Woods' Lead Cut In Half

Tiger Woods leads Padraig Harrington and Y.E. Yang by two shots through three rounds at Hazeltine National

CHASKA, Minn. (AP) -- Tiger Woods is one round away from winning another major, with more company than he wanted.

Equipped with a four-shot lead Saturday at the PGA Championship, Woods played conservatively on another windy afternoon at Hazeltine until his lead was gone. Only at the end of the day did he find some solace.

One birdie on the back nine was enough for a 1-under 71. It gave him a two-shot lead over three-time major champion Padraig Harrington and Y.E. Yang.

Woods has never lost a major when leading going into the final round.

Only once in his career has he lost any tournament when leading by two shots or more.

"I played conservatively today," Woods said. "I didn't give myself a lot of looks. I was lag putting a lot. The only putt I really missed was on the three-putt. Other than that, it was a good, solid day.

"Given the conditions and my position in the tournament, I didn't mind it."

He was at 8-under 208, finishing just as the rain arrived in Minnesota.

Harrington surged into a share of the lead with four birdies over an eight-hole stretch in the middle of the round, catching Woods with a 7-foot birdie putt on the short par-4 14th. Right when it appeared they would be paired in the final round for the second straight week, Harrington made his only bogey of the round by going over the 18th green and failing to save par.

He wound up with a 69, and much greater hopes of defending his PGA title than he had starting the day.

"The narrower the gap, the better," Harrington said. "If I have to take four shots and I've taken two the first day, I suppose we're halfway there. Obviously, to get a win, you've got to beat him by three tomorrow. That's a tall order. But as I said, everybody in the situation who is behind is going to think, 'Well, we have nothing to lose.' You've got to have that attitude."

Woods will play in the final group with Yang, who matched the best round of the tournament with a 67. Yang won his first PGA Tour event earlier this year at the Honda Classic, although the 37-year-old from South Korea is better known for taking down Woods at the HSBC Champions in China three years ago.

They weren't playing in the same group in 2006, however. And this will be Yang's first time contending in a major.

"It will be my first time playing with him, so I'll try not to go over par," he said with a smile. "But I've been looking forward to it. I've thought about playing with Tiger recently. Surprised it came true so fast."

Woods' four-shot lead was his largest in a major after 36 holes since he led by five at St. Andrews in 2005. Just like that British Open, his margin was cut to two shots going into the final round.

Suddenly, there are other challengers to try to stop Woods from winning his 15th career major, and first of the year.

Henrik Stenson, who captured The Players Championship in May, had a 68 and was in the group at 4-under 212 along with U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover (71).

Ernie Els pulled within one shot of the lead until he finished with three straight bogeys, leaving him with a 70 and five shots behind. He was disgusted with the end of his round, although the Big Easy spoke for so many others about the outlook Sunday.

Woods has never been beaten at a major when leading. But at least they have a chance.

"You could really feel that there's a real championship going on around you," Els said. "It's not a runaway deal. Looked like a runaway thing at the end of yesterday. But it looks like the guys are really set to give Tiger a go, and the crowd could sense that."

Woods, however, has a major advantage.

He has never lost in America when leading by more than one shot, and the only time anyone beat him from that position was Ed Fiori at the 1996 Quad City Classic, when Woods was a 20-year-old playing his third event as a pro.

Lee Westwood came from two shots behind to beat Woods in the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open in Germany in 2000.

Woods appeared to be on his way when he stuffed a short iron into 4 feet for birdie on the second hole. Then came a three-putt bogey on the par-3 fourth, which he left woefully short. He missed the fairway on three par 5s, which he could have reached in two from the fairway. Instead, he was aiming away from trouble, not willing to give away shots.

On this day, everyone was taking their best shot.

"I thought it was going to be playing a little bit more difficult today, but it wasn't," Woods said. "I just felt that with my lead, I erred on the side of caution most of the time. If I did have a good look at it, I took aim right at it. Otherwise, I was just dumping the ball on the green and two-putting."

The lead shrank quickly.

Glover pulled within two shots until he was slowed by a poor bunker shot on No. 10.

Harrington made his second straight birdie with a 20-foot putt on the par-3 eighth, rolled in a 6-foot birdie on the 11th and made a few solid par saves along the way to stay close to Woods. He caught him at the 14th, then tried to get to the clubhouse without any damage. He almost made it, but caught a flyer out of the rough and over the 18th green.

Woods wasted opportunities, and appeared to really blow a good chance when he drove just through the par-4 14th. His chip came out hot and through the green, against the collar. Unable to hit a proper chip or a putt, he used the blade of his sand wedge to roll the ball some 15 feet to the cup. It came out perfectly, and Woods showed fierce emotion when it fell for birdie.

Over his last hour, however, he couldn't wait to get off the course -- a terrible pitch at the 15th some 40 feet short, a 7-iron he pulled over the green and close to a TV tower, his hand flying off the club on the 17th.

Still, he wound up with the lead, and Woods wasn't about to trade that position with anyone.

For Powell, an honor long overdue

CHASKA, Minn. -- One can assume that when Bill Powell set out to build his Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio 63 years ago, he didn't do it with a gala evening in his honor in mind.

Instead, Powell was merely playing the hand he was dealt: denied a G.I. Bill because of his race after serving in World War II, Powell borrowed money from a pair of black physicians, and went on to become the only African-American to design, build, own and operate a golf course. That course, Clearview, now counts itself as one of 15 golf courses on the National Register of Historic Places, and Powell finds himself the recipient of this year's PGA of America Distinguised Service Award.

The 92-year-old great-grandson of slaves will be honored tomorrow night at a ceremony at the Pantages Theater in downtown Minneapolis, a scene that will stand in stark contrast to the unfair predicament Powell found himself in after the war.

After serving as a tech sergeant in the Air Force in England and Scotland, Powell returned to Ohio, where he was a star athlete in high school, and where he first learned golf as a 9-year-old caddie. None of that mattered when he applied for first the G.I. Bill and then a loan from a local bank. Both were denied, but Powell wasn't content to just fade into the scenery.

"I had just left a country where I was treated like a human being," he told the New York Times' Larry Dorman. "So how was I supposed to be satisfied to be treated like dirt?"

So with the financial backing of two doctors, Powell bought 78 acres of land and crafted the first nine holes of Clearview -- clearing brush, seeding fairways -- mostly on his own. Nine holes became 18 in 1978, and pretty soon, Powell had spawned his own mini-golf empire. His daughter, Renee, became the second African-American to compete on the LPGA Tour, and his son, Larry, is a member of the Golf Course Superintendents of America.

And of course, there is Clearview, where Powell's influence is ever-present, and where his Distinguished Service Award will surely hang in a prominent spot.

-- Sam Weinman

All's Fine

It turns out Tiger Woods wasn't fined for his remarks following his win on Sunday. But that didn't stop Woods and everyone else from talking about it some more on Tuesday

Tiger Woods didn't feel the need to backpedal from the remarks he made about a rules official.

CHASKA, Minn. -- When is the last time the words "Tiger Woods" and "slow play," and "fine" and then "no fine" were all used in the same discussion?

Chances are we've just heard the last of it. Woods said Tuesday that he's been in touch with officials from the PGA Tour and there is no fine assessed for his comments critical of a rules official on Sunday after winning the WGC Bridgestone Invitational.

All right, then just what do you think the tour official told Woods in their conversation? "Bad Tiger, don't do that again"?

Probably something like that, but Woods didn't back off an inch from his position that rules official John Paramor basically ruined a Woods-Harrington showdown when he put them both on the clock for slow play at the 16th hole. Woods made a birdie, Harrington a triple bogey and the tournament was all but over.

Woods said he wasn't sorry about mentioning Paramor by name over the slow-play issue.

"No, because he's the one who did it."

So there. Woods said others should have used better judgment, that it was the wrong way to have the tournament come to an end and also hinted that too much attention was paid to the telecast schedule of CBS.

"Unfortunately I guess we had to finish by 6 o'clock. I guess that was important."

The broadcast ended about 6:03 p.m.

And about 6:04 p.m., the incident called "Clockgate" began.

But now that the whole thing has begun to wind down, consider this: it's possible that even an allegation of slow play that involves Woods is actually a good thing.

The overnight rating for Woods' four-shot victory at the WGC Bridgestone was through the roof -- up 104 percent from last year when Woods didn't play because of his knee ligament replacement surgery.

You can even make a case that Woods not only shouldn't be fined, he should be given a bonus.

Look what he's done pumping the overnight network ratings. In his three previous tournament victories, all on CBS, the ratings were up 100 percent at the Memorial, up 180 percent at the AT&T National and up 164 percent at the Buick Open.

Throw in the boost at Bridgestone, and if that's what you get for mentioning slow play, then make Woods play when he is connected to a ball and chain next time.

As it turns out, the PGA Tour was quick to issue a four-sentence statement Tuesday after Woods' press conference at Hazeltine National. PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said that after reading what Woods had to say on Sunday, there was no disciplinary process started. Votaw also said the tour didn't find anything that was unreasonably disparaging in Woods' comments.

For his part, Harrington didn't feel much like getting involved again, saying he hadn't read anything that Woods had said. He did say that it was easier for Woods to comment because he won and that if Harrington had said the same thing, it would have come off as sour grapes. You have to say that's taking the high road.

Said Harrington: "Having lost the tournament, I'm going to take it on the chin and say it was my mistake ... what could I say?"

So let's get serious. As far as controversies go, this one should be just about timed out.

This one really did have a strange timeline, though. Woods-Harrington are put on the clock, Woods calls out Paramor, the AP cites an anonymous tour official saying Woods would be fined, Woods denies he's being fined, the tour says there's no fine. All in three days. Less stuff happens in most months. You know, we're all fine with this. Let's move on to something else, and something is sure to crop up soon, probably by Thursday when the first round of the PGA Championship will be played at long and grassy Hazeltine National. It's safe to assume Woods won't make any news on Wednesday -- he's not going to set foot on the course, except for the driving range and putting green.

It's worth noting that Woods, who has won four PGA Championships, is trying to win his third tournament in three weeks. He's done that just once before, probably because he rarely plays three weeks in a row. But in 1999, Woods won the Disney, the Tour Championship and the American Express.

There's a chance history will repeat itself. There's a smaller chance that "Clockgate" will do the same.

Woods and Harrington

CHASKA, Minn. -- The winners of the last three PGA Championships held back-to-back press conferences Tuesday at Hazeltine National. So what did the hungry hordes of reporters want to know about? Perhaps the most interesting responses came when each was asked about golf possibly being included in the 2016 Olympics.

"If I'm not retired by then, yeah," said Tiger Woods, who would be 40 at the time of the 2016 Summer Games, when asked if he would play if eligible. When pressed again if he would play, Woods acknowledged, "Yep." The remarks represented a shift for Woods who had previously been more noncommittal.

"I'd love to be an Olympian," said defending champ Padraig Harrington. "Doesn't that sound good? Imagine us being Olympic athletes."

For that to happen, golf first has to get in the Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board is slated to recommend a pair of sports to be added in 2016, with word expected to come Thursday. Although golf has not been part of the Olympics since 1904, it is considered among the favorites for inclusion.

That would sit just fine with both Woods and Harrington, both of whom expressed solid rationale for adding golf to the Games.

"I think golf is truly a global sport and I think it should have been in the Olympics a while ago," said Woods. If it does get in, I think it would be great for golf and especially some of the smaller countries that are now emerging in golf."

Harrington not only touted the benefits to the game, but spoke of the natural fit between golf's sportsmanship and that of the Olympic games. "I think we have all the credentials to be Olympians," he said. "It seems like it was always destined to be an Olympic sport. I'm sure there are a lot of athletes out there that would never put golf as a sport, but trying to explain that to somebody that doesn't play golf, they will never understand what goes into golf. [But] golfers will see it as a natural sport for the Olympics."

Seems like two of the game's premier players have their eyes on a pair of prizes this week: the Wanamaker Trophy and Olympic gold.

-- E. Michael Johnson

For Powell, an honor long overdue

CHASKA, Minn. -- One can assume that when Bill Powell set out to build his Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio 63 years ago, he didn't do it with a gala evening in his honor in mind.

Instead, Powell was merely playing the hand he was dealt: denied a G.I. Bill because of his race after serving in World War II, Powell borrowed money from a pair of black physicians, and went on to become the only African-American to design, build, own and operate a golf course. That course, Clearview, now counts itself as one of 15 golf courses on the National Register of Historic Places, and Powell finds himself the recipient of this year's PGA of America Distinguised Service Award.

The 92-year-old great-grandson of slaves will be honored tomorrow night at a ceremony at the Pantages Theater in downtown Minneapolis, a scene that will stand in stark contrast to the unfair predicament Powell found himself in after the war.

After serving as a tech sergeant in the Air Force in England and Scotland, Powell returned to Ohio, where he was a star athlete in high school, and where he first learned golf as a 9-year-old caddie. None of that mattered when he applied for first the G.I. Bill and then a loan from a local bank. Both were denied, but Powell wasn't content to just fade into the scenery.

"I had just left a country where I was treated like a human being," he told the New York Times' Larry Dorman. "So how was I supposed to be satisfied to be treated like dirt?"

So with the financial backing of two doctors, Powell bought 78 acres of land and crafted the first nine holes of Clearview -- clearing brush, seeding fairways -- mostly on his own. Nine holes became 18 in 1978, and pretty soon, Powell had spawned his own mini-golf empire. His daughter, Renee, became the second African-American to compete on the LPGA Tour, and his son, Larry, is a member of the Golf Course Superintendents of America.

And of course, there is Clearview, where Powell's influence is ever-present, and where his Distinguished Service Award will surely hang in a prominent spot.

The Winners' Bags

Tiger Woods at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and John Rollins at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open

Tiger Woods used the same Scotty Cameron By Titleist putter that he has wielded for more than 10 years in winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, while John Rollins made a flat stick switch (to an Odyssey Rossie 2) in capturing the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open.


Tiger Woods
Ball: Nike One Tour
Driver: Nike SQ Dymo 380 Prototype (Mitsubishi Diamana Whiteboard, 83 grams), 10.5 degrees
3-wood: Nike SasQuatch2, 15 degrees
5-wood: Nike SasQuatch2, 19 degrees
Irons (3-PW): Nike Forged Blade
Wedges: Nike VR (56 degrees); Nike SV (60 degrees)
Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist Tiger





John Rollins
Ball: Srixon Z-UR Star
Driver: TaylorMade R9 (Oban Devotion, 65 grams), 9.5 degrees
3-wood: Cleveland Steel, 13 degrees
Hybrid club: Adams a7 Idea, 19 degrees
Irons (3): Srixon Z-TX Forged; (5-PW): Srixon I 302 Forged
Wedges: Titleist Vokey (50 degrees); Srixon WG 706 (56, 58 degrees)
Putter: Odyssey Rossie 2

Woods Miffed At Being Timed

Tiger Woods says the fact that he and Padraig Harrington were put on the clock may have had a role in Sunday's outcome

Tiger Woods said Padraig Harrington was forced to rush shots on the pivotal 16th hole
because the pair was put on the clock.

AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- Tiger Woods won the Bridgestone Invitational with an 8-iron that stopped a foot from the cup on the 16th hole and a 5-under 65. He believes Padraig Harrington lost because of a stopwatch.

Even after his 70th career victory, Woods was upset Sunday that he and Harrington were told on the pivotal 16th hole that they would be put on the clock for being out of the position from the group ahead of them.

Harrington, while not blaming the slow-play policy, conceded that he was rushed out during a series of shots in the rough on his way to making a triple bogey, going from a one-shot lead to a three-shot deficit.

Woods was more direct in his comments to the Irishman as they shook hands on the 18th green.

"Like I was telling him out there, 'I'm sorry that John got in the way of a great battle,' because it was such a great battle for 16 holes," Woods said. "And unfortunately, that happened."

John Paramor, chief referee for the PGA European Tour, made no apologies for playing the rules.

He said the final pairing was 13 minutes over their time limit after 11 holes and could have been put on the clock, except that J.B. Holmes well ahead of them was struggling on the 16th with various rulings.

"We thought that would allow them to get back into position on the golf course, but they ended up playing the 13th and 14th poorly, and the 15th was not too quick, either."

When they reached the 16th green, Paramor said Woods and Harrington were 17 minutes behind schedule.

"The 16th hole had opened up before they cleared the 15th green," he said. "And therefore, we had no choice but to put them on the clock at that stage."

When players take more than the allotted time while on the clock - 40 seconds, with an additional 20 seconds for the first player to hit each of the shots toward the green - they are given a warning. A second bad time leads to a $5,000 fine and a one-shot penalty.

The last player penalized a shot for slow play on the PGA Tour was Dillard Pruitt at the 1982 Byron Nelson Classic.

Woods said the stopwatch led to Harrington rushing his shots, none of them very good.

First came a 5-iron from the right trees that he pulled into the collar of a bunker. Then came a shot from 159 yards that went over the green, followed by the crucial play - a flop shot that came out hot and went into the water.

"He had to get in there quickly and hit it," Woods said. "That was a shot you don't want to get in there quickly and hit. You want to take your time and figure out exactly what you want to do. And I think by rushing like he had to, it forced him to make a couple mistakes."

Harrington said the trick to being put on the clock is to keep it out of trouble.

He did just the opposite - a tee shot into the trees, the shot into the grassy slope of a bunker, the delicate flop shot to a green running away from him to the water.

"It's an awkward situation," he said. "There are rules, and the players make the rules and we've got to apply them. If you're put on the clock, you always want to be nicely in position so you're not having to think too much. I got out of position with my tee shot, my second shot and my third short. I got out of position and just got myself out of the zone."

Harrington said the final pairing was slowed by the tough course conditions, weather conditions and massive gallery.

Even so, he said rules are rules.

"If you're asking a player two or three groups ahead of the lead to play within a certain time frame, it's unfair to give the leaders any leeway," he said.

After hitting into the water, Harrington had to go some 100 yards back to the fairway to play his sixth shot. After all that, Woods said he noticed that the group ahead was just leaving the 18th tee as he and Harrington were teeing off on the 17th.

Slugger White, the PGA Tour rules official in charge at the Bridgestone Invitational, disputed that. He said the group ahead already was walking down the 18th fairway.

White also disputed Woods' comment that Paramor "got in the way."

"I don't think John did get in the middle of it," White said. "John is doing his job. We would be criticized if that group was two holes behind and finishing at 10 after 6 (p.m.). It's just a regulation, guys. That's what it amounts to. We're doing our jobs."

The Hard Way

After firing a final-round five-under 65 to earn a come-from-behind victory, Tiger Woods once again made himself the favorite heading into a major


AKRON, Ohio (AP) --First came another signature moment from Tiger Woods, an 8-iron over the water that stopped a foot from the hole. Even more stunning was the meltdown that followed by Padraig Harrington.

In a swift turn of events on Firestone's famous 16th hole, Woods went from one shot behind to a four-shot victory Sunday by closing with a 5-under 65 to win the Bridgestone Invitational.

Woods became the first player in PGA Tour history to win seven times on the same golf course.

It was his 16th victory in the World Golf Championship series, and the world's No. 1 player now goes to the PGA Championship next week at Hazeltine with two straight victories after missing the cut last month in the British Open.

After nearly four hours in the tough battle that Harrington expected, he let it slip away in shocking fashion.

Woods left himself some 170 yards over the water, and his 8-iron landed near the pin and rolled back a foot away. Harrington hit from the collar of a bunker over the 16th green, but his flop shot came behind the green came out hot and into the water.

He wound up with a triple bogey and closed with a 3-over 73 to share second place with Robert Allenby, who had a 66.

Woods, who has won the Bridgestone Invitational seven times in 10 starts and has never finished out of the top five, finished out his remarkable afternoon in style with a 6-foot birdie putt.

It was the 70th victory of his PGA Tour career, three behind Jack Nicklaus in second place. Sam Snead (82) holds the record.

"We locked horns pretty good," Woods said. "I made a couple of mistakes. Paddy was being consistent, grinding it out, doing all the right things. Unfortunately, 16 happened. But it was a great battle all day."

It was every bit of that.

Woods won for only the sixth time in his career when trailing by three shots or more, a deficit that didn't last long.

He hit his approach into the par-5 second hole just over the bunkers to 25 feet to make eagle, and two more birdies was enough for him to take the lead after only five holes. From the right rough on the ninth fairway -- a rare miss on the front nine -- Woods hit to 7 feet for a birdie that gave him a 30 and a two-shot lead.

Harrington, a three-time major champion with a tough mind, kept grinding away with pars and regained a share of the lead with his first birdie of the day on the 11th. And when Woods made consecutive bogeys, Harrington found himself with a one-shot lead heading for the homestretch.

Woods hooked his tee shot into the left rough on the 16th and had to lay up well short of the pond guarding the green. He could not have imagined that by the time he reached the 17th tee, he would have a three-shot lead.

Harrington made such a mess of the hole that he hit five straight shots without losing his turn.

No Stopping Now

With another Sunday charge, Tiger Woods grabbed his 70th career win and gathered even more momentum for this week's PGA Championship

Padraig Harrington seemed on his way to fending off Tiger Woods
on Sunday before his gaffe on the 16th hole.

AKRON, Ohio -- When you're following a script on how to beat Tiger Woods, it's best not to improvise with the curtain call imminent. So what was that slapstick routine that Padraig Harrington introduced into the drama unfolding at Firestone Country Club on Sunday afternoon?

Woods needs no help in finding the winner's circle, but Harrington provided it anyway, contributing the lion's share of a four-shot swing on the 16th hole of the final round of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational.

So the WGC Bridgestone Invitational ended predictably, Woods winning at Firestone for the seventh time and hinting at an impending winning streak, the kind that golf routinely repels when mere mortals are involved.

Woods is not among them. He once won six in a row at the end of 1999 and the beginning of 2000. He won three in a row in 2001, six in a row in 2006 and three in a row in 2008.

His four-stroke victory over Harrington and Robert Allenby was Woods' second straight win, and there seems no reason not to expect him to make it three in a row in the PGA Championship next week at Hazeltine National Golf Club. Even in a season in which Woods has won all three of his final starts before a major and then stumbled when it counted most, he hasn't had the momentum he carries into this week. Consecutive 65s on the weekend here on a difficult course that bears more than a passing resemblance to Hazeltine strongly suggests that his 15th major championship is only a formality.

Should someone toss in an assist the way that Harrington did on Sunday, what chance is there for anyone else?

Harrington had his chance, until his benevolence took him off script and undermined his bid. After opening a three-stroke lead over Woods on Saturday night, Harrington said, "It isn't a question of me going out there tomorrow and thinking I'm going to get away with shooting 70. Tiger obviously loves this golf course and I've got to expect that he's going to perform tomorrow."

Even with a breeze elevating Firestone's difficulty quotient, Woods held up his end, playing the first five holes in four-under par to overtake Harrington, even opening a two-stroke lead on him at one point.

"I think the wind condition was exactly what Paddy was probably looking for to protect the lead on this golf course," Woods said, "and I just knew that I had to get off to a quick start and was able to do that. But Paddy hung in there."

Harrington, in fact, regained the lead and led by one when they came to the 16th hole, 667 yards of bad intentions, a greenside pond among them.

At this point, Harrington seemingly only had to run out the clock, but the clock failed to acquiesce. A rules official told the two that they were out of position, and in Harrington's effort to pick up the pace, "I got myself out of the zone."

He pushed his tee shot, then misplayed his second, and hit his third over the green, leaving a daunting flop shot from a downhill lie with a pond on the other side of the green. He made another poor effort, the ball bounding into the water, leading to a triple-bogey 8.

"I don't think Paddy would have hit the pitch shot that way if he was able to take his time, look at it, analyze it, but he was on the clock and had to get up there quickly and hit it," Woods said.

Woods, meanwhile, had his own travails at 16, but managed to negate them with the kind of Sunday-afternoon brilliance that has helped to define his career. From 170 yards, he hit a towering 8-iron to a green that was repelling lob wedge shots all afternoon, the ball spinning back to tap-in range. The birdie was the final flourish in the four-shot swing that gave him a three-stroke lead and ultimately the victory.

The win was his fifth in a year that won't rate a success by the standards he has set unless he adds the PGA Championship. He already rated a skill advantage going into Hazeltine. Now he has momentum working for him as well.

At Hazeltine, a victory has been scripted there, too.

Rollins Cruises To Victory

John Rollins fired a final-round even-par 72, but it was good enough to protect the lead he started the day with and win by three strokes

Rollins up and down final round included three bogeys and a double

RENO, Nev. (AP) --John Rollins overcame an early double bogey with a chip-in eagle, then survived a string of bogeys to shoot an even-par 72 and win the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open on Sunday for his third career PGA Tour victory.

Rollins, who tied the course record with a second-round 62 and led by six strokes at the turn Sunday, won by three strokes, finishing at 17-under 271 on the Montreux Golf & Country Club course.

Martin Laird made a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th to shoot a 66 and tie for second with Jeff Quinney, who also shot a 66 on the strength of six birdies. Joe Ogilvie (71) was fourth at 13 under.

It was the first time in six attempts Rollins has won after leading through 54 holes.

"It was a hang-on kind of day. I'm proud I managed to come out on top," said Rollins, who tied for second at Reno last year. "I had to battle a lot of emotions."

Ryan Palmer, who started the day four off the pace in the final group with his friend Rollins, had four bogeys and two birdies on the front nine. He shot a 73 to join Alex Cejka (67) and Kevin Na (68) at 12 under.

Rod Pampling finished another stroke back after a 67 on Sunday that included an eagle on the par-5 11th, where he holed out from a bunker in the third round for a quadruple-bogey 9.

Rollins, who won the 2002 Canadian Open and the 2006 B.C. Open, was the runner-up earlier this year at the Buick Invitational and the Honda Classic. The $540,000 winner's check pushed his season earnings beyond the $2 million mark for only the second time in nine years on tour for a career total of more than $12 million.

Rollins sank an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-3 second hole, but he double bogeyed the par-5 fourth after he had to take a penalty stroke for an unplayable lie in the right rough off the tee and missed a 9-foot put for bogey.

He chipped within 3 feet from 44 yards out on the 616-yar, par-5 fifth and made the birdie putt to make the turn at even-par 36 -- and six strokes ahead.

On the 584-yard 11th, he drove 351 yards down the right side of the fairway, hit his approach 212 yards to just short of the green and chipped in from nearly 40 feet for the eagle that pushed him to 19 under.

But he followed that with consecutive bogeys, hitting short in a bunker on the par-3 12th and missing a 13-foot put for par, then hitting his approach over the green on the par-4 13th before two-putting from 9 feet.

He hit another drive 348 yards on the 477-yard, par-4 15th but his second shot came up short in a deep bunker on the short side and his next went 25 feet past the hole before he two-putted again for bogey to drop to 16-under -- ahead by only two -- with three holes to play.

Rollins hit over a pond to 16 feet on the par-3 16th but his birdie try slid just past the left edge of the hole. After a 10 minute wait on the tee, he drove the ball 333 yards in the middle of the 636-yard 17th. His second shot landed on the left fringe 34 feet from the hole to set up a two-putt birdie to go up by three.

His approach to the par-4 18th landed 20 feet right of the green in the rough but he chipped it to just inside 3 feet and made the putt for par.

Sing A Sweet Song

19-year old Jennifer Song grabs the Women's Amateur championship and her second USGA title of the year with a 3 and 1 victory over Jennifer Johnson


ST. LOUIS (AP) --Jennifer Song became the second woman to win two U.S. Golf Association championships in the same year, beating Jennifer Johnson 3 and 1 on Sunday in the U.S. Women's Amateur final at Old Warson.

The 19-year-old Song, coming off her freshman year at Southern California, won the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links winner in June and was the low amateur last month in the U.S. Women's Open. Born in Ann Arbor, Mich., she lives in South Korea.

Pearl Sinn is the only other woman to win two USGA titles in a year, taking the 1988 Amateur and Public Links. Five men have accomplished the feat.

"I can't put into words how honored I am," Song said. "It's been a long time since Pearl Sinn won two in one year in 1988, which is one year before I was even born."

The 17-year-old Johnson, from La Quinta, Calif., will be a freshman at Arizona State. She hadn't trailed at any point though her first five matches of the championship, and built a 4-up lead through the first 10 holes of the morning 18. She made three birdies and took advantage of Song's bogey on the ninth hole.

But Song didn't get discouraged, thanks to positive words from her father Museok, serving as her caddie.

"My dad kept telling me, 'Jennifer, you're going to win. You're a great player,'" Song said. "Throughout the whole round he kept me in a positive mind and he kept making me smile."

Song won the 11th and 12th with birdies and squared the match on No. 18 when Johnson three-putted for the second time in five holes.

Johnson's streak of never trailing ended after 95 holes when Song birdied the 19th to take a 1-up lead. Song birdied the next hole to build her lead to 2-up and made it 3-up when Johnson bogeyed the 27th hole.

"I was actually kind of glad I got behind because then I could just get that out of my head and come back strong," Johnson said.

That's exactly what she did, winning three of the next four holes to square the match. Song then made a 7-footer for par on the 33rd hole to regain the lead and made it 2-up with a 6-foot birdie putt on No. 34. Song won when Johnson couldn't get up and down from a greenside bunker on the par-3 35th.

Song's mother, Jeeyeon Koong, was at Old Warson after missing her daughter's WAPL win at Red Tail Golf Club in Devens, Mass., in June.

"It's been a while since she's seen me win and really hold on to the trophy and smile," Song said. "When I hugged my dad at the end, my tears weren't out yet, but when I saw mom, you know that feeling when you see your mom. It's your mom, so you just cry."

When asked to compare her victory at the WAPL and the Women's Amateur, Song was reluctant to name her favorite.

"Both are very satisfying," Song said. "You cannot replace winning a championship, and both are very prestigious, so I'm very happy for it."

Eight Named To U.S. Walker Cup Team

Oklahoma standout Rickie Fowler leads a group of eight players named to the U.S. Walker Cup team

FAR HILLS, N.J. (AP) -- Oklahoma State standout Rickie Fowler is among eight amateur players selected to the U.S. Walker Cup team.

Fowler, the 2008 Ben Hogan Award winner, is joined by Bud Cauley, Brendan Gielow, Brian Harman, Morgan Hoffmann, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Smith and Drew Weaver.

Two more players will be chosen in later this month after the U.S. Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

The biennial Walker Cup matches, pitting an American team against a team representing Great Britain and Ireland, will take place Sept. 12-13 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.

The U.S. team is captained by George "Buddy" Marucci Jr., who played on the 1995 and 1997 U.S. teams.

Bridgestone Extends Sponsorship

Bridgestone has agreed to continue sponsoring the World Golf Championship event at Firestone Country Club through 2014

AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- Bridgestone became the fourth title sponsor this year to renew its contract with the PGA Tour.

The tire and golf equipment company agreed to back the World Golf Championship event at Firestone Country Club through 2014. Commissioner Tim Finchem and Bridgestone officials announced the agreement Sunday before the start of the tournament's final round.

Bridgestone joins Accenture (Match Play), Zurich (New Orleans) and Travelers (Hartford), which also renewed contracts through 2014. Finchem calls this a solid trend in a down economy.

"We seem to be now in a very solid trend as we look out past this downturn of having an increasing number of our sponsors step up and move forward with us over the next half a decade," Finchem said. "And for that we are delighted."

The tour has signed a new sponsor in SBS for Kapalua, replacing Mercedes-Benz, through 2020; and The Greenbrier Classic, which replaces the Buick Open. Buick has backed out of its sponsorship of tour events, as has the namesake of the US Bank Championship in Milwaukee.

Finchem revealed earlier this year that FBR, sponsor of the Phoenix Open, would not renew its sponsorship deal when it runs out in 2010.

Despite the global recession, Bridgestone President and CEO Mark Emkes said it was important to remain linked with golf.

"Even in a down economy, we still need to sell Bridgestone golf balls, clubs and tires and Firestone tires."

The Bridgestone tournament will remain a WGC event.

Finchen said the new deal would be well received by the world's top player. Tiger Woods has won the Bridgestone Invitational six times at Firestone Country Club.

"I think the happiest person today might be Tiger," he said.

Harrington Leads, Woods Charges

Padraig Harrington's third-round 67 gave him a three-shot lead, but Tiger Woods is lurking after firing a 65

AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- Padraig Harrington kept pouring in birdies as he tried to separate himself from everyone else at the Bridgestone Invitational. He arrived at the 18th green with a three-shot lead, happy with his day's work.

Then he glanced at the leaderboard for the first time Saturday.

Suddenly, that lead felt a little smaller.

His closest challenger was Tiger Woods, the world's No. 1 player and close to unbeatable at Firestone.

"I was surprised, yeah. I didn't know he was up there," said Harrington, who make four birdies on the back nine for a 3-under 67. "OK, he's in second place. There he is, 7-under par. There you go, three-shot lead. Is that enough? Probably not. I was trying to put as much room between me and the field. But at the end of the day, there's probably never enough room between you and Tiger.

"I know I have to play well tomorrow if I'm going to win."

Woods made a charge of his own about an hour earlier, running off four birdies over the last six holes, for a 65 that put some life into a dreary afternoon of light rain that slightly softened Firestone.

He has never finished worse than fifth on this track, and Woods has won six times in 10 appearances, three times when trailing.

Of his 69 victories on the PGA Tour, however, Woods has only won five times when trailing by three shots or more after 54 holes. Two of those came this year, a five-shot deficit at Bay Hill and a four-shot deficit at the Memorial.

But the players he was chasing were not Harrington, a three-time major champion and the last man to beat Woods worldwide when he was atop the leaderboard going into the final round.

And while Harrington conceded that Woods chasing him changes the dynamics, the Irishman usually is up to the task.

"I realize I'm going to have a difficult day, that's for sure," said Harrington, who was at 10-under 200. "This golf course has obviously been very good for Tiger ... so I don't think anything is going to be easy tomorrow. Probably at best, it's going to be a long, hard day and a battle. That's what I'm going to prepare myself for."

Jerry Kelly had a 69 and was five shots behind. Tim Clark, who had a one-shot lead early in the third round, also was five shots behind until he called a two-stroke penalty on himself for not replacing his ball mark on the 16th hole. He wound up with a 73, leaving him at 3 under.

Woods was happy to just have a chance.

He missed a short par putt on the eighth hole and fell six shots behind, with no indication Harrington would back up.

"I figured if I could put half a dent in that, I'd be all right," Woods said. "At least I'm there with a shot at it."

It could be a two-man show, and quite an opening act for the PGA Championship next week at Hazeltine.

Harrington has virtually disappeared this season while searching for the right swing. He only recently found the answer and finally has seen some results. He has a 54-hole lead for the first time since the 2007 Irish Open.

Woods, already a four-time winner this year, is going after his seventh victory at the Bridgestone Invitational and his 16th victory in a World Golf Championship.

It will be the first time Woods and Harrington have played in the final pairing since the 2006 Dunlop Phoenix on the Japan Golf Tour, which featured a rare collapse by the world's No. 1 player. Woods blew a three-shot lead with six holes to play, then lost to Harrington on the second playoff hole.

Harrington also held off a hard-charging Woods at the Target World Challenge seven years ago, a year-end exhibition. Even so, for so many players scarred by losing to the world's No. 1 player, Harrington is among the few with positive recall.

"Obviously, at this stage I know it's going to be a difficult day," he said. "Just the hype of it all, everything about it, it's just going to be a lot of work tomorrow."

The hard work came in the middle of his round, when Harrington failed to take advantage of birdie chances and then had to scramble for par. One great save came with a 6-iron he punched out of the trees and onto the green at No. 9. Another came with a superb chip out of the rough for a tap-in par at the 10th. Pars gave him the momentum to make birdies, and he knocked them in from 30 feet on the 12th, 20 feet on the 13th, and he hit the flag with his tee shot on the 15 for another birdie.

Woods began his run with an approach that spun back to 6 feet on the 13th for birdie, then picked up another birdie from 15 feet on the fringe at the 15th. His experience at Firestone really showed on the par-5 16th, where he faced a tricky shot from 90 yards to a back pin. His lob wedge hit some 8 feet short of the hole, took a hard hop past the hole, then spun back to a foot.

"Every putt I had for birdie, I made it," said Woods, who had only 23 putts. "It was the complete opposite of yesterday."

Harrington is hopeful of one more good round, making it tough for anyone -- Woods included -- to beat him. Then he considered what awaits next week at Hazeltine, and he changed his answer.

"Actually, I'd like five more (good) rounds -- four next week, as well," he said.

The pairings for the PGA Championship were released Friday evening. Harrington and Woods will be in the same group.

Fitting In

When it comes to matching their equipment to their golf games, club professionals usually go through the same detailed and lengthy routine as tour players

Mike Small, a two-time National club pro champion, will be one of 20 club professionals competing in the PGA Championship at Hazeltine.

Each year at the PGA Championship 20 club professionals get to put their games up against the sport's elite. More often than not, the results reveal their play doesn't match up. But the guys who give lessons, run tournaments and sell shirts for a living can't blame their bats and balls. Fact is, almost without exception the clubs pros have been as expertly fit to their equipment as the tour players.

When club pros speak to their pupils and members about the importance of being properly fit for their equipment, it's not lip service strictly designed to seal a sale. These pros have experienced first-hand the advantages of matching clubs to swing, says Dino Antenucci, senior clubfitting analyst for Titleist, a company with 12 of its professionals among the 20 club pros in the field.

"They take fitting just as seriously as the tour players, but what they are looking for is probably a bit different," says Antenucci. "Because they do work and don't spend eight hours a day practicing, they're frequently looking for something a little easier to hit. They still want the workability, but want something that can help them mitigate the effect of their misses."

Although it may seem counterintuitive that a player about to tee it up in a major championship is focusing on what will help his mis-hits, it makes absolute sense and provides a solid lesson for everyday players who have day jobs, too. Too many recreational players get fit to their Sunday punch when they should base their shaft and club choices more on the shots they hit most frequently, as it will increase their margin of error. The club pros are no different. They're standing behind the counter or on the lesson tee and a few days later they're teeing it up in the PGA Championship on one of the hardest courses they're ever going to play. With less time to work on their own games than a tour pro, any help they can get from their equipment is welcomed.

Achieving that help, however, is rarely a quick fix. Antenucci says a typical session with a club professional at the company's Oceanside test and fitting facility lasts three-to-four hours and goes through the bag. Wedges, he says, often take the longest to get through because of the number of different shots a players wants to be able to hit -- out of the sand, off the fairway, out of the rough and around the greens. If a player has changed his swing, that adds another variable.

"We may have fit someone into the proper loft and lie combination a year ago, but maybe their swing has changed and then we need to adjust all that," says Antenucci. "When we come out with a new club that's another variable as well."

So is set composition. "It is something you are always talking with the player about," says Antenucci. "Rarely will one of our club pros walk out of here with just 14 clubs. They're going to have one, two or three extra clubs that they can move in and out of the bag as warranted by the course they are playing. They want to be able to fill in any gap and have clubs ready for any situation."

Sometimes, though, last-minute additions are needed. Antenucci says that prior to the U.S. Open he fielded some calls from club pros in the field requesting hybrids to combat Bethpage Black's substantial length. And just last week, Sam Arnold, a pro at The Vineyard Golf Course in Cincinnati, dialed up Antenucci in search of a 64-degree wedge. Arnold had played a practice round at the PGA site and felt it might be a handy club to have at Hazeltine. Several other players have touched base since qualifying for the PGA, too, requesting different-lofted drivers or wedges with fresh grooves to combat firm greens and meatier rough. "It's really not much different than what you see from tour players," says Antenucci.

Whether they play like tour players or not.

Rollins Running Away From The Field

John Rollins doubled his lead to four shots after carding a 5-under 67 in the third round


After an up-and-down front nine, Rollins rallied for a 31 on the back nine.

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- John Rollins doubled his lead in the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, shooting a 5-under 67 on Saturday to move four strokes ahead of Ryan Palmer.

Rollins, who tied the course record with a 62 on Friday, had three birdies and three bogeys on the front nine, then rolled in a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 11th and added two birdies to finish at 17-under 199 at Montreux Golf & Country Club.

Palmer started the day five strokes off the lead, but birdied three of the first four holes and shot a 66 to reach 13 under.

Joe Ogilvie was another stroke back after a bogey-free 66 that included an eagle and four birdies. Martin Laird (66) was 11 under. He finished birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle, holing a 77-yard approach to the par-4 18th that spun back 20 feet into the cup.

Woods And Harrington Together Again

As they did at the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington will play together the first two rounds at the PGA Championship

CHASKA, Minn. (AP) -- Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington will play together the first rounds of the PGA Championship at Hazeltine, the second major this year they have been paired together.

Woods and Harrington, who have combined to win five of the last nine majors, also played together at the U.S. Open. Joining them next week will be Rich Beem, who won the PGA Championship when it was last held at Hazeltine in 2002.

The PGA Championship, which starts Thursday, kept its traditional grouping of the year's three major champions - Angel Cabrera (Masters), Lucas Glover (U.S. Open) and Stewart Cink (British Open).

Phil Mickelson will play with Paul Azinger and David Toms.

All The Way Back

In financial turmoil only a few months ago, the Greenbrier will play host to a PGA Tour event next summer


The new Greenbrier Classic will be played next summer, two weeks before the PGA Championship.

A day after announcing the end of its relationship with longtime sponsor Buick, the PGA Tour on Wednesday unveiled a new event to be played next year at the storied Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.

In an announcement made on Wednesday, the tour announced the Greenbrier Classic will be played on the the resort's revamped Old White course July 26-Aug. 1, 2010, two weeks before next year's PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisc.

"It is a reality now," says Jim Justice, new Greenbrier owner and local coal tycoon. "But we continue to work through the details."

The official announcement came at the resort in a press conference attended by West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, Greenbrier's pro-emeritus, Tom Watson, and Justice, who bought the storied resort in May for a combined total of $30 million. PGA Tour official Slugger White was also planning on attending the press conference. White, who is good family friends with Justice going back to their days as teammates on the high school golf team, helped broker the deal between Justice and the tour.

Greenbrier's debut comes as Buick is ending its 51-year sponsorship of the tour, but according to PGA Tour executive vice president Ty Votaw, the relationship between the two parties is only being suspended.

"We wish Buick well and we think they will continue in golf and with the PGA Tour. We will have ongoing discussions. We wouldn't be who we are without them. They have been a phenomenal partner," Votaw said. "The speed with which we replaced the Buick with the Greenbrier I think speaks volumes about the value of the position we have with potential sponsors."

Golf World has learned Justice will get a six-year contract, but he's not guaranteed that same slot in the tour schedule beyond 2010. He is, however, guaranteed a spot in the FedEx Cup series that extends from the start of the season in January to the Tour Championship in September. The Old White Course, originally designed by C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor in 1914 and redone in '07 by Lester George, is currently listed at 6,826, but will be lengthened to nearly 7,000 yards before next year's event.

The total purse of the Greenbrier Classic is estimated at $5.8 million in 2010, which is comparable to other tour events. But according to Justice, that number is still being debated. This year's Buick Open purse was $5.1 million and the AT&T National, hosted by Tiger Woods, was $6.2 million.

Justice is considered a savior in White Sulphur Springs. In May he bought the Greenbrier from CSX and then quickly pulled the resort out of bankruptcy, brought back hundreds of furloughed employees, and signed on former NBA star and friend Jerry West as a partner. On August 24th he breaks ground on a new underground casino. Now he lands a PGA Tour event. Not bad for two months of work. It seems this Justice system is a speedy process.

Teens pursue history at U.S. Women's Amateur

A shot at history remained intact Friday morning for Jennifer Song at the U.S. Women's Amateur at Old Warson CC.

Song and Alexis Thompson, winners of major amateur events earlier this year, staged comebacks to advance to the semifinals of the 109th U.S. Women's Am.

Song, 19, of Ann Arbor, Mich., erased an early 1-up deficit and beat Stephanie Kono of Honolulu, 2 and 1. Winner earlier this year of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship, Song is trying to become the second player to win the WAPL and Women's Am in the same year. Pearl Sinn turned the double in 1988.

"I read the article last night," said Song, who was low amateur at the U.S. Women's Open last month at Saucon Valley CC. "That was obviously in my head, but I'm not thinking about that right now. I'm just trying to play one match at a time and wh atever is in front of me."

Thompson, who last month captured her second Junior PGA Championship in three years and won the U.S. Girls' Junior Amateur a year ago, had to dig herself out of a 3-down hole before dispatching Han Jungeun of Korea, 1 up. Thompson, 14, was 3 down after four holes and 2 down with five to play, but she squared the match at the 15th by winning two straight holes without having to putt as Jungeun's game disintegrated.

At the par-4 home hole, Jungeun missed a 4-foot par putt to send Thompson into the Saturday's semifinal against Jennifer Johnson of La Quinta, Calif., who defeated Auburn All-American Candace Schepperle of Birmingham, Ala., 5 and 4.

Awaiting Song in the other semi is Tiffany Lua of Rowland Heights, Calif., who eliminated Jessica Korda of Bradenton, Fla., 3 and 2.

-- Dave Shedloski

"Race To Dubai" Purse Takes Hit

The European Tour's lucrative points race purse has been reduced by 25 percent because of the economy

Lee Westwood says prize money from the lucrative "Race to Dubai" on the European Tour has been reduced by 25 percent because of the economy.

"Not disappointed, not surprised," Westwood said Wednesday from the Bridgestone Invitational. "I think it's a reality check for everybody that in times like this - when there's a credit crunch, people are struggling financially - that nobody is immune. I heard before it all came out in the press that it was going from $10 million down to $7½ million. That's still a massive prize when you think about it.

"I think we're lucky to be playing for that kind of money."

The Guardian reported this week that prize funds would be cut from $10 million to $7.5 million, both in the season-ending Dubai World Championship and the bonus pool from the accumulative points in the Race to Dubai.

This is the first year of the points race, sponsored by Dubai-based developer Leisurecorp. The Dubai World Championship was billed as the richest tournament in golf, topping The Players Championship at $9.5 million.

The Guardian said European Tour chief executive George O'Grady would be traveling to Dubai this week to make an announcement.

The European Tour declined comment except for a statement that said, "The agreement is proceeding as planned, but George O'Grady will be making a visit to the region in the very near future."

Henrik Stenson said he had only heard rumors of a prize reduction and did not want to assess anything until it was confirmed by the European Tour.

"The world economic situation affects everyone in one way or another," Stenson said. "All the tours are struggling to keep sponsors. I think we're lucky in golf because we have a strong product to offer."

Stenson said the SAS Masters in Sweden, held a week after the British Open, cut its prize money by 40 percent. On the PGA Tour, the St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tenn., dropped its purse by $500,000.

"If the option is to cut down prize money or have no tournament at all, we'd take the tournament," he said. "Only a small portion of the players would look at the money."

The Race to Dubai had hopes of attracting U.S.-based players, and among those who joined the European Tour this year were Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas, Geoff Ogilvy and Ben Curtis, a former British Open champion who previously took up full membership in Europe.

Curtis said any prize reduction would not change his plans.

"It's still a lot of money," Curtis said. "And if you play well, you get rewarded, like it should be."

Westwood, runner-up at the Bridgestone event last year to Vijay Singh, did not believe support for the Race to Dubai would change.

"I can fully understand, and I'm pretty supportive, in a way, that they're still hanging in there because you look at a lot of sponsors, you look at how unfortunate Buick has been over here and people like that," he said. "We're just lucky to be playing in big tournaments for that kind of money, never mind whether it's $10 million or $7½ (million)."

Buick announced Tuesday that it was ending its sponsorship of two PGA Tour events.

Buick Ending All PGA Tour Sponsorships

In addition to ending its sponsorship in Michigan, Buick will no longer sponsor the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines

Buick ended more than 50 years of PGA Tour sponsorship Tuesday when it announced that it no longer will sponsor golf tournaments in Michigan and California because of the court-ordered restructuring of parent General Motors.

The decision came two days after Tiger Woods won the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich. Woods acknowledged the end of the tournament, which he won for the third time, by heaving his golf ball toward a massive gallery after his final putt.

The additional blow came with the end of the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, where Woods has won a record six times. The Buick Invitational is among the top tournaments in the early part of the PGA Tour schedule because it typically is the first event on network TV and has the highest TV rating because of Woods.

"While this is disappointing news, both the PGA Tour and Buick remain in discussions regarding future sponsorship possibilities," Buick and the tour said in a statement.

The Buick Open will be replaced on the schedule next year by a new tournament at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, according to two officials with knowledge of the deal. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the tour does not plan to announce the new event until Wednesday. Golfweek was the first to report on The Greenbrier getting a tournament.

Buick was the oldest, continuous corporate sponsor on the PGA Tour and once had its name on four tournaments - the Buick Classic in New York, the Buick Challenge in Georgia, the Buick Open and the Buick Invitational. It also took over the Buick Championship in Connecticut for three years after its Georgia event folded.

It also had an endorsement contract with Woods, who carried its logo on his golf bag. As it headed for bankruptcy, Buick and Woods agreed last November to cut off the final year of a five-year endorsement.

The tour said it remains "very interested" in keeping a tournament in Michigan and was exploring opportunities.

One of the officials said General Motors was trying to put together a consortium of sponsors to keep a tour event in Michigan, but the tour signed off on The Greenbrier before that could be pulled together.

The PGA Tour lost three tournaments this year when sponsors either withdrew or did not renew - Buick's two events and the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. The FBR Open in Phoenix is looking for a new sponsor after the 2010 tournament.

It has extended contracts with Zurich (New Orleans), Accenture (Match Play) and Travelers (Connecticut) through 2014, and found a new title sponsor for Kapalua in SBS, which has signed up through 2020.

At least 10 other tournaments have title sponsorships that expire after 2010.

Buick had been the title sponsor at Torrey Pines since 1992. Woods missed the tournament this year -- won by Nick Watney -- while recovering from knee surgery.

The tournament is run by The Century Club of San Diego, and president Tom Wornham said he was optimistic about finding a new sponsor. He also said the 2010 tournament would he played regardless.

"Our Torrey Pines tournament has been fortunate to enjoy many great moments and relationships throughout its history," Wornham said in a statement. "We look forward to many more in the future. Golf is a game most enjoyed with a great partner. We have been blessed with several in our past. We look forward to announcing our next partner soon and teeing it up with you in January."

Healthy Balance

U.S. Solheim Cup captain Beth Daniel opted for experience and potential when she tapped Juli Inkster and Michelle Wie with her two captain's picks

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, ENGLAND -- Beth Daniel made 49-year-old Juli Inkster and 19-year-old rookie Michelle Wie her captain's picks for the Solheim Cup while Alison Nicholas rounded out her squad by adding Anna Nordqvist, Janice Moodie and Becky Brewerton. The U.S. had 10 players qualify off a points list with two wild cards while Europe had nine earn spots off points with three captain's selections.

"I'll start the rivalry right now," Moodie said with a smile. "I've been on two and I've won two." When she got the microphone, Paula Creamer shot back: "OK Janice, I've been on two and won two, also." The competition, which the U.S. leads 7-3, a record that includes a decisive win in the last two matches, is August 21-23 at Rich Harvest Farms in Illinois.

"I think we have a very strong team here for Rich Harvest Farms," Daniel said Sunday at Royal Lytham St. Annes after the Ricoh Women's British Open. "But we have to watch out for those guys over there. Anytime you are faced with a decision where you have to basically leave people out of it is difficult," she said about passing over several players to pick Wie and Inkster.

Wie finished No. 13 in the Solheim Cup points list, behind Laura Diaz and Stacy Prammanadush, and Inkster was No. 16 behind Pat Hurst and Jane Park.

"Pairings were a consideration and match play records were a consideration," said Nicholas about her picks. "We feel we have a balance of youth and experience." Both teams have three rookies. Davies is playing in her eleventh Solhiem Cup, which is all of them, and Inkster is in her eighth. Alfredsson becomes the first player to appear as a competitor after being a captain, which she was in 2007.

The 10 automatic qualifiers for the U.S. team were, in order: Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Angela Stanford, Kristy McPherson, Nicole Castrale, Christina Kim, Brittany Lang, Morgan Pressel, Brittany Lincicome and Natalie Gulbis. Lang, McPherson and Wie are Solheim Cup rookies.

The nine qualifiers for Europe were Gwladys Nocera, Tania Elosegui, Diana Luna, Laura Davies and Sophie Gustafson off the LET list and Suzann Pettersen, Helen Alfredsson, British Open winner Catriona Matthew and Maria Hjorth off the Rolex Rankings. Elosegui, Luna and Nordqvist are Solheim rookies for Europe.

Wie, who has played steady all year, not missing a cut and finishing in the top-three three times, bolstered her case with a closing 69 at Royal Lytham to finish T-11. Although she finished 13th, she accumulated her point total in less than a full season while the other players had nearly two years.

Inkster, who was No. 16 on the Solheim Cup points list, has struggled this year but she is one of the all-time best Solheim Cup players, tied with Meg Mallon for most points by an American, and will be a huge benefit in the team room keeping a young squad that is going to be a strong favorite focused on the task at hand.

"I'm disappointed I didn't play my way onto the team," Inkster said. "But I'm going to do all I can to help these guys keep the cup."

Diaz and Prammanasudh both accumulated most of their points last year and had missed 16 cuts between them in 2009. Hurst won in Mexico earlier this year but had done little beyond that to make her a choice over Inkster, who almost certainly will be playing her last Solheim Cup.

The Americans, who have two weeks without an LPGA event, leave Monday for some practice in Illinois.

Valhalla to get two more majors

Say this for the PGA of America: It isn't shy in exposing its own course, Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, to major championships. The PGA is taking the Senior PGA Championship there in 2011 and the PGA Championship there in 2014, it is expected to announce today.

The Louisville Courier-Journal obtained a copy of a letter sent by the PGA's championship director Ben Rubin to a "local official." In it, Rubin wrote regarding a news conference scheduled for today: "the PGA will announce the 2011 Senior PGA championship and the 2014 PGA Championship (are) coming to Valhalla Golf Club. ... PGA President Jim Remy, PGA CEO Joe Steranka and several other PGA officials and special guests will be in attendance. ..."

Valhalla hosted the PGA Championship in 1996 and 2000, the Senior PGA Championship in 2004 and the Ryder Cup in 2008.

UPDATE: It's official.