Mickelson target Tiger's top spot

Mickelson target Tiger's top spot

Tiger Woods could have lost his world number one spot by the time he flies to Wales with the rest of the American Ryder Cup side on Sunday night - and there is nothing he can do about it.

Phil Mickelson defends the Tour Championship in Atlanta this week knowing that finishing first or second will enable him to take top spot in the rankings for the first time.

Woods failed to qualify for the 30-man event, which offers a first prize of £868,000 in addition to the £6.4million that will be handed to the overall winner of the FedEx Cup play-off series.

Paul Casey, left out of Europe's side, is currently fifth in the cup standings and will scoop the jackpot if he wins the tournament.

Luke Donald, who will be at Celtic Manor next week, Justin Rose and Martin Laird are also taking part.

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Mickelson to miss Grand Slam of golf

Mickelson to miss Grand Slam of golf

Masters champion Phil Mickelson has decided not to play the two-day Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda next month.

This season's three other major winners will instead by joined by Ernie Els.

With Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell having lifted the US Open, Els' fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen the Open and German Martin Kaymer the US PGA it means that no American will be taking part in the four-man event for the first time since 1994.

A statement from the PGA of America said that Mickelson "will not be able to compete due to his diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis. Mickelson elected to rest and spend time with his family for a month after a busy late season schedule that includes the Ryder Cup."

The world number two, who becomes America's joint record-holder when he earns his eighth cap against Europe at Celtic Manor next week, revealed his arthritic condition during the US PGA Championship last month.

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McDowell targets to stay in Ryder zone

McDowell targets to stay in Ryder zone

Graeme McDowell will put the finishing touches to his Ryder Cup preparations this week after making an encouraging return to action.

McDowell returned from a month off with a solid performance in the Austrian Open, where he finished in a share of third place.

"I'm fired up, no doubt about it," McDowell said.

"I've got a few days of practice lined up this coming week.

"Then it's down to Celtic Manor on the Monday and it's one of those weeks when you want to take your game with you to the Ryder Cup.

"It's a busy week, it's tough to go finding it somewhere, and I'm hoping to be a big part of the team."

"You've just got to look at the wins and you've just got to look at the world rankings.

"It's got to be one of the best European Ryder Cup teams ever assembled.

"One of my big goals this year was to be part of that and I've achieved that and I definitely want to go there and perform."

"There's a couple of players who really deserve to make the team, Paul Casey and Justin Rose being two of those guys," McDowell said.

"Unfortunately we just ran out of space this year.

"Guys played their way on to the team like Peter Hanson and Edoardo Molinari."

Ahead of the clash with Corey Pavin's team, McDowell backed European captain Montgomerie to prove an inspiring leader.

"He's going to be a great captain. He's very meticulous with his preparation," McDowell said.

"He wants us there nice and early on Monday and we'll be very much ready come Friday."

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John Parry to the fore in Austria

John Parry to the fore in Austria

Graeme McDowell was upstaged by John Parry, who carded a second-round 67 to take the lead at the Austrian Open in Atzenbrugg.

The 23-year-old Challenge Tour graduate had a flawless round with five birdies to take top spot by one shot, but he admitted there was plenty of golf left to be played.

"It's a bit early to be looking at leaderboards - we're only in the second round," said Parry, a Walker Cup team-mate of Rory McIlroy.

"It is a lead, though, so I'm happy going into the weekend in front. I'd always prefer to be in the lead than not."

"I still feel young in myself, but there are many young Spanish guys coming up now and already have their cards," said the 33-year-old, who could not match his opening 66 as he signed for a 71.

"I need to fight this year and that's what I'm doing."

"It's very much the old cliche of a game of two halves, this golf course," McDowell told europeantour.com.

"This front nine's quite tricky and you've got to drive the ball unbelievably well to have any chance of making birdies.

"On the back nine it's a lot more three woods and hybrids off the tees which offers you a few more opportunities and I think the greens are a little flatter as well.

"I think I'm two over par for the front nine and nine under par for the back nine overall so I certainly know where I need to make up some shots on the weekend."

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Tiger Woods fails to make Tour Championship

Tiger Woods fails to make Tour Championship

There is still plenty of golf ahead for Tiger Woods this year but his PGA Tour season came to an early end at the BMW Championship on Sunday after he failed to earn a spot in the Tour Championship.

For the first time in 15-years, Woods finishes his PGA Tour season without claiming a single title but the world number one at least managed to exit on a positive note firing three birdies on a bogey-free back nine for a final round one-under 70.

The back-nine charge, however, was far too little, too late to earn Woods a place in the elite 30-man field for the lucrative season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta. His one-under total of 283 left him in a tie for 15th and well out of the fifth place finish he needed to advance to the finale.

"That's just the way it is," shrugged Woods, when asked if he was disappointed not to be headed to Atlanta. "I didn't play well early in the year and I didn't play well in the middle of the year. "I would rather be there. I've played better than I have all this year. "But it is what it is. I didn't qualify and since I'm at home it gives me two weeks to practice and prepare."

"I think his game is like inches from being there," said Mickelson. "His speed is back. He's solid, very close. He's hitting shots. "He hit a lot of good shots there coming in. He made a couple of bogeys and followed up with a number of birdies there towards the end. "You can tell that his game is like inches from turning because his speed is back and his putter looks great. "His game is not far off at all. It looks very close to being right there."

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Bhullar tied 4th after Rd3 of Singapore Classic

Bhullar tied 4th after Rd3 of Singapore Classic

Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar remained in the hunt for a strong finish although he slipped a couple of rungs to tied fourth after returning a modest two-under 70 in the third and penultimate round of the USD 400,000 Handa Singapore Classic here on Saturday.

Bhullar, a two-time Asian Tour champion, has a total of 14-under 202 and is six strokes behind leader Peter Karmis (70) of South Africa.

The Punjab-golfer rued poor iron play as he closed with three birdies against one bogey today.

"To be honest I didn't hit the ball that close. I didn't hit many balls on the green in regulation and the balls which I hit close wasn't birdie opportunities," he said.

"I could have been much better but I guess Peter has played well again. He deserves to be there and hopefully tomorrow I can scramble up the leader board," added Bhullar.

SSP Chowrasia was the nest best-placed Indian tied 12th after 71 in the third round took his overall score to 12-under 204.

Himmat Rai (69) was tied 36th with a total of nine-under 207, while a stroke a adrift was Anirban Lahiri (73) at the tied 45th spot.

C Muniyappa signed a disappointing card of 74 to share the 56th position with a total of six-under 210. Vikrant Chopra (72) lay further down at tied 64th with four-under 212.

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Pavin open to superstar pairing

Pavin open to superstar pairing

United States captain Corey Pavin has not ruled out putting Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson back together at Celtic Manor.

"I think there's a lot of combinations and permutations out there and there's nothing set in stone, that's for sure, yet."

"Do I rule it out for this match? No.

"It's the same thing that would make me put any pair together - if they wanted to do that.

"I will certainly be asking the players who they want to play with and hopefully it will all work out.

"What did they do in 2004? They lost one on the last hole and the other 2&1 - they played pretty well. There's nothing that's ruled out."

"I told these two guys that I felt like the perception of the world was that the US team didn't bond and we didn't come together as a team," he stated on announcing it.

"I said 'I can't think of any other message that we could send any louder than to put the two of you guys out first'.

"Both were committed to it and I don't know that we could pair two guys together that were more matched for one another than those two guys."

Then at the opening ceremony, he added: "I felt like history needed it. I felt like the fans needed it. And, most of all, I felt like Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods needed it."

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Ryder rookies out to extent Fedex bid

Ryder rookies out to extent Fedex bid

Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler, now on countdown to the Ryder Cup, have some important business to take care of first.

The US Tour rookies tee off at Cog Hill in Illinois in the third of the four FedEx Cup play-off events, but are not certain yet to be part of the final leg in a fortnight's time.

"It just came down to feelings - I had a gut feeling about Rickie," said America's captain.

"He has a good Walker Cup record - 7-1. He's a very good player.

"I think he can handle it and that's why I picked him.

"I think he's a very mature young man who has had experience in international play and has got a very steady head on his shoulders."

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Woods expects Ryder Cup jeers

Woods expects Ryder Cup jeers

Tiger Woods wants to play a Ryder Cup in Europe again - even though he is promised a partisan reception.

The world number one was expected to be named as one of Corey Pavin's four wild cards later on Tuesday after finishing 12th and 11th in his last two events, a marked improvement on what came before.

America defend the trophy at Celtic Manor on October 1-3 and for Woods it would be a sixth cap. He made his debut at Valderrama in 1997 and also played at The Belfry in 2002 and the K Club four years ago.

"Well, on the road it's very different," he said after his closing 68 at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston on Monday.

"You get booed a lot, you get jeered and people say things they probably shouldn't say.

"Unfortunately I've seen it on both sides. They did it with Monty (European captain Colin Montgomerie), so it goes both ways and I've had that experience and understand how to deal with it and make it a positive thing.

"I missed the last one because I was hurt and it would be nice to be on the team.

"I enjoy playing in the Ryder Cup and going out there against those guys with my teammates and see if we can get it done."

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Tiger Woods news: Need to prove to sponsors in Masters

Tiger Woods news: Need to prove to sponsors in Masters

THE RETURN of Tiger Woods to golf, with the Masters Tournament at the Augusta Greens, has become a moment of reckoning for his sponsors like Nike, Gillete and EA Sports. While the sponsers had chosen to stand with the number one ranked golfer during the scandals involving Woods' personal life, they may part ways if the Tiger isn't able to perform at the PGA tour. The Tiger Woods scandal, which surfaced in November, saw as many as ten women confirming that the golfer had had an affair with them, over the course of his ten year marriage to Elin Nordegren. While wife Elin moved out, the golfer took a break from golf, stating the need to spend time with his family and be and shunted off to a sex addiction clinic. Many sponsors severed ties with the golfer, including Gatorade, which announced ending its deal with Tiger Woods on February 26 and Accenture. Gillete had also distanced himself from the golfer. Those who remained with him, did so during the 12 weeks when he was absent from public view. Tiger Woods needs to payback to these sponsors as a steady brand ambassador on the Augusta Greens in two ways. While it is a given that a good game by the golfer will boost his image and that brands associated with him tremendously, the true test will be model conduct on the greens and off it. Tiger Woods has seen a huge loss of face after the sex scandal broke through and needs to show that he is serious on the promises he made to fans during the February press conference cum apology.

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Tiger Woods Turns Down $75 Million Sponsorship Offer

Tiger Woods Turns Down $75 Million Sponsorship Offer

Ace golfer Tiger Woods has turned down a $75 million sponsorship offer from Paddy Power. The Irish bookmaker on Friday disclosed that they would make an improved offer to the golfer.
Sports drink brand Gatorade last week had ended their deal with the 14-time major champion winner. This was the third time a sponsorship deal was cancelled after Wood’s adulterous affairs came into limelight last year.
The Dublin-based company revealed that the initial offer made to Woods was a five year deal. The endorsement deals of the golfer before he took a hiatus from golf in December is estimated to have earned him $100 million annually.
Woods has yet not disclosed his return date to the golf field though he made a public media appearance for the first time recently.

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