MySports Today

Tigers Woods leads the 2009 PGA Championship after early play Thursday morning.  Woods shot a bogey-free round of 5-under par 67.  Woods has a 1 stroke lead over his playing partner – Padraig Harrington – the same man Tiger beat at the Bridgstone Invitational last weekend in Akron, Ohio. Woods birdied the 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 12th and 15th holes en route to his solid round.

Phil Mickelson, and the winners from 2009’s 1st 3 Major Championships – Angel Cabrera (The Masters), Lucas Glover (The U.S Open) and Stewart Cink (The British Open) – all have afternoon tee times.

Tom Watson almost pulled off the unthinkable – a major championship win at the British Open – at the age of 59!  Had Watson sank his 8-foot par putt on the 18th hole on Sunday afternoon, or not crapped in his pants in the 4-hole playoff, Watson would have become the oldest player to win a major championship.  Instead, Watson was tentative on the par putt and it came up short, pushing him back into a tie with Stewart Cink.  Cink himself made a birdie on 18 to get to -2 and put some extra pressure on Watson for the 18th hole. And it worked.

After shooting a 65 and 70 on the 1st two days of the tournament (-5, E), Watson “struggled” in his final 2 rounds – 71 and 72 (+1, +2) to finish the tournament at 2 under par.  Cink, on the other hand opened strong with a 66 (-4) on Friday and finished strong with a 69 (-1) on Sunday, after playing mediocre golf during the middle 2 rounds (72 and 71, +3 combined).

The playoff was ugly – Cink took a 1 shot lead after the 1st playoff hole when watson made bogey.  On the 2nd playoff hole, Watson took a double bogey, while Cink birdied, and just like that, Cink had a commanding 4-shot lead.  Cink went on to win the playoff by 6 shots – game over.

How did Watson feel about the loss – “The old fogey almost did it…It would have been a hell of a story.  It wasn’t meant to be.  And, yes, it’s a great disappointment.  It tears at your gut, as it always has torn at my guut.  It’s not easy to take.”

Sorry Tom – you played great, but couldn’t close it out.  We wish you all the best at the Senior British Open this coming weekend – hang in there and get some rest these next few days!