Martin Kaymer crowned European #1

Martin Kaymer became only the second German to be crowned European Number One after Bernhard Langer by winning The 2010 Race to Dubai.

The 25 year old, the youngest Number One since Ronan Rafferty in 1989 and only the fourth continental European to win the Harry Vardon Trophy after Seve Ballesteros, Robert Karlsson and Langer, had just one hole of the final event, the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World, to play when the year-long Race to Dubai was officially decided.

Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, the only remaining challenger with a week to go, needed a top three finish to have any chance, but closing rounds of 69 and 68 were just too little too late.

Topping The Race to Dubai earned Kaymer an impressive bonus of €1,092,418 from a $7.5 million Bonus Pool that rewards the leading 15 money winners, taking his season’s earnings to €4,461,010 and surpassing Lee Westwood’s record of 12 months ago by over €200,000.

Kaymer said: "It's been a fantastic year I think. All of the goals that I set for myself, for my career, everything happened this year. To win The Race to Dubai, Number One in Europe, and to play The Ryder Cup, and to win a Major.

"And obviously when you win a Major you know that you can win any tournament in the world.

“I am very proud. I am very satisfied with my year, and that round today, my goal was obviously to play as well as possible, to putt 100 per cent in there. And that is what I certainly did. It was not my best round of the week but I really enjoyed that week and I really enjoyed the last round that I played.

“As we walked up the 18th, the announcer was saying all the scores, the PGA Champion, currently Number One in The Race to Dubai, and it sounds pretty good to me. It's a very proud moment.”

McDowell, unable to add the finishing touch he wanted to an incredible season in which he won the US Open Championship and helped regain The Ryder Cup for Europe, said: "It's been a dream season and it just so happened that Martin had an unbelievable season as well.

"It's just been a great year for European golf and I'm just very proud to be part of that.

"My greatest moment was the putt on the 16th (at The Celtic Manor Resort). There's nothing like The Ryder Cup.

"To give Martin a run for his money this week was very good, but things didn't really go my way - it's a golf course which continues to frustrate me.

"I played unbelievably well this weekend, but could barely buy a putt."

Kaymer might well have finished Number One last year but for an August go-kart accident in which he broke three toes and was put out of the game for two months.

He eventually finished third behind Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy, but started his season with victory at the Abu Dhabi Championship and then had a spell he will never forget.

Two months after McDowell had gone to Pebble Beach and become Europe's first US Open Champion since 1970 Kaymer won the US PGA Championship after a play-off with Bubba Watson, then added the KLM Open and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on his next two starts.

The last of those came just six days after he had made his Ryder Cup debut - a winning debut, of course - so he could actually claim four triumphs in a row.

McDowell did well to make it a contest after that, but came up short in the final week.

Not that he allowed it to take the gloss off his year - and he now believes he could become World Number One.

"I know I can get a lot better when I see one of my friends and colleagues Lee Westwood as the world's best player of course I have to believe I can do the same thing."

Karlsson out duels Poulter in the desert

Robert Karlsson overcame Ian Poulter in a play-off to win the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World.

The pair tied on the 14 under par mark of 274 after Karlsson, three behind overnight, played the first three holes in four under and then pitched to three feet for a birdie on the 620 yard last.

They were round in 67 and 70 respectively and so sudden death decided who won the first prize of €910,348.

Both birdied the first extra hole after hitting approaches within five feet, and at the second extra hole Poulter mis-cued his sand wedge approach to leave a 30 foot putt.

Karlsson was precise again, his ball finishing three feet from the cup, and to make matters worse Poulter then picked up a one shot penalty when he dropped his ball on his marker and moved it.

Two putts meant a bogey six for Poulter, but the penalty was irrelevant as Karlsson holed his birdie putt.

The 2008 European Number One, who has suffered a serious eye problem and glandular fever since then, will also remember his start.

From three behind Poulter overnight he birdied the first two holes and then sank an eight iron on the third for an eagle two, just as Martin Kaymer did in the opening round.

World Number One and defending champion Westwood shared third place with Alvaro Quiros a stroke behind, the Spaniard missing a long eagle putt on the 18th and Westwood pulling his second to the hole into water and taking five when a birdie would have made him part of the play-off.

Kaymer and Graeme McDowell, the only two contenders for The Race to Dubai entering the event, finished joint 13th, which earned the 25 year old German - the youngest number one since Ronan Rafferty in 1989 - a bonus of €1,092,418.

McDowell had to finish third in the tournament just to have a chance, but the memories of the US Open Championship and Ryder Cup, of course - softened the blow of just missing out on the top spot.

Karlsson said: "It was a strange day to say the least. To start birdie-birdie-eagle is not what you expect to happen when you are three behind.

"Then there was the one shot penalty. It's not the way you want to win, but these things happen in golf.

“It's a fantastic field, and obviously when we have all of the best players in Europe together, the way it looks now, it's going to be a great field - so to win here is fantastic.”

Poulter, winner of last week’s UBS Hong Kong Open and looking for consecutive wins for the first time in his career, struggled to contain his disappointment.

“A lot of positives to take away, but right now not really seeing them,” he said.

Fisher & Poulter lead after 2 rounds in Dubai

Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter led the way with turbo-charged displays as the elite of European golf jockeyed for position on a day of superb low-scoring in the Dubai World Championship second round on Friday.

In the two-way tussle to finish the season as European number one on Sunday, money-list leader Martin Kaymer opened an eight-shot advantage over Graeme McDowell, second in the money list.

German Kaymer shot a 70 for a seven-under total of 137 while Briton McDowell slumped to a 73 for 145.

Up for grabs for Kaymer and McDowell, the only two players who can top the money-list, is a $1.26 million cheque for winning the tournament plus a $1.5 million bonus for finishing the season as Europe's number one.

"It's not over," said McDowell, who is playing his fifth tournament in five weeks and acknowledged he felt mentally drained. "Going 65-65 at the weekend is not out of the question.

"I just have to rest," the Northern Irishman told reporters. "I have got to somehow go out and relax and have a good time, maybe have a few beers tonight and hang out by the hotel pool."

Irish Open champion Fisher was as relaxed as anyone in the Dubai heat, equaling fellow Briton Lee Westwood's eight-under par course record 64 set last year to finish on 135.

Poulter, bidding for back-to-back titles after his victory in the Hong Kong Open last Sunday, carded a 66 to join compatriot Fisher on nine-under.

World number one Westwood was one stroke adrift in third place after a 67 while fellow Briton Paul Casey (67) also joined the birdie bonanza to take joint fourth spot on 137 with Kaymer and Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee (69).

Wie out of LPGA Tour Championship

Nine of the top 10 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings will play in the season-ending LPGA Tour Championship next week at Grand Cypress in Orlando, Fla.

As expected, Michelle Wie wasn’t on the commitment list released Tuesday by the LPGA. She’s the lone player among the top 10 who isn’t scheduled to play.

Wie withdrew from the Lorena Ochoa Invitational with back pain almost two weeks ago, but her appearance in the LPGA Tour Championship was uncertain even before that. She’s had a long-standing commitment to play in the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters the week after the LPGA Tour Championship. Omega’s one of her sponsors. Her appearance in the LPGA Tour Championship became uncertain when LPGA officials announced late in the summer that they were moving their tournament dates to December, up against final exams at Stanford, where Wie’s a senior, and up against her Dubai appearance.

Wie’s ailing back is healing, with her representatives reporting today that she visited her doctors Monday and is “happy with her progress.” She’s planning to rest and rehab this week and next week with the plan to play in Dubai.

If Wie plays in Dubai in two weeks, it’s sure to draw some flak from fellow pros who think she should support one of the LPGA’s flagship events. The tour’s been on a blitz in Central Florida the past week promoting its season-ending event with players making appearances at Sea World, Disney World, an Orlando Magic basketball game and other venues to create interest. The Rolex No. 1 world ranking and Rolex Player of the Year are among the big prizes up for grabs in the season finale.

Tiger Woods has caught the "Tweeting" bug

Tiger Woods has joined the chorus of athletes Twittering away at fans.

The disgraced golf great began tweeting Nov. 17, shortly after he released an update to the world about how he was coping after his divorce. Tiger's persona is maintained by a well-documented media machine, and we're trying to discern if his tweets are edited or if they're even him.

The usually ultra-private Woods is making himself ultra-accessible (by his standards) and opening fans and followers up to an rarely seen side of him. On Nov. 18 the golf star tweeted, "the best part about phone interviews is getting to wear shorts." (It jokes!)

Of course, it may all be part of Tiger's PR campaign to rehabilitate his image following his much-publicized indiscretions and destroyed marriage. It reminds us of another controversial athlete, LeBron James', own attempts to use Twitter to regulate public opinion.

James regularly answers fans and has even spawned a fake account dedicated to his ego. (A hilarious read.)

Man died after being struck by golf ball

SANFORD, Fla. -- A worker at a central Florida country club is dead after being struck by a golf ball.

Police say Maurice Hayden was doing maintenance work at the Mayfair Country Club in Sanford on Wednesday when he was struck in the temple by a golfer's tee shot.

The 42-year-old man was taken to Central Florida Regional Hospital. Police say he died Thursday after being removed from life support.

Police are calling the incident an accident and say the golfer will not face charges.

Kobe Bryant shows Tiger the way to redemption - WINNING

Kobe Bryant wasn’t about to go there. Not when he controls the message, and what happened seven years ago in a hotel room in Colorado fades from public memory.

That didn’t stop a reporter from trying on the eve of the first anniversary of the Tiger Woods scandal to find out how Bryant thought he was able to overcome his own scandal and regain his stature as a superstar in demand by fans around the NBA.

“I’m not answering that question,” Bryant said earlier this month in Denver.

Nothing new there. Bryant has never talked publicly about what happened between himself and a teenage hotel worker that night, though he did have his attorney read a statement in which he apologized to the woman for his behavior.

While Woods continues to struggle to define his scandal, Bryant for the most part seems to have successfully put his behind him even if the allegations against him were more serious. The sexual assault charges were dropped, he paid to settle a civil suit brought by the alleged victim and both sides have kept quiet ever since.

As a strategy, it seems to be working. His image has recovered enough that he earns millions of dollars a year in endorsement deals and his jersey is a top seller not only at home but in Europe and China.

That may be largely because Bryant found a way to do something Woods has yet to do – keep on winning.

“Kobe went back onto the court and returned to his all-star status. He brought back the legions of basketball fans first,” said Michael Kempner, president of MWW Group public relations in East Rutherford, N.J. “Tiger hasn’t, and in many ways people are reveling in his mediocrity.”

Adding two more titles to his haul since the charges in Colorado has paid off nicely for Bryant. He signed a contract extension in April worth nearly $90 million over three years to become the highest paid player in the NBA, and Forbes magazine estimated that his total annual earnings come close to $50 million when endorsements are figured in.

“Yes, Kobe Bryant had an incident,” said Ronn Torossian, president of 5W Public Relations in New York. “But the incident didn’t define Kobe Bryant. He has recovered, just like many others have recovered.”

Indeed, the mention of his name is no longer followed by talk about the charges. If anything, discussion now revolves around whether he may one day be regarded as the greatest player in the game.

“It’s unbelievable if you think back to that time because the allegations were far more serious than the ones facing Tiger,” said Ralph Cindrich, a sports attorney and agent in Pittsburgh. “Kobe is an example of what can happen if someone comes back, conducts himself properly and says the right things.”

It’s a template some think Woods might want to follow as he tries to put a sex scandal of his own behind him a year after his private escapades were revealed. There is one difference: Bad as they were, the accusations against Bryant came from one woman. Woods is now a divorced man because of numerous reports of serial cheating.

In Bryant’s case, his attorney read the following statement on his client’s behalf:

“I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year. Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did.”

Bryant immediately returned to basketball – and winning.

Woods relayed his regrets in a globally televised message: “I want to say to each of you, simply and directly, I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in. …”

As for winning, it hasn’t happened.

“It all starts with winning and the popularity goes from there,” Cindrich said. “It’s the same way with a Michael Vick or a Ben Roethlisberger. People tend to forgive and forget when they win.”

Once one of the NFL’s biggest and highest paid stars, Vick was broke, reviled and his career was in ruins after he served 18 months in federal prison for running a dogfighting ring.

Now he’s on top again, quarterbacking for the Philadelphia Eagles, and could become perhaps the biggest free agent on the market next year.

Roethlisberger returned to the Steelers on Oct. 17 following a four-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. He was accused of, but not charged with, sexually assaulting a Georgia college student in March. Since his return, the Steelers are 3-2 (6-3 overall), including losses to two of the best teams in the league – New England and New Orleans.

Woods and Bryant went to dinner in Orlando last year before the golfer’s scandal broke, with Bryant reportedly trying to find out how Woods handled life in a fishbowl.

Someday they may have even more in common if Woods can regain his dominance on the golf course.

“I think America loves to build stars, knock stars down a little bit and then build them back up,” said David Schwab, a vice president at Octagon who specializes in offering celebrity strategy for brands. “You certainly saw that with Kobe.”