Golf-Woods still the game’s biggest earner despite 2010 woes (Reuters)
December 31, 2010
By Mark Lamport-Stokes
LOS ANGELES, Dec 30 (Reuters) – Tiger Woods has once again ended a calendar year as golf’s top earner, despite suffering a pay cut of $48 million after losing his swing and his marriage and failing to win a single tournament.
The American world number two, who celebrated his 35th birthday on Thursday, topped Golf Digest magazine’s annual list for 2010 with overall earnings of $74.2 million.
Of that, only $2.29 million came from tournament purses with the rest accumulated off-course through endorsements and appearance fees.
Fellow American Phil Mickelson was second with total earnings of $40.18 million, followed by Arnold Palmer ($36 million), Greg Norman fourth ($30 million) and Jack Nicklaus fifth ($25.17 million).
Jim Furyk, who collected a $10 million bonus for winning the PGA Tour’s season-long FedExCup in September, was sixth on $23.58 million.
Other players featuring in the top 50 included South Africans Ernie Els seventh ($21.5 million) and Gary Player eighth ($15.01 million), Britain’s Lee Westwood ninth ($14.73 million) and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington ($11.61 million).
Overall earnings were compiled by Golf Digest through interviews with agents, players, executives of companies involved with endorsements, industry analysts and also via the official money lists of the leading professional tours.
In 2009, Woods led the standings with a mind-boggling $121.9 million but his earnings have dipped following his unexpected fall from grace after being engulfed by a sex scandal.
The 14-times major champion spent much of 2010 unsuccessfully trying to repair his marriage and also undergoing the fourth swing change of his career.
His troubles led such firms as AT&T and Accenture to end sponsorship deals, costing Woods up to $35 million in annual revenue.
He ended his PGA Tour season without a single title for the first time since he turned professional in 1996 and was deposed as world number one by Britain’s Lee Westwood on Nov. 1.
However, since Woods joined forces with Canadian swing coach Sean Foley after the PGA Championship in August, his form has steadily improved and he remains the biggest drawcard in the game.
He is still paid more than $60 million annually by Nike, Electronic Arts, Procter & Gamble’s Gillette, Berkshire Hathaway’s NetJets unit, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s Tag Heuer, Upper Deck and TLC Laser Vision Centers. (Editing by Peter Rutherford; To comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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Golf-McDowell and Mahan to reignite Cup rivalry at Kapalua (Reuters)
December 31, 2010
By Mark Lamport-Stokes
LOS ANGELES, Dec 30 (Reuters) – U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell and Hunter Mahan, whose emotional singles match decided this year’s Ryder Cup, will be reunited in the first round of next week’s Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
Northern Ireland’s McDowell and American Mahan have been paired together by organisers of the 2011 PGA Tour’s season opener at Kapalua and will tee off at 1210 local (2210 GMT) next Thursday.
“As a golf fan, one of the most compelling moments of 2010 was their final-day match up during the Ryder Cup,” tournament director Nancy Cross said in a statement on Thursday.
“To have these two paired together for the start of the season … well, we couldn’t have scripted it better.”
With the overall score tantalisingly poised at 13-1/2 13-1/2, Mahan and McDowell had everything to play for in the final Ryder Cup match out on the course at Celtic Manor, Wales in early October.
Mahan, unbeaten in five games on his Cup debut when the U.S. beat Europe two years ago, trailed by three after 11 holes but fought back to one down with three to play, needing only a half for his team to retain the cherished trophy.
However, McDowell sank a curling birdie putt from 12 feet on the 16th green to go two up before securing a 3&1 win with a conceded par at the 17th where Mahan succumbed to nerves and fluffed his chip.
“I was excited to have that opportunity to have a chance to win the Cup like that,” said Mahan, who could hardly muster a word at the post-Ryder Cup news conference and at one point broke down in tears.
“It was a great experience. To me, it’s just the best time of golf. I only take positives from it, that’s for sure.”
McDowell, who had won his first major title in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach four months earlier, said he had never felt such pressure as he did in his gripping duel with Mahan.
“The U.S. Open felt like a back nine with my dad back at Portrush compared to that,” he added. “I was really nervous there. Wow. It’s a different feeling.”
In other pairings for next week’s Tournament of Champions, 2003 winner Ernie Els of South Africa will tee off with Australia’s Jason Day while Italy’s Francisco Molinari will accompany Australian Adam Scott.
The final two-ball in the elite field of 34 will feature holder Geoff Ogilvy of Australia and 2001 winner Jim Furyk of the United States, who was this year’s FedExCup champion.
The $5.6 million event, which brings together the PGA Tour winners from the previous season, will be played from Jan. 6-9.
(Editing by Greg Stutchbury; To comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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US Open champion McDowell honored by Queen
December 31, 2010
LONDON (AP)—U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell is among the sports figureshonored by Queen Elizabeth II in her New Year list.
The Northern Irish star was made a Member of the Order of the British Empireafter a year in which he won his first major title and Pebble Beach and capturedthe decisive Ryder Cup points for Europe.
Also made an MBE was English football referee Howard Webb, who this yearbecame the first man to take charge of the Champions League and World Cup finalsin the same year.
Former England rugby player Mike Catt is an Officer of the Order of theBritish Empire after retiring in May, while Martin Broughton was knighted—forservices to business rather than his stint as chairman of Premier Leaguefootball club Liverpool.
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New Zealand grants top honor to golfer Bob Charles
December 30, 2010
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)—Golfer Bob Charles has been awarded NewZealand’s highest civil honor.
The 74-year-old Charles was admitted to the Order of New Zealand, an honorrestricted to 20 living New Zealanders.
Charles was the first left-hander to win one of golf’s major tournaments. Hecaptured the 1963 British Open after a 36-hole playoff with Phil Rodgers.Charles finished his career with 66 victories and was a six-time winner on theU.S. PGA Tour.
He was knighted for services to golf in 1999 and has been inducted into theWorld Golf Hall of Fame.
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Golfer Bob Charles win’s NZ’s highest honor
December 30, 2010
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)—Bob Charles, the first left-hander to win one ofgolf’s major tournaments, has been awarded New Zealand’s highest civil honor.
Charles was admitted to the Order of New Zealand, an honor restricted toonly 20 living New Zealanders. He won the 1963 British Open and finished hiscareer with 66 tournament victories.
The 74-year-old Charles won the British Open after a 36-hole playoff withAmerican Phil Rodgers and was a six-time winner on the U.S. PGA tour. He wasknighted for services to golf in 1999 and has been inducted into the World GolfHall of Fame.
“Back then we played 18 holes on the Wednesday, 18 holes on the Thursdayand 36 on the Friday and the playoff was then another 36 on the Saturday,”Charles said of his British Open victory. “It was a little bit of an endurancecontest and I think that was the end of the 36-hole playoffs.”
Charles won 23 times on the U.S. Seniors Tour, a mark surpassed by only fourplayers, and continued to take on a heavy schedule of professional tournamentsuntil the middle of this year.
Although officially retired, he practices three times a week and said hewould continue to play selected events including the Legends of Golf tournamentin the United States which he won for the second straight year in 2010 with GaryPlayer of South Africa.
Charles was credited with blazing a trail for left-handed players. Until hisarrival on the professional tour, club manufacturers produced little specialistequipment for left-handers and courses were often set up for right-handedplayers.
“Golf has been very good to me. It was the reason I got a knighthood andvarious other awards in my golfing life which has spread over 50 years,”Charles said.
The coach and captain of the New Zealand football team which was unbeaten atthis year’s World Cup were also recognized in the annual New Year’s honors list.
Coach Ricki Herbert was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Meritand captain Ryan Nelsen, the Blackburn central defender, was made an Officer ofthe New Zealand Order of Merit.
New Zealand was the only unbeaten team at the World Cup in South Africa,drawing group matches against Italy, Slovakia and Paraguay, although it failedto progress to the second round.
Herbert was also a player in the 1982 team which reached the World Cupfinals in Spain, the only other time New Zealand qualified for the tournament.
Nelsen said the honors were important recognition for football which isoften overshadowed in New Zealand by rugby.
“It is all a recognition of how far football has come,” he said. “To havegone to the World Cup and be the only side to be undefeated has broughtimplications as well that have been extremely positive.”
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Recapping the round: memories of golf in 2010
December 28, 2010
JACKSONVILLE, Florida (AP)—Framed photographs large and small hang in everyroom and adorn the walls of every corridor inside the Bay Hill Club & Lodge,memories of Arnold Palmer and more than a half-century he devoted to golf.
He is flinging his visor after winning the Masters. He is posing with one ofhis best friends, Dow Finsterwald, and his longtime rival, Jack Nicklaus. In onepicture, he is wearing a Chinese hat during his first trip to China to design agolf course.
Unmistakable in nearly every photograph is a smile.
In his design company office one day in December, he was asked why he wasalways seemed happy.
“I loved what I was doing,” he said. “I got to play a great game. I havea great life, a great family, all the things you could want. I love the feelingof getting out of bed each morning.”
Golf featured its share of unpleasant moments this year—Tiger Woods,leaning back against his locker at Sawgrass with his eyes closed after pullingout of The Players Championship, perhaps the low point on the golf course in ayear filled with them; Dustin Johnson, erasing his scorecard to change a 5 to a7 after being told he was in a bunker on the last hole of the PGA Championship;Paul Casey, facing reporters who wanted answers he didn’t have as to why he wasleft off the Ryder Cup team.
The photos of Palmer are a reminder that it’s a great game, and a greatlife. As always, there were plenty of poignant moments from a year on the PGATour that go beyond birdies and bogeys and bunkers:
Lee Westwood shot 68 in the final round of the Honda Classic, and when hesigned his card, he was in a seven-way tie for 15th.
He retreated to the bar with his agent, Chubby Chandler, and watched thefollies unfold as one player after another dropped shots coming in at PGANational. When it was over, Westwood was in a three-way tie for ninth, thedifference of about $87,000.
“The best drink we’ve ever had,” Chandler said.
Paul Goydos didn’t want to wait for officials to stop play, not when he wasfacing a tough tee shot on the 11th hole at Riviera in a cold rain that wasstarting to come down sideways.
That’s when he declared that the tee box was in casual water and someonewould have to call for the maintenance crew. He figured that would take enoughtime for the tour to decide to suspend play. What he didn’t realize was themaintenance shed was right behind him.
In less than a minute, three workers arrived carrying squeegees.
Goydos was startled, finally breaking the silence by saying under hisbreath, “Well, that didn’t work out too well.”
Play on.
Tiger Woods was in the second-to-last group at the U.S. Open, five shotsbehind Dustin Johnson. He was playing with Gregory Havret. The final group wasJohnson and Graeme McDowell, none having ever contended in a major.
Before leaving the putting green and walking up the steps to the first tee,Woods hit a 50-foot lag putt toward the hole at the far edge of the green. Heleft it 5 feet short, then settled over that putt.
He missed. Woods reached with his putter to bring the ball back to him,stood over it, and missed it again. He pulled the ball back and missed a thirdtime, then missed a fourth time. With that, he handed the putter to his caddieand headed to the tee.
On the first hole, he three-putted for bogey. Within an hour, his U.S. Openhopes were gone.
Phil Mickelson walked off the 10th tee at St. Andrews during a practiceround and saw the concession stands. His eyes lit up, not just because he washungry, but it was an opportunity for one of his favorite treats. Mickelson isknown to walk up to a food stand at tournaments and announce he’s buying foreveryone in line.
He took his wallet from his bag and told his caddie and coach he would bewith them in a few minutes. It didn’t take long for Mickelson to rejoin them,however, and he wasn’t happy.
It was Sunday. The concession stand was closed.
For the last several years, Ryder Cup officials have arranged for the U.S.captain to make a tour of the big cities leading to the matches. That stopincludes Los Angeles in September, and it was a natural for Corey Pavin. He grewup in Ventura County and starred on the UCLA golf team.
The media turnout was strong, but Pavin seemed an afterthought midwaythrough his news conference. He noticed several reporters stepping outside toanswer cell phones. One Ryder Cup official thought it extremely rude.
Only later did they learn Joe Torre had announced he was retiring as managerof the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Ryder Cup charter to Wales was either oversold or there were not enoughseats. Whatever the case, two caddies were bumped from the charter—FrankWilliams, the caddie for Stewart Cink, and Steve Williams, who works for TigerWoods.
How fitting.
Not only are they close friends, but Frank Williams doesn’t like travelingto Britain and Steve Williams doesn’t like the Ryder Cup.
“You know why Stevie hates the Ryder Cup so much don’t you?” FrankWilliams said. “Because up until this year, he wasn’t used to working for acheck that small.”
One of the most entertaining nights of the year is when European Tourcaddies are feted—and roasted—at the HSBC Champions. Fanny Sunesson won anaward for “misclub of the year.”
Turns out her boss, Henrik Stenson, hit a 3-wood on the 18th hole at Dubaithat not only failed to clear the large pond fronting the green, it barely madeit to the water.
For her honor, Sunesson won two bottles of fine wine. Stenson, with mockanger, marched onto the stage and took one of the bottles before returning tohis seat. He came back on stage as Sunesson explained what happened.
It dates to the previous year at the Masters, when Stenson wanted to hit3-wood for his second shot on the 15th. Knowing that the Swede tends to hit his3-wood low and hard, she reminded him he would have to hit a high, soft cut.Stenson instead drilled it over the green, almost into the water behind thegreen.
“So we get to Dubai and he wants to hit 3-wood to the green,” Sunessonexplains. “Now this was the right shot for his 3-wood. And tell them what youdid, Henrik.”
Stenson, slowly bowed his head and leaned toward the microphone.
“Soft cut,” he said.
After the third round of the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, some 200 fans stoodbehind the railing outside the clubhouse after Woods walked by to sign his card.One man in the middle of the pack led a chant in Chinese that, based on thecadence, most likely was, “We want Tiger! We want Tiger!” This went on for afew minutes until a lone voice in broken English called out, “Tiger, where areyou?”
The chant started again, but he had left through a back door to meet withsponsors.
A month later during the pro-am at the Chevron World Challenge, Woods had towalk along a cart path toward the 13th fairway. Three times, he stopped andposed for pictures with fans, something he has never done.
Something old, something new.
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IMG founder’s files getting a new home
December 28, 2010
JACKSONVILLE, Florida (AP)—A handshake with Arnold Palmer led to the creationof IMG. It also produced thousands of boxes containing letters, memos and otherdocuments that help explain how the late Mark H. McCormack build the largestsports management company in the world.
Todd McCormack describes his father as a “pack rat to the first degree.”
Turns out that’s not such a bad thing.
Those boxes, sitting in a Cleveland warehouse since his death in 2003, havebeen given to the University of Massachusetts to be used for research andeducation at the Isenberg School of Management.
“There’s a wealth of knowledge in the entire collection,” said LisaMasteralexis, the associate professor who helped secure the McCormack archives.“You can see how the man was thinking beyond his books.”
McCormack also was the author of the popular “What They Don’t Teach You atHarvard Business School” series.
That handshake with Palmer in 1960 is what started IMG, and McCormack soonsigned Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Bjorn Borg, Chris Evert, Derek Jeter and ahost of other athletes and celebrities all the way through Tiger Woods.
Along the way, McCormack kept meticulous records and had a unique way ofkeeping track of them. They are referred to as the “Chron Files”—short forchronology—and include memos, letters, business schedules, agendas andeverything else in a certain month and year. Masteralexis said he would sendthem to his children to read so they could understand the business.
His vast archives will now be housed at the renamed Mark H. McCormackDepartment of Sports Management at Isenberg in honor of the family’s support.The family also has given $1.5 million to endow an executive-in-residenceprogram and an international partnership program, both named after McCormack.
Just how big is the collection?
Masteralexis estimates up to 48,000 boxes were stored in Cleveland, and thestaff will start sorting through them early next year. A big part of the project— and another reason the University of Massachusetts was selected for the gift—is to digitalize as much as it can through the university’s W.E.B. Du BoisLibrary.
Some of the files are duplicates—a memo from May 1974 might also be storedin a file devoted to Palmer. When it all gets compiled, Masteralexis believes itwill amount to some 16,000 linear feet of material.
“There will be a museum piece down the road,” said Mark Fuller, dean ofthe Isenberg School. “There’s also some video, audio and interviews with him,as well as memorabilia. It’s quite an exciting life he lived. Part of theagreement with the family is to pull that all together. Our goal down the roadis using this as a platform to educate people around the world.”
McCormack had no connection with the University of Massachusetts. His soncontacted the Sports Business Journal with the idea, and it gave him the namesof some of the top programs, including the Isenberg School. Instead of splittingup the collection, the various schools submitted proposals.
Fuller described the archives as one of the last examples of a true papertrail, especially in this era of technology.
“Mark was all about keeping records, and I think he knew he was ontosomething,” Fuller said. “You can see a life live through documents. I saw thefirst meeting minutes—Mark, Jay LaFave and their two wives at a kitchen table.To go through and see the behemoth we know of IMG, with 80 offices in 35countries is impressive.”
Not all the correspondence and such material will be made public, especiallyrelated to clients. Masteralexis said there are privacy issues, and that nodocument can be published without the permission of whomever is involved.
LOUIS TO AFRICA: The 2011 golf season begins next week with as many majorchampions at the Africa Open as the Tournament of Championship on Maui—oneeach.
British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen had booked a room at Kapalua to beginhis PGA Tour season, until deciding the travel might be too much so early in theseason. Instead, he will play in the Africa Open in his native South Africa.
The Africa Open, which is part of the European Tour schedule, also featuresdefending champion Retief Goosen and Charl Schwartzel.
“I decided not to go and play the two tournaments in Hawaii because thatwon’t leave me with enough off time before the start of the new season,”Oosthuizen said on a story posted on the European Tour’s website.
That leaves U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell as the lone major champion atKapalua. It will be the fourth time in the last six years that the PGA Tour’sseason opener had only one current major champion. That’s mostly a product ofTiger Woods and Phil Mickelson not playing, and Padraig Harrington taking timeoff.
SURPRISE VISITOR: The PGA Tour already was expecting not to have severalplayers at the season-opening Tournament of Champions. Rory McIlroy decided notto renew his membership, while Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer are not PGA Tourmembers, and they did not want it to count against the minimum events they canplay.
Louis Oosthuizen is staying home to play the Africa Open, and Phil Mickelsonstopped coming to Kapalua in 2002.
Only recently did tournament officials get a surprise entry—FrancescoMolinari of Italy. He qualified by winning the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, whichis not an official PGA Tour victory unless won by a tour member. The tour stillgrants entry to the Tournament of Champions no matter who wins.
Molinari does not need to worry about it counting against his minimum startson the U.S. tour because he rarely players in America except for the majors,World Golf Championships and The Players Championships.
The only other “regular” tour event he played was the Reno-Tahoe Open in2009, a week before the PGA Championship.
STAT OF THE WEEK: Six players who started the year outside the top 100 inthe world ranking have finished inside the top 50. All of them primarily playedon the PGA Tour except for K.T. Kim.
FINAL WORD: “People know what he’s doing and they’re watching. They’rewatching what he does, whether he thinks so or not. But I think he knows.”—Arnold Palmer on Tiger Woods.
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IMG founder’s files getting a new home at UMass
December 28, 2010
A handshake with Arnold Palmer led to the creation of IMG. It also producedthousands of boxes containing letters, memos and other documents that helpexplain how the late Mark H. McCormack build the largest sports managementcompany in the world.
Todd McCormack describes his father as a “pack rat to the first degree.”
Turns out that’s not such a bad thing.
Those boxes, sitting in a Cleveland warehouse since his death in 2003, havebeen given to the University of Massachusetts to be used for research andeducation at the Isenberg School of Management.
“There’s a wealth of knowledge in the entire collection,” said LisaMasteralexis, the associate professor who helped secure the McCormack archives.“You can see how the man was thinking beyond his books.”
McCormack also was the author of the popular “What They Don’t Teach You atHarvard Business School” series.
That handshake with Palmer in 1960 is what started IMG, and McCormack soonsigned Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Bjorn Borg, Chris Evert, Derek Jeter and ahost of other athletes and celebrities all the way through Tiger Woods.
Along the way, McCormack kept meticulous records and had a unique way ofkeeping track of them. They are referred to as the “Chron Files”—short forchronology—and include memos, letters, business schedules, agendas andeverything else in a certain month and year. Masteralexis said he would sendthem to his children to read so they could understand the business.
His vast archives will now be housed at the renamed Mark H. McCormackDepartment of Sports Management at Isenberg in honor of the family’s support.The family also has given $1.5 million to endow an executive-in-residenceprogram and an international partnership program, both named after McCormack.
Just how big is the collection?
Masteralexis estimates up to 48,000 boxes were stored in Cleveland, and thestaff will start sorting through them early next year. A big part of the project— and another reason UMass was selected for the gift—is to digitalize as muchas it can through the university’s W.E.B. Du Bois Library.
Some of the files are duplicates—a memo from May 1974 might also be storedin a file devoted to Palmer. When it all gets compiled, Masteralexis believes itwill amount to some 16,000 linear feet of material.
“There will be a museum piece down the road,” said Mark Fuller, dean ofthe Isenberg School. “There’s also some video, audio and interviews with him,as well as memorabilia. It’s quite an exciting life he lived. Part of theagreement with the family is to pull that all together. Our goal down the roadis using this as a platform to educate people around the world.”
McCormack had no connection with UMass. His son contacted the SportsBusiness Journal with the idea, and it gave him the names of some of the topprograms, including the Isenberg School. Instead of splitting up the collection,the various schools submitted proposals.
Fuller described the archives as one of the last examples of a true papertrail, especially in this era of technology.
“Mark was all about keeping records, and I think he knew he was ontosomething,” Fuller said. “You can see a life live through documents. I saw thefirst meeting minutes—Mark, Jay LaFave and their two wives at a kitchen table.To go through and see the behemoth we know of IMG, with 80 offices in 35countries is impressive.”
Not all the correspondence and such material will be made public, especiallyrelated to clients. Masteralexis said there are privacy issues, and that nodocument can be published without the permission of whomever is involved.
LOUIS TO AFRICA: The 2011 golf season begins next week with as many majorchampions at the Africa Open as the Tournament of Championship on Maui—oneeach.
British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen had booked a room at Kapalua to beginhis PGA Tour season, until deciding the travel might be too much so early in theseason. Instead, he will play in the Africa Open in his native South Africa.
The Africa Open, which is part of the European Tour schedule, also featuresdefending champion Retief Goosen and Charl Schwartzel.
“I decided not to go and play the two tournaments in Hawaii because thatwon’t leave me with enough off time before the start of the new season,”Oosthuizen said on a story posted on the European Tour’s website.
That leaves U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell as the lone major champion atKapalua. It will be the fourth time in the last six years that the PGA Tour’sseason opener had only one current major champion. That’s mostly a product ofTiger Woods and Phil Mickelson not playing, and Padraig Harrington taking timeoff.
SURPRISE VISITOR: The PGA Tour already was expecting not to have severalplayers at the season-opening Tournament of Champions. Rory McIlroy decided notto renew his membership, while Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer are not PGA Tourmembers, and they did not want it to count against the minimum events they canplay.
Louis Oosthuizen is staying home to play the Africa Open, and Phil Mickelsonstopped coming to Kapalua in 2002.
Only recently did tournament officials get a surprise entry—FrancescoMolinari of Italy. He qualified by winning the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, whichis not an official PGA Tour victory unless won by a tour member. The tour stillgrants entry to the Tournament of Champions no matter who wins.
Molinari does not need to worry about it counting against his minimum startson the U.S. tour because he rarely players in America except for the majors,World Golf Championships and The Players Championships.
The only other “regular” tour event he played was the Reno-Tahoe Open in2009, a week before the PGA Championship.
DIVOTS: Ending an already strong year on a high note, the PGA Tour announceda marketing deal with InterContinental Hotels Group. Among its brands is CrownePlaza, which has extended its title sponsorship of Colonial through 2015. Thatgives the tour 18 title sponsors signed at least for the next four years. …Only six players who opened the year at Kapalua return next week for theTournament of Champions—Geoff Ogilvy, Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson, MattKuchar, Dustin Johnson and Heath Slocum.
STAT OF THE WEEK: Six players who started the year outside the top 100 inthe world ranking have finished inside the top 50. All of them primarily playedon the PGA Tour except for K.T. Kim.
FINAL WORD: “People know what he’s doing and they’re watching. They’rewatching what he does, whether he thinks so or not. But I think he knows.”—Arnold Palmer on Tiger Woods.
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Australian golfer convicted in Japan over drug use
December 27, 2010
TOKYO (AP)—A Japanese court has handed down a suspended sentence toAustralian golfer Wayne Perske for possessing and using cocaine.
Masaaki Ono, an official at the Chiba District Court, said the 36-year-oldgolfer received a year and six months in prison, suspended for three years.
Perske was arrested in October after inhaling cocaine at a bar in Chiba,east of Tokyo, and carrying some 1.25 grams of cocaine in his pocket. A customerat the bar alerted police, leading officers to search and arrest him.
Japan has strict anti-drug laws. Possession of banned drugs can carry apenalty of up to seven years imprisonment.
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Golf-Houdini acts can’t keep denying Westwood – caddie (Reuters)
December 26, 2010
By Tony Jimenez
LONDON, Dec 26 (Reuters) – Lee Westwood has been criticisedin some quarters for reaching the top of the rankings withoutwinning a major but that does not worry the world number one,according to his caddie Billy Foster.
“In four out of his last five majors he’s finished in thetop three and all he’s got to do is keep doing more of what heis doing,” Foster told Reuters in a telephone interview.
“Harry Houdini is not going to pitch up all the time like hedid at the U.S. Masters this year. What Phil Mickelson did tohim by birdying the eighth, 12th, 13th, 15th and 18th in thefinal round (to win)—that was unbelievable.
“People won’t keep doing that sort of thing to him inmajors. All Lee can do is keep putting himself in position andhis time will come,” added the experienced Foster who isrecognised as one of the best caddies in the game.
“He always seems to bounce back after a couple of days,that’s the beauty of Lee. He’s very down to earth and levelheaded and he doesn’t let things bother him too much.”
Foster, who has also worked with Seve Ballesteros, TigerWoods and Sergio Garcia among others, said he and fellow BritonWestwood always made sure they had a good time on the courseregardless of the situation.
“It’s like working for your best mate,” said the 44-year-oldcaddie. “He is so relaxed out there.
“Certain golfers you don’t feel comfortable with, it’s allfairly intense and sometimes you can’t say what you want to say.But with Lee we have so much fun together,” added Foster.
“He doesn’t really take things out on me on the golf course,99.9 percent of the time he’s pretty relaxed. Now and again youhave to shut up for a minute or so but then we get back tohaving a bit of a crack and some banter.”
CHIEF MOTIVATOR
Foster has been working with Westwood for just over 18months and there are times when he has to get serious and act asmotivator in chief.
One of their best victories together came at the EuropeanTour’s season-ending Dubai World Championship in 2009 when thecaddie decided a bit of bullying was in order.
“It was the right time for me to say a few things to Lee,some of which I can’t repeat,” said Foster.
“He was starting to doubt himself to a certain degree and Itried to get the mindset back to where it was 10 or 12 yearspreviously when he used to dominate European golf and otherplayers would say, ‘Oh, no, there’s freaking Westwood on theleaderboard again’.
“I tried to explain he had won more tournaments on his ownthan the three guys who were chasing him (Martin Kaymer, RossFisher and Rory McIlroy) put together and it should be them whowere afraid of him, not the other way round.
“It was time for him to start bullying them. It got insidehis head and it had the right effect.”
Foster, though, is equally aware there are times whenWestwood plays so well he barely needs a bag-carrier.
“There is a lot of psychology behind the scenes, saying theright thing at the right time and also staying ‘schtum’ (quiet)at times,” he explained.
“I know there are some weeks when Lee could go out with hisgrandmother on his bag and he’d win but there are other weekswhen you need your caddie behind you, especially in the RyderCup and at majors when the pressure is at its most intense.
“The secret is to slow things down. Players tend to rushthings when they are under pressure but the caddie has to pullon the reins, make sure they limit their mistakes… and keeptheir heart rate down.”
Then, when victory is secured, Foster celebrates in thetime-honoured caddying tradition.
“Yeah, with plenty of ale,” he said.
(Editing by Ken Ferris. To query or comment on this storyemail sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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