star-telegram.com: Golf

Water helps Garcia end 3-year drought

Mon, 12 May 2008 06:49 CDT

Sergio Garcia, the best player without a major victory, got the next best thing Sunday.

Garcia ended the longest victory drought of his career by making a clutch par putt to force a playoff and hitting the island-green 17th on the first extra hole to defeat Paul Goydos in The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Haunted by putting problems that kept him without a victory the past three years, a stretch of 53 PGA Tour events, Garcia came up with a 45-foot birdie on the 14th to get back in the game and a 7-foot par putt on the 18th hole for a 1-under 71.

"It's been a lot of work," Garcia said. "...I'm just thrilled the week is over, and I managed to finish on top."

Goydos, playing in the final group, missed a 15-foot par putt on the last hole and closed with a 74.

It was the first playoff at The Players since 1987, and the first time the PGA Tour opted to start it on the most notorious par 3 in golf. The shot was only 128 yards, but in wind that blasted 30 mph throughout the day, to a green surrounded by water.

Goydos was the first to hit into the water when the tournament began and the last player to go into the water.

Garcia's wedge hit the middle of the green and rolled to 4 feet. He missed the birdie putt, the one time it didn't matter. He could have taken three putts from there and still won.

Not close enough

Jeff Quinney had a chance to join the playoff. He went bogey-free for 10 holes in gusts that topped 40 mph at times but failed to save par from a bunker behind the 18th green and had to settle for a 70 and third place alone, one shot back at 4-under 284.

Playing the wind

Nicholas Thompson was probably one of the few players who enjoyed the wind Sunday.

After watching his ball stop on the ridge at the par-3 17th, he walked about as slowly as he could while keeping an eye on his ball, figuring one of those 40-mph gusts would help him.

It wasn't until Thompson reached down to mark his ball that it started to turn. It rolled about 25 feet closer to the hole, leaving him with a 5-footer for birdie.

"When I went up there, I went to put my marker down and got about 3 inches or 4 inches from the ground and the ball just started rolling," he said.

Thompson threw his hands up in the air, egging on the wildly cheering gallery, called over a rules official just to be sure he didn't have to remark the ball and then made the putt.

On the other hand

Charlie Wi knocked two in the water and finished with a quadruple-bogey 7 on No. 17, and Jim Furyk, Rocco Mediate and Mark Wilson made triple bogey. With the wind whipping left to right, the shortest hole played tougher than just about any other on the Stadium Course. Only the par-4 18th was more difficult Sunday.

... Speaking of 18

It's a 462-yard par 4, but its 4.84 scoring average was higher than the scoring average on three of the four par 5s. It ranked No. 1 in difficulty Sunday and for the week.

Goydos finds self in strange territory

Sun, 11 May 2008 04:38 CDT

Paul Goydos doesn't have a Q-rating, an endorsement deal or a top-30 finish in the last 16 months. What he does have for the first time in his career is a 54-hole lead -- in The Players Championship, no less.

Seemingly immune to the mounting pressure and a course getting tougher by the day, Goydos seized the lead Saturday with a 10-foot birdie on the island-green 17th and a great escape on the closing hole for a 2-under 70 and a one-shot lead over Kenny Perry.

As well as he played, his self-deprecating humor was even better.

Asked if he had ever had a 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour, Goydos shook his head.

"But I've only been on tour for 16 years," he said.

He was at 7-under 209, the highest score to lead at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., since 1999.

Perry saved par with a nifty wedge on the 18th hole for a 72 that put him at 210 and in the final group Sunday.

Sergio Garcia hit the ball as well as anyone for the second straight day, and got nothing in return.

Garcia was tied for the lead standing on the 17th tee, but he three-putted from just outside 10 feet, then hit into the rough on the 18th and closed with another bogey for a 73, leaving him three shots behind.

At a glance

Leading: Paul Goydos at 7-under.

Trailing: Kenny Perry at 6-under.

Defending champion: Phil Mickelson took double bogey on the 14th hole and shot 71, leaving him five shots behind. No one has ever successfully defended his title at The Players Championship.

Island Green: Ten balls found the water on the par-3 17th, bringing the total to 47 over three rounds.

Key statistic: Paul Goydos has taken 78 putts in three rounds. Sergio Garcia has had 96 putts.

Quoteworthy: "I guess I was due." -- Paul Goydos, with a 54-hole lead for the first time in his 16-year career.

Mickelson down five

Phil Mickelson, trying to become the first repeat champion in the 35-year history of this tournament, was making a move up the leader board until he knocked his tee shot into the water on the 14th and took double bogey. He still wound up with a 71 and was in the group at 2-under 214, five shots behind and very much in the game. Also five shots behind was 50-year-old Bernhard Langer, whose two victories this year have come on the Champions Tour. A day after knocking in a 60-foot birdie on the island green, Langer three-putted for bogey and finished with a 75. The group at 1-under 215 included former British Open champion Tom Lehman (69) and Boo Weekley.

Long time between wins

Paul Goydos' victory in the 2007 Sony Open was his first in nearly 11 years, and Goydos noted that Tiger Woods had won nearly 60 times between his two victories. When he next saw Woods, he pleaded with him to quickly win another 60 so Goydos could win again. He has gone 30 tournaments since winning last year in Hawaii with no result better than a tie for 25th, and that was only last week at the Wachovia Championship. "I'm not proud of that fact, but it's not through lack of effort," he said. "I think I'm a better player than I've ever been. That said, so is everybody else who plays out here, which is the problem." A win today would be worth $1.71 million, more than Goydos has made in any single season on the PGA Tour. That didn't faze Goydos, either. "When I won in Hawaii, the same thing happened," he said. "I've done it before."

GOLF ROUNDUP

Sun, 11 May 2008 04:38 CDT

Annika Sorenstam knows there was speculation that her best days as a golfer were behind her, and that an injury-plagued 2007 was the beginning of the end.

That all just makes working her way back to the top more satisfying.

"I never wondered, but I know other people would wonder, 'Is she ever going to get back?'" Sorenstam said Saturday after her 2-under 69 at the Michelob Ultra Open in Williamsburg, Va., showed that she's getting there quickly. "I know what I'm capable of."

Rarely spectacular but remarkable for her consistency, Sorenstam shot her third consecutive nearly mistake-free round and gave No. 1 Lorena Ochoa and Jeong Jang up-close evidence that she's getting ever closer to finding the maddeningly steady game that made her the top female player in the world for so long, and it's coming sooner rather than later.

"It's been over a year and I'm finally starting to feel good again," said Sorenstam, who opened with rounds of 64 and 68 and was 14 under overall.

Hitting fairways and greens consistently and scrambling when necessary with precision wedge play, Sorenstam stretched her bogey-free string to 53 holes before hooking a drive into the water on No. 18. Even then, she drove again, hit a 6-iron from 162 yards to 8 feet and made the putt, the bogey leaving her with a three-shot lead over Jang.

"I saved everything today," Sorenstam said. "Even the last hole."

And that ability to keep bad shots from costing her is key to her resurgence.

"I mean, there was a stretch there that I was really relying on my short game and it was good saves," she said, speaking of a string of three par saves in a row beginning with the eighth hole. "It was solid saves all around. That's what kind of kept my round going."

Ochoa lost her putting stroke and fell back quickly. Her string of four bogeys in five holes ended just before Sorenstam made back-to-back long putts, both for birdie, to open an eight-shot lead over the woman who has taken her place at the top of the sport.

Ochoa started well, holing a long birdie putt on the first hole, and was 2 under through seven holes, but 5 over after that, finishing with a 74 to drop into a tie for 10th.

"I just didn't have a good rhythm today, didn't have good speed," she said. "I'm not even going to think about it or try to work on it. I'm just going to go home and relax and get ready for tomorrow."

It was almost as if Sorenstam was answering those who felt compelled to note that her two victories this year came in events that Ochoa skipped.

Sorenstam said she knows the road ahead is a long one, but regaining the top ranking is a goal.

"I feel great how the season is shaping up, so we'll see what happens."

Italian Open

South Africa's Hennie Otto shot a 9-under 63 to take a four-stroke lead into the final round of the Italian Open in Milan.

Otto had a 22-under 194 total on the Castello di Tolcinasco course. Swedes Christian Nilsson (64) and Robert Karlsson (69) and Spain's Alvaro Velasco (64) were tied for second. John Daly (68) was 14 back.

Today on TV

European PGA: Italian Open, 7:30 a.m., Golf

Perry overcomes elements to move alone into lead TPC Second round

Sat, 10 May 2008 08:04 CDT

Two-time Colonial winner Kenny Perry mastered 35 mph winds and 90-degree temperatures to take the second-round lead of The Players Championship golf tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., one shot ahead of three others.

Leaders

Kenny Perry	68-70--138
Bernhard Langer	72-67--139
Paul Goydos	68-71--139
Sergio Garcia	66-73--139

Veterans have a say in TPC's second day

Sat, 10 May 2008 04:39 CDT

It was the kind of day that can turn hair gray, not that the leaders needed any help Friday at The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

In demanding conditions on the scary Stadium Course -- wind that gusted to 35 mph and temperatures that pushed 90 -- 47-year-old Kenny Perry kept his wits and his patience on his way to a 2-under 70 to build a one-shot lead at 6-under 138.

And 50-year-old Bernhard Langer raced up the board with a 67 to pull within one shot of the lead. He will play with Perry in the final pairing today.

Langer already has won twice this year -- on the Champions Tour. The two-time Masters champion thought about withdrawing Thursday morning when he felt pain in his lower back, which caused his groin, left knee and left shoulder to ache. Now he's thinking about beating a field of younger players.

Paul Goydos, 43, also was one shot behind, and first-day leader Sergio Garcia, 28, fell a shot back after a horrible day putting -- 33 putts to be exact -- lifted him to a 73 on the day.

"It was the kind of day where you could shoot a big number in a hurry," Perry said. "You're at the mercy of the wind. It was hard to ever feel comfortable on any tee shot."

At a glance

Leading: Kenny Perry at 6-under.

Trailing: Bernhard Langer, Sergio Garcia and Paul Goydos at 5-under; Anthony Kim at 4-under.

Defending champion: Phil Mickelson was 1-under after a 73. He's trying to become the first repeat winner in the 34-year history of the event.

Island green: Eighteen balls found the water on the par-3 17th, giving the famed hole a two-day total of 37.

Key statistic: Garcia had 64 putts in the first two rounds.

Quoteworthy: "If nothing else, you get to sleep in." -- Paul Goydos on his tie for second.

That won't cut it

Charley Hoffman missed a 20-inch putt, then did something just about every golfer has at least considered after one shot or another. Hoffman flung his putter into the murky water next to the 13th green Friday, a frustrating response to a double bogey that delighted the crowd and sent the 31-year-old player into a tailspin that ended with an 11-over 83 that missed the cut. "I had thoughts of diving in front of it," caddie Miguel Rivera said. "I did actually think about going in, but the water looked a little funky." Hoffman declined comment.

Executive audience

After knocking his tee shot into the murky lagoon, Billy Mayfair walked to the drop area at No. 17 and found former President George H.W. Bush watching. Mayfair has met Bush several times, the first in 1987 as a member of the Walker Cup team. So Mayfair didn't hesitate to stop, shake his hand and say hello. "I know him a little better, and I feel very comfortable," Mayfair said. "It's not every day you get to meet a former president of the United States."

Look but don't touch

Anthony Kim's scariest moment of the second round had nothing to do with gusting wind or slippery greens.

Kim and playing partner Boo Weekley spotted a turtle as they walked from the tee box to the green on the par-3 No. 8. At first, Kim would only touch the turtle's shell with his wedge. But Weekley convinced him to feel it with his hand. Just as Kim started the stroke the shell, the turtle snapped its neck upward. "He jumped and backed up real fast," Weekley said. "He got me pretty good," added Kim, who shot 70 and was 4-under.

GOLF ROUNDUP: Friendly duel ends with Sorenstam up by three

Sat, 10 May 2008 10:24 CDT

Lorena Ochoa started with a birdie, pulling even with Annika Sorenstam, the playing partner she replaced as the No. 1 female golfer in the world.

Two holes later, Sorenstam answered. Then again at the par-4 16th, rolling in a birdie putt from 8 feet after Ochoa briefly drew even with a tap-in from an inch.

So it went Friday in the Michelob Ultra Open in Williamsburg, Va., where sometimes driving rain and two rain delays did little to put a damper on a friendly duel between the game's best players.

Sorenstam followed a 64 with a 66, leaving her at 12 under, three better than Ochoa, whose bogey at the last hole gave her 68, and Jeong Jang, who matched Sorenstam with her 66.

The day wasn't as good for Michelle Wie.

Playing in her first tournament in 2 1/2 months, the Stanford freshman followed a 4-over 75 with a 71 and missed the cut by four strokes.

"I just feel really rusty," she said after making a birdie on the final hole to finish even on the day.

"I feel like I just need to play more. ...I feel like I can get it back."

Twelve strokes off the pace at the start of the day, Wie took a back seat to the pairing that had Ochoa, Sorenstam and defending champion Suzann Pettersen playing together.

Karlsson sets record

Robert Karlsson of Sweden shot a course-record 11-under 61 on Friday to take the lead after the second round of the Italian Open in Milan. Karlsson had two eagles and eight birdies to go with one bogey to finish the round at 15-under 129. His 61 was two shots off the European PGA Tour record.

John Daly followed Thursday's 67 with a 73 to sit 11 strokes back.

Today on TV

European PGA: Italian Open, 7:30 a.m., Golf

PGA: The Players Championship, 1-6 p.m., KXAS/5

LPGA: Michelob Ultra Open, 1 p.m., ESPN2

Today on TV

European PGA: Italian Open, 7:30 a.m., Golf

PGA: The Players Championship, 1-6 p.m., KXAS/5

LPGA: Michelob Ultra Open, 1 p.m., ESPN2

Want to caddy at Colonial for David Toms?

Sat, 10 May 2008 14:03 CDT

By Jimmy Burch

Golf fans interested in walking between the ropes at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial while helping charitable causes have a rare opportunity that expires Friday.

Caddy For A Cure, a non-profit organization that benefits patients battling debilitating diseases, is running an online auction to allow a fan to carry the bag for PGA Tour golfer David Toms during his May 21 pro-am round at Colonial.

Bids will be taken through Friday at www.caddyforacure.com. The minimum bid is $1,500. Of the money raised by the auction, organizers said 100 percent will be donated to local or national charities.

Among the recipients from the Colonial stop will be the American Cancer Society, the ALS Foundation, the Boys and Girls Clubs, Cook Children's Medical Center and the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund, which seeks a cure for a rare form of leukemia.

Russ Holden, a veteran tour caddy who founded the organization, said he is "thrilled to be coming back" to Colonial with his program and excited that Toms, a member of the last three U.S. Ryder Cup teams, has agreed to participate.

Toms, 41, has won 12 tour events in his career, including the 2001 PGA Championship. He has four top-10 finishes at Colonial, including a tie for second in 2002 and a tie for third in 2005.

Gateway Tour to D-FW

The Gateway Tour, a developmental circuit whose alums include PGA Tour participant Charley Hoffman, is seeking competitors for its inaugural D-FW Summer Series.

The events will be played at local courses, starting with the May 28-30 tournament at Waterchase Golf Club in Fort Worth. Waterchase also will be the site of the Gateway Tour's Mid-Summer Championship (July 21-26), with a $300,000 purse.

For more information, visit www.thegatewaytour.com.

Milestone member

The Northern Texas PGA Junior Golf Foundation, started in 1983, recently registered its 50,000th member. The lucky registrant, Plano's Billy Kraft, received a set of Nike golf clubs, two rounds of golf at the TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas and four weekly passes to the EDS Byron Nelson Championship and the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial to commemorate the milestone. Kraft is a sophomore at Dallas Jesuit, where he plays on the golf team.

Briefly

Fort Worth resident Chaney Uhles won the girls 15-18 division at the Houston Area Kickoff Classic on the Texas Legends Junior Tour. Uhles shot 75-80 (13 over) to win the April 26-27 event. Southlake's Jenna Payette finished fourth.

Golfers have until June 11 to enter the Texas State Open, scheduled July 17-20 at The Cascades in Tyler. The stroke-play event, open to professionals and amateurs, offers an estimated purse of $125,000. Entry forms are available at www.ntpga.com or by calling 214-420-7421.

Garcia grabs Players Championship lead, looks to end slump

Fri, 09 May 2008 08:40 CDT

Sergio Garcia had seven birdies Thursday at The Players Championship, leading to a 6-under-par 66 and a two-shot lead in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

The Spaniard, 28, has strung together three impressive rounds on Sawgrass' frightening Stadium Course, even if his timing is a little off. The first two scores (67-66) came last year and enabled him to finish second.

In his 10th year as a pro, Garcia has been an enigma. No other player younger than Tiger Woods has contended so often in the majors and showed so much variety in his game. He is tied with Adam Scott for most PGA Tour victories (six) by players under 30 but is trying to break out of a career-worst 0-for-53 drought.

Garcia, who had relied almost exclusively on his father, recently turned to putting guru Stan Utley for help.

"My main idea was to get back to the way I used to putt, like 10 or 12 years ago, when I was a good putter," Garcia said. "At least now I have some rounds where I come out and say I actually shot."

Added Ian Poulter, among five players tied for third at 69: "It's no secret to anybody that he's been struggling with his putting for a little while, but as soon as he gets it right, we all know he's going to be winning.... If he's putting well this week, then who knows? And watch out."

Island gods are angry?

Paul Goydos, tied with Kenny Perry for second at 68, usually throws a few old balls into the lagoon around No. 17's island green during practice rounds. He forgot to do it this week. In the first round, Goydos landed his tee shot pin high and it bounced over the back edge, though he ended up with only a bogey. He was among 19 players who contributed 20 balls into the water.

Afternoon no delight

Sawgrass turned tricky, if not downright difficult, in blustery afternoon conditions. Only eight of the 34 rounds under par came in the afternoon. Sergio Garcia, Kenny Perry and Paul Goydos play in the afternoon today. Todd Hamilton was best among late starters with a 69, and Wachovia winner Anthony Kim shot 70.

Can Phil repeat?

Phil Mickelson, trying to become the first repeat winner in the 34-year history of this tournament, was flirting with the leaders until a sloppy middle to his round put him at 70. Coming off consecutive birdies, including a wedge to 4 feet on the 17th, Mickelson failed to reach the 18th green from the right rough, then made bogey from 95 yards away in the middle of the fairway on No. 1.

Not seeing green

Kenny Perry, 47, called his 4-under 68 Thursday the best round of golf he has played all year. It could have been much better had he not missed three birdie putts from inside 10 feet. "I just don't read the greens very good anymore," Perry said. Perry had Lasik surgery a decade ago and had an enhancement a couple of years later. But his eyesight started deteriorating last year, forcing him to wear contact lenses during the day and glasses at night.

Shot of the day

Rich Beem holed out from 132 yards on the seventh fairway for an eagle on his way to a 72.

Double whammy for Els

Was it the breeze or the water? Ernie Els played in the afternoon and had trouble at No. 17. He was at 2-under par until his wedge came up 20 feet short of the island green at No. 17, and he barely kept his third shot on land. He wound up with a triple bogey on 17, and a 12-foot birdie on the final hole for a round of 72 didn't improve his spirits much.

Briefly

Masters champion Trevor Immelman withdrew before the start because of a stomach bug.

Ian Poulter joins Colonial field; Hogan finalists named

Wed, 07 May 2008 14:47 CDT

Flores, Haas advance to U.S. Open sectional qualifying

Thu, 08 May 2008 15:40 CDT

Martin Flores of Mansfield and Hunter Haas of Fort Worth survived Wednesday’s local U.S. Open qualifying in Dallas, shooting a 68 and 70, respectively.

David Schultz of Dallas (66) was the medalist.

Flores and Haas advanced to sectional qualifying June 2 at various locations, including Houston. Vince Jewell of Euless (70) as first alternate.

--Troy Phillips