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PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem was the first to be tested for drugs under its anti-doping policy that began last year at the AT&T National. Tim Clark was the first player to be tested.

One year and more than a thousand random samples later, Finchem says the tour remains clean.

“There have been no suspensions because of doping,” Finchem said Wednesday. “It’s not going to surprise me if we have some issue, but I think what’s clear is we do not have a doping problem. Having an issue or two as we go forward does not mean we’re having a problem. It could mean a lot of things. But — knock on wood—we’re very pleased at this point in time.”

Under the anti-doping policy, the tour is required to notify the media if a player tests positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

Finchem declined to say, however, if anyone has tested positive for a recreational drug, such as marijuana.

While such drugs are covered under the policy, the tour treats that as “conduct unbecoming a professional” and would not make any positive tests public.

“I said we have had not positive tests with respect to performance enhancing,” he said. “We may have had some test results that trouble us in other areas that we treat in a different bucket. But we don’t publicize those.

“We may in those instances—I’m not saying this has happened or not, I’m just saying what the process is—consider it conduct unbecoming, and what are our choices? We can suspend a player, we can fine a player, we can do both of those and put a player into treatment. We could also add to that regular treatment.”

He asked to confirm if anyone has tested positive for recreational drugs.

“I wouldn’t say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to that,” he said. “I’ll say this—we don’t have a problem in that area.”

Finchem said the International Olympic Committee observed the tour’s drug-testing procedures earlier this year and was impressed. And while he says golf remains clean on the one-year anniversary of testing, he would not be surprised if that changed.

“I think when you’re dealing with hundreds of athletes, and things can get into your body, we may very well have problems,” Finchem said. “But at this point, not only do the players accept the rule, they put it on the same level as any other rule of golf. They work hard to understand what they need to be doing. They stay updated, and we’ve avoided problems.”

Three-times major champion Padraig Harrington said he needed to halt his alarming dip in form this week at the French Open if he is to have any chance of retaining his British Open title.

PADRAIG HARRINGTON Picture © Getty Images

With the third major only two weeks away, Harrington has missed his last four cuts, including the U.S. Open two weeks ago where he was eight strokes worse than the mark.

A year-long slump—he has dropped from third to 11th in the world rankings—has coincided with the 37-year-old deciding to modify the swing that won him last year’s British Open and U.S. PGA Championship and earned him the 2007 British Open title.

Harrington said his new swing is still a work in progress as he strives for the consistency he feels he needs to win more majors. However, even though he is close to being satisfied with it, time is not on his side.

“I’m running out of time for the (British) Open,” Harrington told reporters the day before playing the French event at the National course near Versailles. “But the attraction of changing things is still great.

“If the Open wasn’t just round the corner I’d be carrying on but at this stage I need to show some signs that I will be ready for it.

“There comes a point when you have to go with what you have got. I’m always an optimist but I don’t believe in suddenly clicking into form. I have to work my way into it.”

“At this stage I believe I will be ready,” Harrington added. “But then again I thought I’d be ready for the U.S. Open.

“This week it is more important to play well than perform well in terms of results. I need a certain level of confidence. If I’m going to play well in the Open it’s got to start now.”

Harrington’s woeful showing at Bethpage, New York, in the U.S. Open was due to concentrating too much on the changes he is making, he said. “My backswing had totally gone off because I was focusing too much on my downswing.”

That left him going back over old ground last week with his long-time coach Bob Torrance, father of former Ryder Cup captain Sam.

It is not just his swing that Harrington needs to find for Turnberry.

“I’m trying out two drivers with two different shafts, so that’s like four drivers,” he said. “I’m still trying to find the magic stick that goes straight and long.”

This year’s U.S. Masters champion Angel Cabrera, who went through a similar poor period after claiming his first major title, the 2007 U.S. Open, said he was not surprised at Harrington’s struggles.

“It’s such a tough time after you win a major because everyone is expecting you to do everything perfect,” Cabrera, also in the French Open field, told Reuters. “I’m sure that’s what he (Padraig) has been going through.”

It’s not often that a player is bold enough to challenge Tiger Woods on the golf course. Rarer still is when it happens during a pro-am round from one of his amateur partners.

TIGER WOODS   Picture © Getty Images

“That still puts me 1 up,” Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said to him Wednesday morning.

“Does it, now?” Woods replied, not sounding the least bit concerned.

The world’s No. 1 player then smoked a fairway metal down the 17th at Congressional Country Club. Romo, a scratch player who asked to play from the championship tees, followed with a 3-wood that traveled about a yard farther.

On the par-3 second, Romo appeared to have the edge when Woods bladed a bunker shot over the green and into the gallery. He didn’t finish out the hole, and when Romo three-putted from the fringe, the quarterback said, “You wouldn’t have made 4 from there.”

They didn’t mention the stakes or how many shots Woods gave Romo—if any— although it had a familiar conclusion.

“He contributed to my spending fund, which is nice,” Woods said later on his Web site.

The bold move by Woods was playing with the Cowboys’ quarterback in Washington Redskins country, and while it attracted a large gallery for the 6:30 a.m. tee time, the cheers and jeers were relatively tame.

“How about an autograph?” one fan said to Romo. “I’ve got a Tony Romo jersey on and I’ve already been in three fights.”

Romo kept walking.

“Jason Campbell signed it,” the fan called to him.

Campbell, the Redskins quarterback, played in another pro-am group, while Woods and Romo were joined by House Minority Leader John Boehner, who spent most of his day picking up his ball before he reached the green.

There was plenty of star power at Congressional, even during the opening ceremony when Jessica Simpson sang the national anthem.

When the AT&T National gets under way Thursday, the biggest star will be the tournament host.

Woods missed his own tournament last year, which was played a week after he had season-ending knee surgery. He had to watch from his couch as Anthony Kim closed with a bogey-free 65 for a two-shot victory.

“I thought he was here last year,” Kim said. “His name was all over the place.”

It is everywhere but the trophy.

One obscure piece of trivia that could come out of this tournament is a chance for Woods to match Jack Nicklaus by winning his tournament on the second try. Nicklaus won the Memorial in 1977, the second year of the tournament.

The only Nicklaus record that matters to Woods is 18 professional majors, and that’s on his mind, too.

Woods is playing for the first time since he failed to defend his title in the U.S. Open at Bethpage, largely due to his putting. Next up is the British Open in two weeks at Turnberry, a links course he has only seen on television.

For now, he is intent on being a “greedy host.”

He wants the 120-man field at Congressional to have a great week, as long as he goes home with the trophy.

“I always put in as much as I possibly can to win an event,” he said. “It is fun winning your own event.”

He has won the Chevron World Challenge, his charity tournament in California, four times. Woods also is going for a hat trick of sorts by trying to win three tournaments in one year hosted by PGA Tour players, having previously won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and the Memorial, which Nicklaus runs.

Strangely enough, both those tournaments were his final events before a major.

And the majors haven’t worked out for him so far this year.

In both majors he tied for sixth, four shots out of the lead. He hit the ball poorly at the Masters, but knew Augusta National well enough and made enough putts to at least give himself an outside chance Sunday. He hit the ball beautifully at Bethpage Black, only to fail miserably on the greens.

“Just like all major championships, you have to have all the pieces going,” Woods said. “You have to hit the ball well, chip well, putt well, think well. And that’s the whole idea of majors. Every single facet of your game is tested. And it just didn’t work out.

“Looking forward to the next two.”

Preparations for Turnberry really won’t start until he arrives, although he can start by making sure his game is sound on a Congressional course that will host the U.S. Open in 2011.

The field features U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover, Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh from the top 10 in the world ranking.

“It’s a place that I would always put on my schedule because I think the world of the golf course,” Furyk said. “I’ve played very well here the last couple years, so I’ve got some good memories.”

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem didn’t have to spin this one. He made it clear Tuesday that the tour will go along next year with a new rule that changes the grooves in irons and wedges.

The U.S. Golf Association and Royal & Ancient Golf Club announced last year that effective Jan. 1, the dimensions in grooves—from the 5-iron through wedges—would change to create less spin when the ball was struck. The idea was to make shots out of the rough more difficult, putting a higher premium on driving accuracy.

Finchem was under increasing pressure from players and some equipment companies to postpone by one year the new rule, allowing for more research in what amounts to the first rollback in golf equipment since World War II.

But after a spirited discussion by the PGA Tour policy board, Finchem decided to stay the course.

“I think that we’re late in the process,” Finchem said. “I think there’s been a lot of reliance on the schedule by individuals, by equipment manufacturers, by other tours, by other golf organizations in taking steps to prepare for this schedule. We got a couple of requests to consider a delay, and we challenged whether that was a problem. And we concluded that it was.”

Grooves previously were U shaped with sharp edges, allowing high-skilled players to generate enormous spin. The USGA was concerned that players were able to spin the ball out of the rough, allowing for shots to stop more quickly on the green. It felt that players no longer were penalized severely for missing the fairway.

“I think it’s great,” Tiger Woods said. “We’ve had plenty of time to make our adjustments. All the companies have been testing and getting ready for this, and the guys will make the changes.”

Woods said players likely won’t be able to control the ball out of the rough with smaller grooves, and it could change the way they attack par 5s or short par 4s that can be reached off the tee. Missing in the round spot could mean a player “is obviously going to pay a little more of a price.”

Golf’s governing bodies announced in August last year that the grooves rule would take effect Jan. 1 for major championships and tour events around the world. However, each tour has a “condition of competition” clause that allows it to decide whether to follow USGA rules.

USGA president Jim Vernon said two weeks ago that the U.S. Open would follow whatever the PGA Tour decided.

Golf officials said recreational players could continue using irons that were manufactured through 2010, and the new rules would not apply to them until at least 2024. Also, the grooves rule would not apply for events like the U.S. Amateur until 2014.

Acushnet Co., parent company of Titleist and Cobra, had asked that the rule not take effect until Jan. 1, 2011 to align with the date manufacturers are required to ship products with the new groove dimensions.

Otherwise, the company said it would create “bifurcation,” which means not every golfer will be playing under the same rules.

“That disconnect is also unprecedented,” Acushnet said in a statement.

John Solheim, chairman and CEO of Ping, had said Monday evening the company has been opposed to the rule all along, and that postponing the date it becomes effective was not the point.

“The new groove rule harms the game and golfers and should be dropped,” Solheim said. “The recent uproar about it from PGA Tour players demonstrates this fact.”

The nine-member policy board—four members are PGA Tour players—did not vote on the postponement. Rather, it deferred to Finchem and his staff because it was not policy, rather a “condition of competition.”

“I concluded that delaying at this point in time probably was not in our overall best interests,” Finchem said. “But the good news is that there continues to be wide support for the rule itself.”

He said the tour would make available nearby courses at various tournaments later this year for players to test irons, specifically the wedges. Finchem also said there would be a “full-court press” to make sure players and equipment companies are up to speed as the new season—and new rules—nears.

Why not wait one more year?

“We thought that the bulk of the preparedness issue with the delay would be shifted to next year,” he said.

Anthony Kim pressed a cell phone against his ear as he listened to Tiger Woods, the tournament host of the AT&T National, congratulate him on another impressive victory that seemed to mark the arrival of America’s next great golfer.

ANTHONY KIM   Picture © Getty Images

That was one year and 25 tournaments ago.

Kim has yet to pose with another trophy he could call his own. Remember, the Ryder Cup is an exhibition, and no matter how thoroughly the 23-year-old dismantled Sergio Garcia in the leadoff singles match, it was a team effort.

Over the last year, Kim has made news for not remembering how many majors Woods had won, not being fully aware that the automobile industry was hurting, not realizing Colin Montgomerie had been selected Ryder Cup captain for Europe or not knowing Congressional once hosted a U.S. Open or two.

Trouble is, he has not made news for what matters.

Kim started the season with a runner-up finish at Kapalua. He has not finished in the top 10 anywhere in the world since. So perhaps it was not surprising Tuesday when someone asked him the best thing that has happened to him this year.

He thought about this briefly, then smiled.

“I made it to my 24th birthday,” he said.

His age should count for something. When he unleashed a bogey-free 65 in the final round at Congressional last year for a two-shot victory, Kim became the first American under 25 since Woods to win at least twice on the PGA Tour in the same year.

Woods, who was home in Florida recuperating from reconstructive knee surgery, told him that day to keep working hard and there would be no limits on what Kim could achieve. And it appeared that Kim was headed in that direction.

He was in the mix Sunday at Royal Birkdale, his first taste of links golf. He was in the final group at the Canadian Open until he kept his foot on the accelerator through one too many construction zones, as Kim is prone to do. He was a birdie putt away from joining the playoff at the season-ending Tour Championship.

And there was that week at the Ryder Cup, where Kim was the life of the party in so many ways.

Still, celebrations for his golf have been rare.

Kim has dealt with more nagging injuries than he can recite, whether it was his jaw from a horseback riding in New Zealand to the most recent setback, an injury in his left thumb that kept him from making an aggressive pass at the ball.

He had to stick with fairway metals at long and soggy Bethpage Black, and he was pleased to finish tied for 16th with those kind of restrictions. He made 11 birdies in the second round at the Masters when he shot 65, but he didn’t break par the other three rounds.

“It’s probably been my toughest year on tour, the fact that I’ve had these little injuries that have held me back,” Kim said. “But I’m learning more about myself when I’m not playing well. I’m learning how to play this game. I’m learning how to approach different situations when you’re not playing you best, and it’s going to help me when I do start hitting the ball well, and do start putting well, when my game comes together.”

Kim isn’t the only player who has struggled this year.

British Open and PGA champion Padraig Harrington has missed his last four cuts. Adam Scott had a hard time breaking 80 a few months ago. Ernie Els hasn’t won in 16 months and has fallen out of the top 20.

The fact Kim has gone an entire year without winning is a reminder that winning is never easy on the PGA Tour.

“We live in the era of Tiger Woods, who makes winning look ridiculously easy,” Paul Goydos said last week. “The more I think about it, the more I feel Tiger Woods is the most underrated player on this tour. You guys have no concept of what he accomplishes on a weekly basis when he plays. It’s ridiculous how good he plays.”

Even with 67 career victories and—pay attention, Anthony—14 majors, Woods conceded that it’s never easy.

“I certainly have won my share of tournaments, but I’ve lost more than I’ve won,” he said. “And that’s the nature of our sport. We do lose a lot of events.”

Having turned 24 a few weeks ago, time is on Kim’s side.

He is the defending champion at Congressional—remember, Anthony, it will host the U.S. Open in 2011—and winning again will be more difficult this time with his health just now returning and Woods at full strength.

It would be easy to speculate that Kim is enjoying fruits more than labor, although only he knows how hard he is working. At least his objectives have not changed.

“I want to win golf tournaments. I’m here to do that,” he said. “But at the same time, I have so much to look forward to. I heard you don’t hit your peak at golf until 31, 33 years old. So I have a long way to go. I have a long career ahead of me. And as long as I stay positive and keep working hard, I should be in pretty good shape.”

Greg Norman will play the Australian Open for the next three years, including this year’s event at New South Wales Golf Club in Sydney.

GREG NORMAN. Picture © Getty Images

Tournament officials made the announcement about Norman on Monday.

The 54-year-old Norman is a five-time Australian Open champion. He last played the Australian Open two years ago, finishing tied for 26th behind winner John Senden at Royal Sydney.

The former No. 1-ranked Norman has been in Australia for about three weeks with his wife, former tennis star Chris Evert.

The two toured bushfire areas of Victoria state on Sunday, their first wedding anniversary, and spoke to some of the survivors of the Feb. 7 fires that killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes.

Two years after putting together the first PGA National on short notice, top-ranked Tiger Woods is back in the shadow of the US capital for his least-heralded golf role - tournament host.

TIGER WOODS. Picture © Getty Images

Woods will be the main attraction and his foundation the chief organizers when the six million-dollar National, a key tuneup event two weeks before the British Open, tees off this Thursday at Congressional Country Club.

Don't imagine that 14-time major champion Woods, who missed last year's event due to left knee surgery, is not hungry to swipe the one million-dollar top prize from his 119 invited rivals just because he's hosting the party.

"Last year I was on the couch wanting to be here," Woods said in an April promotional appearance. "I can't wait to get out there. I'm looking forward to playing and hopefully winning."

Woods joins legends Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in hosting a PGA event two weeks before a major and could complete a mini-slam of sorts by capturing his own tournament this year over the US Independence Day weekend.

Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, taking his first title since returning from an eight-month layoff ahead of a shared sixth-place finish at the Masters.

In early June, Woods won the Nicklaus-hosted Memorial ahead of a sixth-place effort at the US Open.

Woods, whose late father Earl was a member of the Green Berets, will honor the US military all week. Proceeds benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation, which has had an impact on more than 10 million youth since being founded in 1996.

Tough economic times have hit several PGA events but sponsor tents and solid support for Woods are seen all across the 7,255-yard par-70 course, which will play host to the 2011 US Open.

"The financial climate, it makes things a little more interesting," Woods said. "But we have gotten just a tremendous amount of support."

The National will move to suburban Philadelphia in 2010 and 2011 so Congressional can prepare for and host the 2011 US Open, but the tournament will return to Congressional from 2012 to at least 2014.

"We want to come back and play at Congressional as long as Congressional wants us," Woods said. "It's a very historic golf course and one that players love. If you have a great course the players will come."

New US Open champion Lucas Glover will play his third week in a row at Tiger's event with plans to start next week in Illinois and the following week in the British Open at Turnberry.

"I'm going to keep those commitments. I feel that's the right thing to to do," Glover said. "Just because I won a golf tournament doesn't change anything. I'm going to honor that commitment.

"I've got to use it as a springboard. I don't want to fizzle out after one big win. I want to use that as motivation to keep getting better and back in that situation."

Defending champion Anthony Kim shared second in the season-opener at Hawaii but has not cracked the top-10 since. The US standout of Korean descent has shown signs of improvement with a share of 11th last week at Hartford.

"This year has been very frustrating," Kim said. "Definitely was looking for far bigger and better things this year and it hasn't turned out that way. But I'm getting back into good shape."

Kim has struggled with shoulder, ankle and thumb injuries this season.

"The biggest thing was the fact that I wasn't completely healthy and I'm almost there. I've gotten over all those little injuries so now it's just time to work on my swing a little bit more, and start making a couple more putts."

Others in the field include England's Paul Casey, three-time major winner Vijay Singh of Fiji, 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir of Canada, 2003 US Open winner Jim Furyk, 2009 US Open co-runner-up Ricky Barnes, New Zealand teen standout Danny Lee and 2009 US college champion Matt Hill of Canada.

Kenny Perry has set a goal of winning 20 times before he leaves the PGA Tour.

KENNY & SANDY PERRY. Picture © Getty Images

The 48-year-old earned No. 14 on Sunday at the Travelers Championship, shooting a 63 to finish with a tournament-record 258, three strokes better than Paul Goydos and David Toms, two other 40-something golfers.

This was Perry’s 11th victory since his 40th birthday.

“Six more wins is a lot of wins,” he said. “I’ve won three last year, two this year already. Who knows? If I can get hot again, get on one of those streaks and sneak in two more by the end of the year, it might be very realistic.”

The 48-year old Perry, whose bogey-bogey finish at Augusta kept him from winning the Masters in April, tied a course record with a 61 Thursday and led after each of the first two rounds here. But, he trailed by a stroke to Goydos heading into the final round.

He responded by shooting a 32 on the front nine and was up by five strokes heading to the par-4 15th.

Goydos, 45, made a 20-foot eagle putt from the fringe on 15 and birdied 16. But he missed his birdie putt on 17 to the right.

Perry birdied 15, and put the tournament away by making birdie on 17 after hitting a 164-yard approach to within 8 feet.

“Everyone kind of asks about the Augusta hangover deal,” he said. “I guess I kind of shoved that aside a little bit. So that makes me feel pretty good.”

Perry acknowledged he was thinking about the Masters as he played the back nine, and told himself to play aggressive.

“I knew that I had to keep making birdies,” he said. “I wasn’t going to let up. I wasn’t going to play defensive golf. I learned something from that mistake.”

Goydos said he felt he needed to shoot a 63 to win the tournament, but didn’t start playing well until the 15th hole.

“I don’t want to run and hide from that,” he said. “He played like a guy who’s won 14 times. I played more like a guy who’s won twice, especially early in the round.”

Goydos made a 40-foot putt on the seventh hole, but gave two shots back when he bogeyed the par-3 eighth. Perry hit his tee shot to within 3 feet of the pin, and made birdie.

He went four strokes up by sinking a 16-foot birdie on the 10th, while Goydos had another bogey.

Perry takes home just over $1 million with the victory, and has now won five times in just over a year, the most of any player on tour. He has 12 top-10 finishes over that span while making every cut. His 258 is tied for fourth-best 72-hole score in Tour history. It beats the old tournament record of 259 set by Tim Norris is 1982.

The win also moves Perry to the front of the FedEx Cup standings.

Toms, 42, shot his third 65 of the tournament to finish tied with Goydos at 19-under par. He missed a 12-foot birdie putt on 17, after making birdies at 15 and 16 to put himself into contention.

“I didn’t get off to the kind of start that I felt like needed to put pressure on the guys that were ahead of me,” Toms said. “I really felt like I needed to get under par pretty quickly to at least give them something to think about and ultimately just got too far behind on the back nine.”

Ben Curtis, Ryan Moore and Hunter Mahan all finished two strokes behind Goydos and Toms to tie for fourth at 17-under.

“You’d probably think that anywhere from 15 to 20-under would probably win it. I watched the scoreboard a little bit. You got to kind of focus on what everybody’s doing, to see what kind of shots you have to hit.”

Scott Verplank shot a round-best 62 Sunday, one off the course record that he shares, and finished tied for ninth place at 15-under par.

“I knew I’d shot 61 here a few years ago, so obviously you know, I can get it going on this golf course,” he said.

Italy’s Diana Luna hit 18 greens en route to a stunning final round of 68 and claimed her first tour win in five years at the AIB Ladies Irish Open supported by Failte Ireland.

The 26-year-old from Rome gave a master class in links golf on a testing day near Dublin to claim the first prize of €75,000 and the Tipperary Crystal trophy.

She battled through two lengthy fog delays to post four birdies over Portmarnock Links. She carded three birdies going out, on the sixth, seventh and ninth holes for an outward total of 33 before heading back in 35 after a final birdie at the par-five 13th.

Having started the day with a one shot lead, she finished four clear of three players with a winning three-round total of 11-under-par and victory never looked in doubt.

“I am very happy with the way I played. I hit 18 greens and was always putting. I never had to chip the whole way round so it was a great day for me,” said the 2004 Tenerife Ladies Open champion, who finished second three weeks ago in Holland.

She has been working hard on technique with her coach Roger Damiano at Cannes Mougins in recent weeks and estimated that she has put 20 metres on her driving distance since the end of 2008.

“I worked very hard physically and worked on my technique as well, to keep all the fundamentals good and to improve the swing, which helped me a lot on this course. Last year there were a few bunkers that I couldn’t fly with my driver and this year I could fly them easily so actually this year it was like a different course,” she added.  

Luna secured a place in the Evian Masters tournament in France next month, where she will feel right at home as a Cannes resident. She also jumped eight places to second on the LET’s Henderson Money List; a sign of her recent form.

Tied for second on seven-under were Frenchwoman Gwladys Nocera (69), English first year player Florentyna Parker (70) and Swede Sophie Gustafson (71), three-times an Irish Open winner.

“I had a little bit of trouble finding my rhythm after the fog delay but I came back and made a few birdies towards the end. I couldn’t really get anything going. Diana played very solid and hats off to her. I would have liked to give her a little bit more of a run for her money but it was nice to be out in the last group and be in contention again,” Gustafson said.

Nocera’s round of 69 was disappointing by her own high standards, but she said, “I’m much better. I couldn’t have played better but I just didn’t make a putt. ” She will defend at next week’s SAS Ladies Masters in Norway, where she feels she stands a strong chance.

Parker was thrilled to have sealed her career best finish, while Scottish rookie Krystle Caithness (70) was another British amateur who coped well, finishing in outright fifth on six-under-par.

England’s Melissa Reid carded 73 and slipped back to sixth on five-under-par, with Frenchwoman Sophie Giquel in seventh.

Elosegui was seven-under for the day after 12 holes, thanks to a hole-in-one at the 11th, but eventually signed for a 70 and a share of 15th.

Nick Dougherty held off a rampaging Rafa Echenique of Argentina to win the BMW International Open title on Sunday, his third on the European Tour.

Dougherty produced a blistering finale, an eight-under-par 64 for a 22-under-par 266 four-round total. That left him a stroke better than Echenique, whose albatross on 18 saw him home in 27 strokes for a magnificent 62.

A huge crowd had turned up in hope of seeing their home favourite, 51-year-old Bernhard Langer, become the oldest winner on the European Tour.

But they were disappointed, as was the leader for the first three rounds, South African double U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen (71), who had to settle for third place, four behind Dougherty on 270. Langer slipped to 273 after a closing 72.

Picture © Getty Images

Starting the day three strokes behind Goosen, Dougherty quickly caught up with three opening birdies. When Goosen bogeyed the fourth Dougherty led on his own.

While Goosen’s eagle on the ninth briefly put him level with Dougherty, the 27-year-old Englishman took control by picking up four shots in six holes after the turn.

With Goosen faltering and Langer unable to find his best form, Echenique, rifling in a three-iron approach from 243 yards on the final hole, put Dougherty under pressure in the end.

“I’ve had a few chances to win and things have gone against me but by the 15th I told myself this is my time,” the winner told reporters.

“Then I looked at the scoreboard and realised what Rafa had done and thought ‘oh my goodness.’ I was delighted to get the job done but all credit to him. Ten-under-par is some score.”

As well as $392,000 cheque, Dougherty’s victory earned him a start in next month’s British Open at Turnberry by way of a separate money-list for the major which began in early May.

Neither Echenique’s nine-under 27, which would have equalled the tour’s best for nine holes, nor his 62, which would have equalled the course record, counted because preferred-lies were in operation.

A closing bogey left Langer, lying second overnight, in only tied ninth place.

While he returns to the Champions Tour, on which he has won seven times, Langer vowed to make his 20th attempt at winning the BMW title next year at the age of 52.

“If I’m fit and healthy I’ll be back. This course suits me,” Langer said.

Carl Mason completed a hat-trick of De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship titles after easing to a three stroke victory at De Vere Slaley Hall.

Englishman Mason fired a three under par under par final round 69 to capture his 21st European Senior Tour title and close the gap on Tommy Horton’s record of 23 career victories on the over 50s circuit.

Picture © Getty Images

The all-time leading Senior Tour money winner, who also won the championship in 2004 and 2007, continued his sequence of winning in each of the seven seasons he has been on the Senior Tour since joining in 2003.

After extending his three shot overnight lead with two birdies in his opening four holes, Mason had a double bogey after finding the water off on the fifth hole but that proved to be a minor blip as he carded five more birdies.

A double bogey on the last eroded the margin of victory his nine under par total of 279 was enough to hold off Paraguay’s Angel Franco and South African Christopher Williams, who tied for second, and give Mason a belated birthday present, after he celebrated turning 56 on Thursday.

“It was a sweet victory – they all have been,” he said. “I was very pleased with the way I played – I played great.

“I hit two bad shots all day and took double bogeys on them but apart from that I was steady as a rock. I had that winning mode.

“I like that feeling again. It was good. That’s my third PGA Seniors Championship which is nice. It’s a good event to win, a four round event.

“I putted a lot better this week and my game gets better when I do that, I’m convinced of that.”

“I knew I was playing well so when I knocked it into the water on the fifth I wasn’t that bothered as I knew I was hitting the ball well. I was pleased with the way I kept going.”

Mason, who has won the Senior Tour Order of Merit three times, has now set his sights on landing another John Jacobs Trophy after moving from 31st to sixth in the money list, courtesy of the €47,115 first prize.

“I know what I’m like, I need a confidence boost , so once I get that I normally go on a good run and hopefully I will do. It’s nice to get a win again. The Order of Merit is another target to go at. I want to go out and play good golf and do what I know I can do and if I do that I’ll go close.

“It would also be nice to get to Tommy’s record of 23 wins. I’ve come this far so it would nice to get the record.”

Franco closed with a round of 68 to finish runner up for the fourth time on the Senior Tour while Williams, who secured a conditional card at Qualifying School last November, rounded off a fine Senior Tour debut with a 69 for a share of second place on six under par.

Fellow rookie Roger Chapman finished tied sixth after a fine 68 to record his fourth top ten placing in six appearances, while Ian Woosnam was tied tenth after closing with a round of 70 to extend his lead at the top of the Order of Merit.

Play had started four hours late following a fog delay at the Northumberland resort.
 
Leading final scores

279 C Mason (Eng) 73 70 67 69,
 282 C Williams (RSA) 72 70 71 69, A Franco (Par) 69 72 73 68,
 283 G Brand Jnr (Sco) 69 73 71 70, N Job (Eng) 76 71 68 68,
 285 R Chapman (Eng) 74 71 72 68, J Chillas (Sco) 74 69 71 71,
 286 J Heggarty (Nir) 74 69 72 71,
 287 J Bruner (USA) 75 73 70 69,
 288 G Ryall (Eng) 74 74 71 69, B Cameron (Eng) 71 73 72 72, R Drummond (Sco) 76 71 71 70, I Woosnam (Wal) 73 75 71 69, M Cunning (USA) 73 72 71 72, K Spurgeon (Eng) 70 73 74 71, S Ebihara (Jpn) 75 71 74 68,
 289 B Lincoln (RSA) 71 73 74 71, M Williams (Zim) 74 72 73 70, H Carbonetti (Arg) 75 76 69 69, J Quiros (Esp) 71 78 70 70,

A voracious reader, Lucas Glover took a moment to scan the names etched on the walls of the U.S. Open trophy.

Talk about a great ending.

From Hagen to Sarazen, Jones to Hogan, Palmer to Trevino and Nicklaus to Woods, Glover couldn’t put the glistening silver chalice down. The last name on the list, improbable as this seemed a week ago, is now his, a permanent tribute for enduring a grueling week at Bethpage Black better than anyone else.

Glover won the 109th U.S. Open on Monday afternoon, one perfectly timed birdie at the par-4 16th helping seal his two-stroke victory over Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Ricky Barnes. Glover finished at 4-under 276 for the long, damp, oft-delayed week, getting just the second win of his career.

“Here I stand,” Glover said.

There he stood, all right.

He was on the right side of the draw, weather-wise, for the first two rounds, opening with a 69 and then shooting a second-round 64 in rare scoring conditions for a U.S. Open. Glover didn’t break par the rest of the way, shooting 70 in the third round and then closing with a 73 on Monday.

It was good enough, and then some.

“I held it together and that’s important,” Glover said. “The patience thing, I’ve been preaching all week to myself and you guys and everybody else here that asked me what I’m feeling, it paid off.”

So many storylines unfolded during the final round of the Open. There was Duval, who started the day ranked No. 882 in the world, looking for his first win in eight years. There was Barnes, who’ll go down in history as the fourth player to reach double-digits below par in the U.S. Open, wasting a huge lead with a bogey barrage that doomed his chances.

And then there was Mickelson, looking for something that would have been pure Hollywood.

He wasn’t even a lock to play at Bethpage Black. Amy Mickelson, his wife, will begin breast cancer treatment next month. Phil Mickelson won’t play any golf for a while, so his wife sent him to this tournament asking for a truly one-of-a-kind vase for her upcoming hospital stay: A big trophy with curved handles and a little statuette on top.

Lefty almost pulled it off, too. He tied Glover for the lead after an eagle at the par-5 13th, but two bogeys coming in left Mickelson tied for second at the U.S. Open for a record fifth time.

“I think maybe it’s more in perspective for me, because I feel different this time,” Mickelson said. “I don’t know where to go with this, because I want to win this tournament badly.”

A family vacation awaited Mickelson, some badly needed rest and relaxation before Amy Mickelson begins cancer treatment July 1. But first, Mickelson needed to greet his people—hundreds of them, autograph-seekers in the parking lot chanting “Phil! Phil! Phil!” as the world’s No. 2 player signed whatever they wanted for about a half-hour.

Police officers, state troopers and security guards—many of them armed— tried to form a wall to stop the hordes from getting to Mickelson. On the fourth try, they finally got him to his car, where Mickelson then signed autographs for them.

“There’s some more important things going on,” Mickelson said.

Duval thought so, too.

He was the Comeback Kid this week, surviving spats of big trouble in nearly every round, especially Monday when a triple-bogey and a mudball on the front side sent him spiraling downward.

Duval rallied every time, nearly stealing the trophy out of Glover’s grasp. It was his first top 10 since 2002, netting a check for $559,830 that nearly matched what he’s made in the last five years combined.

“It’s very difficult to sit here and say second place is a failure,” said Duval, who led the field with 19 birdies. “It is very much a success. It’s not quite the success I had looked forward to this week and had hoped for, and in some way expected. But success, nonetheless.”

Tiger Woods was 15 shots back in the third round on Sunday. Somehow, he found himself bidding for major No. 15 on Monday.

It didn’t happen, and for the first time in five years, he isn’t the reigning champion at any of the majors.

He was four shots back with four holes to play after a birdie at No. 14, and the ‘Can he do this?’ chatter ended quickly from there. Woods hit a 5-iron over the 15th green to make bogey, and had to settle for a 69 that left him in a tie for sixth, four shots back of Glover.

“I striped it this week,” Woods said. “I hit it just like I did at Memorial, and unfortunately, I didn’t make anything.”

Glover only made one big putt, and that was enough.

He’s got an everyman vibe, a tobacco-chewing, Sinatra-listening 29-year-old from South Carolina who says he tries to be nice to everyone so they can be nice to him. His only win, until now, came when he holed out a bunker shot on the final hole at Disney nearly five years ago.

Glover hit two perfect shots into No. 16 on Monday, then made the birdie that came almost at the same instant Duval made bogey at the par-3 17th, the two-shot swing that proved to be the difference.

An hour later, the trophy was his.

“I hope I don’t downgrade it or anything with my name on there,” Glover quipped. “It’s an honor, and I’m just excited and happy as I can be to be on here.”

After Nick Price’s strong play during the opening day, Toms had eight birdies to lead the pair to the title at the CVS Caremark Charity Classic at the Rhode Island Country Club.

NICK PRICE. Picture © Getty Images

Toms and Price shot a second-round 11-under 60 on Tuesday as they won the best-ball tournament with a combined 36-hole total of 16-under 126.

Toms accounted for eight of the team’s 11 birdies on Tuesday as the pair earned the top prize money of $300,000.

Toms and Price finished three strokes ahead of the second-place team of Matt Kuchar and Laura Diaz, who shot 13-under 129.

“We both played really well the last 27 holes,” Toms said. “The way my partner played on the back nine Monday, I’ll remember that for a long time. He shot 29 and kind of carried me around.

“I owed it to (Price) after the way he played yesterday. I knew I had to come out today and play well for us to have a chance,” Toms said.

Price accounted for six birdies in the team’s first-round total of 5-under 66.

A World Golf Hall of Fame member, Price has 18 career victories on the PGA Tour. He’s won three CVS Caremark Charity Classics while Tuesday’s victory was the first for Toms.

“I missed a couple of short putts but (Toms) just played so well today,” Price said. “I was just going along for the ride. I said to him ‘Now, I know how you felt yesterday.”’

The PGA Tour is broadcast to more than 230 countries in 35 languages with a maximum reach of just under 600 million homes. For the moment, it has gone dark in an important part of the world.

Irish-based Setanta Sports, which had broadcast rights to the PGA Tour among other sports in Britain, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday and said it will soon stop broadcasting to customers in Britain.

Setanta’s contract with the PGA Tour started in 2007 and was to expire in 2012.

“The PGA Tour is disappointed that Setanta has gone into administration,” the PGA Tour said in a statement, referring to the British term for bankruptcy. “Our main focus going forward will be to immediately and aggressively explore all options that will ensure that the PGA Tour will continue to be made available on television in the U.K.”

Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said Setanta would be off the air Tuesday night, meaning the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn., would not be televised in Britain this week until the tour can replace Setanta.

Sky Sports previously had the PGA Tour rights for Britain, and it continues to broadcast the majors and the World Golf Championships through an agreement with the European Tour. Other options for the PGA Tour could include Eurosport and ESPN, which now has a presence in Europe to television Premier League soccer, among other things.

ESPN has not televised the PGA Tour in the United States since 2006, except for the majors.

“I don’t think we’re going to be off long,” Votaw said. “We think we have a valuable product, an attractive product. We have a lot of international players, including players from the U.K., and it’s shown in prime time.”

Votaw declined to say how much Setanta paid for PGA Tour broadcast rights, only that it was a “lucrative agreement.” He said it had paid the tour for its first 2 1/2 years.

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

There was no smile, just a look of resignation as Phil Mickelson trudged wearily up the muddy slope off the 18th green. He was finally finished in a U.S. Open that seemed like it would never end, and the shouts of support coming from the bleachers were never going to mask the realization that another chance had slipped away.

 
PHIL MICKELSON. Picture © Getty Images

Mickelson had somehow found yet another way to lose the one tournament he wants so desperately to win. He would leave without the trophy his ailing wife wanted him to bring home.

He knew this role well, having played it five times now, more than any other golfer in U.S. Open history. That didn’t make it any easier, but this time it would be different.

It had to be, because now there was some perspective. Now he understood that there are heartbreaking losses and, well, just plain heartbreak.

“Certainly I’m disappointed,” Mickelson said. “But now that it’s over, I’ve got more important things going on.”

All of New York, it seemed, was rooting him on, because all of them knew what those more important things are.

Amy Mickelson will undergo exploratory surgery for breast cancer on July 1, and Mickelson will be gone from golf for a while. The perfect way to leave would have been as the Open champion, and for a time Monday it looked like he would finally break through and do just that.

He came from five back to tie for the lead with an eagle on the 13th hole that sent the crowd into a frenzy. It seemed like he was destined to win, destined to turn a long and sometimes miserable U.S. Open into one we might never forget.

A few holes behind, Lucas Glover heard the noise and knew what it meant.

“I guess it’s like what they used to say at Augusta; you could hear a `Jack roar’ at Augusta,” Glover said. “You can hear a `Phil roar.’ I knew something was going on.”

Unfortunately for Mickelson, it didn’t go on long. His old nemesis—the missed 3-footer—cost him a bogey two holes later and his chances pretty much evaporated when he couldn’t get up-and-down from just short of the green on the par-3 17th.

He would tie David Duval and Ricky Barnes for second, two strokes back. That usually gets a consolation prize of a silver medal, but the USGA had only one to split between the three of them—and Mickelson wasn’t all that interested anyway.

“He said, `I got four, I’m plenty good,”’ Barnes said later.

Amy Mickelson didn’t want the silver medal, either. She had left her husband hints about bringing back the Open silver trophy so she could have something to decorate her hospital room with.

Once again, he came agonizingly close to delivering.

Mickelson had made the decision to play only a few weeks earlier after tests showed that Amy’s cancer had been caught early and was likely very treatable. The golf course was supposed to be his refuge, but she was never going to be far from his thoughts and those of the vocal New York fans.

On his way to the course Monday, Mickelson couldn’t have helped but notice a bedsheet strung between two poles in the front yard of a home just outside Bethpage State Park.

“God bless Amy,” it read. “Good luck Phil.”

That pretty much summed up the relationship with fans who adopted Mickelson the last time the Open was here seven years ago and showed him even more love this time. They roared every time he hit a good shot, groaned collectively when he missed a putt, and shouted encouraging words as he walked down the fairway.

As he approached the 18th green and a birdie putt that would have at least made things interesting, they clapped and sang to him as if they were at a Mets game.

“Let’s go, Phil. Let’s go, Phil.”

One reason they love him here is because he pays them back. On a day when he had every reason to frown, he smiled his way around Bethpage, waving and giving a thumbs-up to anyone who grabbed his attention.

When it was all over, he stood and signed autographs until, it seemed, everyone who had a ticket had his signature. Then he signed some more for the New York state troopers who escorted him to his car.

Then it was off to the airport and his private jet. The plan was to pick up Amy and the kids for a family vacation before her surgery, then play it by ear after that.

Before leaving, though, there were questions to answer. He talked about the week, the fans at Bethpage, and his disappointment at not being able to finish things off.

Finally, he was asked to describe his emotions, a task that on this day he just wasn’t up to.

“I don’t really know where to go with that,” Mickelson said. “Just that there’s some more important things going on.”