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'The lack of recognition for Catriona is a disgrace,' says Davies
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<p>Mum was very much the word at last year's Ricoh Women's British Open as Catriona Matthew completed a stunning 11-week journey from the maternity ward to the winners' enclosure. Alas, as far as the sponsors were concerned, mum carried on being the word for the Scottish champion. The phone never rang, the millions did not arrive. </p>
Rose decides to give Gleneagles a miss and risk wrath of Monty
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<p>When he tees it up in the first round of The Irish Open here today, Justin Rose will be playing in Europe for only the third time this year. And he has no plans to make his fourth appearance the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles next month, even if he has not earned a Ryder Cup place by then.</p>
Harrington ready to make late Ryder run
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<p>Padraig Harrington admitted yesterday he would be "gutted absolutely" and "devastated" if he was not part of Europe's team at the Ryder Cup in October.</p>
Thompson 'upset' by Open lockout
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<p>
Young Alexis Thompson is paying for the Michelle Wie controversy. The
organisers of the Ricoh Women's British Open yesterday admitted that the
furore which greeted the Hawaiian's invite five years ago was instrumental
in them denying the game's latest 15-year-old sensation from trying to
qualify for this week's major at Birkdale.
</p>
Johnson stays cool to seal home win
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<p>Richard Johnson sank a 30-foot birdie putt on the final green to become only the second home winner of the Scandinavian Masters in the last 12 years today.</p>
Langer edges Pavin to lift Senior Open
<p>Bernhard Langer won his first senior major with a one-shot victory over American Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin at the Senior Open Championship at Carnoustie yesterday. </p>
The Hacker: The eyes have it but maybe ear syringing cures waywardness
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<p>For the first time in several years I stood on the first tee in the July medal and was able to see, with a long-forgotten clarity, the whole panorama – the fairway, the flag fluttering 400 yards away, the trees, the distant hills...</p>
Feminine fairways shorn of characters – so we need Wie
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<p>Michelle Wie will arrive at Royal Birkdale tomorrow and embark on the same fact-finding mission this nostalgia junkie undertakes when-ever visiting a links. As she delves into all the history which has taken place between those famous dunes, it may not take too long to come across the story of the 15-year-old schoolgirl who finished third in her first British major. </p>
Oosthuizen faces Choi challenge
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<p>
South Korea's KJ Choi will try to bridge a seven-year gap in Stockholm this
weekend – and with it stop the new Open champion Louis Oosthuizen from
making a piece of European Tour history.
</p>
Oosthuizen rides wave of confidence
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<p>The Louis Oosthuizen show kept on rolling yesterday after the new Open champion swapped St Andrews for Stockholm and starred again.</p>
Oosthuizen buys a new tractor
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<p>Open champion Louis Oosthuizen has splashed out on something special to mark his first major win: a tractor.</p>
Clarke's Tour time wins Monty vote of confidence
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<p>Darren Clarke admits he has not always seen eye to eye with Colin Montgomerie, while Thomas Bjorn once called him "a 40-year-old behaving like a three-year-old". But they, along with Paul McGinley, are to be the Scot's three assistants when he captains Europe in the Ryder Cup in two months' time.</p>
Clarke named among Ryder Cup vice-captains
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<p>
Darren Clarke was today unveiled as the 'third man' to help Europe try to win
back the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in Wales on October 1-3.
</p>
James Lawton: Making heroes out of contenders turns Britain into the sick man of world sport
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<p>One theory is that the good British sports gene, the one that made world-beaters like Sir Roger Bannister and Gareth Edwards and Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Nick Faldo and Sir Steve Redgrave and Lord Sebastian Coe, has gone missing. Despite the mounds of recent evidence in places like South Africa, Wimbledon and St Andrews, it isn't true.</p>
Monty rides new wave of European confidence
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<p>Colin Montgomerie will today finally announce the vice-captains who he believes can help him win back the Ryder Cup for Europe in two months' time. Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn and a mystery third player have at last accepted that a managerial role is the only chance they have of aiding the cause at Celtic Manor. </p>
R&A hatch plan to see more balls in Road bunker
<p>There are no plans to make St Andrews any longer when the Open is next played at the course – but officials do hope to see the Road Hole 17th playing tougher. The tee on the Old Course's most famous and most difficult hole was moved back 40 yards, making it a 495-yard par four, but the average score went up only from 4.63 in 2005 to 4.66 this year.</p>
How Louis, 'the uncut diamond', was polished in England
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<p>After winning in the fashion of the world No 1, Louis Oosthuizen can now go on to become the world No 1. That was the declaration delivered from the Open champion's coach yesterday. And the good news for any golf fan still aggrieved at again watching the Claret Jug head overseas is that Pete Cowen is British. Just like all of the South African's backroom staff.</p>
Clarke lined up to be Ryder Cup vice-captain
<p>According to reports last night, Darren Clarke is to be announced today as one of Colin Montgomerie's vice-captain's for the Europe team which contests the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in October.</p>
Oosthuizen writes name in history with nerveless finale
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<p>Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, John Daly, Tiger Woods... maybe the name Louis Oosthuizen does jar a little on this list. It shouldn't. For the manner in which the South African won the 139th Open here yesterday would have made any of his fellow St Andrews champions proud. He did not merely defeat his rivals, so much as crush them deep into the sand beneath ground.</p>
Oosthuizen: 'It was a battle to keep calm. Having such a big lead was difficult'
<p>With the first line of his victory speech Louis Oosthuizen wished a happy 93rd birthday to his former president Nelson Mandela last night and then went on to describe his amazement at winning the Open by the second biggest margin in 97 years. </p>
British challenge fades in face of total dominance
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<p>The shortish, wiry fellow in the dazzling white trousers won the Open yesterday, but unfortunately for British golf fans it was the wrong one. Paul Casey, of strikingly similar stature to Louis Oosthuizen and in strikingly similar clobber, simply could not reel in his playing partner, never closing the gap to less than three shots, and watching the South African become all but uncatchable. Casey's situation was not helped by perhaps the least timely triple-bogey he will ever record, on the par-four 12th hole following an errant drive into an unforgiving clump of gorse. </p>
James Lawton: Champion discovers new belief to rewrite his modest portfolio
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<p>It was no disservice to Louis Oosthuizen here last night when you looked at him in a certain, slightly disbelieving way, and then thought of some of the more flamboyant Open champions. </p>
The Open Diary: Montgomerie ready to walk the plank
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<p>There was no stopping for Colin Montgomerie on the Swilcan Bridge here yesterday; no emotional turn and wave to the crowd behind the 17th green, no teary, smiley poses for the bank of photographers taking their snaps for posterity.</p>
From high fashion to high winds, the tale of four days in Fife
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<p><b>Day One: McIlroy carves slice of history while Daly fashions a colourful return </b></p>
'I felt a bit special. I was thinking about Mandela's birthday'
<p>With the first line of his victory speech Louis Oosthuizen wished a happy 92nd birthday to Nelson Mandela and afterwards he described how thoughts of South Africa's former president inspired him to win the Open by the second largest margin in 97 years. That and a phone call from Gary Player.</p>
Tiger exits empty-handed after putting lets him down
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<p>Raf Leuchars to Orlando, Florida is a familiar routing for Tiger Woods's private jet but last night the in-flight service lacked a certain elegance. Usually – well, at least in 2000 and 2005 – Woods and guests could wile away the hours by sipping the beverage of their choice from the Claret Jug. Not this time. The most valuable cargo in golf was not on the manifest.</p>
Paul Eales: Coaching report
Lehman bullish even as generation gap weakens Americans
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<p>It would not be overstating matters to suggest that the Americans made their most striking impact on the Old Course this week in the final sartorial enormity perpetrated by John Daly. His trousers yesterday comprised stars down one ham, and stripes down the other, so introducing a degree of literalism to the fact that American national pride had taken a back seat at the home of golf.</p>
Louis Oosthuizen cruises to victory at Open
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<p>
South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen today cruised to a commanding victory in the
139th Open Championship at St Andrews to claim his first major title.
</p>
Electrifying Englishman enjoys a following wind
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<p>
The topography of this place had long been embroidered into each of the 78
hearts still beating in the third round of the Open. For the penultimate
pair, however, it lay before them in the wind and sunshine as a battlefield
not just to conquer but to defend – a fastness of their own island. After
pounding their first drives, Paul Casey and Lee Westwood marched down the
fairway and heard the galleries not so much urging them to succeed as
imploring them.
</p>
Casey within striking distance of glory
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<p>
For Paul Casey the day has arrived. His talent has always demanded he take his
place on the biggest stages of the game and they don't come any bigger than
the final round of a major at the Home of Golf. Particularly when there has
been no home winner of The Open Championship this century.
</p>
Garcia raises a smile before surge is checked
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<p>There have been some special moments for Spanish sport of late. Rafael Nadal regained his Wimbledon crown and, of course, last Sunday their footballers conquered the world for the first time. But if you are really looking for miracles, putting a smile back on the face of Sergio Garcia would top the lot. The 30-year-old from Valencia has not been his bubbly self these last 18 months. Too many missed putts will grind down even the cheeriest soul. There has been talk of him not being all there on the practice range and a grumpiness on the course has been obvious for a while.</p>
James Lawton: Woods puts his nose to the grindstone
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<p>If he didn't know it when his life and his golf began falling apart, Tiger Woods knows it now. Sometimes you just have to hold a line and remember that, if you keep trying to do the right thing, you might get through the worst that can come your way. Who knows, you might just turn everything around.</p>
Oosthuizen keeps his head for heights
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<p>
Louis Oosthuizen leads The Open. Even if he never hears it said again, the
27-year-old South African has woken up on two mornings here at the Home of
Golf to see his name at the top of the leaderboard, and yesterday he
confounded all those who thought he would crumple under the burden – yes,
the burden – of taking a five-shot lead into the third round. That lead was
cut by one, but Oosthuizen played splendidly for his round of 69, and now
the £850,000 question is whether he will wake up tomorrow morning with the
Claret Jug next to his bed.
</p>
Rory The Kid gets to grips with bouncebackability
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<p>Searching for a hangover cure. Two hours before his third-round tee time, Rory McIlroy was grinding on the putting green in front of the R&A clubhouse trying to kick-start his putter. In his second round of 80 it had performed like a moped running out of petrol – putt, putt, putt. Thirty-nine putts, in fact. After his first round of 63, they must have felt like 39 stabs to the heart. Not even Julius Caesar had it that bad.</p>
The Hacker: Spirit of Bader inspires us to take wing in RAF foursomes
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<p>The theme this week is a famous Second World War flying ace, and you lot at the back can keep those remarks about playing better when legless and stumping round the course to yourselves. Recently I played in the RAF Club's golf day at Sonning (my father was in the force) and, predictably, failed to get off the ground (figuratively and pretty often literally) in the morning's individual competition.</p>
St Andrews Diary: Bridge of sighs as Watson returns to senior service
<p>The 139th Open came alive at 9.45pm on Friday when Tiger Woods almost holed his drive at the final hole and Tom Watson made his last trip over the Swilcan Bridge. Dusk had fallen and the hooter went to suspend play for the night but players could finish the hole they were on, and suddenly the air was crackling. At one of the few venues where the five-time Open champion failed to triumph, Watson stooped to kiss the old stone bridge and stood for the obligatory farewell wave. Then he very nearly holed his chip for an eagle. The 60-year-old said: "I thought of Arnold [Palmer] and Jack [Nicklaus] on the bridge in their last Opens right here. But it is not my last Open. I've got a few more years, but it is my last at St Andrews." Having almost won last year, Watson is exempt through to 2014 but the Open will not return here until 2015 at the earliest and perhaps not until 2017. So, is he looking forward to an easier ride this week in the Senior Open at Carnoustie, where he won his first Claret Jug in 1975? "Carnoustie is never easy," he said. "Give me a break. That's a tougher golf course than this one."</p>
The Last Word: Darkest hour is just before the dawn for Tiley
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<p>As much as he may have wanted to, Steven Tiley did not whinge. He stood there by the side of the 18th green at St Andrews yesterday morning and focused on the disappointment rather than the resentment. It was 8.30am and his working day had already been wrecked just as the multi-millionaires he aims to join twitched on their feathered pillows.</p>
Journeyman Oosthuizen rides luck of the draw as rivals twist in the wind
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<p>
The old course took its revenge on the young leader in chilling fashion here
yesterday. After a 63 in the first round, Rory McIlroy shot an 80 in the
second round. Seventeen shots difference, so nearly one for each hole. The
crestfallen Ulsterman was the poster boy for an X-rated show.
</p>
'Stupid' R&A attacked for 'unfair' suspension
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<p>
The carnage on the fairways was followed by the recrimination in the locker
room as the Open organisers were accused of giving preferential treatment to
the big names and of being "stupid". Martin Kaymer and Thomas
Levet spoke up for the disgruntled when asked about the wind suspension.
</p>
McIlroy handed savage reversal of fortune as ‘old lady’ bites back
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<p>
Rory McIlroy stood on the sunlit first tee yesterday afternoon as a young man
on top of the world, and apparently without a care in it.
</p>
Casey content despite nasty bump on the Road
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<p>It was Colin Welland, clutching the Academy Award he'd just received for writing Chariots of Fire, who famously declared that "the British are coming".</p>
James Lawton: From Old Tom to Tiger, 150 years of the Open have brought intrigue, passion – and glory
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<p>It was entirely to be expected that no place on earth this week could have rivalled the readiness with which the old grey town accepted that if Tiger Woods is flawed as a man he remains, almost certainly, unsurpassable as a golfer. </p>
'Shrek is OK but do not call me Lodewicus'
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<p>Louis Oosthuizen answers to most things except Lodewicus Theodorus, which he was named, after his grandfather. "Not even my family can call me that," he said. "I won't talk to them if they call me that. That's a passport name. I've always been Louis, right from the beginning."</p>
Tiger draws on conviction and nerve of old to stay in the fight
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<p>
He used to make it look so easy, a mere walk beside the sea.
</p>
Paul Eales: Long putting on large greens
<p>On large greens as they have here at St Andrews, pace-putting is very important if you want to keep control of your round.</p>
The Open Diary: Wife Brenda goes extra mile for 'Calc'
<p>Any golfing wives with reasons to not entirely trust their husband – and, rumour has it, there are one or two – might do worse than following the example of Brenda Calcavecchia. If you want to know where they are at all times, be there at all times. Even when they are at the office and even when you've broken your foot and don't feel much like lugging around their 40lb bag. </p>
Oosthuizen takes surprise lead in Open
<p>
Louis Oosthuizen added his name to the list of surprise leaders of The Open at
St Andrews today before 40mph gusts suspended play for just over an hour in
mid-afternoon.
</p>
The Open Diary: What would Old Tom think about Tiger?
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<p>The winner here on Sunday evening will receive not only a Claret Jug but also a belt. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the game's oldest major, Prestwick Golf Club, the venue for the very first Open Championship, will award the champion a replica of the Championship Belt which hangs in the Royal and Ancient clubhouse at St Andrews. </p>
Tiley takes step up to lead English challenge
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<p>One estimation of the sponsorship tsunami that would be unleashed should superstar-in-waiting Rory McIlroy win the Open Championship on Sunday stretched into eight figures. Back in the economically challenged world of the self-confessed journeyman professional, making the cut today could trigger a first-ever sponsor's bonus for Steven Tiley.</p>
Golf fashion: Hey chaps, the Bay City Rollers called to get their clothes back
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<p>Looking on the bright side – literally – of his spectacularly horrible trousers, John Daly said, "the good thing is that if you get dressed in the dark, any shirt is going to match." Really John? Surely you mean that no shirt is going to match. </p>
Chris McGrath: Youth wins over experience to leave Watson in Ishikawa's wake
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<p>This is no country for old men. But then nor is it much of a place for a great golfer in his prime, if he happens to be holding his putter infinitesimally askew. Neither Tom Watson nor Padraig Harrington needed the constant rebuke of the leader board, showing just what Rory McIlroy was able to do in the unexpectedly benign conditions. They had a young buck of their own for company, in Ryo Ishikawa, and by the end of their opening round he was the only one entitled to be confident that he will be staying for the weekend.</p>
James Lawton: The Old Course helps Tiger find his old self again
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<p>The healing of Tiger Woods may never happen – at least not to the point where he becomes again the impregnable figure who once treated this historic golf course as a favourite corner of his empire, a stretch of ground he owned as surely as any old Scottish chieftain.</p>
Paul Eales: How to escape from a pot bunker
<p>There are 112 bunkers on the Old Course and most of them are "wee beasties" that are far deeper than they are wide. The only thing you must do if you get in one is to get out of it.</p>
Revamped Road Hole proves not to be a crash zone after all
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<p>There had been much pre-Open griping and growling from the players about the powers-that-be at St Andrews daring to interfere with the famous 17th Road Hole, which they had extended by 40 yards in an attempt to tame today's longer hitters. </p>
McIlroy: 'There's absolutely no reason why I can't win'
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<p>A brash youth mugged a defenceless old lady here yesterday, but at least he left her with a shred of dignity. Rory McIlroy came within a three-foot putt of recording the first 62 in the 150-year history of the majors. Instead this remarkable 21-year-old had to be satisfied with a nine-under magnificence which gave him a two-shot lead in the first round of the Open Championship.</p>
Westwood and Casey 'lose four shots' to squall
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<p>
"The luck of the draw" has rarely seemed so apt a statement as here
at the 139th Open Championship yesterday. A breathless morning gave way to a
rough afternoon where the wind picked up and a squall came in, effecting
what Paul Casey claimed to be a four-shot swing for the early starters, who
Lee Westwood declared "could have kicked it around in a low score". </p>
Brian Viner: He's slim and trim, but 'Mild Thing' Daly can still cut loose
<p>A year after Tom Watson turned the clock back to Turnberry 1977 on the opening day of the Open, John Daly kindled memories of the 1995 championship at St Andrews, posting a six-under-par 66 that, in fact, bettered his first-round score 15 years ago. Daly went on to win that year following a play-off with Costantino Rocca, and while nobody is counting chickens with three rounds to play, he has at least given himself a chance of settling his $1m debt to the US taxman with a single pay cheque.</p>
Tiger Woods left chasing McIlroy's lead
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<p>
Tiger Woods was left in an unfamiliar position at St Andrews today after being
joined by Rory McIlroy in golf's "63 Club."
</p>
The British Open: 20 years of champions
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Brian Viner: Cink and Watson renew a particularly good-natured rivalry
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<p>Rarely has a defending champion arrived at an Open quite as unheralded as Stewart Cink, the good-natured 37-year-old from Alabama who in some quarters has still not been forgiven for trampling Tom Watson into the Turnberry dirt a year ago, during a four-hole play-off that finished anticlimactically for everyone except Cink and his overjoyed family.</p>
How Wilkinson's kicking coach is helping Donald hit the greens again
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<p>It is time for the English to conquer the world again, they say, time for the young golfers of Albion to stand up and redress an Open void which now stands at 18 years. But where to go for the inspiration? </p>
Britain and Ireland could win Ryder Cup without help from Europe, says Rose
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<p>If the Americans were in any doubt that the British golfing professional has finally shrugged off his long-held inferiority complex, then they were surely put right by Justin Rose yesterday. On the eve of the 139th Open Championship, the Englishman stated his belief that Great Britain and Ireland no longer need the rest of Europe to compete in the Ryder Cup – "we could do it on our own". </p>
Young gun reveals secret of English success
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<p>From staying in a dodgy bed-and-breakfast in Durban to a room at the Old Course Hotel, with breakfast alongside Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh and a spa experience with Bruce Forsyth. All this is possible even for the lowliest contenders in English golf, which is something of a success story compared to some other sports that could be mentioned. </p>
Faldo backs Rose to weather the storm
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<p>Sir Nick Faldo yesterday made a prediction which will excite all of those British golf fans who remember him as the last home Open winner at the Home of Golf. "Something is going to happen this week," said the 1990 champion. "I would think a British winner is a probable."</p>
Mickelson enlists Faldo's help to break Open duck
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<p>Phil Mickelson says he expects to "be in contention" at St Andrews this week after finally getting the hang of links golf.</p>
Casey hits out at new Road Hole (but it's really all Henman's fault)
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<p>It's easy to pick a fight with the Royal and Ancient blazers. So here goes. As crimes of grand designs go, moving the 17th tee at the Old Course back 40 yards has been greeted by some players at the Open as seriously as if a graffiti artist had snuck into the Louvre and scribbled a moustache on the Mona Lisa.</p>
Woods parts with the putter that won him $90m as troubles take toll
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<p>
It's over. Tiger Woods confirmed it. The separation is complete; the trust
lost, the bond broken, the disloyalty irrecoverable. The world No 1 has a
fresh model in his hands.
</p>
'Tiger's game is just not up to scratch'
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<p>If Tiger Woods suspected everyone was against him then yesterday he received confirmation. After being grilled in his first British press conference since the scandal broke, the world No 1's faltering game came under attack from his very own caddie. Steve Williams held back with all the sensitivity of a celebrity website. </p>
Ian Poulter: 'The best Americans are getting older. It's our time'
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<p>At St Andrews which would be braver? A British player wearing a kilt at a windy Open Championship? Or a British player laying the gauntlet down to an American contingent who just happen to have won seven Opens this century compared to the home guard's total of none? </p>
Rose uses experience to avoid the Tiger trap
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<p>Perhaps Tiger Woods should have been asked whether he will be intimidated when playing with Justin Rose in the first two rounds of this Open Championship and not vice versa. After all, the Englishman has won two of his last three events – and the American has not won any of his last six. </p>
Clarke fails Scottish test but wins Open spot
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<p>Darren Clarke lost the Scottish Open but won a spot in this week's Open Championship yesterday. The big Ulsterman failed to stop the charge of Edoardo Molinari who joined his brother Francesco as a European Tour winner.</p>
Tiger throws caution to the winds to hone his links game
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<p>Tiger Woods flew into Fife yesterday and was so determined to get in some links practice on the Old Course he played through conditions that were "unplayable". The Royal and Ancient admitted afterwards that if this had been a tournament day, the 50mph gusts would have seen the Open Championship suspended. </p>
Tom Watson: The old man will roll back the tears on Old Course
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<p>The son took it hardest of all. Michael Watson watched last year's Open Championship snatched away from his father in golf's cruellest moment and he cried. And he cried and he cried and he cried...</p>
Woods looks vulnerable – on and off the greens
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<p>Tiger Woods will arrive at his favourite place on earth today with his favourite place in the rankings secure. If golf's world No 1 truly has to learn to celebrate what he still has, after the scandal which tore his world apart, then this next week on the Fife coast is the time to be doing so.</p>
McDowell's riding high but road ahead is hard
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<p>Clairvoyancy is one of the few gifts not bestowed upon the first-time major winner, but still Graeme McDowell is willing to make a prediction on this week's Open Championship. "The boys are not going to like the new 17th," said the US Open champion. "It's going to cause a lot of controversy."</p>
The Hacker: Memo to PM: you don't break 100 by crawling to major winners. I know, I've tried
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<p>I didn't realise I had anything in common with the Prime Minister, differing as we do in schooling, background, wealth, age, looks, hair and stuff like that, but he confessed last week that he has a desire to break 100 on the golf course.</p>
Clarke faces toughest of Italian jobs
<p>Darren Clarke will be forgiven for feeling like the prosciutto in an Italian sandwich today. The Ulsterman will tee off in the final group of the Scottish Open flanked by the Molinari brothers, Edoardo and Francesco. And if yesterday is anything to go by, he will need all of his ball-striking brilliance to conquer the game's tightest fraternity. </p>
Rain whets Clarke's title appetite
<p>Darren Clarke will take a three-shot lead into the weekend of the Scottish Open with his mouth as dry as his waterproofs are wet.</p>
McDowell: 'I've led the open before. Maybe now I've learnt how to stay ahead'
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<p>The final confirmation will come just as the next major begins. When Ivor Robson, the Open Championship's official starter, announces next Thursday "On the tee, from Northern Ireland, US Open champion..." Graeme McDowell will know. There he will stand, the man he set out to be. And not the club-breaker he never wanted to be. </p>
Clarke dreaming of ticket to Open
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<p>It's been too long since Darren Clarke has been atop of a big-time leaderboard, but there the big Ulsterman is, looking as imposing as he always did after a first-round 65. From announcing he was considering walking away last month, Clarke has marched right back in again. </p>
Tom Watson: 'How long did I suffer after the last Open? 24 hours... honestly'
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<p>There is still, in the tanned, creased, smiling face of 60-year-old Thomas Sturges Watson, a strong reminder of the freckled, tousle-haired young Kansan who struck his first shot in the Open Championship 35 years ago today, and hinted at a remarkable affinity with the links courses of the British isles by winning the thing at his first attempt. The affinity was confirmed when he won the Open again at Turnberry two years later, following one of the most enthralling tussles golf has ever seen, the so-called Duel in the Sun with Jack Nicklaus. </p>
Mickelson on a mission to seize Woods' No 1 status
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<p>Phil Mickelson certainly looked like he had come prepared for a fight yesterday as he arrived in the media centre with blood dripping from his head. As it turned out the American had merely scratched himself, but still the image seemed pertinent. For a top-two finish in the Scottish Open this week would mean Mickelson was no longer just another contender but the undisputed No 1. </p>
Tiger interrupts Open build-up to take care of his cub back home
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<p>The image of Tiger Woods as doting father will always be hard to reconcile for many, but not for the fellow professionals he has been with here in the grand Adare Manor clubhouse these last few days. The world No 1 has been proudly showing them the recording of his 15-month-old son's golf swing. And in Ian Poulter's verdict, "It's scary." </p>
Rose's hot streak drives him into Open contention
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<p>A few hours after his latest PGA Tour success, the player who the Americans are hailing as "the hottest golfer on the planet" touched down here for the JP McManus Pro-Am – and his name was not Tiger Woods. </p>
Rose summons great courage to seal win at AT&T National
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<p>
Justin Rose last night produced one of the gutsiest performances in golf when
winning his second event on the American Tour in three starts. A week after
blowing the Travelers Championship in spectacular style, the Englishman laid
the ghosts of his capitulation to rest in the AT&T National.
</p>
Jimenez does it the hard way
<p>Miguel Angel Jimenez became the oldest-ever winner of continental Europe's oldest golf title in Paris today – but he did it the hard way after making a real mess of the final hole.</p>
Donald charges into contention in Paris
<p>Luke Donald shone in Europe yet again, but still has no plans to start playing more on this side of the Atlantic. A third-round 67 in the French Open at Paris's Le Golf National course gives Donald a chance to continue a run which has seen him finish second, first and third in his previous three starts on European soil. </p>
The Hacker: My half can't save Wales but at least they enjoyed the footy
<p>I trust that Dr Frank Stableford approves that, every year, 20 or so of his devotees gather rather rowdily to celebrate his immense contribution to golf.</p>
Rose shows his mettle to bloom again
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<p>
Justin Rose has spent a whole career astonishing his doubters by bouncing back
from adversity and at the Aronimink Country Club in Philadelphia the
Englishman is doing so again. After blowing a big lead in spectacular
fashion last week, Rose takes a four-stroke cushion into today’s final of
the AT&T National.
</p>
Westwood 'sore' after limping to 69
<p>
The Dutchman Robert-Jan Derksen saw a four-stroke lead disappear at the Alstom
French Open yesterday, only for Alejandro Canizares' late double-bogey to
put him two strokes back in front.
</p>
Westwood defies leg injury to shoot 70
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<p>Lee Westwood bravely shook off this week's health scare to shoot an opening 70 at the Alstom French Open in Paris on the day when Jean van de Velde popped up to remind people he was still in the game .</p>
Westwood is given the all-clear by hospital after blood clot scare
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<p>Lee Westwood will attempt to tee it up in today's first round of the French Open despite being taken to hospital yesterday with a feared blood clot. Having survived his health scare, the world No 3 is plainly intent on getting in his warm-up for the Open, which begins in a fortnight's time. </p>
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