Tiger Woods shot an eight-under 63 for a one shot lead at the American Express Championship yesterday. Woods is going for his sixth straight PGA Tour win at the event at Chandler’s Cross, England … Mike Weir is taking Phil Mickelson’s open spot at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Hawaii, the organizers of the event announced yesterday. Mickelson dropped out of the event and told the PGA of America he was taking the rest of the year off … Annika Sorenstam still does not have a partner in the Merrill Lynch Shootout, held Nov. 8-12 at Tiburon Golf Club, ...

Tiger Woods said yesterday that his PGA Tour winning streak is still alive because the two events he lost since winning the Deutsche Bank Championship in September for his fifth consecutive victory were on the European Tour. He said he is going for his sixth consecutive win at the American Express Championship, which starts today … A European international sports broadcaster is launching a golf channel in cooperation with the PGA Tour next year. Setanta Golf will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week starting January 2007.

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem remembered Byron Nelson, the Hall of Fame golfer who passed away Tuesday at 94, as “a legend who transcended generations and was loved and respected by everyone who knew him” in a statement. Nelson is perhaps most famous for winning 11 consecutive professional tournaments in 1945 … Ryder Cup hero Darren Clarke will be paired with Tiger Woods in the first two rounds of the American Express World Championship. Close friends, the men will tee off early tomorrow afternoon … Stewart Cink and J.J. Henry, who were partners in the 36th Ryder Cup Matches, will again play ...

Golf legend Byron Nelson, most famously known for his record streak of eleven professional wins in a row in 1945, passed away Tuesday in his home in Irving, Texas. He was 94. A hemophiliac, Nelson turned pro during the Great Depression in 1932 and dominated the PGA Tour during World War II and racked up 52 wins before retiring from regular competition at 34, when he had finally saved enough money to buy his Texas ranch. He earned $182,000 during his pro career. “I don’t know very much,” Nelson said in a 1997 interview with The Associated Press. “I ...

Tiger Woods said yesterday that poor putting was partly to blame for the U.S. Ryder Cup team’s loss to Europe Sunday. He also said America continues to struggle in the event because it lacks a solid field of good young players to pull from … Woods and the rest of the U.S. squad joined the Europeans for their celebration party the night before … Korean Lee Seon-hwa has won this year’s LPGA rookie of the year award. Lee, who tied for 39th at the Longs Drug Challenge, won the 2006 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award with 1009 points … Laura ...

Eric Axley won his first PGA Tour title Sunday at the Texas Open, shooting a 1-over 71 in the last round. Axley, 32, had never finished higher than tied for 24th in a tour event … Karrie Webb shot a final round 2-under 70 to win the Longs Drug Challenge at Blackhawk Country Club yesterday. The Aussie went into the final round with a five-stroke lead over the pack, but Annika Sorenstam came back from a six shot deficit to force Webb to save par on the last hole.

In the end it was never in doubt, as the European team easily turned their 10-6 lead into a victory in singles, winning six of the first eight matches, to win the 2006 Ryder Cup and maintain their hold on the trophy which they’ve now won five of six times. With four matches still to play as of this posting, Europe holds an insurmountable 16-8 lead … Tiger Woods and Stewart Cink scored the only early singles victories for the U.S., which saw three of its four Ryder Cup rookies go down to defeat on Sunday.

Prior to Day One of the Ryder Cup, many pundits questioned European captain Ian Woosnam’s choice of Darren Clarke as a Captain’s pick. However, still mourning the loss of his wife Heather to breast cancer, Clarke and Lee Westwood beat the U.S. team of Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco, for one of three outright victories on the day for the Europe side, as they took a 5-3 lead after Day One … Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk beat Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington in fourball in the day’s first match, but it was the only victory of the day for the ...

Tiger Woods did not get off to an impressive start at the 36th Ryder Cup Matches today, hitting his opening shot into the water. Woods and Jim Furyk are taking on Europe’s Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington in the opening fourball matches … On a more positive Ryder Cup note, Tiger Woods seems to be embracing his new role as a leader on the U.S. team, The New York Times reported yesterday. Woods has become something of a mentor for the team’s four rookies: J.J. Henry, Zach Johnson, Vaughn Taylor and Brett Wetterich … Jeong Jang shot a course record 8-under 64 ...

Tom Lehman’s personal story of struggling through the ranks of professional golf is an inspiration to his team going into the Ryder Cup Matches in Ireland, The New York Times reported yesterday. Lehman spent much of his early career fighting to make it as a professional golfer before eventually finding his stride. He won his first PGA Tour event in 1994 and outplayed the field at the British Open two years later. Many of the U.S. players respect his perseverance and determination, according to the report … In other Ryder Cup news, Tiger Woods will be paired with Jim Furyk, Lehman ...

A pornographic Web site has published false links to Tiger Woods’ wife Elin Nordgren, and the World’s No. 1 golfer has voiced his displeasure over it as the Ryder Cup prepares to take center stage in the sports’ world, according to Reuters. “It’s unacceptable and I don’t want it to detract from this event,” Woods said at a news conference at the K Club. “I am very disappointed about this. Yes, my wife has been a model but to link her with a pornographic Web site is unacceptable.”

The Junior Ryder Cup in Newport, Wales, ended in a 6-6 tie between Europe and the United States yesterday. Cassandra Blaney and Tony Mapu Finau defeated Maximillian Kieffer of Germany and Belgian Laura Gonzales-Escallon by one hole in the final round to seal the tie … It appears Michelle Wie isn’t winning many new fans by competing in PGA Tour events, with many critics saying she should focus on the LPGA Tour. Wie failed to make the cut in a PGA Tour event for the sixth time in her career at last week’s 84 Lumber Classic. Bill Britton jumped to a 3-shot ...

The Ryder Cup is a scant few hours away, and even though the U.S. team arrived a little late due to too much luggage, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and the others – including four rookies – are ready to battle at the K Club … Darren Clarke is ready to do his part for the European side, as he looks to focus on winning golf while still dealing with the loss of his wife Heather to cancer … Isabelle Lendl showed why she’s drawing so much attention on the golf course by winning her first match in the Junior Ryder Cup ...

Paul Casey made the final of the World Match Play Championship his own personal playground, as he thrashed Shaun Micheel 10 & 8 to take home the richest winning prize in golf - $1.88 million. Casey was dominant throughout, never trailing in a tournament that began with thoughts of Tiger Woods’ sixth consecutive victory … Ben Curtis won the final 84 Lumber Classic by two strokes over Charles Howell III, for his second victory of the season … Kevin Stadler put the finishing touches on a big year by winning the Boise Open. The victory ensures that Stadler will have his ...

Shaun Micheel continued his hot play as he topped Robert Karlsson to make it to the final of the World Match Play Championship. Micheel will battle Paul Casey, who beat Colin Montgomerie to reach the final in the event where the winner will receive a whopping $1.87 million … The world’s most valuable individual athlete spent his afternoon watching the world’s most expensive team, as Tiger Woods took in the Chelsea and Liverpool match in London, won by Chelsea, 1-0 on a stylish goal from Didier Drogba … After three rounds of the 84 Lumber Classic Charles Howell III and Ben Curtis ...

Michelle Wie failed to make the cut at a PGA Tour event for the sixth time in her career Friday at the 84 Lumber Classic. Wie shot a 77 and 81, leaving her 13 shots short of making the cut … Meanwhile, Ben Curtis, a former British Open champion, shares the lead in the event with Ryan Moore. Curtis shot a three-under 69 yesterday.

Annika Sorenstam said yesterday that she will not compete in next month’s LPGA Morelia Championship because she doesn’t want to get burned out after playing a busy schedule this year. Sorenstam said, though, that she is excited about her upcoming Skins match against Lorena Ochoa in Acapulco … The 2006-2007 professional golf tour in India will be postponed by one week, promoter Tiger Sports Marketing announced yesterday. The first event was scheduled for Sept. 20.

Nicholas Thompson leads the 84 Lumber Classic, after shooting a first round 64. Thompson, ranked 181 on the PGA money list, has a two shot lead over a group of six players that finished at 66 … Michelle Wie finished her round with a 5-over 77 after struggling with her putter. Wie had this to say after being asked if she felt frustrated with the 34 putts she had in her round: “Well, I was frustrated with my putting not because I was hitting them bad or because I was pulling them or pushing them. It was frustrating today because I was ...

Tiger Woods’ five tournament winning streak came to a halt at the hands of Shaun Micheel at the World Match Play Championships. World No. 2 Jim Furyk also lost, to Sweden’s Robert Karlsson. Both Woods and Furyk lost 4 & 3 …

After the first 18 holes of their opening-round match at the World Match Play Championship in England, former PGA Champion Shaun Micheel is 3-up on Tiger Woods heading to the final 18 holes. A Micheel win would end Woods’ current five-tournament winning streak. World No. 2 Jim Furyk is also in trouble after 18 holes, as he was don5 by five holes to Sweden’s Robert Karlsson.

Darren Clarke has once again said he is ready to compete in the upcoming Ryder Cup Matches, held at The K Club in Ireland Sept. 22-24. Clarke lost his wife to cancer in August. European team captain Ian Woosnam selected him as a wildcard pick earlier this month … More than 10 hospitals in New York got a big shot in the arm yesterday. The LPGA Corning Classic donated $300,000 in proceeds from the 2006 event, held in May, to 11 area hospitals and four charities … Annika Sorenstam and the 15 other players leading the LPGA Tour’s money list will compete ...

Michelle Wie will play in this week’s 84 LUMBER Classic in Farmington, Pa. Wie has never made the cut in a PGA Tour event, but she is optimistic she’ll break through in Farmington … Turner Sports New Media, a division of Time Warner, will now produce and market PGATour.com, the site of the PGA Tour, according to an agreement announced yesterday. PGATOUR.com is the leading site in golf … Fred Funk has committed to playing in the Southern Farm Bureau Classic at the Annandale Golf Club in Mississippi this month. Funk, who won the event in 2004, skipped it last year to ...

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said yesterday that the golf world lost a pioneer and legend with the passing of Patty Berg, the founder of the LPGA Tour. Berg died Sunday in Florida. She was 88 … Shooting a final round 2-under 70, Ai Miyazato won the Japan LPGA Championship Sunday. This is Miyazato’s first season on the U.S. LPGA Tour. She has five top 10 finishes … The 84 LUMBER Classic kicks off this week at the Mystic Rock Golf Course in Farmington, Pa. It is expected to be the last tour event in western Pennsylvania for several years.

Jim Furyk won the Canadian Open yesterday, finishing with a 14-under 266 to defeat Bart Bryant by one stroke. Furyk, who is playing in the upcoming Ryder Cup Matches in Ireland, said he will defend the title next year … Patty Berg, who founded the Ladies Professional Golf Association and won 15 major championships, died yesterday in Florida. She was 88 and had Alzheimer’s disease. Winning a total of 60 professional titles, Berg was a member of the L.P.G.A. Tour and World Golf halls of fame … Cristie Kerr rallied from 2-shots behind Annika Sorenstam to win the John Q. Hammons Hotel ...

Tiger Woods isn’t playing at the Canadian Open, so what does that mean? It means 26 players are within three shots of the lead heading into weekend play. Jesper Parnevik, Camilo Villegas, Jonathan Byrd and Arron Oberholser start Saturday tied for the No. 1 spot at 7-under … Annika Sorenstam continues her frantic finish to the LPGA campaign, as she leads after first round of the John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic. Sorenstam shot a 64 for a two shot lead at the event, where she is the two-time defending champion … Bradley Wedge of Wales and Marcel Siem of Germany led the ...

Greater Boston is looking to bring the LPGA Tour back to the area. Jay Monahan of the Fenway Sports Group is trying to bring the LPGA, a sponsor and a course together to arrange the first event in Massachusetts since the area.WEB.COM Challenge in 1999 in Sutton … Alejandro Canizares, the four-time All-American with Arizona State who turned pro earlier this summer, is looking to make a run at the PGA Tour. Canizares recently said he is considering going to qualifying school this fall … Golf is catching on in Russia, according to The New York Times. Russia only had three courses ...

The first round is in the books at the Omega European Masters, and Michelle Wie will have her work cut out for her to make the cut at the event in Switzerland. Wie opened up with a 7-over-par 78 to leave her 12 shots behind leaders Anthony Wall, David Carter and Robert Coles. Defending champion Sergio Garcia kept himself in the hunt after shooting a 3-under 68 … Jim Furyk showed his game is in form with the Ryder Cup coming up, as he shot an opening-round 63 to take the lead into the clubhouse at the Canadian Open. Defending champion ...

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem intimated yesterday that the tour is considering a performance-enhancing drug testing program, following several weeks of saying there was no need for such a measure. The policy board will reportedly discuss the issue at its next meeting, Nov. 13-14 … The 97th Canadian Open kicks off today at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club. Vijay Singh, who shot a sensational 61 at the Deutsche Bank Championship last week, is one of the favorites … Three players are still in the hunt for the LPGA Tour’s Rolex Player of the Year award, with nine events left in the ...

Tiger Woods’ win at the Deutsche Bank Championship this week not only gave him his fifth straight tour victory but also his eighth PGA Player of the Year award. Though the honor hasn’t been awarded yet, no other player can catch Woods with only nine tournaments left in the season … Stuart Appleby has said he will play for the Australian PGA Championship in December. Appleby has won two events on the U.S. PGA Tour this year and is eighth on the tour’s money list … Michelle Wie said yesterday that she doesn’t think men should be allowed to play in LPGA ...

Prior to her appearance in the Omega European Masters, a European PGA event, Michelle Wie was in fine form at the microphone after a practice round with Sergio Garcia: “There are going to be some people that aren’t happy with me playing in men’s tournaments,” Wie said. “I am not just doing it for the support I get, I am doing it for myself and my own self happiness. I love playing men’s events and the challenge. I feel an adrenaline rush when I play these events and it is a lot of fun,” Wie said. “Hopefully, I will be able to ...

South Korean land developer Unico has won a $40 million deal to build a golf course and other recreational facilities in North Korea. The company will build a 36-hole course in Kaesong … Organizers of The Swing for Life golf tournament being held this week in Vietnam will donate money from the event to a health center in a poor district of the city. Swing for Life has collected $400,000 for charity organizations since 2000 … Palm Springs is enjoying a tourism resurgence that is driving up business for the local golf industry. Top rate golf and great weather and attracting tourists ...

Tiger Woods made it five consecutive PGA Tour victories, firing an 8-under-par 63 to overwhelm Vijay Singh as well as the rest of the field to win the Deutsche Bank Championship at the TPC of Boston … Woods used two eagles in shooting a 30 on the front nine to overtake Singh … Woods finished the tournament at 16-under, two shots ahead of Singh, who had taken the lead into the final round after a third-round 61. The victory is the seventh of the season for Woods, and leaves him one short of the six consecutive victories he posted in 1999-2000 ...

Vijay Singh shot a 10-under 61 yesterday to take the lead at the Deutsche Bank Championship at the The TPC at Boston in the best round of his career. Tiger Woods, who is going for his fifth straight tour win, is in second place … Annika Sorenstam won the State Farm Classic yesterday with a dazzling 10-under 62, ending the day with a 20-foot putt for birdie. Sorenstam started play Sunday five strokes back … European Ryder Cup team captain Ian Woosnam selected Darren Clarke, whose wife passed away after a long battle with cancer last month, as one of his ...

Tiger Woods struggled during his second round at the Deutsche Bank Championship, but despite shooting over par for the day, his overall score of 4-under kept him within striking distance of Justin Rose, who went into the clubhouse as the second-round leader at 6-under. Robert Allenby, Olin Brown and Aaron Baddeley also stayed within two shots of the lead … Looking for her first LPGA victory in seven years on the tour Maria Hjorth has the lead heading into the final round of the State Farm Classic. Hjorth is one stroke ahead of Seon-Hwa Lee and Il Mi Chung, with Cristie ...

Tiger Woods shot an opening-round 66 to go into the clubhouse with the first-round lead at the Deutsche Bank Championship at the TPC of Boston. At 5-under, Woods leads a big group at 4-under, including Bob May, Justin Rose and Aaron Baddeley … In Germany, John Daly withdrew from the BMW International due to being hospitalized with a gastrointestinal virus.

Tiger Woods starts his campaign for a fifth straight tour win today at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Massachusetts. Byron Nelson holds the record for the most consecutive wins: 11. Woods previously won six straight in 1999-2000 … At least 15 players who have won on the PGA Tour this season have committed to playing in next week’s Canadian Open in Ontario. The Royal Canadian Golf Association has announced that Ben Curtis, Corey Pavin, Jeff Maggert, Arron Oberholser, Rory Sabbatini, Aaron Baddeley, Carl Pettersson, J.J. Henry, Trevor Immelman, Dean Wilson, John Rollins and Will McKenzie, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and Stephen ...