The PGA Tour approved a field of 120 for Tiger Woods’ tournament in July, defusing a debate that divided players for weeks.

When the AT&T National in Washington, D.C., was added to the schedule, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem suggested it would be considered an invitational, like Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial tournament with a field of 105 last year and Arnold Palmer’s event at Bay Hill, which had 118 players in 2006.

Rich Beem said he was “insulted” by the idea of another reduced-field event, and other players joined in, saying the tour should not take away spots in a season already made shorter by the FedEx Cup.

The AT&T National replaces the International, which had a 144-man field but was taken off the schedule when it couldn’t find a sponsor.

Finchem, attending the Houston Open this week, spoke to the 16-member Players Advisory Council during a conference call Wednesday. The group then approved a compromise on the field size.

Finchem said the council determined that making the event an invitational “was overwhelmingly positive for the PGA Tour and its members in the long term.”

The tour will decide the criteria for the 120 players chosen “in the next few weeks,” Finchem said.

Earlier Wednesday, Rocco Mediate blasted players who griped about the structure of the event, which will benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation.

“It’s ridiculous what’s going on,” Mediate said. “There is so much effort being spent on trying to make this tournament what everybody else wants, but it’s his tournament. You going to change Arnold or Jack’s tournaments?

“If you’re not in the tournament, you’re not good enough,” Mediate said. “It’s real simple. Play better. Nothing else I can say about it. It’s nauseating what’s going on.”

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It might be eight years since a European won any major, but there is another group of players who are fighting even more against history at Augusta this coming week.

This will be the 71st staging of the Masters, but the list of champions includes not one Australian.

The seven attempting to break the duck this time are a pretty impressive bunch - reigning US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, world number five Adam Scott, Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Nick O’Hern, Rod Pampling and Aaron Baddeley.

Ogilvy points to the impact of compatriot Greg Norman, a nearly man in Augusta in his own playing days, for the current depth of Australian talent, one of whom he hopes will come out on top next Sunday.

“We had the best and most notable player in the world (Norman) and he made a lot of kids pick up golf 20 years ago,” says the 29-year-old from Adelaide.

“I mean, he was Tiger Woods before Tiger Woods came along. He was the big gallery draw and had that aura whenever he went anywhere.

“We all wanted to be Greg Norman. He made golf cool in Australia - before him it wasn’t.

“He had success and then Finchy (Ian Baker-Finch) came along and had success and (Steve) Elkington won a major.

“Winning promotes winning. You play against a guy in Australia and you beat him and then he goes to the US Tour and wins a tournament you think ‘if he can do it, I can do that’ and it snowballs.

“Sport is just life in Australia. All of Australia is happy when the cricket team is winning and the football is going well and the golfers are doing well.

“It’s just part of the culture. The government puts money is and the coaching is great. No stone is left unturned and it’s showing.

“We’ve got 20-something guys on the (US) Tour and it seems to be growing every year. When you see one win you might see another in the next few weeks just because they’re jealous.”

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The 2010 Ryder Cup between Europe and the United States will take place at The Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, South Wales, in the week of September 27-October 3.

It may seem a long time away – 184 weeks to be precise – but the organisers, Ryder Cup Europe, confirmed the exact week that the match will take place following a meeting with Welsh Assembly First Minister Rhodri Morgan today (Wednesday).

George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, speaking on the steps of the National Assembly for Wales (The Senedd), said: “It is with great pleasure that I announce that The 2010 Ryder Cup will be played in the week of September 27 to October 3. This means that the countdown has truly begun for when The Ryder Cup will be played in Wales for the first time.

“I would like to thank the First Minister Rhodri Morgan and Sir Terry Matthews at The Celtic Manor for their superb support and together with all interested parties we now look forward to delivering the finest edition in the history of The Ryder Cup.”

The announcement was made immediately following a meeting of The Ryder Cup Ministerial Steering Group in the office of the First Minister and in conjunction with Enterprise, Innovation and Networks Minister, Andrew Davies, Dylan Matthews of The Celtic Manor Resort, Richard Hills, The Ryder Cup Director, George O’Grady and Leader of Newport City Council, Councillor Bob Bright.

“This marks the point at which we move from the strategic planning stage, which commenced as soon as Wales won the bid to host the event, into the detailed delivery stage which will take us right up to the Autumn of 2010,” said First Minister, Rhodri Morgan. “During that time, Wales is ensuring that all the required infrastructure requirements are in place, that accommodation providers are ready and that the whole of the country is primed to welcome the World to Wales.”

Representing Sir Terry Matthews, the meeting was attended by Chief Executive of Celtic Manor Resort, Dylan Matthews who is now working with colleagues to finalise development of the new course and clubhouse and on-course arrangements for spectators.

“We have been looking forward to staging the Ryder Cup ever since the announcement was made back in 2001 that The Celtic Manor Resort had been chosen to host the 2010 matches,” said Dylan Matthews.

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Hole 16 at Augusta National

Hole-by-hole guide to Augusta National, with how the course played in last year’s Masters (key to rank: 1=hardest, 18=easiest) and what Phil Mickelson scored to win:

1st (Tea Olive), 455 yards, par 4: no easy starter. The tee was moved back 15-20 yards last year and more trees added down the left. The bunker on the right is now a 327-yard carry. Avoid long or left when playing to the testing green.

2006 average: 4.24 (rank 4). Mickelson: 5-4-3-4

2nd (Pink Dogwood), 575 yards, par 5: big-hitters come into their own here, but long or left are bad again. Nick Faldo once holed a 100-foot eagle putt on this treacherous green.

2006 average: 4.83 (rank 15). Mickelson: 4-4-4-5

3rd (Flowering Peach), 350 yards, par 4: shortest par four on the course and a real teaser. Ask Woods - a double bogey in 2003 put him out of the hunt. The pear-shaped green with steep slope in front allows for some wicked pin placings.

2006 average: 4.00 (rank 14). Mickelson: 4-4-3-4

4th (Flowering Crab Apple), 240 yards, par 3: Unchanged since 1964 the back tee - not always used - went back 30-35 yards last year. the green, guarded by sand, slopes from back to front. Jeff Sluman achieved the only hole-in-one here in 1992.

2006 average: 3.20 (rank 7). Mickelson: 3-3-4-3

5th (Magnolia), 455 yards, par 4: Jack Nicklaus twice holed his second shot in 1995. The fairway bunkers down the left have been enlarged, making it more of a dogleg. It is a 315-yard carry over them. Another devilishly difficult green.

2006 average: 4.22 (rank 5). Mickelson: 4-5-5-4

6th (Juniper), 180 yards, par 3: From an elevated tee down to a vast green with a huge slope in it. Jose Maria Olazabal took seven in 1991 and lost by one to Ian Woosnam. Chris DiMarco achieved the fourth hole-in-one here three years ago.

2006 average: 3.12 (rank 12). Mickelson: 3-3-3-3

7th (Pampas), 450 yards, par 4: What used to be a real birdie chance had a further 35-40 yards added last year and the green was re-shaped to allow for a new rear right pin position. Trees were also planted left and right.

2006 average: 4.21 (rank 6). Mickelson: 4-4-4-3

8th (Yellow Jasmine), 570 yards, par 5: The right bunker, about 300 yards out, pushes players left and from there it is harder to make the green in two up the steep hill. Bruce Devlin scored an albatross two in 1967.

2006 average: 4.77 (rank 16). Mickelson: 4-4-4-4

9th (Carolina Cherry), 460 yards, par 4: The tee was pushed back 30 yards in 2002, leaving a longer approach to a raised green which tilts sharply from the back. Anything rolling off the front can continue down for 50-60 yards.

2006 average: 4.17 (rank 9). Mickelson: 4-4-4-4

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Titleist have just opened up there new blog site. It follows the Titleist team on tour and also show’s the equipment used by the players and how they modify and build clubs in their Tour Van, It also has Interviews with the top player’s on tour.

Of course, you can’t expect any secrets to be revealed, but if you’re a fan of golf, then every little peek behind the curtain of life on the PGA Tour is fascinating. This blog promises to give you many such peeks.

Unlike many corporate blogs, Titleist’s Tour Blog allows commenting.

Try this site out - www.titleistblog.com

Augusta National has become an abomination. Here’s to hoping Billy Payne can begin to right Hootie’s wrongs.

Golf Digest has a number of Ariel Photo’s of Augusta Including this one -

Source - www.thesandtrap.com

Golf should be such a simple game. Hit a little ball into a slightly bigger hole in as few strokes as possible.

Out of that, however, comes a rule book that is 191 pages long and another - “Decisions on the Rules of Golf” - that is designed to “help resolve any outstanding queries”.

Goodness knows how many breaches occur at club level, but on the professional tours of the world hardly a week goes by without a player doing something he shouldn’t.

In the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill on Saturday American Boo Weekley - yes, his nickname comes from Yogi Bear’s sidekick Boo-Boo - was just trying to be nice. Bad mistake.

He did not know it at the time, but in trying to save playing partner Tom Johnson some penalty shots he incurred some himself.

Johnson was on the green at the short second, but to get to the hole had to go through the fringe and decided to chip the ball. And when Weekley saw that it was heading for the unattended flagstick - Johnson’s caddie should have been holding it - he ran and pulled it out.

Rule 17-2 states that “if a fellow competitor or his caddie, without the player’s authority or prior knowledge, attends, removes or holds up the flagstick during the stroke or while the ball is in motion, and the act might influence the movement of the ball, the fellow competitor incurs the applicable penalty.”

At the end of his round, therefore, Weekley’s three-under-par 67, the joint low round of the day, was turned into a 69. He dropped from 10th to 21st and eventually finished 14th rather than ninth. It cost him roughly £20,000.

“That’s the thing about this game - you never stop learning,” the 33-year-old said and even US Tour official Mark Russell admitted: “I’ll tell you this - I’ve never heard of that in my 27 years in golf. Boo said he was just trying to help out and knew if the ball hit the flagstick it was a penalty.

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Tiger Woods overcame an unusually error-ridden final round to claim the 77th win of his professional career in Miami.

In his final competitive outing before the US Masters, Woods, four ahead overnight, had a closing 73 to clinch victory in the CA World Championship for the third successive year and sixth time in eight attempts.

Six months after taking the title by eight at The Grove near Watford, the world number one this time won by only two from fellow American Brett Wetterich, but in truth it was far easier than that.

Since the World Golf Championship series started in 1999, Woods has now won 14 of the 26 he has played, earning almost £10million in the process. Nobody else has won more than two.

It was also his third successive victory on Doral’s Blue Monster course.

He was out in 35 with three birdies and two bogeys and six clear after he became the only player all day to find the green in two at the par-five 10th.

That two-putt birdie was followed by another three-putt bogey, however, and he dropped another shot on the 13th when he missed from seven feet.

Playing partner Wetterich shot himself in the foot by having bogey sixes at both the first and 12th, but when he birdied the 15th and 16th he did bring the gap down to three.

With the 18th such a dangerous hole he could have made things really interesting by holing a 10-footer at the 17th, but missed it.

As a result Woods was able to take an iron off the final tee and gave no thought to going for the green in two on the par four. But even then there was a chance of a three-stroke swing when Wetterich fired his second to eight feet.

Woods third was long and finished in a similar spot from which Mark Calcavecchia had earlier putted into the lake.

But Woods judged the pace much better and even with a bogey he was home and dry when Wetterich left his birdie attempt short.

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Chapchai Nirat became the third Thai golfer to win on The European Tour when a composed and controlled final round at Yalong Bay Golf Club belied his 23 years and gave him his maiden victory in the TCL Classic.

Previously, countrymen Thongchai Jaidee and Thaworn Wiratchant had enjoyed that special Sunday feeling with silverware in their hands and Nirat ensured he joined them with a final round of 71 in Sanya on the Hainan Island resort for a 22 under par total of 266 and a three shot victory over Argentina’s Rafael Echenique.

Ever since his course record opening round of 61 Nirat had been the man to catch but nobody could come up with the goods to mount a serious challenge, the Thai golfer becoming the third wire to wire winner of the 2007 season, following José Manuel Lara (UBS Hong Kong Open) and Retief Goosen (Commercialbank Qatar Masters).

Nirat also became the fourth first time winner on The European Tour International Schedule in the past five weeks – and the ninth of the season in total from 16 events – pocketing €127,046 (£86,271) for his sterling efforts.

He also completed the five strong line-up for the inaugural Bursa Malaysia Swing Grand Final at The Celtic Manor Resort on May 28, joining Lara, Peter Hedblom (Maybank Malaysia Open), Mikko Ilonen (Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open) and Liang Wen-chong (Clariden Leu Singapore Masters) in the special skills challenge at the venue for The 2010 Ryder Cup.

“There was a lot of pressure today but I talked with my caddie and the plan was to just keep playing at the same level as I had done over the first three days,” said Nirat. “This is my first big win and I’d like to dedicate it to my parents.

“I was feeling serious on the back nine because Rafael was getting close so I didn’t want to make a mistake, but at the finish I was very happy. To win a big tournament like this means a great deal to me and I will definitely play in Europe.”

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Vijay Singh broke clear of the field before the turn before cruising to a two-stroke victory over Rocco Mediate at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando on Sunday.

Only one stroke separated the top eight players at one stage early in the final round, before Singh made four birdies in five holes starting at the fifth in demanding conditions at Bay Hill.

The 44-year-old from Fiji was not threatened on the back nine, shooting 67 to finish at eight-under-par 272, his first victory in 15 starts here.

Singh collects more than £500,000 for his 31st PGA Tour victory, matching “Lighthorse” Harry Cooper for the most wins on tour by a non-American.

He said: “It means a lot. This was my first ever tournament in America, and I love this place.

“I hate the 18th hole but I love the rest of it.

“Having won Jack’s tournament (the Memorial) and now Arnie’s, it’s a great honour.”

Tiger Woods, who started the day five shots behind, made an ominous start with birdies at the first two holes, but he had a shocking finish, dropping six shots in the final three holes.

Even though he was out of contention by then, it was still a shock to see the world’s greatest player find the water at the par-three 17th, which he double-bogeyed, and the par-four 18th, where he made triple.

His 43 strokes coming home matched his career worst total for nine holes, his only other 43 coming on the front nine in the second round of the 1996 Tour Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Woods, a four-time winner at Bay Hill, shot 76 to tie for 22nd at three over.

Collated final round scores and totals in the USPGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard, Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Florida, United States

(USA unless stated, par 70):

272 Vijay Singh (Fij) 70 68 67 67

274 Rocco Mediate 66 65 76 67

275 Vaughn Taylor 64 71 67 73

276 Ben Curtis 68 67 69 72

277 John Rollins 69 65 72 71, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 66 69 71 71, Tom Lehman 67 69 69 72

278 Luke Donald (Eng) 68 71 70 69

279 Jerry Kelly 67 69 70 73, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 66 70 70 73, Stephen Ames (Can) 68 67 72 72

280 Shaun Micheel 67 68 71 74, Kyle Reifers 70 68 72 70

281 Paul Casey (Eng) 64 70 73 74, Sean O’Hair 66 70 72 73, Boo Weekley 68 72 69 72, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 69 70 70 72

282 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 69 68 70 75, Bart Bryant 70 68 70 74, Ernie Els (Rsa) 69 70 71 72, Scott Verplank 67 73 70 72

283 Tiger Woods 64 73 70 76, Chad Campbell 71 69 68 75, Bo Van Pelt 67 70 70 76, Chris Couch 68 70 69 76, Brandt Snedeker 70 70 69 74, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 68 71 72 72

Source - www.sportinglife.com