PGA Championship notebook: Aaron Oberholser fights through injuries

Tim McDonald,
National Golf Editor

TULSA, Okla. - Aaron Oberholser is battling much more than the heat at the 89th PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club.

Oberholser has basically re-tooled his swing this year, after changing his posture, which had been causing back problems.

"So, inherently, my swing changed," Oberholser said. "I've struggled with it this year. I don't know where my misses are going."

Worse, he has a broken bone in his right hand, causing him intermittent pain. Earlier in his career, he had a broken bone in his left hand, and over-compensating for that resulted in tendonitis in both elbows.

Still, Oberholser had one of the better rounds of the day, shooting a 68 that left him among the day's leaders.

"I stayed out of my own way," he said. "Had a good time out there. I didn't think about it."

Rory Sabbatini: The autograph man

Rory Sabbatini, fan favorite? Sabbatini puts off a lot of fans and players alike with his occasionally rude behavior, fast play and statements about how "beatable" Tiger Woods is.

Not to mention the fact he had a fan kicked out of last week's WGC Bridgestone Invitational.

But, this week, especially on Tuesday, he was high on the fans' list for signing autographs in the Tulsa heat, more than any other player.

He signed hundreds of autographs for more than 20 minutes, according to the Tulsa World, while other players made only brief forays into the world of autographs. Tiger Woods, of course, walked past the fans and didn't sign one.

"This is what I do every week, every practice round," Sabbatini told the paper.

Southern Hills' no. 18 playing easier

No. 18 at Southern Hills, which has given players fits in the past, has been softened. In the past, approach shots hit to the front half of the green, even to the middle, would occasionally roll back off the fairway.

"Even with the greens being slow, guys didn't like that very much," Woods said.

The hole was re-done in 2004. They did away with the extended false front that went almost halfway into the green and balanced the green by dropping the back and raising the front about four inches.

Even so, it's still considered the toughest hole on the course.

"The long bunker, the second shot is uphill and I think even the green is a little more severe," said Camilo Villegas.

The PGA's foreign field

The tournament has 66 foreign players this year, the largest group in tournament history.

The last foreigner to win, other than Vijay Singh, was Steve Elkington in 1995.

August 10, 2007