Garcia disqualified at PGA Championship

Tulsa, OK (Sports Network) - Sergio Garcia was disqualified from the PGA Championship on Saturday for signing an incorrect scorecard.
Garcia signed for a par four at the 17th, but actually made five.
This has been a tough run of major championships for the Spaniard. He held the lead throughout the British Open Championship last month and needed a par on his last to win his first major.
Garcia missed a six-foot par save, then lost by a stroke to Padraig Harrington in the playoff.

Woods makes more history at PGA

Tulsa, OK (Sports Network) - Tiger Woods matched the lowest round in major championship history on Friday with an eight-under-par 62, a historic round that gave him the second-round lead at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills.
Woods stood at seven-under par for his round with a great look at birdie on the 18th hole. His 12-footer for a record-setting 62 seemed destined for the cup, but lipped out after going three-quarters of the way around the hole.
"I knew if I made that putt on the last hole it would have been a nice record to have," said the defending champion. "I thought it was in. I guess a touch firmer."
He finished 36 holes at six-under-par 134, which is good for a two-shot lead over Scott Verplank, who shot a four-under 66 in the morning.
Last year's U.S. Open winner, Geoff Ogilvy (68), and Stephen Ames (69) are tied for third place at minus-three. Woody Austin posted an even-par 70 and is alone in fifth place at two-under 138...Full Story

Daly goes over the river and through the woods at PGA

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- If Tiger Woods is a Rembrandt, John Daly is a paint-by-number Elvis on black velvet. Tacky, for sure. Yet there's something oddly endearing about it, and you can't help but gawk.
Especially when Daly pulls stunts like he did Friday on No. 10 at Southern Hills.
At 366 yards, downhill and with a big dogleg to the right, a 4- or 5-iron off the tee is the smart move for this par-4. It leaves players with a short approach, and a good chance for birdie.
Daly?
He waited for the green to clear, then pulled out driver and ripped it.
"We're not set up to find that shot," a TV announcer said as the ball rocketed toward the green...Full Story

Verplank on top at Southern Hills

Tulsa, OK (Sports Network) - Oklahoma State graduate Scott Verplank shot a four-under 66 on Friday to take the lead during the second round of the PGA Championship at Southern Hills.
Verplank, considered a favorite before the tournament due to his straight hitting, completed 36 holes at four-under-par 136.
He is one ahead of Stephen Ames, who posted a one-under 69 on Friday. Camilo Villegas and Arron Oberholser are also three-under par in the middle of their second rounds.
Tiger Woods birdied his first hole on Friday and is even-par for the championship. The defending champion is gunning for his first major title of the year. Since his breakthrough Masters win in 1997, Woods has only had three seasons without a major title...Full Story

Daly leads PGA; Woods four back

Tulsa, OK (Sports Network) - John Daly fired a three-under 67 on Thursday to take the lead during the first round of the PGA Championship at a sweltering Southern Hills Country Club.
Temperatures reached over 100 degrees already at Southern Hills, host of the 2001 U.S. Open. The weather is expected to be the same all week, so empty water bottles will be the norm.
Daly, the surprise 1991 winner who was the ninth alternate to start that week, has not had a good year thus far. He has no status on the PGA Tour and, in limited exemptions, has posted zero top 10s. Daly has 17 events under his belt, with five made cuts and four withdrawals.
"I've been putting too much pressure on myself," acknowledged Daly. "Being hurt doesn't help. I haven't really played that bad. I just haven't been able to score. If you can't score, you don't have any confidence."
World No. 1 and defending champion Tiger Woods is in search of his first major of the year. He opened with a one-over 71, which is disappointing considering he flew out of the gate.
He started on the 10th tee Thursday and knocked his approach at 10 to seven feet. Woods drained that putt, and added birdies at 13 and 15 to join the lead at minus-three.
Woods dropped a shot at the 18th when he could not save par from a bunker. That kick-started a run of bad golf which saw Woods bogey two and four. He made birdie at the par-five fifth, but fell back to even-par with a bogey at seven.
At the 245-yard, par-three eighth, Woods came up short with his tee ball. He chipped to 10 feet, but missed the par save. Woods rolled in a three-footer at No. 9 to stay at one-over par.
"I felt like I hit the ball better than my score indicates, which is good," said Woods, who won last week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational by eight. "That's a good sign heading into the next three days."
The last season Woods failed to win a major was 2004. Since his breakout victory at the 1997 Masters, Woods has only had three seasons without one of golf's big four in his trophy case.
England's Graeme Storm is also three-under par on the course.
Arron Oberholser shot a two-under 68 with several players still on the course at that number.
Mark Wilson, Markus Brier, Camilo Villegas, Lee Westwood and 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy are in the clubhouse at one-under-par 69.
They are all looking up at Daly, who turned heads in the golf world earlier this season.
During the second round of the St. Jude Championship in early June, Daly showed up with scratch marks on his cheeks. He told authorities his wife attacked him while he was asleep.
The next time Daly surfaced was last month at the British Open Championship, a tournament he won in 1995. Daly took the lead with a chip-in eagle on Thursday, then exploded and missed the cut.
On Thursday, Daly was able to finish off his round.
Daly recorded birdies at four, seven and nine, with the last birdie coming from 10 feet. At the par-five 13th, Daly ran his 25-foot eagle putt three feet by the hole. Daly converted that birdie putt to make it to four-under par.
At the 507-yard, par-four 16th, Daly hit a poor second shot en route to a bogey. That dropped him to minus-three, but the 1991 champion hung on with pars at the last two for his spot on the leaderboard.
Daly thinks he might know the key to his success on Thursday. "At the British, I played three practice rounds. Grinding, grinding, grinding," said Daly. "I came here and said I'm just goin

Goosen returns to Southern Hills, site of his first major victory

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- This is where it all started for Retief Goosen.
In the course of a week, he went from a largely unknown South African asking Nick Price for advice to a major champion with international notoriety.
Given the chance to atone for a giant mistake on a tiny putt, Goosen conquered Southern Hills to win the 2001 U.S. Open. The PGA Championship brings him back this week to soak in the fond memories that could've easily turned sour.
"It's always nice coming back to a place where you've won," Goosen said Wednesday. "Especially a major."
Goosen's breakthrough win, his first in the United States, came only after he'd three-putted from 12 feet on the 72nd hole to fall into a playoff against 1996 PGA champion Mark Brooks. It could've easily slipped away after such a chaotic fourth-round finish, but instead he charged out to a five-stroke lead after only 10 holes in the playoff and cruised comfortably to the title...Full Story