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| Australia's Peter Senior won the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament on Friday, shooting a 5-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over Joe Ozaki, Steve Haskins and Ronnie Black, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: Senior, the winner of 18 tournaments in his home country, three events in Japan and four more on the PGA European Tour, had a 17-under 266 total on TPC Scottsdale's Champions Course. The top five finishers earned full exemptions for the 2010 season, while Nos. 6-12 received conditional exemptions. Senior also earned $30,000.
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| Robert Allenby stroked through a round to finish seven strokes under par (65) to seize a one-stroke lead over Lee Westwood, Chris Wood, and Camilo Villegas at the Dubai World Championship, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: Allenby had eight birdies and only one bogey on the Earth Course. He was one shot ahead of Westwood, Wood and Villegas, all carding rounds of 66. When the tournament ends Sunday, the top player on the European Tour's money list will win a $1.5 million bonus from the Race to Dubai. Westwood, second in the race, was two shots ahead of money leader McIlroy of Northern Ireland, who shot a 68. Westwood produced three birdies in the final four holes to boost his chances of overtaking McIlroy's $191,000 lead in the money race. The two other players in contention for the money title were off the pace. Germany's Martin Kaymer shot a 71, and England's Ross Fisher had a 73.
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| Steve Haskins carded his second consecutive round of 65 (-6) today in third-round action of the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament, according to the Associated Press.
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Our View: Haskins, the 51-year-old son of late Hall of Fame basketball coach Don Haskins, had a 17-under 199 total on TPC Scottsdale's Champions Course, holding a four-stroke lead over Ronnie Black. Black, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, shot a 64. Peter Senior, a winner of 19 tournaments in Australia as well as four events on the PGA European Tour, had a 68 to join Curt Byrum (68) at 12-under.
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| Steve Haskins carded a bogey-free round of 65 (-6) on Wednesday, seizing a two-stroke lead over Curt Byrum, Jim Roy, Peter Senior, John Ross and Terry Burke after the second round of the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: Haskins, the 51-year-old son of late Hall of Fame basketball coach Don Haskins, had an 11-under 131 total on TPC Scottsdale's Champions Course. Haskins played 16 years on the Nationwide Tour but quit professional golf four years ago to join T&T Staff Management, an El Paso-based employee leasing company.
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| Greg Norman, an icon for golf fans and two-time British Open Champion, believes the prize money associated with professional golf will continue to flow away from the game as a result of the trying economic times, according to the Associated Press. "Golf is not going to be like it used to be. It's tough out there -- tough in business," Norman said. "I have gone through the cycle of things being really good and then going through another cycle. But I don't think the young generation see it because they have never seen it before. I have been through three recessions." |
Our View: Norman was seaking from the Dubai World Championship, the European Tour's final event of the season. This tourney was slated for a $10 million purse but trimmed $2.5 million in September due to sponsorship concerns during the recession. Norman also took time to urge the professional golfers of the world to support both the PGA and European Tours, noting it is time for the players to "step up to the plate and be alert to it."
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| Stanford University reports former alum and golf icon Tiger Woods will serve as honorary captain this Saturday when the Cardinal (currently ranked 17th in the latest BCS Poll) welcomes rival California in what is commonly known as "The Big Game" on Saturday, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: Stanford football coach Jim Harbaugh tells reporters it will be an honor to share the sidelines with "the greatest competitor of our generation." Woods has won 14 major championships and is the top-ranked golfer in the world (and has been since 1997). He will also be honored at halftime when Stanford will present Woods with a plaque signifying his induction into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame. Woods spent two years at Stanford, winning the Pac-10 and NCAA championships in 1996.
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| As usual, Tiger Woods saved his best for last and thrilled the Aussie crowd at Kingston Heath, carding a round of 68 (-4) on Sunday to secure a win at the Australian Masters, according to the Associated Press.
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Our View: His first trip to the world's greatest island in 11 years, Woods entered the final day in a three-way tie for the lead only to open with three birdies over the first six holes, eventually taking a two-shot victory over Greg Chalmers. This is Tiger's 82nd win in international play as his first win in Australia gives him 13 countries conquered in professional golf. The Australian government ponied up half of the event's $3 million appearance fee to lure Tiger but estimates his visit pulled approximately $20 million in revenue.
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| Stephen Ames posted a final round of 64 to pull into a a three-way tie for first place at the Children's Miracle Network Classic, moving on to victory over George McNeill and Justin Leonard in the extra holes, according to the Associated Press. |
Our View: Ames finished his 8-strokes-under-par performance and watched as McNeill and Leonard pulled off the 18th hole without pushing past him. Leonard had a shot at the win in regulation play but rimmed a 16-foot putt to secure victory on the 18th. He was then eliminated on that same hole in the first playoff trial while McNeill pushed Ames for two more holes before pushing a 6-foot putt right of the hole. Ames banks $828k with the victory, his first of this season and fourth of his career.
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| Justin Leonard may have fallen in playoff holes at the Children's Miracle Network Classic, the Tour's final event for the '09 season, but his finish was good enough to earn an official invite to The Masters next season, according to Bob Harig with ESPN.
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Our View: The $413,600 paycheck earned by Leonard pushed him into the Tour's top 30 on the final money leaders list of the season, earning him a spot in The Masters field. John Rollins secured an invite as well, finishing T24 at the Tour finale to move to 24th on the money leaders list. Leonard figured to get into the Masters anyway based on his spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. The top 50 at the end of the year get a Masters invite and Leonard was 42nd heading into the final event and should rise.
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| Doug Barron's request for a temporary restraining order that would have given him rights to perform in this week's PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament has been denied, according to Bob Harig with ESPN.
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Our View: Barron became the first player in Tour history to suffer supension under the league's anti-doping policy, alledgedly failing drug testing in June. Barron's attorney, Art Thorne, reports Barron tested positive for two banned substances - testosterone and a beta-blocker - both prescribed by a qualified physician. Barron had sought a therapeutic use exemption for the drugs last year but was denied by the PGA Tour. His lawyers argued that he was not trying to gain an unfair advantage, that he took the drugs under a doctor's supervision and that he made no secret about it.
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