement, either. Daly wore lavender paisley pants, a sky blue sleeveless sweater, a peach shirt and a turquoise cap. None of it matched. Not that it mattered.

Strolling the course puffing on a cigarette and carrying a diet soda, Daly posted his best score since a 66 at Royal St. George in 1993. It could have been a lot better, too -- four putts lipped out or caught the edge of the cup, including one that spun 180 degrees around the back of the 12th hole to end a streak of four straight birdies.

Could it be '95 all over again?

That year, Daly managed to put aside the problems that have marred his career -- everything from too much alcohol to too much money squandered -- and captured his second major championship, beating Costantino Rocca in a playoff with a mop of blond hair that was much longer than it is now.

"It's a golf course, I don't know, I just love it. I don't know why," said Daly, who was tied for the clubhouse lead with Scotland's Andrew Coltart. "It suits my game. Just a special, special place."

But that score wasn't likely to hold up on a surprisingly warm day with little wind off St. Andrews Bay and only a sprinkling of rain. A number of players stripped off their jackets and played in short sleeves.

Twenty-one-year-old Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland drove the green at No. 9 and rolled in an eagle putt, then ripped off a string of birdies on the homeward nine that sent his score plunging to 8 under through 16 holes. He had a shot at the lowest score in major championship history, 63.

Tiger Woods wasted no time getting on the leaderboard. The world's top-ranked player, still seeking his first win since a sex scandal gave his reputation a beating, was 5 under with five holes still to play.

Woods is seeking his fourth Open title and 15th major championship, which would leave him only three shy of Jack Nicklaus' career record. And, of course, Woods won the last two British championships played at St. Andrews, romping to dominating wins in 2000 and 2005.

Paula Creamer finally a major champion winning the Women's US Open @ Oakmont

Paula Creamer held on to win the U.S. Women's Open on Sunday and claim her first major tournament victory.

Creamer, only 23 but long considered the best women's golfer to not win a major, went into the final round at sunny Oakmont Country Club with a three-shot lead that never dwindled below two shots. She played 23 holes on the final day with a sore left thumb, including the final five holes of the weather-delayed third round.

Her final-round, 2-under 69 gave her a 3-under 281 for the tournament. Na Yeon Choi of South Korea and Suzann Pettersen of Norway tied for second at 1-over 285.

Limited to 40 practice shots before each round by a still-healing hyperextended left thumb that required surgery in February, the 23-year-old Creamer found the best possible way to limit the pounding on her hand: take as few strokes as possible.

Creamer, known as the Pink Panther for all-pink attire, improved on the 75 she averaged during previous Women's Open final rounds. She faded badly near the finish the last two years, and missed the cut at last week's Jamie Farr Classic won by Choi. But this time she was as strong as her thumb is weak.

"I was in pain, but I was trying to do everything to not think about it," Creamer said.

Lifting the silver trophy that goes to the winner? That was easy, too.

Her lead briefly down to two strokes after four holes, her two biggest confidence-building shots of the day might have been long, par-saving putts on No. 7 and 8 -- even as Choi was charging with the tournament's second-best round. Song-Hee Kim had a 65 on Sunday and finished 13th.

Creamer had two bogeys -- laying up out of a bunker on the par-5 12th during the second -- only to all but wrap it up by hitting to within 10 feet out of the thick rough on the par-4 14th. She then dropped a 10-footer for one of her four birdies.

Flashing a bit of a smile for the first time, she hit another exceptional mid-iron to 4 feet on the 442-yard 15th and made that, too.

Right about then, she knew a major was finally hers. Two weeks after Cristie Kerr won the LPGA Championship by 12 shots with domination, Creamer won with determination.

"Without a doubt, I've matured over the last couple of months," said Creamer, so bored during her layoff she attended the Masters as a spectator. "It was hard. I've prepared for this for the last three months and it makes everything so much better."

Creamer played only her fourth tournament since that operation forced mechanical changes in her game because her right side is much stronger than her left. After playing 29 holes Saturday, she feared unwrapping her throbbing thumb because "it might explode."

Her game certainly didn't, even if she worried back in February the injury might prevent her from regaining the form that has allowed her to win nine times as an LPGA golfer.

Don't think she wanted this tournament, this title? She first studied DVDs of Oakmont Country Club a year ago, watching the 2007 U.S. Open won by Angel Cabrera. A valuable lesson it was, as Sunday's pin placements were exactly the same as three years ago.

Creamer stayed poised as most of the contenders around her kept tumbling.

Two years ago, Creamer shot a 78 after starting the final round down one to leader Stacy Lewis. Last year, a third-round 79 at Saucon Valley put her out of contention before she recovered with a 69 to tie for sixth.

Brittany Lang, the first-round leader with a 69, was within two shots before bogeys on the 15th and 16th dropped her six back at 287 despite her final-round 69. Lang, Yang and former world No. 1 Jiyai Shin tied for fifth at 286, one behind In Kyung Kim of South Korea.

Wendy Ward, in second place when the final round began, took a triple-bogey 7 on No. 1 and was gone from contention. Kerr, the world's No. 1-ranked player, tried to charge with consecutive birdies on No. 2 and No. 3, but fell back with four bogeys in the next six holes. She tied for 17th.

Alexis Thompson, the 15-year-old Floridian who is the successor to Michelle Wie as the next potential big star in women's golf, trailed by five before taking a double bogey on No. 1. She was the second-longest hitter during her fourth Women's Open, but was held back by a series of three-putts while tying for 10th.

Only Choi didn't fold but, down seven before the final round began, she couldn't pull off the biggest comeback in tournament history. No golfer has rallied from more than five down in the final round.

All nine of Creamer's LPGA victories came as she led going into the final round.

Creamer is the 12th first-time winner among the last 15 majors. Until Kerr won the LPGA and Creamer won the Women's Open, the United States had won only eight of the last 39 majors.

Creamer joins 2007 winner Cristie Kerr as the only Americans to win this tournament in the last six years.

Steve Stricker out shoots Paul Goydos to win the John Deere Classic

Tiger plays practice round @ the Old Course prepping for the Open

Tiger Woods played a practice round at the Old Course on Sunday for the first time since claiming the British Open's Claret Jug there five years ago, according to the Associated Press.

Playing alone with only caddie Steve Williams and approximately 50 spectators, Woods faced windy conditions in preparation for the 139th British Open on Thursday.

Woods has won the last two British Opens held at the Old Course, by eight strokes in 2000 and by five strokes in 2005, but is coming off the most difficult stretch of his career.

Woods remains a heavy favorite to win the British Open at 3/1 despite his five-month hiatus from the game while dealing with marital infidelity issues. The field (2/1) is the only lower odds.

Other top contenders to play practice rounds on Sunday were Phil Mickelson (10/1), Angel Cebrera (60/1), Jim Furyk (30/1), Padraig Harrington (15/1)and Ernie Els (18/1), who was in the group behind Woods.

Paul Goydos fires a 59 @ the John Deere Classic

Paul Goydos shot 12-under 59 Thursday in the first round of the John Deere Classic.

Goydos made a 7-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to post golf’s magic number.

Goydos went out in 31 on the par-71, 7,257-yard TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill., then birdied eight of nine holes coming in.

His birdie putts on holes 11-14 came from 40 feet, 20 feet and 24 feet, respectively. Goydos missed just one fairway and two greens in regulation while taking just 22 putts.

He is the fourth player in PGA Tour history to shoot 59. The last player to shoot 59 was David Duval in the final round of the 1999 Bob Hope Classic. Al Geiberger (1977) and Chip Beck (1991) have also shot 59 on the PGA Tour.

No player has shot 59 in the first round of a Tour event.

His previous low round on the PGA Tour was 63, which he has posted multiple times, the last coming in the second round of the Sony Open in January.

Goydos, who last played at the John Deere Classic in 2007 and tied for 50th, had a five-shot lead over Michael Letzig (64).

Goydos has played 18 events in 2010, making 10 cuts and finishing in the top 10 twice. He’s No. 103 on the money list.

Round 1 highlights of the John Deere Classic

Michelle Wie posts an 11-over 82 in the first round of the US Women's Open

On a truly rough day for the world's No. 10-ranked golfer, Michelle Wie has shot an 11-over 82 to play herself out of contention after one round of the U.S. Women's Open.

She couldn't find the fairways, winding up in too many of Oakmont Country Club's 208 bunkers. Once she finally reached Oakmont's infamously treacherous greens, her game got even worse.

Wie landed in only four of 14 fairways off the tee and made a scant six greens in regulation during a frustrating round in which she had five bogeys and three double bogeys.

It was the 20-year-old Wie's worst round since an 84 at the Evian Masters in 2007.

Is a softer Tiger emerging?

According to golf writer Derek Lawrenson of the Daily Mail, Tiger Woods was playing the role of proud papa on Monday night at the Dunraven Arms in Adare, Ireland.

Moments after he thrashed his way around the course in an un Tiger-like 7-over par 79 at the JP McManus Pro-Am, Woods was showing off video of his 15-month old son, Charlie, swinging a golf club to his fellow pros.

"His lad's swing is quite incredible," said Ian Poulter, who was among those to get a glimpse of this other side of Tiger. "The grip, the swing, it's all incredible. Given those genes I reckon we've got about 13 years left to win majors. By the time he's 15, he will probably be winning the Masters by about 25 shots."

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Still with Woods and his two-day trip to Ireland, CBSSports.com senior sports writer Steve Elling had this little ditty on his appearance at the pro-am event in County Limerick, Ireland

"There once was a guy named Woods; as a golfer he had all the goods; then his personal life got harry; his wife wanted to unmarry; and now his game's filled with woulds, coulds and shoulds."

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The 2010 golf season is half over and what have we learned so far? Despite playing in just six events and finishing out of the top 40 in a golf tournament for the first time in five years, Tiger Woods remains the number one player in the world. He has clinched the Mark H. McCormack Award for the 13th straight season, given to the player atop the world ranking for the most weeks in a calendar year. It might be the only piece of hardware Tiger takes home this season.

Phil Mickelson has yet another chance to dethrone Tiger at number one. But you have to wonder if Phil is up for the challenge. Lefty has never been No. 1 — not in the world ranking, the money list, scoring average for the prestigious Vardon Trophy, not even on the majority of ballots for PGA Tour player of the year.

While Phil is the feel good story of the year thanks to his stirring Masters victory, that's his only victory to date. There have been three multiple winners on the PGA Tour this year — Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Justin Rose. Each has two wins.

If anyone is in a position to wrestle PGA Player of the Year honours away from Woods it's likely Els. He has earned more world ranking points than anyone this year and he also leads the PGA Tour in the only two statistics that matter — scoring average (69.54) and money (nearly $4 million).

A year ago, Europeans only won three PGA Tour events. This year, they won three in a row in June alone — Rose at the Memorial, Lee Westwood at the St. Jude Classic, Graeme McDowell at the U.S. Open.

When it comes to top rookie, it appears to be a race between Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy. Fowler is 21, yet he turned pro only 10 months ago. He had a chance to win in Phoenix and had the 54-hole lead at the Memorial. McIlroy is 21 as well — even if it seems as though he has been around forever. His 62 in the final round to win Quail Hollow will not be forgotten anytime soon.

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Just to illustrate what type of year its been on the PGA Tour, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson have combined for one win between them (Mickelson at the Masters). There was a time when the trio would have upwards of a dozen victories under their belt.

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Chris Evert has spoken publicly for the first time since her 15-month marriage to golfer Greg Norman ended. She tells Australia's Women's Day magazine that she had "no idea" a divorce was coming. "It wasn't talked about, ever. Never in a million years did I imagine it would end up like this."

When asked if she missed Norman, Evert responded, "The best part about him are his parents."

-The Globe and Mail

Woods likens marriage break-up to father's death

Golfer Tiger Woods has likened his marriage break-up with the pain he suffered after the death of his father.

"There are times in one's life when things get put into perspective. One being when my father passed and another what I've been going through lately," thesun.co.uk quoted Woods as saying.

His father and mentor, Earl, died of cancer, aged 74, in 2006. However, Woods is struggling to save his marriage with Elin Nordegren after his alleged infidelities were exposed.

Refusing to comment directly on the split, he said: "Everything is working out."

Reports also suggest that Woods is close to sealing a $100 million divorce settlement with his estranged wife.

Justin Rose wins 2nd title in 2K10 @ the AT&T

Rose talks to the media after his win

The "Mechanic", Miguel Angel Jimenez wins the French Open in playoff

Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain won the French Open on the first hole of a playoff Sunday against countryman Alejandro Canizares and Francesco Molinari of Italy.

The trio finished the fourth round at Le Golf National in Versailles at 11-under 273. Jimenez shot a 67 and his rivals had 68s.

Jimenez had a par on the playoff at No. 18, while Canizares twice hit his ball into the water and Molinari found a fairway bunker with his tee shot and the sand again with his third shot, an approach to the green.

Jimenez earned $613,000 for his 17th European Tour victory and second this season, moving him into the top nine of the qualifying list to automatically make Europe's Ryder Cup team.

The Spaniard had a two-shot lead when he teed off on the 18th, but hit his approach into the water and made double bogey.

"It was quite dramatic in the playoff, but my greater experience probably helped me," said Jimenez, who also won the Dubai Desert Classic this season. "And I had the luck to be able to drive off first.

"I do want to play in the Ryder Cup because this year is probably my last chance at my age. I am taking qualifying week by week, but it would make me very proud to be a member of Colin Montgomerie's team."

Canizares' finish was enough to qualify him for the British Open at St. Andrews July 15-18.

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy finished in fourth, one shot outside the playoff, after a 66.

Dutchman Robert-Jan Derksen was tied for the lead with Molinari and Canizares teeing off at the 15th, but he found water three times, eventually taking a 10 at the hole. He finished six shots behind the leaders.

Earlier, Matteo Manassero, having started out in tied for 62nd, shot a 65 to climb 39 places and finish tied for 26th.

The Italian teenager, who won the British Amateur title in 2009, believed the round could be a turning point in his bid to establish himself on the European Tour.

"I know I am able to make cuts," he said. "But I have been having one bad day at each tournament. If I can be more consistent and cut out that bad day then I know I will be OK."

Tiger's divorce settlement: Cheaper then expected

Turns out Elin Nordegren probably won't get as much cash as rumored. The figure $750 million was being tossed around during the pro golfer's affair scandal, but it seems like that's way too high.

The folks at Forbes have apparently been tracking the athlete's earnings since he went pro in 1996, and they claim he's only worth about $600 million total. So, the Tiger Woods divorce will be SO cheap, since Elin would likely only get a slice of his net worth.

The settlement is apparently almost done, and Tiger could be a single man by the end of the day tomorrow. The papers just need to be filed with the courts, then that's it -- he's free to (continue to) move about the country with whomever he chooses.

This is what Forbes had to say about the matter (via USA Today):

We've been tracking Tiger's earnings since he turned pro in 1996. Last year he became the first athlete to earn a cumulative $1 billion through his income from prize money, appearance fees, endorsements and his golf course design business. Nike has been his biggest benefactor paying the world's top golfer in the neighborhood of $250 million since 1996. The relationship has obviously bolstered Nike as its golf division reported annual sales of $638 million last week. Tiger's annual earnings in 2010 will be down at least $30 million after sponsors like Accenture, AT&T and Gatorade walked away. He still earned $105 million over the past 12-months and ranks fifth on our recent list of the most powerful celebrities.

"Yet those earnings are before the tax man and his agents at IMG took their cut. And if you think Tiger made a killing in the stock market, think again. The S&P 500 is at the same level it was at 12 years ago. By our count Woods is worth $600 million and any divorce settlement is likely to be worth a fraction of current reports."

-Zimbio

Tiger plus-3 after first round @ AT&T