Golf Capsules: Woods scandal a boon to Internet publications

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Like any good celebrity scandal, the Tiger Woods drama has triggered a spike in traffic to Web sites offering details of his Thanksgiving weekend car crash and his alleged extramarital affairs. The lift will likely be fleeting, though, as the shock of the story wears off.

One of the most heavily trafficked sites has been Woods’ own site, where he has posted his only public comments about his crash and admitted to "transgressions." The site got 488,000 unique visitors the week of his crash, up from fewer than 11,000 the week before, according to The Nielsen Co.

The Orlando Sentinel, which serves the area of Woods’ home, scored about 1.2 million unique visitors the week of the crash, more than 2½ times the number of visitors the week before, Nielsen said.

Meanwhile, visits to the entertainment site TMZ.com and sports news site Deadspin.com, which both had scoops on the Woods story, were up more than 50 percent, according to Hitwise, another Web analysis firm.

Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., which process more than 80 percent of all Internet searches in the U.S., said they’ve seen a leap in traffic from people looking for information on the golf superstar. Yahoo says searches for Woods’ name have increased nearly 4,000-fold over the last 30 days. Neither Google nor Yahoo would provide specifics about how many more people were searching.

The traffic bump is not as pronounced as those that surrounded Michael Jackson’s death in June and President Barack Obama’s inauguration in January, both companies said. However, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz told an investor conference in New York this week that the Woods story was "better than Michael Jackson dying" when it came to helping Yahoo make money, because it is easier to sell ads next to salacious content.

"It’s kind of hard to put an ad up next to a funeral," she said. Bartz even said Woods will "absolutely" help Yahoo achieve its financial projections this quarter, but the company now says the frequently off-color CEO was joking.

Time Warner Inc. says its Golf.com Web site, which averages 2.4 million unique viewers a month, has seen traffic jump sevenfold since the story about Woods broke. The site typically draws an audience that big only during major golf championships, said Scott Novak, spokesman for Sports Illustrated Group, which publishes Golf.com.

A lesson from earlier major news events is that Internet companies need to capitalize fast on the surge in traffic, because interest fades quickly. Google’s statistics show that searches for Michael Jackson stayed strong in the days after his death but fell off dramatically after a couple of weeks.

Golfers say they weren’t interviewed about Woods

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two golfers quoted by a weekly magazine as making disparaging remarks about Tiger Woods and his marriage said Thursday night they never spoke to the publication.

In a story that Life & Style posted on its Web site, Ben Crane is quoted as saying Woods is a "phony and a fake" and that Woods’ wife knew about allegations of extramarital affairs. It also quotes Charles Warren as saying Woods’ wife "had stars in her eyes and maybe dollar signs too" and should leave him.

The magazine said in a statement it was investigating.

"This is unbelievable," Ben Crane told The Associated Press from his Dallas-area home. "I never said a word about anything. They print this and put my name next to it."

Warren said through his agent that he has not given an interview of any kind in two months.

"I have not spoken to Life & Style magazine, so there is no story here," Warren said in a statement.

Crane’s agent, Tommy Limbaugh of 4UManagement, said a magazine official told him the interview took place at the PGA Tour Qualifying tournament last week at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Crane finished 51st on the PGA Tour money list this year and was not at Q-school. Warren, who finished 147th on the money list, withdrew from Q-school before the final round. He was too far back to earn his card.

"We sent an experienced freelance reporter to a golf tournament attended by several PGA pros," the magazine said in a statement. "Our reporter spoke with two golfers who presented themselves as Ben Crane and Charles Warren. We are taking these claims very seriously and investigating further."

Asked if the magazine took photos of the golfers it interviewed, a spokeswoman declined further comment. Life & Style published the quotes Wednesday afternoon, and several Web sites posted them Thursday.

Crane said he first learned about the quotes Thursday morning when his agent called.

"At that point, I was like, ‘OK, that’s the farthest thing from the truth,"’ Crane said. "I didn’t realize I should be proactively calling you and (other journalists) until all of a sudden the tour called and said they wanted to run it (on television)."

-- Doug Ferguson

Nicklaus wants to respect Woods’ privacy

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Jack Nicklaus said the fallout over Tiger Woods’ car crash and allegations of extramarital affairs is "none of my business."

"Our public is pretty forgiving at times," Nicklaus said Thursday. "Time usually heals all wounds. I think the hardest thing is obviously his family. That’s a private matter for him and his family."

Nicklaus won 18 major championships, the most in golf history. Woods is second with 14.

Woods has remained out of the public eye since the crash Thanksgiving weekend and the scandal that quickly followed. He has acknowledged "transgressions" on his Web site.

"He’s a great athlete," Nicklaus said. "He’ll figure it out."

Nicklaus’ first public comments about Woods’ situation came after an event honoring The Benjamin School’s golf team, recent winners of a Florida state championship. Son Gary Nicklaus played on a state title team at the school 26 years ago.

Services for 2007 Texas State Open winner Loving

CORPUS CHRISTI — Pro golfer Matthew Loving of San Antonio, who won the 2007 Texas State Open, died when his SUV collided with a school bus in south Texas.

Loving’s funeral was Wednesday at Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Corpus Christi, according to parish secretary Susan Linnane.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Tom Vinger says the wreck happened the afternoon of Dec. 4 in Karnes County, one mile east of Runge.

Vinger told The Associated Press that the 30-year-old Loving was westbound when his vehicle went into oncoming traffic, striking a Runge ISD bus. The bus driver and 10 students were treated and released.

Vinger says the cause of the accident is sought. He says the preliminary DPS report indicates Loving, who was alone in the SUV, was not wearing a seat belt.

Wie trails by 2 shots at Dubai Ladies Masters

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — In-Kyung Kim shot a bogey-free 7-under 65 Thursday to build a two-shot lead over Michelle Wie at the halfway point of the Dubai Ladies Masters.

The South Korean, who won the Longs Drugs Challenge this year, believes she could have done better.

"I feel very happy with my round, but I had some more chances for birdies," said Kim, who leads at 135. "I could have gotten a little bit lower. The little putts were hard to read."

Wie shot 68 in a round that included six birdies and two bogeys. Tania Elosegui (66), who made a hole-in-one on No. 7, and Amy Yang are a shot behind Wie.

Wie started with three straight birdies, but missed chances on the final three holes.

"I feel like I’m having a lot of fun on the golf course. But I also feel like I’m playing pretty consistent," Wie said. "I want to make a lot more birdies and keep playing better every day."

By the time Wie teed off, Kim had already posted her 65.

"I saw the scoring was really low and I was like, ‘I have to start out like this.’ So I just went out there and it kind of worked out," Wie said.

Overnight leader Maria Hjorth (73) made a triple-bogey 8 on the final hole and dropped into a tie for fifth at 139.

British Open champion Catriona Matthew (68) kept up her effort to overtake Sophie Gustafson at the top of the money list, joining Hjorth at 5-under overall.

Gustafson (69) is two shots further back.

Van den Berg leads Alfred Dunhill Championship

MALELANE, South Africa — Ulrich van den Berg of South Africa shot an 8-under 64 Thursday to lead by one stroke after the opening round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

Pelle Edberg of Sweden was a shot back in the opening event on the European Tour’s 2010 Race to Dubai. Titch Moore of South Africa and Edoardo Molinari of Italy each shot a 66 on the Leopard Creek Country Club course.

Nine players shot 67, including Gregory Bourdy of France and Irish pair Shane Lowry and Damien McGrane.

Ernie Els shot a 68, while Thomas Aiken of South Africa had a hole-in-one on the 12th.