Luke Donald beats Lee Westwood in playoff to take top spot in the world

Luke Donald secured the world No. 1 ranking by winning the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday, beating Lee Westwood in a playoff in what was a duel for top spot between the two players.

On the first playoff hole, Donald landed his approach onto the No. 18 green to within a few feet, while Westwood sent his shot into the adjacent water hazard to decide the tournament at Wentworth.

It is only the second stroke-play title in the past five years for Donald, who joins Westwood and Nick Faldo as the only Englishmen to hold the top spot since the rankings were introduced in 1986.

Donald will replace Westwood when the new rankings are released on Monday. His second tour victory this year, and fifth overall, also extends his lead in The Race to Dubai standings.

"Sounds pretty good, doesn't it," said Donald, last year's runner-up. "It's an amazing accomplishment. It's something I will be very proud of when I look back. I will savor this moment, it's very special. I think I will stay the same person, I hope I do. I'm looking forward to the challenge of staying No. 1. I know Lee and Martin (Kaymer) will be chasing me very hard."

Having trailed co-leaders Matteo Manassero and Donald by two strokes entering the round, Westwood shot a 3-under 68 and Donald hit a 70 for both to total 6-under 278.

Simon Dyson of England (69) finished third at 280 after hitting a 69. Marcus Fraser of Australia (67), France's Raphael Jacquelin (71), Shane Lowry of Ireland (67) were two strokes further back.

In a group of seven on 283 was three-time champion Colin Montgomerie (68), who claimed his first top-10 finish in almost three years, and Manassero (75).

It was third time lucky for Donald, who had missed out on becoming No. 1 after losing to Ian Poulter in the World Match Play final last week in Spain and going down to Brandt Snedeker in a playoff at The Heritage in April.

But his consistency in finishing in the top 10 for the past nine tournaments -- including winning the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona in February -- ensured his first playoff victory on either the European or PGA TOUR will give him the No. 1 ranking.

Donald said Westwood's water-bound approach in the playoff was more down to poor fortune than execution.

"It wasn't a bad shot, just had a litte bit too much spin on it. It was just unfortunate, you don't like to see that," Donald said. "Lee is a champion and has been a great No. 1 for European golf."

Westwood couldn't believe his ball didn't stay on the green.

"Where did the ball pitch? It's amazing it went in the water," Westwood said. "When Luke's (shot) was in the air, I thought it might have gone in the back bunker."

A tournament of mostly unimpressive scoring -- due to a redesign from Ernie Els that has made the West Course almost unplayable, or to fiendishly difficult pin placements, depending upon whom you believe -- continued at the start of the final round.

Donald began the day by going bogey-bogey, visibly blanching after duffing his chip at the par-3 No. 2 from just off the green.

Manassaero double-bogeyed No. 3 after needing two shots to reach the green from an adjacent bunker. Donald birdied the next hole to draw level with the Italian in front again.

Westwood, however, made four birdies in nine holes after a bogey on No. 3 to sit on top of the leaderboard.

Another birdie on the difficult No. 15 green was made possible by one of the shots of the tournament. Having missed the fairway with his driver and receiving a free drop, Westwood carved a 7-iron with draw that rolled within 4 feet of the hole, the putt taking him two strokes ahead of Donald.

That lead evaporated at No. 16.

Westwood three-putted after having dropped his club in his follow-through from the tee. Donald, in the next group, landed his approach within a foot of the hole -- and the top two players in the world were level again.

Down the home straight, Donald and Westwood mixed the sub-standard with the sublime.

Donald's birdie putt lipped out on No. 17 after a brilliant rescue shot following an approach that hit a tree. He landed his tee shot into the bunker at No. 18, not long after Westwood had sent his 5-wood into the gallery at the last.

"If you're going to miss your chances, you'll go into a playoff -- and they are volatile, aren't they?" Westwood said later.

Amateur Jordan Spieth struggles to final round 77

Jordan Spieth may have shown his age in the last four holes, but overall, the 17-year-old amateur still had an impressive week in his second start at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

Spieth went bogey-double bogey-bogey-double bogey in the final four holes in Sunday’s final round. He wasn’t alone in his struggles at TPC Four Season Resort’s closing stretch, but it was a tough day for the high school graduate.

“I was humbled by the this back nine.” said Spieth, who will be a University of Texas freshman this fall. “ … It’s hard. It stings right now, it really does.”

Spieth shot a 7-over 77 in the final round to leave him at 6 over for the tournament. He was still 1 over through 14 holes, which still gave him hope to make a move. Instead, he just moved backwards.

“I’m proud of the way I hung in there until the last four holes,” Spieth said.

Spieth started the final round just four shots off the lead. But a bogey at the opening hole was a foreshadow of struggles to come. Spieth eventually posted three double bogeys on the day, along with five bogeys.

But he also had four birdies, and 20 overall for the week. Defending champion Jason Day led the field this week in birdies with 22.

Another big crowd followed Spieth, who had big troubles off the tee Sunday. He hit just four of 14 fairways.

“I was everywhere today,” Spieth said. “I probably played a shot left-handed. I hit probably 30 trees. … It just wasn’t there with the driver today. Had I hit some fairways today, I think I could’ve shot a couple under and had a good shot.”

Last year in this event as a 16-year-old, Spieth became the sixth-youngest player to make a cut at a PGA TOUR event and eventually finished tied for 16th.

Amanda recaps Keegan Bradley's first win @ the HP Byron Nelson

Personal or professional, business isn't good for Tiger Woods

article by: Steve Elling

During his 16 seasons on tour, Tiger Woods has been featured in a slew of TV commercials, including some that required actual acting, timing and theatrical chops. He has a Screen Actors Guild card.

OK, sure, he hasn't filmed any acting lately for all the obvious reasons, because as a marketable commodity, even Nike can't much use him at the moment. But that underscores the notion that's about to be presented -- he's far too rusty to have pulled off what would have represented his greatest thespian effort ever.

At a press session Tuesday outside of Philadelphia, Woods was asked about the state of his relationship with longtime agent Mark Steinberg and management agency IMG. The fading former world No. 1 looked his inquisitor in the eye and seemed sincere.

For those who say that you can tell when Woods is bull-shooting us whenever his lips are moving, this would have been Oscar-worthy.

"I'm committed to both, with IMG, and Mark's my agent," he said, not batting an eye and seeming rather surprised the issue was broached.

So given the unblinking delivery, it's hard to believe he knew what was coming later in the day, when Steinberg was put on waivers by IMG after his contract-renewal talks with the company abruptly broke down, according to reports.

Agents come and go, in all sports. It's inside-baseball stuff, generally. Players sue agents. Agents sue players. Agents leave companies. Greg Norman and Jack Nicklaus left IMG. This development is different because of the timing, circumstances and protagonists. The Shark and Bear were at the top of their sports at the time.

It presents Woods with more nagging, niggling details to sort out as he tries to re-assemble a reputation and career that have corroded from the bottom up starting with his 2009 sex scandal. Now he is facing yet another big-money divorce -- either from his agent and friend, Steinberg, or the management firm that helped put him on the marketing map and secured endorsement deals that made him the first billionaire earner in sports history.

"I'm very happy with both," Woods said Tuesday.

Pick one.

It adds another layer to the upchucking upheaval in Woods' personal and private lives, and in this instance, there's crossover. Steinberg stuck by Woods at his lowest ebb as the stomach-turning scandal played out -- sure, he had a financial stake in it -- and is one of Woods' few personal confidants. A divorce from IMG or Steinberg is going to potentially cut across all boundaries.

What's next, Steve Williams quitting? Come to think of it, plenty of folks have noticed that the longtime caddie hasn't been doing much whistling while he works for Woods lately, either, and was none too crazy when he was painted by a broad, bad brush when the scandal broke.

For the past 18 months, Woods hasn't so much lived a life as endured a ginormous, endless distraction. Cops, lawyers, judges, disgraced Canadian doctors, waitresses, porn stars, swing coaches, tour disciplinary action and a career-long victory drought. The lines blur and they've become almost impossible to separate.

In his last start, Woods quit after shooting 42 over nine holes, citing aggravated knee, Achilles and calf injuries. Now he'll need even more ibuprofen for the massive headache his management issue will certainly cause.

The latest falling domino adds another level of stress in an area where Woods is particularly vulnerable -- his wallet. The nuances of the agent game are interesting, because while agencies often solicit and land endorsement deals for clients, companies often take the initiative, too. They make the first call, and big firms like IMG then match up the particulars of the prospective corporate endorsement deal with the best sports figure in its client closet.

Woods won't be benefiting from any of those handout deals anymore. In fact, IMG negotiated his appearance fees, often at tournaments run overseas by one of IMG's subsidiaries (incest layer duly noted). Woods' last victory, 18 months ago at the Aussie Masters, came while he was receiving $3 million from a tournament run by IMG. His appearance-fee deal with Dubai has also reportedly expired, another revenue source that has dried up like spit in a desert.

Add them to the list. Despite assurances from Steinberg that deals were in the offing, Woods hasn't signed an endorsement deal since the scandal broke, his course-design business hasn't produced a single viable venue and the doorbell long ago stopped ringing. According to a source involved with several PGA Tour events, Steinberg has been actively shopping around the rights to Woods' bag for $5 million, with the guarantee that Woods would play in the company's tour event. The price was $8 million originally, the source said.

As the ash continues to fall around him, it's worth reminding that as far as celebrities and athletes go, Woods is fairly loyal to the crew around him, which means if Steinberg wants to continue as his management mouthpiece, he'll darned likely get the chance. Steinberg presumably knows where many of Tiger's silicone-enhanced bodies are buried, after all.

But hanging his shingle as a solo act, or even as part of another firm, might have its pitfalls. Whether Steinberg can reel in the clients without the institutional might of IMG behind him will bear watching. He wasn't selling Woods even with IMG's muscle, and in golf circles, Steinberg isn't exactly a universally beloved character given the heavy-handed manner in which he has handled Woods' affairs over the years. That could cost them endorsement opportunities, too, assuming Woods ever gets his game sorted out.

When will the latter happen? That's a million-dollar question of another kind, but given Tuesday's latest shock to the system, later seems like a safer bet than sooner. Yes, those are contract terms I just gave you in writing.

It's become head-spinning, and the spiral seems to have a distinctly downward arc. When the agents-of-misfortune development is added to the laundry list of personal, professional and physical issues he already faces, the guy who was once the best ever by a wide margin is now, in fact, more marginalized than ever.

Amanda recaps round 1 from the HP Byron Nelson

John Daly pulls out of the BMW PGA Championship with hip injury

John Daly has become the fourth player to withdraw from the BMW PGA Championship, pulling out after 14 holes of the second round because of a hip injury.

The two-time major winner was 12 over and set to miss the cut at Wentworth on Friday.

Jose Maria Olazabal (back), Paul Waring (hand) and Robert-Jan Derksen (rib) dropped out of the tournament in Thursday's opening round.

Daly's withdrawal leaves one American in the field -- 489th-ranked Anthony Kang, who shot a 6-over 77 on Thursday and is battling to qualify for the weekend.

Daly is scheduled to play in the Wales Open next week at Celtic Manor, but it is unclear if the injury will rule him out.

Tiger out of top 10 in world since 1997

For the first time since before he won the 1997 Masters with an historic 12-shot victory, Tiger Woods dropped out of the top 10 in the world rankings Sunday night. And his plunge won't stop there.

How far might he fall? The numbers stack up against him.

Not to get too engrossed in the minutiae of the world rankings formula, but the main ingredient is a rolling schedule that pulls results from the past two years of a player's record, with the most recent 13 weeks weighing the most heavily.

Over the next four months Woods' world rankings résumé will lose points from five victories from June, 2009 to Sept. 2009 -- unless he can win in the interim. That stretch includes W's at the Memorial, AT&T National, Buick Open, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and BMW Championship. That last win was, coincidentally, his last victory on the PGA Tour.

To put this into perspective, over his first six events of 2009 -- which have already come off Woods' world ranking record -- Tiger's average finish was 7.6 through that year's Players Championship and included one victory at Bay Hill. During that span, he dropped from No. 2 in the world to No. 12.

Over the next four months, though, his world ranking points from 2009 will be nearly impossible to replace. From the 2009 Memorial in early June through the Tour Championship at the end of September, Woods claimed five victories in 10 events and nine top-10s overall for a staggering average finish of 2.8.

That stretch of golf might have been one of his best ever in a career that saw him win back-to-back majors on four separate occasions including the Tiger Slam of 2000-01.

No one can say for sure just how far Tiger will fall in the rankings in the coming months due to the complexity of the system. Outside the top 20? Top 30? A free fall is all within the realm of possibility now.

Part of the problem is, Woods just doesn't play that much. The world rankings use a minimum divisor of 40 tournaments whether you've played that many times or not. That's averaging 20 tournaments a year, which Woods barely does, once you add in the handful of tournaments he plays away from the PGA Tour. As of this week, Woods has teed it up in just 35 tournaments that award world ranking points in the last 24 months.

So, the theory goes, if Tiger played in more tournaments, he would earn more world ranking points since he almost always makes the cut. Since Tiger doesn't play as often as most other top-tier players, he has fewer chances to earn those precious points.

After the Players Championship, no player in the world had lost more world ranking points (156.979) than Woods in 2011. No one in the top 16 had gained as few as Woods (42.801) this season. That doesn't bode well for Woods if he wants to return to his place atop the game of golf.

Could he get on a hot streak and win a bunch of tournaments to replace all those wins? Of course. We're talking about a 14-time major winner here.

But with that balky knee injury that has resulted in him playing just nine competitive holes since the Masters in early April, the possibility of a return to the top 10, much less No. 1 in the world, seems unlikely any time soon.

Poulyer

David Toms...Redemption is sweet @ Crowne Plaza

Toms talks to media after win

Poulter out duels Donald to win World Match Play

Ian Poulter beat Luke Donald 2 and 1 in an all-English final of the World Match Play Championship on Sunday, denying his compatriot No. 1 spot in the world rankings for the first time.

The 22nd-ranked Poulter, who defeated top-ranked Lee Westwood in the last 16, pulled clear of his Ryder Cup teammate by winning two of the last four holes with birdies in a scrappy final in Andalusia.

"It's a nice boost. Questions have been asked of me over the last five months," said Poulter, who sealed his first tournament victory in 2011 and picked up a winner's cheque for ?800,000 $1.14 million.

The second-ranked Donald would have toppled Westwood as No. 1 if he had won the tournament but he missed his chance -- just like he did last month when losing a playoff to Brandt Snedeker at The Heritage in South Carolina.

"Ian took his opportunities and I didn't," Donald said. "It leaves a sour taste in my mouth. But I just ran out of steam a little bit."

Poulter became the first player to win both Match Play titles either side of the Atlantic -- he won the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship last year. Donald won the 2011 edition of that tournament in Arizona in February.

Poulter, who beat Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts at the first playoff hole in the second semifinal earlier Sunday, had been taken to at least 18 holes in his previous five matches on the Finca Cortesin course this week, while Donald had marched relentlessly to the final despite struggling with a throat infection.

But Donald never found his top form against Poulter, making just one birdie -- at the 6th -- and four bogeys.

Poulter went 1 down on the eighth when, after slicing his tee shot into the bushes at the side of the fairway, he slipped down a bank trying to thrash away his second shot.

He got up unscathed to promptly concede the hole, shared the next three holes and then drained a 45-foot putt on the 12th green to draw level.

Birdies for Poulter at the 14th and 16th sealed Donald's fate.

Suzann Pettersen beats Cristie Kerr to win the Sybase Match Play Championship

Once again, the par-5 18th hole at Hamilton Farm GC proved to be the difference in a match at the LPGA’s Sybase Match Play Championship. On Sunday evening, it determined the champion.

With a curling birdie putt at the last hole of her match against Cristie Kerr, Suzann Pettersen won the final match 1 Up to take the championship in New Jersey.

The win is the first in some 20 months for Pettersen, dating back to the ’09 Canadian Women’s Open. The Norwegian, whose short game has continually hampered her despite an outstanding game from tee to green, never trailed in her final match against Kerr but certainly was not assured a win until the absolute last shot. The weight of it all caused Pettersen to look up into the sky when the putt dropped, shortly after falling to her knees at the realization of her victory.

Typically, getting to the 18th hole in match play is a bad sign. For Pettersen, it was a sign of certain victory. In four matches, she had a match go to the last hole. Every time, she made birdie four, won the hole and the match.

Pettersen’s win marks the third time a player born in Europe has won on the LPGA in their last four events.

Angela Stanford, who lost the final two holes in the morning semifinal against Kerr, then was thrashed in the consolation match against Na Yeon Choi. She lost 4 & 3 in a match that was never really close. Stanford was runner-up in this event in 2010.

Curiously, it was the putter that acted up for Kerr instead. Normally one of the steadiest on the LPGA with the flat stick, Kerr missed four short putts to win holes which could have turned her fortune.

K.J Choi wins The Players, beating David Toms in playoff

K.J. Choi talks to the media after Players win

For David Toms it was "close but no cigar"

She had just finished packing the car -- everything but her husband and his golf clubs -- when an old friend walked up.

"Don't you come over here,'' Sonya Toms said. "You're going to make me cry.''

And she did. Just a little.

A few minutes later, caddie Scott Gneiser's eyes welled up a bit too.

If only they had laid up at the 16th...If only that putt at 17 had gone in...If...

This one wasn't just about a tournament lost. This was about family. About a moment that doesn't come around too often when you're 44. A moment that would have redefined David Toms' career. An afternoon that would have given 13-year-old Carter a father-and-son moment -- a family moment -- beyond compare.

Instead it was a time to reflect, to give out hugs. To talk about how the son was inspiring the dad; about how in losing, you also win; about taking the momentum from this week to Fort Worth next week and Colonial Country Club, which just happens to be one of Toms' favorite courses.

"If I can go in there and take some of the things I did this week, maybe get back in the hunt, maybe I'll feel more comfortable the next time and do better,'' Toms said.

For most of this perfect sun-splashed Sunday afternoon, THE PLAYERS Championship was there for Toms to take. A coulda, woulda, shoulda if you will. A moment that would erase all those years when he hadn't been in the mix and all those missed cuts here. He knew it. He could feel it.

He just couldn't pull it off. One mistake at 16 when he got ahead of himself, followed by an all-world birdie out of a divot at 18 to force a playoff. Then one momentary lapse on a clean-up par on the playoff hole.

That was all K.J. Choi needed. He tapped in for par and a win at THE PLAYERS Championship.

Toms shook his head.

"I thought I made the first one, and I hit a great tee shot,'' he said. "It was just a couple feet away from just going right down to the hole, and I just wasn't there on the putt.

"I was probably thinking ahead and thinking about the next hole, and I just got up there and missed it.''

A few minutes earlier, he had buried a 17-footer to tie and the crowd had gone crazy. Choi had missed the green and had to scramble for par.

"We were walking up to the green, and I had already had a small victory by hitting the shot I did out of the divot in the fairway, and K.J. had hit his chip and I knew he was going to have to I don't know,'' Toms said. "What was that, five or six feet that he had to make his? So I figured even if I don't make it I still have a chance that he might miss to get in a playoff.

"Then my caddie said let's give them something to cheer about, and it was a right edge putt, kind of downhill, just one of those kind you've got to get rolling. It was the best putt I've had in an awful long time. And to see it track the whole way knowing it was in about with five or six feet to go, it was a great feeling. It's something I can take away from this week to be able to make a putt like that when I have to.''

If he only had made that 18 footer in the playoff...

Ten years removed from his PGA Championship win at Atlanta Athletic Club -- in fact he won three times that year -- Toms is working his way back to the top.

His shoulder is healthy and he came into the week with a pair of 2011 top-5s -- a tie for third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard a tie for fifth at the Mayakoba Golf Classic -- in his hip pocket. His love for the game has come back, mostly because he's enjoying the heck out of playing it, and sharing it, with Carter.

"It's a lot of fun,'' Toms said. "It's so funny, when I'm picking out my outfit for the next day, he's picking out his outfit for the next day. It's funny. Those young kids are looking up to the young guys out here on TOUR, and he follows it all the time. I mean, it's on his phone, it's on his computer, and he's watching The Golf Channel all the time.

"It's kind of neat to see, though. When I was really winning a lot of tournaments, he knew about golf and he was around some, but he didn't play it and wasn't into it. But now he is. It would have been nice to win today for him.

"He had one of his little friends there and they were following me every step of the way. Disappointed because of that, but he can take a lot of stuff away from this week. Watching his dad out there playing and seeing me under pressure, you know, it's neat. Because if I were to make a bogey or hit a bad shot, you look over and you see him in the crowd and just kind of put a smile on your face and puts it all into perspective.''

Carter used to dabble in golf, but back then his real love was baseball. And he was good. But now he's a budding star in his dad's chosen game and both mom and dad are enjoying it.

"We were on the back porch for four or five hours yesterday watching it rain, and (Matteo) Manassero was out there and he was talking to my son and his friend,'' Toms said. "And they're only four or five years apart, and the guy is playing this golf tournament. He can relate to me a lot better than he can my son can relate to that guy a lot better. I'm just his dad, you know, that plays golf.

"He's watching Rickie Fowler and all these young guys and trying to dress like them and act like them and play golf like them. And that's fine. I mean, I think that's a neat part about growing up on the PGA TOUR, kids that are out here. They get to see a lot of go a lot of neat places, see a lot of great courses, meet a lot of famous people, and there's a lot of good role models out here for them.''

Like his dad.

Toms didn't mince words. He admitted he was a little nervous at times Sunday, something you'd expect since his last win was the 2006 Sony Open. Even with a dozen PGA TOUR wins, that major and three Ryder Cup and three Presidents Cup teams on his resume' it's been a while since he was this close to a win.

"I was very happy with the way I held up the last, well, 31 holes I played today, I guess,'' Toms said. "You know, with the lead or around the lead the whole time, I mean, it's tough when you haven't been there in a while and when you haven't played this golf course well.

"So I just, you know, I just kept plugging along, plugging along and made a couple mistakes towards the end, but making that putt on 18 when I had to, you know, that just shows that I can still do it when I need to.

"I got nervous a few times out there. I got ahead of myself on 16 in regulation. Seeing K.J. had to lay up already I probably should have laid up and hit a wedge up there and made par at the worst, but I felt like I could get it on the green and take maybe a two shot lead there and put a lot of pressure on him. So that was the mindset, and I just hit a bad shot."

Carter saw it all. He took it in. He learned from he saw. And when Toms walked to the car, he was there with a smile, helping load the last of the things in the car.

A few minutes earlier, Toms had talked about working his way back to the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cups -- "Man, you know, every year that they have one that I am not on, I know what I'm missing,'' -- and reminding everyone that one Sunday wasn't going to change his lie.

"Like I said, if I would have won this tournament, it doesn't change my life in any way,'' he said. "Maybe a little more confidence going forward, but that's it. It doesn't really change anything. Maybe exempts me to the Champions Tour, but other than that, no big deal.'

That drew a laugh.

But seriously, he said, the day was a blur -- the way it is when you get in a zone. He felt comfortable and in control.

And, yes, he wanted the win for Carter, more than anything.

"You know, and the interesting thing, the look on his face (when Toms missed the putt) was probably like, hey, his dad was leading all day long and then all of a sudden he didn't win,'' Toms said.

"But he understands. That gives me more incentive to get back and do it here soon."

Just maybe next week.

Tigers' niece Cheyenne creating image of own

When Cheyenne Woods was 2, she plucked a club from a bag, like a sword from a stone, and whacked a golf ball into the netting in her grandfather's garage, where her Uncle Eldrick — you may know him as Tiger — famously took his mythic first cuts.

Cheyenne doesn't remember, but she knows all about the family lore. Her mother, Susan, recalls how Earl Woods Sr. — beguiled by her swing — found a shorter club and showed his granddaughter just how to grip it.

"He saw something in her," Susan says.

Earl Sr. didn't coach Cheyenne, as he did Tiger, but he bought her clubs of her own by the time she was 6 and set her up with a coach in Arizona, who would send tapes of her swing to the doting grandfather in California.

Today Cheyenne is 20, a junior at Wake Forest who will compete in this week's NCAA championships in Bryan, Texas.

She is ranked 23rd by Golfweek, a long shot to win the women's individual title the way Tiger won the men's for Stanford in 1996. But when Cheyenne won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship last month, she immediately thought of her grandfather, who died in 2006.

"He would be very proud," she says, "of how far I've come."

Tiger tweeted his delight: My niece, Cheyenne, just won the ACC golf title by 7 shots! That's awesome, I'm so proud of her.

Cheyenne's father, Earl Jr., is Tiger's half-brother. She even looks a bit like Tiger. "I get that a lot," she says. "But I don't see it. I feel like I just look like myself."

Small wonder she asserts selfhood. When you golf, and your uncle is you-know-who, comparisons are unfair but inevitable — as much a part of her daily landscape as putting greens and open fairways.

"Hopefully everyone lets her be her," Tiger says. "People don't need to compare her to me."

They do, of course, and have since she picked up that first club — one of his old ones, as luck (and creation myth) would have it.

"Let her create her own life," Tiger says, "and her own path."

When she was little, Cheyenne would ask her teachers on the first day of school: Do you know who my uncle is? It was cool to be Tiger's niece. She still felt that way when she started playing junior tournaments and the cameras followed her every move.

Today, Cheyenne does her best to strike a middle ground: She is proud of her famous uncle but eager to own an identity apart from a man she does not really know all that well.

"We talk a little bit here and there," she says. "He's busy. I'm busy. We have our two separate lives."

They have played together, though not often. "Obviously, I'd love to play with her more," Tiger says. "It has been fun to watch her. I have watched her on film, and it's been amazing to see her progression over time."

Tiger's face lights up as he talks about her while walking to his car after practice before last week's Players Championship— from which he would bow out early with a knee injury.

"She has sought some advice here and there," Tiger says, "but that obviously is between us."

Earl Sr. offered advice mostly from a distance, except when her family made trips to California. On the visit when Cheyenne was 2, "We came to watch Tiger at the L.A. Open," Susan says. "He was 16. I pushed her around the course in her little stroller."

That night, Earl Sr. watched her in his garage. Years later, he predicted she'd be the female Tiger.

"He said that when I was really young, too," Cheyenne says. "So it's just funny how he had this eye for people. He knew when Tiger was young he was going to be a superstar. Maybe that'll be me.

"If I just keep working hard — nothing is going to be given to me — I think I have the potential."

'She's just getting started'
Cheyenne, on track to graduate from Wake Forest a year from now, hopes to play on the LPGA tour some day.

"If you look at the LPGA, there is nobody that looks like me," she says. "There's nobody that has my name. There is a lot of potential, I feel like, in my name and the fact that I am different from other people."

She means her blend of ethnicities: "My mom is white. My dad comes from my grandfather, who was part Native American, Chinese, black and white. That's me. I'm a mutt."

Her mother and father are divorced. She has two brothers and two non-mutts — Peanut, a 15-year-old basenji, and Moose, a 3-year-old chocolate Lab.

"It's fun to see her mature as a person over the years," Tiger says. "To see her grow up, starting … in the same garage where I started the game of golf, and to see her progress through all of this and to win such a big event (as the ACC) is great to see.

"And she's just getting started. I know what she can do, and it's going to be fun to watch her do it. … She's just a sweetheart. She is as nice and as humble as anyone could possibly be."

Cheyenne was highly recruited out of Xavier College Prep, a Catholic girls school in Phoenix. Wake Forest coach Dianne Dailey asked her then for her greatest strength. Cheyenne's answer: mental toughness.

"I still think so," she says. "I feel like having to separate myself from Tiger, and separate myself from pressure, from the expectations put on me, I feel like I can handle that pretty well."

Even so, Dailey did her best to shoo reporters from Wake Forest when Cheyenne arrived, figuring a media circus was not what a freshman needed.

"It got to be too much," Dailey says, "and we just had to say, 'This is not about famous relatives. This is about Cheyenne. When she becomes a good golfer, you all can come back and interview her.' And that's now. She is coming into her own."

As a freshman, she had a 76.2 scoring average, fourth on the team. As a sophomore, she had a 73.47 scoring average, the school record for women. And this season she is at 73.60, best on a team ranked 14th in the country entering the NCAA championships. The best NCAA finish for Wake's women's team was third in 1995; Wake's men's golf team has won three national championships.

Cheyenne found her ACC title troubling in one respect. When Natalie Sheary won the ACC in 2009 and Michelle Shin won it in 2010, her teammates got regional attention but little nationally.

"They work just as hard as I do," Cheyenne says. "They should get the same recognition."

"We understand," Sheary says, "it's not something she controls."

Sheary, one of Cheyenne's roommates, describes her as stylish — "great clothes" — and loyal — "great friend." She also says Cheyenne is surprisingly quiet in group settings.

"She doesn't pipe up in the conversation," Sheary says, "and then out of nowhere she throws in a line from a song or a movie, like Anchorman, and it fits just perfect, and it's hilarious. She's just very, very funny with a bunch of one-liners."

That sense of humor is on display in Cheyenne's bio on the Wake website. Asked for the best golfer she's ever played with, Cheyenne picks Charles Barkley, the Basketball Hall of Famer with a notorious hitch in his swing.

"Yeah, I know, I'm getting a lot of flack for that," she says, laughing musically. "Obviously, Tiger is the best golfer I've ever golfed with. But I had to throw something different out there."

The disappointment question
Tiger, 35, has won 71 PGA tournaments, including 14 majors. Still, his last Tour win came Sept. 13, 2009. Golf fans know the import of that time line.

He hasn't won since his life imploded after a day-after-Thanksgiving 2009 fender-bender with a fire hydrant led to a gusher of revelations about infidelities and ultimately to his divorce from Elin Nordegren, mother of their two young children.

At a remarkable news conference in February 2010, Tiger apologized to family and friends he had "severely disappointed."

Was Cheyenne disappointed in him?

"I mean, I feel like it's the same as anything," she says. "I mean, I don't know. It's hard to say. That's just hard. I don't know."

It is the only time she stumbles in an hour-long interview. Cheyenne is a communications major who hopes to get into broadcasting some day. She is uncommonly smooth in front of a camera or a digital recorder.

The question is posed again.

"I feel like I don't really have a say in whether I'm disappointed," she says at last. "I mean, we're not super, super close. It's not like my dad cheated on my mother.

"But he is a member of my family and I guess maybe a little bit disappointed, but it doesn't affect how I see him. And I still look up to him. He's one of the people I look up to the most."

The Tiger train wreck continues...

The fall from grace is not often kind. Dogged by injury problems, struggling with swing changes and without a win since his personal problems began in 2009, Tiger Woods limped sadly out of The Players Championship midway through Thursday’s first round in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and into an uncertain future.

Woods return to golf and this championship from what he had described as a minor injury lasted only nine holes. Woods withdrew because of pain in his troubled left knee and the new injury to his Achilles, but not before taking 42 shots for his worst nine-hole score on the Sawgrass golf course. The 14-times major winner was looking at shooting somewhere in the 80’s before conceding defeat to his painful injuries as he sadly and slowly limped off the course.

The fall started on Tiger’s first hole, hitting a 3-wood that sailed well to the left and deep into the pine trees. On his second shot, his left foot slipped on the pine straw (similar to the shot on the 17th hole at Augusta National in the third round of the Masters that caused this latest injury) and he wound up on the side of a mound short of the green, which dealt him another awkward stance. Throughout the day, Woods flexed his left knee after hitting tee shots; took baby steps to climb out of a bunker; walked with a golf club for support; and, lagged far behind his playing partners with a noticeable limp (usually he is leading the walk down the fairway). On this day, Tiger’s quickest steps were to catch up to playing partner Martin Kaymer on the way to the 10th tee to tell him he was done.

Before departing the tournament and fading into an uncertain future, Tiger hobbled quietly into a certified fitness trailer which showcased a sign that stated, “Is knee pain holding you back?” Maybe, just maybe, Woods was in the process of working out the details of another endorsement.

At any rate, the troubled Woods needs help to deal with his growing problems. Woods’ problems date back to the breakdown of his marriage following a series of reported affairs and the pieces have never been put back in order. His world self-destructed on and off the golf course since that moment in time.

In the short term, it is clear that Woods needs to get his knee and Achilles problems healed before he can even think about turning up for this year’s U.S. Open in June.

Woods already has gone through four surgeries on his left knee. Now, he has an Achilles problem. Woods has gone 18 months since his last victory, three years since a major tournament triumph, and he has no knowledge when he will be fit enough to compete again.

Many are wondering just where his troubled career goes from here, including Tiger Woods himself. Tiger’s fall from grace has not been easy. Only time will tell whether or not Woods can recapture the beauty of his form.

Round 2 recap from The Players

Fans retrieve Michael Bradley's driver from watery grave

PGA Tour commissioner denies pressuring Tiger to play

PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem on Friday denied a report that the TOUR pressured Tiger Woods into playing THE PLAYERS Championship. Woods withdrew from the tournament after nine holes in Thursday’s first round with knee and Achilles tendon problems that have plagued him since the Masters.

"It’s always important for Tiger to be a part of the TOUR, because he’s Tiger Woods, but the idea that we would pressure him to play is ludicrous," Finchem told CNBC’s Darren Rovell. "We don’t pressure any player to play the tournament. In this case, the suggestion is somehow he was hurt and we got him to play anyway. Tiger doesn’t enter a tournament unless he thinks he can win."

The commissioner said he is not worried about Woods’ status as it pertains to the TOUR.

"You know, I hope he’s healthy enough to play," Finchem said. "Just look at it from the health of the TOUR standpoint. If he’s an active player it helps us out a lot. … He doesn’t have to come back and dominate like he did. He needs to play.

"My concern is, where are his injuries going to go? And he doesn’t know what the answer will be and we won’t know for a while."

Asked by Rovell about the TOUR’s TV ratings being up 29 percent on weekend telecasts through April, Finchem said: "It’s a focus on young players and I think its also a combination. Tiger has played some this year and a question and interested if he’s coming back. Phil (Mickelson) is a major impactor."

Golf royality gather in Spain for Seve's funeral

A LONG list of golfing luminaries are set to attend the funeral of Seve Ballesteros in the small Spanish fishing village of Pedrena where the five-time major champion first picked up the 3-iron that would change European golf.

Former Ryder Cup players and captains Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Sam Torrance, plus close friend Jose Maria Olazabal and top-ranked Lee Westwood among others, will be at the packed 400-capacity church of San Pedro de Pedrena today.

The service will end with the ashes of Ballesteros, who died in his hometown on Saturday at age 54 of brain cancer, being placed underneath a magnolia tree in the family garden.

The golfing great will first be honoured by several young boys and girls in a procession wearing a replica of the navy blue outfit that Ballesteros wore for his first British Open win in 1979. Fittingly, they will each hold a 3-iron, the first club he used as a child.

"The funeral rites will be as simple as those for any neighbour from the village," Ballesteros' brother, Baldomero, said.

"He was born here and here he will remain."

Three big screens have been set up outside the ceremony, while Spanish state TV will broadcast the event live from the village of 1500 people.

Ballesteros was perhaps Spain's first major sports star, helping to transform European golf by winning three British Open and two Masters titles plus a record 50 European Tour victories.

He was also player-captain of the successful 1997 Ryder Cup team.

"He broke the mold," former Ryder Cup player Tommy Horton said.

"We were told to hit the fairway, not to make mistakes, while Seve taught us about the genius of recovery.

"He was a genius, an artist - the first true golf artist."

Many homes in Pedrena brandished Spanish flags with black ribbons attached.

A small shrine could be seen outside the family home, where notes, candles, a pair of golf shoes and even a 3-iron were left as tributes.

2011 Players preview

Tiger returning to The Players after injury scare

Tiger Woods returns to competitive golf at this week’s Players Championship after hardly striking a ball since suffering a knee injury at last month’s Masters.

The American former world number one, without a tournament win in 18 months, is even listed by bookmakers as the favourite to win the tournament considered the “fifth major” by players.

Woods played nine holes at the TPC Sawgrass Tuesday, which marked the first time he has been out on a course since he finished tied for fourth at the year’s first major.

He suffered strains to his left knee and left Achilles’ tendon while hitting an awkward shot from pine straw to the left of the 17th fairway at Augusta National during the third round of the Masters.

“It didn’t feel good on Sunday. That was tough. I played through it but it was one of those things - I was in the midst of playing and competing and had to power through it, so I did,” Woods told reporters Tuesday. “I was able to shut it down for a little bit and able to take care of it.”

Woods put himself in position to claim a fifth green jacket with that final round performance but had to miss his scheduled appearance at last week’s Quail Hollow tournament due to injury problems he says surfaced at the Masters.

Woods, who has been taking anti-inflammatory medicine and receiving soft-tissue massage, said he did not start hitting balls until Monday.

The injury has clearly been a frustration for a 14-times major winner who had finally started to show glimpses of his winning form at Augusta.

“That’s the way it goes. I have a slight injury and you’ve just got to take some time off, listen to the (doctors) and do the proper rehab,” he said.

Woods has not won since his victory at the Australian Masters in 2009, a drought that is unprecedented in his career, although he said his struggles around 1998, when he won just once in 18 months, have helped him handle the winless streak.

“If I hadn’t gone through it before, I probably wouldn’t have handled it like this,” said Woods.

“That period was brutal because I had never gone through a stretch like that. If I had never gone through that, this period would have been just as brutal.”

Lucas Glover commits to 2011 Telus Skins Game

Fresh off Sunday's victory at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, Lucas Glover has committed to the 2011 Telus World Skins Game at Banff Springs.

Glover, who now has three PGA Tour titles on his resume, will join rising star Jhonattan Vegas plus previously-announced Stephen Ames, Paul Casey and Anthony Kim in the two-day made-for-TV event in Banff National Park. All five PGA Tour regulars are Nike-sponsored athletes.

"We were thrilled on Sunday watching Lucas Glover battle to a playoff victory at the Wells Fargo Championship, and we're just as excited to have him coming to the 2011 Telus World Skins Game in Banff," said Vitalis Gomes, director of marketing for Nike Golf Canada, in a statement.

"Lucas' win on the weekend highlights the global talent on the Nike Golf staff and the Telus World Skins Game is the perfect opportunity to bring five of those talented athletes together for two great days in one of Canada's premier golf destinations."

Glover's most significant victory was a two-stroke triumph at the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black.

The 31-year-old has earned about US$14.3 million in eight summers on the PGA Tour, including $1.3 million so far this season.

Vegas is a rookie on the world's top circuit, but the long-bomber for Venezuela didn't waste any time making a name for himself, winning the Bob Hope Classic in his second start of the campaign and finishing third at the Farmers Insurance Open in his next event. He sits 18th on the money list with $1.5 million in earnings so far.

Both Glover and Vegas will be trying to pad their bank accounts July 25-26 at Fairmont Banff Springs.

"The Telus World Skins Game has always featured some of the most prominent players in the game, and our partnership with Nike Golf, with Lucas Glover's big win on the weekend, is a testament to the fact that it is a world-class event," said Danny Fritz, vice president and managing director of IMG Canada.

"The fans in Banff, and those watching on TSN across the country, will be in for a treat in July."

Lucas Glover victorious @ Wells Fargo

Glover chats with the media after his playoff win

Class of 2011 World Golf Hall of Fame

ERNIE ELS

Ernie Els was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility with 66 percent of the vote. No surprise there -- the affable South African is a three-time major champion with 67 victories worldwide, including 19 on the PGA TOUR. As further evidence of his consistency on the game's grandest stage, Els has a phenomenal 31 top-10 finishes in 74 major appearances.

Els began playing golf at the age of 8 and was a scratch handicap by the time he was 14. His first significant victory came at the 1984 Junior World Golf Championship in San Diego when he beat Phil Mickelson to win the 13-14 age group -- interestingly, David Toms won the 15-17 division and Tiger Woods the 9-10 class.

A decade later, the man they call "The Big Easy" again rose to prominence in the United States -- beating Loren Roberts and Colin Montgomerie in an 18-hole playoff to win the U.S. Open. Monty was Els' victim again in 1997 at the U.S. Open as he won his second major at Congressional. His third came in 2002 at the Open Championship at Muirfield, again in a playoff over Steve Elkington, Stuart Appleby and Thomas Levet.

"I was so pleased to hear the news that Ernie has been selected to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame," Gary Player said. "Ernie certainly deserves this recognition, as he epitomizes a 'world' golfer. He is a credit to the game and an ambassador for the sport. Ernie has been a wonderful friend over the years and I am very fond of him and his family."

JAKE FOWLER

Maybe Jack Fowler Hutchison, who went by the nickname Jock, was destined to be a golfer. After all, he was born in St. Andrews, Scotland, the home of golf. Hutchison later moved to the United States, though. and became a citizen in 1920 when he was 36 years old.

His return to St. Andrews a year later, though, was particularly heralded as Hutchison became the first American citizen and first player not based in the United Kingdom to win the Open Championship. He did it with flair, too. He made an ace in the first round on the 135-yard eighth hole and nearly made another on No. 9 as his ball caught the lip and stopped inches away.

Hutchison, who died in 1977 at the age of 93, also won the 1920 PGA Championship and was runner-up in two U.S. Opens. A 14-time winner on the PGA TOUR, he also won the inaugural Senior PGA Championship at the Augusta National Golf Club in 1937 and captured the same title a decade later.

"The PGA of America joins in the celebration this spring of former PGA Champions Doug Ford and Jock Hutchison, two outstanding competitors and representatives of the game covering a half-century, as they enter the World Golf Hall of Fame," said PGA of America President Allen Wronowski. "In their own special way, Doug and Jock made an impact on so many people's lives after they had completed their competitive careers. It is wonderful that the World Golf Hall of Fame selection committee now welcomes them to be enshrined among the greats of the game."

DOUG FORD

Doug Ford, who was born in West Haven, Conn., on Aug. 6, 1922, is a 19-time winner on the PGA TOUR. Two of those titles were major championships -- the 1955 PGA and the 1957 Masters. Ford also played in four Ryder Cup matches.

Ford's victory at the PGA came by a 4-and-3 margin over Cary Middlecoff. He had earned medalist honors earlier in the week and served notice he was a force to be reckoned with when he dominated his third round match with Wally Ulrich by a 12-and-10 score. Ford was named the PGA Player of the Year later that year.

Two years later, Ford made up a three-stroke deficit to win the Masters, holing out from the bunker at the 18th green for a 66 to beat Sam Snead by three. Ford had 10 other top-10s in majors, including a tie for second in his title defense at Augusta National.

"It is an honor and a privilege to be named to the World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum," said Ford, who will attend the induction ceremonies. "It took a little while, but I think it's great they're doing this while I'm still alive. It is an honor of which I am deeply proud."

JUMBO OZAKI

Masashi Ozaki, whose nickname is Jumbo, played professsional baseball for two years before turning to golf when he was 23. That turned out to be a smart move -- Ozaki is arguably the greatest Japanese golfer of all time. He has won 94 times on the Japan Tour -- over 40 more than his next closest competitor -- and he still competes frequently at the age of 64.

Ozaki, whose last victory came in 2002, led the Japan Tour money list a record 12 times. Known for his booming drives and flashy clothes, Ozaki was also ranked among the top 10 in the world for close to 200 weeks from 1989-1999, despite playing sparingly outside his homeland.

Ozaki did record three top-10s in major championships and his career-high finish on the PGA TOUR was a tie for fourth at the Memorial Tournament. His brothers Tateo (Jet) and Naomichi (Joe) are also pro golfers, and Joe, who now plays the Champions Tour, will be in attendance at the induction ceremonies on Monday.

"I was thinking that he could be in the Hall of Fame, but I didn't know when," Joe Ozaki said. "The time has come, I'm very proud of him. The way he plays golf, it's the way fans like, the way fans wanted. Everybody wanted to play like him. Without him, I wouldn't have been as successful a golfer as I am now. He's meant a lot. He's been everything."

PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH

President George H.W. Bush has been an ardent supporter of the game throughout his life. The 41st President, who is now 86, has received a host of honors from the stewards of the game -- including the 1997 PGA of America Distinguished Service Award, the 2008 Bob Jones Award give by the USGA and the 2009 PGA TOUR Lifetime Achievement Award.

Since 1997, the former president has served as honorary chairman of The First Tee, which uses the game of golf to help young people build character and develop life-enhancing skills. President Bush was the honorary chairman of the Presidents Cup in 1996 and has attended every biennial competition between the United States and International Teams since.

President Bush has also lent his support, along with former President Bill Clinton, to golf's cooperative efforts to raise funds to help victims of Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Haiti.

"As his son says, George says, he's the most decent man he's ever met in his life," PGA TOUR veteran Brad Faxon said. "I love that description of him because he's everything you would ever want in a person. He's genuine, he's low-key, he's intelligent, he's the most articulate speaker I've ever listened to in my life."

FRANK CHIRKINIAN

Yes, he was demanding -- some people even went so far as to call him "The Ayatollah." But the late Frank Chirkinian is also known in broadcast circles as the "father of golf on television" and it's that legacy that earned him a spot in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

As the executive producer for golf on CBS from 1959-1996, Chirkinian left his imprint on every telecast to this day. He was the first to use cameras in blimps and on cranes, and he strategically put microphones on the ground to capture the sounds of the game. He also was the first to use roving reporteres to to call the action.

But Chirkinian, whose first production was the 1958 PGA Championship, was most proud of his decision to list scores relative to par rather than the total number of strokes. The 84-year-old learned of his induction at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, three weeks before he lost his battle with lung cancer.

"Frank is universally regarded as the father of golf television," said Jim Nantz, CBS' lead golf announcer since 1989. "He invented it. He has touched every golf production we watch today. Frank is a genius. He helped popularize the sport as much as anyone. He took a sport that no one knew how to televise and made it interesting. He brought the Masters Tournament to life.

"Golf was good to Frank Chirkinian, but Frank was great to golf."

In Memoriam: Seve

Short Game Genius Seve Ballesteros passes away

As soon as the putt dropped, so did the jaws.

And the fist started pumping.

Ever so slowly, Seve Ballesteros turned to the crowd and the Spaniard kept pumping his fist, relishing the moment for himself and the fans.

It was unbridled joy, the way Ballesteros embraced that 15-foot birdie putt that enabled him to win the 1984 British Open at St. Andrews. It was the defining moment of a World Golf Hall of Fame career.

Ballesteros, 54, passed away Saturday morning after a three-year battle with brain cancer.

"What I'll always remember about Seve," Stewart Cink said, "was the way he thrust his fist into the air and then turned to the crowd in just about every direction and did it again and again."

Hall of Famer Ben Crenshaw, who studies golf history the way he would a 20-foot, sidehill putt, was more succinct: "When he won at St. Andrews, that's one of the greatest reactions in the history of the game," he said.

Ballesteros wouldn't argue, calling it "the greatest moment of my career." The sight of him standing there, with his fist thrust high in the air, became his business logo and he even tattooed it on his left forearm. But it also serves as a haunting reminder of how quickly things can change in life.

At 27, Ballesteros had just won his fourth major title and his career arc seemed headed for true greatness. But this ultimately proved to be the pinnacle of a life that soon was derailed by injuries and other major maladies.

Ballesteros would eventually win five major championships -- three Opens and two Masters -- and 91 titles worldwide as he was the most influential European player of his generation (he won a record 50 times on the European Tour). He played on eight Ryder Cup teams and captained the 1997 European side to victory, but there was always a sad feeling there was so much more he could have accomplished if he stayed healthy.

In his prime, Ballesteros boldly played the part of a matador in cleats, a man whose emotion poured out his body like cedar out of a tree. He could be wild off the tee, often having to play his second shots out of "car parking" lots, but that only added to his legacy.

"I think Seve had a great attitude," Arnold Palmer said. "He was a flamboyant, high-flying guy that got to the job. And winning the tournaments he won, he did it with style."

Ballesteros almost single-handedly made the Ryder Cup relevant. When he played in his first Ryder Cup for Europe in 1979, the Americans had won the last 10 matches and 16 of the last 17. Within four years, with Ballesteros leading the way, the Europeans closed the gap and eventually won five of the last seven matches with Ballesteros involved.

"His record, his charisma, his passion -- he's been great for the game," said Jack Nicklaus, whose Memorial Tournament honored Ballesteros this year. "His spirit was the European Ryder Cup team."

Part of Ballesteros' imagination came from the way he learned the sport, hitting pebbles on the beach with a wood-shafted 3-iron near his home in Pedrena, Spain. He turned pro in 1974, two years later was runner-up in the British Open and was playing in the Ryder Cup by the time he was 22.

Partly because he was so passionate about playing for Europe in the Ryder Cup, Ballesteros' fame was never the same in the United States as it was in Europe. Including the three British Opens, he won just six other PGA TOUR events, topped by his victories in the 1980 and 1983 Masters.

"I'm not sure people back home appreciated how good this guy was," Cink said.

Ballesteros was poised to ruin Nicklaus' fairytale Masters' victory in 1986 when he led by one as he hit his second shot into the par-5 15th at Augusta. But Ballesteros hit a 4-iron fat into the water and eventually lost to Nicklaus by two shots.

Ballesteros recently admitted that moment is when his career seemed to permanently stall, even though he was 28. "I lose the finishing punch," Ballesteros recently told Golf Digest. Ballesteros said he lamented not being able to win a third Green Jacket for his father, Baldomero, who had died of lung cancer the month before.

Ballesteros stopped playing full-time in the mid-1990s and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1999. He attempted to make a couple of comebacks, but they didn't last because of recurring back issues. In late 2008, he collapsed at a Madrid airport and doctors discovered a brain tumor the size of two golf balls above his left temple. Three surgeries were required to remove the cancer and he has struggled with his health since.

Ballesteros has hoped to make an appearance at last year's British Open past champions' tournament at St. Andrews -- site of his memorable fist pump -- but was advised by doctors not to make the trip from Spain because he was too frail.

"Seve has been probably the most creative player who's ever played the game," Tiger Woods said. "I've never seen anyone who has had a better short game than him. He was a genius."

Round 2 highlights from Wells Fargo

Tiger Woods playing in The Players

Tiger Woods has committed to THE PLAYERS, May 9-15, 2011, at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

THE PLAYERS 2011 marks the 10-year anniversary of Tiger Woods' victory in 2001 (well remembered for the "Better Than Most" birdie putt from 60 feet on No. 17), and Woods will arrive at TPC Sawgrass for his first start on the PGA TOUR since finishing T4 last month at the Masters Tournament.

He was scheduled to compete at the Wells Fargo Championship but was unable to do so due to injury. Woods has never missed the cut in 13 career appearances at THE PLAYERS. He withdrew six holes into the final round in 2010 with a neck injury after carding rounds of 70-71-71 over the first three days.

Sean O'Hair dumps swing coach Sean Foley

Sean O'Hair not only is looking for his game, he's now looking for a new swing coach.

O'Hair, who has missed his past five cuts and has not finished among the top 20 all year, has decided to split with Sean Foley after a relationship that began nearly three years ago in the Canadian Open.

During their time together, O'Hair won the Quail Hollow Championship and played in the Presidents Cup. But whatever had been going right started going very wrong this year, and it was time for a change.

O'Hair fired caddie Paul Tesori at the end of last year, and recently split up with caddie Brennan Little. Foley was next to go.

"He hasn't been happy with how this year has gone, and he feels he needs to make a change in direction with his instruction," Foley said Tuesday. "We had a good run up until the 2011 season. Sean is a good friend of mine. I love the kid. But this is business. I don't look at it from an emotional standpoint but a rationale standpoint.

"He has to do what's good for his career," Foley said. "He'll have my complete support, and I'll always cheer for him."

Foley more famously began working with Tiger Woods in August, and his stable includes Hunter Mahan, Justin Rose and Stephen Ames. For O'Hair, it was not an issue of time with the coach as much as it was wanting to change.

"What worked so well for so long ... you keep doing the same thing and it doesn't work as well," Foley said. "It's like in the NBA. You win a championship one year, two years later the coach gets fired for having a losing record. That's the business."

Greg Norman gives Rory some words of wisdom

As he was hitting from between two cabins that nobody ever dreamed were in play or making a mess of the par-3 12th hole at Augusta National or slumping in despair after a wayward tee shot, Rory McIlroy was on his way to Masters infamy.

By squandering a four-shot, 54-hole lead last month at the Masters, the Northern Irishman suffered the biggest meltdown of a third-round leader in 15 years -- since Greg Norman blew a six-shot advantage.

So who better to discuss dealing with such a calamity than the Great White Shark himself.

"I had a good chat with Greg Norman the week after, when I was in Malaysia," McIlroy said.

His advice?

"Don't listen to you guys."

Ah, stay away from the media. McIlroy, 21, smirked, but went on to share Norman's wisdom.

"He sort of just said to me, from now on, don't read golf magazines, don't pick up papers, don't watch the Golf Channel," McIlroy said. "But it's hard not to. Obviously you want to keep up to date with what's going on. But you can't let other people sort of influence what you're thinking and what you should do.

"I've taken my own views from what happened a few weeks ago and moved on, and that's the most important thing."

McIlroy is making his first U.S. appearance since the Masters at this week's Wells Fargo Championship, where he is the defending champion at Quail Hollow Golf Club.

A year ago, it was all good, as McIlroy made the cut on the number, shot a third-round 66 to get back into the tournament, then roared to his first PGA Tour victory by shooting a final-round 62 that included six consecutive 3s to close out his round -- as he won by four.

He was ahead by four at Augusta then saw it all unravel, as a slew of players made a Sunday charge. By the time McIlroy reached the 10th tee, he was still tied for the lead but clearly shaken by some uneven play. His drive that bounded off a tree and into the yard of the Augusta cabins alongside the 10th hole -- it is not out of bounds -- led to a triple-bogey 7. He four-putted the 12th green then hit his tee shot into the creek at the 13th.

McIlroy shot 80 and ended up 10 strokes behind winner Charl Schwartzel.

"First thing, I don't think I was ready," McIlroy said. "That was the most important thing. I displayed a few weaknesses in my game that I need to work on.

"But I think you have to take the positives. For 63 holes, I led the golf tournament, and it was just a bad back nine -- a very bad back nine that sort of took the tournament away from me, I suppose. But what can you do? There's three more majors this year and hopefully dozens more that I'll play in my career."

Therein lies the huge difference with Norman, 56, who was 41 at the time of his Masters blowup and already had dealt with plenty of major championship heartbreak.

Although Norman didn't shoot as high of a score, he basically had only one player to beat -- Nick Faldo -- and shot 78 to lose by five.

"I knew exactly how he felt," Norman told the Australian Associated Press about McIlroy. "I've experienced it. What is it with golf destiny? Isn't it strange?

"It taps you on the back of your head and it either pushes you ahead or pushes you back. What determines that? It's crazy."

Like Norman in the aftermath of his defeat to Faldo, McIlroy handled his loss with class.

He did several interviews afterward and didn't make excuses. He said he'd be better for it -- and has universally received praise for the way he handled the situation.

Then he got on a plane and made the long trip for a long-ago-made commitment to play the Malaysian Open -- and nearly won. McIlroy finished two strokes back of Matteo Manassero.

It was there that he played the first two rounds with Martin Kaymer, who two weeks ago dropped to No. 2 in the world behind Lee Westwood. Kaymer won the previous major championship, at the PGA, but came from behind to defeat Bubba Watson in a playoff.

"The big advantage was I didn't have to sleep over it," Kaymer said. "I didn't have to listen to ... how big it would be and all the pressure that you will approach the next day. I didn't have to deal with that.

"You know, he's only 21 years old, and I think it's easy for people to forget ... he's so young and the stuff that he did, the way he plays golf, it's been unbelievable. Yeah, he didn't play well the last round, but that happens. He will win plenty of tournaments, maybe a few majors, but that was probably the biggest difference, that I didn't have to deal with that at the PGA."

Aside from being asked about it, McIlroy said he is doing his best to put the Masters behind him. He has spent some time already this week working with putting guru Dave Stockton Jr. and is looking forward to a busy stretch of golf that will see him return to Europe for two events, including the BMW PGA Championship, before coming back to America for the Memorial and then the U.S. Open.

"I'm fine," he said. "It was a great chance to win a first major, but it's golf. It's only golf at the end of the day. No one died. Very happy with my life, very happy with what's going on, very happy with my game."

Mother knows best...Bubba wins The Zurich after taking advice from his mom

Bubba's full length interview with media after win

Lee Westwood wins second tourney in a row

Lee Westwood won the Ballantine's Championship on Sunday with a flawless final round of golf to retain his position as world number one.

The Englishman proved his class at the Blackstone Golf Club near Seoul, carding five birdies on his way to a superb last round 67 and 12 under par for the tournament, a shot clear of Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Westwood did not drop a single shot on his last round but faced an agonising wait in the clubhouse as Jimenez came up the easy par five 18th breathing down his neck.

But the Spaniard's hopes of forcing a playoff were dashed when he overhit his second shot into a bunker behind the green and missed the birdie putt he needed from 15 feet.

Westwood needed a top five finish at the Ballantine's to stop Germany's Martin Kaymer overtaking him as number one after just a week on top and the win is his first on the European Tour since November 2009.

He has now recorded back-to-back tournament victories following his triumph at the Indonesian Masters last week.

After thunderstorms called an early halt to the third round on Saturday, Westwood was left with 24 holes to play on Sunday but kept his concentration in blustery conditions.

"Professional golf is all about winning and it's great to do it back-to-back two weeks in a row," he said.

"When you're world number one it's always nice to come to a place and play like you're world number one and I think I did do that this week.

"It was very tough out there and to go around without making a bogey, five birdies and 13 pars was a special round of golf I think."

Resuming his third round on Sunday in a tricky position on the 13th, the 38-year-old dropped a shot but responded with birdies on the 14th and 17th before launching his final round charge.

Jimenez had a share of the lead after the third round and put on a fine display of short iron play and putting but ultimately he paid the price for two bogeys on the front nine.

Westwood said he had shared a bottle of wine over dinner with Ryder Cup teammate Jimenez on Saturday and jokingly said to him: "See you tomorrow in a playoff".

The keen football fan said waking up to find out his team Nottingham Forest had won 5-1 on Saturday had spurred him on.

Local fans were given something to cheer as Park Sang-Hyun, sporting dazzling pink trousers, sank a sensational putt from off the green to eagle the 18th and grab third place with 10 under par for the tournament.

Big-hitting US star Dustin Johnson carded a final round 69 to end the tournament in fourth on nine under par, but the testing multi-tiered greens were too much for Ian Poulter and Ernie Els, who both missed the cut.

Lexi Thompson falls short of LPGA history

Lexi Thompson's first opportunity to close out a final-round LPGA lead turned into a humbling bump on professional golf's learning curve.

Two early bogeys left the Coral Springs teen playing catch-up Sunday at the Avnet LPGA Classic in Mobile, Ala. Any hopes of becoming the tour's youngest-ever winner were shattered by consecutive double bogeys at Nos. 14 and 15.

"It's golf and you have these kind of days," Thompson told Golf Channel after signing for a 6-over-par 78. "You've just got to take it and go on to the next tournament, I guess."

Orlando's Maria Hjorth cruised to victory, firing a closing 67 that turned a two-shot deficit into a two-shot edge over Song-Hee Kim. Four birdies in the first seven holes propelled the Swedish pro to her second win in less than five months, having closed out last year by winning the LPGA Tour Championship at Grand Cypress.

"It's fun to really be able to be out there and win again," Hjorth, 37, told an LPGA liaison. "I could have just as well been a mum to Alexis Thompson. They're so young coming out here now."

Thompson, 16, was seeking to supplant Marlene Hagge as the LPGA's youngest champion. Hagge was two weeks past her 18th birthday when she won the 1952 Sarasota Open, then an 18-hole event.

The youngest winner of a multi-round LPGA event is Paula Creamer, who was 18 years, 9 months when she won the 2005 Sybase Classic.

Starting the day tied with Kim for the lead, Thompson quickly dropped back with a bogey at the par-4 first hole. She also bogeyed No.3 when a short par save lipped out, but regained a shot with a birdie at No.5 as Hjorth made her move.

Thompson parred her next eight holes to stay within three shots of Hjorth, but met with calamity when her tee shot at the 149-yard 14th splashed into a greenside pond. That resulted in double bogey, followed by another at No.15 when her second shot caromed off a bulkhead and into the water.

Asked what part of her game betrayed her Sunday, Thompson said: "Pretty much everything. My ballstriking was bad, and my putting wasn't like what I did [Friday and Saturday]. It was not a good day."

Thompson fell to a tie for 19th, nine strokes behind Hjorth, for a paycheck worth $14,715. She now heads home for two weeks before her next start, a Ladies European Tour event in Germany.

USGA accepts 8,000+ applicants for 2011 US Open

The United States Golf Association (USGA) has confirmed it received 8,300 applications by professional and amateur golfers for the 2011 U.S. Open Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

Something new for the USGA was how they accepted the applications for the 11th U.S. Open. Unlike previous years when players would submit a paper application, this year all applications were required to submit their application via the internet. The result? The USGA received 680 applications on the final day (April 27th) including 135 entries in the final hour and one in the final 15 seconds.

Who Are The 8,300 Applicants for the 2011 U.S. Open?

What makes the U.S. Open a great championship is it's open to any professional golfer or amateur with a USGA Handicap Index of 1.4 or better. The 8,300 applicants are made up from the following demographics:

* Applicants came from all 50 US States and the District of Colombia (Washington, DC)
* 752 applicants from 66 foreign countries
* 65 fully exempt players (click here for the list of players fully exempt)
* 9 previous U.S. Open Champions are included in the exempt list

The Qualification Process

Now that the applications have been submitted, the players must qualify. All 8,300 applicants, minus the 65 exempt players, will attempt to move beyond the local qualifying round May 6-19th. This consists of an 18 hole qualifying round at one of 111 sites in the United States.

If a player passes the first test, they will then move to the sectional qualifier. The sectional is 36 holes held at 11 US sites and either Japan or England for the international players. This is the seventh year the USGA is offering the sectional qualifying in international countries.