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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Adam Scott eager to play for winner in Presidents Cup after winless decade

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Adam Scott will start off Thursday with the youngest player on the International team – 21-year-old Hideki Matsuyama – as his partner against Bill Haas and Webb Simpson.

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Doug Ferguson

Associated Press

Series: PGA Tour

DUBLIN, Ohio – Adam Scott was in the middle of all the chaos in South Africa as darkness gathered.

Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, in a sudden-death playoff to decide the 2003 Presidents Cup, halved three straight holes and could barely see the last two putts fall. Both teams and captains were on the second green at Fancourt when a tie was proposed. That's when U.S. Captain Jack Nicklaus reminded International Captain Gary Player that the Americans would retain the cup as the defending champion.

SCOREBOARD: Follow the Presidents Cup leaderboard

"Let's keep playing!" Scott demanded over the din.

He was 23, two months removed from his first PGA Tour win. It was his first Presidents Cup. The burst of emotion got the attention of his teammates. The teams eventually agreed to share the cup. Scott would not have guessed it would be as close as he would get to being on a winning team at the Presidents Cup.

The 10th edition of the Presidents Cup starts Thursday, and the odds do not exactly favor the International team.

It has seven rookies, and while all but Hideki Matsuyama have played a fair amount on the PGA Tour this year, Scott is the only team member to have won – at the Masters for his first major, and The Barclays during the FedExCup playoffs.

The American team is regarded as one of the strongest ever for any cup – all 12 players are among the top 30 in the world ranking, and four other players from the top 30 were left out (Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, Nick Watney and Bubba Watson).

The matches are at Muirfield Village, were Tiger Woods has won five times and Matt Kuchar won in June. The Americans have never lost the Presidents Cup on home soil, which is not all that unusual considering they have only lost once since the Presidents Cup began in 1994.

"I understand that and how it looks on paper," Scott said Wednesday after the final day of practice. "It's hard to write off guys who are top 60 in the world, because on any given day, anyone can beat anyone. And we've seen that a million times, especially in 18-hole match play. Yeah, I see how that looks. I also see seven guys here for the first time pumped up and ready to go. And I think that's giving me a great feeling about a new experience in the Presidents Cup after having a run of really big defeats."

The Presidents Cup gets started with Jason Day and Graham DeLaet taking on Hunter Mahan and Brandt Snedeker in the first of six fourballs matches. It's the first time since 1996 that the better-ball format has been used in the opening session.

Scott is taking the youngest player on the International team – 21-year-old Matsuyama – as his partner against Bill Haas and Webb Simpson. Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley, undefeated in three matches last year at the Ryder Cup, take on Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.

International Captain Nick Price made sure a veteran played with a rookie, except with seven newcomers, he had no choice but to put two rookies together – Branden Grace and Richard Sterne in the anchor match against Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner.

Els is the veteran of this International team, especially with five other players from southern Africa. But when the younger players talk about the week and the importance of winning, Scott's name always gets mentioned.

Perhaps a green jacket can make the voice a little stronger.

"Scotty is really determined," said Marc Leishman, who will partner Angel Cabrera against Woods and Kuchar. "He has not been on a winning side. Ernie has been vocal, as well; Angel, too. All the experienced guys are really motivated and determined to win. Think they are getting sick of being on the wrong end of this competition."

It's getting to the point where "competition" might be a little strong. The last three President Cups have been a rout.

"I feel it's really important for the Internationals to get a win," Scott said. "We need to make this thing really relevant, make it a real competition, because it's gotten a big lopsided the last few outings. I think we've got a team that can win this week, but the only way we can do it is by playing good and wanting it more than the Americans. The last few days have been about building our spirit and our feeling to that point where we want to get out there tomorrow and want it badly."

The Americans have never trailed after any session dating to Sunday singles in 2005.

The International team has been talking about the need to win for the last 10 years. The difference this year is that not many expect that to happen at Muirfield Village. As much as Price can lean on experience from Scott and Els, the seven rookies might be the key. They don't have experience in the Presidents Cup. They don't have experience losing, either.

"The guys who have not been here want to start on the right foot," Scott said. "And the guys who have played in several ... want to turn this around and get a win. And so I think everyone is coming in very determined to put ourselves in front and try and win as many sessions as we can."

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Stenson hopes wrist will be OK for Sun City on Thursday

December 2, 2013 10:26 AM

Henrik Stenson of Sweden kisses his 2013 Race to Dubai trophy after winning the DP World Tour Championship …

(Reuters) - World number three Henrik Stenson still has concerns about his long-standing wrist problem as the Swede prepares to return to competitive action at this week's Nedbank Challenge in South Africa.

Stenson was troubled by the injury in the last few weeks of the 2012-13 European Tour's season-ending Final Series but managed to finish the campaign on top of the money list.

"I have had a specialist looking at it and there are still minor issues but I am hoping to be ok this week," the 37-year-old told the tour website (www.europeantour.com) on Monday.

"The 10 days' rest I had was really necessary and I will go and get another consultation on it during the early part of the Christmas break.

"I was able to play through the whole Final Series with it and it wasn't so much about physical pain hitting golf shots, it was more the inflammation afterwards and the fact I knew there was structural damage in there."

Stenson won the South African Open a year ago but had to withdraw from last month's event.

"I had been putting a lot of pressure on the wrist for a whole month and was getting treatment every day, taking anti-inflammatory pills," he said.

"I have spent more time in the ice bucket than a bottle of Moet and Chandon over the last month and I just had to rest it.

"Once you are in a bad cycle you can't just keep putting pressure on it because your body can't take that. That was the case for me - I had to listen to what my body was telling me."

The Nedbank Challenge in Sun City starts on Thursday.

(Writing by Tony Jimenez; editing by Rex Gowar)

A big week of golf on 3 continents

By DOUG FERGUSON (AP Golf Writer)December 3, 2013 11:02 AMAP - Sports

Joost Luiten of The Netherlands celebrates winning the KLM Open men's golf tournament in the beach resort of Zandvoort, western Netherlands, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) -- Joost Luiten better hope his decision to hit one shot at the BMW Masters doesn't keep him out of that other ''Masters.''

This is the last big week of tournaments around the world as players try to finish inside the top 50 to earn an invitation to Augusta National in April. Luiten is at No. 52 going into the Nedbank Challenge, but here's where it gets interesting.

Luiten had a sore shoulder in Shanghai. He had to play two of three ''Final Series'' events on the European Tour to be eligible for the finale in Dubai. So he chose to hit one shot off the first tee at Lake Malaren in the BMW Masters and withdraw. He rested his shoulder for two weeks, played Turkey and then tied for fourth in Dubai.

However, that added one tournament to his total in the world ranking formula. If he had not been required to play the BMW Masters, Luiten would be at No. 49.

Ultimately, however, his performance will dictate whether he gets into the Masters. Even though it's late in the year, the fields on three continents are packed with good players at the World Challenge in California, the Hong Kong Open and the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa.

The strongest field is in California, though it will have no bearing on the Masters because all 18 players at Sherwood are already eligible (and all of them are in the top 30).

Miguel Angel Jimenez (No. 48) is playing in Hong Kong, by far the weakest of the three fields. If he doesn't play well, the Spaniard risks being passed in the ranking by Richard Sterne (No. 51) or Luiten in South Africa. Also playing in South Africa are Gary Woodland (No. 57 but already in the Masters), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (No. 60) and Peter Uihlein (No. 67).

The final tournament of the year is the Nelson Mandela Invitational, though the field is expected to be weak. Among those expected to play are Branden Grace, currently at No. 50.

For the players who don't quite crack the top 50, Augusta National takes the top 50 one week before the Masters. Then again, Geoff Ogilvy missed the top 50 by one shot in Australia at the end of last year and went backward at the start of a new season.

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WHEN GOLF GETS IN THE WAY OF FOOTBALL: Jason Dufner took to Twitter to ask tournament host Tiger Woods if the World Challenge could change to 36 holes on Thursday and Friday ''so I can watch my beloved Auburn'' play for the SEC Championship.

If nothing else, it got Woods to tweet something for the first time in a month: ''Petition denied.''

Auburn and Missouri play at 1 p.m. PST, so Dufner's best hope is to play so poorly in the opening two rounds that he's off the course by then.

Woods, who went to Stanford, has no such problem. The Cardinal and Arizona State play for the Pac-12 title at 4:45 p.m. PST, well after the third round is over. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State (Hunter Mahan) goes after a Big 12 title when it plays Oklahoma at 9 a.m. PST.

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ROOKIE STARS: One of the best rivalries in golf this year was not a rivalry except when measuring achievements on two tours.

Jordan Spieth started the PGA Tour season with no status and earned temporary membership, won the John Deere Classic, qualified for the Tour Championship, was picked for the Presidents Cup team and finished No. 7 in the FedEx Cup standings. It was the best rookie season on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods started with no status and won twice in his first seven tournaments in 1996.

Across the ocean, Hideki Matsuyama was equally impressive on the Japan Golf Tour.

The 21-year-old Japanese star didn't turn pro until April. He won four times this year, and his win last week in the Casio World Open made him the first rookie to win the Japanese money title with just more than $2 million. Matsuyama had a pair of top 10s in the majors (he tied for 19th in the PGA Championship), and he earned his PGA Tour card for the 2013-14 season. In his first tour event as a member, he tied for third in the Frys.com Open.

Spieth earned 184.432 ranking points this year and is No. 22 in the world. Matsuyama earned 157.47 points and is No. 23 in the world.

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SEMINOLE JACK: Jack Nicklaus grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and won an NCAA title at Ohio State. He even dotted the ''i'' at a Buckeyes football game.

But as Nicklaus told the Palm Beach Post this week, ''blood is thicker than anything else.''

His grandson, Nick O'Leary, is the starting tight end for Florida State, and the top-ranked Seminoles could very well meet Ohio State if both teams win their conference championships on Saturday. Nicklaus said his allegiance would be with Florida State.

Maybe Nicklaus saw this coming.

He was at his alma mater at the start of the football season and told Ohio State coach Urban Meyer that he had already secured tickets to the title game in the Rose Bowl. Meyer cautioned Nicklaus not to jinx the Buckeyes, only for Nicklaus to tell him, ''Urban, I bought the tickets for Florida State. I hope you get there.''

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THE CUPS RUNNETH OVER: Add a couple of more cups to the calendar.

Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain and Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand have been selected as playing captains for the inaugural EurAsia Cup. The team matches will be played March 27-29 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Among those expected to compete are Graeme McDowell, Jamie Donaldson and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

It gives Europe team match competition in a Ryder Cup year.

Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin have been named honorary captains of the ''Concession Cup,'' to be played May 1-3 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla. The matches are for leading mid-amateurs, senior amateurs and super senior amateurs from the United States against Britain & Ireland.

The club was named after the moment of sportsmanship at the 1969 Ryder Cup, when Nicklaus conceded Jacklin a short par putt for the event to end in a tie. The Americans retained the cup.

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DIVOTS: Brandt Snedeker is being replaced in the Franklin Templeton Shootout field by Harris English. Snedeker hurt his left knee after losing his balance on a Segway in China, and is taking the rest of the year off as a precaution. He is expected to return at the Tournament of Championship at Kapalua the first week of January. ... The European Tour has appointed David Williams chairman of the board, replacing Neil Coles, who retired this year. ... The winners in golf over the last few weeks include Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Charl Schwartzel and Luke Donald. ... Steve Stricker is the only player from the top 10 in the world who has not won this year.

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STAT OF THE WEEK: Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson and Brandt Snedeker are the only players from the top 25 in the world who are not playing this week.

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FINAL WORD: ''I have spent more time in the ice bucket than a bottle of Moet & Chandon over the last month.'' - Henrik Stenson, who has been coping with a wrist injury.

Woods closes chapter on California childhood

By DOUG FERGUSON (AP Golf Writer)December 3, 2013 6:32 PMAP - Sports

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) -- Of all the memories from Tiger Woods' roots in Southern California, it's easy to overlook the time he made an appearance in the Tournament of Roses parade.

OK, so he wasn't the grand marshal. And he had just turned 18.

Woods, coming off his first U.S. Amateur title, rode on the Chiropractic Centennial Foundation float that required seven tons of flowers to build. He wasn't the only celebrity on the float on Jan. 2, 1995. Also riding were singer Lee Greenwood, Hall of Fame baseball player Joe Morgan and Olympic champion speedskater Cathy Turner.

The majestic float was toward the end of the order, trailed only by the Icelandic Horse Adventure Society and the International House of Pancakes.

For sure, there were far greater moments with a golf club in his hand.

Woods was only a toddler when he first went head-to-head with Sam Snead. It was only two holes, and Woods made bogey on both of them. Now, he is only four victories from breaking Snead's record for career PGA Tour victories.

Woods made his PGA Tour debut at Riviera in the 1992 Nissan Open when he was a 16-year-old junior in high school. He might have made the cut if not for a growth spurt during the week that made the shaft in his driver too short. More on that later.

He never won what he often referred to as his ''hometown event'' at Riviera. He made up for it by winning five times at Sherwood Country Club, and that doesn't include his win over David Duval at the illustrious ''Showdown at Sherwood'' in what amounted to Monday Night Golf.

Woods returns to Sherwood this week, in effect closing a chapter on golf in the area he always called home.

The Tiger Woods Learning Center, a superb complex that recently received a Golden Bell Award for excellence in education, remains his tie to Southern California. And the Tiger Woods Foundation headquarters will stay in Irvine.

But he stopped playing Riviera in 2006 after he narrowly made the cut. The only regular event in California that Woods still plays is in Torrey Pines, a two-hour drive from his hometown of Cypress in Orange County. The only time Los Angeles area golf fans could see him play was the World Challenge, a holiday event that attracts an 18-man field of players from the top 50 in the world.

This is the last year at Sherwood. Woods is moving the event to Isleworth, his old home in central Florida. Then, it could be headed to the Bahamas.

When he won the Canadian Open in 2000 with that 6-iron out of a bunker and over the water, his late father, Earl, said that day, ''In every tournament, he'll hit shots that people will be talking about for 30 years.''

One thing is certain - Woods leaves a trail of stories behind. Here are five from his time in Southern California.

TIGER VS. SLAMMIN' SAMMY

Woods was just starting kindergarten when he was invited to join Snead at Calabasas Country Club just north of LA. They played two holes, starting with a par 3. Woods hit into a creek fronting the green, and Snead suggested he just pick it up and drop it.

''That kind of ticked me off, so I decided to play it out of the water,'' Woods once recalled. ''I knocked it on the green and two-putted for my 4.''

THE DEBUT

Woods missed his first seven cuts on the PGA Tour, starting with the 1992 Nissan Open in his debut at age 16. He opened with a 72 and was in reasonable shape to make the cut until what his father said was a growth spurt. Woods shot 75 the next day and headed back to high school.

''I was hitting the ball good the first few days of the week, but then I suddenly outgrew my club shaft,'' Woods said a year later.

His father said they didn't figure out what happened until the tournament was over.

''He was in a growth cycle, and those teenage muscles just grew overnight,'' Earl Woods said.

THE END OF RIVIERA

A beautiful afternoon off Sunset Boulevard turned nasty without warning, and Woods was on his back nine at Riviera without rain gear in 2006. He bogeyed two of his last three holes for a 74 to presumably miss the cut - until three more players dropped shots coming in and Woods made the cut on the number.

He was to be paired Saturday with J.B. Holmes, a big-hitting rookie who had just smashed his way to victory in Phoenix. The next morning, Woods was a no-show. He withdrew because of the flu, and he has not been back to Riviera since.

THE POWER MOVE

It was baking hot in August for the ''Showdown at Sherwood'' in 1999, a nationally televised exhibition against David Duval, who had returned to No. 1 in the world. Because it was not an official PGA Tour event, the caddies wore shorts.

A PGA Tour rules official ordered them to change into pants. Duval's caddie complied. Woods' caddie, Steve Williams, did not. The rules officials made it clear to Williams that if he did not change into trousers, it would be the last time he caddied on the PGA Tour.

Woods, listening to this conversation, interrupted by saying, ''Guess I'll be playing in Europe next year.''

Williams wore shorts. Woods won the match. And it wasn't long before shorts were approved for caddies on the PGA Tour.

THE WIN

Of the five wins at his World Challenge, none was more meaningful than in 2011. One shot behind with two to play, Woods birdied his last two holes to beat Zach Johnson. It was his first win since his personal life came crashing down, a span of 26 official tournaments over 749 days.

''If he steadily progresses, keeps getting confidence and moving forward,'' Jim Furyk said that day, ''he's going to return and be one of the best players in the game again.''

Woods won three times the following year, five times this year. For his swan song at Sherwood, he is No. 1 in the world.