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The rehab program for Tiger Woods's surgically repaired left knee is proceeding well, Woods told fans in his tigerwoods.com newsletter.
"The knee is progressing." Woods said. "I'm working hard every day and there have been no setbacks. I've actually started to do a little chipping and putting, but no full swings. That's not going to happen until early next year."
Woods, who said this month he plans to return for next year's Masters Tournament in April if his knee allows, has not played since he had ACL surgery following his dramatic U.S. Open win at Torrey Pines in June. He was off his feet for much of the summer, but now is able to walk without pain, and he has resumed many of his endorsement appearances, as well as fundraising for the Tiger Woods Foundation, which helps young people through scholarship and character-development programs.
In his newsletter, Woods updated fans on his recent whereabouts, including his course-design project in Mexico, his Block Party fundraiser in Anaheim, Calif., and the Buick outing which brought him back to Torrey Pines, as a caddie.
"It was the first time I returned since I won the U.S. Open last June," Woods said. "While it was great to be back, it was a little harder to reminisce than I thought. I was shocked to see what the course looked like without grandstands. I hadn't seen it like that since junior golf."
Woods also thanked a number of fellow athletes and celebrities who've helped him out at recent events while he's still unable to play golf. Fred Couples and Chris Riley joined him at a clinic for the Block Party (while chef Mario Batali grilled the steaks), and Anthony Kim and John Cook pitched in at a Nike outing. As for Derek Jeter beating him at video games, that's clearly still eating at him.
"During the filming of the TV commercial, we played a new EA boxing game Facebreakers," Woods said. "I beat [Jeter] the first time; he got me the second. The crew had plenty of video and pictures, but we weren't leaving. You can't have a tie! He won the last game and gave me a hard time, but that's OK. I would have done the same."
Read Tiger Woods' complete newsletter at tigerwoods.com.
Hole No. 1
Par 4, 346 yards
- Formerly hole No. 10
- Pine Lakes opens with three shorter and straight holes purposely designed by Craig Schreiner to build the golfers' confidence at the beginning of the round
- Risk and reward" hole as low handicappers can choose to hit over two prominent bunkers that guard the green in the front while high handicappers can choose safer elevated grass approach on the right side
- One of the largest greens on the course
- Tee boxes were shifted north
- Pond was enlarged
- Existing bunkers were enlarged and lowered with carom feature added to develop alternate route to green
Hole No. 2
Par 3, 193 yards
- Formerly hole No. 11
- Golfers tee off into the wind and negotiate an enlarged water hazard to reach the green
- Bunkers flank both sides of the green with a natural area located behind the green
- Approach was shifted and raised to offset deeper bunkers
- Large mound was added to separate the hole from No. 1
- Tree corridors were kept intact from the old routing
- Tee boxes were relocated to the left
- Green was enlarged and raised two feet
- Pond was expanded and lowered in front of green
- Natural grass planted around water for animal habitat and to assist the run-off
Hole No. 3
Par 4, 461 yards
- Formerly hole No. 12
- Was a par 5 but was converted into the course's longest par 4
- Picturesque hole is reminiscent of Augusta National
- Wind from behind will help with extra length on shots
- Long second shot required to hit green in regulation
- Landing area was raised and widened for more emphasis on longer tee shots
- Expanded pond to the right of green was enlarged and extended towards the tee
- Green was lowered and shifted closer to the pond
- Golfers are provided with strategic options of going for the pin over the corner of the water or using the shaped left side of the fairway to guide the ball to the green safely
Hole No. 4
Par 4, 349 yards
- A new addition to Pine Lakes as it replaces hole No. 17
- One of two new holes on the course as the 17th hole was eliminated to accommodate new entrance from the west
- Hole design is a short dogleg left that wraps around a large, natural wetlands area that is inhabited by deer, hawks and raccoons
- No bunkers on the hole offsets the wetlands that protects the left side of the hole
Hole No.5
Par 5, 524 yards
- A new addition to Pine Lakes as it replaces hole No. 18 which was also eliminated to accommodate new entrance from the west
- Shares the natural wetlands area with hole No. 4
- Dogleg left will challenge the player who wishes to reach this short par 5 in two
- Most demanding tee shot on the course as the golfer's tee shot must safely cross wetlands to reach fairway
- Hole is both "heroic" and "strategic" depending on how it is played. The second shot requires a decision to either fly the approach hazard and gain access to the smallest green on the course or safely layup and use the third shot to make the tiny green
- The approach bunker at the second landing area is similar to fairway hazards on Robert White's original course (No. 4 and No. 15)
- A large and deep greenside bunker protects the green from any shot that avoids the approach bunker on the right
Hole No. 6
Par 4, 409 yards
- Formerly hole No.13
- This par 4 was lengthened and converted into a less severe dogleg right
- Pond on the right was enlarged and made visible from the landing area that was raised four feet and sloped left
- Large hollow was added on the left side of the fairway to add difficulty to shots that are pulled left
- The fairway is slightly domed to add difficulty in stopping the ball on the center right side, which happens to be the best angle to approach the green
- Schreiner's design technique is called "raise the high and lower the low"
Hole No. 7
Par 4, 389 yards
- Formerly hole No. 14
- Tee boxes were shifted and extended back to add distance and increase the dogleg right
- The green was raised three feet and pushed back to add length
- One of three Pine Lakes holes with fairway bunkers as two bunkers were added on the left side to frame the tee shot
- Green designed with a surrounding basin to push the golfer's good shot towards the pin
Hole No. 8
Par 3, 218 yards
- Formerly hole No. 15
- Hole was lengthened to beome the course's longest par 3
- Approach shaped to add more strategy to shots that fall short of the green
- Largest green on the course was raised two feet and slopes from front to back
- Bunker on the left side of green was lowered and enlarged
Hole No. 9
Par 4, 375 yards
- Formerly hole No. 16
- Dogleg left featuring dramatic backdrop views of the clubhouse and Myrtle Beach skyline
- Hole was modified by enlarging the pond and raising the landing area four feet
- Landing area slopes to the left towards the pond and the green
- Steepness of the left side of the fairway will force many balls into the water if golfers try to take shortcut to the hole over the left side
- Schreiner quadrupled the size of the pond
- Native grasses and vegetation surround lake
- Bunkers flank the green on both sides
- Green was raised one foot and bunkers were lowered by one foot
Hole No. 10
Par 5, 565 yards
- Formerly hole No. 1
- New forward tee added
- Landing area raised three feet
- Three bunkers guard green; approach green in front lowered and two bunkers that flank the green
- Green was restored to original size and raised one foot
Hole No. 11
Par 3, 103 yards
- Formerly hole No.7 which was considered the "signature hole of old Pine Lakes" with picturesque backdrop and mimosas and chowder served to golfers
- Another hole that is reminiscent of Augusta National
- Schreiner enlarged pond and extended the water closer to the green
- New forward tee box added
- Golfer must negotiate tee shot over water onto green
- Green restored to original size
- Raised bunker added to right side of the green
- Pond continues on left side of the green while bunker right of green presents a challenge. If pin is positioned on the left side of the green, errant shots might roll into pond. If pin is positioned up front on the green, short tee shots might roll back into water
Hole No. 12
Par 4, 417 yards
- Formerly hole No. 8
- New forward tee box added
- Another "risk or reward" hole as a successful approach shot down the middle reaches the green while a shot that travels left of the fairway risks the water hazard
- Pond was enlarged and made visible from landing area
- Landing area was raised three feet and slopes towards the green
- Schreiner moved green back 50 yards and replicated it at a higher elevation
- Large waste bunker was added on the right and mined for native sand for course bunkers
Hole No. 13
Par 4, 428 yards
- Formerly hole No. 9
- Tee boxes were located further west to reduce the sharp dogleg right
- New forward tee box
- Landing area was raised four feet and slopes towards the green
- Greenside bunkers restored and lowered
- Pond was enlarged and connects two original water features
- Green was restored to original size and raised two feet
Hole No. 14
Par 4, 440 yards
- Formerly hole No. 3
- Tee boxes were shifted south and back.
- New forward tee box added
- Landing area raised
- Pond enlarged and made more visible and must be negotiated on second shot
- Green was resorted to original size and raised one foot
- Mounds were added at the rear of the green to screen the course from Kings Highway
Hole No. 15
Par 4, 388 yards
- Formerly hole No. 4
- New forward tee added
- Landing area was raised three feet and slopes towards the green
- Approach was extended to the right of the green to offset the deeper bunker on the left
- Large waste bunker introduced on right side of fairway to create "heroic carry" to optimal fairway position
Hole No. 16
Par 3, 187 yards
- Formerly hole No. 5
- Tee boxes were enlarged in all directions
- New forward tee box added
- Greens were restored to original size and raised one foot
- Bunker on the left side of the green was lowered two feet
- Pond on the right was enlarged and extended closer to the green
Hole No. 17
Par 4, 412 yards
- Formerly hole No. 6
- New forward tee box added
- Tribute to Robert White with definite St. Andrews feel to the hole
- Fairway extended after the elimination of blind water hazard on the right
- Pond in front of tee boxes was extended further left
- Approach and greenside bunkers were restored and deepened two feet
- Green enlarged to the south and restored to original size
Hole No. 18
Par 4, 450 yards
- Formerly hole No. 2
- New forward tee box added
- The ever-changing wind direction can make challenge tee shots
- Landing area was raised and softened so tee shots are contained
- Pond enlarged and extended towards the tee and green
- Approach area was extended to the right and rear of the green
- Green was restored to original size and raised one foot
- Bunkers located on the left and right of the green deepened two feet
The golf course was constructed as a complement to the famed Ocean Forest Hotel and was to be a playground for the rich and famous. Upon the destruction of the hotel, the golf course at Pine Lakes was the only thing remaining. The course has been remodeled over the years and has evolved from the original 27-hole layout to an 18-hole course which is currently on the National Register of Historical Places.
For the new era of Pine Lakes, Craig Schreiner has been contracted to redesign the course. His passion for the game and its architecture is a natural fit in maintaining the historical integrity associated with Robert White’s original design.
Highlights of the new Pine Lakes:
- Maintain the Scottish theme in the golf course architecture and operations
- Corridors of 16 former holes will remain unchanged with two new holes built on north end of property to accommodate a new entrance
- The corridors of the nine holes constructed in the 1920’s will stay almost entirely in tact (new holes 10-18)
- SeaDrawf Paspalum grass will be introduced to Myrtle Beach. This type of grass can be irrigated with water high in salt and requires less irrigation and fertilizer than traditional varieties
- Bunker sand will be mined from the site, similar to the process for Scottish links courses
- A nursery was created so that landscaping materials could be moved and replanted around the course (almost 100% survival rate)
- Completely new pump station and irrigation system will be installed
- Contour changes to have been established to channel storm water into additional catch basins with a completely new underground drainage system
- New cart paths will be installed
- Grassing is scheduled to begin in May 2008 and followed by a grow-in stage with the re-opening of Pine Lakes Country Club in March 2009
The renovated course will have a similar look and feel to the "old" course because the majority of holes will not be surrounded by homes on both sides. This design feature will compliment the openness of the original front nine holes throughout the new front nine holes located on land to the west of the existing course. The easy walk from each green to next tee will be a contiguous feature that reflects this classic style.
PALM COAST, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Palmer made a 10-foot birdie on the 18th hole Sunday to break out of a six-way tie for the lead and win the Ginn sur Mer Classic, earning a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
Palmer, who was at No. 143 on the money list with two tournaments remaining, had to call a penalty on himself and made bogey on the 10th hole, then took double bogey on the next hole with a tee shot into the water.
But he rebounded with a birdie he desperately needed on the final hole at Ginn Ocean Hammock Resort for his second career victory.
Michael Letzig, the 54-hole leader, needed a birdie on the par-5 18th to force a playoff. But his wedge spun 35 feet down the slope and he had to settle for par and a 73 to finish one shot behind.
Also tying for second were George McNeill, Nicholas Thompson, Ken Duke and Vaughn Taylor, who was at No. 129 on the money list and earned enough to secure his card for next year.
The final tournament next week is at Disney, and the top 125 keep full privileges for 2009.
The fourth round twice was suspended because of bad weather, which didn't help anyone break out of the pack. Seven players had at least a share of the lead at one point, and there was a six-way tie during the first stoppage in play.
Palmer appeared to have control with a two-shot lead until he reached the 10th green. He noticed his ball move slightly after he addressed his 30-foot birdie attempt, and after calling a rules official, assessed himself a one-shot penalty and made bogey.
He pulled his next tee shot into the water for double bogey to fall out of the lead, but rejoined the back with an up-and-down from the bunker on the par-5 13th. Palmer made pars the rest of the way, including a nervy two-putt from 40 feet on the 17th, then laid up on the closing hole and stuffed his wedge into 10 feet for the winning putt.
Palmer finished at 7-under 281 and earned $828,000. It was the fifth time in six events during the Fall Series that a player outside the top 125 on the money list won a tournament. The exception was Zach Johnson, who was at No. 125 when he won in Texas.
As crowded as it was at the top, it could have been worse.
John Huston, at No. 168 on the money list, hit his tee shot into the water on the 16th and made bogey. Mark Wilson took two shots to get out of a greenside bunker on the 16th and made double bogey.
Robert Allenby, the runner-up at Turning Stone by one shot, had a chance to take the lead on the par-5 18th until he hit his wedge long and into a back bunker. He blasted out 40 feet long and wound up with a bogey.
Allenby and Huston were in the group at 5-under 283. That group included Brian Gay, who was at No. 33 on the money list and earned enough to move into the top 30, giving him a chance to earn his first trip to the Masters if he stays there after Disney.
(AP) — With no golf on his schedule, John Daly says he went to North Carolina to have fun with some friends.
What followed was a night in jail to sober up, a photo of Daly in orange coveralls with his eyes half-open, and the kind of publicity that seems to accompany the two-time major champion no matter where he goes.
``Nothing is going right in my life right now,'' Daly said in a telephone interview Sunday. ``I'm going through a hell of a divorce. I haven't seen my son. It was an unfortunate incident, but it's a joke what people are saying. I take full responsibility for what happened, but it wasn't that big of a deal.''
According to Winston-Salem police, Daly appeared ``extremely intoxicated and uncooperative'' when he was found outside a Hooters restaurant early Oct. 27. With no other means of transportation, he was taken to the Forsyth County jail for 24 hours to get sober.
Daly said it could have been avoided if his friends had realized he tends to sleep with his eyes open when he's tired, stressed and has been drinking. He said the driver of his private bus, parked near Hooters, panicked when he saw Daly and called the paramedics.
``If I had seen someone like that, I probably would have done the same thing,'' he said. ``They were only trying to protect me.''
But he said he was not arrested, nor was he thrown out of Hooters. The restaurant closed more than an hour before police arrived.
``The thing I want people to know is when I called my girlfriend at 11:30 p.m., I was going back to the bus to go sleep,'' Daly said. ``I'm not going to say I wasn't drunk. I did have a few drinks. I said to them, 'I'm tired, I'm drunk and I'm going to bed.'''
Daly said his friends woke him up about 2 a.m.
``The bus driver called 911 because my eyes were open,'' Daly said. ``I said, 'What's going on?' He said, 'We thought you were dead.' Anybody who knows me ... when I'm tired, I sleep with my eyes open. They know it takes awhile to wake me up.''
Daly said he wanted to go to a hotel, but was told someone sober had to be with him. That's when he was introduced to a North Carolina law called ``Assistance to Intoxicated Persons.''
``It's like a public service,'' Winston-Salem police Lt. C.A. Lowder said Sunday. ``The person is taken into our custody for their own welfare due to impairment or intoxication. It's not a criminal offense.''
Daly said he does not know why he was put into orange coveralls, or why his photo was released to the public.
``The picture looks like I'm drunk,'' he said. ``I wasn't drunk when they took the picture. The picture people are seeing is me half-asleep.''
The night in jail - not to mention the picture - is the latest in a troubling trend for Daly this year. He has not had his PGA Tour card since his 2006, when his two-year exemption expired from his last victory, the Buick Invitational in 2004.
He has made only five cuts in 17 starts on the PGA Tour, his best finish a tie for 40th in the Viking Classic after rib surgery.
Daly hired swing coach Butch Harmon at the start of the year, but Harmon quit after a week in Tampa, Fla., when Daly spent a rain delay in a Hooters tent, then returned to play with Tampa Bay Bucs coach Jon Gruden as his caddie.
A week later, he was disqualified from the Arnold Palmer Invitational for missing his pro-am time.
Daly said he did not sign up for Q-school, instead wanting to earn his way back to the PGA Tour by playing well enough in Europe to reach the top 50 in the world ranking.
He currently is No. 774 in the world.
Daly played five European tour events this year, his best a tie for 23rd in the Italian Open.
He once had so many sponsor exemptions on the PGA Tour that he had to turn some of them down. But after two years of poor play that Daly said was brought on by injuries, those exemptions are hard to find.
His endorsements are drying up, and Daly fears his sponsorship with Hooters could be the next to go.
``The world perceives that I passed out at Hooters, that I was thrown out at Hooters,'' he said. ``I was asleep on the bus. I didn't pass out at Hooters. I've never had an incident at Hooters. I hate that their name is brought into it this way. They'll probably have to terminate me because of the negative publicity.''
Meanwhile, Daly is looking for a place to play next year, with Europe his top consideration.
``He's looking at his options,'' said Bud Martin, his agent at SFX Sports. ``In Europe, he's always enjoyed playing over there. I think he would be welcomed warmly by the European tour.''
Daly said even if he could get into PGA Tour events, he could not play enough in a row to build confidence and momentum.
``If I can't get four or five in a row, it's not worth it for me to try to get those exemptions,'' he said. ``I need to play three or four weeks to get into a rhythm. I'm not like Tiger. I can't play one week and win.''
As for the fallout from his night of fun in North Carolina?
``Just tell my true fans that I love them,'' he said. ``If they give up on me, I'll understand. But I've still got to play golf. I've still got to earn a living. I'm not sure I'll ever be back to where I was, but I'm going to keep trying.''
(AP) — With no golf on his schedule, John Daly says he went to North Carolina to have fun with some friends.
What followed was a night in jail to sober up, a photo of Daly in orange coveralls with his eyes half-open, and the kind of publicity that seems to accompany the two-time major champion no matter where he goes.
``Nothing is going right in my life right now,'' Daly said in a telephone interview Sunday. ``I'm going through a hell of a divorce. I haven't seen my son. It was an unfortunate incident, but it's a joke what people are saying. I take full responsibility for what happened, but it wasn't that big of a deal.''
According to Winston-Salem police, Daly appeared ``extremely intoxicated and uncooperative'' when he was found outside a Hooters restaurant early Oct. 27. With no other means of transportation, he was taken to the Forsyth County jail for 24 hours to get sober.
Daly said it could have been avoided if his friends had realized he tends to sleep with his eyes open when he's tired, stressed and has been drinking. He said the driver of his private bus, parked near Hooters, panicked when he saw Daly and called the paramedics.
``If I had seen someone like that, I probably would have done the same thing,'' he said. ``They were only trying to protect me.''
But he said he was not arrested, nor was he thrown out of Hooters. The restaurant closed more than an hour before police arrived.
``The thing I want people to know is when I called my girlfriend at 11:30 p.m., I was going back to the bus to go sleep,'' Daly said. ``I'm not going to say I wasn't drunk. I did have a few drinks. I said to them, 'I'm tired, I'm drunk and I'm going to bed.'''
Daly said his friends woke him up about 2 a.m.
``The bus driver called 911 because my eyes were open,'' Daly said. ``I said, 'What's going on?' He said, 'We thought you were dead.' Anybody who knows me ... when I'm tired, I sleep with my eyes open. They know it takes awhile to wake me up.''
Daly said he wanted to go to a hotel, but was told someone sober had to be with him. That's when he was introduced to a North Carolina law called ``Assistance to Intoxicated Persons.''
``It's like a public service,'' Winston-Salem police Lt. C.A. Lowder said Sunday. ``The person is taken into our custody for their own welfare due to impairment or intoxication. It's not a criminal offense.''
Daly said he does not know why he was put into orange coveralls, or why his photo was released to the public.
``The picture looks like I'm drunk,'' he said. ``I wasn't drunk when they took the picture. The picture people are seeing is me half-asleep.''
The night in jail - not to mention the picture - is the latest in a troubling trend for Daly this year. He has not had his PGA Tour card since his 2006, when his two-year exemption expired from his last victory, the Buick Invitational in 2004.
He has made only five cuts in 17 starts on the PGA Tour, his best finish a tie for 40th in the Viking Classic after rib surgery.
Daly hired swing coach Butch Harmon at the start of the year, but Harmon quit after a week in Tampa, Fla., when Daly spent a rain delay in a Hooters tent, then returned to play with Tampa Bay Bucs coach Jon Gruden as his caddie.
A week later, he was disqualified from the Arnold Palmer Invitational for missing his pro-am time.
Daly said he did not sign up for Q-school, instead wanting to earn his way back to the PGA Tour by playing well enough in Europe to reach the top 50 in the world ranking.
He currently is No. 774 in the world.
Daly played five European tour events this year, his best a tie for 23rd in the Italian Open.
He once had so many sponsor exemptions on the PGA Tour that he had to turn some of them down. But after two years of poor play that Daly said was brought on by injuries, those exemptions are hard to find.
His endorsements are drying up, and Daly fears his sponsorship with Hooters could be the next to go.
``The world perceives that I passed out at Hooters, that I was thrown out at Hooters,'' he said. ``I was asleep on the bus. I didn't pass out at Hooters. I've never had an incident at Hooters. I hate that their name is brought into it this way. They'll probably have to terminate me because of the negative publicity.''
Meanwhile, Daly is looking for a place to play next year, with Europe his top consideration.
``He's looking at his options,'' said Bud Martin, his agent at SFX Sports. ``In Europe, he's always enjoyed playing over there. I think he would be welcomed warmly by the European tour.''
Daly said even if he could get into PGA Tour events, he could not play enough in a row to build confidence and momentum.
``If I can't get four or five in a row, it's not worth it for me to try to get those exemptions,'' he said. ``I need to play three or four weeks to get into a rhythm. I'm not like Tiger. I can't play one week and win.''
As for the fallout from his night of fun in North Carolina?
``Just tell my true fans that I love them,'' he said. ``If they give up on me, I'll understand. But I've still got to play golf. I've still got to earn a living. I'm not sure I'll ever be back to where I was, but I'm going to keep trying.''
When you hear the words "Hooters," "John Daly" and "extremely intoxicated" in the same sentence, you know where this story is going.
In the latest chapter of Daly's longtime struggle with alcohol abuse, he was held overnight in a North Carolina jail after passing out at a Hooters restaurant, according to a statement released by Winston-Salem police on Wednesday.
Police officers were called to the Hooters at 120 Hanes Square Circle in Winston-Salem at 2:17 a.m. Sunday. When police arrived, Daly, who had passed out at the restaurant, was already being treated by emergency medical workers, according to police reports. Emergency workers said Daly refused to go to a hospital.
According to police, Daly "appeared extremely intoxicated and uncooperative." Daly again refused to go to the hospital and was eventually asked to leave by Hooters employees, police said.
Because Daly had no transportation, police said they held him in custody at a local jail until he sobered up. Daly was photographed by police but does not appear to have been charged with any crime.
This is the latest in a series of headlines about the long-hitting star, who came from nowhere to win the 1991 PGA Championship. This year, he made a bizarre appearance at the British Open, where he accused his former coach Butch Harmon of lying about Daly's alcohol abuse and then struggled to break 90, and he played a shirtless round in Missouri for a local TV crew, which became a YouTube hit.
29 October 2008 (08:05)
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| Phil Mickelson © Action Images |
With the US golf industry "stagnant," Phil Mickelson revealed on Wednesday that he may start playing in Europe where prize money will be significantly boosted next year in the "Race to Dubai."
The American three-time Major winner said the game was not growing in the United States and professional golfers needed to adapt by playing more internationally.
With this in mind, the world number two has his sights set on the European Tour, where he needs to play 12 events to become a member.
This will give him the chance to qualify for the season-ending Dubai World Championship tournament, where $20 million will be at stake.
Mickleson, who is preparing to defend his HSBC Champions title in Shanghai next week, made the comment when asked if he would like to see next month's Singapore Open become a European Tour event, as has been suggested.
"It would be very helpful for me because I love playing in Singapore," he said in a telephone interview.
"Because of that ... if it were to become a European Tour event it would be great for me as it would be included as one of the now 12 events that you need to play to become a European Tour member.
"Although I haven't yet joined (the European Tour), it is something I am certainly considering."
The European Tour's reorganisation of its schedule next year, which culminates in Dubai, is aimed at redressing the balance of the world's biggest names playing on the USPGA Tour.
The key to this is the "Race to Dubai" format whereby the top 60 will qualify for what is billed as the richest tournament in the world and held at the Jumeirah Golf Estates course from November 19-22.
It will have a prize fund of ten million dollars and a first prize of $1.6 million.
A bonus pool of ten million dollars will also be shared by the top 15 players in the Race to Dubai after the tournament, with the winner taking away another two million dollars.
"I think Dubai has taken one of the giant leaps to making the game of golf more global in the quality of events," said Mickelson, adding that there had been a number of contributing factors that made international golf more attractive.
"Certainly, the dollar weakening over the past few years has made foreign currencies much stronger, which makes the purses much larger, so there's been a lot of international wealth being created," he said.
"The US golf industry has been stagnant for quite some time so all of our growth has been occurring on a global basis.
"As a professional golfer we have to adapt to that by playing more internationally because that is where the opportunities are and that's where they will continue to grow.
"So I look forward to having opportunities to continue to play more internationally and I understand that that is going to be an important part of being an international golfer."
The 38-year-old, who has won twice on the US Tour this year, added that he hoped other golfers recognised the importance of not just playing more overseas but helping popularise the game in under-exploited markets.
"The States' market is stagnant so the more opportunities we can have where top players play throughout the world and expose those places to golf I think will help grow the game," he said.
"That's an important part of what we do. The (season-ending) FedEx Cup ending in September has given us much more opportunity to do that now."
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.(AP) Cameron Beckman had the feeling once before, seven long years ago.
That was the only other time he had won on the PGA Tour.
Once again, he found the reason, and the feeling, indescribable.
``It's just been a tough year,'' said Beckman, one of the many journeyman players who rarely find themselves on the leaderboard, let alone at the top. ``I honestly was thinking about quitting the game. That's how bad I felt. I can't explain to you how good I feel right now. I don't know what it was and why I did it, but I just felt good all day.''
The 38-year-old Beckman tapped in a par putt on the second playoff hole Sunday to complete a big comeback and beat Kevin Sutherland in the Frys.com Open.
Beckman, 176th on the money list and 447th in the world ranking entering the tournament, had skipped eight weeks this season because of back problems and was in danger of losing his tour card. He already had filled out his application for qualifying school, a process he knows all to well.
``I sat down with my wife and said, 'What do you think?''' Beckman said. ``I honestly was just trying to finish in the top 150 so I'd get to the (qualifying school) finals.''
With the victory, worth $900,000, he's exempt for the next two years.
``He was playing with a lot more pressure than I was,'' Sutherland said.
Beckman was four shots behind Sutherland at the turn, then made birdies on five of the next seven holes. Sutherland missed putts of 13 and 9 feet that would have won it at the end of regulation and on the first playoff hole, also the 18th.
The second playoff hole was the 464-yard, par-4 17th, and it was a nightmare for Sutherland. His second shot sailed far to the right over a cart path and into the dirt. His third shot went over the green and down a hill.
Beckman, meanwhile, hit his second shot 6 1/2 feet from the hole. He just missed the putt, and the tap-in gave him his second PGA Tour victory. His first was the Southern Farm Bureau Classic in 2001.
``I don't know, I just had a calmness about me this week, and it just happened,'' Beckman said. ``It's just like the last time I won. It just kind of happened. It's strange. I don't know what it is.''
While many players were scrambling to finish high enough to earn full exempt status, Sutherland had no such pressure. He entered ranked 32nd on the earnings list and already had qualified for next year's Masters and British Open.
``I feel good about how I played. A second-place finish is nothing to sneeze at,'' Sutherland said, ``but right now it's a little hard to see that through the disappointment.''
It was the second playoff loss for Sutherland this year. He and Sergio Garcia were beaten by Vijay Singh at The Barclays on Aug. 24.
``This one seems a little harder than Barclays for some reason,'' Sutherland said. ``I had a nice lead on the back side, and it was really nothing that I did wrong. I guess the bogey on 16 hurt. But Cameron played terrific.''
Beckman made the turn at 13 under, then stormed back with birdies on the 10th, 11th, 14th, 15th and 16th holes.
He finally tied it at 18 under when Sutherland missed a 6 1/2-foot par putt on the par-3 16th, snapping his 53-hole streak without a bogey. Beckman finished with a final-round 63, and Sutherland had a 66.
Australian Mathew Goggin closed with a 63 to finish third at 17-under 263. Defending champion Mike Weir also had a 63 to wind up tied with J.J. Henry (64) and second-round leader Arron Oberholser (66) at 14 under.
Sunday was the warmest day yet, with a high near 90 degrees, in what was a perpetually sunny four days of play on the 7,115-yard Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club.
The Frys event, in its second year, was the fifth of seven stops on the tour's Fall Series.
CASTELLON, Spain(AP) Sergio Garcia picked up his first European win in over three years on his home course Sunday and immediately dedicated the three-shot victory in the Castello Masters to the hospitalized Seve Ballesteros.
Garcia closed with a 4-under 67 for a four-day total of 20-under 264 at the Club de Campo del Mediterraneo golf course where he has played since childhood and his father is the club professional. Sweden's Peter Hedblom (66) pulled even early but settled for second after a late bogey.
Garcia immediately turned the attention to Ballesteros, who remains in a Madrid hospital following brain surgery Friday to remove a malignant tumor. Ballesteros remains in stable but serious condition in the intensive care unit of the La Paz hospital.
``I couldn't help but think about Seve,'' Garcia said. ``I'm sending all my love to him and his family and hope he recovers soon. I hope this victory helps him to get a little better.''
Alexander Noren of Sweden took third after a closing 65 left him at 15-under and five behind Garcia, whose last European win was the 2005 European Masters.
``It just feels very special and means so much,'' the 28-year-old Garcia said. ``Just getting the tournament here was special for me and my family but to play the way I did and win it is awesome.
``I didn't play amazing and when Peter had such a great start I thought these guys were not making it easy for me.''
Garcia started well with a birdie at the first, but Hedblom matched that and ran off three more birdies over the next three holes to pull within one. The Swede eventually pulled even at 16-under when Garcia failed to save an up-and-down at the par-3 No. 6.
Garcia rolled in from eight feet for a birdie at the next hole and birdied again at No. 8 to make the turn with a 2-stroke lead.
The players matched birdies at the 13th and 16th, but Hedblom bogeyed the par-4 No. 17 to fall three back.
``On the back nine I felt I had it under control and had a lot of chances and putts but didn't make that many,'' Garcia said.
Posted at 12:22 PM by Michael Walker Jr. | Categories: Tiger Woods
Despite General Motors’ sales slump, the car company appears unlikely to lay off one of its most high-profile workers, Buick-endorser Tiger Woods, according to Bloomberg News.
 Bloomberg reports that Woods’s agent Mark Steinberg has started talking to General Motors about extending Woods’s endorsement deal with Buick past 2009. Woods appears in commercials for the car company, as well as other promotions (like last week when Woods caddied for a Buick sweepstakes winner at Torrey Pines). Woods also has a large Buick logo plastered on his bag, and he rarely misses a tournament that has “Buick” in its name. That's no small bonus since tournaments without Tiger are treated like minor league baseball games: Great fun and “man, you can really get close to the players,” but not the real thing.
Buick, which has had an endorsement agreement with the world's No. 1-ranked golfer since 1999, has no plans "right now'" to scale back its golf sponsorships, [GM marketing manager Larry] Peck said in a telephone interview. The company's stock has dropped more than 74 percent this year, to $6.19 at yesterday's close, and GM has cut 53,000 union workers since 2005.
Because of that, Steinberg said in a telephone interview that he wants to find out if it "makes sense to continue" beyond 2009, when the contract expires.
"I want to see where they are, and they want to see where we are," Steinberg said.
He added that he wouldn't call his initial talks with Peck "a renewal conversation."
"It was an early conversation about the relationship and when we might begin to talk about if it makes sense to continue and whether there will be an extension," the agent said. "That's the best way to put it. We haven't started any conversations about the future."
Peck said the company has no desire to sever its ties with Woods, who recently topped BusinessWeek magazine's list of the "Most Powerful People in Sports."
Neither General Motors or Woods's agent would disclose how much Buick pays Woods. Sports Illustrated estimated that Woods’s yearly income in 2007 was $127 million, with $105 million in endorsements and almost $22 million in tournament winnings.
(Photo: Robert Beck/SI)
Posted at 1:36 PM by Michael Walker Jr. | Categories: Tiger Woods
In a revealing interview with ESPN, Tiger Woods said that he is “very confident” he’ll return from knee surgery in time to compete in next year’s Masters, which begins April 9.
“I have six months off from the surgery,” Woods said, explaining his timetable for returning to competitive golf. “That takes me to January, then four months [before the Masters]. Ten months, that’s a long time.”
Woods added that the typical recovery of football players from similar ACL surgery is six to nine months.
“If they can do that in football, I hope I can do it in golf,” Woods said.
His left knee, which now shows just a tiny scar from his June surgery, is pain-free, Woods said, although he still cannot rotate the knee, which makes swinging a golf club impossible. He said he still needs to let the ligament heal and won’t swing a club until next year. Exactly when depends on when his surgeons let him. Right now, his rehabilitation consists primarily of weights, cardio exercises and swimming. The entire recovery time will be two years, Woods said, but after six months the ligament is 85 percent healed.
Pressed to give a return date (Bay Hill? Doral?), Woods said he didn’t know and that as an athlete, not knowing was frustrating. In addition to the uncertain return date, Woods said he still would have to “ramp up” his game to get it in tournament shape. He maintained, as always, that he would never enter a tournament he didn’t believe he could win.
“I’d like to be back soon, but I don’t know when soon is,” Woods said.
The arrival of Tiger and Elin’s second child has a much firmer date, sometime in February, than his return to golf. Woods told ESPN that he didn’t know if the baby’s arrival would impact his return date, but that it would affect him in other ways.
“You don’t get a whole lot of sleep,” Woods said, laughing.
Woods said he was surprised that he didn’t miss golf very much, but he said that was probably because right now he would play poorly. Woods said he didn’t watch much golf this season, catching only the last holes of the British Open and the PGA Championship, but he did tune in for the Ryder Cup.
“I felt great for the guys, especially for Phil [Mickelson] and me and [Jim] Furyk, the guys who’ve been on the team the longest,” Woods said. “Jim sent me a nice text that said, ‘I wish you could be there to experience this.’ Because we had been through the losses together.”
Tiger Woods back at Torrey Pines as caddie
By BERNIE WILSON, AP Sports Writer 13 hours, 2 minutes ago
SAN DIEGO (AP)—Four months after his epic U.S. Open victory, Tiger Woods returned to Torrey Pines on Monday without a limp.
He didn’t have golf clubs, either.
Hopping from a cart, Woods walked up to 59-year-old John Abel, doffed his cap and extended his right hand. “Hey, I hear you’re looking for a caddie. I’m Tiger Woods—pleased to meet you.”
Out of action since beating Rocco Mediate in a 19-hole playoff for his 14th career major, Woods came back to Torrey Pines to deliver on his end of the “Tee Off with Tiger” online sweepstakes sponsored by Buick.
Showing no signs of his season-ending knee surgery a week after the U.S. Open, Woods wore a green caddie’s bib inscribed with Abel’s name as he guided him around the back nine of the South Course, where he has won six times in the Buick Invitational and once in a U.S. Open he called his best ever.
Playing with torn ligaments in his left knee and a double stress fracture in his leg, Woods made a 12-foot birdie on the final hole to force an 18-hole playoff, made a 4-foot birdie on the 18th in the playoff to stay alive and finally won with a par.
Woods checked into the Lodge at Torrey Pines on Sunday night and noticed the pin in the same spot it was during the Monday playoff.
“I opened the curtains and saw the 18th green,” Woods said. “I was like, ‘You know what? That is pretty cool.’ A different atmosphere. You can actually see. They don’t have the grandstands in the way. I saw where the pin was and was thinking, ‘You know what? I remember that putt.”’
Woods was in character from the minute he drove up to the 10th tee, on cue from a video crew that recorded every one of Abel’s shots. Reporters and photographers from two media outlets—The Associated Press and the San Diego Union-Tribune—were allowed to watch on the 10th and 18th holes.
Woods drove the cart. He handed clubs to Abel, then wiped them off with a towel and put them back in the bag. He squatted to line up putts and tended the pin. He warned how fast the greens were, then chuckled as Abel five-putted the 10th for a quadruple-bogey 8.
“It was fun,” said Woods, who once caddied for former Stanford teammate Jerry Chang. “This was totally cool. I’ve caddied before many times. For me to be out here and to be able to do it again, it’s always fun. John’s a good guy. It was a fun day for me.”
Abel, from West Berlin, N.J., said his round went better than expected.
“I wasn’t as nervous after maybe the third or fourth hole,” he said. “Nerves come into it, I don’t care who you are, and these greens are unbelievable. Tiger was telling me that they’re actually 3 feet slower than what they played for the Open.
“It was just such a hoot to play with him,” said Abel, who regularly shoots in the 90s. “He showed me things I never even thought about. Like when he walks into a sand trap, he feels with his feet. It was just so neat. it really was.”
Seriously, imagine handing your fairway wood to Tiger Woods after a shot.
“That’s the funny thing,” Abel said. “I’m just so used to taking my club and putting it in the bag, and he keeps holding his hand out. It’s like, ‘OK.’ You don’t want to. What else can you say? You just don’t think about things like that.”
The pin on 18 was moved Monday to where it was during the final round of regulation at the U.S. Open—front right—when Woods rapped that 12-foot birdie putt that bumped along toward the hole and swirled into the back corner of the cup without an inch to spare.
Caddie Tiger Woods lines up a …
AP - Oct 20, 4:47 pm EDT
After Abel finished his round, Woods gave him a final treat by dropping the ball at the same spot of his Sunday putt.
“When they asked me, do you know what you’re doing?’ I said, ‘No,”’ Abel said. “When I was stepping up to it, they mentioned it. They said, ‘This is his putt.”’
Abel missed.
“His putt probably broke another two inches more than what mine did,” Woods said. “Mine was more down in the valley. Slightly different putt.”
Abel sensed that Woods enjoyed being back at Torrey Pines.
“This might just be me watching, but he would look at certain spots and I was thinking, ‘I wonder if that’s where he hit the ball.’ A couple of times I was going to ask him, but then to be honest, I wasn’t sure what I should ask him.”
Abel said the one thing he took away about Woods was “how much of a down-to-earth guy he really is.”
Abel said they talked about fatherhood, Woods’ knee and “a couple jokes about how a couple more trophies would be nice, and how he feels he needs another green jacket. It was a little chilly and he said, ‘Yeah, another green jacket would be nice and warm.”’
Tiger Woods exchanges clubs wi…
AP - Oct 20, 4:46 pm EDT
As for his caddie skills, “It was all good, man,” joked Woods, who enjoyed seeing Abel make a 20-foot uphill par putt on 17.
Abel played with a new set of Nike clubs. Woods wrote on the bib: “Thank you for letting me caddie for you. Your friend, Tiger Woods.”
Woods said his rehab is on schedule but that his return will be dictated by his doctors.
“I’m able to chip and putt now. I can start doing some more fuller rotational things toward the beginning of next year,” he said. “I can walk and do all this stuff. This is easy. But rotational stuff is going to be a little different.”
Woods would love to be back at Torrey Pines in early February to defend his title at the Buick Invitational, where he has won four straight and six overall. But he’s not sure if it’s realistic.
“That’s the most frustrating thing for me, because I don’t know,” Woods said. “I like having things planned out. I like understanding what I need to shoot for, but I don’t know. And the surgeons don’t know, either, because they’ve never dealt with an injury like this for a person who plays golf at an elite level. For an amateur, it’s no big deal, just come back nine months from now or 10 months from now. But for me, I don’t know what the schedule’s going to be.”
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