Another night, another boxing controversy. Manny Pacquiao escaped with a narrow majority decision over Juan Manuel Marquez. Marquez stormed out of the ring.
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Len Berman: Top 5 Sports Stories
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Tiger Woods finally gets back to golf next week at the Bridgestone Invitational, ending an 11-week break to heal injuries to his left leg.
Woods used his website to announce his return on Thursday. He posted on his Twitter account that he’s “feeling fit and ready to tee it up at Firestone next week. Excited to get back out there!”
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Tiger Woods To Return For Bridgestone Invitational
Tee time at the Blue Monster.
Paired with former rival Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods will take the course on Thursday at the World Golf Championship at the Doral Resort and Spa with the wind squarely in his…
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Tiger Woods’ Downfall: 5 Hard Facts as Doral’s Blue Monster Looms
Filed under: PGA
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D.A. Points — If there’s such a thing as a perfect week in golf, Points might have discovered it — team up with legendary funny man Bill Murray for four rounds at Pebble Beach, capture the pro-am title, become a first-time winner on Tour and earn your first invite to the Masters. The key moment of the round was a hole out from 100 yards on the 14th for an eagle. I hope Murray went Carl Spackler on his partner after that shot — something like, “Cinderella Story. Outta Nowhere. Trying to become champion. It’s in the hole! It’s in the hole!”
Getting Inside the Ropes — PGA Tour rookie Jhonattan Vegas has been the story of the early season, and it’s players like him that are breathing new life to the Tour. For those that enjoy Twitter, Vegas is one of the most interactive players in the game. This week @JhonattanVegas shared his invitation to the Masters with his followers. This guy is making all the right moves. We’re talking about an invitation that even professional golfers dream about, and we all got a chance to share in the experience this week.
Alvaro Quiros — The Dubai Desert Classic was billed as a battle of the top 3 players in the world, but the Spaniard stole the show in the desert. He ended with three straight 68s en route to a one-stroke victory, his fifth in five years on the European Tour. The win moves Quiros into first place in the Race to Dubai and jumps him to 21st in the world rankings, his highest ranking yet. Over the last five tournaments he’s played, Quiros has four top 10s and a 23rd place finish. The 28-year-old seems to be hitting his prime and he’s someone to keep your eye on this year.
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Monday Movers: Taking Points at Pebble
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Tiger Woods stumbled in a bid for his first victory in 15 months Sunday, leaving Alvaro Quiros to win the Dubai Desert Classic with a wild round that included a hole-in-one and triple bogey.
The 70th-ranked Quiros shot a 68 to finish at 11-under 277, one stroke ahead of Anders Hansen of Denmark (70) and James Kingston of South Africa (67).
Woods had a 75 to end tied for 20th at 4-under 284.
“There were quite a few positives this week but a couple of glaring examples of what I need to work on,” Woods said.
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Tiger Woods Falls Short With 3-Over Final Round in Dubai
Filed under: PGA
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Tiger Woods overcame a poor start in windy conditions Saturday to shoot a par 72, one shot behind leader Rory McIlroy and two others going into the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic.
On dusty day in the desert when the wind reached 28 mph, Woods showed an uncanny ability to repeatedly rally.
He finished with a total of 7-under 209, behind second-round leader McIlroy (75), Denmark’s Anders Hansen (71) and South Africa’s Thomas Aiken (74). Woods is in a seven-way tie for fourth.
Woods shouldn’t even be in contention going into Sunday. But the tough conditions took their toll on most of the top players, with McIlroy finishing at 3 over and Sergio Garcia — who was eight shots ahead of Woods after nine holes — finishing at 3 over and tied with Woods and five other players.
In an uneven round, Woods had an eagle, four birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey.
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Tiger Woods Sits One Shot Off Lead After Wild, Windy Third Round
Filed under: PGA, Golf Odds and Ends
The Tour heads back to California for one of the most scenic stops all year at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Players will be competing on three courses, all of which measure less than 7,000 yards and demand accuracy and a solid short game. Tiger Woods might be on the other side of the world this week, but the field in Northern California doesn’t lack star power.
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Dustin Johnson — After back-to-back top 10s to open the year, Johnson (pictured) might have made it three straight had the weather in Scottsdale not caused delays everyday. Less than 30 minutes after his opening-round 64, he was back on the tee for round two and shot nine strokes worse. The two-time defending champ at this event was a disastrous final round away from winning the U.S. Open here last summer.
Vijay Singh — Don’t look now, but the Big Fijian looks to be regaining his form. Winless since 2008, Singh has improved each week and earned his first top three finish in three years, which is pretty unbelievable. The 2004 winner here also has three runner-up finishes at the AT&T
Mark Wilson — Winner in two of his three starts this season, Wilson’s game is primed for the trip to Pebble Beach. He sits top 5 on Tour in greens in regulation, scrambling, and scoring, and his consistency will benefit him this week. While his past results here aren’t spectacular, the FedEx Cup points leader hasn’t missed the cut at the AT&T since 2003.
Jim Furyk — Last season’s FedEx Cup winner took a month off since missing the cut at the Sony Open. He also took a month break after playing both tournaments on the islands to open 2007, returning to the AT&T and finishing T6. Maybe that trend could be a bit of a stretch, but there’s no doubt Furyk enjoys Pebble Beach – he hasn’t finished outside of the top 40 since 1999.
J.B. Holmes — The two-time Tour winner nearly added number three at the AT&T a year ago. Holmes finished one stoke behind Dustin Johnson in a tie for 2nd and hasn’t missed the cut in four starts at this tournament. One of the longest hitters on tour, he also sits sixth in birdie average after a T5 at the WMPO.
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Pebble Power Rankings: Dustin Johnson Aims for Hat Trick
Filed under: Golf Odds and Ends
Each week, Monday Movers will look back on the previous week in the golf world to see whose stock is rising and who will likely be heading back to the range.
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Bubba Watson — Watson’s victory at Torrey Pines won’t be remembered for the 362-yard drive he bombed on 13. Instead, it was the brilliant touch he showed with his short game as he got up-and-down from a tough lie in a bunker on the 72nd hole to secure the one-stroke win over Phil Mickelson. The left-hander had to earn his second career PGA win against an experienced group of competitors all making a push, but did so with consistency. He led the field in greens in regulation and only carded one bogey during the final round.
Paul Casey — The Englishman called Sunday at the inaugural Volvo Golf Champions “one of the toughest battles I’ve ever had.” On paper, Casey ended the day in the same position he started it — first — but he did so by surviving 23 final-round lead changes to win his first tournament in 20 months. If not for Mickelson finishing second in San Diego, Casey would have moved into the top five of the world rankings. Instead, he moved up three spots to 6th.
Golf Rulebook — PGA commissioner Tim Finchem spoke out about the recent rules violations that were reported by television viewers and led to disqualification for Camilo Villegas and Padraig Harrington. Finchem, speaking from the Farmers Insurance Open, said he wants a thorough review of the rules to decide whether there is a better way to punish players that aren’t aware of their violation. He’ll meet with the USGA executive committee next week and has also asked the European Tour to join him in examining the rule.
Sunday at Torrey Pines — The PGA was hoping for an exciting finish when Tiger Woods announced he would make his 2011 debut at Torrey Pines alongside Phil Mickelson — and they got it, despite Woods struggling efforts on the course. With the top of the leaderboard filled with some of the top players on Tour and super-rookie Jhonattan Vegas, the level of competition bordered on majoresque on Sunday. Nick Watney went out early and set the tone with a 28 on the front nine and the leaders followed. On a day in which only 11 of the 79 players broke 70, six of those came from the top 6 finishers, and that provided an incredible finish.
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Monday Movers: Torrey Pines’ Dramatic Finish Excites Golf World
Filed under: PGA
SAN DIEGO — So much for the sentiment that old friend Torrey Pines Golf Course would restore Tiger Woods to his Tigerness.
Torrey Pines, which abuts the Pacific Ocean, is sacred ground to the Southern California native. He won here as a boy and likely can walk its two courses blindfolded without clonking any of its pines. He’d collected seven first-place checks here, including five in a row since 2005. And for his U.S. Open victory in 2008, when he prevailed on one knee, a plaque honors him at the South’s first tee.
So the Torrey-as-Tiger-tonic talk picked up when Woods, winless since 2009, arrived here to launch his 2011 season.
Seventy-five touches of the ball later on Sunday, Woods was as bloodied as the San Diego residents who pay $50 to gouge this muni track.
The four-day total of 287 — one-under par — was his worst to start a PGA season.
Sunday, Tiger Woods signed a scorecard with nine 5s.
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Will We Ever See the Old Tiger Again?
Filed under: PGA
The Farmers Insurance Open will likely mark the unofficial start to the 2011 PGA season for a lot of fans with Tiger Woods making his debut. Couple that with Phil Mickelson, pictured, and Torrey Pines is looking at its best tournament in the last few years. There’s no need to re-hash all of the storylines surrounding the 3rd-ranked player in the world (doesn’t sound right, does it?) so let’s give you what you need to know.
This challenging South course on the Pacific Coast in San Diego will test the field off the tee. It will be played at around 7,600 yards and ranked one of the more difficult non-major courses in 2010. While the length is significant, accuracy will also be at a premium with challenging rough and tough recoveries around the greens.
With that said, let’s take a look at the field and how it breaks down from our perspective.
Surging on Sunday
1. Tiger Woods — Look, I honestly don’t think Torrey Pines will be the site of Woods’ welcome back party, but his past results here are amazing. The last time playing here, Woods rode one bum knee to a U.S. Open playoff victory over Rocco Mediate. Prior to missing this tournament the past two years, he won it four straight times. And you have to believe that falling to third in the world rankings has ultra-competitive Woods motivated.
2. Bill Haas — The 28-year-old is playing the best golf of his career. After a breakout 2010, Haas lost in a playoff last week and finished T8 at the Tournament of Champions. After a T11 showing here in 2009, Haas failed to break 70 last year and ended T37. He hasn’t shot a round outside of the 60s this year so don’t expect a repeat of 2010.
3. Nick Watney — The 2009 winner has recorded just 11 bogeys in his last 144 holes at Torrey Pines and has finished top 10 in three of the last four years. This will be the first start of 2011 for the newly married Watney, and he’ll try to carry over his success from a year ago. He failed to record a win but only missed two cuts and finished outside of the top 25 just 10 times in 25 starts.
4. Justin Rose — There isn’t enough love for Rose this week as 2010 marked the best season for the Englishman as he recorded two wins and two other top 10s. This year, Rose has a T12 at the Tournament of Champions and a T13 at the Sony Open. Even with a 75 in his first round of the year, Rose still sits T14 in scoring with a 69.04 average. This will be the first time he’s played this tournament in consecutive years so maybe it will be his most prepared.
5. Robert Allenby — The Australian missed the cut in his only event this season but don’t let that fool you. One of the top all-around players on Tour last year and had two solo 2nd place finishes. He closed out the year with two top 5s in his final three starts. Allenby’s history at Torrey Pines isn’t too bad either – T9 at this event in 2010 and 2007.
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Farmers Insurance Open Power Rankings: Tiger Tops, Lefty Flops
