Woods blazes competition at PGA Championship to win 13th major

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The 13th major for Tiger Woods looked like so many others until he finished.

His father is no longer alive for Woods to walk into his arms. His mother no longer travels to any major but the Masters. He now shares his triumphs with a wife and baby daughter, and the biggest surprise Sunday at the PGA Championship was seeing them when he walked into the scoring trailer to sign for a 69 and a two-shot victory.

Naturally, 2-month-old Sam Alexis was decked out in red.

“It’s a feeling I’ve never had before,” Woods said after turning back a brief scare to win the final major of the year. “Having Sam there and having Elin there, it feels a lot more special. And it used to be my mom and dad. And now Elin, and now we have our own daughter. So it’s evolved, and this one feels so much more special than the other majors.”

On the golf course, it was the same old story.

With his five-shot lead trimmed to a single stroke, Woods kept his cool in temperatures that reached 102 degrees. He hit 7-iron to 10 feet on the 15th hole for a birdie that gave him some breathing room, and the bold drive on the 16th — Woods twirled the club in his hand when he saw it split the middle — was the sure sign this major was over.

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Garcia signs incorrect card, gets booted from PGA

Another bad break for Sergio Garcia: This one got him disqualified from the PGA Championship.

Garcia got the boot Saturday for signing an incorrect scorecard after the third round. In tournament golf, players keep each other’s scores. Garcia’s playing partner, Boo Weekley, put down a 4 for Garcia on the 17th hole when the Spaniard actually made a 5.

It’s the player’s responsibility to ensure his scorecard is accurate before he signs it. Garcia didn’t. And when the mistake was noticed in the scoring tent, Garcia had already left.

“He just took off,” Weekley said. “I called him back down and tried to get him before he got all the way up the stairs.”

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A hot one in Tulsa finds Woods in the lead, then out of it

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Tiger Woods took a brief share of the lead at the PGA Championship in sweltering heat Thursday, then fell back down the leaderboard when he hit a poor approach shot that landed short of the green as he made the turn.

Opening his round on the back side at steamy Southern Hills, Woods made three birdies over the first six holes to get to 3-under par. But his approach to No. 18 came up well short in a bunker, and he couldn’t get up and down.

The bogey dropped him two shots behind Austrian Markus Brier, who was at 4 under through 14 holes and Arron Oberholser, also at 4 under through 12.

One shot off the lead, at 3 under, were 1991 PGA champion and fan favorite John Daly, 2002 PGA champion Rich Beem and club pro Brad Lardon, who qualified for the tournament by earning one of five spots in a six-man playoff at the PGA Professional National Championship.

Woods, seeking his 13th major championship, is hoping to avoid being shut out of the majors for the first time since 2004.

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Azinger Names Three Assistants for 2008 Ryder Cup

US Captain Paul Azinger has named former Ryder Cup Captains Raymond Floyd and Dave Stockton, along with Tour regular Olin Browne, to serve as assistants for The 2008 United States Ryder Cup Team.

The trio, announced at a news conference at Southern Hills Country Club, will be on duty during The 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, from September 19-21.

Floyd, 64, a four time Major Champion, is a veteran of eight Ryder Cup Teams, posting a 12-16-3 record and serving as Captain in 1989. He won one of his two USPGA Championships at Southern Hills in 1982.

Stockton, also 64, won USPGA Championships in 1970 at Southern Hills and in 1976 at Congressional Country Club. He served on two Ryder Cup Teams, compiling a 3-1-1 record. Stockton was Captain in 1991, when the US edged out Europe, 14½ to 13½, at The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island.

Browne, 48, is one of Azinger’s closest friends on Tour, and owns three USPGA Tour and four Nationwide Tour victories since joining the PGA Tour in 1995.

“The assistants really haven’t been an integral part of The Ryder Cup until recently, and I believe now I’ve made a decision that with my picks, I’m going to make them an important part of this next Ryder Cup for me,” said Azinger. “And, it is my intention to lean on these guys.

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Approach from fairway bunkers

If your golf shot landed in the bunker, the next shot depends on the lie that you have in that bunker. If the lie is bad or rather, the ball is buried, then you will need a higher lofted club such as the 7-iron to the sand wedge to get the ball out. In such cases, it is advisable to get the ball back into play and approach from there.

However, if you have a good lie in the bunker, there are choices for you. If you are not comfortable, you can opt to play safe and just take a lofted club to get the ball back onto the fairway and play from there. The other choice is to go for the green from the bunker. This is possible since you have a good lie.

Longer irons, just as the 3, 4 or 5 irons can be used for situation where you have a good lie in the fairway bunkers. A lofted wood can also be used in place of the longer irons. A 5 or 7 wood is also playable. There are a couple of things to note when playing this shot. It may be slightly different from

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HARRINGTON: I’VE OPENED THE DOOR

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Padraig Harrington is keen to add the USPGA to his Open success when the event starts at Southern Hills on Thursday.

Harrington’s victory at Carnoustie last month ended a major drought for European players dating back to Paul Lawrie’s win at the same venue in 1999.

No European has won the US PGA Championship since Scotland’s Tommy Armour in 1930 - but Harrington insists that run could come to an end as well.

The Irishman said: “I believe we’re in a better place now than we were going into the Open, having a chance to win a major championship.

“I think we have a number of players who have added belief. If the floodgates open in the next couple of years, I’m going to take credit for it.”

Despite Harrington’s Open victory, Tiger Woods is favourite to win the event.

Woods is searching for his first major success since he won this event at Medinah last season, with the first three majors of this year going to people without previous major success.

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WOODS TOO GOOD AT FIRESTONE

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Tiger Woods was in a league of his own as he taught South African Rory Sabbatini a lesson he perhaps should have learnt three months ago.

The world number one, on a Firestone course he simply loves, strode majestically to an amazing sixth victory in nine attempts at the at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in Akron.

One behind Sabbatini at the start of a wet final round, Woods turned that into a masterful eight-stroke triumph over England’s Justin Rose and Sabbatini with a closing five-under-par 65.

It was his second hat-trick of wins in the event - a US Tour record.

In the Wachovia Championship in May the brash Sabbatini had also been one in front of Woods after 54 holes and sounded off about how he fancied his chances.

On that occasion, Woods beat him 69-74.

Sabbatini’s confidence had not been shaken by that experience and nor was he daunted by Woods’ phenomenal record on the course.

“Somebody has to knock him down, you know?” he said.

“There’s always going to be that point you get to where somebody beats you. So maybe Sunday is my day. That’s the way I’m going to look at it.

“I’m going into it with full intention that I’m going to win. And if it doesn’t, so be it. But you know what, I don’t believe that in my mind it’s going to happen.”

The reality was somewhat different.

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Ochoa reigns at Women’s British Open for 1st major title

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ST. ANDREWS, Scotland Lorena Ochoa won her first major title Sunday with a four-stroke victory at the Women’s British Open — the first women’s professional tournament played at venerable St. Andrews.

The top-ranked Mexican shot a 1-over 74 in the final round at the home of golf. She finished with a 5-under 287 total, four strokes better than Jee Young Lee (71) and Maria Hjorth (71). Reilley Rankin (71) was another stroke back at par.

“For me this is the most special round of golf I ever played,” Ochoa said. “Hopefully this is the first of many (majors) to come. It was my time.”

Annika Sorenstam, who was tied for third going into the final round, finished tied for 16th at 4 over after a 76 that included a 7 at the 17th Road Hole.

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