KIM COMES OUT AT SHELL
Anthony Kim stood in the rough just off the fairway of the 18th hole with a two stroke lead. Up ahead on the green Vaughn Taylor was lining up a putt that would put him one stroke behind Kim. He made his putt,Kim hit his second shot in a bunker,his third finished about 6 feet away. Kim needed to sink that for the victory. He missed it. Bringing on a playoff.
Shrugging off a bad putt on the 72nd hole, Kim parred the first hole of a
playoff to defeat Taylor and win the Houston Open on Sunday for his third PGA
Tour title.
Kim and Taylor played No. 18 again in the playoff and Kim made a
routine 4,
two-putting from 30 feet. Taylor hit a bad drive, played out of the
greenside
bunker and came up short on his 18-foot par putt.
Charl Schwartzel and Graham DeLaet finished a stroke back at 11
under. Shaun Micheel was two shots behind, and Kevin Stadler and
Houston resident Jeff Maggert finished four behind.
The event went to a playoff for the second straight year. Paul Casey beat J.B. Holmes last year with a bogey on the first extra hole after Holmes
drove
into the water.
The 24-year-old Kim won for the first time since the 2008 AT&T National.
TSENG TAKES THE PLUNGE
Yani Tseng eagled the second
hole and pulled ahead of a star-studded field with a 4-under 68 for her
second
major title the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
Tseng, from Taiwan, finished at 13-under 275 at Mission Hills to hold
off
Suzann Pettersen by a stroke. Two of Tseng’s three LPGA Tour victories
have been
majors—she won the 2008 LPGA Championship as a rookie, beating Maria
Hjorth in
a four-hole playoff.
Pettersen’s eagle chip on 18 stopped just a few inches from the hole,
and
Tseng tapped in for par on the final hole to win the tournament.
Tseng played even par on the back nine, yet no could catch her.
Tseng two-putted for the win, then did the traditional jump into the water.
Pettersen had several chances to reel in her friend on the back nine
with
birdie chances on Nos. 13 through 16. The only birdie putt that fell in
the
stretch was at 16, leaving her two shots behind Tseng.
Song-Hee Kim was third at 9 under, top-ranked Lorena Ochoa
followed at 6 under, and Karen Stupples tied for fifth at 4 under with
Jiyai Shin
,Cristie Kerr and Karrie Webb. Michelle Wie tied for
27th at
3 over.
IN OTHER NEWS
Tiger Woods spoke to the press and answered questions yesterday after a practice round at Augusta National. Woods trying to revamp his image went to the stopped and signed some autographs on his way to the practice range. He also waved and smiled to some of the fans as his day went on. He finished his work and then spoke to the media.
Here's what we found out
He was specific about some issues—drug use and his contact with a
controversial Canadian doctor—while continuing to be guarded about his
personal life.
He ruptured the Achilles' tendon in his right leg in December
2008, two months before his return from knee surgery. Woods said he was
taking Vicodin for that and his left knee.
He began taking
Ambien after his father died because he was having trouble sleeping.
He was sent to an Orlando, Fla., hospital after his Nov. 27 accident
for a sore neck and a cut lip that required five stitches.
He
denied ever taking human growth hormone, performance-enhancing drugs or
"any illegal drug." He said he sought out Canadian doctor Anthony Galea
for "blood spinning" because of his treatment on other athletes. Galea's
assistant was caught bringing HGH and other substances into the United
States last year.
Woods said the government has contacted him
about his association with Galea and that he would cooperate fully, "but
as of right now, they have not asked for my time."
Woods also
said he would tone down his temper -- and his celebrations -- on the
course.
And so it is down to work as tries to win his fifth green jacket.
CBS’ sports chief promised not to pull any punches in talking about
the golfer’s sex scandal on the air during Masters coverage this
weekend.
“Our job is to cover what happens in the golf tournament,” Sean
McManus,
CBS News and Sports President, said Monday. “This year Tiger’s story is a
major
factor in the golf tournament and we are going to cover it fully.”
CBS anticipates some extraordinary ratings from curiosity seekers if
Woods
is still in contention during the weekend, particularly for the final
round. The
network televises the tournament on Saturday and Sunday, while ESPN has
the
first two rounds on Thursday and Friday.
McManus said he’s given no instructions to his announcers on what they
can
or cannot say about Woods. Similarly, the Masters—which has a contract
with
CBS to televise the annual tournament—hasn’t said anything to him about
how it
wants the issue to be addressed, he said.
Phil Mickelson pulled a special guest out of the gallery at
the Houston Open on Sunday to carry his bag for three holes.
Dr. Tom Buchholz, a radiation oncologist at the M.D. Anderson Cancer
Center
in Houston, is treating Mickelson’s wife and mother, Amy and Mary, who
were both
diagnosed with breast cancer last summer.
Mickelson left tournament passes for Buchholz, his family and other
hospital
staff. Out of contention in the final round, Mickelson asked Buchholz to
take
the bag from regular caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay on the 14th tee.
Buchholz wasn’t totally inexperienced as a looper. He was working in the
pro
shop at the Westchester Country Club after college in 1984 when he
caddied for
Allen Miller in the PGA’s Westchester Classic. Miller tied for 10th.
That's it for this week.
I'll be back with a recap of all the action from the Masters.
Check out my podcast at http://par3radio.podbean.com
Enjoy the Masters and I'll see you next week.
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