TALKING GOLF WITH GARY #76

 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.