Mickelson wins at Colonial on final putt
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -Another memorable shot, and another victory, for Phil Mickelson's impressive ledger.
Not the 9-foot birdie putt on the final hole that gave him a one-stroke victory at the Crowne Plaza Invitational on Sunday. Instead, it was the 140-yard wedge from heavy rough that set it up: when Mickelson had to hit under one tree and over another, the ball clipping branches while headed sky-high.
"Just lucky," Mickelson said, with a smile. "I'm as surprised as anybody I was able to make a 3 from over there."
Once Mickelson hit the ball - "it just came off perfectly," he said - he couldn't see it through the branches. So he took a couple of steps before jogging through the trees into an opening just in time to see the ball fall back to earth near the flag.
One of Mickelson's best shots ever?
"Probably top five," Lefty responded, pointing out that he had already discussed that with his wife, Amy.
"That's what No. 2s in the world do," said Rod Pampling, who blew a two-stroke lead on the back nine. "Those guys make those kinds of shots."
The birdie closed out a round of 2-under 68 that got Mickelson to 14-under 266, a stroke better than Pampling (68) and Tim Clark (66) for his second victory at Colonial.
It was the 34th career victory for Mickelson, who also won the Northern Trust Open in February and is the only person on the PGA Tour with multiple victories in each of the past five seasons.
Mickelson began the final round with a one-stroke lead. But like the day before, he fell behind before regaining the lead on his final putt of the day.
Pampling, playing with Mickelson, made the turn at 14 under. He still led by one after saving par out of a greenside bunker at the 188-yard 16th.
But on the ensuing drive at the 382-yard 17th, Pampling hit the ball way right toward a ditch. He had to take a penalty stroke after a drop - though that put his ball where it could be seen rather than buried in heavy rough at the edge of a concrete gully. He managed to get the approach shot into a bunker, then blasted to 4 feet, pushing both arms in the air before tapping in the bogey. That came after Mickelson had two-putted from 28 feet for par.
After Mickelson's final drive went well left, Pampling drove down the middle of the fairway. But Pampling left his approach 38 feet away, his second putt going in after Mickelson had already made his birdie.
Came close again at the end," said Pampling, who finished third at Colonial two years after a double bogey at No. 15. "I hope next time, I'll be good to go."
Pampling still may have done enough to get into the top 50 for a spot in the U.S. Open.
Clark had birdies at Nos. 16 and 17 to get to 13 under and tie for the lead.
Pampling hit his tee shot at 16 into the right greenside bunker, and blasted within 9 feet. After Mickelson made par, Pampling took extra time to examine his line and then saved par, pumping his right fist hard in the air as the ball dropped into the hole.
"At times I got nervy, I was trying to relax, do breathing and focused what I have to do. I was fine out there," Pampling said. "It was bad swing on 17. It was the only one I was disappointed in."
As Mickleson and Pampling were finishing No. 17, Clark's 14-foot birdie chance at the closing hole curled just short. He finished second for the sixth time in his career, still without a victory.
"I wasn't trying to force anything. I was playing the course the way I did the first few days," Clark said. "I made some good shots coming in and made a few putts. It was disappointing I left 18 short."
Stephen Ames (70) finished fourth at 269, a stroke ahead of Ben Crane (67).
Mickelson earned $1.098 million, nearly double the $594,000 check he got for winning the last Colonial eight years ago, and surpassed $49 million in career earnings. He is the 11th player to win multiple times at Hogan's Alley, where five-time champion Ben Hogan is the only golfer to win more than twice.
Mickelson was back within a stroke after getting on the green at the 611-yard 11th in two, then two-putting from 33 feet. Pampling, the Australian native who lives in nearby Flower Mound and gets to play Colonial often, hit his first two shots there out of the rough before a 13-foot birdie chance stopped right by the hole.
But they kept matching pars after that - until the final two holes.
When Mickelson got to the 6th tee in front of the huge scoreboard Sunday, he still had a one-stroke lead over Pampling. That was the spot the day before when Mickelson realized he had dropped out of the lead and three strokes behind Pampling, who was in a different group then.
But Mickelson didn't hold his lead much longer.
After driving into the right rough at the 394-yard hole, Mickelson's shot from there hit a tree branch and ricocheted left into the fairway, though he managed to save par after hitting the third shot within 3 1/2 feet. But Pampling got even with a 48-foot birdie putt off the fringe, after coming out of his stance once and turning around to ask a spectator to turn off their phone.
Then at No. 7, Pampling outdrove Mickelson by 60 yards and made a 7-foot birdie putt to get to 13 under, a stroke ahead.
Pampling made it a two-stroke lead after his approach at No. 9 was within 4 feet for another birdie. Mickelson's 16-foot attempt slid right of the hole.
"He looked like he was in control," Mickelson said. "I was obviously very fortunate to come out on top."
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Rosie Jones comes out of retirement to play Corning
CORNING, N.Y. (AP) -The Corning Classic celebrates a milestone this weekend, and that was enough to lure Rosie Jones back.
Jones, who retired two years ago when her aching neck and body could no longer withstand the rigors of the LPGA Tour, just had to be here.
"It had been tugging on my sleeve a little bit," Jones said Wednesday. "Knowing that it was their 30th anniversary, I wanted to be here."
Jones, who had been here as a commentator for the Golf Channel since retiring, was invited by tournament officials to take part in the festivities. And she thought if she was going to return, she might as well bring her clubs.
"When I called back, I said, 'Well, you know, if I'm coming up ... what are the chances that I can play?' " said Jones, whose last event on tour was the 2006 U.S. Open.
Turns out those chances were pretty good. Jones accepted a sponsor's exemption and will tee off Thursday in an afternoon group with Meg Mallon and Sherri Steinhauer.
"I was thrilled. It definitely would take this tournament to get me out of retirement," Jones said. "Wouldn't do this for any tournament."
That's understandable. Jones is the only back-to-back Corning winner (1996-97) and its all-time money leader by a wide margin - her $564,630 in earnings is nearly double the total of runner-up Tammie Green.
Still, there is trepidation, even for the player who ranks eighth on the LPGA's all-time money list with more than $8.3 million won.
"The more golf I play, the worse I feel," said Jones, who only plays a couple times a week these days. "I haven't really wanted to go back out and play on the LPGA in the last two years. This was really out on a limb for me. I just didn't really have that need or craving to play again. And now that I'm back here, it's a little bit scary. As soon as I hung up the phone I thought, 'What am I, crazy? What am I thinking?' I haven't really taken the game serious for over two years.
"But I want to play well," Jones said. "It would be a miracle to win. But you know what? Stranger things have happened in this game. You never know."
Although the tour's top two players aren't here - Lorena Ochoa dropped out after initially entering and Annika Sorenstam hasn't returned since she was runner-up to Jimin Kang in 2005 after winning the previous year - this year's field does include Paula Creamer and Jeong Jang, third and fifth on the 2008 money list. Also back are former Corning champions Hee-Won Han (2006), Kang, Laura Diaz (2002), Sherri Turner (1988), Cindy Rarick (1987), and last year's winner, Young Kim.
The 51-year-old Turner turned teary-eyed when asked about the future of the Corning Classic, which has a purse of $1.5 million. It comes near the end of a grueling 10-week stretch on the schedule between the Kraft Nabisco Championship in early April and the McDonald's Championship the second weekend in June, and rumors are afoot that it could be in jeopardy when its current contract expires in 2010.
"I just think that the older players, the players that have been here year after year, they just feel a connection with the community," said Turner, who will be playing here for the 24th time. "And a lot of the younger players - and I'm not really naming anyone in specific - plan their schedules around the biggest prize money. To them, it's become more of a business now. There's going to be some events that we're going to lose."
Jones said such rumors are just part of the game.
"When a contract is up, there's always that speculation," she said. "It happens at every single tournament."
The Safeway International ended this year after a 29-year run. Aside from the majors, Corning has the fifth-longest tenure on the LPGA Tour, and Creamer plans on remaining a regular.
"I wouldn't know why you wouldn't come up and play this golf course. People who don't choose to come here, I'm not sure why," said Creamer, runner-up here a year ago. "It's a great golf course. I think the biggest part is the legacy that it has."
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Golf Capsules
BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (AP) -Paula Creamer squandered another late lead and fell into a playoff she didn't want. She got the result she desperately needed, beating Juli Inkster on the second extra hole Sunday in the SemGroup Championship.
A week after losing to Annika Sorenstam in a playoff, Creamer bogeyed the 18th hole at Cedar Ridge for the third straight day and wound up in overtime when the 47-year-old Inkster, trying to become the oldest LPGA Tour winner, made an 18-foot birdie putt.
Instead of getting nervous, Creamer got mad. She twice gave herself birdie putts in the playoff, making an 8-footer on No. 10 for the victory.
Lost in a terrific duel was the end of Lorena Ochoa's winning streak. Going for a record-tying fifth straight victory, Ochoa never got on track, even in a final round absent of much wind. She closed with a 2-under 69 to tie for fifth, five shots behind.
Creamer was headed for the worst kind of streak.
She said she gave away the Stanford International Pro-Am last week in south Florida, losing the lead with a careless bogey on the 16th hole and losing to Sorenstam with a bogey on the first playoff hole when she left a 6-foot par putt short.
Creamer was a combined 6 over on her final three holes at Cedar Ridge, and looked as if she finally figured out how to finish it off until a hybrid from the 18th fairway sailed over the green and she missed a 10-foot par putt to shoot 1-over 72.
Inkster, who hasn't won in two years, made her longest putt of the day for a 70, and both finished at 2-under 282. But the seven-time major champion never gave herself a good look in the two playoff holes.
Creamer earned $270,000 for her sixth career victory, and second this year.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Chalmers wins Henrico County Open
GLEN ALLEN, Virginia (AP) -Greg Chalmers became the fifth Australian winner in eight Nationwide Tour events this season, beating Norway's Henrik Bjornstad with a bogey on the second hole of a playoff Sunday in the Henrico County Open.
Chalmers three-putted for bogey from 75 feet on the second extra hole to edge Bjornstad, who pulled his tee shot on the par 3 into the water and missed an 8-foot putt that would have forced another hole.
Chalmers, who won the Australian Open in 1998 at Royal Adelaide, became only the second player in the Nationwide Tour's 19-year history to win a playoff with a bogey. All but one of the previous 126 playoffs ended either with an eagle, birdie or par.
"This feels really good to win this early in the year," said Chalmers, who joins fellow Aussies Jarrod Lyle, Ewan Porter, Gavin Coles and Aron Price in the winner's circle. "I've been playing very nicely to this point. I felt this kind of win was just around the corner for me and it's nice to actually turn that corner."
Chalmers and Bjornstad closed with 2-under 70s to finish at 14-under 274 on The Dominion Club course. Neal Lancaster (71) finished third, a shot back when his 40-foot birdie putt on the final hole of regulation stopped inches away from the cup.
Chalmers and Bjornstad returned to the tee at the 537-yard 18th, where they each made par. Chalmers laid up on the par 5 and two-putted for par, while Bjornstad went for the green in two and settled for par when his 12-foot birdie putt missed. That sent the two over to the 191-yard ninth hole, which shares a green with No. 18.
"I was really nervous," Bjornstad said. "I really played solid today. It's a learning experience. Those were not the best two holes in my life."
The 34-year-old Chalmers earned $90,000 (?58,000) to jump to second on the money list with $161,154 (?103,330). The top 25 at the end of the year will earn 2009 PGA Tour cards.
Arjun Atwal (68), Roger Tambellini (70), Jeff Klauk (71), Bubba Dickerson (72), Bryan DeCorso (74) and Matt Hansen (74) tied for fourth at 12 under.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
McGrane claims first European Tour title
BEIJING (AP) -Damien McGrane of Ireland won his first title on the European Tour by nine strokes, shooting a 1-over 73 in rain Sunday to win the China Open.
No player broke par in a final round hit by a powerful rain storm. McGrane, who entered the final round with a three-stroke lead, finished at 10-under 278. Simon Griffiths (74) and Oliver Wilson (79) of England and Michael Lorenzo-Sera (79) of France were tied for second at the Beijing CBD International course.
McGrane dropped two shots on the opening eight holes but then made two birdies in three holes.
It was the first title for 37-year-old McGrane since he joined the European Tour in 2003, claiming the winner's prize of $366,287 in the event jointly sanctioned by European and Asian Tour.
"I have been thinking about winning one tournament for so long and this week everything went my way," McGrane said. "I had good fortune, loved the course, and the bad weather didn't put me off my game today."
Defending champion Markus Brier of Austria shot 76 to finish 10 strokes back, along with the tournament's two highest-ranked players - Graeme McDowell (75) of Northern Ireland and Mark Brown (77) of New Zealand.
Brown had a triple-bogey on the final hole.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Immelman builds commanding six-stroke lead at Augusta National, no charge from Tiger
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -Trevor Immelman closed in on his first major championship, pulling out to a six-stroke lead at the Masters while the rest of the contenders faded away Sunday, including Tiger Woods and his quest for a Grand Slam.
Starting out with a six-stroke deficit, Woods never put any real pressure on the 28-year-old South African in the windy conditions at Augusta National. The world's greatest player had birdie attempts from 5 feet at No. 13 and 6 feet at the 16th. He missed them both, epitomizing a frustrating week.
Immelman merely needed to survive in these conditions, his 1 over score through 14 holes leaving him at 10 under for the tournament. That gave him a six-stroke lead over Woods, playing partner Brandt Snedeker, Steve Flesch and Stewart Cink.
No one else was within eight shots of the leader, who merely needed to avoid a monumental collapse to don the green jacket.
Immelman, who idolizes Gary Player and overcame serious health issues in the past year, steadied himself after missing a 3-footer for birdie at No. 7. He made crucial par saves from the bunker at 9 and from the fringe at 11, sinking a 20-foot putt.
After driving onto the pine straw behind the green at 12, the heart of Amen Corner, Immelman felt good about escaping with a bogey. He bounced right back with a birdie at the par-5 13th and the rout was on.
Immelman went for the green jacket four months to the day of being diagnosed with a growth on his diaphragm. He underwent surgery on Dec. 18, and the tumor turned out to be benign.
He also was stricken with a stomach parasite during last year's Masters, causing him to lose 20 pounds and knocking him off the tour for a month.
Flesch was steady - all that was needed in brutal conditions that made par a good score - until he drove into Rae's Creek at the 12th and took double bogey.
Snedeker made an eagle at the second hole, then bogeyed five of the next nine holes. He got himself back in contention by rolling in a 45-footer for birdie at the 12th, but the next hole finishing him off. For the second day in a row, he knocked his ball into the creek at 13.
With the wind gusting up to 30 mph, Immelman made his first birdie with a brilliant second shot at No. 5, sticking his approach to 4 feet. He pulled off another pinpoint iron two holes later to give himself a 3-footer for birdie, but missed that one.
That seemed to shake the leader. Immelman took a bogey at the par-5 eighth and knocked his second shot at No. 9 into a bunker in front of the green. But he got up-and-down from par, pumping his fist as he went to retrieve the ball, having shot 1-over 37 on the front side.
Snedeker drew the first big cheer of the day when he made a 35-foot eagle putt at the second hole, pulling into a tie with the South African. But the 27-year-old Tennessean couldn't keep it up, driving into the face of a bunker at No. 4 to set the tone for a tough stretch of golf.
Immelman got off to a shaky start, knocking his very first shot into the trees and needing a testy 5-footer just to salvage bogey.
Immelman shot in the 60s each of his first three rounds and was trying to become the first Masters winner to do it in all four rounds, though that was out of reach with the wind whipping across the course, rustling the towering pines and rattling the flagsticks.
Miguel Angel Jimenez somehow put up a 4-under 68, but no one figured to approach that score in the afternoon.
England's Paul Casey, who started the day four strokes back, fell from contention with a devastating stretch.
He double-bogeyed the fourth and bogeyed the fifth, then had to call a one-stroke penalty on himself at the sixth when his ball moved as he prepared to putt, leading to another bogey. Clearly shaken, he bogeyed the next two holes as well and made the turn with a 41.
As for Woods, he parred the first three holes, then drove into a bunker at the par-3 fourth and lipped out a 3 1/2-footer to save par. He did rebound with his first birdie at No. 6, but another dip in the sand led to a bogey at No. 10.
Woods has 13 major titles, but all of them came while he at least held a share of the lead going into the final round. Only two players - Jackie Burke, who was eight shots down in 1956, and Gary Player, who rallied from a seven-shot deficit in '78 - have overcome larger final-round deficits to win the Masters.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
The scores are going higher, the test is getting tougher at Masters
AUGUSTA, Georgia (AP) -Augusta National has always been known as the cathedral of golf, but now it's for reasons beyond the august atmosphere and beauty so majestic that every hole is named after a flower.
More than anything, it has become as quiet as church.
Someone hit the mute button at the Masters last year when Zach Johnson won at 1-over 289, tying the tournament record for the highest score by a champion. Good thing he overpowered the par 5s, playing them in 11 under, even though he laid up on every one of them.
Maybe it's time to get used to it.
For years, we were led to believe that the toughest test in golf took place every June, where players would grind away with pars until the last man standing was crowned U.S. Open champion.
Now, that might not be the case.
"Toughest test?" Steve Stricker said. "I'm starting to believe that this is more like a U.S. Open course every year. You saw 1-over par win this tournament last year, and I think that's been my misconception coming in here, because there's always been some decent scores here. Gradually, the course is becoming very difficult."
There used to be clear separation among the four majors.
The U.S. Open has a reputation for shrinking fairways, growing rough and shutting down the irrigation, making the course firm, fast and sometimes out of control. The British Open relies mainly on wind as its best defense and cares more about who wins than what he shot.
The U.S. PGA Championship was defined by its lack of definition, although now it has the reputation as being the fairest test. Considering how much players whine these days, "fair" can be translated to mean "easy."
And the Masters?
It used to be known for Jack Nicklaus shooting 30 on the back nine to win at age 46. For Tiger Woods shooting 40 on his first nine and still winning by a record 12 shots. Former U.S. Open champion and TV analyst Ken Venturi takes credit for coining the phrase, "The Masters doesn't start until the back nine on Sunday." And he wasn't talking about closing with pars.
"You play the back nine, and it was fun," Venturi said. "Those holes with the length now, the Masters is completely different."
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
|
