Webb Climbs up to Eighth in the World, Kerr Is Third

The results of the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup over the weekend led to some shuffling of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

Yani Tseng and Jiyai Shin are still one-two on the points list. Tseng’s points-per-event average stands at 11.23, while Shin is a distant second at 9.46. Meanwhile, several other players have repositioned themselves behind them.

Cristie Kerr’s solo fourth-place finish in Phoenix boosted her into third place in the rankings, moving her past Na Yeon Choi and Suzann Pettersen. Ai Miyazato, who didn’t play this past week, remains sixth, followed by I.K. Kim. Karrie Webb’s second consecutive win moved her up two spots into eighth place while Brittany Lincicome, who finished one shot behind Webb on Sunday, shot up five places to 18th. Paula Creamer, who shared second place with Lincicome, jumped three spots into ninth place, while Inbee Park completes the top 10. Michelle Wie fell three spots to 11th place.

The Rolex Rankings are based on player performance over a two-year period. Players from all of the world’s major women’s tours are ranked according to their own efforts and the strength of the field in each tournament. Places in some tournament fields are allocated based on the rankings.

Source http://magazine.exegolf.com/tournaments/lpga-tour/15491-webb-climbs-up-to-eighth-in-the-world-kerr-is-third.html

Excellent Field for This Week's Toshiba Classic

The field for the 2011 Toshiba Classic will boast¬ 23 former major champions and 16 players who own Champions Tour major titles. A total of nine members of the World Golf Hall of Fame will tee it up at Newport Beach Country Club for this week's tournament, which starts Friday.

Defending champion Fred Couples will return to Newport Beach, Calif., and defend the title he won with the second-best 54-hole score in the tournament's history. Couples will attempt to join Hale Irwin as the only golfers to win two Toshiba Classic titles.

Last year, Couples posted an impressive 18-under-par 195 in his third Champions Tour start to win by four shots. Last year Couples won four events, set the Champions Tour's new scoring average record (67.96), finished second to 2008 Toshiba Classic champion Bernhard Langer on the Champions Tour's 2010 money list and Charles Schwab Cup points standings, and was named Champions Tour Rookie of the Year.

Langer will be back. The German is in top form after winning the ACE Group Classic last month in record fashion. Also entered is John Cook, the Corona del Mar, Calif., resident and winner of the first event on the 2011 Champions Tour, the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai; Mark O'Meara, who grew up in Mission Viejo and owns two major championships; along with legends Tom Watson (eight majors and that memorable near-miss in the 2009 British Open) and 71-year-old Lee Trevino (six majors). Watson carded a final-round 62 last year and Trevino will be playing his only Champions Tour event of 2011.

First-time Toshiba Classic participants include former British Open champions Mark Calcavecchia and Ian Baker-Finch ¬- who is making his Champions Tour debut. Other "rookies" are Champions Tour major winner Michael Allen, Keith Clearwater, Bill Glasson, J.L. Lewis, Steve Lowery, Frankie Minoza, Lee Rinker and Rod Spittle.

Current Charles Schwab Cup leader Tom Lehman, who acquainted himself well in his Toshiba Classic debut last year by finishing T3, is entered along with Fred Funk, 2010 Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin, Tom Kite, Nick Price, Fuzzy Zoeller, Craig Stadler and Loren Roberts. All but Funk and Roberts (a two-time Charles Schwab Cup champion) own PGA Tour major championships.

The 65-year-old Irwin, the overall event money leader ($780,091 in 14 appearances), has the most victories in Champions Tour history (45) and is one of 10 former champions in the field. He joins Couples, Langer (2008), Jay Haas (2007), Brad Bryant (2006), Mark "Beerman" Johnson (2005), Tom Purtzer (2004), Allen Doyle (2000), Bob Murphy (1997) and Jim Colbert (1996).

Pavin, Lehman, Watson, Trevino, Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange, Hal Sutton and Dave Stockton all captained Ryder Cup squads. Stockton will compete in his 19th consecutive Toshiba Classic and is the only player in event history to play in every event. His best finish is a T2 in 1995 at Mesa Verde Country Club.

Members of the World Golf Hall of Fame entered include Watson, Irwin, Kite, Langer, Trevino, Crenshaw, Price, Curtis Strange and Larry Nelson.

Cook, Lehman (Allianz Championship) and Langer have claimed the three 2011 Champions Tour events to date. Langer now has 14th Champions Tour titles in 71 career starts, moving him to 15th on the career victory ladder.

"When you look at the names we have in our field this year, all you can do is marvel in wonder at how much history you're seeing on these fairways and greens," said Toshiba Classic executive director Jeff Purser. "A great amount of the game's history over the last 40 years is represented in this event, but what shouldn't be forgotten are these players continue to impress and amaze on a weekly basis and Newport Beach Country Club has always been a great template for them. This event not only raises millions of dollars for charity, but it continues to raise the bar of golf on the Champions Tour and the players in our field are the reason for that."

The $1.7 million Toshiba Classic, the only Southern California event on the over-50 circuit, awards a $255,000 winner's check and will be televised on Golf Channel Friday, March 11, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. PT, Saturday, March 12, from 3:30-6:30 p.m. PT, and Sunday, March 13, from 4-6:30 p.m. PT.

Daily tickets for the Toshiba Classic are $20 if purchased in advance or $25 at the gate. Season patron badges, providing admission to the grounds and clubhouse for practice rounds and the tournament, are $100. Daily patron tickets, providing access to the grounds and the clubhouse on a single day, are $40. All tickets can be obtained at www.ToshibaClassic.com, while tickets and corporate packages are available by calling 949/660-1001.

Source http://www.cybergolf.com/golf_news/excellent_field_for_this_weeks_toshiba_classic

Westwood, Woods among Match-Play top seeds

England's Lee Westwood will make his first US start as world number one against Sweden's Henrik Stenson when the $1.4 million World Golf Championships Match-Play Championship begins Wednesday.

And third-ranked Tiger Woods, a three-time Match-Play champion who is also a top seed in his quarter of the 64-man bracket, will open against Denmark's Thomas Bjorn, a two-time British Open runner-up who won at Qatar two weeks ago.

German world number two Martin Kaymer and reigning Masters champion Phil Mickelson are also top seeds in pairings that follow world rankings except for 2007 Match-Play winner Stenson, in from 65th after Japan's 64th-ranked Toru Taniguchi withdrew due to a neck injury.

Mickelson opens against Australian Brendan Jones while 2010 PGA Championship winner Kaymer's first match will be against South Korean Noh Seung-yul.

"I just try and worry about my own game and if I play well, I know I can beat who I'm playing," Australian veteran Robert Allenby said. "It's when you start worrying about your opponent or everyone else you come undone."

Woods, still seeking his first victory since the sex scandal that erupted 16 months ago, faces a tough draw in order to end his drought this week.

Woods, a 14-time major champion, won the event in 2003, 2004 and 2008, but none of those was contested on the current Dove Mountain course.

Irishman Padraig Harrington, a three-time major champion, and Australian Geoff Ogilvy, who won the event in 2006 and 2009, meet in a first-round feature matchup with Woods, if he advances, facing the winner in the second round.

England's Paul Casey, the WGC Match-Play runner-up the past two years and a second seed this year, plus South African stars Ernie Els and Tim Clark and Colombia's Camilo Villegas, third last year, are among possible quarter-final foes for Woods.

In 10 starts at the event, Westwood has never reached the third round, but he will be expected to break that barrier, in part because Stenson's only top-10 effort since 2009 in a PGA-sanctioned event was his share of third at last year's British Open.

Westwood's potential second-round foes are Americans Anthony Kim and Nick Watney with South African Retief Goosen, Italy's Francesco Molinari and South Korean K.J. Choi among his possible third-round rivals.

US second seed Steve Stricker, who opens against Italian teen Matteo Manassero, or English third seed Luke Donald could await Westwood in the quarter-finals.

Japan's Ryo Ishikawa and Italy's Edoardo Molinari are also in that portion of the bracket.

Mickelson could face rising US star Rickie Fowler in round two and either reigning British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa or US veteran Matt Kuchar in round three of a difficult draw to the last four.

His quarter-bracket also features second-seeded reigning US Open champion Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland and English third seed Ian Poulter, the defending champion. Poulter and McDowell could meet in round three.

The quarter also features South Korean Yang Yong-Eun, the first Asian man to win a major title, plus England's Ross Fisher and his first-round foe Allenby.

"Match play is one of those games," Allenby said. "You could shoot 7-under and lose. You could shoot 1-over and win. It just depends on your partner. But it is just one hole at a time.

"If you're on your game, you should win, but Match Play is very funny. It's a very fickle game so anything can happen. It plays with your mind, Match Play does, and probably at the end of the week it's the one with the toughest mind will win."

That could well be Kaymer, although he faces a tough draw as well with England's Justin Rose or American Zach Johnson in round two and Swede Robert Karlsson or American Hunter Mahan potentially lurking in round three.

Second seed Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, US third seed Jim Furyk and Australian Adam Scott are also in Kaymer's quarter of the draw.

Source http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gcJ_3Q6Ut5t1WpLfusn5Jcie8wpA?docId=CNG.b095648f40bdd8db18a8a3b80f8b0768.301

Westwood, Kaymer, Woods and Mickelson top seeds for Match Play

Count in Phil Mickelson for the Match Play Championship.

Mickelson, who skipped the World Golf Championship event in Arizona a year ago, said last November he might sit out again depending on a family vacation. But after he finished his final round at Pebble Beach on Sunday, Mickelson told The Associated Press, "I'll be there."

Lee Westwood, who took over at No. 1 in the world three months ago, will be the top seed when the Match Play Championship begins Feb. 23 on Dove Mountain just north of Tucson.

PGA champion Martin Kaymer will be the No. 2 seed, followed by Tiger Woods and Mickelson.

The 64-man field was determined Sunday night by the latest world ranking, and the only player to crack the top 64 was Anders Hansen. His tie for second in the Dubai Desert Classic moved him from No. 70 to No. 52.

Henrik Stenson, who won the Match Play in 2007 the first year it moved to Arizona, fell from No. 62 to No. 65 after missing the cut in Dubai. He would be first alternate, depending on a fellow European.

Francesco Molinari had planned to skip the Match Play because his wife was expecting. She gave birth to their first child, a son, last week. Asked if he had decided to play, Molinari replied to the AP on Twitter, "not yet no, 60 (per cent) yes 40 (per cent) no right now."

Players have until Friday to decide to play, and the pairings will be released a week from Sunday. After that, alternates could replace someone in the field until all matches tee off.

If Molinari decides to play, Westwood would play Toru Taniguchi of Japan in the first round. Taniguchi reached the semifinals of the Match Play when it was held in Australia in 2001, losing to eventual winner Steve Stricker in the semifinals.

Kaymer would face Seung-yul Noh, while Woods would play longtime friend Thomas Bjorn and Mickelson would get Brendan Jones.

Other matches that could be intriguing if Molinari plays would be Sean O'Hair against Hunter Mahan, two pupils of swing coach Sean Foley; defending champion Ian Poulter against Stewart Cink; and Geoff Ogilvy against Padraig Harrington.

The format for the Accenture Match Play Championship has changed this year from a 36-hole championship match on Sunday to 18-hole semifinals Sunday morning and an 18-hole championship that afternoon.

Source http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5inTn1U73L5r_NHttD8exKiW5CMlg?docId=5942064

Wilson wins Phoenix Open in playoff

On Sunday, Mark Wilson's beloved Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl.

On Monday, Wilson got his second win already in 2011.

Wilson birdied the second playoff hole on Monday to defeat Jason Dufner and win the Phoenix Open. He captured the Sony Open in Hawaii last month and now Wilson is on top of the golf world.

"I am ecstatic," Wilson said in a television interview. "I guess my schedule got even better. I guess I'm in all the majors now and the match play thing.

"It's crazy. I'm just riding the train as long as I can. This is the best golf I've ever played in my life."

Wilson finished off a two-under 69 on Monday to join Dufner at 18-under 266. Dufner, who had a final-round 66, and Wilson were part of a large handful of golfers who came back on Monday after frost delays set the tournament back.

After pars at the first playoff hole, Wilson hit a great seven-iron seven feet short of the flag at the par-four 10th at the TPC Scottsdale. Dufner found the rough and could do no better than 60 feet.

Dufner's birdie try came up six feet short opening the door for Wilson. He poured his putt right into the heart of the cup and is now atop the money list and FedExCup standings.

"I have a good attitude right now," Wilson said on television. "I hit bad drives on 18 and in the playoff. I don't get down on myself. I'm looking forward to next week."

For Dufner, this was his best chance at that elusive first PGA Tour win.

"It's a little disappointing, but I didn't really give myself good chances," Dufner said in a televised interview. "All in all, a good week and a good start to 2011. I've been close a couple of times. I'm kind of tired of being close, so hopefully we can get one done this year some time."

Vijay Singh finished off his five-under 66 in the darkness Sunday to get in at 16-under 268. According to reports, Singh left the course thinking he'd never get into a playoff with Wilson at 18-under par and still with six holes to complete.

Singh tied for third place with Martin Laird, who fired a six-under 65.

Nick Watney (68), J.B. Holmes (67) and Gary Woodland (66) shared fifth at minus-15.

It was a painful Monday for Tommy Gainey, who was near the top of the leaderboard throughout much of the tournament. He drove into the water at the 17th, hit it back into the water and he left with a triple-bogey seven.

Gainey finished with a three-over 74 and tied for eighth place with Brandt Snedeker, Webb Simpson, Chris Couch and former PGA Champion Y.E. Yang at 14- under 270.

Wilson and Dufner were tied for the lead at 18-under par with Gainey one behind when Gainey imploded on 17.

Wilson hit into a fairway bunker at 18, but his drive flirted with water. He hit a spectacular seven-iron to 14 feet to give himself a chance at the win in regulation.

His putt stayed above ground and it was off to 18 for the playoff.

Wilson hit into a right bunker this time off the tee, but Dufner wasn't in the fairway either. Wilson's approach landed almost 60 feet from the stick, while Dufner had 20 feet for birdie from the fringe.

Wilson lagged to five feet and Dufner's putt narrowly missed. He tapped in for par, then Wilson ran home his par putt to head to the 10th, where he finally won the tournament.

"I was trying to beat Tommy the last few holes," admitted Wilson. "I hit a bad drive on 18, but got away with it. I've had that putt before. I got it to drop."

Phil Mickelson never got anything going late and tied for 29th at minus-10.

NOTES: Dufner birdied 16 and 17 to put the heat on Wilson...It took until the Arnold Palmer Invitational last year for Ernie Els to become the first multiple winner on tour...Wilson pocketed $1,098,000 for the victory...Next week is the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which Dustin Johnson has won the last two years.

Source http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/07/2055019/wilson-wins-phoenix-open-in-playoff.html

Golf World announces annual list of its "100 Best Golf Shops"

For the 26th consecutive year Golf World has published its selection of the "100 Best Golf Shops"—a collection of those private, resort, public and off-course shops that have excelled in retail operations. The list will appear in select issues of the newly redesigned January 31 issue of Golf World, and it can be viewed online at www.golfworld.com.

Of the 29 states represented on the list, California has the most shops (19). Arizona is second with 12, followed by Florida with 11.

The PGA Tour Shop has 11 shops on the list, the most of any off-course facility. Other facilities with multiple shops include the TPC properties (nine), Bandon Dunes (two), Carl's Golfland (two), Edwin Watts Golf (two), Kiawah Island Golf Resort (two), Lumpy's Golf (two), Pebble Beach (two) and Trump National (two).

Two shops have appeared on the list all 26 years: Haggin Oaks Golf Super Shop in Sacramento, Calif. and Carl's Golfland in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. This year's 100 Best includes 12 shops making the list for the first time.

In 2010 the combined revenue of the 100 Best Shops was $200,155,542. In 1986, the first year of the list, total revenue was $61.8 million.

To be considered for the annual list, golf shops submitted entries to the magazine. The winning shops were then chosen based on three criteria, each weighted equally:

• Revenue per square foot and per round of golf played compared with shops in the same category.

• Appearance of layout and product displays (determined through photos submitted to the magazine).

• Evaluation of a shop's successful promotions and recent initiatives within the last year (described through a written response).

The "100 Best Golf Shops" list was previously featured in Golf World Business and Golf Shop Operations, both published by Golf Digest Publications. This is the fifth year that Golf World has published the list.

Golf World, the nation's oldest and most widely read newsweekly golf magazine, is published by Golf Digest Publications and is part of Condé Nast. Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications, operates in 25 countries. In the United States, Condé Nast publishes 18 consumer magazines, two trade publications and 27 websites that garner international acclaim and unparalleled consumer engagement.

Source http://www.worldgolf.com/newswire/browse/66043-Golf-World-Announces-Its-100-Best-Golf-Shops

Woods Says He’s Ready to Return to Tour, and to Winning

Tiger Woods returned to familiarity on Wednesday, to the fairways and greens of Torrey Pines Golf Course, comfortable confines that are etched in his mind like the layout of his childhood home some 90 miles north in Cypress.

Whether this will be the week he returns to normalcy on the golf course where he has won seven times as a professional will depend on what happens in the Farmers Insurance Open, his first PGA Tour event of the year. But he could not have picked a better place to find out.

Relaxed, rested and seemingly at peace after a winless and tumultuous year, Woods, 35, said his game was in good shape and that he was prepared to resume his climb to the top of golf’s Mount Olympus. He said it with a smile and a self-assured tone that were absent from his public appearances last year. He left little room for doubt that, despite all the changes in his life, the audacious goal he set before his first professional tournament in 1996 — to win every tournament he enters — was intact.

“The goal’s still the same,” he said. “Try to beat all their butts. It hasn’t changed.”

Many things have changed, though, since Woods last played here, beating Rocco Mediate in a Monday playoff to win the 2008 United States Open. Among the oft-recited litany of losses, fallout from the off-course scandal in his personal life, are his ranking as the No. 1 player in the world; his marriage; multiple corporate endorsements; millions of dollars; and the on-course focus that made him the most prolific winner of golf tournaments (71) in the fewest number of years (14) in golf history.

Coming off a year in which he failed to win a tournament for the first time since he began playing competitively, Woods said he had balance in his life and that the memory from last year that was clearest in his mind was of the second shot he hit into the 72nd hole of the Chevron World Challenge.

“That was it,” he said. “All the changes I made in my swing, when I needed it the most. I needed to hit the 8-iron with that kind of shot, and I pulled it off. So under the most intense pressure I hit the shot I needed to hit when I needed to hit it.

“I needed to hit that fade. I needed to hit the 8-iron flush. I needed to get it there. I needed to hit it through the wind. And I did all those things and hit it to two and a half feet.”

Not one to rhapsodize about a shot unless it happens to meet his standards, and rarely one to recall a shot that did not lead to a victory, Woods chose to single out that one because it signaled that his work with the teacher Sean Foley had taken root and that his confidence in himself to execute under pressure was back. Graeme McDowell won the tournament by making two long putts, the first to tie and the second to win a playoff, but Woods had proved a larger truth to himself.

And now his peers see him coming back to where he was. Phil Mickelson, whose comedic timing is sometimes on a par with his short game, was asked what he expected to see from Woods this year. He started with what he had noticed toward the end of last year, at the BMW Championship and during the Ryder Cup singles.

“His speed was back up,” Mickelson said. “He was hitting it long. His touch was coming back, and I expect that he’ll be the Tiger that we’ve known for over a decade.”

Then Mickelson paused theatrically for effect before adding, “Unfortunately.”

That got a big laugh. Because what Mickelson realizes is the same as what the commissioner of the PGA Tour, Tim Finchem, knows and what television executives, fans and every tour player knows. A competitive Tiger Woods, focused on winning and not on discussions with lawyers, will help put the focus back on the sport.

And this week at Torrey Pines, there will be an intense competition that it likely to heat up again. An invigorated Woods and a golf course full of fearless young players who have been emboldened by his absence could be a recipe for entertainment that was missing last year.

Those who have written off Woods will be pulling hard against him. The fans who missed the single-minded pursuit of excellence that was absent from the distracted and somewhat wounded Woods will be pulling the other way.

And Woods is ready to see if what he believes he is bringing to the course will, in fact, be what he brings.

Source http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/sports/golf/27tiger.html?_r=1