TALKING GOLF WITH GARY 5-27-2012

 JOHNSON GETS SECOND COLONIAL IN 3 YEARS

Zach Johnson was so caught up in the emotion of another Colonial title and a victory in honor of his caddie's late father that he forgot to properly remark his ball before his final putt.

Even with a two-stroke penalty, Johnson won by one over Jason Dufner and got to slip on the plaid jacket Sunday for his first victory since also winning at Hogan's Alley two years ago.

Johnson moved his original ball mark out of the line of Dufner's putt on the 18th green. But he never moved it back before his final 5-foot putt.

The penalty was assessed before he signed his scorecard, and Johnson's 12-under 268 total was enough to edge Dufner, who finally faltered and closed with a 74.

The victory came 10 days after Green's 88-year old father died from stomach cancer. After Johnson's runner-up finish at The Players Championship two weeks ago, the caddie drove to Pensacola, Fla., to see his father. But Damon Green was ready to get back on the course this week. 

It is the eighth PGA Tour victory for Johnson, who won $1,152,000 even as his record streak of 15 consecutive under-par rounds at Colonial ended.

Tommy Gainey was a distant third at 7 under after a 67, a stroke better than Jim Furyk.

In what was essentially a match-play final round, Johnson took command at the 414-yard 15th hole. Dufner's approach hit the left side of that green then rolled into a ditch, leading to a triple bogey that put him four strokes back after Johnson's par.

Dufner's only two PGA Tour victories came in the previous four weeks, a stretch when he also got married.

After winning last week at the Byron Nelson Championship, he was trying to match Ben Hogan, his hero, as the only players to win both PGA Tour events in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the same year. Hogan did it in 1946, when the tournaments weren't played in consecutive weeks.

There had already been four two-stroke swings between Dufner and Johnson before that fateful 15th hole.

Dufner drove into a fairway bunker before the shot that trickled over a ledge into the water. He then pitched his drop all the way over the green and missed a 4-foot putt for double bogey.

Johnson made par at the same hole where a day earlier his approach settled into a grassy clump only inches from going into that ditch. With his feet together to keep from falling over himself, Johnson's pitch from about 81 feet rolled only inches from the cup.

Johnson had blown a two-stroke lead before going back ahead with his 9-foot birdie putt at the 445-yard 14th.

And then came the 15th and Dufner was finished.


CHAPMAN WINS SENIOR PGA

Roger Chapman has won the Senior PGA Championship, holding on for a two-stroke victory after leading comfortably throughout the final round Sunday.

Chapman led by five after 54 holes and was never really threatened Sunday. His closing 1-over 72 was his worst score of the tournament - but it was enough to give the Englishman a win at the major championship.

Chapman, who had never won on the Champions Tour, finished at 13 under. He bogeyed three of the last five holes but had enough of a cushion that it didn't matter.

John Cook was at 11 under after a 69. Hale Irwin shot 68 to finish another stroke back.
Kenny Perry shot a tournament-record 62 at Harbor Shores but finished five shots behind in ninth place.


DONALD TAKES BMW AGAIN
Luke Donald held off Justin Rose to win the BMW PGA Championship for the second straight year Sunday and overtake Rory McIlroy for the No. 1 ranking.

Donald won by four strokes after starting the fourth round at Wentworth with a two-stroke lead. He shot a 4-under 68 to finish at 15 under. Sharing second place at the European Tour's flagship event were Rose (70) of England and fast-closing Paul Lawrie (66) of Scotland.

This was Donald's second victory of the year, following the Transitions Championship in the United States in March.

This is the fourth time Donald has been ranked. No. 1. It's the sixth change at the top of the rankings in 12 weeks between Donald and Ryder Cup teammate McIlroy.

McIlroy missed the cut at Wentworth after a second-round 79. Lawrie, the 1999 British Open champion, birdied the last hole to finish alone in fourth place after a 71, with Branden Grace (70) a shot further back in fifth.

Rose drew even for the lead after a birdie on No. 4 while Donald made his only bogey of the round on the same hole. At that time, Ireland's Peter Lawrie and Paul Lawrie were within two shots after strong starts in sunny conditions, but Donald found another gear.

He picked up shots at Nos. 6 and 7 and a 30-foot birdie at No. 10 drew cries of ''Luuuuke'' from the gallery to give him a three-stroke cushion.

Rose - looking for a victory that could have lifted him into the world's top five for the first time - couldn't respond. Further birdied by Donald at Nos. 12 and 16 allowed him to stroll down the par-5 18th. He is the third player, after Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie, to win successive titles in this event.


NEWS & NOTES

Ernie Els has apologized for his expletive-laden outburst about the softness of the greens in the PGA Championship at Wentworth, European Tour officials said on Sunday.

The 42-year-old South African hit out at tour organizers and the West Course green-keeping staff on Saturday for not taking the bite out of the course during a third round when gusts of up to 40-kph wind sent scores soaring.

Former world number one Els complained that insufficient water had been applied to the putting surfaces and sprinkled his tirade with the occasional swear word.Memorial Tournament winners Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Justin Rose and Vijay Singh have each committed to play in the 37th tournament,coming up at Jack Nicklaus' Muirfield Village Golf Club.

The tournament also announced that Luke Donald was coming to play and that former Ohio State standout Bo Hoag will receive an exemption to play in the field.

Donald's presence gives the tournament nine of the top 10 players in the world rankings.

Els won the Memorial in 2004, Furyk in 2002, Rose two years ago and Singh in 1997.

Hoag, like Nicklaus a product of Upper Arlington, Ohio, will be making his first appearance at the Memorial. He will be playing in his second PGA Tour event this season after missing the cut at the Honda Classic.


PGA Tour rookie Harris English shot a course best and International Finals America qualifying record 60 and easily qualified for the British Open on Monday.

English shot a 63 in the afternoon in the par 70 Queens Course at Gleneagles Country Club, just outside of Dallas, for a 123 total, to snag one of the eight available spots for the Open from July 19-22 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in England.

The 60 was the lowest 18-hole qualifying score since the R&A began holding qualifying in the United States in 2004. Records were incomplete if it was the lowest 18-hole score ever shot in British Open qualifying.


Anthony Kim will miss the rest of the FedEx Cup season to treat chronic tendinitis in his left arm.
Kim has made only two cuts this year and has withdrawn from his last three tournaments. Along with nagging pain in his left forearm, Kim hurt his right elbow when his club struck a rock while he was trying to hit out of a bush at the Texas Open.

He decided to take time off after seeing the same Cleveland doctor who operated on his left thumb two years ago.

Kim says he's been trying to revive his game and has been held back by injuries. Treatment is expected to last four to five months. That gives Kim hope of returning after the Ryder Cup for the Fall Series.


UCLA sophomore Patrick Cantlay was given the Ben Hogan Award on Monday night at Colonial as the top NCAA player in men's golf across all divisions. Cantlay is the second-youngest player to win the award behind Rickie Fowler, who was a freshman when he won in 2008. Cantlay was the low amateur at the U.S. Open and the Masters.


Ben Curtis, a former British Open champion with four PGA Tour wins, was among six athletes to be inducted into the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame last week. Curtis went to Kent State

Until next time.

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TALKING GOLF WITH GARY 5-20-2012

DUFNER CAPTURES NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP

Jason Dufner made a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday for a one-stroke victory at the Byron Nelson Championship, his second win in three weeks.

Dufner's winning putt wrapped up a closing 3-under 67 for an 11-under 269 total, one ahead of Dicky Pride.

Dufner got his first PGA Tour win three weeks ago at New Orleans, a week before getting married.

Pride, whose only PGA Tour in a 20-year professional career came in 1994, was at 10 under after a par-saving 22-foot putt at No. 18 after hitting his drive into the water.

J.J. Henry, who had an early hole-in-one, was in the lead at 11 under after consecutive birdies at Nos. 15 and 16, overcoming a bad tee shot on the first and a greenside bunker on the second.

But Henry, in the final group with Dufner, hit his tee shot at the par-3 17th over the green. He lost the lead with a double bogey after a 4-foot putt slid just outside the cup.

After watching Henry's meltdown, Dufner made a tap-in par at No. 17 and then hit a big drive on No. 18 in the middle of the fairway. He hit his approach to the middle of the green, avoiding a playoff with the long putt and joining Hunter Mahan as the only two-time winners this season.

Pride had made a 13-foot birdie putt at No. 17.

Joe Durant, who was the final alternate added to the Nelson field, shot a 65 to finish in a tie for third at 271 with Henry (68), Marc Leishman (66) and rookie Jonas Blixt (66).

Phil Mickelson, making his first Nelson start in five years, had four consecutive birdies on the front nine and went on to a round of 66 to finish four strokes back. He tied for seventh with Ken Duke, who also had a string of four birdies in a row in his own 66.

While Henry and Dufner were playing the 17th hole, Pride drove his tee shot at No. 18 left into the water. After his drop, Pride hit his approach to 22 feet and made that par-saving putt to remain at 10 under, letting out a scream when the ball dropped into the hole.

Pride, then watched the final group play the 18th hole and waiting to see if he would be in a playoff. Even he had to applaud on the clinching putt by Dufner, who went to rival Auburn.

Matt Kuchar, the fifth-ranked player who won The Players Championship a week earlier, had 70 and finished at 276 in a tie for 15th. He was trying to become the first PGA Tour player since Tiger Woods in 2009 to win in consecutive weeks.



COLSAERTS WINS MATCH PLAY

Nicolas Colsaerts handled fierce winds to top Graeme McDowell and capture the World Match Play Championship on Sunday, boosting his chances of making Europe's Ryder Cup team.

Colsaerts won a slow final 1 up in southern Spain for his second European Tour title and earn a winner's check of $900,000.

McDowell, the 2010 U.S Open champion, bounced back after falling 1 down three times on the front nine, but was frustrated on the long closing stretch with his iron play letting him down.

Colsaerts had a two-hole lead after No. 16 and although his advantage was cut when he three-putted the next hole, he made par on the last hole to win one of the most prestigious titles on the calendar.

The victory lifted Colsaerts into 10th place in the Ryder Cup points table - the last automatic spot for the European team - but perhaps more importantly demonstrated to team captain Jose Maria Olazabal his prowess at match play ahead of the September matchup against the United States in Medinah near Chicago.

It would be Colsaert's first appearance for Europe and would cap a successful season in which he has grabbed seven top-10 finishes in 11 events - the most of any player so far.



MUNOZ TAKES SYBASE CLASSIC

Azahara Munoz beat Candie Kung 2 and 1 on Sunday to win the Sybase Match Play Championship, a title that was set up when Morgan Pressel was penalized for slow play while in control of their semifinal match.
 

It was the first LPGA Tour win for Munoz, but this one is going to be shrouded in controversy. It also will put more focus on pace of play in golf.

Pressel appeared to take a 3-up lead with a par at the 12th hole at the Hamilton Farm Golf Club. But before she could tee off on No. 13, tour official Doug Brecht informed her that she had violated the tour's pace of play rule and lost the hole, dropping her lead to 1-up and changing momentum. Munoz, a former Arizona State star from Spain, then rallied to beat Pressel 2 and 1.



FLANAGAN WINS BMW EVENT

Nick Flanagan defeated Cameron Percy at the BMW Charity Pro- Am for his fourth tour victory and first since a 3-win '07 season.
 

Flanagan wouldn't have been in position to win without a fortunate bounce on the 72nd hole of regulation, where he drilled his approach over the green. The ball hit a video camera and bounced back onto the green, nearly rolling into the hole in the process.

He rolled in the birdie to reach 15-under par 271 and tie Percy, who had bogeyed the hole one group earlier to reduce his lead to one stroke.

The two Australians returned to the par-four 18th, which had been playing tough all week at Thornblade Club, for a playoff. But neither could come through with a key shot the first two times they played it -- both bogeyed the hole on the first try, then managed to sink their par putts on the second.

Percy found the woods with his tee shot the third time around, while Flanagan hit his second into a bunker.

But while Percy had a tough time getting to the pin -- he chipped his second shot out of the trees and into the rough beside the fairway, then hit an iron past the green -- Flanagan came through with a crucial shot.

He blasted out of a bunker to within two feet, and after Percy carded a six, Flanagan ran home the short par putt to secure the victory in just his second Nationwide start of the season.

Sam Saunders (67), Aaron Watkins (67) and third-round co-leader Brad Fritsch (70) tied for fifth at minus-13.



IN OTHER NEWS

The U.S. Amateur trophy is among the artifacts missing after a burglar broke into the U.S. Golf Association Museum in northern New Jersey.
 

Somerset County prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano says police responded to the building in Bernards Township after a burglar alarm was activated there around 2:40 a.m. Wednesday.

Officers found several trophy cases had been extensively damaged with an ax and noticed some trophies and other items were missing.

Museum officials say among the items taken were the U.S. Amateur trophy that was created in 1926, and a replica of the late Ben Hogan's Hickok Belt, which he won for being the nation's top professional athlete in 1953.

Soriano says security video shows the burglary apparently was carried out by one person.

 
Tournament organizers for The Greenbrier Classic announced Monday that Tiger Woods has committed to play July 5-8 in the event, which began only two years ago. It is played on The Old White TPC Course, where two years ago Stuart Appleby closed with a 59 to win.

It will be the third time in the last nine months that Woods plays a tournament for the first time as a pro. He played the Frys.com Open in October in San Martin, Calif., and the Honda Classic in March. Woods last played the Honda Classic as a teenager.

Phil Mickelson already has said he is returning to The Greenbrier, giving the 3-year-old event two of the biggest names in golf.

The Memorial Tournament also announced Monday that Woods would play there May 31-June 3.



The LPGA will make following players on social media even easier.

Caddies will be sporting bibs with Twitter handles on their backs starting with the LPGA Championship at Locust Hill Country Club in June.

Kraig Kann, chief communications officer of the LPGA Tour, says 113 LPGA players have Twitter accounts. Tseng was at Locust Hill for a news conference as the defending champion.

The LPGA Championship has been sponsored by Wegmans Food Markets the past three years. The contract is up after this year, but both sides plan to sit down in late June or early July to work on a new deal.

 

Michelle Wie, has earned a undergraduate degree in communications from Stanford University.  Wie finished up while participating in 20 LPGA events in 2011, a year that saw her finish 18th on the money list. Somehow Wie handled a 20-credit slate during the year.

On June 17, Wie will walk at Stanford's commencement. By the way, it took her only five years to earn her degree. The teen prodigy turned young woman admits she's got some work to do when it comes to her golf career.


Defending champion Tom Watson has withdrawn from next week's Senior PGA Championship.

Watson has been recovering from a pinched nerve in his wrist. He is still expected to be at Harbor Shores before the tournament, and will host the champions' dinner Tuesday night.

Watson beat David Eger in a playoff to win last year's event.

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TALKING GOLF WITH GARY 5-13-2012

KUCHER TAKES PLAYERS

Matt Kucher won the Players Championship with a gutsy performance down the stretch making clutch putts to hold off challengers.

Kuchar opened with a bogey and quickly fell three shots behind. After coming backhand grabbing the lead, he was locked in a brief battle with Martin Laird, and when he looked across the water from the 16th green to see Rickie Fowler dressed in his all-orange outfit sink a birdie putt on the island-green 17th to cut Kuchar's lead to two shots.

Kuchar answered with a birdie of his own on the 16th to restore his margin to three shots. He found land on the par-3 17th, even though he three-putted for a bogey that extended the drama for one more hole. And best of all was tapping in for par and celebrating with his entire family. 

He won by two shots over four players who had a chance on the back nine.

Fowler, slowed by a double bogey on the fifth hole, birdied the 16th and 17th and had an 8-foot birdie putt on the last hole that would have put enormous pressure on Kuchar. It caught the right lip and he had to settle for a 70. Ben Curtis ran off four straight birdies around the turn, but not enough until it was too late. He made a 10-foot birdie on the last hole for a 68.

Zach Johnson was in range until a bogey on the 15th. He made a great par save on the 18th for a 68. Laird was the only runner-up who was tied for the lead, running off three straight birdies on the back nine until a poor tee shot on the 14th led to bogey. Laird, who three-putted the 18th in regulation at The Barclays in 2010 that allowed Kuchar into a playoff that he won for his most recent win, made bogey on the 18th at Sawgrass after nearly hitting into the water. He shot 67.

Kevin Na had a one-shot lead going into the final round and was under pressure from the viewing public more than any player. His pre-shot routine is painful to watch, and he knows it. The waggles. The whiffs he does on purpose so he can start over. The practice swings. The indecision.

He tried to speed up, even walking well ahead of Kuchar to get to his ball, and he wonders if rushing hurt him. Na made four bogeys in a five-hole stretch at the turn to lose the lead. But what really stung were the chants he heard from the gallery. Everyone knew this guy had a hard time making his swing.

The worst of it was on the par-3 13th, when he pulled his tee shot into the water, effectively ending all hope. Some in the crowd sang, ''Na-na-na-na ... good-bye.''

He shot 76, extending a remarkable trend at Sawgrass since the tournament moved from March to May in 2007. It's one thing that the 54-hole leader has never won The Players in those six years. None of the third-round leaders has ever shot better than 74 in the final round, with an average score of 76.3.

Luke Donald shot 30 on the back nine for a 66, making him stick around to see if it would be enough. It wasn't, and he wound up in sixth place, not quite enough for him to return to No. 1 in the world ranking.

Tiger Woods shot 40 on his front nine and rallied for a 73, at least finishing The Players Championship under par. He tied for 40th it's the first time in his career that he has finished no better than 40th in three straight tournaments. The streak began after a five-shot win at Bay Hill for his first PGA Tour title in 30 months.

Kuchar finished on 13-under 275 and collected $1.71 million. He moved to No. 3 in the Ryder Cup standings, and to a career-best No. 5 in the world ranking.

SANTOS GETS FIRST WIN AT HOME

Portugal's Ricardo Santos came from four strokes behind to set a new championship record as he stormed to four-shot victory in the Madeira Islands Open.

Santos also became the first Portuguese-born player to win on home soil in the 40-year history of the European Tour after posting a last round 63 for a 22-under total on the Santo da Serra course.

Sweden's Magnus Carlsson birdied the last in a round of 67 to finish second on 18-under.

The 29-year-old Santos birdied his closing three holes to also set a record lowest winning final round in the 19-year history of the event. Victory earns Santos, a former Challenge Tour graduate, a one-year European Tour exemption as well as entry to the upcoming PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Andreas Harto of Denmark finished third, one stroke further back, after a 67.

SUN-JU AHN WINS JLPGA 1ST MAJOR IN PLAYOFF

Sun-Ju Ahn beat Morgan Pressel and Inbee Park in Playoff to claim the Salanpas Cup,the first Major of the year on the JLPGA.

Pressel had the the lead at the 8th when things began to unravell.She bogeyed the 173-yard par-3 8th. She bogeyed the 391-yard par-4 11th. She bogeyed the 512-yard par-5 12th. She bogeyed the 401-yard par-4 14th. Meanwhile, Ahn, the JLPGA's money-list leader for the past 2 seasons, was going through some turbulence of her own, with bogeys on the long par 4s 9 and 14. Pressel and Ahn left the door wide open for Park, and for a while it looked like she was going to bust through it and never look back.

The 3-time JLPGA winner Park looking for her 2nd major on tour birdied the 188-yard par-3 13th and the 163-yard par-3 15th to get to -6 on the day and -10 for the week. But then she, too, stumbled badly down the stretch, with back-to-back bogeys on the 16th and 17th. When she parred the 408-yard 18th to become leader in the clubhouse at -8, it looked like anything could happen.

When Ahn made an amazing walkoff birdie on 18 to join Park at -8, it was up to Pressel to beat them, join them, or leave the playoff to them. She closed with her 4th straight par, but Ahn made quick work of both LPGA major winners with a 6-foot birdie putt on the 1st playoff hole.

IN OTHER NEWS

British player-turned-broadcaster Peter Alliss is among those who believe Tiger Woods is getting too much instruction.

At a news conference before his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame, Alliss said Woods' ''golfing brain for some reason or another is completely addled.'' What astonished him was a scene from the practice range at the Masters last year. Alliss said he was sitting with Arnold Palmer at the end of the range.

''And there 50 yards away is Tiger Woods at the green nearest the television facility being shown how to chip,'' Alliss said. '''You must do it this way, this way.' And I said to Arnold, 'Are we seeing ...?' He was the greatest chipper in the world for a period, and this guy is teaching, 'No, don't do it that way.'

''It's like Pavarotti saying, 'I'm fed up with being a tenor. I think I'm going to sing as a baritone.' Land sake,'' he said. ''That's as stupid as that, in my opinion. That's not a criticism, that's an opinion. But that's why he's fuddled and befuddled. ... But he's gone. He's gone at the moment.''

Nancy Lopez will receive the Byron Nelson Prize next week at the Byron Nelson Championship outside Dallas. The award recognizes people in golf who show the same philanthropic spirit for which Nelson was known.

The Irish Open got another boost Tuesday when PGA champion Keegan Bradley announced he was playing. The field will feature three of the last four major champions - Bradley, McIlroy and Darren Clarke

Rory McIlroy is to throw out the first pitch at a San Francisco Giants game June 12, two days before the start of the U.S. Open at The Olympic Club in San Francisco

England's Paul Casey withdrew from the Volvo World Match Play Championship on Sunday because of a right shoulder injury, and Sweden Robert Karlsson took his spot in the 24-man field in the European Tour event that begins Thursday at Finca Cortesin.

Casey withdrew from The Players Championship in Florida on Thursday after shooting a 42 on the front nine in the first round. He dislocated the shoulder snowboarding over the holidays.

Karlsson tied for 56th on Sunday in The Players Championship.

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TALKING GOLF WITH GARY 5-6-2012

FOWLER GETS MAIDEN VICTORY

Rickie Fowler has his long-awaited first PGA TOUR win, in a Wells Fargo Championship playoff.

Fowler, billed as one of the rising American stars, delivered a clutch shot on the 18th hole in a playoff for a 4-foot birdie to beat U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points on Sunday in the Wells Fargo Championship. McIlroy had a shot at winning in regulation and missed a 15-foot birdie putt.

The 23-year-old Fowler won in his 67th PGA Tour start as a pro. He already has become one of the most popular players, especially with the kids. Dressed in his Sunday orange, he closed with a 3-under 69 and got into a playoff when Points made his first bogey of the final round on the last hole.

In the playoff, all three hit the fairway, with McIlroy hitting a 3-wood that traveled nearly 340 yards. Fowler's wedge covered the flag and spun some 4 feet away. Points went long and did well to two-putt for his par, making the second one from 12 feet. McIlroy hit his wedge well right of the flag and had to work hard for a two-putt par.

That set the stage for Fowler, and he wasn't about to let this chance get away.

Even though they're the same age, McIlroy has a two-year head start on Fowler. They were in the Walker Cup together in 2007, and McIlroy turned pro that fall. Fowler didn't turn pro until two years ago.

The only other win as a pro for Fowler was last year in South Korea, when he beat McIlroy.

FUNK IS A WINNER AGAIN

Fred Funk birdied the final hole to edge Tom Lehman and win the Champions Tour's Insperity Championship.

Tied with one hole left, Funk hit his approach on No. 18 to 2 feet. Lehman missed his birdie putt, and Funk tapped in for his seventh victory on the 50-and-over tour first since 2010. He finished with a 5-under 67 for a 14-under 202 total.

The 55-year-old Funk added one more good memory at the Woodlands Country Club, where he won the Houston Open in 1992 for his first win on the regular tour. He met his second wife, Sharon, at a post-tournament event that year and Sharon was the first to run onto the green and congratulate him Sunday.

Lehman closed with a 68.

Season points leader Michael Allen, who was going for his third straight win, finished five shots back after a 71.

MOLINARI WINS SPANISH OPEN

Francesco Molinari shot a 7-under 65 Sunday to win the Spanish Open by three strokes, the first Italian to capture the European Tour event.

Molinari finished at 8-under 280 in the 100th edition of the tournament for his third victory on the tour. He entered the final round four strokes behind leader England's Simon Dyson, who shot a 76 and tied for 12th place.

Molinari was followed by Spaniards Pablo Larrazabal (71) and Alejandro Canizares (69) and Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen (69).

Matteo Manassero (70) was tied for seventh. The Italian will have to wait until Monday's rankings to see if he has moved back inside the top 60 to qualify for the U.S. Open next month. Manassero arrived in Seville ranked 64th but needed to finish seventh on his own to be assured of qualifying.

PHATLUM TAKES LPGA EXHIBITION EVENT

Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand shot a 6-under 67 to win the LPGA Tour's Brazil Cup on Sunday, four shots ahead of Amy Hung of Taiwan.

Phatlum had six birdies and no bogeys to finish 13-under for the tournament at the Itanhanga Golf Club in Rio de Janeiro. Five of her birdies came on the front nine.

Hung had nine birdies and a bogey for an 8-under 65, the low round of the day.

Paula Creamer eagled the par-5 ninth hole, but gave it back with two bogeys on the back nine to shoot 69 and finish at 8-under for the tournament, tied for third.

Karine Icher of France entered the final round tied for the lead with Phatlum at 7-under, but shot even par to finish tied for fourth.

SWAFFORD WINS NATIONWIDE EVENT

Former Georgia golfer Hudson Swafford banked a shot off the pin and into the 18th hole from a bunker 30 feet away for a birdie, capping a new course-record round and winning the Stadion Classic at UGA on Sunday.

Swafford bridied his final three holes to wrap up a record 9-under par 62 round and finish with a 72-hole 17-under 267.

His tee shot on No. 18 landed in the rough just to the right of the fairway and his second shot hit the lip of the bunker and rolled back into the sand. His final shot, from about 30 feet from the pin, cleared the bunker, hit low on the pole and dropped in.

Luke List, winner of last week's South Georgia Classic in Valdosta, threatened Swafford's lead but hit a tree and botched a shot out of the rough to bogey No. 18 and finish the day with a 6-under 65 and in a tie for second with Lee Janzen with a 72-hole 16-under 268.

IN OTHER NEWS 

 Phil Mickelson  will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Monday night along with four others, taking an undisputed place among the best who ever played this game.

His 42 wins worldwide include three Masters, a PGA Championship and two World Golf Championships.

Arnold Palmer curled in a 25-foot putt on the 18th hole, raised his right hand and acknowledged the massive, cheering gallery with a thumbs-up sign and his trademark smile.

Jack Nicklaus gave Palmer a hard handshake. Gary Player offered a pat on the back, a fitting end to a memorable day for the golf greats.

Nicklaus, Palmer, Player made up a threesome in a nostalgic, 18-hole exhibition round Saturday in conjunction with the second round of the Champions Tour's Insperity Championship and that threesome took home the biggest trophy, shooting 11-under par.

Lee Trevino played in the threesome ahead in the nine-man scramble.

 Miller Barber, Don January, David Graham, Gene Littler and Dave Stockton also participated.

Researchers have found evidence that a lost English colony from the 16th century may sit beneath the Arnold Palmer-designed golf course at Scotch Hall Preserve.

According to a recent story in The Seattle Times, researchers at the British Museum in London, acting at the request of a group of North Carolina historians and archaeologists, have found a symbol hidden on an ancient map that could show where members of the English colony established on Roanoke Island in 1587 settled. The "Virginea Pars" map was created by members of Sir Walter Raleigh's Roanoke Colony expeditions of 1584-1590, which was the first attempt to establish an English colony in the New World, and is said to be "unusually accurate" for its time.

On the map created by the leader of the 1587 colony expedition, John White, were two small patches, which were commonly used by artists at the time to make alterations to the original. One of the patches was in an area the settlers had explored, and where some historians think they might have moved. 

When the British Museum officials put the map on a simple light table, they found a large symbol under one of the patches that appeared to show the location of a fort roughly at or near what is now the Scotch Hall Preserve. Earlier efforts to match pottery recovered from the area to the correct time-period have also produced positive results, researchers said.

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TALKING GOLF WITH GARY 4-30-2012

Rosie Jones won the Legends Tour's season-opening Walgreens Charity Classic on Sunday, finishing with a 4-under 68 for a two-stroke victory over Elaine Crosby in the 36-hole event.

The 52-year-old Jones, a 13-time LPGA Tour winner who captained the losing U.S. Solheim Cup team last year, had a 5-under 139 total on the Grandview Golf Course. Crosby also closed with a 68.
Liselotte Neumann and Jan Stephenson tied for second at 2 under. Neumann shot a 69, and Stephenson had a 70.

TALKING GOLF WITH GARY 4-29-2012

 DUFNER BEATS ELS IN PLAYOFF
Jason Dufner beat Ernie Els with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff Sunday in the Zurich Classic to win for the first time in 164 starts on the PGA Tour.

After entering the fourth round with a two-shot lead, Dufner shot a 2-under 70 at TPC Louisiana. Els had a 67 to match Dufner at 19-under 269.

After both players missed birdie putts within 8 feet on the par-5 18th, they went back to the 18th tee for the second extra hole, which Dufner won by hitting the green in two strokes and tapping home a short birdie putt after Els' birdie attempt from the fringe narrowly missed.

Dufner lost playoffs last year to Mark Wilson in the Phoenix Open and Keegan Bradley in the PGA Championship for two of his three career runner-up finishes.

On the second playoff hole, Els' tee shot went into a fairway bunker, and his second shot landed 137 yards from the pin. His third shot landed on the fringe, nearly 19 feet from the pin, but he nearly saved birdie from there, his putt missing by 2 inches.

Dufner then made his birdie putt from less than 2 feet, and in his typically low-key way, briefly raised both arms to acknowledge the cheering crowd before casually walking off the green to accept some congratulatory hugs.

Luke Donald shot a 67 to finish third at 17 under, and move past Rory McIlroy for the No. 1 ranking in the world.

Defending Zurich Classic champ Bubba Watson, playing for the first time since a life-changing win at the Masters over Easter weekend, entered the final round eight shots off the lead. He was unable to mount a charge after bogeys on his first two holes. He wound up tied for 18th at 11 under, a solid outing by most standards, but one of his worst finishes of the year.



LEWIS WINS HOLDS OFF TEEN SENSATION
Stacy Lewis won the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic  for her second LPGA Tour title, holding off charging teen Lexi Thompson by a stroke.

Lewis, who held a five-stroke lead early in the day, reclaimed the edge with a birdie on No. 16, while the 17-year-old Thompson parred the final hole and had to wait.

Lewis parred out. Her week was so solid that her finishing 3-under 69 was her worst round en route to a 17-under 271 total. The former Arkansas star also won the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Thompson found redemption from her final-round fall in Mobile a year ago. She didn't flinch under the pressure given a second shot, closing with rounds of 66 and 65, tying her career low in a bogey-free round.

Lewis secured the win with a two-putt par from the edge of the green. Karine Icher of France closed with a 68 to finish third, two strokes back.

Lewis spent her teen years in a back brace with scoliosis, then had surgery that corrected her spine with five screws and a steel rod.

Lewis had birdied holes 15-17 each of the past two days, when she was a combined 9 under on the back nine.


WIESBERGER GETS FIRST AT BALLANTINE'S
Bernd Wiesberger of Austria shot a final-round 4-under 68 to earn his first European Tour victory with a five-stroke win at the Ballantine's Championship on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Wiesberger made four birdies on his way to claiming the win to become only the third Austrian to win on the European Tour after Markus Brier and Martin Wiegele.

Wiesberger finished at 18 under, five strokes ahead of Richie Ramsay of Scotland, who shot a 65 to equal the course record.Victor Dubuisson, who had led after the first round, finished third alongside Australian Marcus Fraser. Another Australian, Adam Scott, the highest ranked player at the event at No. 12, finished 12th after shooting 65.

Wiesberger went 55 holes without dropping a shot during the tournament, after making a double bogey on the No. 13 par-3 in his first round.

His victory gives him his European Tour playing card until the end of 2014.

Englishman Ian Poulter finished tied for 15th with a 281, as did Y.E. Yang.

Paul Casey continued to step up his comeback from a shoulder injury and finished 25th at 5 under, finishing 1 under for the day.

Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez managed his first top-five finish of the season after finishing 10 under.


LIST TAKES NATIONWIDE EVENT
Luke List eagled the 13th hole to jump into the lead, and later made a birdie to help secure a two-stroke victory at the South Georgia Classic. List, the longest hitter on the tour,won on the longest course on the tour.

List had bogeyed the 12th hole to fall behind, but his strong closing stretch allowed him to earn his first career Nationwide Tour win. He carded a four- under 68 to finish at 16-under-par 272.

Brian Stuard fired a six-under 66 on Sunday at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, but started the round too far back and took second at minus-14.

The victory was a long time in the making for List, who had been close to winning before. Prior to Sunday, he had six career top-10s, including a pair of runner-up finishes. One of those came in early March at the Panama Claro Championship, where he was one of four tied for second place behind Edward Loar.

The 27-year-old's victory was a convincing one. He came up with crucial shots down the stretch when many of his competitors faltered.

Woody Austin, who shared the third-round lead with List, stumbled to a one- over 73 after carding three bogeys on the back nine. Austin finished in third place at 11-under 277.

Will MacKenzie had perhaps the most stunning fall. He was alone in first after making a birdie at the 10th, which put him at 15-under. But a bogey at 11, double-bogey at 12 and triple-bogey at the last sent him into the clubhouse with a 73. MacKenzie shared seventh place with three others at minus-nine.


IN OTHER NEWS

Asked on Golf Channel's Morning Drive about advice to U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, Hal Sutton basically told Love to stay out of the way.
 

"I don't know that guys are following anyone but their own selves today. We live in a pretty selfish world. It's not a criticism. In my mind that's a fact," said Sutton, the 2004 captain.

"In order to be a leader you've got to understand that from the beginning. These guys don't want to follow anybody. The hard part about being a captain is you're the greatest guy in the world if you win and did the worst job in the world if you lose and you never hit a shot. And with golf I think there's more to it than that."

The 2004 team lost to the Europeans 18 1/2 to 9 1/2. The competition is remembered for Sutton pairing Tiger Woods with Phil Mickelson.


When Rich Beem won  the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine he received a  10-year exemption on the European Tour.
He never used it because he didn't need it — until now.

Beem's only status on the PGA Tour is as a past champion, and sponsor exemptions have been limited. In the last year of his exemption in Europe, he took up membership and is having more fun than he imagined.

His  results,so far, have not been great .

Beem missed the cut in his first three events,  the Joburg Open, Andalucia Open and the Hassan Trophy in Morocco before he tied for 11th two weeks ago in Italy at the Sicilian Open. He plays the Spanish Open next week, then gears up for seven tournaments in eight weeks in which he will play in England, Wales, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, France and Scotland.

The events he has played in continental Europe are not among the top events, and thus the galleries have been a bit sparse.He figures that will change when Europe gets to the meat of its schedule this summer, and every tournament is no more than a short flight from London.

Beem isn't sure where this will lead. The worst-case scenario is that he tries to go through two stages of PGA Tour qualifying school and tries to get his card back. Or, he could play great and work his way back toward the top 50 in the world.


 The course at Royal Lytham and St. Annes has been lengthened by 181 yards for this year's British Open, with all but two holes having been altered since the last time the tournament was held there in 2001.

Royal and Ancient Chief Executive Peter Dawson said Monday that the total length of the course has increased to 7,086 yards, but that it will remain a par 70.

Dawson said the biggest changes were made to the seventh, 10th and 11th holes. The 10th is 52 yards longer compared to 11 years ago, while No. 7 is 35 yards longer and has a completely new green. The 11th now measures 592 yards — 56 yards longer than last time.

The only holes that have not been changed are the par-4 fourth and par-3 12th.


 Budding LPGA star Lexi Thompson needs a date for her high school prom.

The 17-year-old Thompson has posted a YouTube inviting young military men 18 to 20 years of age,  to make a bid to be her date by sending their qualifications to her Facebook page.

Lexi will even take care of the details, and provide free transportation to Fort Lauderdale.

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TALKING GOLF WITH GARY 4-22-2012

IT'S BEN CURTIS IN TEXAS
The final round of the Valero Texas Open is in the books with Ben Curtis getting his first win since 2006.


After John Huh and Matt Every missed their birdie attempts on the par-5 18th, Ben Curtis had two putts to get his first win since 2006, but he only needed one.


After the round, Curtis fought back tears while saying: ''It's been a tough couple of years.''
Huh roared back with a 69, but the Mayakoba Classic winner fell just short.


Curtis birdied the par-5 18th for an even-par 72 and 9-under total. 


It was a redeeming and emotional win for the 2003 British Open winner who had only limited tour status after a long slump. Every couldn't close the deal after starting the tournament with a course-record 63.


Four blown putts from 9 feet or closer - including a 6-footer for birdie - kept Every a stroke back until Curtis birdied No. 18.


It was nonetheless a validating week for the 28-year-old Floridian, whose only name recognition in three winless years on the tour was a misdemeanor marijuana arrest as a rookie in 2010. That earned a PGA Tour suspension, and even now, Every's official biography lists regaining his tour privileges as his biggest achievement.


Defending champion Brendan Steele, a distant afterthought for three rounds, made himself known again at TPC San Antonio with a bogey-free 67 to finish an impressive weekend climb from 56th. He tied for fourth with Bob Estes, Brian Gay, and Charlie Wi at 5 under.


ALLEN AND FROST WINS LEGENDS OF GOLF
Michael Allen and David Frost shot a better-ball 10-under-par 62 Sunday for 29-under 187 and a one-stroke victory over John Cook and Joey Sindelar in the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf championship.


Allen won the 2009 Senior PGA Championship, then went winless in 40 consecutive events until winning at TPC Tampa Bay last week. Now, he's the top money-winner on the senior circuit and leads in the Charles Schwab Cup race.


Frost eagled the 14th to put the team at 29 under at The Club at Savannah Harbor and that proved to be the difference as, moments later, Cook cut the lead to one with a 45-foot birdie at No. 18.


The leaders made par the rest of the way.


Allen sealed it despite a heavy downpour that swept in over the Savannah River just as they finished teeing off on the final hole. His 40-foot birdie attempt from just off the green hung on the lip of the cup, but that was all the team needed.


Three teams tied for third at 27-under: Andy Bean and Chien Soon Lu (62); Jeff Sluman and Brad Faxon (63), and Tom Purtzer Brad Bryant (64). The winners each received $230,000 and 230 points in the season-long Schwab Cup race.


Allen went into the Legends Cup race with 620 points, 157 ahead of Bernhard Langer.



GRACE IS VICTORIOUS IN CHINA
Branden Grace won the China Open on Sunday for his third European Tour victory of the year, closing with a 3-under 69 to hold off 2011 winner Nicolas Colsaerts by three strokes.


The 23-year-old Grace, from South Africa, finished at 21-under 267 at Binhai Lake.


He won the Joburg Open and Volvo Champions in consecutive weeks in South Africa in January. Colsaerts, the winner last year at Luxehills, also shot a 69.


The event also was sanctioned by the OneAsia Tour and China Golf Association.  


WESTWOOD DEFENDS TITLE
Third-ranked Lee Westwood defended his Indonesian Masters title Sunday with a two-stroke victory despite a shaky final round.


The 39-year-old Englishman, who completed his delayed third round with a 7-under 65 to take an eight-shot lead in the morning, shot a 2-over 74 in his final round at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club for a 16-under total of 272.


He opened his fourth round with a birdie but then had two bogeys at the fifth and sixth holes. Westwood birdied No. 10 and followed that with a bogey, and he also dropped shots on the 13th and 14th holes.


Former top-ranked Asian Tour player Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand shot a 5-under 67 in his final round to finish second with a 14-under 274.


MIYAZATO WINS LPGA EVENT
Japan's Ai Miyazato won the LPGA LOTTE Championship on Saturday for her eighth career LPGA Tour title, birdieing three of the last six holes for a 2-under 70 and a four-stroke victory.


Miyazato finished at 12-under 276 at wind-swept Ko Olina. She opened with rounds of 71, 65 and 70 to take a three-stroke lead in the final round. Miyazato won after finishing second behind top-ranked Yani Tseng this year in Thailand and Phoenix.


Meena Lee, tied for the lead after a birdie on No. 15, had a 70 to tie for second with Azahara Munoz at 8 under. Munoz finished with a 70.


Tseng, a three-time winner this year, closed with a 74 to tie for 10th at 4 under.



IN OTHER NEWS
Scioto Country Club is returning to the national spotlight in golf for the first time in decadeS. The USGA announced that the U.S. SeniorsOpen will be there, in 2016. The event will be held in conjunction with Scioto's centennial.


Jack Nicklaus learned the game on the rolling Donald Ross-designed layout in suburban Columbus, Ohio. The winner of 18 major championships will serve as the tournament's honorary chairman.The tournament will be held Aug. 11-14, 2016.  



Indianapolis golf fans are going all in for this year's BMW Championship.


Organizers say ticket sales for the city's biggest men's golf tournament since the 1991 PGA Championship have already surpassed last year's total and that attendance for the four-day September tournament could approach 150,000. That would make it one of the tour's most attended non-majors this season.


Daily tickets went on sale April 1, and fans are rushing to buy them despite not knowing who will actually play Sept. 6-9 at Crooked Stick Golf Course in suburban Indy.The top 70 qualifiers receive invites to the third tourney in the FedEx Cup playoff. After the BMW tourney, the field is cut to 30 finalists who vie for a $10 million winner's check two weeks later in Atlanta.


Organizers have already announced the tourney will return to Chicago in 2013 and 2015, with Denver hosting it in 2014. But Indy's response could push the city into the BMW rotation or perhaps prompt tour officials to give Indianapolis a chance to fill a hole on a future schedule.  


Authorities say Australian pro golfer Matthew Giles has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after he crashed his car into a home southeast of Phoenix.


A Gilbert police report says Giles was ''travelling at a very high rate of speed and tried to make a left turn'' when he lost control of his car and it crashed into a single-family home Monday night.


Police say the accident ruptured a natural gas line, but there were no reported injuries.


They say Giles was given sobriety tests at the crash scene and results are expected in about two weeks.


Giles finished 66th in the Nationwide Tour's TPC Stonebrae Championship in California the day before the crash.


The 22-year-old Giles is a native of Sydney, but the former University of Southern California star lives in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale.



And finally Bubba Watson admitted that the only person he talked to the night after he won the Masters was Justin Bieber. "He called me and I talked to him on the phone and he and Selena (Gomez) were congratulating me, and it was a big honor that they would both call me and talk to me."  


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TALKING GOLF WITH GARY 4-15-2012

PETTERSSON WINS RBC HERITAGE

Carl Pettersson shot a 2-under 69 Sunday to win the RBC Heritage by five over Zach Johnson. It’s the fifth victory of the Swede’s career and his second in an RBC event — he also won the 2010 RBC Canadian Open. With the victory Pettersson moves to fourth in the FedExCup standings.

Top-ranked Luke Donald needed to finish eighth or better to retain his ranking, but tied for 37th and will fall behind Rory McIlroy.

Johnson shot a 70 to finish second at 9 under, while Colt Knost's chances for his first PGA Tour title fell apart with a 74. He was third at 8 under.

Kevin Stadler (68) and Billy Mayfair (69) tied for fourth at 6 under. Two-time Heritage winner Boo Weekley had his worst round of the week, 73, to tie for sixth with Matt Bettencourt (69).

No one, though, was catching Pettersson in this one. He rolled in a 24-footer on No. 1 to get things started with a birdie. He added another birdie, from 16 feet on the par-3 fourth hole, then two-putted from 40 feet on the par-5 fifth to go up by four shots. When Johnson took bogey at No. 10, Pettersson was five strokes in front and cruising.

Pettersson used a run of five straight birdies on the front side Saturday to gain the lead. He was 13 under on the front nine the four days.

He also didn't feel too bad on the greens, needing just 104 putts over 72 holes.

Knost was on top after Thursday and Friday and felt good as part of the final pairing. But those nerves Knost acknowledged Saturday were apparently back again in the final round.

He missed an 8-foot putt for par and made bogey on No. 1 for a second straight round to drop three shots behind Pettersson. And just like Saturday, Knost fought back with a birdie on the second hole - he made eagle there in the third round - to close in on Pettersson.

However, Knost's chances ended, a hole later with a horrible drive out of bounds left on No. 3 that led to a triple-bogey seven and left him five shots behind and out of contention.

When Knost flew his approach to the 12th green way left, he simply stood in the fairway and stared straight ahead, hands on hips, in disbelief.

Johnson, four strokes behind Pettersson at the start, tried to make a charge with birdies on the second, fourth and fifth holes. Johnson closed to three shots when he birdied No. 15 and Pettersson had his first bogey of the day moments later.

But Johnson ran out of steam on the 16th hole when he drove into a waste bunker and took bogey. Still, it was Johnson's best showing of the year and first top-10 finish since January.

Donald was largely resigned to surrendering No. 1 when he woke up early for his 9:46 a.m. start time, more than four hours before the final group of Pettersson and Knost teed off.

Donald's round began badly with a double bogey at No. 1. He worked his way back with birdies on the fifth and sixth hole and that's where he stayed. Donald ended a four-week run at No. 1 that began after he won the Transitions Championship last month.

Donald said he's proved he's among the world's best and is confident he'll stay in that conversation, no matter where he's ranked. ''Now, my focus is winning tournaments,'' he said.

ALLEN TAKES CHAMPIONS TOUR EVENT

Michael Allen won the Encompass Insurance Pro-Am on Sunday for his second Champions Tour title, closing with a 3-under 68 for a three-stroke victory over Kenny Perry.

Allen finished the three-day event at 12 under. He took a five-shot advantage into the final round, tying the tournament record for the largest 36-hole margin.

Allen bogeyed Nos. 3 and 4 at TPC Tampa Bay to cut his lead to one, but rebounded with birdies on two of the next three holes. He extended his advantage to four shots with birdies on 12 and 14.

Isao Aoki (1996) and Bruce Fleisher (2000) also took five-stroke leads into the final round of the tournament. Aoki wound up tied for eighth, while Fleisher won by four shots.

Perry eagled the par-4 first hole and par-5 12th during a round of 65. It was the fifth time in the event's history that a player had a pair of eagles in a round.

Allen also won the 2009 Senior PGA Championship. He had gone winless in 40 consecutive Champions Tour events since then.

The 63-year-old Fleisher, who lead after the first round, shot a 74 to finish at 4 over.

Peter Senior was third at 7 under after shooting a 67.

One of Perry's playing partners, Corey Pavin, also had an eagle on 12. Pavin shot 70 and ended up fourth at 5 under.

Kirk Triplett had a 72 to tie for eighth at 2 under in his first start on the 50-and-over tour.

OOSTHUIZEN WINS IN MALAYSIA

Louis Oosthuizen won the Malaysian Open on Sunday, a week after losing a playoff to Bubba Watson in the Masters.

The South African completed a 3-under 69 in the rain-delayed third round, then closed with a 68 for a three-stroke victory over Scotland's Stephen Gallacher.

The 2010 British Open champion finished at 17-under 271 on Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club's West Course.

Gallacher shot a 70. American David Lipsky also closed with a 70 to tie for third at 12 under with Spain's Rafael Cabrera-Bello and England's Danny Willett. Cabrera-Bello and Willett shot 71.

The tournament was sanctioned by the European and Asian tours.


 ARAGON WINS STONBRAE CHAMPIONSHIP
Former Stanford player Alex Aragon won the TPC Stonebrae Championship on Sunday for his first Nationwide Tour title, closing with a 4-under 66 for a one-stroke victory over Matt Harmon, Duffy Waldorf and Paul Haley II.

Aragon had a 10-under 270 total and earned $108,000.

Harmon finished with a 61, and Waldorf and Haley shot 68.

IN OTHER NEWS

Speeding between the Masters and his next tournament cost Jose Maria Olazabal $621 when a Georgia sheriff's deputy pulled him over for driving 97 mph on a rural highway.

Olazabal, the Ryder Cup captain for Europe, agreed to follow a deputy to the Effingham County Sheriff's Office and pay the speeding ticket in cash. The Spaniard was stopped Monday afternoon traveling from Augusta to Hilton Head, S.C., for the Heritage tournament, sheriff's spokesman David Ehsanipoor said.

Ehsanipoor said Tuesday that Olazabal ''apologized, he was cooperative and after the paperwork was done he went on his way.''

He says the deputy clocked Olazabal's Mercedes exceeding the posted limit of 65 mph on the rural stretch of Ga. 21, a divided four-lane highway near the Georgia-South Carolina state line.

The two-time Masters champion wasn't jailed, but his mug shot was taken. Ehsanipoor said the sheriff's department photographs everyone who is brought in on a criminal charge or citation.

The Houston Open has created an identity as the last chance for a player to qualify for the Masters.

But not next year.

The Masters traditionally ends on the second Sunday of April, and the way the calendar falls in 2013, that pushes it back one week later than usual. The Masters next year will be April 11-14.

That leaves an extra week between Bay Hill - the end of the Florida swing - and the first major of the year. The PGA Tour has decided that Houston will stay the week after Bay Hill, and the Texas Open in San Antonio will take the spot the week before the Masters.

But it's less than ideal for Houston.

For starters, the Houston Open will end on Easter Sunday next year. And if that's not enough, the PGA Tour has agreed to move the Tavistock Cup - a Monday-Tuesday exhibition - from the week of Bay Hill to the week of Houston. That made-for-TV gig attracts 24 players, most of them in the Orlando, Fla., area.

That roster typically includes Tiger Woods, who represents Team Albany from The Bahamas. And that might hurt the one upside of Houston moving away from the week before the Masters - a chance to get Woods for the first time. Steve Timms, the Houston Tournament Director, spoke to Woods' agent last week at the Masters about the schedule change.

The last time this scheduling quirk happened was in 2008. New Orleans was inserted after the Florida swing, and Houston kept its spot before the Masters. Woods did not play in New Orleans that year.

It's the second time in three years the Texas Open has been given a spot that belonged to another tournament. Hilton Head is traditionally the week after the Masters, but in 2011 when the tournament was trying to replace its sponsor, it was moved to two weeks after Augusta. The Texas Open followed the Masters.

Why can't Texas go a week before the Houston Open next year?

According to two officials, the Texas Open contract says that it cannot end on Easter Sunday, which is why it was given the week after the Masters last year. The tournament is one of the top contributors to charity on the PGA Tour, with much of that money coming from a golf outing it holds the day after its event. The fear is that ending on Easter would limit participation in the outing.

Timms sees some positives out of the date change for 2013. There's still a chance he can get Woods. And because it will fall two weeks before the Masters, that will be the cutoff for players trying to get into the top 50 in the world to qualify for the Masters.

''We'll only know next year at this time if that's able to outweigh some of the challenges with Easter,'' Timms said.

Miki Saiki Made up 5 Shots on Ji-Yai Shin over her last 3 Holes to capture 4th Career JLPGA Victory at the Studio Alice Ladies Open.

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