Singh sues PGA Tour over deer-antler spray

Singh sues PGA Tour over deer-antler spray










The Sports Xchange May 8, 2013 11:21 AMThe SportsXchange



A week after the PGA Tour lifted sanctions against Vijay Singh for acknowledging his use of a deer-antler spray, he filed suit Wednesday against the tour.

Singh was cleared last week by the PGA Tour of wrongdoing, but that didn't stop him from taking his case to the Supreme Court of the State of New York, alleging that the tour violated its duty of care and good faith.

The suit claims that the tour should have recognized through testing and research that the deer-antler spray contained no banned performance-enhancing substances.

Singh had acknowledged in an interview in January that he had used the spray but did not realize it had been linked to a human growth hormone. The World Anti-Doping Agency no longer has the deer-antler substance on its banned list.

"The PGA Tour has now finally admitted that the use of deer antler spray is not prohibited," the suit indicates. "Rather than performing its duties to golfers first, and then determining whether there had been any violation of the Anti-Doping Program, the PGA Tour rushed to judgment and accused one of the world's hardest working and most dedicated golfers of violating the rules of the game."

Singh's lawyer is Peter Ginsberg, who handled Jonathan Vilma's case against the NFL in the New Orleans Saints' bounty scandal.

"We just received the statement," PGA Tour vice president Ty Votaw told USA Today. "We will have no comment."

Singh has won three major championships and has 34 career PGA Tour victories. He's also a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame

"I am proud of my achievements, my work ethic, and the way I live my life," Singh said in a statement. "The PGA Tour not only treated me unfairly, but displayed a lack of professionalism that should concern every professional golfer and fan of the game."

Vijay Singh Bucks Up, Sues PGA Tour in Wake of Deer-Antler Spray Situation

Vijay Singh Bucks Up, Sues PGA Tour in Wake of Deer-Antler Spray Situation











Ryan Ballengee May 8, 2013 12:03 PM


COMMENTARY | Vijay Singh wrote the PGA Tour a "Deer John" letter on Wednesday, in the form of a lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court.



Singh and his lawyer Peter Ginsberg accuse the PGA Tour of "reckless administration and implementation of its Anti-Doping Program" and subjecting the Fijian to "public humiliation." The problem is that Singh brought this all on himself.



In a Jan. 28, 2013, Sports Illustrated piece, Singh admitted to taking a substance known as deer-antler spray which, at the time, was banned under the Tour's anti-doping program. It was banned by the Tour and the World Anti-Doping Agency (who helped guide the Tour's creation of its banned-substance list) because the spray was thought to contain an insulin-like hormone, IGF-1, that is considered a performance-enhancing drug.



The PGA Tour had warned its players about taking deer-antler spray in 2011 after Mark Calcavecchia not only admitted using it, but promoted it. Despite the warning and the slap on Calc's wrist, Singh used the spray anyhow. The 50-year-old's admission triggered an investigation of the case by the Tour despite two factors: (1) the fact that IGF-1 can only be absorbed by the body if injected as opposed to orally via deer-antler spray and (2) the Tour could not conduct a test for IGF-1 because it only takes urine, not blood, samples from players.



For three months, the outcome of the case was the subject of speculation and questioning. Singh continued to play on the PGA Tour through the entire process, refusing comment on the topic.



Then last week, the PGA Tour announced its response: nothing. The Tour consulted with WADA, which had since decided taking deer-antler spray alone is not enough to warrant a sanction. Only a positive test for IGF-1 was enough. Since the Tour could not produce that evidence, the decision was made to not suspend Singh at all instead of a 90-day suspension Singh alleges in his lawsuit was to be his original penalty.



Of course, the timing is not by mistake. Singh could have waited to file his lawsuit but took to the court system on the eve before the Tour's biggest event. That's some way to repay the Tour and commissioner Finchem for essentially absolving Singh of any wrongdoing despite his blatant disrespect for the anti-doping program and the Tour's warnings about deer-antler spray. Curiously, Singh's suspension, had it been enforced by the Tour, would have ended at the conclusion of this week's Players Championship.



The suit itself is riddled with typos, errors and misleading statements, including that the PGA Tour operates the PGA Championship (no, that's the PGA of America), as well that Singh's urine samples did not indicate a banned substance (great, only a blood test could identify IGF-1).




The filing also goes into a lengthy string about IGF-1, the tiny concentration of it found in deer-antler spray and that cow's milk contains the substance as well. However, the concentration of IGF-1 in deer-antler spray is as much as 20 times higher than what's found in milk. That's merely a distraction.



It may turn out that deer-antler spray is as effective in enhancing performance as deer urine, sold in far higher quantities to hunters than the product produced and supplied to Singh by Sports With Alternatives to Steroids (S.W.A.T.S.). The company has experienced a boom in business since the S.I. story, convincing at least a few thousand people that a little buck shot in the throat might make them stronger or faster. The joke's on them. Even still, the Tour's anti-doping program says it's a no-no to even attempt to take a prohibited substance.



Perhaps the height of the filing's comedy, however, is the notion that the Tour caused "media and fans focused on Singh's alleged violation of the Anti-Doping Program rather than on Singh's play." That stemmed from his admission that he took a substance the PGA Tour banned at the time, which the anti-doping program clearly states is a violation.



This filing was meant for public consumption. It was meant to cause a stir and create sympathy for Singh. He doesn't deserve any, but the Tour is not without fault. To use the words of Singh's lawyer, the nature of this lawsuit is rather specious, but it may force some important changes in the Tour's anti-doping program.



Perhaps it will force the PGA Tour to adopt blood testing, which could have identified IGF-1.



The Tour may no longer be able to rely on WADA for advice on its program and enforcement, as well as take drug testing administration completely in-house.



If those changes happen, they will be a good thing, no matter how preposterous the events that precipitated them.



Ryan Ballengee is a Washington, D.C.-based golf writer. His work has appeared on multiple digital outlets, including NBC Sports and Golf Channel. Follow him on Twitter @RyanBallengee.

Hall of Famer Ken Venturi Transformed Televised Golf

Hall of Famer Ken Venturi Transformed Televised Golf
2013 Inductee Venturi Raised the Bar for Golf Commentators While Ken Schofield Elevated the Ryder Cup











Mark McLaughlin May 8, 2013 1:10 PM




COMMENTARY | When Jim Nantz joined the CBS broadcast team in 1985, televised golf was limited to two hours every Saturday and Sunday.

Golf cov
erage has boomed since then with fans now able to see much more action across global professional tours accessible on multiple media beyond TV. It was against this backdrop of plenty that Nantz stepped to the podium during Monday night's World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony in St. Augustine, Florida.



He was there to introduce 2013 inductees Ken Venturi and Fred Couples. Venturi played a significant role in elevating the popularity of the game and sharing it with millions through television. A third inductee, former European Tour executive director Ken Schofield, has also been a mover and shaker in bringing golf to a worldwide audience.

I have to thank Venturi and his CBS broadcast mates for stirring my interest as a fan. Vin Scully was the lead commentator with Venturi as his analyst when I started watching in the late 1970s. Tournaments then went by names like the Glen Campbell Los Angeles Open, Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic and the World Series of Golf.

Venturi was lead golf analyst for CBS from 1967-2002, the longest such tenure in sports. He later worked alongside Pat Summerall in the 18th hole booth before eventually teaming up with Nantz, who paid tribute to Venturi in this letter.

Many credit Venturi for his style of correctly predicting a player's strategy but he did much more than that. He raised the profile and cachet of golf analysts, paving the way for Johnny Miller, Paul Azinger and Nick Faldo. But unlike that acerbic bunch, Venturi made his mark by sharing his passion for the game and delivering it with honesty and humility.

I associate Venturi with Torrey Pines, Riviera, and Pebble Beach as well as Doral, Muirfield Village and Firestone, tour stops covered exclusively by CBS for years.

Back in those days, CBS broadcast the Masters while Jim McKay, Peter Alliss and the ABC crew televised the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship. Weekday coverage was nonexistent and we were lucky to catch back nine action on the weekend.

NBC made a serious golf push when it gained broadcast rights to the Ryder Cup in 1991.



One of the men most responsible for adding competitiveness to the Ryder Cup was Schofield. During his 29-year tenure running the European Tour, he was instrumental in adding European players to an undermanned Great Britain & Ireland team and turning the Ryder Cup from a lopsided contest dominated by the U.S. into gut wrenching, must-watch TV.

How important has the Ryder Cup become? Well, it got European stalwart Colin Montgomerie into the Hall of Fame this year without a major victory or a win on U.S. soil.

Scoring the Ryder Cup was a coup for NBC, which had stepped up its golf coverage with the hiring of Johnny Miller in 1990. Three years later it outbid ABC for the rights to the U.S. Open and has been a major force in golf ever since.

Along with the Golf Channel, NBC will provide 22 hours of live coverage of the 2013 Players Championshipstarting Thursday. We as viewers owe a debt of gratitude to new World Golf Hall of Fame members Ken Venturi and Ken Schofield for this bonanza.

Mark McLaughlin has reported on the PGA Tour for the New York Post, FoxSports.com, Greensboro News & Record, and Burlington (N.C.) Times-News. He is a past member of the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association. Follow him on Twitter @markmacduke.

Garcia makes insensitive remark about Woods

Garcia makes insensitive remark about Woods










The Sports Xchange May 21, 2013 10:30 PMThe SportsXchange



The verbal sparring between Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods keeps getting uglier.

On Tuesday during a European Tour awards dinner, a TV reported jokingly asked Garcia whether he might invite Woods to dinner during the U.S. Open.

Garcia replied, "We will have him round every night. We will serve fried chicken."

Later, Garcia tried to smooth over the racially insensitive remark with a statement issued by the European Tour.

"I apologize for any offense that may have been caused by my comment on stage during The European Tour Players' Awards dinner," the statement read. "I answered a question that was clearly made towards me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner."

Garcia and Woods have feuded since they played in the same group during the third round of The Players Championship on May 11. Garcia complained that Woods riled the gallery at Sawgrass when he pulled a club from his bag from across the fairway while Garcia was preparing to hit a shot.

Garcia later suggested that the world's No. 1 player should have known better. Woods countered that he thought Garcia had already hit.

"Not real surprising that he's complaining about something," Woods commented at the time.

Since then, the two players have done little to mask their feelings about one another.

: On Monday, Garcia suggested that Woods has a problem with honesty.

"He called me a whiner. That's probably right," Garcia said. "It's also probably the first thing he's told you guys that's true in 15 years. I know what he is like. You guys are finding out."

He added that he didn't plan to call Woods to discuss the matter.

"First of all, I don't have his number," Garcia said. "And secondly, I did nothing wrong and don't have anything to say to him. And he wouldn't pick up the phone, anyway."

Garcia's latest remark resembled a response by Fuzzy Zoeller in 1997 when asked what Woods would have on the menu after his won his first Masters title.

"You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not serve fried chicken next year. Got it? Or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve," Zoeller said.

Sergio Garcia's racist comment makes him the loser in his feud with Tiger Woods

Sergio Garcia's racist comment makes him the loser in his feud with Tiger Woods











Martin Rogers May 22, 2013 9:54 AMYahoo Sports







View gallery.

The feud between Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods escalated through The Players Championship. (Getty Images)Just for a while there, Sergio Garcia actually had it pretty good; back in form, contending on Sundays and holding the sympathetic vote in an edgy little rivalry with the best player in the business. And then, with a pair of ill-chosen words, it all changed.



Garcia took his ongoing verbal joust with Tiger Woods way out of bounds at an awards dinner for the European Tour on Tuesday, foolishly joking that he would invite the world No.1 around for dinner during the U.S. Open and saying, "We will serve fried chicken." An immediate and seemingly genuine apology was issued but not in time to prevent everything from having shifted.

The Spaniard's words took a soap opera founded on mutual dislike, but one that was amusing, entertaining and occasionally childish, down a thorny path littered with racist undertones that golf wants no part of.

In a split second he ensured that his part in the pantomime is now most certainly that of villain, and those who sympathized with him in his dispute with Woods will now rapidly scatter.

"What seemed to be a funny question, and I tried to give a funny answer – it came out totally wrong," Garcia said Wednesday in what amounted to his second apology. "I want to make sure everybody knows I'm very, very sorry. I can't apologize enough times.

"As soon as I left the dinner, I started getting a sick feeling in my body. I didn't really sleep at all. I felt like my heart was going to come out of my body. I've had this sick feeling all day. Difficult to hit a shot all day."

The Tiger and Sergio Show began in earnest during the second round of The Players Championship, with Garcia complaining he had been distracted by crowd noise excitement caused by Woods pulling a club out of his bag while he was about to swing.






View gallery.

Sergio Garcia immediately apologized for his remarks about Tigers Woods. (Getty Images)Tit-for-tat exchanges in news conferences, post-round interviews and television segments followed, with Garcia describing Woods as "not the nicest guy on tour" andWoods responding with a blunt "no" when asked if there was a reconciliation between the pair in the works.



Yet aside from the Tiger diehards – those lovable souls who choke at the mere hint of a suggestion that the world's greatest golfer might not be the cuddliest of characters – Garcia seemed to have many observers on his side.

Garcia's portrayal of Woods as an arrogant and aloof opponent who cares little for his peers did ring somewhat true, and the simmering tension injected a dash of spice into the sometimes vanilla world of top level golf. Furthermore, there was that nagging sense that as long as this spat continued, Garcia might be able to channel it to help him play better, maintain his strong start to the season and bring him bounding up the world rankings.

With a game built on confidence, Garcia has never shied away from hostile obstacles and some of his finest hours have come in the cauldron-like atmosphere of the Ryder Cup.

With each fresh outburst or snub, the rivalry – one that stretches back nearly a decade and a half to when a teenage Garcia gave eventual champion Woods a fright on the final day of the 1999 PGA Championship – drew in a few more souls whose interest in the game is normally reserved only for the majors.

There is nothing like playground histrionics from two leading stars to engage the audience in the gap between the Masters and the summer showpieces. Having two strong characters make no secret whatsoever about the fact they have no time for the other carried delicious appeal.

But then Garcia went and blew it with a moment of idiocy that turned him into a cautionary tale and gifted him membership to the Fuzzy Zoeller School of Inappropriate Speech (Hon. President Steve Williams).

Garica, who doesn't have Woods' phone number, reached out to Tiger's agent, Mark Steinberg.

"I would love to talk to him as soon as possible and make sure everything is OK," Garcia explained.

It matters not that the apology swiftly arose from Garcia’s own free will and reflection and not as a response to a public outcry.

Or that Garcia had the class not to try to hide behind the pitiful excuse of "cultural differences" that his countrymen on the Spanish basketball team used when defending a slant-eyed gesture they made ahead of the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Because it is too late. Woods is now the victim, the one with the sympathy. And the one with the last laugh.

"The comment that was made wasn't silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate …" Tiger said via Twitter. "I'm confident that there is real regret that the remark was made."

For a player once seen as having unlimited promise, it must already hurt Garcia enough to compare his career, devoid of a single major title, with that of 14-time major winner and 78-time tournament victor Woods.

Garcia’s confidence is always prone to disappear at a moment’s trigger, and the scrutiny that will inevitably follow this furor could be enough to halt the momentum that had been building nicely through seven top-20 finishes and four top-10s in the eight PGA starts to date in 2013.

Notwithstanding the fact, of course, that even that run pales in comparison to Woods' four victories on the year, his return to the top spot in the sport and now even the moral high road from which to peer down on Garcia.

Suddenly, it is not so much fun being Sergio Garcia anymore, and it is entirely of his own making.

Woods calls Garcia's comment 'hurtful'

Woods calls Garcia's comment 'hurtful'










The Sports Xchange May 22, 2013 10:31 AMThe SportsXchange



Tiger Woods responded Wednesday morning to Sergio Garcia's fried chicken remark made a night earlier, saying it was insensitive but that the golf rivals should move past their verbal sparring.

"The comment that was made wasn't silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate," Woods tweeted. "I'm confident that there is real regret that the remark was made.

"The Players ended nearly two weeks ago and it's long past time to move on and talk about golf."

During a European Tour awards dinner on Tuesday night at the BMW PGA Championship in Virginia Water, England, Garcia responded to a question about inviting Woods to dinner at the U.S. Open in June.

"We'll have him 'round every night," Garcia said. "We will serve fried chicken."

Garcia issued an apology later in the evening for the racially insensitive comment.

"I apologize for any offense that may have been caused by my comment on stage during the European Tour Players' Awards dinner," Garcia said in a statement. "I answered a question that was clearly made towards me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner."

Garcia said he was sorry again Wednesday during a news conference.

"Obviously, finally, most importantly, I want to apologize to Tiger and anyone I could have offended by the comment I made," he said. "I just want to say I feel sick about it, and I'm truly, truly sorry. ... I hope we can move on."

Garcia emphasized that he wasn't trying to be racist and that he had reached out to Woods' agent.

"It was very hard," Garcia said. "As soon as I left the dinner, I started getting a sick feeling on my body. I really didn't sleep at all last night."

The spat started at The Players Championship earlier this month when Woods and Garcia played together during the third round. As Garcia prepared to hit a shot on the second hole, he said Woods pulled a club from his bag across the fairway, which caused the crowd to stir and distracted Garcia. A dispute ensued between the two.

Garcia clearly doesn't get along with the world's No. 1 player.

"I mean, you can't like everybody," Garcia said earlier Tuesday. "I think that there's people that you connect with and there's people that you don't. You know, it's pretty much as simple as that. I think that he doesn't need me in his life, I don't need him in mine, and let's move on and keep doing what we're doing.''

Webb earns 39th LPGA win

Webb earns 39th LPGA win










Rick Woelfel, The Sports Xchange June 2, 2013 8:20 PMThe SportsXchange


GALLOWAY, N.J. -- For all the young talent there is in the game of golf, experience still counts for a lot.

On a blustery Sunday afternoon, Karrie Webb came from five shots off the pace to win the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Webb fired a 3-under-par 68 at the Bay Course at the Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club near Atlantic City. She finished the 54 holes at 4-under 209.

China's Shanshan Feng, who started the final round with a three-shot lead, soared to a 75 and wound up alone in second place at 2-under 211. South Korea's Hee Young Park's closing 71 left her in third place at 212. Jenny Shin, another South Korean, was at 213.

It was the 39th LPGA victory for the 38-year old Webb, an LPGA Hall of Famer, and her first official win since March 2011.

"I'm really excited," she said. "It's a lot of hard work paying off sitting here, probably more hard work on the mental part of my game, but I've been working really hard on all aspects of my game. Just to do it in such tough conditions today, I'm really pleased."

Webb and the rest of the field were buffeted by winds that blew as high as 25 mph in the afternoon and sent scores climbing. The top three finishers were the only players in the field of 74 to finish the 54 holes under par.

The putter proved to be the most important club in Webb's bag Sunday. The Australian got off to a hot start by rolling in a 25-foot birdie putt at the par-4 second hole and followed up with a 10-foot eagle putt at the par-5 third.

At that point she moved her into a tie for the lead with Feng, who was playing two groups behind her and had double-bogeyed the second.


At the fourth, Webb saved par by making a 7-foot putt, one of six par chances she converted on putts of between four and eight feet.

"When I made that putt, I knew that I was feeling pretty good today," she said, "and just tried not to get ahead of myself."

Webb stumbled at the sixth when an errant chip shot led to a bogey, her only bogey of the day, but she remained in a tie for the lead at 3 under par with Feng, who double-bogeyed the fifth.

Feng admitted the wind caused her some difficulties.

"(Saturday) I played in the morning," she said, "so the wind wasn't blowing as hard, I would say maybe from 5 to 10 (mph), but today it was more like 20, with gusts to 25. So it was tough."

Webb pointed out that the Bay Course at Seaview plays tougher than its listed 6,155 yards might suggest.

"You look at the scorecard and it's not an exceptionally long golf course," she said, "but we never play the course with no wind. (Sunday's conditions) were probably extreme, but you know when you get here and you're playing the practice round that it's just a tricky golf course."

After her bogey at the sixth, Webb ran off 11 consecutive pars. She took the lead alone for the first time after Feng bogeyed the 11th and 13th.

Webb finished her week by hitting her approach to the par-5 18th inside five feet and making her birdie putt to increase her lead to two shots.

Feng got one of them back with a birdie at the 16th but missed the green at the par-5 17th and wound up with a bogey.

It was an emotional victory for Webb, whose grandmother has been ill and in the hospital. At one point this week, she considered withdrawing from the tournament and flying to Australia until her grandmother's condition improved.

"She's still in the hospital, but things are looking a little better than they did a couple days ago," Webb said. "So hopefully this will give her reason to feel better."

NOTES: Prior to this week, Webb's last official LPGA win came at the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup. She also won a tournament in her native Australia earlier this year. ... Webb's winning total tied for the highest in the history of the tournament, relative to par. Juli Inkster finished 4 under par for 54 holes in the inaugural event in 1986, which was also played at Seaview. ... Webb is the sixth LPGA Hall of Famer to win the ShopRite tournament. The others: Inkster, Betsy King, Annika Sorenstam, Nancy Lopez, and Se Ri Pak. ... Michelle Wie, who played with Webb on Sunday, shot a 74 and wound up tied for ninth at 215. ... Former world No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan shot an 80 on Sunday to finish her week tied for 69th place at 223.

A Lesson Learned: Work Your Plan

A Lesson Learned: Work Your Plan











Craig Renshaw, PGA June 2, 2013 9:41 PM



I pulled up Matt Kuchar's stats Sunday morning to get a look at what this man was doing well and how he has been able to put himself to number three in the Fed Ex Cup standings (prior to the end of the Memorial). As I poured over Kuchar's stats, one thing became abundantly clear. Matt is not exceptionally long or straight, not great in greens in regulation - but he finds a way to get the ball in the hole in fewer strokes than most others. And when you get down to the basics - that's what championship golf is all about.

Kuchar's greatest strengths all relate to scoring. He can scramble well when he needs to, he makes the birdie putts when he has the chance and he's not afraid to go low. In other words, Kuchar is the consumate scorer, he's tremendous at avoiding mistakes and dangerous areas and he's exceptional at taking advantage when the situation allows. It's a careful, measured, methodical way to get around the course - something all golfers could learn from. If someone was going to catch Kutchar on Sunday, when he started with a two shot lead, they were going to have to low on a hard, Jack Nicklaus course that normally does not allow for real low scoring. Today's lesson learned will be about making a plan for a round and following through with that plan.

Matt knew that he had two shots in his pocket when he stepped up on the number one tee. You could see from the beginning that Matt's plan was to keep the ball in the fairway as much as possible - even so much as hitting hybrid off the Par 5 7th, which was an usual play for these pros, but allowed him to hit the green in three with a comfortable yardage, which led to a tap in birdie. For those trying to catch him, they would have to be exceptional - he was not going to come back to them.

Matt followed this game plan, hitting good tee shots to the widest parts of the fairways, hitting 13 of 14 fairways. Shooting for the middle of the greens, Matt hit 14 Greens in Regulation in a row, while hitting 16 of 18 for the day. This game plan gave him the best chances to make putts and keep his lead. His only mistakes were 2 three putts.

Having a good game plan allowed Matt to withstand a nice run from Kevin Chappell late in the round, but hitting shots from the fairway and having putts made for a fairly stress free day. Remember the next time you play a round of golf. Hit to the largest parts of parts on the course, keep from making a huge mistake, take your medicine when confronted with some trouble and I think you will see a fairly simple round of golf and a lower score.


Craig Renshaw is a PGA Teaching Professional at the Legacy Golf Performance Center in Phoenix, Arizona at the Legacy Golf Resort. You can contact Craig atCrenshaw@raspberrygolfacademy.com

Lateral Hazard: Matt Kuchar commands limelight with virtuoso Memorial performance

Lateral Hazard: Matt Kuchar commands limelight with virtuoso Memorial performance











Brian Murphy June 2, 2013 9:47 PMYahoo Sports




View gallery.

Matt Kuchar celebrates after winning the Memorial Tournament. (USA Today)
Matt Kuchar, at age 34, is apparently hell bent we all acknowledge that he is one of the best players on planet Earth.



Maybe that's why he's always smiling. "I'll just keep putting up great performances," he says behind those pearly whites, "and these Tiger Woods- and Rory McIlroy-obsessed lunatics will have to acknowledge the magnificence of 'Kooch'."

So, from us, to you, buddy, a hearty: "KOOOOOOOOOCH . . . "

He deserves the love. After a triumph at Jack Nicklaus' prestigious Memorial tournament, while Tiger and Rory were fumbling around in bunkers, firing golf balls into water hazards and running short putts past the hole at breakneck speed, Kuchar carved a final-round 68 for his second win of the year. His other was also against a big-time field, the World Match Play at Dove Mountain in chilly February, when he took down Hunter Mahan while wearing snow gear borrowed from that 80-year-old Japanese guy who climbed Mount Everest.

How hot is Kuchar? He's made the cut in all 13 of his stroke-play starts this year, and 21 of 22 last year. That's one missed cut in the last two years. Rory would murder for that kind of consistency. Heck, I think McIlroy sometimes misses two cuts in one week.

[Watch: Highlights from Sunday's Memorial action]

Of course, this being golf, everybody wants to know: Can Kuchar, who was ranked No. 9 in the world and will likely be top-5 now, be considered great without a major championship?

And of course, this being golf, everybody wants to know: Wouldn't Merion's U.S. Open next week be the ultimate place for Kuchar to win? After all, they tell us Merion is a ballstriker's heaven which will reward patience, putting and strategy – all the qualities that make Kuchar who he is.



View gallery.

Matt Kuchar celebrates with his family after winning the Memorial. (Getty)



The answers, of course, await. And you'd be a fool to overlook Kuchar. But there's also that weird golf history that being SO hot coming into the U.S. Open – Kuchar was runner-up last week at Colonial after holding the 54-hole lead – means the game owes Kuchar a backhand across his smiling mug. You don't just go out and win U.S. Opens because you're sizzling on the links. Rather, that's the time the U.S. Open gods tap Webb Simpson at Olympic in 2012 (missed two cuts just prior) or Lucas Glover at Bethpage in 2009 (tie-45th, tie-41st in his two prior starts).

So let's not worry too much about Kuchar needing the validation of a major, and instead admire a player with six career wins now, including the last four – the 2010 FedEx playoff Barclays, the 2011 Players Championship, this year's Match Play and now Jack's party at Muirfield Village – in heavyweight events. In case that's not impressive enough, consider that Kuchar's 35 top-10s since 2010 are best on Tour. Kuchar shows up, makes cuts, and generally plays golf better than 90 percent of the field on any given week, making us all feel lesser about how we do our respective jobs.

Can Kuchar launch a multi-major run at this point in his career, with players like Adam (Have You Seen My Green Jacket? It's Rather Splendid) Scott ready and willing to crop up at any random major? On The Golf Channel, Brandel Chamblee noted that Ben Hogan – whose swing contained features Kuchar likes to replicate – didn't win his first major until age 32, and then, at 34, he won the Merion's U.S. Open. I'd say the poetic symmetry awaits, except the analogy fails when you consider their personalities. Kuchar's nickname could be 'The Grinning American', while Hogan only made smile-like movements with his facial muscles when he had gas.

No, let's just admire Kuchar's game and see what happens. He isn't long off the tee, but what he does do is avoid three putts (4th on Tour), birdie par 5s with sound game plans and good decisions (5th in par-5 birdies on Tour) and most of all, scores his golf ball (8th on Tour). He led the PGA Tour in scoring in 2010, also.

Put it all together and you have Matt Kuchar leading the kind of life where Jack Nicklaus, sitting greenside as 'Kooch' rolled in one final birdie to hold off Kevin Chappell by two strokes, high-fived Kuchar's two little boys, who clearly had no idea who the blonde haired dude was asking for some skin up top.

That's OK. They wanted to jump into Daddy's arms, and when they did, Kuchar asked them to "lay one on me" as David Feherty interviewed him on CBS. A smack on the cheek from his cute little buggers on national TV, another win in the bag? It's good to be Matt Kuchar these days.

SCORECARD OF THE WEEK

71-74-79-72 – 8-over 296, Tiger Woods, tie-65th, The Memorial Tournament, Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio.

Well, there's only one explanation for this shocking turn of events: Sergio Garcia is clearly inside Tiger's dome.

Rimshot, please.

OK, OK, let's all start overanalyzing Tiger's awful week, in which he finished 20 shots behind Kuchar (a record deficit for Tiger in a full-field event) and put up the worst nine-hole score (44 on Saturday's back nine) of his pro career.

Or, let's not start overanalyzing. Sometimes, golf happens. Or, as Tiger said about 15 different ways in his Sunday post-round chat with the media: "It happens." I think he'd love to have included two letters before the "—it" part of that quote, but Tiger usually saves his profanity for on the golf course.

He even got a pick-me-up from Luke Donald, who tweeted out after Tiger’s Saturday round: “I’m guessing Tiger’s 44 for nine holes today gave every single golfer on the planet hope for their own game. #ThatWasNiceOfHim #GolfIsHard.” Nothing like a electronically transmitted “It’s all good, bro” from a peer to make the Saturday night beer go down smoother.



View gallery.

Tiger Woods hits a shot on the 11th hole. (AP)



You can't tell me a guy with four stroke play wins in seven starts this year should be overly concerned with a lousy week on a very tough golf course. Besides, the new, post-Escalade-into-a-tree, Sean Foley-coached Tiger is more prone to an inconsistent performance than his past self. Witness this year's missed cut at Abu Dhabi on the European Tour; or this year's first-round Match Play loss to Charles Howell; or a final-round 74 at the Honda Classic en route to a tie-37th. And that's in a year where he's posed with a big trophy four times and returned to No. 1 in the world.

The one aspect of his game that has dazzled the most this year – his putting – was the aspect that abandoned him at Muirfield Village. Tiger finished 71st of 73 players who made the cut in putting. This, in the same year where he set a record for fewest putting strokes over 72 holes in his career back in March.

Maybe it should be noted that Muirfield Village has bentgrass greens – same as Merion – and Tiger said he had consistent trouble finding the speed all week. That's something to watch at the U.S. Open, how Tiger handles the speed of the greens.

On The Golf Channel, Chamblee noted that Tiger's swing changes slightly from week to week in his new iteration, accounting for some of the inconsistency. Combine that with Muirfield Village's many trouble spots, and Tiger had what he called a week of "funky stances," en route to three double bogeys and two triple bogeys on his scorecard.

What did Tiger say is his solution to his woes? "Go home," he said, "and practice."

And likely turn up at Merion, ready to contend deep into Sunday.

BROADCAST MOMENT OF THE WEEK

"I really don't, but that's OK." -- Jack Nicklaus, in six words sticking a verbal pin into the balloon of Nick Faldo's ego, on CBS.

There's something so refreshing about the Golden Bear's inability to spend time slinging the bull. It's probably why – along with a vibrant family life, a golf design business, money to make elsewhere, a life to live – he's never made the transition to the broadcast booth.

This was a funny moment on Sunday. CBS opened with Faldo reminiscing about the 1977 Ryder Cup at Muirfield Village, a walk-in-the-park U.S. victory over Great Britain and Ireland, 12 ½ to 7 ½. But Faldo wanted to make sure the national audience knew that he and Peter Oosterhuis teamed to beat Nicklaus and Ray Floyd, 3 and 1, in the Friday fourball matches that year for a brief moment of glory.

"Remember that, Jack?" Faldo said, puffing his chest out even more than usual.

Nicklaus then delivered his zinger of a return.

The Ryder Cup was such a lopsided affair before Great Britain and Ireland expanded to include all of Europe (read: Seve Ballesteros) that Nicklaus was probably doing crossword puzzles in between shots of that match against a young and plucky, not-yet-Sir Nick Faldo.

MULLIGAN OF THE WEEK

Kyle Stanley seems like a nice young player. He earned fame last year when he blew a five-shot lead at Torrey Pines, capped by a 72nd hole meltdown. Then, showing the kind of mettle that wins over sports fans, he bounced back the very next week to win at Phoenix. Cue the soaring theme music.

Only 25 years old, Stanley is one to watch, especially given his third place at New Orleans and his tie-6th at Quail Hollow in the past month. Now, here he was at Jack's Memorial, making noise. Birdies on Nos. 5, 6, 8 and 9 got him to 9-under par, one back of Kuchar.



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Kyle Stanley reacts after missing a putt on the 14th green. (AP)



He came to the par-5 11th hole, thinking birdie and maybe a tie for the lead.

Except ... his tee shot got royally hosed. His lie was not only a fried egg, but a fried egg into the lip of the bunker. Good times! Or, as it's alternately known, the death of a dream.

Stanley did well to even get it out of the bunker, then had to try a risky, too-long approach to the green, which went left. He made bogey, and finished in third place, five shots back.

So, while Kuchar was a deserving winner, and while Chappell made Kuchar sweat a little down the stretch, let's add young Stanley to mix, as well. Let's go back out to the 11th tee box, tell the golf gods not to saddle the young kid with one of the world's worst lies and ... give that man a mulligan!

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

The week before a major always feels like that moment in a football pregame when the team finishes its warmups and starts bouncing around midfield before sprinting back into the locker room for a final speech.

That's how it looks for the likes of Tiger and Rory and Kooch, who will skip this week's St. Jude Classic in Memphis to disappear into the cave of preparation for Merion's test.

Of course, Phil Mickelson being quirky Phil Mickelson, he likes to play the week before a major, and will tee it up. He and defending champ Dustin Johnson are part of only five players in the world's top 30 who will head to Tennessee.

Day 1 of the U.S. Open goes to Merion

Day 1 of the U.S. Open goes to Merion











Eric Adelson June 13, 2013 9:12 PMYahoo Sports





ARDMORE, Pa. – Somewhere, Bobby Jones is laughing. So is Ben Hogan. So are all the golf ghosts brought to the brink of exasperation by this little devil of a golf course outside Philadelphia.



The ghosts of old Merion Golf Club are surely cackling at those who underestimated this place. Skeptics said it was too short, too small, too easy for the U.S. Open. They said its sub-7,000 yards couldn't contain the big hitters of today.

Well, any of those who fretted about the teeth and heft of this course should spend Friday parked by the fifth hole. That's the one that gave up all of two birdies on Thursday against 56 bogeys and 17 double bogeys. That's 88-over par.

Start at the tee box and look out at what the players are facing: bunkers and a creek on the left, rough on the right. First shot into the wind, second shot uphill (ball above feet) 200 yards (if you're lucky) to a green that ripples like a fresh bed sheet in the breeze.





View gallery.

Tiger Woods reacts on the 5th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open. (USA Today)Chandler Withington, who was a pro here for six years before moving to Hazeltine in Minnesota, knows all the nastiness the fifth can offer. On Thursday he took a photo of Bubba Watson from the apron and tweeted it with the message, "Can't be short right on 5, Bubba." Bubba bogeyed.



Withington knew the worry about the place was overdone. He was here in August of 2009 when torrential rains basically flooded the course. Initial panic gave way to calm, as the course drained quickly. If Merion could deal with that, Withington knew, it could deal with whatever's left over from Tropical Storm Andrea.

That's because of the rough, creeping in on every fairway, threatening a certain bogey or worse. Leave the driver at home (which early leader Phil Mickelson has done in order to bring five wedges) because far is frightful when the thatch is in play. And the thatch is always in play. So a string of birdies, and any momentum, is at risk when a player gets a little loose with his aim and ends up in the tall stuff.

Tiger Woods missed the fairway on the very first hole Thursday, landed in the right rough, and tweaked his wrist trying to escape it. He tweaked the wrist twice more before play was called due to darkness. He's 2-over, facing a 5-foot par putt at 11. The No. 1 player in the world might be in trouble.

Truth is, everyone might be in trouble. Merion will grab at the heels of any golfer who threatens to run away with this tournament. After Thursday, only six players had a score of better than 1-under; and of those, only Mickelson is in the clubhouse with in improbable 3-under 67 after flying through the night from his home in California.

"The golf course is playing about as easy as it could and yet Merion is really fighting hard," Mickelson said. "We are all struggling because it's such a penalizing golf course. It's penalizing if you miss the fairways, very difficult if you miss the greens, and it's not a given to two putt on these greens. … It's a course that's withstood the test of time, and it's challenging the best players in the world this week."

The rest of the leaders still have holes to play in Round 1. That includes leader Luke Donald, who is 4-under through 13 holes. Donald, along with Lee Westwood (-1), leads the conversation of best players never to have won a major. Well, he's in contention, for now anyway.

For now because the final stretch of golf at Merion is the toughest, leading up to the 18th, which has yielded two birdies against 47 bogeys and 14 doubles. So even if a leader heads to the final hole on Sunday with a shot or two as a cushion, well, good luck.

There have been whispers all week about the risk of playing here at Merion, and that the U.S.G.A. might never come back with its biggest tournament.

A lot of weary pros are going to quietly hope so.

Luke Donald Silently Leads the 2013 US Open

Luke Donald Silently Leads the 2013 US Open











Adam Fonseca June 13, 2013 11:29 PM


COMMENTARY | Call him the Forgotten Knight, butEnglishman Luke Donald has snuck his way into the lead at the 2013 US Open. Currently at 4-under par, Donald
holds a one shot lead over Phil Mickelson heading into Friday.







Granted, Donald's first round was suspended on hole No. 14 due to darkness following a Thursday rattled with weather delays. He will resume and finish the final five holes of his first round on Friday morning before beginning his second round later in the afternoon.

The former world No. 1 has yet to win a major championship in his career and is frequently mentioned in the conversation of the "best player to have never won a major". As the Mirror Sport website reports, Donald was pleased with his play overall, which included a stretch of three consecutive birdies on his back nine.

"Those are kind of the holes you want to make an easy score if you can," Donald said about holes 11, 12 and 13 at Pennsylvania's Merion Golf Club.

"Obviously the weather conditions are making the course a lot softer, and you can attack the pins a little bit more. So it's playing as gentle as it might play so far, and obviously this afternoon not much wind."

"If you were going to make a score, today was a good day," Donald continued. "I've obviously got five holes left and five pretty tough ones to finish, but really happy with the way I started my round."

Donald's best finish in a major championship is third place, which he accomplished at both the 2005 Masters and 2006 PGA Championship. He also managed a tie for fifth place at the British Open last season. While he has threatened tournament leaders on numerous occasions, Donald has yet to break through into the major championship winner realm.

Donald's next five holes are no walk in the park. Hole Nos. 14 - 18 at Merion Golf Club are playing as difficult as any past US Open venue, forcing most of the field over par in no time.

Assuming Mother Nature can hold off for the next three days, Donald has his best opportunity to add a major title to his resume this week. Of course, he'll also need to withstand a surging and consistent Phil Mickelson, who has made it explicitly clear that he is on the top of his game.



Adam Fonseca has covered professional golf since 2005. His work can also be found on the Back9Network. He currently lives in Chicago with his wife. Follow Adam on Twitter at @chicagoduffer.

Tiger scuffles through Round 1 of U.S. Open

Tiger scuffles through Round 1 of U.S. Open











Eric Adelson June 14, 2013 10:27 AMYahoo Sports





ARDMORE, Pa. – Tiger Woods is back – way back. Like, six shots back. After one round.



Is he too far back?

At right around the time the East Coast arrived at work Friday morning, getting ready for a Father's Day weekend watching the three best players in the world compete for a major, the three best players in the world were getting their scorecards vandalized by a par 3 17th hole that can make a grown man cry.

Woods, already five shots off the lead held by Phil Mickelson, landed in the front-left bunker. Rory McIlroytried a high hook and missed the green. Adam Scott did best of all, landing 40 feet short of the cup.

But these guys are good, as the saying goes. They know how to recover, right?

Woods missed the green with his bunker shot. McIlroy missed the green with his chip shot. Scott three-putted.

All three carded bogeys. All three finished their first round over par. Scott is at 2-over, McIlroy and Woods are both at 3-over.

The much ballyhooed threesome of the world's top three turned out to be more pain than pleasure – especially considering a couple of the early round shots from the thick rough here at Merion Golf Club left Woods wincing away pain in his left arm. He said his arm bothered him on "a few shots." Asked what he felt on those few shots, Woods conjured Clubber Lang and quipped, "Pain."

In his last 12 majors, Woods has only eight rounds under par. And only four of his 78 victories have come when he's entered the second round with a score over par. Woods said his round could "easily" have been under par if he'd made a few putts, and, well, he'll have to make those putts if he's going to get back to scratch.

The good news? Woods still has golf's best mental game, and Merion will crush some spirits ahead of him. After the end of Round 1, only five players were under par – leader Mickelson (-3) and Luke Donald (-2) among them. The British-Open-like breeze here is giving everyone wind burn on this Friday, and the flagsticks without flags are not helping players figure out what their shots will do in flight.

"I think everyone thought that as soon as the course got wet it was going to play easy," said Donald. "The scores certainly aren't showing that. The tough holes are extremely tough."

The 17th told the story on Friday, as former major winner Angel Cabrera found the left bunker and couldn't get to the green with his second. Former major winner Zach Johnson came along in the next group and landed in the right bunker, needing to take a drop after an unplayable lie. By the time the marquee group arrived at the tee, there was a bottleneck on the 17th green that would make a Broad Street cabbie bang his fist on the steering wheel.

The wind even fooled with Woods on his short second shot out of the bunker. "I hit a good pitch," he said, "and the wind killed it."

They all had to write down 4s and then go to 18, which is already among the toughest holes in Open history.

But it's not over for them at 17 on this chilly Friday. Woods, and his highly-ranked playing partners, will have to be back again Friday for Round 2.

Golf-Four-way tie for lead at Congressional

Golf-Four-way tie for lead at Congressional










June 29, 2013 8:07 PM


* Castro chips in from 80 feet to complete foursome on top

* 10 players within three shots of the lead (Adds details, quotes)

June 29 (Reuters) - A tumultuous day at the AT&T National ended with a four-way tie for the lead heading into Sunday's final round at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

Roberto Castro chipped in from 80 feet after hitting his approach into the water to save par at the 18th and complete a 71 to join the group at seven-under-par 206 along with Andres Romero of Argentina, and Americans Bill Haas and James Driscoll.

Long-hitting Jason Kokrak, who powered a 349-yard drive at 18 on his way to finishing a 70 for 207, one stroke better than Tom Gillis and South Korea's Charlie Wi.

Wi made nine birdies, including seven on the front nine, on his way to a 65.

On a long, hot day for many players, who had to come in early on Saturday to finish their weather-interrupted second rounds, there were dramatic swings on the leaderboard at the long, rough-lined layout where numerous pins were placed on the edge of trouble.

Haas had nine birdies and only five pars in a three-under 68 that included a triple bogey and three other bogeys.

"Certainly, could have been a 6, 7, 8-under day," said Haas. "But it also could have been a 4, 5, 6-over day if I hadn't putted well."

"You can't blame being tired, it just was a long day and I didn't feel it with the golf swing. Luckily when I did hit a good shot, I was able to make a putt."


Jordan Spieth, a 19-year-old who began the round sharing the lead with Castro, took an early two-shot advantage after opening the round with two birdies to reach nine under par before he slipped back to four under, three strokes off the pace.

Romero, who had to finish five holes to complete his second round, made four birdies on the front side in the third round to climb to 10 under par and seize a three-stroke lead.

But the Argentine double-bogeyed the 11th, where Haas also tripled, and bogeyed the 12th to set up the logjam at the top as player fortunes rose and fell throughout the round.

Castro fell from the lead he had shared with Spieth heading into the round as he bogeyed the second hole and double-bogeyed the third.

But he worked his way back with four birdies, including ones at 16 and 17, as the leaders faltered to make it a foursome atop the leaderboard going to the final round.

Driscoll's round was relatively dull with five birdies and just two bogeys. He shot 68 and is the only player in the field with three rounds in the 60s.

"It's not perfect golf, but you don't really have to play perfect golf sometimes," Driscoll said.

"If you're just patient and putt well and have a good short game.

"There is no let-up. Every hole is long and tough. The rough is up. it's just 18 tough holes out there."

Because of a threat of poor weather on Sunday, players will again go off both tees in groups of three beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT) with the final groups teeing off two hours later.

(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York,; Editing by Gene Cherry/Greg Stutchbury)

Park heads towards U.S. Open title

Park heads towards U.S. Open title










June 29, 2013 8:32 PM

.

View gallery
Inbee Park of South Korea hits her 2nd tee shot during the third round of the 2013 U.S. Women's Open …


(Reuters) - South Korean golfer Inbee Park forged to a four-shot lead after the third round of the U.S. Women's Open at Sebonack Golf Club in New York on Saturday, giving her the chance to win the first three major championships of the year.

Park fired a one-under 71 in the third round, the only player in the field to post a sub-par round in red figures in difficult winds, to move to 10-under 206, four shots clear of compatriot I.K. Kim (73) at six-under 210.

England's Jodi Ewart-Shadoff (74) appears the only other legitimate challenger at three-under with Korea's Ryu So-Yeon (73) and American Angela Stanford (74) the only other players under par, nine off the pace at one-under in a tie for fourth.

"The wind was a bit stronger than (Friday), so the conditions were tough." Park said. "The pin positions were tough, a lot of long irons hitting into the greens.

"It was just a very tough day, but I think I battled it really good out there.


"I had my tough times in the middle but ended up finishing very good, so I'm happy with that."

The 24-year-old Park is keeping the dream of a grand slam alive having already won the Kraft Nabisco Championshipand the LPGA Championship earlier this year.

Should she prevail she will not only claim a fourth major but will be just the second LPGA Tour player to win the first three majors in a season.

Mildred (Babe) Didrikson Zaharias won all three majors played in 1950, the Titleholders Championship, the Women's Western Open and the U.S. Women's Open.

"It's tough not to think about it ... I just try to think that's not a big deal," Park told reporters.
View gallery."
Inbee Park of South Korea tees off on the 5th hole during the third round of the 2013 U.S. Women's O …

"If I want to do it so much, it's just so tough and it puts too much pressure on you. I try to not think about it so much.

I'm just going to try to do the same thing that I did for the last three days. It will be a big day, but it's just a round of golf, and I just try not to think about it so much. I just try to concentrate on whatever I'm doing on the golf course."

Park would be just the fourth woman to win three majors in a calendar year, joining Zaharias, Mickey Wright (1961) and Pat Bradley (1986).

Only Ben Hogan (1953) has won the first three majors of the year in the professional era of men's golf and prior to that only Bob Jones has won what is considered the grand slam.

Jones won the U.S. and British Amateurs and U.S. and British Opens in 1930.

While Zaharias won every major on offer in 1950, from 1955-1966 and 1983-2012 the LPGA held four majors though this year a fifth was added.

For a clean sweep the current world number one will also need to win the Women's British Open in August followed by the Evian Championship in September.

(Reporting by Ben Everill in Los Angeles; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

Korda fires caddie during U.S. .Women's Open

Korda fires caddie during U.S. .Women's Open









The Sports Xchange June 29, 2013 10:22 PMThe SportsXchange



Jessica Korda and her caddie weren't seeing eye to eye during the third round of the U.S. Women's open on Saturday and so she fired him.

On the spot. In the middle of the round.

The 20-year-old American golfer turned to her boyfriend,Johnny DelPrete, who was following her in the gallery, as a replacement and he carried the bag the rest of the way on a windy day at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.

"I just told him, 'Johnny, grab the bag, let's go.'" Korda said.

The change did her some good. After finishing the front nine at 5 over par, Korda improved to 1 over on the back nine and completed the round with a 4-over 76. She's in sixth place at 1 over for the tournament, 11 shots behind leader Inbee Park, going into the final round on Sunday.

It is not like DelPrete is a novice. A professional golfer, DelPrete played on the Web.com Tour in 2012. But it was his first time as Korda's caddie.

"The first few holes I was very shaky, but my boyfriend/caddie kept me very calm out there and kept it very light," Korda said. "And it was kind of funny seeing him fumble over yardage."

Korda and her regular caddie, Jason Gilroyed, had a shouting match during the round -- on a day when difficult conditions sent scores soaring -- and that was it.

"We had a couple of disagreements here and there, and I wasn't in the right state of mind," Korda said. "I knew I needed to switch and just have a little bit more fun out there. It's a U.S. Open. It's tough out there. It just wasn't working out.

"It was tough for me because I care about Jason a lot. He is a great guy. That's just how it happens sometimes in life. That was one of those things today that it just unfolded. It was very hard for me to do. I'm not that type of person to take these things really easily. For me it was very hard to tell him that and it took a lot for me."

Korda's father, Petr, is a former Australian Open tennis champion who is carrying the bag this week for his younger daughter and Jessica's sister, Nelly. The 14-year-old is tied for 61st at 13 over after shooting a 79 on Saturday.

Dad will stay on Nelly's bag for the final round and DelPrete will stick with Jessica.

As for the future, Korda is not sure whether she will reunite with Gilroyed.

"I think everybody has problems every week," Korda said. "You blame the caddie, the caddie blames you. It's just up in the air. I just felt like enough was enough today. I just wasn't mentally ready for it."

Likely Monday finish to Greenbrier Classic

Likely Monday finish to Greenbrier Classic










July 7, 2013 5:35 PM


(Reuters) - The Greenbrier Classic was heading for a likely Monday finish after the final round was interrupted by a weather delay of just over three hours on Sunday at White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia.

Play was suspended due to the threat of lightning at 1:50 p.m. ET (1750 GMT), 10 minutes before overnight leaderJohnson Wagner was scheduled to tee off at The Greenbrier's Old White Course in pursuit of his fourth victory on the PGA Tour.

Though the final round eventually resumed at 5:00 p.m. ET, there was very little chance the lead groups would be able to finish the tournament on Sunday with sunset expected at 8:45 p.m. ET.

"With this cloud cover, I think we can play until about 8.30 p.m.," Slugger White, the PGA Tour's vice president of rules and competition, told CBS Sports.

On Saturday, the lead groups completed the third round in three hours 45 minutes. Final rounds generally take longer with players having to cope with the mounting pressure of a title on the line.


American Wagner, who fired a sparkling six-under-par 64 on Saturday to seize a two-shot lead after the third round, was prepared for all eventualities.

"Rain, sun, shine - it doesn't really matter," Wagner, 33, told CBS Sports. "I'm ready to play if it's tomorrow or Tuesday. I am just happy to be in this position."

Wagner, who won his most recent PGA Tour title at last year's Sony Open in Hawaii, will start the final round with a 14-under total of 196.

Fellow American Jimmy Walker, seeking his first victory on the U.S. circuit, was alone in second with Swede Jonas Blixt a further two strokes back at 10 under.

(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Gene Cherry)