WGT Golf News : tiger woods, golf tournament

Rory Be Wary

WGTwildcat — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 17:53:00 GMT

By Mike Purkey for GlobalGolfPost

So, fellow travelers, what to make of this little bromance between Tiger and Rory, them suddenly looking like best buds and all?

Every time you look up lately, they are strolling down some fairway, side by side, smiling and chatting like they’re fraternity brothers. They’ve played together a handful of times late into this season, the last being this one-day exhibition in China in which each was paid a small boatload of money to turn up.

What do you suppose they talk about? Do they dissect the Celtic-Rangers football match? Or whether Ray Allen will get the Heat another NBA title? Did Tiger give Rory the name of his real estate agent and housekeeper? Well, maybe not the housekeeper. Did Tiger invite Rory over to throw something on the grill and play X-Box deep into the night?

Do you think they discuss what it’s like to have a famous girlfriend except in a good way?

If this is the new Tiger, we can’t be sure how to figure this one out. The old Tiger would have never given McIlroy the time of day, much less engage in some harmless convo during a competitive round of golf. Woods would have stared a hole through Rory the size of a cannonball and would have no other thoughts than to beat the living daylights out of his biggest challenger.

McIlroy is No. 1 in the world and Woods is No. 2. That in itself would normally have been enough for Tiger to keep Rory at arm’s length while he goes about the business of regaining the top ranking.

Woods certainly didn’t treat any other of his closest rivals, if you could call them actual rivals, anything like civil. He didn’t have any use for Phil Mickelson, not even for a minute, and when they played together, the only contact they had was a handshake and a nod on the first tee and the 18th green. In between, nothing, absolutely nothing.

The reason Tiger and Phil didn’t win either of their Ryder Cup matches together in 2004 was because both of them had contracted frostbite from the Arctic iceberg between them that prevented them from speaking a word to one another. Go get ’em, pards.

But now, they are Ping-Pong partners in the Ryder Cup team room and, according to Phil, are a dominant force. If Mickelson finds out that you play Pong, he’ll buy a table, set it up and bet you $100 he can kick your ass. Maybe he ought to try that in golf. Just saying.

Where were we? Oh, yes, is it possible that Tiger has turned into a docile house cat at age 37? Has the world’s greatest competitor decided he has nothing to prove? In the beginning of Jack Nicklaus’ career and for years thereafter, he was Arnold Palmer’s bitter rival. But when Arnie and Jack were no longer trying to beat each other’s brains out, they became friends, and now no one is closer than these two of the game’s most prominent citizens.

Or is Tiger a little more content to sit back and count his considerable coin and enjoy the good life that 14 majors bring?

Tiger has all the money that he will ever need and McIlroy is getting there. At the China exhibition, it was reported that Tiger received $2 million and McIlroy half that. Pretty good payday all around but it still demonstrates that Tiger still not only moves the needle but he is the needle.

Now, we see that Rory and Tiger are going to be teammates of sorts, as McIlroy is about to sign a big, long-term deal with Nike. Reported at $200 million – or more – for 10 years, McIlroy is about to rise near the top of off-course earnings among professional golfers. However, it’s not entirely certain what Woods is making but you can bet it’s more than that.

As the late, great Sen. Everett Dirksen used to like to say, “A billion here, a billion there and sooner or later, you’re talking about real money.”

And, it was reported that Woods and McIlroy have already shot their first Nike commercial together, engaging in some of what you call your light-hearted banter about the company’s new driver and what kind of insane distance they get from it.

It has been rightly pointed out that if McIlroy moves to Nike, he will get the equipment he needs to continue playing his best golf. There’s really nothing to worry about here. Nike has one of the best club designers in Tom Stites and golf ball builders in Rock Ishii. The company will make certain that it does whatever is necessary and go to whatever source is required to get something in McIlroy’s hands in which he has the utmost confidence.

So if golf’s new power couple shares a brand, do they share the same hunger to be the No. 1 player in the world? On the surface, Tiger and Rory look for all the world like best mates – but what’s underneath?

It is thought that Chinese general Sun-Tzu (The Art of War) once rightly said, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

PHOTO: Global Golf Post

Golf And Turkey: Who Knew?

WGTwildcat — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 19:18:00 GMT

Contributed by John Hopkins for GlobalGolfPost

Merhaba. That’s what they say to one another by way of greeting in Turkey. Merhaba or hello.

The buzz word in golf at the moment is momentum. And momentum right now is with Turkey, where big tournaments, amateur and professional, have been staged for the past three weeks.

First came the Espirito Santo, the women’s world amateur team championship in Antalya on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. This was followed by the Eisenhower Trophy, the men’s equivalent at the same venue. Last week, it was the turn of the Turkish Airlines World Golf Final, an eight-man spectacular involving Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, among others, playing at a medal-matchplay format with a purse of $5.2 million and a first prize of $1.5 million. There were posters all around Antalya: “Masters meet in Turkey. Tiger v Rory.”

As if this wasn’t enough, midway through the matchplay event the European Tour and the Turkish Golf Federation announced that from November 7-10 next year the Turkish Open will take place at the Montgomerie course for a purse of $7m and a field of 78 players. Significantly, this event will be immediately before the season-ending Race to Dubai World Championship, which could be the start of an end of season series of events on the European Tour to rival the FedEx Cup in the US.

“For years the PGA Tour in the US has been drumming into us that we need new venues and new countries,” Chubby Chandler, the promoter of the matchplay event and the Turkish Open, said. “Now we are.”

What was it we knew Turkey for? Turkish baths, Turkish Delight (note: a sugar-coated jelly sweet), Turkish coffee, cold turkey, turkey shoot. Now, it’s golf in Turkey. They’re trying to make a country that has fewer than 6,000 golfers and not even 25 golf courses, a Turkish delight.

The reason for this is a forthcoming Olympics. Istanbul, Turkey’s second city, is bidding to be the host city for the 2020 Games. Madrid, one of the other candidates, is surely out of the race because of Spain’s well-documented financial woes. Tokyo has already held the summer games (and Sapporo in that country the winter games). This leaves Turkey and Istanbul in prime position, which is why Turkish Airlines put up perhaps $15 million to stage the World Golf Final and why Turkey is blowing its own trumpet so loudly at present.

“We believe our bid is strong because Turkey has become one of the strongest economies in the world in the past decade,” Suat Kilic, Minister for Youth and Sports, said. “More importantly, Turkey hosted a number of huge events in this time frame and, furthermore, it proved to the world what it is capable of as a country by way of making the best of these events.”

In Belek in Antalya there is a 15-mile strip of land adjoining the Mediterranean that has been turned into something of a golfers’ paradise, and attracts 135,000 golfers each year, mainly from Germany, the UK and Scandinavia.

“It’s the only compact golf venue in the world,” Ahmet Agaoglu, president of the Turkish Golf Federation, said. “There are 15 courses on a 15-mile coastline and 52 four-star hotels. Not bad, eh?” At that, Agaoglu, who has the slight build and flat stomach of a former 800m runner (“my best time was 2.04. Even the turtles can go faster than that nowadays.”) gave a satisfied smile.

David Jones, the former European Tour player, has had a hand in the design of many of the courses on this stretch of golfing territory.

“You used to be able to fly to Antalya, drive down to Belek and go along the road and to the right there was nothing, not even a rusty old shed,” Jones said. “Now, you need only a wedge to hit a ball from Tat to Novila, a distance of 15 miles, and only in one place, from the Montgomerie course to the Gloria course, would you need any club longer than a wedge.

“Of the 14 courses, eight are Tour standard,” he added. “You’d have to go a long way to find so many good courses in such a small space of land.”

For pure golf, the only areas that match it are those in the Sand Belt in Melbourne, Australia, the Lancashire coast in England, and the west coast in Scotland.

For all this enthusiasm for golf though, the past few weeks in Turkey haven’t gone as well as the enthusiastic (sometimes over-enthusiastic) members of the host nation would have wished. There have been the continuing rumbles of trouble with Syria, 500 miles away, and on Wednesday night a Syrian plane en route from Moscow to Damascus was forced down and detained at Ankara airport.

In an embarrassing incident, Agaoglu got involved in a scuffle with photographers. And then it rained very heavily and one day’s play in the matchplay event had to be abandoned barely one week after one day’s play had been wiped out in the Eisenhower Trophy.

Suddenly, the future of golf in Turkey did not seem quite so rosy as it had at the start of the week. As anyone who has overseen the growth of a child knows, the first steps are the most difficult.

Gule gule (good-bye).

PHOTO: Getty Images

Validation

WGTwildcat — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:28:00 GMT

Brian Hewitt for Global Golf Post

As tune-ups go, playing for $10 million is nice work if you can get it.

Tennessee’s Brandt Snedeker, who will make his Ryder Cup debut this week, got it all Sunday in Atlanta.

By winning The Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup at historic East Lake, Snedeker bagged a cool $10 million in season-ending playoff dollars along with $1.44 million more for winning the tournament proper. All of which makes him one rich, ready Ryder rookie.

And all of which makes U.S. captain Davis Love III’s grin wider than the first fairway at the Old Course.

“I had complete confidence in what I was doing,” Snedeker said, moments after closing with a 2-under 68, three ahead of runner-up Justin Rose.

So, too, did American skipper Love, who raised more than a few eyebrows earlier this month when he made Snedeker one of his captain’s picks.

So, it’s on to Chicago and the Ryder Cup where the plot will thicken and the pace will quicken in the always-charged matches that begin Friday at Medinah No. 3. Thirteen of the players who finished T15 or better at East Lake will be playing in this Ryder Cup.

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods wound up second and third, respectively, in the final FedEx standings. Both paid a steep price for driving it all over Atlanta all weekend.

One last thought in advance, Medinah: The 15th hole has been shortened and is now a perfectly situated drivable par 4 for match play. Expect fireworks there.

And don’t be surprised if red-hot Brandt Snedeker is the one who lights the fuse.

PHOTO: Reuters

Ryder Cup Team USA Finalized

WGTwildcat — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:39:00 GMT

Ryder Cup captain of Team USA, Davis Love III, announced his 4 captain’s picks today, including Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker and Steve Stricker, to finalize the American golfers playing in the 2012 Ryder Cup.

Left off the American Ryder Cup team were top players Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan and Nick Watney.

Below are the final 12 golfers on Team USA competing in the Ryder Cup 9/28 to 9/30 at Medinah Country Club in Chicago.

Ryder Cup Team USA

Keegan Bradley
Jason Dufner
Jim Furyk
Dustin Johnson
Zach Johnson
Matt Kuchar
Phil Mickelson
Webb Simpson
Brandt Snedeker
Steve Stricker
Bubba Watson
Tiger Woods

Team USA official site

Read more at WGT

Check out Team Europe’s Ryder Cup Picks

Ryder Cup 2012 Team USA Golf Players

WGTwildcat — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 21:28:00 GMT

The 2012 Ryder Cup features the world's best PGA and European Tour players in a head-to-head battle at Medinah Country Club in September.

The following professional golfers from America qualified on 8/12/12 to represent Team USA in the 2012 Ryder Cup...

POS	PLAYER	POINTS
1	Tiger Woods	6,014.184
2	Bubba Watson	5,815.054
3	Jason Dufner	5,697.302
4	Keegan Bradley	5,551.206
5	Webb Simpson	4,635.500
6	Zach Johnson	4,491.544
7	Matt Kuchar	4,448.942
8	Phil Mickelson	4,233.108

American golfers on the bubble who could be selected as the four potential coach's picks by Davis Love III include...

POS	PLAYER	POINTS
9	Hunter Mahan	4,082.228
10	Steve Stricker	4,015.069
11	Jim Furyk	3,369.616
12	Rickie Fowler	3,313.338
13	Brandt Snedeker	3,176.787
14	Bo Van Pelt	3,152.315
15	Dustin Johnson	3,040.020
16	Robert Garrigus	2,604.580
17	Bill Haas	2,546.017
18	Ben Curtis	2,457.284
19	Scott Piercy	2,416.346
20	Kyle Stanley	2,341.219

Other past Team USA Ryder Cup players include: David Toms, Nick Watney, Sean O'Hair, JB Holmes, Boo Weekley.

See more at official Team USA Ryder Cup website

Team Europe

Glory’s Toughest Test - PGA Championship Review

WGTwildcat — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:19:00 GMT

by DAVE SHEDLOSKI of GolfDigestCanada

This week’s PGA Championship at Kiawah’s Ocean Course combines a very demanding layout with several name players out to make a major statement.

Pete Dye has been visiting the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, S.C., every two weeks, on average, he says for the last two years to help prepare it for this week’s PGA Championship.

“I don’t know if there’s a foot of ground that we haven’t looked at,” the alacritous octogenarian said with a knowing chuckle. “I think it’s as good as we can make it.”

By “good” Dye means difficult. When he first designed the Ocean Course in preparation for the 1991 Ryder Cup, Dye said he put a great deal of thought into “figuring out ways to challenge the greatest players in the world.”

He has never stopped trying, and when the 156 players in the 94th PGA converge on the barrier island 15 miles south of Charleston for the first major championship in South Carolina, they’ll discover a layout that will give them as much comfort as sand in their pants. And don’t be surprised if a few of them get exactly that as they tack along the coast on a par-72 course measuring 7,676 yards, the longest in tournament history, and replete with ever-present threats of sand and water. The Ocean Course was ready but rough in 1991. Now it’s refined and maybe not quite as rough as a shot making test—though that’s only if the wind doesn’t blow. If, however, breezes begin to strafe the landscape, there won’t be anything except the good graces of Kerry Haigh, the PGA’s setup man, to save them from dune and gloom.

“The golf course is unbelievable. I think it’s going to be very difficult, especially if the wind picks up,” said defending champion Keegan Bradley, who joined Francis Ouimet and Ben Curtis as winners in their first major start. “I’m interested to see how the PGA sets up the golf course because they can set it up a million different ways.”

“It was interesting … it’s two different nine holes. The front nine is a really nice, playable golf course, and then the back nine is not. It’s very severe,” said Adam Scott, who will be looking to bounce back from his disappointing finish in the British Open, where he bogeyed the final four holes at Royal Lytham & St. Annes and allowed Ernie Els to sneak by him. “There are good scores out there in good weather, but if the wind blows, it’s just going to be very difficult, even if they move tees forward and stuff like that. It’s an extreme penalty for a miss. It’s certainly going to need some ball striking.”

More to the point, drivers could be more integral to success at Kiawah than in the year’s three previous major championships.

“I don’t think there’s any question that you’re going to have to drive it great,” Dustin Johnson said. “Length is going to be a huge advantage—if you can keep it in play.”

“It’s going to be long,” said Tiger Woods, a four-time PGA winner. “It’s going to be close to 7,700 yards, and that’s a big ballpark. It’s going to take a little bit of getting used to. Being seaside, the wind can change. The wind comes out of different directions. There’s so much room out there, but as soon as the wind starts blowing 20,30 miles an hour, there’s not much room.”

Beating the course is only half the battle. Beating the field is another matter.

The roster includes the top 108 on the World Ranking. All four reigning major champions will be in attendance, the first time since the Masters. Thirteen past PGA champions and 32 major winners are entered. This means very little nowadays, however, given that the last 16 majors have produced a different winner. Twelve have been first-timers, including the last three in the PGA: Bradley, Martin Kaymerand Y.E. Yang.

Glory’s Last Shot represents the last chance for Woods and Rory Mcllroy to engage in a head-to-head ‘ major battle this season. A rivalry was anticipated— and given commensurate media hype—after each captured a victory in Florida, Mcllroy at the Honda Classic and Woods at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

What has happened? Woods, 36, had his chances at the U.S. Open and British Open, though he fizzled down the stretch in each. Mcllroy, 23, billed as Tiger’s success or, wasted less time being in consequential, his T-40 at the Masters being his best finish. He missed the cut in his U.S. Open title defense. At the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Woods, who has risen to No. 2 in the world, might have found a solution to his sketchy putting after the second round. “Found some alignment, some posture things and got my feel back,” Woods said after a third-round 68 at Firestone CC. “My blade was releasing properly again, and it felt really comfortable.”

Mcllroy also looked more comfortable at Firestone, getting in the mix after bogeying three of the first four holes of the tournament. “It’s getting there, it definitely is. I’ve worked hard to get it back,” the Ulsterman said. “Obviously, my expectations every time I tee it up are pretty high and not to live up to my own expectations is not nice, but I feel like I’m definitely moving in the right direction.”

Of course, they are not alone in seeking to salvage the season and apply salve to some scar tissue.

Graeme McDowell played in Sunday’s final pairing in the last two majors and came up empty. Jim Furyk had a second U.S. Open title in his hands until a late stumble at Olympic Club, his disappointment every bit as deep as Scott’s. The only difference is the freshness of the wounds.

Unfortunately for them, Dye’s salty Ocean Course awaits.

Photo: Golf Digest/Steven Szurlej

Tiger Roars In Jack’s Den

WGTali — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 04:07:00 GMT

Contributed by Vartan Kupelian of GlobalGolfPost

Nothing gets Tiger Woods' adrenalin flowing or his golf game soaring like the thought of matching a Jack Nicklaus record.

Woods went one better Sunday. Not only did he move into a share of second place with Nicklaus on the all-time list of PGA Tour winners – with 73 – Woods did it in Nicklaus territory. He did it at Muirfield Village Golf Club on a course Jack built and at Jack's Memorial Tournament.

"It’s awfully special to have won and do it here," Woods said. "Just makes it that much more special."

It was the fifth victory for Woods at the Memorial Tournament. He birdied three of the last four holes – including an uncanny hole-out at the 16th hole – to chase down the faltering duo of Rory Sabbatini and Spencer Levin.

Woods shot a final-round 5-under-par 67 for a 279 total, 9-under par. Sabbatini shot 72 to tie Andres Romero (67) for second, two shots behind Woods. Levin shot 75 to tie for fourth at 283.

The victory enabled Woods to complete the Legends Slam this year. In March, Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill for his first victory in 27 Tour events. It was the seventh time Woods won that event.

And now only Sam Snead, with 88 career victories, is ahead of Woods and Nicklaus.

Nicklaus called the hole-out at the 16th hole, "The most unbelievably gutsy shot I’ve ever seen."

"Leave it short, the tournament is over," Nicklaus said. "If it goes long, it's in the water and the tournament is over. He takes a full swing and lands it exactly where you have to land it and it trickles into the hole like a two-foot putt."

Right. And the tournament was over.

"I’ve seen a lot of shots in golf," Nicklaus said. "I don’t think I've ever seen a better one under the circumstances."

For good measure, Woods finished with a birdie at the 18th hole. He also made birdie at the par-5 15th to start the key sequence.

Woods' victory comes two weeks before the U.S. Open at The Olympic Club and once again entrenches the man who has won 14 major championships as a favorite.

"I had it all," Woods said of his ball-striking at Muirfield Village. "To birdie three of the last four holes was a nice finish. To pull off that shot at 16 was pretty sweet, too ... I went for it and I pulled it off. For it to land as soft as it did was kind of a surprise. I didn't think it was going to get there."

Get your daily dose of golf news at WGTGolf.com.

WGT GOLF UPDATE: 2012 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Preview

wgtmustang — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:57:00 GMT

The 76th annual Masters Tournament commences this Thursday, April 5, 2012, on August National, and is considered by many as the most-anticipated Masters in history. While world ranking players are en route for the tournament the week, including last year's winner Charl Schwartzel and No. 1 ranked player Luke Donald, the burning question among golf enthusiasts is whether Tiger Woods will return to major championship form. Woods has had good performances at The Masters in the past, but no official PGA Tour victories in over 2 years, until recently winning his seventh title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The win, less than a month ago, instantly gave credence to the notion that Woods was once again a favorite for a fifth green jacket. Watch Tiger Woods tee off on Thursday at 10:35 a.m. ET.

World-ranked No. 2 professional golfer Rory McIlroy dominated the 2011 Masters for three rounds, but a disastrous drive at the 10th, which came to rest seemingly in someone's backyard, resulted in McIlroy falling into a tie for 15th. Recently, McIlroy crushed the field in a victory at the U.S. Open at Congressional, which was the launching point to the top of the world rankings, albeit a brief one. McIlroy was No. 1 for just two weeks after he won this year's Transitions Championship. With his form, McIlroy is a clear choice at Augusta this year.

A list of favorites for The Masters has to include Phil Mickelson because he's won the title three times (the green jackets came in 2004, 2006 and 2010). At the Pebble Beach Invitational, and paired in the final round with Woods, Mickelson made every putt spanning the California coastline. Mickelson had a good showing this past weekend with a tie for fourth in his Houston Open title defense.

With these three contenders, The Masters is set up for a wildly entertaining tournament this year!

Tune in to the official Masters Tournament site for live coverage, and watch for more updates on the tour from the WGT Blog.

WGT GOLF UPDATE: Tiger Woods Wins Arnold Palmer Invitational

wgtmustang — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:04:00 GMT

Tiger Woods finally broke his career-long, two-and-a-half-year dry spell at Bay Hill Club on Sunday to win the 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational. The former No. 1 player in the world last won an official event on the PGA Tour in September of 2009 at the BMW Championship. This week's win was his 7th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and his 72nd career victory. It's also Woods' first win since he and swing coach Sean Foley began working together in the summer of 2010.

Bay Hill was challenging, especially on Sunday with high winds and tough hole locations, resulting in an average score of 2 over par. After three rounds of 69, 65 and a 71, Woods began the tournament on Sunday in the lead at 11-under par, one shot ahead of Graeme McDowell and three shots ahead of Ernie Els and Ian Poulter. McDowell doubled-bogeyed the par-4 first hole to give Woods a three-stroke lead out the gate. McDowell eagled the par-5 sixth hole to make up for his terrible start, but he laid up into a bunker and made bogey on the par-5 12th hole, failing to put pressure on the leader. After losing his tee shots right and into fairway bunkers on the 10th and 15th holes, Woods saved pars with a long two-putt and a par putt from 15 feet. Woods finished with a 2-under par 70, a five-stroke victory over Graeme McDowell, to claim his win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

All facets of Woods' game seemed to be coming together this weekend. This was his first tournament with all 4 rounds under par, and he's consistently hitting fairways and greens, shaping the ball, and making putts, as well as that mental toughness he's been known for. The 2012 Masters Tournament is just 2 weeks away, where Woods has won 4 times and Phil Mickelson 3 times.

Full PGA Tour Leaderboard

NOTE: Tournament host Arnold Palmer was taken to the hospital before the end of the final round, apparently due to high blood pressure from new medication. He spent the night at the hospital, but is reported to be fine and in no danger.

WGT GOLF UPDATE: Tiger Woods Leads Arnold Palmer Invitational

wgtmustang — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:10:00 GMT

As the second round of the annual Arnold Palmer Invitational came to an end today, Tiger Woods rose to the top of the leaderboard with a 7-under 65. Starting today’s round six shots behind first-round leader Jason Dufner, Woods puttied for birdie on every hole and made short work of the par 5s at Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando. A six-time winner of the event, Woods now sits at 10-under overall, just one shot ahead of Dufner and 2010 U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell, who had a 9-under 63 today.

Charlie Wi rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on his last hole today in the tournament for a 4-under 68 to join Woods at 10-under 134. Justin Rose finished the second round at 6 under, one shot ahead of six players including Webb Simpson, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia and Vijay Singh.

Full PGA Tour Leaderboard

WGT GOLF UPDATE: Wi Leads AT&T Pro-Am by Three; Woods Only Six Behind

pharrison — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:04:00 GMT

Challenging weather conditions today of wind and rain effected player performance during the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament, yet South Korean Charlie Wi still leads the group by 3 shots. In fact, Wi was the only leader to shoot under-par today, following his 61 at Monterey Peninsula Country Club (MPCC) with a 3-under 69 at Pebble Beach.

Vijay Singh vaulted into a tie for third place with his second straight 4-under 68, and he will play the MPCC golf course on Saturday.

Despite the weather, Phil Mickelson tied for the best golf round of the day, hitting a 5-under 65 at MPCC to reach 7-under and a share of eighth. He will join the celebrity field at Pebble Beach on Saturday.

Tiger Woods appeared to hurt himself on the eighth hole at MPCC. It turned out to be just a "stinger" and the pain did not last long, nor did it affect the rest of the round. Woods is tied for 17th at 6-under after shooting his second straight 68, this time at MPCC. He will play Pebble Beach, where he has a career scoring average of 68.6 in nine previous rounds at this event.

Defending champ D.A. Points matched Mickelson's 5-under 65 at MPCC to reach 5-under for the tournament.

Visit WGT for daily updates on the AT&T Pro-Am tournament.

Full Leaderboard for AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

TV Schedule for AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

WGT GOLF UPDATE: Lee, Wi and Johnson Take the Lead at Pebble Beach

pharrison — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:54:00 GMT

New Zealander Danny Lee, South Korean Charlie Wi, and Dustin Johnson tied at nine-under for the early lead in the first round of the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament today, as Tiger Woods made a solid start. Lee had two eagles and a flawless nine-under-par 63 at Pebble Beach Golf Links while Wi opened with a nine-under 61 at Monterey Peninsula.

American Ken Duke covered the back nine in a record eight-under 28 at Pebble Beach to complete a 64. Duke and American Brian Harman are right behind Lee, Wi and Johnson on the leaderboard.

Tiger Woods, making his first appearance on the U.S. circuit this year, finished with four under today.

Other notable scores today include Vijay Singh (-4), Jim Furyk (-3), Padraig Harrington (-2), Martin Laird (-2), Ian Poulter (-1) and Mike Weir (E).

Visit WGT for daily updates on the AT&T Pro-Am tournament.

Full Leaderboard for AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

TV Schedule for AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am