Organizers of the Masters have offered Hideto Tanihara of Japan a special invitation to play in this year’s event. The four-time Japan Golf Tour winner will be one of nearly 20 players to make their first Masters appearance … A 14-year-old golfer with a heart defect has been offered a sponsor’s exemption to play in the LPGA Tour Ginn Tribute in the spring. MacKinzie Kline got the invite from Annika Sorenstam to compete in the event after the LPGA super star heard of the young golfer’s condition … “MacKinzie is a very unique and determined young lady and we are thrilled to ...

Organizers of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first LPGA Tour major of the year, offered Michelle Wie a sponsor invitation for the event yesterday. The tournament’s director, Terry Wilcox, said Wie will play in the event for her fifth time, though Wie has not confirmed her participation … Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia said yesterday he plans to design the first links-style golf course in Dubai. Garcia, 27, said the course will feature uneven fairways, thick rough and small greens … “I love the demands of links golf,” he said in a statement. “A great links-style course means it is both a physical ...

Tiger Woods won his seventh straight PGA Tour title at the Buick Invitational yesterday, marking the second longest winning streak in tour history. Woods shot a final round 6-under-par 66 to win the event by two strokes. With this win, Woods edges a little closer to Byron Nelson’s record 11 consecutive tour victories … Fred Funk shot a final round 8-under-par 64 yesterday to win the Champions Tour’s Turtle Bay Championship. Overall, the 50-year-old went 23-under for a 193, a tournament record … Retief Goosen won the Qatar Masters yesterday with a final round 3-under 69. He defeated Nick O’Hern by one ...

Brandt Snedeker continued to lead at the Buick Invitational following a second round 70 on the South Course at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Charles Howell III is in second, three shots off the lead at 10 under. Tiger Woods is seven shots back at 6 under par after shooting a second round 72. … In Hawaii, Fred Funk took the first round lead at the Turtle Bay Championship after shooting a 65. Tom Kite leads a group two shots back. … On the Nationwide Tour, Patrick Sheehan shot a second-round 64 to take the lead at the halfway point of the ...

PGA Tour rookie Brandt Snedeker shot an 11-under-par 61 yesterday to take a two-stroke lead in the first round of the Buick Invitational. The feat ties the course record … “The whole front nine was a blur,” Snedeker said afterward. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods, who is going for his seventh straight tour victory, shot a 66. Phil Mickelson finished the day with a 74 … Retief Goosen went into the clubhouse at the Qatar Masters with a one shot lead over Miguel Angel Jimenez and Nick O’Hern yesterday. He shot an opening round 7-under-par 65 … Scotland’s Royal & Ancient will allow women ...

For fans who’ve been wondering where Tiger Woods the husband and soon to be father’s priorities lie, they’ve got their answer: with family. Woods recently said he is willing to miss the British Open to be present during the birth of his first child. The British Open takes place in Scotland in July, the month Wood’s wife Elin is expected to give birth … “If it happens, it happens. If it crosses over, it crosses over,” Woods said at a press conference yesterday. “That’s the most important thing, not another golf tournament.” Phil Mickelson said he’s not sure he will defend his ...

Organizers of The International are reportedly unhappy with the tournament’s new date in the 2007 PGA Tour schedule. The tour has shifted the event from August to the Fourth of July weekend, a date that won’t guarantee Tiger Woods’ appearance… Players at this week’s Qatar Masters will be trying extra hard for a hole in one. The first player to sink a hole in one on the 17th hole at Doha Golf Club will win a Doral Monticello yacht … At BadGolfer.com, Chris Baldwin profiles comic Ray Romano, the former star of Everybody Loves Raymond and one heck of a golfer.

Tiger Woods will be back in action this week at the Buick Invitational. Technically, Woods will be going for his seventh consecutive PGA Tour title, though he’s quick to point out that his streak ended at the HSBC World Match Play Championship in England … Don’t bother bringing your cell phone to this year’s British Open. The Royal & Ancient Golf Club has announced that they will be banned in response to complaints from several golfers, including Tiger Woods … The Qatar Masters kicks into swing this week, with Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia and Darren Clarke, among others, competing for the first ...

Charley Hoffman won his first PGA Tour title at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic yesterday, defeating John Rollins in a playoff. The 30-year-old closed with a final round 1-under-par 71. Others were not as successful. Playing in his first tournament of the season, Phil Mickelson shot two double bogeys and five bogeys to finish tied for 45th … Hale Irwin won the MasterCard Championship, the season-opening event of the Champions Tour, yesterday. The 61-year-old, who was coming off a winless season, shot a final round 65 to defeat Jim Thorpe and Tom Kite by five strokes … Shooting a final round 7-under-par ...

Chilly conditions couldn’t keep Justin Rose from shooting a 66 and taking a two-shot lead into the final round of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Scott Verplank is in second, while Robert Allenby leads a group in third place, five shots down. In his first tournament of 2007, Phil Mickelson is tied for 41st, 11 shots off the pace. … Annika Sorenstam has refuted a Swedish Newspapers story which quoted her as saying she was looking to retire from golf and focus on having children and a family. “I am very much looking forward to the start of the 2007 ...

Scott Verplank and Justin Rose are tied at 12-under-par for the lead at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in Palm Springs. Verplank shot a 6-under 66 yesterday to tie Rose, who finished with a 65 … Jay Haas and Loren Roberts, who battled it out last year on the Champions Tour before Haas eventually took the money title, will resume the fight today at the season-opening MasterCard Championship. Last season, Roberts won his first three starts … “Hopefully, Loren won’t get such a big lead like he did last year,” Haas said. “He played awfully well.” Phillip Archer commands a three-stroke lead ...

Robert Allenby holds a two-shot lead at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, shooting a spectacular 9-under-par 63 yesterday. Tied for second were Mark Calcavecchia and Craig Kanada. Phil Mickelson started his 2007 season with a 70 … The LPGA’s Sybase Classic is getting a new home. The $1.4 million event is relocating to the Upper Montclair Country Club, in northern New Jersey, from Wykagyl Country Club in the suburbs of New York … Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa, the 2006 LPGA Player of the Year, will not play in this week’s LPGA season opening event, the women’s World Cup of Golf. Ochoa ...

Phil Mickelson will begin his 2007 season at this week’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in Palm Springs, California, with a slightly different swing. The world’s No. four golfer made changes to his swing in the off season to eliminate a tendency to hit tee shots to the left. He has also reworked his fitness program … Actor George Lopez is already getting laughs as host of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Lopez appeared yesterday at a news conference at the Classic Club, one of the four courses used for the tournament, and will continue to perform throughout the five-day event … SI.com’s ...

World No. four ranked-golfer Phil Mickelson aims to design a golf course in western North Carolina. Mickelson reportedly plans to build a course in a more than 3,000-acre development near Asheville, N.C., called RiverRock … Europe handily defeated Asia in the Royal Trophy team tournament Sunday by a nine-point margin. Team Europe, led by Seve Ballesteros, went into the final day with a five-point lead, giving Asia little hope of recovery … For the first time since its inception, the Byron Nelson Championship will be absent its namesake. Nelson, the golf legend who was the first player to have a PGA Tour ...

After 11 years, Paul Goydos is back in the winner’s circle. Goydos shot a final round 3-under-par 67 yesterday to win the Sony Open, defeating Charles Howell III and Luke Donald by one stroke … ‘I never felt like I was going to win,” said Goydos, whose last PGA Tour victory was the 1996 Bay Hill Invitational. “I’m still stunned.” Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson defeated the team of Gary Player and Jay Haas to win the Champions Skins Game yesterday. Nicklaus and Watson won nine skins in all, giving Nicklaus a total of 96 skins worth just over $2 million dollars ...

At just 16, Tad Fujikawa is having a dream tournament at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Following making the cut, the Hawaiian teen went out and shot his second consecutive 66 to put him within four shots of the lead heading to the final round of the event that had all eyes on another teen, Michelle Wie, who failed to make the cut. Charles Howell III holds the lead at the event, as he is up one shot on early leader Luke Donald.

Luke Donald went into the clubhouse at 7-under with a one-shot lead over K.J. Choi after the first round of the Sony Open. Will MacKenzie and Jim Furyk were tied for third. Michelle Wie, in her latest outing against male players, shot an 8-over 78 and was sitting at second-to-last as the second round begins. … Andrew McLardy shot a course-record 63 and has a one-shot lead after the first round of the Joburg Open at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club in South Africa. … Lorena Ochoa is loving her LPGA success, but says she will give the tour 10 ...

This year’s Verizon Heritage champion will earn $18,000 more than last year’s winner, as the event’s organizers are raising the first-place prize to $972,000. The organizers have increased the purse at the event by $100,000 to $5.4 million … Tiger Woods received yesterday the Charlie Bartlett Award from The Golf Writers Association of America for his work with the Tiger Woods Foundation. The foundation has awarded more than $30 million in grants … Vijay Singh won the season-opening Mercedes-Championship last weekend, shooting a final round 3-under-par 70 to defeat Adam Scott by two strokes. The win gives Singh the record for the ...

Tiger Woods continues his dominance on and off the golf course, as a recent Golf Digest article names him the No. 1 earner in golf, having pocketed an estimated $99 million in 2006 … The Sony Open is off to a slow start in Hawaii after officials canceled a qualifying round at Makaha Resort yesterday because of the possibility of lightning and thunder. A lingering neck injury will keep Tim Clark from making his comeback this week at the inaugural Joburg Open in South Africa … Miami is ready to be host of the Super Bowl, but you better make your tee times ...

Vijay Singh made six birdies for a 4-under-par 69 at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii yesterday, putting him in a five-way tie for the lead. The event, which Stuart Appleby has won the last three years, is the PGA Tour season opener … The Golf Writers Association of America honored the Harmon family, which has been teaching golf for 50 years, with the William D. Richardson Award for outstanding contributions to golf yesterday. The GWAA also gave Judy Rankin the Ben Hogan Award for staying active in golf despite a physical handicap or illness … At MyrtleBeachGolf.com, Tim McDonald writes about a ...

Two-time PGA Tour winner Don Massengale died Tuesday of a heart attack. He was 69. On tour from 1960 to 1970, Massengale won the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am and the Canadian Open in 1966. He also had two wins on the Champions Tour … Ben Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd, Gary Player and Lanny Wadkins will play in the MasterCard Championship, the season-opening event of the PGA Champions Tour, on sponsor invitations. Their entry raises the number of players in the event, held Jan. 19-21, to 42 … The Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii kicks off today, marking the start of the 2007 season and ...

Stuart Appleby said yesterday that Michelle Wie should stop playing in men’s golf tournaments until her game is more developed. The 17-year-old Wie has missed the cut in 11 of 12 men’s events she’s started … “She should just let it go for now and come back when she has a more accomplished game,” Appleby said in a media conference call, according to media reports. “She’s just not ready for it. She’s certainly not proving anything except that she can’t play with the men at her level now.” With the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii only a day away, players have mixed ...

Australian golfer Stuart Appleby will be going for his fourth consecutive Mercedes-Benz Championship this week. If Appleby wins the season-opening event in Hawaii, which both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are sitting out of, he will become the first player to win a PGA Tour event four straight years since Woods accomplished the feat at the 2003 Bay Hill Invitational … After more than six years as a professional, Ryan Armour finally has his PGA Tour card after a strong performance at the tour’s qualifying school. Armour, who turned professional in 1999 and made it to the final stage of the ...