I REMEMBER WHEN BERNHARD LANGER AND MARK O'MEARA WERE KIDS

Langer, O’Meara lead Champions Skins Game

Jan 29, 11:17 pm EST

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KAANAPALI, Hawaii (AP)—Bernhard Langer made an 8-foot birdie putt on the sixth hole for four skins and $120,000, giving the German star and partner Mark O’Meara the lead Saturday in the Champions Skins Game.
Langer and O’Meara are making their first appearances in the in the alternate-shot event.

O’Meara set up Langer’s birdie putt with a 64-yard wedge shot on the 362-yard, par-4 sixth.
“First of all, Mark hit a beautiful shot and we were the closest to the hole and he hit it in the right spot, too,” Langer said. “I was going uphill, more so than across or side. We read it perfectly right on the left edge. That was a good putt.”
Fuzzy Zoeller and Ben Crenshaw, the 2009 winners, were second with $80,000 after the first nine holes in the two-day, 18-hole event. Zoeller made a bending 20-foot birdie putt on the par-4 eighth for two skins.
“It was fast,” Zoeller said. “We kept looking at it and I kept saying, ‘It has to go farther up, farther up.”’
Crenshaw said: “I kind of mentioned the word speed to take the break to him there. But it was the most beautiful putt. At first I thought it was low and then I saw it and said, ‘Whoa, that looks good.”’
Defending champions Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson won the first two skins when Nicklaus hit his iron shot to 2 feet on No. 2 and Watson tapped in for $60,000.
“I think Bernhard and I both were pleased to get on the board,” O’Meara said. “But in saying that, Jack hit the shot early in the round on No. 2, it was an amazing golf shot. We kind of beat it around for two or three holes, nothing that great. Had some chances there on No. 5, everybody hit some good putts and didn’t make it.”
Fred Couples and Nick Price were shut out on the first nine at Royal Kaanapali.
With a $40,000 carryover from No. 9, $510,000 was available on the back nine Sunday.

---

Tee it up with Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Golf '11

Updated Jan 29, 11:17 pm EST

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Golf

• Watson beats Lefty, wins at Torrey Pines
• Casey wins inaugural Volvo Championships

• Woods caps shaky season debut with 75
• Langer, O'Meara lead Champions Skins

WAY TO GO BUBBA !!

1	Bubba Watson	71	65	69	67	-5	F	-16	272
2	Phil Mickelson	67	69	68	69	-3	F	-15	273
T3	Dustin Johnson	69	69	71	66	-6	F	-13	275
T3	Jhonattan Vegas	69	69	69	68	-4	F	-13	275
5	D.A. Points	73	68	68	67	-5	F	-12	276
T6	Nick Watney	70	73	72	63	-9	F	-10	278
T6	Anthony Kim	68	67	71	72	E	F	-10	278
T6	Hunter Mahan	69	67	69	73	+1	F	-10	278
T9	Troy Matteson	74	68	70	67	-5	F	-9	279
T9	Marc Leishman	67	72	71	69	-3	F	-9	279
T9	Brandt Snedeker	70	69	70	70	-2	F	-9	279
T9	Bill Haas	67	66	71	75	+3	F	-9	279
13	Billy Mayfair	70	69	71	70	-2	F	-8	280
T14	Charles Howell III	71	68	73	69	-3	F	-7	281
T14	Ben Crane	70	66	74	71	-1	F	-7	281
T14	Kevin Sutherland	69	69	71	72	E	F	-7	281
T17	Brendan Steele	70	68	74	70	-2	F	-6	282
T17	Tom Gillis	72	70	69	71	-1	F	-6	282
T17	David Duval	70	70	71	71	-1	F	-6	282
T20	Vijay Singh	72	71	71	69	-3	F	-5	283
T20	Joe Durant	72	69	71	71	-1	F	-5	283
T20	Pat Perez	69	70	72	72	E	F	-5	283
T20	Spencer Levin	71	71	69	72	E	F	-5	283
T20	Rickie Fowler	65	71	73	74	+2	F	-5	283
T25	Ben Martin	68	72	73	71	-1	F	-4	284
T25	Justin Rose	72	70	72	70	-2	F	-4	284
T25	Keegan Bradley	67	74	70	73	+1	F	-4	284
T25	Fredrik Jacobson	67	69	73	75	+3	F	-4	284
T29	Bill Lunde	71	71	71	72	E	F	-3	285
T29	Anthony Paolucci	70	71	72	72	E	F	-3	285
T29	Tim Herron	74	68	70	73	+1	F	-3	285
T29	Paul Stankowski	68	74	70	73	+1	F	-3	285
T29	Chris Couch	70	71	74	70	-2	F	-3	285
T29	Brandt Jobe	67	73	72	73	+1	F	-3	285
T29	Zack Miller	69	71	72	73	+1	F	-3	285
T29	K.J. Choi	72	69	74	70	-2	F	-3	285
T29	Jimmy Walker	71	69	71	74	+2	F	-3	285
T29	Garrett Willis	73	70	73	69	-3	F	-3	285
T29	Blake Adams	71	68	71	75	+3	F	-3	285
T40	D.J. Brigman	72	70	71	73	+1	F	-2	286
T40	Scott Gutschewski	72	69	72	73	+1	F	-2	286
T40	Richard S. Johnson	73	67	72	74	+2	F	-2	286
T40	Martin Piller	70	71	74	71	-1	F	-2	286
T44	Hunter Haas	70	70	73	74	+2	F	-1	287
T44	Brian Davis	69	68	75	75	+3	F	-1	287
T44	Camilo Villegas	69	70	75	73	+1	F	-1	287
T44	Tiger Woods	69	69	74	75	+3	F	-1	287
T44	Chris Kirk	66	71	77	73	+1	F	-1	287
T44	Y.E. Yang	67	73	71	76	+4	F	-1	287
T44	Rory Sabbatini	68	73	75	71	-1	F	-1	287
T51	Stewart Cink	70	70	74	74	+2	F	E	288
T51	Stuart Appleby	72	71	71	74	+2	F	E	288
T51	Matt Jones	68	72	75	73	+1	F	E	288
T51	David Mathis	68	73	74	73	+1	F	E	288
T51	Kyle Stanley	68	72	72	76	+4	F	E	288
T51	Lucas Glover	70	70	72	76	+4	F	E	288
T51	Sung-hoon Kang	64	76	78	70	-2	F	E	288
T58	Jamie Lovemark	69	70	75	75	+3	F	+1	289
T58	Charlie Wi	71	72	71	75	+3	F	+1	289
T58	Gary Woodland	71	69	76	73	+1	F	+1	289
T58	Chez Reavie	74	69	73	73	+1	F	+1	289
T58	Jarrod Lyle

Year of the Tiger: Best golf images of 2010 (25 images)

Updated Dec 24, 2010 5:17 PM ET

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Phil, Tiger head in opposite directions

After more than 20 years of covering everything from election campaigns to the Olympic Games, Robert Lusetich has turned his focus to writing about his first love — golf. He is the author of Unplayable: An Inside Account of Tiger's Most Tumultuous Season.

Robert Lusetich recaps the third round at Torrey Pines.

Updated Jan 29, 2011 9:31 PM ET

san diego

Phil Mickelson says he’s resigned to playing boring golf. Tiger Woods wishes he could be so boring.

Golf’s swashbuckling left-hander toned down his legendary gamblers’ instincts on Saturday and the newfound conservatism left him tied for the lead going into the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open.

LEADERBOARD

How did your favorite golfer fare? Visit our updated PGA Tour leaderboard.

Woods, meanwhile, fell out of the race after fighting his swing all day.

The man who’d won his last five starts at Torrey Pines shot 74, only the second time — and first since 2002 — that he’s been over par in his PGA Tour career on what is his favorite track.

Mickelson, who shot a 4-under par 68 to get to 12 under for the tournament, tied with Bill Haas, explained that conservatism at Torrey Pines doesn’t come naturally.

“I love playing aggressive; I think people want to see birdies and they want to see bogeys. They want to see us attacking holes trying to get it close (but) this course just doesn’t reward you for taking any risk,” he said.

“Eight pars and a birdie on the back nine, it’s certainly not the way I want to play, but it’s just the way I’ve learned that you have to play this golf course.”

What Woods would’ve done for a 68.

“It was a struggle all day,” he later bemoaned.

He found himself in a no-man’s-land, caught between his old and new swings.

Or, more accurately, caught in the “stuck” position — where the club drops too far behind him in the downswing — that’s plagued him for years.

Golfweek: 5 things

Golfweek's Sean Martin identifies 5 things to look for in Sunday's final round at Torrey Pines.

“It’s the same old motor patterns and they kind of kick in, especially when I have to (shape) shots. The hard part is kind of battling through that,” Woods said.

Woods is a natural optimist, so he maintained that he was not far away, that it was all, as he’s wont to say, part of the process, even as his body language said otherwise.

“I know what I can do. I know what I’m capable of hitting, the shots I’m capable of hitting, and I just need to keep improving and keep working,” he said.

But how long can he remain patient? This was, after all, the perfect chance to get off to a fast start and alter perceptions.

“Well, one time it took two years,” he said, “From the middle of ‘97 to May of ‘99, when I only won one tournament. It takes time.”

It has to be exasperating for Woods to play like this because he’d shown great improvement at the Ryder Cup and for three days at the Chevron World Challenge in December.

Exasperating, too, because his ball-striking at the range has been stellar, according to his new coach, Sean Foley.

He just can’t seem to consistently bring it to the course.

“It’s always easy to do it at home on the range,” Woods said.

“You have to do it out here, then once you do it out here, you have to do it in contention. Then once you do it in contention, you have to do it in major championships. And then you have to do it on the back nine of a major and be successful.

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“So it’s a building process. I’ve been through it before.”

I asked him if he had a timetable, a point in time by which he wants his swing to be helping, rather than hindering, his chances for a first win since the end of 2009.

“Yeah,” he said, “Augusta.”

“Actually not just for that one week. I need it in June, I need it in July, and I need one in August.

“That is the whole idea. I’ve always tried to peak four times a year (for the majors). I’ve been successful at it 14 times in my career.”

Mickelson, meanwhile, doesn’t need to look so far ahead.

He hasn’t won at his hometown course since 2001, and has seriously contended only once — in 2004 — during the past decade.

“I’ve missed being in contention and having opportunities to win here,” Lefty said.

“It’s such a fun tournament for me to play well because of growing up here as a kid and looking from outside the ropes, inside, dreaming of playing the Tour.

“Lots of memories come back from when I was a kid.”

Jhonattan Vegas’ memories are fresher. The big-hitting, perpetually smiling Venezuelan rookie had his first win last week in Palm Springs at the Bob Hope and backed it up by putting himself back into contention here.

Vegas shot 69 — playing alongside Woods, who called him “a really nice kid” — and is three strokes adrift of the lead.

“I’m just living my dream, just loving it,” Vegas said, “And having a great time and making a lot of birdies.”
 

Correspondence between Bill Arbogast (my best friend K-1st) and me in re: golf, golf, golf

Mark Ganzer 01/19/11 05:04 PM   I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your father-in-law. We know he rests quietly now in a better place. HOW EXCITING to work a U.S. Open. Back when the U.S. Senior Open was held at Medinah, my father trained Medinah's new caddies, and got to play the course a couple hundred times. I was the #3 caddie there, then (Tom Rhode, with whom I caddied at Barrington Hills Country Club throughout the 60's and early 70's was #2; there was no caddie #1). My buddy Ray Dillard and I had the plan to get Ralph to qualify for the last two rounds: Ray tosses him a club, says, "hit it, Ralph," and whenever dad is on the green, Ray will walk away. PERFECT PLAN. Dad goes to qualify out of Skokie Country Club. After 13 holes, he leads the eventual medalist by four strokes, dad being one over par. BUT, for some reason, on a day when they are playing from the way back tees, the course is doused with water, dad is kind of worried that one over is not enough, so he tries to draw his 2nd shot on the 14th hole into the pin. Disaster! Catches a branch and goes 180 degrees out of bounds. Dad makes 6 - three over. He birdies 15, back to two over. The sixteenth is a signature hole, 240 yard par three, pin cut to the extreme left side of the green. Dad decides to go for the pin. Tries a cut, but ends up hitting the dreaded straight ball. Takes three more to get out of the bunker. Two puts for six, triple bogey, five over par. He mindlessly double bogies a non-descript 17th hole, and then pars 18. Shoots 78. Misses the cut by one. His real problem? Well, other than that six-inch gap between the ears, was that he did NOT take a caddie to Skokie CC. Either Ray or I would have gladly taken his bag, but he thought the kid who looped for him in the practice round would show. Wondering about the way that things might have been. Enjoy Normal. Someday, you might get a chance to catch me up on the long story. Fairways and greens my childhood friend -- nothing but, and sink 'em all from inside of five feet. Mark Raymond Ganzer

William Arbogast 01/19/11 08:05 PM     Hi Mark, Great to hear from you! It's funny how memories of the mid 50's are so vivid. We were pretty inseparable back in K thru 1st. When we moved, I thought it was to the other side of the world. I had lost my best friend! I've often wondered why we didn't rekindle our friendship after your family moved just a few blocks away on First St. I loved the golf story about your dad trying to qualify for the US Senior. (By the way...I worked the 2008 Senior Open at The Broadmoor.) Your dad was one of Streator's best. And he taught several very good ones the game. Sister Jan, one of his pupils, was thrilled to have had the opportunity to play with him at a recent high school reunion. Do you recall that he and my mom played with Patty Berg at SCC? I have the signed scorecard.(By the way...your dad beat Patty.) Memories are still pretty vivid of climbing the tree in your backyard and getting on top of the Stephen's shed. Was that a chicken coop? And how about their goat that we used to tease? Do you remember putting ketchup on our clothes so the old ladies across the street from our house would think we were bleeding? I must have really enjoyed those few years. As you can see they have had a lasting impression. I often thought that my old buddy, Mark, probably went off to become a famous mathmetician. Even in the first grade you were a brain. It sure would be fun to get together to share some memories. Maybe a game of golf is in the future? Best regards, Bill

Mark Ganzer 01/20/11 09:46 PM   WOW - you have the collectibles! Is there any way you could e-mail me a .pdf copy of the score card? YEARS later, in the late 1970's my long time lady friend Susan B Gillies and I went to watch Patty Berg put on a clinic in one of the western suburbs, near Elmhurts, off of route 83. Got one tremendous tip from her -- how far your hands ought to be from your body -- the width of you palm ... it's a very easy set up check. Do I EVER remember the inseperable duo - the bloody ketchup scams, the chicen coup - TEASING the damn Billy Goat? Willie - you jest - that was one MEAN-spirited critter - and to think how badly he reflected on the goodness and kindness of Bud, Louise, Nancy et al the Stevens'. Didn't get to be a world famous mathametician - HOWEVER, I do maintain a Sports Forecasting Blog - NFL, NBA, PGA Mens, B-Ball MarkGanzersSportsBlog.Blogspot.com I'd LOVE to play some golf. We have a 5-hold par-three course at the local park district. Less than a two-mile walk. Yardages are 150, 120, 225, 195, 145 ... but, when nobody is around, you can have a MUCH larger course -- longest par 5 is 590 ... have worked my handicap back down to about 7, trending 6. Actually played an 18-hold round, all par three's in which I made five two's!! Shooting 1-under par. All my good scores came in competitive rounds, everything 75 and under. All time low score is 71, shot several times - twice in a club championship (match play), hit one out of the first ten greens in regulation, sitting on 11 tee at one over par, then started to really strike the ball well, got it to even, had an up hill 12 foot putt on 16 to get to one under (par 71), so .. the last thought on my head as my hands exploded through the putt were "don't leave it short" ... shit, no way ... 8 foot down hell putt coming back ... damn lucky I didn't 4-putt ... finished par, par. The other 71 occurred when dad and I were playing the course PGA pro and his assistant, the BCHS golf coach (and state of illinois athletic hall of fame coach Jeff Blessman) ... I was woozy, hung over on the first hole, when Walt conceeded an uphill 2 1/2 foot putt ... never loooked back - finished at even par, 71 ... kicked the crap out of them ... dad was club champion there about a dozen times ... he even beat Steve Cisco (former big 10 champion and former CDGA Junior Match Play Champion) several times for the club championship ... it was Thunderbird in those days, less than 6,100 yards long - but, built on a bog and all greens elevated. Now, it got rebuilt and is called Paul MacKray Memorial Golf Club, which I think plays at just about 7,000 yards from the back tees. Truly world class facility. If you get up here, we'll play there. If I get down by you first, you pick the course. BUT .. in every event, we will HAVE to play the golf course from HELL ... Lakemoor Country Club in Lakemoor Illinois ... played it last fall, and, for the last 7 holes, hit the ball like Sammy Sneed ... all the while shooting .... 57-58. UNBELIEVABLE course, with everything in plain sight ... all the trouble is there before your eyes. All the yardages to the center of the greens are 100% spot on accurate ... the greens putt very true - smooth, good pace ... and yet, and yet ... this is SO odd, every hole measures between 25 and 45 yards LONGER than the yardage on the score card ... it is as if they measured it with a laser gun from tee to front of green in meters. Here's a summary of that 115 Were I not a man of such high character and moral rectitude, who has met both fortune and poverty, and treated those two as the imposters that they are, I would have burnt this golf score card, and drowned the memory of it in cheap bath-tub rot-gut gin (and Orange Juice). The last time I shot two consecutive nine-hole rounds as bad as those, I was probably in 5th or 6th grade. And I don't give a flying fig. I learnt something very important about persistence and perseverance. 490 5 7 – 2 292 4 6 – 3 295 4 6 – 3 161 3 6 – 2 520 5 8 – 3 – w 349 4 4 – 2 162 3 7 – 0 – w 389 4 7 – 2 - w 344 4 6 – 2 – w 3002 36 57–19 – 3w 460 4 9 - 3 - w 366 4 11 - 2 - w 178 3 6 - 2 - w 498 5 6 - 2 361 4 5 - 2 328 4 5 - 2 541 5 6 - 2 158 3 5 - 2 (s s) 422 4 5 - 2 3332 36 58 -19 - 3W, 2S 6334 72 115 -38 - 6W, 2S It's just that the course is under-rated by 3.15 strokes, and I suspect the slope rating is pretty far off too. Warmest of regards my dear grade school friend and partner in crimes and misdemeanors. Mark Raymond Ganzer

score cards for upcoming pga tour venue

TORREY PINES - NORTH

Course Par Value: 72

Course Yardage: 6874

Hole	Par	Yards
1	5	520
2	4	326
3	3	121
4	4	429
5	4	412
6	3	206
7	4	400
8	4	436
9	5	548
10	4	416
11	4	467
12	3	190
13	4	469
14	5	507
15	4	397
16	4	338
17	3	172
18	5	520

	TORREY PINES - SOUTH
Course Par Value: 72
Course Yardage: 7569

Hole	Par	Yards
1	4	452
2	4	387
3	3	198
4	4	471
5	4	453
6	5	560
7	4	462
8	3	176
9	5	613
10	4	405
11	3	221
12	4	477
13	5	541
14	4	435
15	4	477
16	3	227
17	4	442
18	5	572

THE STRAW THE BROKE THE PGA TOUR PLAYERS BACKS - KAYMER PASSES WOODS FOR #2 WORLD RANKINGS - TIGGER NOT PLEASED PLAYS ITH MORE FOCUS, BETTER BALL-STRIKING, AND INSCRUTABLE SILENCE THAN ANYWONE CAN EVER REMEMBER

Kaymer passes Woods for No. 2 ranking

Jan 23, 10:55 am EST

 

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP)—Martin Kaymer overtook Tiger Woods for the No. 2 ranking in the world Sunday, winning the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship by eight shots after shooting a 6-under 66.

Kaymer held a five-shot lead going into the day and had no problem securing his third win in four years in Abu Dhabi, finishing at 24-under 264. Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland finished second after a 69, while Retief Goosen and Graeme McDowell were another two shots back in third.

It was the biggest winning margin and lowest total score in the history of the tournament.

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Kaymer had been third in the rankings and now trails only Lee Westwood.

“It’s quite nice to overtake somebody who is probably the best player in the world, perhaps the best player that ever lived,” Kaymer said. “To be in front of him for a little bit—we’ll see how long it takes him to overtake me again—but you know, it makes me very proud to be better in the world rankings than the best player in the world.”

It was Kaymer’s 100th start on the European Tour, and the ninth win of his career.

Goosen had a 64, the best round of the day, while McDowell closed with a 67. Phil Mickelson finished 37th, meaning McDowell will move ahead of the reigning Masters champion at No. 4 in the rankings. Both started the week tied for fourth place.

Mickelson closed with a 70, and said he wasn’t bothered by slipping to No. 5 in the rankings.

“I think it’s interesting and it’s certainly a goal of all players to get up on top of the world rankings, but I think it’s more interesting to see how it plays out in the majors,” he said. “I’m not as concerned with the rankings as some. … I’m more concerned with getting my game ready for the majors.”

Kaymer started his round with birdies on the second and third holes, and had extended his lead over McIlroy to seven shots by the turn.

“I am very happy, especially with the way I played golf today,” Kaymer said. “The most important thing for me was today that I had fun. If I have fun, then I play good golf. I played with Rory and we definitely had a lot of fun on the golf course. He struggled a little bit on the first nine. After nine holes, I think I was leading by seven shots and then I pretty much knew if I just keep playing the way I do, I’m probably going to win.”

McIlroy said he quickly gave up thoughts of challenging Kaymer, and played most of the round trying to stave off those behind him.

“After the first couple of holes today, I was just trying to consolidate second place, that’s all you’re really playing for,” McIlroy said. “Martin played great all week and I don’t think there was anyone in the world who could have topped him this week.”

THE KING (AND WE DON'T MEAN ELVIS)

Tue Jan 25 09:51am EST

Arnold Palmer is one of GQ's Coolest Athletes Ever, of course

By Jay Busbee

Now that right there is a cover. Check it out -- Arnold Palmer, American icon, golf legend and Devil Ball's most important person in golf history, has been named one of GQ's 25 coolest athletes of all time. Of course he has.
Chosen for their style, grace and athletic success, the athletes range across all sports. Here's the slideshow of the other covers, which spotlight icons such as Jordan, Ali, Dr. J, Bjorn Borg, Tom Brady and Tim Lincecum. Interesting subjects, all, but Arnie stands supreme, in our humble opinion.  
"Palmer had this way of striding down the fairway with a specific urgency -- he never just walked -- with a cigarette dangling, James Dean-style, from his lips," wrote Mark Starr. Props to GQ for not picking a photograph of Palmer without a cigarette in his lips; the politically correct thing to do would be to airbrush that out or find another photo, but that would miss the point entirely.
The issue hits stands soon. Check it out and learn how to be cooler from Palmer and his fellow athletes. Except Lincecum. That guy's a goofball. Nice job, King! 

GOLF AND HUGO CHAVEZ

Venezuela’s Chavez says he is no enemy of golf

By FABIOLA SANCHEZ, Associated Press 7 hours, 15 minutes ago

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)—Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declared on Tuesday that he is no enemy of golf despite his concerns about elite golf courses on prime urban real estate in Caracas.

Chavez made the remark while congratulating Venezuelan golfer Jhonattan Vegas on his win in the Bob Hope Classic on Sunday in California.

“I’m not an enemy of golf. I’m not an enemy of any sport,” Chavez said in a televised speech.

“What I’ve done is criticize that there are some rich guys in Caracas who have… golf courses and next to them the ‘ranchos’ are falling down,” he said, referring to the simple brick homes clinging to hillsides that have been destroyed in recent landslides.

Chavez has suggested the land on Caracas golf courses could be better used as his government seeks to speed construction of public housing—a stance that has raised the possibility the courses could eventually be expropriated.

The president said he hoped to speak with Vegas soon by phone to congratulate him personally.

“He beat all the gringos,” said Chavez, laughing. “Let’s go, buddy.”

The 26-year-old golfer, who came from a humble family in which his father was groundskeeper of a small course, became the first Venezuelan to win an event on the PGA Tour.

Chavez noted that Vegas is black, saying “he looks like (President Barack) Obama.”

State television cut to segments of Vegas’ successful performance, and Chavez joked “that’s how I played golf” years ago in the president’s hometown of Sabaneta.

Chavez noted that Vegas lives and plays in the United States, saying he represents Venezuela nevertheless “wherever he lives.”

“We’re going to practice golf here, too,” Chavez said.

The leftist leader has previously called golf a pastime of the rich. His socialist government has closed six courses in recent years, all but one of them on land owned by the state oil company—including the course in eastern Venezuela where Vegas learned to play as a boy.

Vegas has said he hopes to give his sport a boost in Venezuela, where baseball has long been the undisputed favorite.

Chavez sought to separate Vegas’ performance from the issue of golf courses in Caracas, where his government is trying to cope with a severe shortage of affordable housing.

The president said he opposes that “a group of very rich people” have a spread of golf courses “there in the heart of Caracas.”

He said there is “almost no city in the world” that has golf courses within city limits as Caracas does.

However, Mexico City and Buenos Aires have golf course layouts within the city limits. Golf courses are also common features of many city parks in North America.

ZACH JOHNSON - COMING HOME TO IOWA

Zach Johnson stops off at home

By LUKE MEREDITH, AP Sports Writer 

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)—Golfer Zach Johnson doesn’t get back to his native Iowa much, though he’s grateful for the home-state support he gets all the time on the PGA Tour.

Johnson, who graduated from Drake before joining the tour, stopped in Des Moines on Tuesday to accept the an award from his alma mater for contributions to his profession.

Johnson got his start in professional golf thanks to a group of Iowa businessmen who provided financial support to the unknown golfer early in his career.

Now a full-fledged regular on the tour, Johnson said he’s honored by the vocal support he receives from fans clad in Drake and Iowa Hawkeyes gear seemingly everywhere he goes.

“It’s every day, it’s every week. It’s overseas, it’s domestically. It’s everywhere. That’s just pride,” Johnson said. “We’re a small community, but we’re a tight community. And we love our own.”

Since Johnson’s memorable breakthrough in winning the Masters in 2007, he’s developed into one of the steadier players on the circuit.

Johnson has won at least one tournament in each of the past four seasons and finished third in the FedEx Cup standings in 2009. Though he suffered a dip last season by finishing 19th on the money list after being fourth in 2009, he went 2-1 in the Ryder Cup.

Johnson, who’s never been one of the game’s longest drivers off the tee, said he’s focused on continuing to hone his accuracy and short game in 2011.

“I thought my ball-striking at the end of the year was really good, and my putting really came along probably a third or halfway through the season,” Johnson said. “I’m encouraged. I like where things are.”

Johnson no longer lives in the state, but his charity golf event in Cedar Rapids in 2008 raised roughly $350,000 for victims of that spring’s heavy floods. Last summer, he announced the launch of the Zach Johnson Foundation for needy children in Cedar Rapids.

The foundation’s signature event will be an annual golf event in Cedar Rapids featuring a handful of PGA players and up-and-coming golfers. The inaugural event will be held on Aug. 1.

“I love coming home,” Johnson said. “This always has been and always will be home.”

THE EUROPEANS AREN'T COMING (OH MY, OH MY)

Finchem says he’s not bothered by European snubs

By DOUG FERGUSON, AP Golf Writer 5 hours, 27 minutes ago

 

SAN DIEGO (AP)—Rory McIlroy won’t be at The Players Championship this year, making his intentions known in Twitter banter with Lee Westwood, who said last week he wouldn’t be going to golf’s richest tournament, either.

“I’ve decided no holes at sawgrass is better than my usual 36!” McIlroy tweeted, referring to his missed cut last year.

It appeared to be another slap at the PGA Tour from two European players who have decided not to take U.S. cards. Westwood said it would not make travel sense for him to go to The Players Championship without being able to play the week before in Quail Hollow because he is limited to 10 events on the PGA Tour.

McIlroy hinted two months ago he might skip The Players, mainly because he doesn’t feel he plays well on the TPC Sawgrass.

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said he was disappointed, but not troubled by the decisions.

“I feel we’ll have an excellent field again,” Finchem said Tuesday. “It’s a premier tournament on a great golf course with a great pedigree of champions, the highest purse of the year. We’ll have a fantastic tournament. My only message to those guys is, you’re always welcome, and we’d love to have you back.”

There have been some suggestions in recent weeks that all tours should abandon policies that restrict how often players can compete if they are among the top 10 or even top 50 in the world.

Finchem sees no need for a change, and he doesn’t feel the PGA Tour is hurt by European players—Westwood, McIlroy and PGA champion Martin Kaymer are the most visible—who don’t join the U.S. tour.

“Candidly, I’m disappointed about players not playing here … because it helps our field,” he said. “But on the other hand, I feel like we have the right mix of international players on the tour. I see no need for us to have more international players. I also feel strongly that the European Tour needs to be a strong tour. It’s a very good thing for golf globally.

“They have struggled more than we have with this (economic) downturn,” he said. “They’ve had to morph their schedule into the Middle East and now Asia to find markets to support their tour. I applaud that. Candidly, it’s probably more important on the European Tour that some of those players play over there than it is for us that they play here.”

SINKING SINGH: The biggest news from the latest Official World Golf Ranking might have been found far from the top. Vijay Singh slipped to No. 105 in the world, the first time in more than 21 years the Fijian has not been in the top 100.

To last that long among the top 100 is an astounding testament to consistency and longevity.

Singh was No. 102 in the world on Nov. 12, 1989, just a few days after the Berlin Wall began coming down. He was a 26-year-old rookie on the European Tour. Rickie Fowler had just celebrated his first birthday.

Singh, who turns 48 next month, has not won since the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2008 that carried him to the FedEx Cup.

“I’m just going to take it one tournament at a time and try to get better each week,” Singh told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser at the Sony Open, where he tied for 57th. “At this point in my career, it’s all I can do.”

LEFTY AND OLLIE: Phil Mickelson is not alone in his praise for Jose Maria Olazabal, the two-time Masters champion who was selected as Europe’s next Ryder Cup captain. Asked to explain what he meant by calling the Spaniard a “class act,” Mickelson shared a story.

They were part of a five-man playoff at the former BellSouth Classic outside Atlanta in 2005, but only because Olazabal missed a short birdie putt on the final hole in regulation. On the first extra hole, Olazabal had a 4-foot birdie putt to win, and he missed again.

“If you remember, Jose Maria throughout his career is one of the best putters the game has ever seen, so to see him miss a second one was shocking,” Mickelson said.

Lefty went on to win the playoff, then headed to Augusta National as the defending champion.

At the Champions Dinner, Mickelson served for dessert some vanilla ice cream with several of Olazabal’s favorite toppings.

“As he was scooping up the last bit, he kind of looked at me and said, ‘Thank you,”’ Mickelson said. “I said, ‘Are we even?’ He says, ‘No, no. You still owe me one. I gave you two.’ I think it’s his ability to have a sense of humor about some of the tough times, as well as be able to take the joy of his success that has made Jose Maria a class act and a guy that you enjoy being around.”

RILEY REBOUNDS: Chris Riley played in the Tour Championship back-to-back years, and followed that in 2004 by making the Ryder Cup team. But he hasn’t been the same since, failing to keep his card for five straight years until he finished 90th on the money list in 2010.

He believes he is getting his game back to where it was. His concern, of all things, is his putting.

“I don’t putt like I used to,” Riley said. “I putt scared, like tentatively, instead of letting it go.”

Riley spent the offseason watching old videotape of himself putting, hopeful of finding a key. What he noticed was a lack of fear.

“I didn’t care. I just rolled it to the hole,” he said. “I think the older you get, it’s like, ‘Oh, this putt is big. I don’t want to blow it past the hole.’ Whereas before, I would putt like I did when I was a kid.”

Riley just turned 37, although he still talks like a kid.

“I’ve been out here 13 years. Can you believe that? Am I old? That’s a long time, right?” he said, not waiting for answers. “A couple of years I only played 17 times. But that’s like a full schedule for Tiger, right?”

DIVOTS: After being at Loch Lomond for the last 15 years, the Scottish Open is moving to Castle Stuart Golf Links, which is located between Inverness and Nairn in the Scottish Highlands. … It didn’t take long for David Fay to find part-time work since retiring as executive director of the USGA. He is joining Golf Digest to write a monthly column starting in April. … The Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico entered the Guinness Book of World Records by hosting the largest golf lesson at El Camaleon Golf Club. The tournament hosted 1,073 people on Sunday for one of its monthly “Golf PARa Todos” sessions, which translates to “Golf For Everyone.” Guinness officials attended to see the group lesson beat the previous mark of 1,032 people last October in Beijing. … Lorena Ochoa has renewed her endorsement contract with Ping to serve as its global representative, even though she retired from the LPGA Tour last year.

STAT OF THE WEEK: Americans had won 11 straight official PGA Tour events until Jhonottan Vegas of Venezuela won the Bob Hope Classic.

FINAL WORD: “The reason why I changed putters is because I ain’t been making nothing.”—Boo Weekley.