Lorena Ochoa and Paula Creamer share the lead after two rounds of the first LPGA major of the season, Kraft Nabisco Championship. Both are four under at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, one shot up on Suzann Pettersen. Just nine players are under par, with current World No. 1 Annika Sorenstam struggling for the second consecutive round and is at 7-over. … It’s crowded at the top at the Houston Open, where Stuart Appleby, Jason Gore, Bubba Watson, D.J. Brigman, Bob Estes and Jeff Maggert all share the lead at 6-under after two rounds. … Brad Bryant and Keith Fergus share the ...

Lorena Ochoa is in second place after the first round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first major on the 2007 LPGA Tour schedule. The Mexican golfer is one stroke behind leader Shi Hyun Ahn. Annika Sorenstam struggled, shooting a 75, and defending champion Karrie Webb finished the day tied for third … Stuart Appleby shot a 6-under-par 66 yesterday for a share of the lead at the Houston Open, which he won last year. Kevin Sutherland and Johnson Wagner join him atop the leaderboard, and six players are tied for second … England’s Simon Dyson is in first place at the ...

Tiger Woods’ new tournament in Washington, D.C., the AT&T National, will have a limited field of 120, according to the PGA Tour. The decision follows strong debate over whether the tour should consider the event an invitational, and therefore have a limited field. Most PGA Tour events have 144 or 156 golfers … Lorena Ochoa will be going for her first major title and the No. 1 ranking in the world at this week’s Kraft Nabisco Championship. Ochoa’s win at last weekend’s Safeway International brought her to within 0.75 points of unseating Annika Sorenstam from the top of the World Rankings, ...

Tiger Woods shot seven straight birdies yesterday on his way to winning the stroke play competition at the Tavistock Cup. He finished with an 8-under-par 64 to beat Justin Rose by two strokes. Lake Nona Golf & Country Club won the team competition … The LPGA Tour stars are heading to the Mission Hills Country Club this week for the first major of the season, the Kraft-Nabisco championship. The field includes 19 of the world’s 20 top-ranked golfers, including defending champion Karrie Webb, Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam. Michelle Wie, however, is missing the tournament with an injured wrist … Golf dating ...

Mark Calcavecchia’s $63,000 paycheck at the CA Championship earned him a place in the top 10 of the PGA Tour money list, which gets him a spot in the Masters. The CA Championship, where Calcavecchia shot an 8 on the final hole, was the last event for players to earn a place in the Masters … “You know what? This is the best I’ve ever felt after an 8 in my life,” he said. “I just checked the purse breakdown. It was only like a $12,000 dump for a quad. …I’m ready to celebrate.” Lake Nona Golf and Country Club is 10-0 ...

Tiger Woods won the CA Championship at Doral yesterday with a final round 1-over-par 73. Brett Wetterich finished second. This is Woods’ sixth CA Championship victory and his 13th win in the World Golf Championships, prompting some observers to say the tour should be renamed after the world No. 1 golfer … Lorena Ochoa birdied four of the last five holes yesterday to win the Safeway International after losing a big lead early in the day. Finishing with a 4-under-par 68, Ochoa defeated Suzann Pettersen by two strokes. This is Ochoa’s 10th career victory … Daniel Vancsik of Argentina got his first ...

Tiger Woods shot a third-round 68 and takes a commanding four-shot lead into the final round of the WGC-CA Championship at Doral. Woods is 30-1 when he takes a lead into the final round on the PGA Tour. Brett Wetterich is in second place at 7-under, while Nick O’Hern is another shot back and alone in third. Vijay Singh and Ernie Els lead a group at 5-under, six shots back of Woods. … Lorena Ochoa appears on track for her 10th career victory as she holds a four-shot lead at the Safeway International at Superstition Mountain, Ariz. The 2006 LPGA Player ...

Tiger Woods shot a tournament-best 66 to vault into the lead heading into the third round at the WGC-CA Championship at Doral. Rod Pampling sits in second, two shots off the pace at 5-under, while Ernie Els and Henrik Stenson lead a group of seven players three shots off the pace. … Using two eagles in her round, Lorena Ochoa went into the clubhouse with the lead after the second round of the Safeway International was suspended due to darkness. Ochoa was at 9-under with four holes remaining - and facing a 12-foot birdie putt - when play was stopped. Catriona ...

Henrik Stenson shot a 5-under-par 67 yesterday at Doral to finish the first round of the CA Championship tied for first with Robert Allenby. Tiger Woods didn’t fare as well. The world No. 1 struggled with his putter all day and finished with a 71 … Michelle Wie will miss the LPGA Tour’s first major of the year, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, with a wrist injury, her spokesman announced yesterday. Wie injured her wrist last month during a run … Brendan Pappas is ahead at the Louisiana Open, shooting a spectacular 11-under-par 60 yesterday to go four strokes up on Justin Bolli. ...

Roger Federer, the world No. 1 tennis player, paid Tiger Woods a visit yesterday during his practice round for the CA Championship at Doral. Federer, in town for the Sony Ericsson Open, became friendly with Woods after the golfer sat in his box during last year’s U.S. Open final … “It’s pretty neat when you have probably the most dominant athlete on the planet out there in your gallery,” Woods said after his practice round. The LPGA Tour has announced the list of prohibited substances it will begin testing for next year. The tour will test for a range of drugs, including ...

Back problems are keeping Justin Rose out of this week’s WGC-CA Championship at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa. The golfer withdrew from the event yesterday, but he hopes to be back in playing form for next month’s Masters, the first major of the year … The chief of staff of the South Korean air force stepped down after taking media criticism for playing golf while the nation mourned the death of one of its soldiers in Afghanistan. Kim Sung-il reportedly offered his resignation Sunday, and President Roh Moo-hyun has accepted it … In the TravelGolf.com This Week podcast, host Dave Berner ...

Peggy Kirk Bell has been honored as the recipient of the 2007 PGA First Lady of Golf Award. Bell, owner of this year’s U.S. Women’s Open-hosting Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, will receive the award at the end of May in Kiawah Island, S.C. In receiving the honor, Bell joins an elite group that includes Barbara Nicklaus, Nancy Lopez and Judy Rankin … “It was a bit of a surprise and quite an honor,” Bell said, according to The Fayetteville Observer. “They tell me it’s the highest honor the PGA gives to a woman.” The U.S. Golf Association yesterday signed off ...

Vijay Singh shot a final round 3-under-par 67 Sunday to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Rocco Mediate finished two strokes behind, and Tiger Woods didn’t make it into the top 20. Singh is now the first multiple winner on the PGA Tour this year … Tom Purtzer won the Champions Tour’s AT&T Champions Classic Sunday, finishing with a 4-under-par 68. He defeated Loren Roberts on the fourth hole of a playoff at the Valencia Country Club in Santa Clarita, Calif … Boo Weekley received a two-stroke penalty this weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational for, strangely enough, protecting his partner, Tom Johnson, ...

Vaughn Taylor shot a 3-under 67 to head to the final round with the lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Bay Hill, Fla. At 8-under for the tournament, Taylor is two shots up on Ben Curtis, and three up on Vijay Singh and Tom Lehman. Sergio Garcia leads a group at 4-under, while Tiger Woods is part of a group of players at 3-under, after shooting an even-par 70 in the third round. … Hale Irwin takes the lead into the final round of the Champions Tour’s AT&T Champions Classic, as he looks for his 45th victory on the ...

A day after declaring that the host of the Arnold Palmer Invitational couldn’t be too happy with all the low scores, Rocco Mediate fired a 65 to take a three-shot lead into the weekend at Bay Hill. John Rollins and Paul Casey are tied for second at 6-under, while Sergio Garcia leads a group of five at 5-under. Following his opening round of 64, Tiger Woods slumped to a 73 and is six shots off the pace. … Nike Inc.’s golf division has issued a voluntary recall for its square-shaped Sasquatch Sumo2 driver because a small percentage of clubheads don’t conform ...

Tiger Woods shot an opening round 6-under-par 64 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational yesterday for a share of the lead with Paul Casey and Vaughn Taylor. This is Woods’ first round under 70 in the last three years of play at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, where he won four straight PGA Tour events from 2000 but has suffered a drought of late … Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat holds the early lead at the TCL Classic, having shot a course-record 61 yesterday at China’s Yalong Bay Golf Club. Nirat is three strokes ahead of Rafael Echenique of Argentina … The 2008 Outback ...

Tiger Woods is looking to regain the form at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which starts today, that saw him win four straight PGA Tour victories at its host course, Bay Hill Club & Lodge, from 2000. Since 2004, though, Woods hasn’t finished higher than tied for 20th … “I don’t know, it’s one of those weird things,” Woods said yesterday. “I feel comfortable on this golf course but, for some reason, I just haven’t played well. I haven’t put it together.” Meanwhile, John Daly has withdrawn from the Arnold Palmer Invitational to give the ribs he dislocated during the Honda Classic time ...

The PGA Tour will be in Florida this week for the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club and Lodge. The club has hosted a tour event since 1979, but this year it will be different, with the course playing to a par 70 rather than a par 72 … The PGA Tour is reportedly working on putting together an event in Puerto Rico that would run at the same time as the World Golf Championship at Doral. The tour had hoped to have an event in Puerto Rico this season but wasn’t able to line up a golf course. The ...

Meaghan Francella made a four-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole to beat Annika Sorenstam at the MasterCard Classic yesterday. It is the first LPGA Tour win for the 24 year old, who finished with a 3-under-par 69 … Five-time PGA Tour winner Bud Allin died of cancer in Hemet, Calif. March 12. Allin, who was 62, was also active on the Champions Tour, playing in 157 events … After complaining of chest pains, J.P. Hayes dropped out of the PODS Championship on Sunday and was taken to the hospital. The PGA Tour has not made a statement updating his condition ...

Mark Calcavecchia won the PODS Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla., yesterday, finishing with a 1-under-par 70 to defeat Heath Slocum, who missed a four-foot putt on 18 to force a playoff. This is Calcavecchia’s 13th win … Jay Haas shot a 6-under-par 65 yesterday at Newport Beach Country Club to take the Champions Tour Toshiba Classic. Haas’ finishing score, a 19-under-par 194, ties the seventh-best effort at the event … Liang Wenchong of China defeated Iain Steel on the first playoff hole to win the Singapore Masters yesterday. Liang finished with a 1-over-par 73 for his first win on the ...

Mark Calcavecchia tied the course record with a 62 as he vaulted to the top of the leaderboard along with Heath Slocum at the PODS Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla. K.J. Choi is one shot off the pace heading to the final round, with a group of four led by Chris DiMarco three shots back. … Rain suspended the LPGA’s Mastercard Classic in Huizquilucan, Mexico, but not before Meaghan Francella shot a 4-under 68 to take a two-stroke lead. First round leader Stacy Prammanasudh only played two holes before play was stopped. Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa and Natalie Gulbis also only ...

Stephen Leaney shot a second-round 67 to take over the lead after the second round of the PODS Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla. Leaney heads to the weekend one shot up on Heath Slocum, with a group of seven - including Chris DiMarco and Vaughn Taylor - tied for third, two shots back. … Stacy Prammanasudh continued her outstanding play, as she shot a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead during the suspended first round of the MasterCard Classic in Mexico City. Two-time defending champion Annika Sorenstam is two back after carding a 69 in her season debut, while Lorena ...

Cliff Kresge shot a 6-under-par 65 yesterday for a two-stroke lead at the PODS Championship. Shooting two eagles, Kresge was actually at 8-under at one point, but a few errant drives in the final six holes brought him down to 6-under … “For 11 holes, it was a dream round,” Kresge said. “And then I kind of got in my way a little bit at the end. Still, 6 under is darn good.” Michelle Wie will probably miss the first major of the LPGA season because of a hurt wrist, a spokesman said Tuesday. Played later this month, the Kraft Nabisco has ...

The PGA Tour announced yesterday that its new tournament in Washington, D.C., which will be run by the Tiger Woods Foundation, will be called the AT&T National. The host course for the event, to be held July 5-8, has not been announced, but Congressional Country Club is the likely choice … Marcus Fraser of Australia and China’s Liang Wenchong share the opening round lead at the Singapore Masters after both shooting 8-under-par 64s today. Both Fraser and Wenchong hit eight birdies on the Laguna National Golf and Country Club’s Classic course … Brandt Jobe, whose career was threatened last year due to ...

Annika Sorenstam will make her 2007 LPGA Tour season debut this week at the MasterCard Classic in Mexico City. Sorenstam will likely face tough competition from Lorena Ochoa, who is from Mexico … Three-time LPGA major winner Nancy Lopez is looking to make a comeback. The 50-year-old golfer said she plans to play as many as six LPGA Tour events this year, starting with the Ginn Open in Florida in April. Lopez, who has only competed in 11 tour events since 2002, hasn’t had a top-10 finish since 1997 … The PGA Tour stars are in Tampa, Fla., this week for the ...

LPGA professional Candy Hannemann announced yesterday her new charity fundraising program, Candy Cares, which will donate $50 to charity for every birdie posted in an LPGA event this season. The money will go to charities supporting youth and educational programs in Brazil, Hannemann’s home country … John Daly had to pull out of last week’s Honda Classic after only two holes after he was injured while trying to stop his backswing after getting distracted by a camera going off. Daly reportedly injured his shoulder and rib area, according to PGA Tour officials. The fan, whose name was not released, didn’t know ...

Mark Wilson defeated Jose Coceres on the third playoff hole to win the Honda Classic today. This is the first PGA Tour title for Wilson, who has gone to the tour’s qualifying school every year for the last decade. He is now exempt for the next three years … Anton Haig of South Africa won a three-way playoff yesterday to take the Johnnie Walker Classic title at the Blue Canyon Country Club in Phuket, Thailand. Haig defeated Richard Sterne and Oliver Wilson for his first win in 17 starts on the European Tour … After 18 years as a professional golfer, Swede ...

Charlie Wi and Robert Allenby share the lead after two rounds at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Wi’s day featured six birdies, three bogies and a triple, as he and Allenby head to the weekend to shots up on Steve Stricker and Will MacKenzie. … Oliver Wilson used two eagles to card a 66 as he held the lead after two rounds of the Johnnie Walker Classic in Phuket, Thailand. Anton Haig is a shot back, while James Nitties and Retief Goosen share third place in the European PGA Tour event. … The USGA and ESPN have agreed ...

Charlie Wi shot a 5-under-par 65 at PGA National yesterday to take the first round lead at the Honda Classic. Bernhard Langer is one stroke back in second place … “Today was definitely my day hitting the ball,” said Wi, who only missed two fairways. “And I’m really happy that when you have the opportunity, you capitalize on it. That’s really important to me.” The Masters is implementing its strategy to grow the tournament’s audience through new media by showing an hour of coverage on its Web site before the telecast begins. Called “Masters Extra,” the online broadcast will run from 3 ...

The Nationwide Childrens’ Hospital Invitational will take place at Jack Nicklaus’ old college course, Ohio State’s Scarlet Course, July 12-15, tour and university officials said yesterday. The Golden Bear will be the honorary chairman of the Nationwide Tour event … Luke Donald will try to defend his 2006 Honda Classic title this week, only on a different course than he won the event on last season. The tournament has moved from The Country Club of Mirasol, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., where he defeated Geoff Ogilvy by two strokes last year. This year’s event is being played at PGA National, a ...