Read more at Onehd.com.au – Woods pulls out, Watney leads early

He had to fight off a challenge from Vijay Singh and crowd favorite Fred Couples. In the end he won by two shots from Singh. Couples faded late to end in a tie for 7th.

At 51-years-old Couples was aiming to become the oldest PGA winner in more than 35 years.

It was the third career PGA Tour win for Australia’s Baddeley who over recent years saw his ranking fall to 224 in the world.

Baddeley shot 12-under 272. His last win came at the 2007 Phoenix Open.

Is it just me thinking that? Probably, no Tiger Woods sex scandal this time.

Getting back to the golfing exploits of Tiger Woods, he has shot a seven-under 65 to take the lead while playing in the Chevron World Challenge in California.

Woods showed some better form in his recent tournament at the Australian Masters a few weeks ago and has carried that over into the latest tournament in the US.

Woods currently does not hold a single title after losing his Australian Masters title recently.

For him to be back on top of a leaderboard is a big step in his golfing comeback. It has only been that way one time this year.

France’s Gregory Havret was just one stroke behind McDowell then another shot back was Ernie Els. Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods were tied for fourth at 3 over.

It was a tight finish as Havret was putting to tie the lead. His putt ran 2 feet past the hole and McDowell managed to close out his round.

Els was in a winning position after the sixth hole when he moved to -3. He held that score for a few holes before falling away. After being at -3 on the 8th hole Els was soon at +1 after a run of bogie, double bogie, bogie. He got back even on 12 but could not do enough to get the win.

Tiger Woods started the day with a bogie and did not have the magic required to surge back and challenge for the title.

In a statement on his website Tiger Woods has asked for privacy in dealing with issues which he wants left behind closed doors.

Here is part of the statement from Tiger’s website.

“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.”

No doubt you have heard plenty about what Tiger has been up to. Now as a sports fan how do you feel about him. Do you forgive his personal shortcomings and just worry about his deeds on the golf course or will you look down on Tiger?

Unless you have been in his shoes it is hard to pass judgement.

My point of view is that I will respect his privacy and let him deal with his family in his own time. I will continue to enjoy watching Tiger the golfer.

I know plenty of people will not see things that way. I wonder just how things might have been if the recent news had broken before he made his trip to Australia for the Masters. He was god like. Never before had I seen such hype over one individual sports person.

Love to read your comments…

In all my years of following golf in Australia I have not seen the level of expectation that the visit of Tiger Woods created. He is a walking excitement machine. Even in the practice rounds earlier in the week huge crowds flocked to see the world no. 1.

In the opening round on Thursday at the Australian Masters he set the tone with a six under 66. He followed that up with a 68 to enter the weekend at 10 under. On Saturday he really struggled as his timing was off with his swing but showing what a champion he is Woods toughed it out to stay in contention after ending shooting par 72.

This setup the final day as he went into the fourth round in a three-way share of the lead at 10 under par. He shook off the challengers early on after just missing an eagle putt on the first hole. His easy tap in for birdie took hime to 11 under. Birdies followed at five and six to see him at 13 under.

Greg Chalmers the closest challenger had an opening birdie followed by one at the sixth hole. A bogie at the eighth hole was to give Tiger the breathing room he needed. Chalmers ended the day just two strokes behind Woods. The other leader going into the final round, James Nitties also birdied the opening hole but followed that up with a bogey at the second. He had too many bogies to end the day at nine under after shooting one over.

Frenchman Francois Delamontagne and Jason Dufner from the USA were tied for third spot at 10 under behind Woods and Chalmers.

At the end of the day Woods said he would love to come back to Melbourne to play again. It all depends on his schedule for 2010 and if he can fit in another visit. According to what he said in the presentation interview his mother had a great time and gave the local community a boost with all her shopping.

The three million appearance fee seems to have been money well spent. Now we have to hope Australian golf overall can kick on from this magical week of Tigermania.

Woods’ appearance in Australia is great for the game. With so much attention on Woods he did not let the fans down during his first round at the Open.

He started on the back nine at Kingston Heath. The first two holes saw pars.   Woods then got moving with birdies on the par 5 12th and 14th holes. These were the 3rd and 5th holes of his round. Woods did not get another birdie on the back nine.

Woods then started his second nine on the 1st hole and it was another birdie. He then went on to tear up the course with four birdies in five holes running through 4 to 8. At this stage Woods was out in the lead at 7 under. to prove he is not superman Woods hooked his drive into the trees on the ninth hole. From there he had a bogey to end his round at 6 under 66.

Looking at the score card Woods had birdies on 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12 and 14. Remembering that he started on 10. The only bogie came on hole no. 9.

At the time of writing this post (1:23 pm Thursday) Woods has been joined as leader in the club house by South Africa’s Branden Grace and Australian James Nitties.

The money would have been on him to extend this to 15-0. The fact that it did not happen is not amazing but who stopped him is. For the first time an asian-born player has claimed a major men’s golf title. The man who did it is Yang Yong-Eun who was ranked 11o in the world going into the tournament at Hazeltine.

The 37-year-old South Korean surprised the gold world by claiming a three-shot victory over Tiger Woods. Yang was 8 under for the 72 holes and shot 70 in the final round compared to Woods who shot 75.

For Yang it is a remarkable win. He only took up gold at the age of 19. He has however won one US PGA title during his career, this came in March at the Honda Classic.

You may have thought the pressure of leading a major would get to Yang. “I tried to master the art of controlling my emotions throughout the small wins I had in my career,” Yang said through his agent, Michael Yim.

England’s Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland tied for third, five shots behind Yang and one ahead of US Open winner Lucas Glover.

The win by an Asian player will be a huge shot in the arm for golf in the region as it already is the fastest-growing market in golf. It also is good news to follow on from the announcement of the likely inclusion of golf in the Olympics from 2016.

The win is not the first time Yang has denied Woods a victory. Before today he was best known for holding off Woods at the HSBC Champions in China three years ago.

For Woods he was aiming for his fifth US PGA title after having won in 1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007.  Remarkably the last time the PGA was hosted by the Hazeltine National Golf Club Woods was runnerup to an unlikely winner. Back in 2002 Woods fell one shot short of Rich Beem who won with a -10 par score.

“I played well enough the entire week to win the championship,” Woods said. “You have to make putts. I didn’t do that. Today was a day that didn’t happen.”

The five to miss out are baseball, karate, roller sports, softball and squash. Baseball and softball were dropped from the Olympics after the Beijing Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee Executive Board proposed the addition of rugby and golf as they offer the most value to the Olympic movement.

Key factors considered when selecting the sports include universality, popularity, good governance, youth appeal, respect for athletes and respect for the Olympic values.

The final decision about the inclusion of golf and rugby will be made at the full IOC meeting onOctober 9 at the 121st IOC session in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The proposed format for golf as put forward by the International Golf Federation will see eight days of competition, four for men and four for women. Both formats will be the traditional four day 72 hole format. 60 men and 60 women will participate.

The rugby will be in the form of sevens. The International Rugby Board proposed 2 to 4 days fo competition. There will be 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams for a total of 288 athletes. The teams would be split into two pools of 6 with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the semi-finals.

“We’re obviously thrilled that the IOC Executive Board has recommended that golf should be added to the 2016 Olympic Programme,” said Ty Votaw, Executive Director of the International Golf Federation Olympic Golf Committee, which has been coordinating the Olympic bid. “We believe we have presented a compelling case as to why golf should be added and we look forward to the IOC’s final vote in October.”

Golf is seeking re-inclusion into the Olympic family after last being included in the 1904 Olympics. Back then only the USA and Canada competed in the sport.

Bernard Lapasset, President of the IRB, said: “We would like to thank the IOC Executive Board for selecting Rugby Sevens from what are seven strong and diverse sports. We recognise the significance of this milestone in our campaign but are also mindful that the ultimate decision rests with the IOC members when they meet in Copenhagen on October 9, 2009.

The 15 a-side form of rugby union was played at four of the first seven summer Olympic Games. It made its debut at the Paris games in 1900. The IOC cancelled rugby union as an Olympic sport shortly after the 1924 games in Paris. It was actually Pierre de Coubertin who introduced rugby to the Olympics.

What do you think about golf and rugby being included in the Olympics? Leave your comment below.

The splendid looking beaches of the Gold Coast are about seven miles in length along the coastline. The rain forests of the Gold Coast hinterland are also enlisted in the list of the World Heritages. The theme parks, such as Dreamworld and Sea World on the Gold Coast are unbelievable. If you are a shopping buff, then the Gold Coast is the place for you. Even the casinos located at the Gold Coast are of an international level. The city has an extremely amazing night life. Overall, the Gold Coast golf holidays would be absolutely wonderful memory for you. At the Gold Coast, you can enjoy a warm climate all through the year. There is an ever smiling sunshine on the land because of its location in the southern hemisphere. Thus, you will find a favorable sunshine on the Gold Coast for about three hundred days a year. So, you can undeniably tag Gold Coast as the best place to enjoy the gold coast golf tours.

To make your golf tours more thrilling, many exciting golf courses are created all across the Gold coast. The Royal Pines are amongst the renowned golf courses of Gold Coast.   However, this attractive golf course is now owned by the Victoria based RACV. The course is tremendously friendly for the female golf aficionado and recreational. The Lakelands is also very famous golf course in gold coast. This beautiful golf course has about eighteen holes which are authentically planned by Jack Nicklaus. The layout of this golf course is simply unique. Even the facilities of the pitch, floodlit driving range and pro shop are accessible at the Lakelands. The Hope Island is also one of the most fashionable golf courses on the Gold Coast. It was earlier a public resort, but later on it was owned by the Troon Golf, which is a mogul in golf course management. Even, the name of the Hope Island is now transformed to Links Hope Island. However, the Hope Island is a bit challenging for the recreational golfer due to the assorted awkward and arduous layout. Even, the Palm Meadows and Robina Woods are some of the best recognized golf courses on the Gold Coast.

Thus to make your Gold Coast golf holidays sizzle with the par superiority, the abovementioned golf courses available on the Gold Coast will certainly aid to sharpen all your golfing skills. I have to add that I have enjoyed many a round played on the Gold Coast links.