Golf Capsules: On The Fringe - Golf means never taking anything for granted
At A Glance
The Associated Press
All Times EDT
PGA TOUR
CANADIAN OPEN
Site: Vancouver, British Columbia.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club (7,212 yards, par 71).
Purse: $5.2 million. Winner's share: $918,000.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.).
Last year: Carl Pettersson rallied to win at St. George's in Toronto, following his tournament-record 60 with a 67 for a one-stroke victory over Dean Wilson. Pettersson was six strokes behind with 11 to play.
Last week: Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke won the British Open for his first major title, finishing at 5 under for a three-stroke victory over Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. The 42-year-old Clarke shot 68-68-69-70 at Royal St. George's. ... Chris Kirk won the Viking Classic in Madison, Miss., for his first PGA Tour title, beating Tom Pernice Jr. and George McNeill by a stroke.
Notes: Top-ranked Luke Donald is in the field along with Jim Furyk, the 2006 and 2007 winner, and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, Rickie Fowler, Lucas Glover, Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy, Louis Oosthuizen and Anthony Kim. ... Mark Calcavecchia won in 2005 at Shaughnessy. He's skipping the tournament to play in the Senior British Open. ... Canadian Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters champion, won the last of his eight PGA Tour titles in 2007. In 14 starts this year, he has missed 11 cuts, withdrew from an event and has broken 70 only once. ... Pat Fletcher, born in England, was the last Canadian winner, taking the 1954 event at Point Grey in Vancouver. Carl Keffer is the only Canadian-born champion, winning in 1909 and 1914. Albert Murray, a Canadian also born in England, won in 1908 and 1913. ... The 2012 tournament will be played at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ancaster, Ontario. ... The Greenbrier Classic is next week in West Virginia.
LPGA TOUR/LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
EVIAN MASTERS
Site: Evian-Les-Bains, France.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Evian Masters Golf Club (6,345 yards, par 72).
Purse: $3.25 million. Winner's share: $487,500.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m.).
Last year: South Korea's Jiyai Shin won the first of her two 2010 LPGA Tour titles, finishing with a 5-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over Morgan Pressel, Na Yeon Choi and Alexis Thompson.
Last event: So Yeon Ryu won the rain-delayed U.S. Women's Open in a Monday finish July 11, beating South Korean rival Hee Kyung Seo by three shots in a three-hole playoff at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Ryu birdied the final hole of regulation to tie Seo at 3 under.
Notes: The Women's British Open is next week at Carnoustie, followed by the Imperial Springs LPGA in China. ... Golfweek magazine reported last week that the event will become the LPGA Tour's fifth major and likely move to the fall. The tournament became an official LPGA Tour event in 2000. ... Natalie Gulbis won the 2007 tournament for her lone LPGA Tour title. ... Sweden's Helen Alfredsson won in 1994, 1998 and 2008. ... Top-ranked Yani Tseng leads the tour with three victories.
CHAMPIONS TOUR/EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR
SENIOR BRITISH OPEN
Site: Surrey, England.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Walton Heath Golf Club, Old Course (7,394 yards, par 72).
Purse: $2 million. Winner's share: $315,000.
Television: ESPN2 (Thursday-Sunday, noon-2 p.m.).
Last year: Germany's Bernhard Langer won his first senior major title, holding off Corey Pavin by a stroke at Carnoustie. Langer won the U.S. Senior Open the following week.
Last event: Jeff Sluman won the First Tee Open at Pebble Beach for the third time, finishing with a 2-under 70 on July 10 for a two-stroke victory. He also won in 2008 and 2009.
Notes: Tom Watson won in 2003, '05 and '07. The five-time British Open champion tied for 22nd last week at Royal St. George's. ... Tom Lehman, tied with John Cook for the Champions Tour lead with three victories, also tied for 22nd in the British Open. ... Langer is making his first Champions Your start since having surgery on his left thumb. He missed the cut last week in the British Open. ... Walton Heath was the site of the 1981 Ryder Cup. ... The U.S. Senior Open is next week at Inverness in Toldeo, Ohio.
EUROPEAN TOUR
NORDEA MASTERS
Site: Stockholm.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Bro Hof Slott Golf Club (7,603 yards, par 72).
Purse: $2.11 million. Winner's share: $351,110.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon; Saturday-Sunday, 7:30-10:30 a.m.).
Last year: Sweden's Richard S. Johnson made a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a one-stroke victory over Argentina's Rafa Echenique.
Last week: Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke won the British Open for his first major title, finishing at 5 under for a three-stroke victory over Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. The 42-year-old Clarke shot 68-68-69-70 at Royal St. George's.
Notes: Johnson is in the field along with fellow Americans Bubba Watson and Todd Hamilton. ... Former Arizona State star Scott Pinckney is making his pro debut. ... Jesper Parnevik won in 1995 at Barseback to become the first Swede to win a European tour event in Sweden. He also won in 1998 at Kungsangen. ... The course is the longest on the European Tour. ... The Irish Open is next week at Killarney Golf and Fishing Club.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL INVITATIONAL
Site: Columbus, Ohio.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Ohio State University Golf Club, Scarlet Course (7,455 yards, par 71).
Purse: $800,0000. Winner's share: $144,000.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 12:30-2:30 p.m.; Saturday, 6:30-9:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7-9:30 p.m.).
Last year: D.J. Brigman won his second career Nationwide Tour title, finishing with a 7-under 64 for a one-stroke victory over Jamie Lovemark.
Last week: Scotland's Russell Knox won the Chiquita Classic in Maineville, Ohio, for his first Nationwide Tour title, beating Billy Hurley by three strokes. Knox finished at 25 under.
Notes: In 2007, Daniel Summerhays won the inaugural event to become the first amateur champion in tour history. In 2009, Derek Lamely beat amateur Rickie Fowler with a par on the second hole of a playoff. ... The Utah Championship is next week, followed by the Cox Classic in Omaha, Neb.
OTHER TOURNAMENTS
MEN
U.S. GOLF ASSOCIATION: U.S. Junior Amateur, through Saturday, Gold Mountain Golf Club, Olympic Course, Bremerton, Wash.
eGOLF PROFESSIONAL TOUR: Scratch Golf Championship, Wednesday-Saturday, Woodside Plantation, Jones Course, Cupp Course, Aiken, S.C.
NGA HOOTERS TOUR: Heart of North Carolina Golf Classic, Thursday-Sunday, Pinewood Country Club, Asheboro, N.C.
JAPAN GOLF TOUR: Nagashima Shigeo Invitational Sega Sammy Cup, Thursday-Sunday, The North Country Golf Club, Hokkaido, Japan.
ASIAN TOUR: Selangor Masters, Wednesday-Saturday, Kota Permai Golf and Country Club, Shah Alam, Malaysia.
EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR: English Challenge, Thursday-Sunday, The Stoke By Nayland Hotel Golf and Spa, Colchester, England.
WOMEN
U.S. GOLF ASSOCIATION: U.S. Girls' Junior, through Saturday, Olympia Fields Country Club, South Course, Olympia Fields, Ill.
LPGA FUTURES TOUR: The International at Concord, Beaver Meadow Golf Course, Friday-Sunday, Concord, N.H.
SANDWICH, England (AP) — Dustin Johnson probably doesn't think he'll have to wait 15 years to win a major. He already has won four times in his four years on the PGA Tour, and he has played in the final group at three of the last six majors. That doesn't happen by accident. To say Johnson is the most talented American golfer won't get much of an argument.
Then again, a young Darren Clarke might have thought the same thing.
Clarke was among the new faces in European golf that helped inspire a slow revival in the late 1990s. He might not have had the raw skill of someone like Johnson, but a major figured to be in his future. He played in the final group at Royal Troon in 1997. He took down Tiger Woods at the 2000 Match Play Championship when Woods was at the absolute top of his game. Then came another close call a year later in the British Open.
His major finally arrived Sunday, a month before he turns 43, his head full of gray hair and his belly bulging. But at least he got there.
"The hardest thing with Darren was that he's been slightly labeled an underachiever. And he was," his agent, Chubby Chandler, said in the glowing aftermath Sunday evening. "He had the talent to win a major, an Open, but it didn't happen. For it to happen like this is just amazing. Now he's no longer an underachiever."
Clarke became the third-oldest player to win his first major, trailing only 45-year-old Jerry Barber in the 1961 PGA Championship and Roberto De Vicenzo at 44 in the 1967 British Open.
There are others like Clarke who were on the downside of their prime years when they won a major. Two that come to mind are Tom Kite, who was 42 when he won the U.S. Open, and Mark O'Meara, who was 41 when he won the Masters and British Open.
One reminder from this British Open is that there are no guarantees in golf. The game owes nothing to anyone.
Johnson would seem to be a lock to win a major, simply by the experience he has been gaining, even if it's the kind he'd rather forget. But hard knocks also raise questions.
There was that atrocious start at Pebble Beach last year on his way to an 82, his dubious two-shot penalty on the final hole of Whistling Straits last year at PGA Championship when he didn't realize he was in a bunker, and that 2-iron on the 14th hole of Royal St. George's on Sunday. Surely, he'll figure it out soon.
But wasn't that also said of Sergio Garcia? Garcia had it far more difficult, playing in an era when Woods was winning majors just about every year. The Spaniard is only 31, although it seems as though he's been around much longer because he has been in the mix at majors so much. As a 19-year-old rookie, he nearly came from behind to catch Woods at Medinah. He played with Woods in the final group twice more in majors, and when Woods wasn't around, Garcia found another nemesis while losing two majors to Padraig Harrington.
A dozen years after he roared onto the scene, Garcia still hasn't won the big one. And this year, his game reached a point that he was happy just to be playing in the last two majors.
And then there's 38-year-old Lee Westwood. As happy as he was for one of his best friends winning the Open, part of Westwood had to be asking, "When will it be my turn?"
Twice in the last four years, he missed out on a playoff in the majors by one shot. He had the 54-hole lead at the Masters last year and was beaten by better golf from Phil Mickelson. Westwood kept getting better to the point that he reached No. 1 in the world. But still no major.
"Lee has done everything he can do to get himself into contention to win," Clarke said. "Unfortunately, he's had guys that have played better than him on quite a few occasions, or they've had the bounce of the ball or things going their way. Right now, things haven't gone his way, but I'm sure that they will go his way because he's too good a player to not go his way."
True. But the same could have been said of Colin Montgomerie.
He won a record eight money titles on the European Tour. He twice got into a playoff at the majors, losing both of them. Then came what appeared to be a Clarke-type moment at Winged Foot in 2006 when Montgomerie, at age 42, had a chance to win a U.S. Open. From the middle of the 18th fairway, he chunked a 7-iron and made double bogey. That shot might explain why Monty never won a major.
Everyone makes blunders in the majors — Kite, O'Meara, Tom Watson — and they eventually figure it out. But not always.
"The game is fickle," Clarke said. "It hammers you, it hammers you, and then it gives you something. Of all people, I think Lee Westwood deserves something to be given to him. And I'm very sure that he will win majors, and not just a major."
That's what was said of Rory McIlroy before he won the U.S. Open last month by eight shots with a record score. Some players — with an Irish accent, it should be noted — began the countdown to Jack Nicklaus' 18 majors. Then came the British Open, and a curious complaint from McIlroy that he doesn't like playing in the wind.
Adding to the pressure of Westwood is that four players from Chandler's stable at International Sports Management have won the last five majors — Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, McIlroy and now Clarke.
Everyone but Westwood.
"That will be hard on him," Clarke said. "But if I was a gambling man ... I would have a substantial bet on Lee Westwood winning the PGA in Atlanta. I hope he does."
Hope isn't enough.
Doug Ferguson covers golf for The Associated Press.
Notes: Home stretch toward the playoffs
SANDWICH, England (AP) — Three majors down, one to go. And while the attention now shifts to Atlanta for the final major of the year at the PGA Championship, right behind that is the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs on the PGA Tour. With only five tournaments left in the regular season, the standings indicate what kind of year it has been.
Two of the major champions — Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke — are not PGA Tour members and won't be there. A 14-time major champion might not be there for long, if at all.
Tiger Woods, who hasn't played since he withdrew from The Players Championship in May and hasn't earned any points since the Masters, dropped three spots to No. 129 in the FedEx Cup standings. Only the top 125 qualify for the playoff-opener at The Barclays, and the fields are then trimmed to 100 players, then 70 and 30 for the Tour Championship.
Even if he returns soon, it might not be for long if Woods doesn't play well.
But he's not alone in his struggles. Three players who finished in the top 10 in the FedEx Cup last year are not among the top 100 in the standings, and two of them might not get to the first playoff event.
Ernie Els, who missed the cut in the last two majors, is at No. 139. Paul Casey is even farther down the list at No. 143. The other top 10 player from last year is Retief Goosen, who is No. 106.
Jim Furyk won the $10 million prize last year. He ended a streak of four straight missed cuts at the British Open, but he still is No. 76 in the standings and will have to work hard — if not over the next five weeks, then the first two playoff events — to get back to the Tour Championship.
FATHER-SON TRIP: U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein made his first cut in a major at the British Open, ending a two-week trip to Britain that was memorable not only for where he played and practiced, but the company he kept.
He played with his father, Wally Uihlein, the chief executive of the Acushnet Co., who has kept busier than usual this year preparing for Titleist's umbrella company to be sold to a Korean group headed by Fila. Joining them were Acushnet vice president Peter Broome and his son, Matt, who plays at Furman and grew up with the Uihleins.
"It was good fun," Peter Uihlein said. "We had a few days of good golf. We haven't done that in at least 10 years."
They played Kingsbarns and the Old Course at St. Andrews, along with Carnoustie and Royal Aberdeen, a key part of the trip for when Uihlein returns in two months for the Walker Cup.
Wally Uihlein referred to it as more than just a father-son trip.
Along with going to Royal Aberdeen before the Walker Cup, Uihlein thought it would be beneficial for his son to experience links golf, see the home of golf and get an appreciation of how golf is passed down from generations.
"It seemed like the appropriate thing to do," Uihlein said. "It's not just a son going to play golf with his father. We're much more purposeful than that. It was as much about the culture and the emotional experience, and how people feel about their golf over here."
His son and Matt Broome, who reached U.S. Open sectional qualifying this year, each opened with a 66 at Kingsbarns. As for the Titleist chief?
"My (handicap) index shows 20 rounds over the last 15 months," Uihlein said. "I broke 80 most of the time, and I was happy with that."
ONE-TWO KNOCKOUT: Royal St. George's tends to produce a good leaderboard, along with a few surprises, but it sure wasn't kind to players in the top 10 last week — starting with the top. Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, Nos. 1 and 2 in the world, both missed the cut.
According to Official World Golf Ranking administrator Ian Barker, it was the first time the top two players missed the cut in a major dating to 1989, which is as far back as its data base goes on such matters. The 2009 British Open also was missing the top two players on the weekend at Turnberry when Tiger Woods missed the cut and Phil Mickelson didn't play that year as his wife was in the early stages of battling cancer.
Along with Donald and Westwood, also missing the cut last week were Matt Kuchar (No. 7), Graeme McDowell (No. 9) and Nick Watney (No. 10). The best performance by a top-10 player was Mickelson (No. 6) finishing tied for second. Martin Kaymer (No. 3) and Steve Stricker (No. 5) tied for 12th.
CADDIE FORTUNES: Caddies keep changing jobs this year, whether temporary or permanent, but the one with the best fortune might be John Mulrooney. He was on the bag for Darren Clarke at the British Open, but what's amazing is how he got there.
Clarke had lined up Ricci Roberts, who won all three majors with Ernie Els, to be his caddie in Spain the week of The Players Championship. Roberts decided instead to go to Florida to watch Els get inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Mulrooney, meanwhile, was in Spain to caddie for David Howell, but the former Ryder Cup star got injured. Mulrooney then was to work that week for Maarten Lafeber until he got injured. He wound up with Clarke, who went on to win the Iberdola Open.
"He's a little bit different, a little bit quiet, but a very, very good caddie," Clarke said. "He's worked on some proper bags before. We went out that week and won, and then it was a case of having to call Ricci and saying, 'I'm sorry, but I've just won with John, so with your permission I'd like to carry on with him.' So Ricci was fine. I carried on with John, and he's been very good for me."
DIVOTS: One week after Steve Stricker won the John Deere Classic, he went to the British Open with an incentive to try harder. Stricker signed an endorsement deal with Avis Rent a Car, which went into effect Thursday. The deal requires Stricker to wear the Avis logo on his shirts and outerwear. ... Only seven shots separated top from bottom going into the weekend at the British Open, although the R&A is not looking into a 10-shot rule. Jim McArthur, chairman of the championship committee, said the 99 players who made the cut at St. Andrews in 1995 made it difficult to get everyone around in a reasonable time. "I don't think there's any proposal at the moment to have another look at that just now," he said. ... More reading material on Tiger Woods is now in stores, this book loaded with pictures. He is the latest subject of Bluewater Productions' biographical comic book series. This one is called, "Fame: Tiger Woods," and it became available in stores last week.
STAT OF THE WEEK: Chris Kirk became the fifth PGA Tour rookie to win this year. The record for most rookies to win in one year is six in 2004. There are 14 tournaments left, including four in the Fall Series and one opposite-field event.
FINAL WORD: "There's winning tournaments, there's winning big tournaments, but there's winning majors, which is just a little bit different." — British Open champion Darren Clarke.
-- Doug Ferguson
Amateur
Hossler shoots 5-under 67 at U.S. Junior Amateur
BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) — U.S. Open qualifier Beau Hossler shot a 5-under 67, the low round of the tournament, on Tuesday and earned medalist honors at the U.S. Junior Amateur at Gold Mountain Golf Club.
Hossler, from Mission Viejo, Calif., was at 9-under 135 through 36 holes.
Will Starke of Cary, S.C., the first-round co-leader, shot a 71 and was alone in second at 139. Tournament favorite and 2009 champion Jordan Spieth of Dallas, and Yi Keun Chan of Walnut, Calif., tied for third at 140. Defending champion Jim Liu of Smithtown, N.Y., tied for 24th after shooting a 70 for a 148 total.
The field of 156 was cut to the low 64 for match play, which starts Wednesday. Twelve players who finished at 8 over played for the final 10 spots.
The champion will be crowned in a 36-hole final on Saturday.
Jutanugarn wins stroke play at U.S. Girls' Junior
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. (AP) — Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn shot a 72 on Tuesday to take medalist honors with a 4-under 140 after two rounds of stroke-play qualifying at the U.S. Girls' Junior championship.
Jutanugarn, a 15-year-old native of Bangkok, finished four strokes ahead of her nearest competitor on another hot day at the 6,403-yard, par-72 South Course at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club. Temperatures were approaching 100 degrees.
Casie Cathrea, 15, of Livermore, Calif., was second at even-par 144 after shooting a 2-under 70 in the second round.
Eimi Koga of Honolulu, Hawaii, shot the best round of the day, a 69, and finished third.
Match play starts Wednesday and the 36-hole championship final will be played Saturday.
