Golf Capsules: Looking to fill the void left by Woods

The sudden roar from three holes away was enough to make Rory McIlroy turn his head.

The cheer was for a birdie, no doubt. And it was loud enough so thousands of people had to be watching. McIlroy quickly deduced, along with everyone else behind the third green at Doral, that such a reaction could be for only one player.

"Must have been Ernie," he said with a wink and a grin.

The freckled-face kid from Northern Ireland showed a sharp sense of humor, for he knew that Ernie Els was playing that day with Tiger Woods. Then came another cheer, this more like an aftershock, and McIlroy shook his head and continued walking to the tee.

"Definitely, Ernie," McIlroy said with a broad smile, aware he was fooling no one.

There are cheers for birdies, and there are cheers for Woods, and there is a difference.

Golf is louder when Woods plays, whether in Miami or Melbourne, San Diego or Shanghai. It is likely to be a little more quiet now that he is on an "indefinite leave" to try to save his marriage from a sex scandal that has put golf on the front pages — in December, no less.

No one knows when he will return to the PGA Tour, and that might include Woods.

This is not the first time golf has been missing its star attraction. Woods was gone eight months after winning the 2008 U.S. Open to recover from knee surgery. He missed the two months leading up to that U.S. Open with a lesser knee surgery. And he missed two months in 2006 while coping with the death of his father.

"No one can take the place of Tiger Woods," Stewart Cink said. "The rest of us are going to have to put on a better show."

The uncertainty of his return — not only the timing, but possible fallout from his behavior — leaves golf in more dire need to find someone who can fill the void.

"There’s plenty of global superstars on the way up to replace him," said Graeme McDowell, who replaced Woods at his Chevron World Challenge two weeks ago and finished second. "But they’re just not quite ready to replace him yet. We need him to hang out for another four or five years."

Even that might not be enough time.

Jack Nicklaus once ran down a list of players most likely to challenge Woods, and once he got beyond the usual suspects, Nicklaus feigned a look over his shoulder and said, "It could be some kid out there who hasn’t even started playing yet."

Nicklaus said that 10 years ago. Not much has changed.

The second-biggest draw in golf might be Phil Mickelson, the chief foil for Woods through the years.

Mickelson already is wildly popular, not only for his willingness to take on risks inside the ropes, but for spending hours signing autographs. The public embraced him even more upon learning his wife, Amy, had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

In the months before Woods became engulfed in the scandal, the buzz about 2010 was the prospect of Woods and Mickelson colliding at the top of their games.

"Given the finish he had to the year, if Phil comes out strong, then he’s the replacement," said Roger Maltbie, a former PGA Tour winner and now an analyst for NBC Sports.

The search is for someone younger, however, and golf rarely has had this many fresh faces.

McIlroy became only the second player — Sergio Garcia was the other — to crack the top 10 in the world ranking before turning 21. With his mop of brown hair, playful swagger and raw skill, McIlroy backed up the early hype when he won in Dubai, tied for third in the PGA Championship and nearly won the European Tour money title.

"If he starts off well, the focus is going to be about Rory again," said his manager, Chubby Chandler. "I didn’t realize this at the time, but one reason for the tremendous hype about Rory was that Tiger wasn’t around that much."

The same could be said of 24-year-old Anthony Kim, another amazing talent who first came to prominence when Woods wasn’t playing. He won last year at Quail Hollow and Congressional, and had a starring role at the Ryder Cup.

Kim appeals to the hip-hop generation as a street-smart kid who grew up in Los Angeles and loves to talk smack. On the practice range one evening at Congressional, Kim had his iPod blaring as he hit balls with his small entourage.

"Yo, get you some of that," Kim said to one of his friends after one drive.

But as another year starts without Woods, Kim is among the promising young stars who are coming off disappointing seasons. He failed to win last year, along with Camilo Villegas and Sergio Garcia.

Some attention is shifting to Rickie Fowler, who lost in a PGA Tour playoff and made it through Q-school before his 21st birthday. Then again, golf is loaded with young players who have a great week, even a great month. What set Woods apart, among other things, is that he had a great 13 years.

It’s possible the next great player can emerge from this collection of youth, a group that includes Ryo Ishikawa of Japan, who at 19 became the youngest to win the Japan Golf Tour money title; Dustin Johnson, already a two-time winner who is tall, athletic and hits it a mile; or even Adam Scott, who just turned 30 and has been linked this year to Kate Hudson and Ana Ivanovic.

"I can’t imagine anyone having all the tools Tiger has, making huge putts when he needs them over and over and over again," Maltbie said. "The things he does are amazing. We just haven’t see that from the kids yet."

Doug Ferguson covers golf for The Associated Press

Commentary: As sports scandals go, Tiger is tops

The biggest news as the Tiger Woods scandal played out for the third week on gossip sites and chat boards everywhere wasn’t really news.

It might not have even been his wife, Elin, not that it matters much anymore.

A 2-day-old photo of a blonde woman in sunglasses pumping gas into an SUV outside Orlando went viral — which is about all that seems to matter anymore — because, gasp, the woman was not wearing a wedding ring.

Perhaps you’ve heard that Woods and his wife, Elin, are having marital problems.

There’s really not a lot more to the whole thing except for the scale of what happened and the size of the stage it has been playing out on. The greatest golfer ever is exposed as perhaps one of the greatest philanderers ever and, of course, we want to know all the sordid details.

Transgressions. Infidelity. Sins. Woods has used all three words himself in postings on his Web site owning up to some of his actions.

If only he had cheated on the golf course instead of off it. Marked down a 4 when it should have been a 5, or maybe kicked a ball from behind a tree when no one was looking.

He might have recovered from that. A lot of baseball players who cheated with steroids certainly have.

But he’ll never really recover from this.

"In a lot of ways Tiger Woods has broken the hearts of a lot of people who looked at him as a role model who was above all those things," said Richard Lapchick, director of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida. "It was just so far out of bounds with what anyone considers normal behavior."

Indeed, this scandal is more about celebrity than sport. This wasn’t Pete Rose betting on baseball, Bill Belichick spying on his opponents or Marion Jones bulking up to win Olympic gold.

But it is Tiger Woods. And that’s all that matters.

"I don’t know if there was anybody ever like Tiger Woods," Lapchick said. "We had an African-American athlete who totally transcended race and dominated a sport maybe like no one else who seemed to have this perfect life. It turned out not to be true."

Count Lapchick among those who initially thought Woods would largely escape much fallout from the accident and early reports of infidelity. Those in a graduate class he teaches in sports management thought so, too, predicting Woods would be welcomed back warmly when he returned to the course.

That was before every day brought another revelation, and more and more women were linked with Woods. Now his students have changed their minds, and Lapchick has, too.

Woods’ sponsors are apparently coming to the same conclusion. No matter that few people know what Accenture does, the consulting company knows it doesn’t want to be associated with Woods anymore.

And although AT&T doesn’t mind spending millions to be a part of the 2012 U.S. Olympic effort, does the company really want Woods to make his return — whenever that might be — with its logo still on his golf bag?

What astounds Lapchick — who is not only a distinguished academic but a pioneer for racial equality in sports — is how the Woods scandal has morphed into something never before seen in sports. Even the sexual assault charges against Kobe Bryant — while arguably more serious — didn’t create nearly this kind of frenzy.

Bryant has rebounded to a large degree, helped by the passing of time and his dominance on the basketball court. He has his endorsements back, and no one asks him any more what happened that night in a Colorado hotel.

There are, however, still some who remember the repulsive details of the allegations who will never cheer for Bryant again.

Like Bryant, what Woods did had nothing to do with sports. Still, it might end up being the biggest scandal ever in sports.

Nothing else comes close.

"It’s so far the opposite of what we thought that it makes it so much more dramatic," Lapchick said. "I think it will always be with him."

Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg@p.org

Hunt is on for post-crash Tiger Woods photos

NEW YORK — The hunt for Tiger Woods is on, or at least the first photographs of the golf superstar since his late-night car crash and damaging news of his marital problems.

The winner of 14 majors has virtually disappeared since driving his SUV into a tree during a bizarre accident outside his Orlando-area home last month. His wife, Elin Nordegren, has also laid low, though photos of her surfaced this week, her hand showing no sign of a wedding ring.

Except for a few posts on his Web site, where Woods apologized for "transgressions" and said he was taking an indefinite leave from golf, the world’s best player has gone underground. And that, of course, has driven up the market value for his photographs.

"He’s on top of the list," said famed paparazzo Ron Galella, who once had his jaw broken by Marlon Brando and is the subject of a documentary by Oscar-winning director Leon Gast that will premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

"The only bigger one would be Brad Pitt with Jennifer Aniston, his former wife, if they ever got together," Galella said. "Tiger is hot now."

The word paparazzi comes from a character in the film "La Dolce Vita," although they often make life anything but sweet for athletes and celebrities.

Some of them go to lawbreaking lengths to get the exclusive shot, scaling walls, hanging out of trees, and even chartering helicopters if it means getting a picture of something within a gated community — one such as Isleworth, where Woods and his family have their home.

The value of the photographs depends on several factors, said Frank Griffin of the Bauer-Griffin Agency, including things like quality and setting. If the picture were of Woods crying or contrite, it would be more valuable than one of him smiling.

Timing is also an issue, because many tabloids and celebrity magazines have maxed out their budgets for the year. A photograph that surfaces in a few weeks might generate more money.

The most expensive celebrity shots, according to a ranking by Forbes, were for the twins born to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. The photos brought in about $14 million, although the couple allowed the photographer access in exchange for a donation to charity.

"Today my guys in Orlando get (Tiger) in the backyard, his head down, I would say $10,000 apiece," said Francois Navarre, who runs the X-17 photo agency. "Worldwide, I would probably make about $100,000. Now, if we get him with his wife, you can double that or more."

A picture of Elin without a ring like the ones circulating on the Web might only fetch $20,000, according to people familiar with the industry, while current pictures of Tiger and Elin together could demand six figures. A photograph that shows Tiger with one of his alleged mistresses has the potential to bring hundreds of thousands.

"It would have to be some clever marketing, and it would have to be worldwide," said Griffin, whose firm is considered one of the more established in the business. "A picture of Tiger Woods with a tooth missing being chased by 12 blonde females wielding golf clubs, name your price.

"Tiger Woods is a sad story," Griffin added. "It makes people unhappy to see that. The purpose of tabloid journalism has always been to cheer people."

That doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of interest driving the Tiger Woods drama.

Yahoo Inc. chief executive Carol Bartz told financial analysts last week that the story is "better than Michael Jackson dying" for helping the company sell advertising. "It’s kind of hard to put up an ad next to a funeral," she said.

Yahoo reported that searches for Woods’ name were up more than 3,900 percent over the last 30 days, and Google Inc. said it also has seen a significant spike. Time Inc. said traffic to its Golf.com Web site has increased 600 percent since news of Woods’ car accident broke.

"It’s the biggest story of the year, even bigger than Michael Jackson and Rihanna — those are the three biggest dramas," Navarre said. "Tiger Woods is twice bigger, and it’s going on and on. Usually we have a peak and it goes down, but right now it’s like a plateau."

-- Dave Skretta

In Sweden, anger at Woods but pride over wife

STOCKHOLM — During the good times, Tiger Woods could find a perfect getaway in Sweden — a quiet and secluded place to avoid the media spotlight.

There have been Christmas celebrations in a remote area of northern Sweden in a house owned by relatives of his Swedish wife, Elin Nordegren. There have been summer days spent undisturbed in the couple’s luxury apartment in central Stockholm. And his wife recently purchased a secluded house on an island in the archipelago, a short boat ride outside the capital.

But if Woods is looking for somewhere to ride out the media storm surrounding his infidelity, Sweden may no longer be the place to go.

"I think his reception would be rather chilly," said Billy McCormac, an American who has lived in Sweden for 14 years and heads the prominent think tank Timbro. "I think things are just too raw right now."

The Woods sex scandal has indeed struck a particularly raw nerve in Sweden, where Nordegren’s transition from being a nanny for golfer Jesper Parnevik to the wife of one of the world’s most famous athletes was long seen as a fairy-tale romance.

Over the last five years, sightings of the couple on the streets of Stockholm or in nearby Vaxholm in the archipelago — where Nordegren grew up — helped create a sense of connection to a man renowned for his reclusive persona.

But like the drop in temperatures that brought a blizzard of snow over the Scandinavian country on Tuesday, Woods’ admitted betrayal of his wife has turned public opinion considerably cooler.

"We have taken him to heart and almost viewed him like one of us," said Niklas Olovzon, a sponsorship and brand expert who heads the communications agency S&B. "Of course that has made this a much bigger deal. ... I don’t think we’ll forgive him as quickly."

Instead, there is an outpouring of sympathy and support for Nordegren, who has claims to fame in Sweden beyond her marriage to Woods. Nordegren’s mother, Barbro Holmberg, is a well-known Social Democratic politician and former migration minister while her father Thomas Nordegren is a prominent radio journalist.

"She comes from two sort of Swedish houses of nobility, so there is a sense that this is personal," McCormac said. "I’m not sure how much the Swedish public embraced Elin before this. But now, that sense of ownership and that sense of communion with her has gotten stronger."

That’s been evident in the country’s newspapers during the last few weeks, where the numerous front-page headlines and articles have focused as much on Nordegren as on Woods.

There has been constant speculation about whether she’ll stay with her husband, advice about how to repair her marriage, and jokes about why she used a golf club to smash the back passenger windows of Woods’ SUV the night of his infamous car crash outside their home in Florida. Local police said his wife told them she did it to help get her husband out.

In a country that prides itself on gender equality and independent women, the image of a golf club-wielding Nordegren is a source of widespread satisfaction.

"For us, it was almost a positive thing that she smashed the car window," Olovzon said. "We like strong women in a lot of ways."

Britta Svensson, a columnist in the newspaper Expressen, summed it up like this:

"A week ago, Tiger and Elin were the cutest couple on the globe," Svensson wrote shortly after the reports of numerous mistresses started seeping out. "Now our Swedish hearts are brimming with pride that our own Elin — not a regular nanny but the daughter of a Social Democratic minister and Swedish Radio journalist — didn’t take any ... Elin is our heroine."

The same can no longer be said of Woods, of course, regardless of golf’s immense popularity in the country.

Despite its short summers, Sweden has nearly a half million golfers in a population of little more than 9 million, including a number of top pros like Henrik Stenson.

But to win the fans back, Woods has to get back on the course and win more titles, said Tommy Jeppsson, the editor of the Swedish version of Golf Digest.

"Time has an incredible ability to heal things like this," said Jeppsson, pointing out that a number of famous men have been able to resuscitate their careers after sex scandals. "When you think about (actor) Hugh Grant today, you only view his scandal as a bump in the road — he didn’t drive off a cliff. I think this will be a bump in the road for Tiger Woods as well."

Seeing Woods play in a tournament like the Scandinavian Masters has long been a dream for Swedish golf fans. If Woods does decide to end his indefinite break from golf, Jeppsson said that’s not likely to change.

"He would be very welcome," Jeppsson said. "I don’t think anyone would miss seeing Tiger Woods play golf just because they’re a bit peeved about what he’s alleged to have done."

But, as McCormac pointed out, Woods may not want to test his welcome too soon.

"I think the media circus needs to die down first," McCormac said. "Maybe in six months, or, say, around the summer time. (Swedes) are very used to walking down the street, and say, ‘Oh, there’s the prime minister,’ or ‘There’s that rock star.’ Given a bit of time, given a bit of space, I’d say even (Tiger and Elin) will be able to do that eventually."

-- Mattias Karen

Upper Deck says it sticks by Woods

MILWAUKEE — Sports card and memorabilia maker Upper Deck Co. said Tuesday it will continue its relationship with Tiger Woods.

The company, and its Upper Deck Authenticated collectibles division, said the two "look forward to his eventual return to the PGA Tour."

Upper Deck CEO Richard McWilliam said in a statement the athlete and his family have the company’s full support.

Woods announced late last week he was taking an indefinite leave from public life and golf while he works to fix his marriage after multiple allegations of infidelity.

Since then, Woods’ sponsors have been weighing their options as the media firestorm surrounding Woods continues. Companies use celebrity endorsements to sell products and boost their image. But the propositions can be risky and expensive if a celebrity falls from grace.

According to new figures released Tuesday from TNS Media Intelligence, Woods’ top six sponsors have spent about $79.3 million on ads featuring Woods or his name through October this year.

Woods has been Upper Deck’s exclusive golf spokesman and autograph signer since 2001. The company declined to comment on the length or value of the contract.

The company, which is based in Carlsbad, Calif., sells everything from thousand-dollar autographed pictures of Woods to original artwork and autographed shoes.

It has not had a golf trading card set since 2005, but spokesman Terry Melia said sometimes Upper Deck includes single cards of Woods, along with other celebrities and stars, in baseball card launches.

Major sponsor Accenture dropped Woods on Sunday, saying he no longer fits with the company’s image. The consulting firm had banked heavily on the golfer to push its attributes of perfection and integrity.

According to TNS, Accenture included Woods’ name or image in 83 percent of its advertising spending from January through October, for a total of $31 million. That marked the biggest percentage of a company’s ad budget, out of Woods’ main sponsors.

Other sponsors including Swiss watch maker Tag Heuer and AT&T have said they’re examining their relationship with Woods. According to TNS, Tag Heuer spent 23 percent of its advertising money on ads with Woods, for a total of $953,000. Figures for AT&T weren’t available.

Gillette, a unit of Procter & Gamble, announced Saturday it would not air ads featuring Woods. The grooming products brand did not say when and under what conditions it would resume airing them. According to TNS, 9 percent of the brand’s advertising through October this year included Woods, for a total value of $14.3 million.

Besides Upper Deck, other companies that have said they stand by Woods include Nike Inc. and Electronic Arts, which both spent under $4 million on ads with Woods, or less than 5 percent of their ad spending. PepsiCo Inc.’s Gatorade is also saying it supports Woods. The brand spent $26.2 million on ads with him through October, or about 23 percent of its total advertising spending.

-- Emily Fredrix

Woods speaks of family values in interview

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Tiger Woods spoke of his commitment to his family during an interview screened in New Zealand on Tuesday that was conducted before his car crash and subsequent admission of several infidelities.

Asked in the interview "family first and golf second ... always been that way?" Woods replied: "Always. Always."

He goes on to say that having a family — he has two young children with wife Elin Nordegren — "has been great, actually, the best thing that ever happened."

The interview was conducted on Nov. 17 — 10 days before the accident outside his Florida family home which prompted reports of marital strife. The world’s No. 1 golfer later admitted to liaisons with other women.

Woods says he has applied time management skills learned at Stanford University to his dual roles as a golfer and father and had been more focused as a player since he became a family man.

"I don’t practice as much as I used to. I don’t spend the amount of hours on the golf course, not like I used to" he said.

"But my focus is so much more intense than it used to be. ... I know whatever I have to get done (has to be done) in a shorter amount of time."

The interview, conducted in Melbourne, Australia, where Woods was playing in the Australian Masters, was due to be aired on Christmas but New Zealand’s Sky Sport moved it up after the revelations about Woods’ private life.

The interview also dealt with Woods’ 10-year relationship with his New Zealand-born caddie Steve Williams. Williams has denied any knowledge of Woods’ extramarital relationships but has said the golfer has since confided in him.

During the interview Woods said he and Williams are "great friends".

"We talk about anything and everything together," he said.

Williams told interviewer Murray Deaker he and Woods had a relationship that was "just like a marriage really."

"The longer you go on, the more you know about one another," Williams said.

Woods said his basic values had been shaped by his mother Kultida, who was the family disciplinarian.

"You’d think Dad, being a Special Forces operator, was the tough guy. No, he was always the softie," Woods said, laughing and shaking his head. "My mom was tough."

Barkley: Tiger changed phone number after accident

Charles Barkley says Tiger Woods changed his cell phone number the day after his car accident and is not talking to some of his famous friends.

On a show that airs Sunday on news network HLN, Barkley and filmmaker Spike Lee worry that Woods isn’t taking advantage of the invaluable advice that can only be offered by friends who are used to the spotlight.

"You should reach out to your celebrity friends when things go bad," Barkley told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday. "They’re the only people who understand what it’s like."

Barkley appears on "With All Due Respect" with two other Turner Sports analysts, baseball Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley and longtime NASCAR driver Kyle Petty. Lee is one of the guests in the one-hour special during which the sports stars discuss a variety of topics.

Turner Sports and HLN are owned by Turner Broadcasting System.

"He’s insulated," Lee said during the taping for the show. "If Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan can’t get to him, and those are his boys, then other people are making bad moves."

Barkley said Tuesday he has not spoken to Woods since the Nov. 27 accident, which unleashed a series of events that resulted in him admitting to marital infidelity.

"I’ve been trying to get to him and can’t get to him," he said. "It’s very frustrating."

Barkley said he just wants to tell Woods, "Hey, man, we love you. If you need anything, pick up the phone."

Chatting about subjects ranging from sports to world news, entertainment and current events is a natural for the outspoken Barkley, who has long expressed an interest in entering politics. He said he wants potential voters to be familiar with his views, with include support for abortion rights and gay marriage.

"I hope people get a chance to see where I am on different issues," he said.

While taping the show, the three athletes found they had similar feelings about another of the year’s big stories: the death of Michael Jackson. Each felt at peace about the saga after seeing "Michael Jackson’s This Is It," the film about the King of Pop’s final rehearsals.

During the conversation, Barkley said, "I thought Kyle was going to cry."

-- Rachel Cohen

Notebook: Aussie golfer: Woods mentioned Skype at last event

In Tiger Woods’ last tournament before his world was rocked with an infidelity scandal, the Australian golfer who played with him said Woods mentioned how he could stay in touch with his family when he was on the road.

"I remember him talking about how good Skype was for his kids and his wife," Cameron Percy said in a telephone interview during the Australian PGA Championship last week. "It’s unreal that no one close to him knew about it. No one knew, I suppose. Up until then, he was the perfect role model for anyone."

Percy considered the final round of the Australian Masters on Nov. 15 as the biggest day of his career, and now it carries an added distinction. He was the last golfer to play with Woods before his "indefinite leave" from golf to try to save his marriage.

"It was the best day of my life, and I suppose it’s tainted a bit," Percy said. "But I’ll keep the memories."

Percy, who grew up in Melbourne, was two shots off the lead and in the second-to-last group with Woods. His entire family was part of the record crowd at Kingston Heath that saw Woods close with a 68 and win for the 82nd time in his career. Percy, rattled by fairways that looked narrow with fans lining both sides of them, shot 72 and tied for sixth.

"A local boy from Melbourne, playing with Tiger Woods in front of the biggest crowds," Percy said. "Everyone in that field wanted to be me that day."

Two weeks later, Percy was on a family holiday when a friend called and told him to turn on his TV. He saw a picture of Woods and a photo of the damaged SUV that Woods drove into a tree. Then came allegations of rampant affairs, and part of Percy wondered if that was the same guy dressed in a red shirt and playing flawless golf Down Under.

"It was bizarre," Percy said. "My initial thinking was, ‘This can’t be right."’

Percy recalls Woods greeting him on the first tee and putting the unheralded Australian at ease with small talk.

"I remember there was a kid crying in the crowd on the third hole, and we were having a chat about how we used to wonder why people brought their kids to the course, but now that we have kids of our own, it doesn’t bother us," Percy said.

Woods announced his indefinite leave from golf last week, and even when he returns, no one can be sure if he will continue to play overseas as much. Woods promised the crowd at Melbourne that he won’t wait another 11 years before returning.

How will the fans embrace him should he return?

"I can’t see this being an issue," Percy said. "Our biggest idol is Greg Norman — not much difference there. The golfing public just loves to watch his golf. We have athletes in trouble for one thing or another. Once they’re on the sporting field, it’s all right."

CAMERON COMES BACK TO EARTH

It didn’t take long for Cameron Percy to go from the ultimate high — a final round pairing with Tiger Woods in his hometown of Melbourne — back to reality.

Two weeks after the Australian Masters, his draw for the first two rounds of the Australian Open put him with Jian Chen of China and Shintaro Iizuka of Japan. Both missed the cut at a combined 49 over par. Chen shot 82-90, while Iizuka shot 83-82.

"Bit of a contrast," Percy said with a laugh. "The tour really looked after me on tee times."

The scores were one thing. Percy said toward the end of the second round at New South Wales — one of the most scenic golf courses in Australia — they asked him to take pictures of them.

"You don’t expect that from your playing partners in the middle of the round," Percy said.

YOGI AND THE HOPE

Yogi Berra will take on a new role at the Bob Hope Classic as the first "Classic Ambassador," in which he will perform a variety of duties during the 51st edition of the tournament in the California desert.

The Hall of Fame catcher played 15 times in the Bob Hope, during which he brought his brand of wisdom to the game.

"Ninety percent of all putts which finish short of the hole don’t go in," Berra once said.

Among other things, Berra will hit the ceremonial first tee shot on Jan. 20 and present the trophy after the 90-hole tournament.

"It’s a privilege for me to be honored by the Bob Hope Classic, which has always been a wonderful tournament," Berra said. "I thought the world of Bob, for all he’s done for golf and everything and everybody, and I cherish the times we spent. Playing this tournament every year over the last 15 years, I can honestly say has been a great experience.

"I can also say, being 84, not many can beat me in experience."

GRAND FINALE

Anders Hansen of Denmark goes into the South African Open with a chance to become the first player from the northern hemisphere to win the Order of Merit on the Sunshine Tour.

That’s not all that’s at stake. The South African Open is the final tournament of the year that awards world ranking points, and the top 50 in the final ranking Dec. 28 will be invited to play in the Masters. Hansen is at No. 48.

Even without golf being played, points are gradually reduced from a player’s record each week. Among the players on the bubble for an automatic bid to Augusta National are Miguel Angel Jimenez (No. 47), former British Open champion Ben Curtis (No. 49) and big-hitting Alvaro Quiros of Spain at No. 50.

Ryan Moore and Dustin Johnson are just outside the top 50, although they already are exempt.

DIVOTS

Tadd Fujikawa has been given a sponsor’s exemption to the Sony Open in Honolulu. ... Ryo Ishikawa had last week off, and the Japanese teenager certainly earned his break. Dating to the PGA Championship, Ishikawa played 17 weeks in a row. ... Lee Westwood has won the Golf Writers’ Trophy, joining Seve Ballesteros as the only three-time winners of the award from the Association of Golf Writers in Britain. Catriona Matthew, who won the Women’s British Open, was the runner-up, while Rory McIlroy finished third. ... Sophie Gustafson won the Ladies European Tour money title for the fourth time this decade.

STAT OF THE WEEK

The Ladies European Tour has more tournaments (27) on its 2010 schedule than the LPGA Tour (24).

FINAL WORD

"I just don’t think that even if you become a professional athlete that you have to give up your education." — Michelle Wie, who took a final exam at Stanford over the internet just hours before shooting 65 in the final round of the Dubai Ladies Masters.

-- Doug Ferguson

Golf Glance

SOUTH AFRICAN GOLF ASSOCIATION

South African Open

Site: Paarl, South Africa.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Pearl Valley Golf Estate (7,309 yards, par 72).

Purse: $1.46 million. Winner's share: $229,920.

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

Last year: Richard Sterne gave South Africa its eighth straight victory in the national championship, beating Northern Ireland's Gareth Maybin with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff. Sterne won the Alfred Dunhill Championship the previous week.

Last week: Spain's Pablo Martin won his first second European tour title, holding off South Africa's Charl Schwartzel by a stroke in the Alfred Dunhill at Leopard Creek. In 2007, the former Oklahoma State player won the Estoril Open de Portugal to become the European tour's only amateur champion.

Notes: South African star Ernie Els, the 1992, '96, '98 and '06 winner, is skipping the tournament. Two-time winners Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman also are taking the week off. ... Denmark's Anders Hansen is in position to become the first player from the northern hemisphere to win the Sunshine Tour money title. A two-time winner in four tour, he starts enters the season finale with $467,823 — $173,370 more than second-place Schwartzel. ... Gary Player won a record 13 times, the first in 1956 and last in 1981. Bobby Locke won nine times. ... First played in 1893, the tournament is the second oldest national championship behind the British Open (1860). ... Jack Nicklaus designed Pearl Valley, the tournament site for the third straight year. ... After a two-week break, the European and Sunshine tours will resume play with the Africa Open at East London in Eastern Cape.

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

Sunshine Tour site: http://www.sunshinetour.com

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