World number two Phil Mickelson, third-ranked Ernie Els and fourth-ranked Adam Scott will lead a strong field in the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond in July. Mickelson and Els, a double winner of the British Open warm-up event, return after finishing second and third respectively last year behind Frenchman Gregory Havret.
Spaniard Sergio Garcia, steadily regaining confidence in his putting, took advantage of an early tee-off time to seize a two-stroke lead in the Players Championship first round on Thursday. Seeking his first PGA Tour title in almost three years, Garcia fired a sparkling six-under-par 66 at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass.
For someone who's on top of the world, Trevor Immelman has lately spent a lot of time looking up. One day after becoming the Masters champion, Immelman was courtside at Madison Square Garden for the Boston Celtics' 99-93 victory over the New York Knicks.
One of the many joys attached to attending the Masters is watching the local television coverage. The biggest joy of all is the now established tradition that, starting on Monday at 6.30am, some poor sod masquerading as a traffic reporter has to set up a pitch at the side of the four-lane highway that runs menacingly in front of the Augusta National Golf Club.
Tiger Woods opens his quest for an unprecedented Grand Slam of golf at Augusta National on Thursday, carrying the lowest odds ever for a player at the outset of a Major. The world number one is quoted at evens or just above evens to win a fifth Green Jacket, with the next best being two-time winner Phil Mickelson.
Tiger Woods needed 20 holes to subdue Australian Aaron Baddeley on Friday and reach the quarterfinals of the $8-million WGC Accenture Match-Play Championship. It was the second hard-fought win in three days for Woods, who avoided a first-round upset on Wednesday.
As much as golf looked the same in 2007, some of the greatest triumphs were long overdue. Until a dramatic and calamitous Sunday on the cruel links of Carnoustie, the only time Padraig Harrington had reason to wave the Irish flag was during the Ryder Cup or perhaps a World Cup.
Ernie Els's miserable week continued with a second-round collapse at the Singapore Open on Friday, the South African's 76 leaving him six-over for the tournament and likely to miss the cut. The world number four lost in a play-off to Australia's Adam Scott here last year and came into the $4-million event as one of the favourites.
Phil Mickelson made a smooth transition to the rigours of Asian golf on Thursday to lurk two off the pace alongside KJ Choi after the opening round of the Barclays Singapore Open. The world number two, in a rare outing to the region, fired five birdies in his three-under-par 68 to remain in touch with a trio of overnight leaders.
United States Open winner Angel Cabrera forced a play-off with an 18th-hole eagle, then birdied the third extra hole on Wednesday to beat Irishman Padraig Harrington and capture the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. The 38-year-old Argentine veteran fired his second consecutive two-under par 68 at the four-man, 36-hole showdown.
British Open champion Padraig Harrington had little time to enjoy the turquoise coastline below the Mid-Ocean Club, struggling to a three-under 67 and a one-shot lead on Tuesday in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. "I was struggling with my game, so my head was very much down," Harrington said.
Ernie Els rejuvenated his stalled career with an emphatic record seventh victory in the final of the World Match-Play Championship on Wentworth's West Course on Sunday. A combination of inspired putting and creative scrambling saw the South African overwhelm Angel Cabrera of Argentina to claim the million-pound winner's cheque.
Ernie Els moved a step closer to the million-pound winner's cheque and an unprecedented seventh world match-play title at Wentworth, following a hard-fought semifinal victory over Henrik Stenson of Sweden. The South African will now play United States Open champion Angel Cabrera.
Ernie Els of South Africa remained on course for a seventh world match-play championship, with a six and five victory over Andres Romero of Argentina at Wentworth that booked a semifinal confrontation on Saturday with Henrik Stenson of Sweden. "I played well when I needed to," Els said.
Three tense last-hole foursomes triumphs on Thursday sparked the United States to a 5½ to ½ edge over the Internationals at the Presidents Cup, matching the largest first-session lead in its history. The Americans nabbed the biggest first-session edge since they grabbed 5-0 leads on their way to victories over their non-European rivals in 1994 and 2000.
