Golf Capsules: Woods back from family counseling

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Tiger Woods is closer to competing again.

Woods is back home after one week of family counseling in Arizona and is trying to get back into a routine that includes fitness and his first significant practice in 15 weeks, a person with knowledge of his schedule said Tuesday.

Woods returned to his home near Orlando on Saturday and has been hitting balls on the range at Isleworth, not far from where he ran his SUV into a fire hydrant and a tree in a middle-of-the-night accident on Nov. 27 that set off shocking revelations of infidelity.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because only Woods is authorized to release such information, said golf’s No. 1 player still has not decided when he will return to competition.

Woods was photographed hitting balls at Isleworth on Feb. 18, the day before he ended nearly three months of silence by speaking to a small group of associates at the TPC Sawgrass in a 13½-minute statement that was televised around the world. Those photos of Woods were arranged to counter the paparazzi trying to follow his every move since Thanksgiving.

Woods has not practiced in earnest since winning the Australian Masters in Melbourne on Nov. 15 for his 82nd victory worldwide.

"I do plan to return to golf one day, I just don’t know when that day will be," Woods said in his statement at Sawgrass. "I don’t rule out that it will be this year."

Woods said he had attended inpatient therapy "for the issues I’m facing" for 45 days, from the end of December to early February. He said he was leaving the next day for more therapy, without saying what kind. The person who spoke to The Associated Press said he went to Arizona for a week of family and marriage counseling with his wife, Elin.

Woods said at Sawgrass of his infidelity, "As Elin pointed out to me, my real apology to her will not come in the form of words; it will come from my behavior over time. We have a lot to discuss; however, what we say to each other will remain between the two of us."

News of him getting back into a routine is sure to begin speculation when he might return to the PGA Tour. Woods announced on Dec. 4 that he was taking an "indefinite break" to try to salvage his marriage.

To date, he has missed only two tournaments he typically would have played — Torrey Pines and the Match Play Championship — although he had been leaning toward playing Pebble Beach this year because it will host the U.S. Open in June.

Woods is not likely to play next week in the World Golf Championship at Doral, where he has won three times.

His next possibility on the PGA Tour is the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, where he is the defending champion and a six-time winner. The Masters, which Woods has played every year since 1995, would follow. Augusta National officials have not indicated whether they expect Woods to compete.

"When he does come back, I hope it’s in the Masters, and I hope he’s in great form," Masters champion Angel Cabrera said Tuesday on a conference call.

The fallout from Woods’ sex scandal has been immense. He already has had three sponsors drop him — Accenture, AT&T and, most recently, Gatorade — while other companies like Gillette have suspended promotions of Woods while he takes his break from golf.

When he does return, he will have a different logo on his golf bag, replacing AT&T, if he can find a deal.

Commentary: A wedge on a par 5, with lots of hindsight

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — No club received more attention on the West Coast Swing than the wedge.

And not just because of the size and shapes of the grooves.

Four players in three tournaments were either tied for the lead or one shot behind on the back nine of the final round, all of them trying to win for the first time on the PGA Tour. Instead of going for the green on a par 5, they decided to rely on a wedge to set up birdie.

They all made par. They all finished second.

The latest example, and perhaps the most perplexing, was Rickie Fowler on the 15th hole at the Phoenix Open.

He was tied with Hunter Mahan, who was playing ahead of him and already had failed to birdie the last par 5 at the TPC Scottsdale. Fowler had 230 yards to the flag, a front hole location, and was between a "smooth" 4-iron and a hybrid 3-iron. The 21-year-old who shows no fear in his game or his attire opted to lay up.

It looked like a peculiar decision considering two guys in his group had longer shots and reached the green.

It made sense to Fowler.

"I kind of told myself that I didn’t really want to go for it unless I had about a 5-iron in, which I would feel more comfortable hitting to that pin," Fowler said. "Missing the green right or left, the up-and-down wasn’t very easy. So I felt giving myself that wedge from the middle of the fairway was my best chance at making an easy birdie."

He hit a poor wedge and had to scramble for par, then failed to convert birdie chances on the last three holes — including a daredevil pitch on the 17th — and finished one shot behind Mahan.

Was it a mistake? Only in hindsight.

It’s easy to confuse poor decisions with poor execution, and ultimately it was the latter that cost Fowler.

"I hate questioning a player when it’s a judgment call," Curtis Strange said Tuesday. "My question is, he can put the tournament away if he makes 3. He knew if he missed it right or left it would be a tough 4. But hey, you’re trying to win a golf tournament."

Strange speaks from experience, and not a pleasant one at that. He had a three-shot lead with six holes to play in the 1985 Masters when he chose to hit 4-wood to the par-5 13th green, a decision that still gnaws at him. He put it in the water and made bogey, did the same on the par-5 15th with a 4-iron and finished two shots behind Bernhard Langer.

Why go for the green?

"I had been playing exceptionally well since opening with an 80," Strange said. "I just thought the back side of Augusta, you have to make birdies. It was a simple 4-wood. I thought it was the right play. I never thought I would leak it to the right. In hindsight, I should have laid up. But if I hit the green and two-putt, the tournament is over."

But in golf, it doesn’t matter what could have happened. Only what did.

Here’s what did happen at the Bob Hope Classic. Bubba Watson was one shot out of the lead playing the par-5 14th and had 242 yards to the hole, and one of golf’s longest hitters chose to lay up. He hit an indifferent wedge, made par, and wound up with a runner-up finish.

Both those cases — Watson at the Hope, Fowler in Phoenix — occurred with at least four holes still to play. Fowler figured he had birdie opportunities ahead of him, even though he had played those holes in only 1 under for the week.

Closer inspection goes to Tim Clark and Michael Sim, whose par-5 decisions came on the final hole.

Sim was one shot behind at Torrey Pines and had 246 yards to the pin, tucked behind a pond. That was the maximum he can hit 3-wood, only the Australian didn’t feel as though he was swinging that well. It was a long shot. Sim figured his best chance at birdie was with a wedge from 80 yards, and it nearly worked out perfectly except that it spun off the green and onto the collar.

Clark had 225 yards to the par-5 18th at the Bob Hope and chose to lay up. That was the prudent play in his situation — tied for the lead — for no other reason than the wind was at his back, the pin was to the front and he doesn’t hit the ball high enough from that distance to stay on the green, assuming he reaches the green.

He hit wedge to 7 feet. The only problem was he missed the putt.

"I did what I needed to give myself a best look at birdie," Clark said.

So did Bill Haas, although with his length, going for the green was his best play. Haas hit a 3-iron from 205 yards onto the green, and he two-putted for birdie and his first career victory.

Ultimately, it’s more about execution than club selection.

David Toms could have reached the 18th green at Atlanta Athletic Club, but figured he was better off laying up on the par 4. He made a 12-foot putt to win the 2001 PGA Championship. If he doesn’t make that putt, his decision would be debated to this day.

Watching on television, Strange thought Fowler should have gone for the green in Phoenix. Even so, he has been there enough times to realize that golf looks a little different when the club is in someone else’s hands.

"If you make it you’re a hero, and if you don’t you’re a goat," Strange said. "We’ve all been both."

Doug Ferguson covers golf for The Associated Press.

Daly’s disciplinary file filled with misconduct

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — John Daly has been suspended five times and cited 21 times for not giving his best effort, according to a 456-page rap sheet kept by the PGA Tour that is now public record because of a libel lawsuit Daly failed to win.

The Florida Times-Union reported Tuesday on Daly’s disciplinary file, which the tour had to give Morris Publishing Co. during Daly’s libel lawsuit against a columnist who once worked for the newspaper. The Times-Union is part of the Morris group.

The lawsuit was dismissed in March 29.

The disciplinary file grew to 456 pages over 18 years of Daly’s career, starting in April 1991 when the tour said Daly cursed a playing partner and ending in the fall of 2008, when Daly was suspended for six months.

The two-time major champion was placed on probation six times, ordered to go to counseling or alcohol rehab seven times, cited for conduct unbecoming a professional 11 times and fined nearly $100,000, according to the file.

Most of the incidents have been widely reported, such as Daly trashing a hotel room in 1997 during The Players Championship or getting into a scuffle at Firestone with a 62-year-old man whose son, Jeff Roth, said Daly had hit into him at the World Series of Golf. Even so, the PGA Tour does not disclose its discipline, and Daly usually makes for good reading.

Despite the file becoming a public record, the tour stayed with its position of not commenting on discipline.

The Times-Union said the file also contains letters from fans and tournament officials, some flattering and some not. One fan wrote to former PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman after Daly was suspended: "I’m disappointed the suspension is indefinite. Please reconsider and get John Daly back so many of us can get enthused about the PGA."

Another golf fan wrote, "How long does it take for this young man to grow up and remember that thousands of young junior golfers are out there watching him make an (expletive) of himself?"

Daly won the 1991 PGA Championship as the ninth alternate, and won the 1995 British Open at St. Andrews. His last victory was the 2004 Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines. He has not had a full status on the PGA Tour since 2006 and is playing mainly on sponsor exemptions. The Golf Channel is producing a reality show on Daly that was to begin Tuesday night.

TPC Sawgrass Marriott files for bankruptcy

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa, where nearly 300 media gathered last month to report on Tiger Woods’ first public appearance since confessing to affairs, has filed for bankruptcy protection.

The Marriott is located down the street from PGA Tour headquarters, and the majority of guests are there to play the TPC Sawgrass.

Jeff Mayers, the hotel’s general manager, said the economic climate and failure to reach a restructuring agreement with lenders led to the bankruptcy protection. He expects no change in daily operations.

David Pillsbury, the president of PGA Tour Golf Course properties, says it should have no bearing on the golf course, which is home to The Players Championship. He says the TPC Sawgrass is independently owned and managed by the PGA Tour.

Notebook: Cabrera to offer preview of Masters dinner

One question for the defending Masters champion is what he plans to serve at the Champions Dinner. Angel Cabrera not only will reveal the menu, he plans to give 100 friends a taste of the dinner they can’t attend.

Cabrera is hosting a "preview dinner" on March 29 at the Shadow Hawk Golf Club in Houston that will feature the menu — yes, plenty of meat from the Argentine — that former Masters champions will be sampling a week later at Augusta National.

"There’s not a golfer in the world who wouldn’t want to attend that dinner," said Charlie Epps, his Houston-based swing coach.

It started with Cabrera wanting to raise money for his foundation, which he created two months before his 2007 U.S. Open victory at Oakmont. The foundation helps improve the quality for needy people in his hometown of Cordoba, including the welfare of caddies, and helps fund the local hospital.

"There’s so many fundraisers that we needed a new idea to get people excited," Epps said.

Epps invited 100 associates who are paying $1,000 each to get a night with Cabrera, capped off with a dinner like no other. Ping, his longtime equipment sponsor, plans to bring its tour van so guests can test equipment (and receive a putter). Cabrera will conduct a clinic, give everyone an autographed Masters flag, and then the dinner bell rings.

On a conference call Tuesday, Cabrera was asked if he had given any thought to his menu at the Masters.

"There’s not a lot to think about," he replied through a translator. "A good Argentine ‘asado.’ Some good beef."

Epps said asado is a popular Argentine barbecue, and the menu will feature a five-meat course, including filets, short ribs and sausages, including one known as "morcilla."

"There won’t be a lot of carbohydrates at this dinner," said Epps, who grew up in Argentina.

There will be salad and bread to dip in a sauce that Cabrera will make himself, along with plenty of Argentine wine and music.

CAP AND GOWN: Ryo Ishikawa has shown poise and polish beyond his years in winning four times last year, along with his performance in the Match Play Championship. A reminder of his youth comes next week at Doral, which the 18-year-old from Japan won’t play.

But the "bashful prince" has a good excuse: He’s graduating high school.

Ishikawa, who won his first Japan Golf Tour event as a 15-year-old amateur, will go through his graduation ceremony from Suginami Gakuin on March 8, the Monday of the World Golf Championship.

BARTLETT AWARD: Ernie Els has been selected to receive the Charlie Bartlett Award from the Golf Writers Association of America for unselfish contributions to society.

The three-time major champion for more than a decade has been helping South African children from families of limited means get access to education and golf opportunities. Those kids include Louis Oosthuizen and James Kamte, each of whom played in majors last year.

Els has received more notoriety of late with the Els for Autism Foundation and the Els Center for Excellence. He has become a passionate advocate for autism since his 7-year-old son, Ben, was diagnosed as a toddler. He and his wife, Leizl, are trying to raise $30 million for the center in West Palm Beach, Fla., which will combine education, therapy and research for autistic children.

Els will be honored April 7 in Augusta, Ga., at the GWAA annual awards dinner.

RICKIE ON THE RISE: Rickie Fowler earned $875,431 on the West Coast Swing and achieved the first goal of his rookie season by securing his PGA Tour card for next year.

The next step is getting into a World Golf Championship. Fowler, who is playing the Honda Classic this week, is No. 13 in the FedEx Cup standings and would need to finish no worse than ninth to crack the top 10 in the standings and get into Doral.

His first trip to Augusta National is a little tougher. Fowler’s only chance at the Masters would be to win a PGA Tour event or to get into the top 50 in the world ranking after the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Fowler is at No. 77, but his divisor will remain at the minimum 40 tournaments. He is assured of getting into Bay Hill because of the FedEx Cup standings.

RESHUFFLE: PGA Tour rookie Brian Stuard is in the Honda Classic. Jay Williamson is not. Both can attribute that to the West Coast Swing, in which Stuard did enough right to move up from No. 39 to No. 5 in the priority list of Q-school and Nationwide grads.

The list was reshuffled heading to the Florida Swing, with Rickie Fowler leading the list. He is followed by Alex Prugh, who had three straight top 10s to move up from No. 30.

The reshuffle gives those players better chances of getting into tournaments at the Honda Classic, Transitions Championship at Innisbrook and the Houston Open before the next reshuffle.

Williamson started out at No. 21 and fell 13 spots, leaving him as the second alternate at the Honda Classic.

LPGA GROWING: The LPGA Tour now has 25 official tournaments on its 2010 schedule, up from 23 at the start of the year. The latest addition is the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, to be held Oct. 22-24 at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.

The Malaysian event ideally kicks off the fall version of its Far East swing. It will be held one week before the LPGA China, with the Mizuno Classic in Japan a week later. The China tournament still doesn’t have a sponsor or a golf course and was not held a year ago.

The LPGA Malaysia will be a 60-player field (50 from the LPGA Tour money list) with no cut over 54 holes. That means both tournaments added this year — the other is the Match Play Championship in New Jersey — have limited fields.

DIVOTS: Since being named an assistant captain for the Ryder Cup, Davis Love III has missed three consecutive cuts for the first time since 2007. ... Along with hosting a U.S. Open local qualifier in May, Bayonet Golf Course on the Monterey Peninsula will host one of the second stage sites for Q-school in November. ... The Kraft Nabisco Championship has altered its criteria with hopes of expanding the field for the first LPGA major of the year. Now eligible are players who finished in the top 80 (instead of top 70) on last year’s money list, every player from the Solheim Cup team, and anyone who finishes in the top 10 in the tournament preceding the Kraft Nabisco. The change is expected to add about 20 players to the field.

STAT OF THE WEEK: Ai Miyazato has three LPGA Tour victories. She has yet to win in the United States.

FINAL WORD: "Obviously, I want Tiger to be there. He’s the best. When he’s there, he makes tournaments special." — Masters champion Angel Cabrera when asked if he would like to see Tiger Woods at Augusta National this year.

-- Doug Ferguson

Golf Glance

PGA TOUR

Honda Classic

Site: Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: PGA National Resort and Spa, Champion Course (7,158 yards, par 70).

Purse: $5.6 million. Winner's share: $1,008,000.

Television: Golf Channel (Thursday, 2-5 p.m., 7:30-10:30 p.m.; Friday, 11-2 a.m., 2-5 p.m., 7:30-10:30 p.m.; Saturday, 1-4 a.m.) and NBC (Saturday-Sunday, 2-5 p.m.).

Last year: South Korea's Y.E. Yang won his first PGA Tour title, finishing with a 2-under 68 for a one-stroke victory over John Rollins. In August, Yang won the PGA Championship at Hazeltine to become the first Asian-born man to win a major.

Last week: Hunter Mahan won the Phoenix Open for his second PGA Tour title, closing with consecutive bogey-free 6-under 65s to beat Rickie Fowler by a stroke.

Notes: Yang is in the field along with 2008 winner Ernie Els, Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh, Paul Casey, Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas, Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia. Harrington won the 2005 event for his first PGA Tour title. ... The Champion Course was the site of the 1983 Ryder Cup and 1987 PGA Championship. ... The WGC-CA Championship is next week at Doral in Miami, opposite the Puerto Rico Open.

On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com

CHAMPIONS TOUR

Toshiba Classic

Site: Newport Beach, Calif.

Schedule: Friday-Sunday.

Course: Newport Beach Country Club (6,584 yards, par 71).

Purse: $1.7 million. Winner's share: $255,000.

Television: Golf Channel (Friday, 5:30-7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 11-1 a.m., 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Sunday, 11-1 a.m., 6-8:30 p.m.; Monday, 11-2 a.m.).

Last year: Argentina's Eduardo Romero won his fifth Champions Tour title, beating Joey Sindelar and Mark O'Meara by a stroke.

Last event: Bernhard Langer won the Allianz Championship on Feb. 21 in Boca Raton, Fla., for his ninth Champions Tour victory. He holed a 45-foot bunker shot from a plugged lie for eagle to beat John Cook on the first hole of a playoff.

Notes: Fred Couples is making his third Champions Tour start. He won the ACE Group Classic on Feb. 14 in Naples, Fla., and finished second behind Tom Watson in the season-opening event in Hawaii. Couples tied for 14th last week in the PGA Tour's Phoenix Open. ... Watson also is in the field. ... Langer, the 2008 winner, has nine victories in 48 Champions Tour starts. ... The tour is off the next two weeks. Play will resume March 26-28 with the Cap Cana Championship in the Dominican Republic.

On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com

PGA EUROPEAN TOUR/ASIAN TOUR

Malaysian Open

Site: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (7,000 yards, par 72).

Purse: $2 million. Winner's share: $333,330.

Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.- 11:30 a.m.).

Last year: American Anthony Kang won at Saujana Golf and Country Club, overcoming an opening 74 with rounds of 66, 64 and 67 for a one-stroke victory.

Last event: Ian Poulter won the Match Play Championship on Feb. 21 in Arizona for his first World Golf Championship title, beating Paul Casey 4 and 2 in an all-England final.

Notes: Kang and two-time winners Arjun Atwal and Thongchai Jaidee top the field along with K.J. Choi, Daniel Chopra and Darren Clarke. ... The WGC-CA Championship is next week in Miami, followed by the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco

On the Net: http://www.maybankmalaysianopen.com

PGA European Tour site: http://www.europeantour.com

Asian Tour site: http://www.asiantour.com

AUSTRALIAN LADIES PROFESSIONAL GOLF/LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR

ANZ Ladies Masters

Site: Gold Coast, Australia.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: RACV Royal Pines Resort (6,443 yards, par 72).

Purse: $538,550. Winner's share: $89,760.

Television: None.

Last year: Katherine Hull closed with a 4-under 68 for a five-stroke victory over fellow Australian Tamie Durdin and South Korea's Ryu So-yeon.

Last week: Laura Davies won the New Zealand Women's Open for her 73rd worldwide title, finishing with a 4-under 69 for a two-stroke victory over three players. The 46-year-old English star had a 9-under 279 total.

Notes: Hull and Davies are in the field along with six-time champion Karrie Webb, Yani Tseng, Brittany Lincicome, Anna Nordqvist, Nikki Campbell, Sophie Gustafson and Christina Kim. Davies has won the tournament three times. ... Suzann Pettersen withdrew because of inflammation in her left hip. ... The tours will team again next week for the Women's Australian Open at Commonwealth in Melbourne.

On the Net: http://www.anzladiesmasters.com.au

ALPG site: http://www.alpg.com.au

Ladies European Tour site: http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com

NATIONWIDE TOUR

Bogota Open

Site: Bogota, Colombia.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Country Club de Bogota (7,102 yards, par 70).

Purse: $600,000. Winner's share: $108,000.

Television: None.

Last year: Inaugural event.

Last week: Fran Quinn won the Panama Championship for his fourth career Nationwide Tour title, beating Brian Smock by two strokes. The 44-year-old Quinn had a tournament-record 15-under 265 total at Panama Golf Club.

Notes: The event is the first in South America in Nationwide Tour history. ... The tour is off the next two weeks. Play will resume March 25-28 with the Louisiana Open.

On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com

LPGA TOUR

Next event: Kia Classic, March 25-28, La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad, Calif.

Last week: Japan's Ai Miyazato won the HSBC Champions in Singapore to become the first LPGA Tour player in 44 years to sweep the first two events of a season. She closed with 3-under 69 for a two-stroke victory over Cristie Kerr.

On the Net: http://www.lpga.com

OTHER TOURNAMENTS

Men

NGA HOOTERS TOUR: Ocala Marion Sports Commission Classic, Thursday-Sunday, Golden Hills Golf and Turf Club, Ocala, Fla. On the Net: http://www.ngahooterstour.com

PGA EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR: Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters, The Empire Hotel and Country Club, Jerudong, Brunei. On the Net: http://www.europeantour.com

Women

JAPAN LPGA TOUR: Daikin Orchid Ladies, Friday-Sunday, Ryukyu Country Club, Okinawa, Japan. On the Net: http://www.lpga.or.jp