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NERVES IN CHECK: American holds off Chappell to win Memorial by two shots; Woods is 20 adrift

Kuchar, however, reigned supreme on perhaps the easiest day for scoring in easing winds after a challenging week at Muirfield Village where strong gusts and lightning-fast greens had posed all sorts of problems for the players.

Having clinched one of the biggest victories of his career at the WGC-Accenture Matchplay Championship in February, Kuchar emulated Woods as a multiple champion this season and pocketing the winner’s check for US$1.116 million (RM3.45 million).

“It’s a real honour to win this tournament,” Kuchar said to 18-time major champion Nicklaus as he was greeted with a handshake by his long-time idol after walking off the 18th green.

“This is such an amazing feeling,” Kuchar, who will rise to a career-high fourth in the world rankings, later told CBS Sports.

Kuchar made a fast start to the final round, sinking a 14-foot birdie putt at the par-four first to move three strokes clear.

However, he succumbed to the lurking danger on the slick greens when he recorded a three-putt bogey at the par-three fourth, missing a three-footer to slip back to eight under.

Scott Stallings, who had reeled off five consecutive birdies from the fourth, briefly closed to within a stroke of the lead when he sank a seven-foot birdie putt at the par-four 10th.

Kuchar countered with two-putt birdies at the par-five fifth and the par-five seventh to regain a three-shot cushion before reaching the turn in two-under 34.

At that point, he was one ahead of Stanley, who had birdied the fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth.

Kuchar benefited from a two-shot swing at the par-five 11th where he rolled in a 14-footer for birdie to lead by three after Stanley, who ended up under the lip of a fairway bunker off the tee, bogeyed the hole.

With none of his closest challengers applying any sustained pressure, Kuchar increased his advantage to four with another two-putt birdie at the par-five 15th.

Kuchar bogeyed the par-three 16th after his tee shot ran through the fringe into tangly grass from where his chip ended 14 feet beyond the hole and his lead was cut to two when Chappell sank a 20-footer to birdie the 17th.

Though Chappell struck a superb approach to just two feet at the last to set up his fourth birdie of the round, Kuchar matched him when he stunningly sank his attempt from 20 feet.

Woods, who began the day 16 strokes off the pace after struggling with his putting over the first three rounds, came badly unstuck with a triple-bogey at the par-three 12th, his third hole of the day.

However, five birdies in his last 13 holes gave himself something to build on as he now prepares for the second major of the year, the June 13-16 US Open at Merion.

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DUBLIN, Ohio- When Jack Nicklaus talks, anyone with an interest in golf is well advised to listen and the 18-times major winner delivered in spades as he weighed in on several topics ahead of this week’s Memorial Tournament.

Tournament host of the PGA Tour event staged at Muirfield Village Golf Club, Nicklaus gave reporters his opinions on the recent spat between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia, the venue for next month’s U.S. Open and the state of the game in general.

Nicklaus also explained the rationale behind the impressive reconstruction of the massive clubhouse at Muirfield Village, which now forms a horseshoe behind the 18th green as it links up with the media pavilion and the hospitality suites.

“The Sergio-Tiger thing, it’s stupid,” Nicklaus said in the media interview room on Wednesday, referring to the racist “fried chicken” jibe made by Garcia last week at the expense of the world number one Woods.

“I mean, do guys have an issue one with another? They usually resolve it themselves. You guys want to resolve it in the newspapers today. Nobody needs that. And I think they both finally said it’s enough. Forget it, guys. Let’s move on.”

Spaniard Garcia apologised profusely for his “stupid and out of place” comment during the European Tour‘s Player of the Year awards in England last week and said he regretted it the moment he made it.

Fourteen-times major winner Woods, whose relationship with Garcia is frosty at best, was initially in an unforgiving mood over the racial stereotyping but on Wednesday he said he had moved on.

“That’s already done with,” Woods told reporters at Muirfield Village ahead of Thursday’s opening round.

According to Nicklaus, players in the modern game have to operate inside a media “fishbowl” where nothing is sacred, something he never had to contend with when in his own prime.

“In our days I suppose there were times when you had an issue with somebody and it came about, you never read about it,” said the 73-year-old, long been known as the ‘Golden Bear.’ “There weren’t 20 people sitting around for one guy to write it.

“For the most part, today you’re in a fish bowl. You guys write about something, news services are sent all over the place and there’s a lot of mountains made out of mole hills.

“It’s a different day. Everybody is there and everything is public. So I don’t blame the guys sometimes for being a little quiet.”

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PARADISE ISLANDS, Bahamas — Paola Moreno is blocking out everything about this strange week except for the next shot. She wound up with another bogey-free round on the shortened course Saturday and took the lead into the final round of the Bahamas LPGA Classic.

Moreno made a couple of 25-foot birdie putts and added two more birdies for a 4-under 41. The Colombian had a one-shot lead over Lindsey Wright, who made seven birdies for a 7-under 38.

“I am just focused on what I can control right now,” said Moreno, who was at 9-under 81. “The only thing that matters right now is the first tee shot on No. 1 — or No. 10, whatever hole we’re playing tomorrow. And I’m just excited to be there.”

Cristie Kerr did enough to at least get in range. She was among 10 players within three shots of the lead, though they have six fewer holes to make up ground.

Because of severe flooding earlier in the week on the Ocean Club, the LPGA Tour is using the holes available. In this case, it’s a 12-hole course that starts on the back nine at No. 10, jumps over to the front nine for four holes that are out of order, heads over to a stretch on the back nine and finishes along the ocean at No. 8.

The final round now goes from a par 45 to a par 47.

The par-5 18th hole is in good enough shape to be playing as the closing hole, giving this inaugural event at least some semblance of normality. It will replace No. 4, which also is a par 5 but has been played as a par 3 because of a bunker caved in by the rain.

The best thing Moreno achieved on a sun-filled Saturday — at least as far as the tournament was concerned — was finishing.

It was critical for all the players to finish two rounds (24 holes) going into the final round or it would have been unlikely to complete 36 holes by Sunday to make this official. The LPGA Tour was determined to play an official event for Pure Silk and the Bahamas Tourism Ministry, the two title sponsors of this new tournament.

Stacy Lewis, the No. 2 player, was trying to get close to the leaders and isn’t sure she did enough. Two late birdies gave her a 3-under 42, though she was five shots behind. That feels like a larger deficit given the shortened course.

“It’s strange,” Lewis said. “By the time you get into a rhythm, the round is over. You can make a lot of birdies. You just have to get off to a good start.”

Wright proved that, using a simple approach similar to Moreno.

The Australian didn’t realize she finished her round with six straight 3s on her jumbled scorecard. She could name the holes where she made her seven birdies until calling her caddie over for help. She just knows she played some pretty good golf.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” Wright said. “I just play. That’s probably how we should do it all the time.”

Inbee Park played a game that didn’t resemble the No. 1 player in the world, at least not the closing holes. She played the last four holes in 8 over.

It started when she was left of the 14th green (the ninth hole) when she went to play a chip and her caddie realized he left the club on an adjacent par 3. She barely reached the green and made bogey. Then, she fanned her tee shot on the par-3 second (No. 10) some 30 yards right of the green. It really turned ugly on the next par 3, with a lake that should not have come into play with a back pin. Park hit 4-iron twice into the water, coming up some 40 yards short of the flag. She finally made quintuple-bogey 8.

Park finished with a fairway metal that she snap-hooked into the ocean.

The Ocean Club appears to have nearly recovered, though a few holes aren’t suitable to play. And because there is no cut this week — the LPGA Tour felt that would be unfair after only 24 holes — the decision was to keep it at 12 holes to make sure everyone finished.

Going to Monday was not an optional because several players have U.S Women’s Open qualifying early next week.

“Look, the way I see it, it’s the same for everyone,” Wright said. “There’s always complaining. You just can’t have a tournament without that. I think it’s a shame, because the course on Monday, Tuesday, it was brilliant. It’s a shame we’re playing 12 holes, but I think for the Bahamas and for Pure Silk, it’s the right thing to do. We’re here to play golf. We’re not here to party. Do that early on in the week.”

Kerr is coming off a win two weeks ago in Kingsmill and hopes to keep the momentum going as the tour heads into a big part of the season. There are three majors in the next few months, capped by a return to St. Andrews.

“It feels like a shootout,” Kerr said. “We only have 12 holes every day, and you’ve got to go as low as you can. I did my job today.”

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Golf’s two governing bodies, the Royal and Ancient (R&A) and the United States Golf Association (USGA) finally announced their decision on anchoring long putters on Tuesday.

They are banned.

Starting in 2016, no club will be allowed to be anchored by the body. While long clubs will still be allowed, they must swing freely away from the player’s chest, stomach or chin.

Controversy over these so called belly-putters started shortly after Paul Azinger began using one on the PGA Tour in 1999. The initial concern was that by anchoring the putter up against one’s body, it would eliminate a competitive aspect of the game. Enthusiast worried the club would make jittery hands obsolete and take nerves out of the stroke. It would also solve stroke problems for someone who could not master having too much movement of their wrists, shoulders or elbows.

Once pro’s such as Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh started using the “belly-putters” and showed marked improvement in their short game, calls for the long putters to be banned as an unfair advantage started.

Gary Player welcomed the announcement and expressed what many of those who wanted to see the ban were feeling.

“Must congratulate the R&A,” he said. “I think three years is a long time — I think one year would have been right but I’m not going to argue with it.

”I spent hours and hours training my mind to have good nerves under pressure. The long putter takes away the nerves, it allows you to hide the nerves and nerves are an integral part of the game of golf.”

The decision to investigate the long putter to see if it did provide a player with an advantage came in November 2012, after three of the previous five champions used anchored putters- Keegan Bradley US PGA Championship, Webb Simpson US Open and Ernie Els British Open.

Since the discussions started in November, Adam Scott won The Masters using an anchored long putter.

Players who anchor their putters believe that they gain no meaningful advantage and should be allowed to continue using them.

Despite the ruling, debate on the issue continues.

The PGA responded to the announcement by saying that they were very disappointed with the rule change and that they will do their own evaluation to determine if their tournaments will adopt the rule or not.

The PGA Tour said it will need to discuss their position with members of the Player Advisory Council and Policy Board.

The PGA runs is its own organization and is not required to comply with the USGA rules. Until now, however, the PGA has adopted USGA rules, and different decisions on the putters would constitute a major separation between the organizations.

Emotions are running deep on this issue and a great deal of money is at stake for the highest ranked players. Winning a major tournament is worth between $6 and $9 million each.

Bradley Keegan has suggested that he might consider legal action over the matter, although it is not clear who he would sue or what for.

Just this afternoon, additional players have come forward stating that they are exploring their options with legal counsel.

It is hard to believe that the PGA will not go along with the USGA’s rules although they have made it clear that they were hoping for a different outcome.

The USGA only governs golf in the United States and Mexico, while the R&A controls everywhere else and there is not much of an outcry about the ban coming out of the R&A areas. Therefore, all of the tours outside of the US in 2016 will forbid anchored putters.

If the PGA were to allow the “belly-putters,” a player would have to switch back and forth between clubs for his short game throughout the season.

That would mean that at the US Open, British Open and Senior Open, a player would need to use traditional clubs and let’s face it, Augusta is not big on going against the grain so they very well might enforce USGA rules at the Masters as well. That would make three out of four majors abiding by the ban.

USGA president Glen Nager hopes that the PGA will adopt the USGA decision. “We hope that these organizations will continue their past behavior of playing by a single set of rules for the good of the game,” Nager said. “A game that’s growing globally, that will be going to the Olympics and needs one set of rules to thrive.”

“I just believe the art of putting is swinging the club and controlling nerves,” 14-times major champion Tiger Woods said.

“Having it as a fixed point … is something that’s not in the traditions of the game. We swing all other 13 clubs. I think the putter should be the same.”

Woods, the number one player in the world and the number two player, Rory McIlroy do not use anchored putters and support the ban.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus have never had a conversation longer than a couple of minutes, and rarely about golf. Maybe it’s because they already think along the same lines when it comes to winning tournaments.

The Players Championship was another example of how Woods rarely beats himself.

Nicklaus was under the oak tree at Augusta National last month after hitting his ceremonial tee shot when he talked about one that got away, the first time he had a share of the lead going into the final round of a major and didn’t win. It was the 1971 Masters, and he found the water trying to reach the 15th green with a 3-wood.

“I don’t like to waste a tournament on one shot,” Nicklaus said. “If I was today thinking about strategy of what I wanted to do on that, I probably wouldn’t have done it. I put myself out of the tournament. One shot shouldn’t be a shot that puts you out of the tournament.”

The island green on the TPC Sawgrass is nothing like the 15th at Augusta National, but it’s hard not to think about Nicklaus when reviewing the hole that settled a weekend duel between Woods and Sergio Garcia.

Woods was standing on the 17th tee Sunday when he looked over and saw Garcia approaching the par-5 16th green with a putter in hand, realizing he was there in two and at worst would make birdie to tie Woods for the lead.

The pin was in its traditional Sunday location, the back right corner behind the bunker. Finding land is always the priority. From there, it’s a bonus to catch the ridge that feeds the golf ball down a gentle slope toward the hole.

“The thing is, you can get baited into hitting it over there, and that’s the hard part,” Woods said. “I thought that the prudent play for me was hit it in the center of the green, even left-center, and try and hit kind of a pull-cut. It I hit a pull-cut, it’s going to have a little bit of distance to it, and it might have the shape where it might land up on top and feed down. But when I hit it, a little bit of gust came up and it stalled out.”

The ball stayed on the front of the green, leaving a difficult putt from 45 feet. Woods hit a lot of good putts that didn’t go in Sunday. This might have been the best putt that he wasn’t expecting to go in. The pace was perfect, 3 feet away, and he made his par. Mission accomplished.

Garcia, who two-putted for birdie on the 16th, was standing on the 17th tee watching Woods make his par.

The Spaniard won The Players Championship in 2008 in a playoff on the 17th hole. Paul Goydos came up short and in the water, Garcia found the green.

This wasn’t a playoff.

Garcia, however, went at the flag and posed over the shot until he saw the splash.

“As the ball was in the air I was thinking, ‘Please be right,’ because it was straight at it,” Garcia said. “It was probably 3 feet left of the hole. When it splashed, you think, ‘Well, hopefully I hit a good shot after this and make 4 and still have a chance on the next.’ It’s pretty much as simple as that.”

Only it wasn’t that simple. His next shot bounced off the mound framing a bunker and caromed back into the water. He wound up with a quadruple-bogey 7. Adding to his misery, Garcia put his tee shot into the water on the 18th for a double bogey.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA, May 9 (Reuters) – Roberto Castro proved himself a sterling student as he followed up a tutorial with 2012 winner Matt Kuchar with a record-tying 63 on Thursday to take the lead at the Players Championship.

Unheralded 27-year-old Castro put his name alongside record holders Greg Norman and Fred Couples with a nine-under-par score on the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course following a practice round with fellow Georgia Tech alumnus Kuchar.

Seven birdies and an eagle propelled the red-haired nephew of former LPGA player Jenny Lidback of Peru, who held a three-shot lead over Rory McIlroy and Zach Johnson with world number one Tiger Woods a further shot back.

“I played with Kuchar yesterday, which helped because obviously the guy has gone around the course and won,” said Castro, a 2011 graduate of the Web.com Tour who has made just seven of 14 cuts on the PGA Tour this season.

Castro, ranked 267th, said there was no single revelation he drew from the practice session.

“Just little things here and there,” he said. “It’s always interesting to watch what he does around the greens, or any player that’s had a lot of success.

“Where he practices his chipping from, putting from,” Castro said. “And he’s fun. He keeps it light out there. If my attitude would be like Kuchar’s more often, it would probably be a little better.”

Practicing with Kuchar and Australian Geoff Ogilvy, a former U.S. Open winner, put Castro in the right frame of mind.

“Kuchar and Geoff Ogilvy both are great players, veteran guys. Just kind of got the feel of going about their business and trying to figure out the golf course,” he said.

Castro figured out a winning formula, hitting all but one fairway and using laser-like irons to set up six birdie putts within five feet, including four within two feet.

His 13-foot, downhill putt on his last hole for a record-setting 62 slid four feet past the cup.

Castro was so efficient with his irons that he did not have to attempt a single putt over 10 feet in his round.

It was not Castro’s first 63 in a PGA tournament.

He posted an opening nine-under 63 at the 2013 Humana Challenge before finishing tied for 37th. A final-round seven-under 63 at the 2012 Greenbrier Classic gave him a tie for seventh for his only PGA Tour top 10.

But Thursday’s record-tying round was something Castro could only imagine before putting his lessons into practice, leading a reporter to ask about the dream foursome he listed on the PGA Tour website – Bobby Jones, Tiger Woods and John Lennon.

“I was a big Beatles fan, specifically Lennon,” he said. “I doubt he ever even picked up a golf club, but one of the most interesting historical figures, in my opinion.”

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Phil Mickelson has won three green jackets, and he was the one asking all the questions yesterday during a practice round at the Masters.

In his group was Augusta National’s newest member, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

“Awesome,” Mickelson said after playing 18 holes with his agent and Augusta members Rice and Lee Styslinger.

“She’s one of my favourite people to be around. She’s so knowledgeable and interesting to talk to. I always learn so much. When I saw she became a member, one of the first things I did was schedule a game close to Masters time. The fact she’s here, we were able to work it out. It was really cool.”

Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore made history in August when they became the first women invited to join the home of the Masters.

Moore is not expected until later in the week.

Rice had lunch with Mickelson and then donned her green jacket to meet with other members on the practice range. Even though she has been a member for more than seven months, it was no less striking to see her in the elegantly tapered jacket that for eight decades had been worn only by men.

She slipped away without taking questions, which is not unusual. Members don’t typically give interviews during the week of the Masters.

Mickelson couldn’t stop talking about her, especially her putting.

They played a $10 game in which they rotated partners every six holes, and it ended on a big note when Rice made what Mickelson described as a 12-metre putt with about 5.4 metres of break on the final hole. That gave her a net birdie

“Perfect pace,” Mickelson said. “Her speed, touch, being able to read the greens. She’s one of the better members on the greens that I’ve seen.”

“Every once in a while,” Rice said as Mickelson gushed.

Sunday before the Masters is the last day members have the same access to the course as the players, and they occasionally play in the same group. Tiger Woods teed off with Steve Stricker and US Amateur Public Links champion T.J. Vogel as Rice was finishing.

She walked over to the first tee to greet Woods, and they spent a few minutes chatting before Woods teed off. Woods spent two years at Stanford.

Rice became the first black woman to be a Stanford provost in 1993, and she now is a professor of political economy at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

She’s also one of the Cardinals’ biggest sports fans, along with being a member of the US Golf Association‘s nominating committee.

This day was just about golf except for Mickelson’s inquiring mind.

Lefty was asked if their round ever reached a point that he hounded Rice with too many questions.

Mickelson laughed and said, “She kept asking me about the golf course, and I kept asking her about countries.”

“It was really fun,” he said. “And she can really putt.”

Told about what Mickelson said, Rice laughed and said, “He’s such a good friend. I’ve known him for years.”

Rice on the golf course and later in a green jacket attracted the most attention on an otherwise lazy day before one of the biggest weeks of the year.

Zach Johnson gave his caddie, Damon Green, the treat of a lifetime by inviting him to play.

Graeme McDowell played with his University of Alabama-Birmingham golf bag in a game with Brandt Snedeker and Toby Wilt, an Augusta member who was Snedeker’s winning partner at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

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RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) – Natalie Gulbis is returning to play in the Kraft Nabisco Championship after recovering from malaria.

Infected by a mosquito during the LPGA Thailand event, Gulbis withdrew after the first round the following week in Singapore. She hoped to return two weeks ago in Carlsbad at the Kia Classic, but was back in the doctor’s office after a practice round.

”It’s been a pretty rough month,” Gulbis said Wednesday, a day before the start of play in the first major championship of the year. ”I’ve been trying to play, and then I’ll fall back and rest for a couple of days, and then I try to play again, and I’m back to square one. Hopefully, I’m past that part and I’m doing better every day.

”I’m just so excited to be back. Not only to be back here in this event, but back playing golf. I mean, yesterday was the first time I’ve played 18 holes since Singapore, and I really missed being on the golf course.”

She was looking forward to playing in 90-degree heat at Mission Hills.

”I love the heat,” Gulbis said. ”I’m a California girl who went to school in Arizona and lives in Las Vegas. So the heat feels great and I love being out in the heat. This is a good test for everybody out here this week. It’s going to be hot. It’s a major championship. It’s a tough golf course, and we have to be well prepared.”

The 30-year-old Gulbis won the 2007 Evian Masters for her lone LPGA Tour title.

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HUMBLE, Texas (AP) – Steve Wheatcroft hates going to Monday qualifiers. He was reminded Friday why they can be worth it.

Wheatcroft, who narrowly qualified for the Houston Open at the start of the week, ran off three straight birdies early in his round and kept bogeys off his card for a second straight 5-under 67. That gave him a one-shot lead over D.A. Points and Jason Kokrak going into the weekend at Redstone Golf Club.

Rory McIlroy also will be around for two more days, but just barely.

In only his 10th full round of the year, McIlroy walked onto the seventh green – his 16th hole of the day – and saw that he was tied for 77th. He two-putted from 85 feet on the fringe for birdie on his next hole, and then safely found the green at the par-3 ninth for a 70. By the end of the day, McIlroy made the cut on the number.

”It a weekend where I can have a couple more rounds and try and get confidence in what I’m doing,” McIlroy.

His big surprise came later. McIlroy, feeling as though he needs more rounds to get ready for the Masters, decided to enter the Texas Open next week.

Phil Mickelson also made the cut on the number after a bogey on the last hole for a 71. Mickelson, who has played the Masters with two drivers in the bag, decided to play Redstone on Friday with two 3-woods in the bag, though one of them is so strong it acts like a driver.

”If I can play like I did the back nine, I’m going to give myself a lot of birdie chances,” Mickelson said.

Wheatcroft can’t bank on anything.

Not only does he have no status on the PGA Tour, he has only conditional status in the minor leagues. After missing out on a Web.com Tour event last week in Louisiana, he figured he might as well enter the Houston Open qualifier Monday.

”Monday qualifiers are terrible. They’re just not fun, plain and simple,” Wheatcroft said. ”I was on the PGA Tour in ’07, played terribly. I had no status. So I had to be back to Monday qualifiers and pre-qualifiers the next year. I hate them.”

Wheatcroft had some good sessions with swing coach Matt Killen, felt his game was getting better in the last month, and figured it was all about timing. He made it by one shot into the field, and he’s playing well against a strong field at Redstone.

He was at 10-under 134, the first time he has ever been atop the leaderboard on the PGA Tour. The tournament is only halfway over, and Wheatcroft has been around long enough to not look too far ahead. Even so, this has Cinderella ramifications.

Wheatcroft can become the first Monday qualifier to win on the PGA Tour since Arjun Atwal at the Wyndham Championship in August 2010. A win would put him into the Masters for the first time, and perhaps more importantly, give him a two-year exemption.

A pair of 67s has given him confidence. A career bouncing around tours has given him perspective that it can all change.

”If I can be on top of the leaderboard at this point, I know I can keep playing well,” he said. ”There’s no reason to think I can’t. I’ve never won on the PGA Tour. I’ve won on the Web.com Tour – I’ve won by 12. I know I can keep going forward. Who knows? I could shoot 61 tomorrow. I could shoot 81 tomorrow. I really don’t know. I’m not going to sit here and think about it too much. I’m going to think about the first tee ball and we’ll go from there.”

Points had a 71 with 17 pars and one birdie. He didn’t make anything on the greens, which he attributed to his putting stroke and firm, afternoon greens instead of the old putter he once borrowed from his mother.

”I made everything yesterday and made nothing today,” Points said. ”To be one shot back and be right in the mix is huge.”

Kokrak at a 69 and will play in the final group with Wheatcroft, whom he knows well.

”I’m happy for him,” Kokrak said. ”I’m happy he’s doing well. Hopefully, I can go out there and overtake the lead. Hopefully, I overtake him late Sunday.”

Stewart Cink, winless since the British Open in 2009, showed more signs of getting his game on track. Cink contended in the Humana Challenge on late Sunday afternoon, and feels as if he’s getting closer. He had a 66 and was tied for fourth with Brian Davis (70). Two-time major champion Angel Cabrera, the Argentine who has a home at Redstone, had a 72 and was four shots behind, along with Bill Haas (70) and Cameron Tringale (73).

Also lurking was Dustin Johnson, who threw away careless shots but was still only five shots out of the lead.

McIlroy remains a work in progress. He started slowly, not giving himself many birdie chances and hitting tee shots some 20 and 30 yards short of Johnson and Keegan Bradley. But the 23-year-old from Northern Ireland made birdie on the par-5 15th, followed with an 18-foot birdie on the 16th, and then cut loose with a tee shot that was some 20 yards beyond where Johnson hit his drive.

That wasn’t an accident. McIlroy tends to hold back early in his round until he gets more comfortable with his scoring.

”The game is fickle,” he said. ”You make a couple of birdies, a few good shots, and your confidence goes up. A few bad ones, and it goes down a bit. I hit a couple of drive, and 17 is a good example, when I let it go and it’s fine. It gets out there.”

McIlroy said he hasn’t played enough tournaments to get into that groove, and he was at least happy to have two more chances at the Houston Open. He headed to the practice range after lunch, and then decided to make sure he played some more by signing up for the Texas Open.

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On the evening of March 17, Stacy Lewis officially became the top-ranked female golfer on earth.

The occasion was largely symbolic. Lewis has been the best player on the LPGA Tour for not quite a year now and has won six times since the start of the 2012 season.

It took her that long to overtake Yani Tseng, who held the top spot for more than two years but hasn’t won in a year, in part due to injury issues and in part perhaps due to the unending scrutiny that goes with the No. 1 position.

Lewis, the reigning LPGA Player of the Year, is just the second American to ascend to the top spot since the Rolex women’s rankings were introduced in 2006. The first was Cristie Kerr, who led for five weeks in the summer of 2010.

Since then, Jiyai Shin and Ai Miyazato have taken their turns in the top slot before Tseng climbed the ladder early in 2011 and refused to let go for 109 consecutive weeks.

It’s unlikely that Lewis will stay at the top as long as Tseng; the depth of talent on the LPGA Tour precludes that from happening.

A more likely scenario is one in which Lewis, Tseng, Miyazato, Na Yeon Choi, and perhaps one or two other players still to be determined, take turns at the head of the pack, like a team of cyclists taking turns setting the pace during a race.

What is far more significant is the impact Lewis’ ascension will have on American golf, girls golf in particular.

Many have wondered why American players aren’t as prominent on the LPGA Tour as they were two decades ago. A big part of the reason, in our view, is that many American girls will take up the game at a young age and then give it up at some point during their teen years.

In the era of Title IX, American girls with an interest in competitive athletics have options available to them that their mothers and grandmothers did not. A 15-year-old girl who today decides to focus on basketball or soccer might have concentrated on golf three decades ago.

In short, most of Korea‘s best female athletes are golfers. Many of America’s best young athletes are not.

But Lewis may help change that, at least to some extent. As an American, she will attract attention from American sports fans, the avid golf fan and the casual observer alike.

Those who take a close look at Lewis will like what they see; she was worn her success extraordinarily well. Young girls who pick up a golf club will see Lewis as a role model, and some may decide to stick with the sport instead of pursuing other athletic alternatives.

Many fans are aware that Lewis, who recently turned 28, has faced the challenges of scoliosis and wore a back brace for a good part of her teen years.

What they may not be aware of is that she also has a college degree, which makes her somewhat unique on today’s LPGA Tour. She is articulate and genuine; in short, the type of athlete fans will root for and connect with.

There’s no way of knowing how long Lewis will stay on top of the world rankings. But we’re quite sure she’ll be a force in the game of golf, inside and outside the gallery ropes, for a very long time.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/stacy-lewis-no-1-does-mean-american-golf-170200525–golf.html

http://www.glendalegolfs.com/

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