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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Campbell takes Honda first-round lead

Updated: March 10, 2005, 7:32 PM ET

Associated Press

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Chad Campbell warmed up as the weather did.


	Campbell

The burly Texan overcame a slow start in chilly, windy conditions Thursday to shoot an 8-under-par 64 for a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the Honda Classic.

Campbell began on the back nine shortly after 7 a.m., when temperatures were still in the 50s, and bogeyed Nos. 10 and 16. He then holed a 70-yard wedge on the par-5 No. 17, and on the front side he birdied six holes, including the last two with putts of 25 and 15 feet.

Half of the 144-player field at the Country Club at Mirasol finished before noon. Among those early starters, only Campbell shot better than 69, a reflection of the conditions.

"We were joking that maybe they let him on the member course," said Davis Love III, who was happy to shoot 71.

Alone in second place at 66 was Brett Wetterich, playing 10 minutes from his home in Jupiter. Jesper Parnevik, another Jupiter resident and the 2001 champion, shot 67 three days after turning 40. Both players benefited from mild afternoon weather.

Skies were clear all day, but winds exceeded 15 mph at the start, and with the grass still spongy from daylong rain Wednesday, the 7,468-yard course played long. Taking practice swings on the driving range shortly after sunrise, when winds were strongest, Campbell said he shivered and geared himself for a tough day.

"It was freezing," he said. "It got better, though. The first six or seven holes I was trying to be patient. Then I holed that shot at 17, which was my eighth hole, and kind of got things going."

Campbell played the final 11 holes in 8 under.

"That has to be one of the best rounds this year, because I was pleased with my 67," Parnevik said.

At 68 were Woody Austin, Nick Watney and Aaron Baddeley, who finished in the top 10 in his past two starts. A group of 14 players at 69 included defending champion Todd Hamilton, Lee Janzen, Brad Faxon and Kevin Na, at 21 the youngest player on the tour.

Vijay Singh, playing his first round since he fell to No. 2 in the world rankings, shot 71. His six-month reign at No. 1 ended Sunday when Tiger Woods overtook him by winning the Ford Championships at Doral.

Singh, the only player among the top six entered at the Honda, cannot regain the No. 1 ranking this week.

Wetterich is back on the PGA Tour after being relegated to the Nationwide Tour the past two years. In an 11-year professional career he has one top-10 finish -- at the Honda in 2002.

He obviously likes playing close to home.

"I've got a bunch of family with me, and it's nice to come out and shoot a good round for them," he said.

Parnevik credited friends and relatives for providing a welcome distraction from golf to help him celebrate his birthday milestone.

"I flew in about 60 friends and family from Europe last week," the Swede said. "We had a lot of parties over the weekend and a big party last Monday, so it has been a lot of fun."

He and the rest of the field can have fun Friday chasing the 30-year-old Campbell, who made the Ryder Cup team for the first time last year and owns two tour titles. Touted as a future major champion, he won the season-ending Tour Championship in 2003 and will be the defending champion next week at the Bay Hill Invitational.

"He is very, very talented and probably very underrated," Love said. "When he gets on a roll he's very tough. He can make more birdies than anybody when he's playing well."

Campbell's best showing this year came Feb. 21, when he lost on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to Adam Scott at the Nissan Open -- the first 36-hole event on the PGA Tour in nine years.

Campbell took last week off.

"Being rested and mentally ready to play helps you a lot," he said. "If you're out there and you get tired, it's hard to keep things going."

Divots:

Acura announced a three-year sponsorship agreement with Davis Love III, the company's first such deal with a professional athlete. ... Daniel Chopra made four consecutive birdies, but settled for a 70.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Phil Mickelson regrets tax comments

Updated: January 22, 2013, 12:28 PM ET

ESPN.com news services

Collins: Just play golf, Phil

ESPN.com's Michael Collins thinks that Phil Mickelson should just stop complaining about taxes and everything else and focus on the golf.Tags: Michael Collins, Phil Mickelson taxes

SAN DIEGO -- Phil Mickelson says he should have kept his opinions on taxes to himself.

Mickelson had suggested "drastic changes" were in store for him -- perhaps moving from his native California -- because of changes in federal and state taxes that he says tap into more than 60 percent of his income. He said it "absolutely" was a factor in deciding against becoming part of the San Diego Padres' new ownership group.

The four-time major champion didn't back away from his outlook, only his decision to talk about it.

"Finances and taxes are a personal matter, and I should not have made my opinions on them public," Mickelson said in a statement released late Monday night. "I apologize to those I have upset or insulted, and assure you I intend to not let it happen again."

Mickelson first made a cryptic reference to "what's gone on the last few months politically" during a conference call two weeks ago for the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. After his final round of the Humana Challenge on Sunday, he was asked what he meant.

"There are going to be some drastic changes for me because I happen to be in that zone that has been targeted both federally and by the state, and it doesn't work for me right now," he said. "So I'm going to have to make some changes."

Mickelson said he would wait until his news conference Wednesday at Torrey Pines to elaborate.

"I know I have my usual pre-tournament press conference scheduled this week but I felt I needed to address the comments I made following the Humana Challenge now," Mickelson said in his statement. "I absolutely love what I do. I love and appreciate the game of golf and the people who surround it. I'm as motivated as I've ever been to work on my game, to compete and to win championships.

"Right now, I'm like many Americans who are trying to understand the new tax laws. I've been learning a lot over the last few months and talking with people who are trying to help me make intelligent and informed decisions. I certainly don't have a definitive plan at this time, but like everyone else I want to make decisions that are best for my future and my family."

The response to Mickelson's opinions on taxes ranged from mocking a guy who has become a multimillionaire by playing golf for a living to support for having such a high tax rate and not being afraid to speak his mind. A majority of PGA Tour players live in Florida and others in Texas, two states that have no state income tax.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry even weighed in with this tweet: "Hey Phil....Texas is home to liberty and low taxes...we would love to have you as well!!"

Players at the Farmers Insurance Open privately questioned what Mickelson had to gain by complaining about his taxes.

Mickelson has earned just less than $70 million in PGA Tour earnings for his career, which doesn't include corporate endorsements or his golf course design company, which is thriving in China. Forbes magazine reported Mickelson earned more than $40 million in endorsements last year, trailing only Tiger Woods among golfers.

Mickelson was raised in San Diego and, after playing golf at Arizona State, settled in the Phoenix area when he started his career before moving back home, about 20 miles north in Rancho Santa Fe.

In November, California voters approved Proposition 30, the first statewide tax increase since 2004. It boosted the state tax rate on incomes of more than $1 million from 10.3 percent to 13.3 percent.

The federal taxes for Mickelson's tax bracket also will increase in 2013. According to the Wall Street Journal, rates on single incomes of more than $400,000 will go from 35 percent to 39.6 percent, while the Social Security tax will be raised from 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent.

"If you add up all the federal and you look at the disability and the unemployment and the Social Security and the state, my tax rate is 62, 63 percent," Mickelson had said. "So I've got to make some decisions on what I'm going to do."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Tiger set for 2013 PGA Tour debut

Updated: January 22, 2013, 6:56 PM ET

By Farrell Evans | ESPN.com

Tiger Woods Feeling Good

Tiger Woods discusses the state of his game, expectations for this season, and his relationship with Rory McIlroy.Tags: Tiger Woods, Colleen Dominguez, Farmers Insurance Open

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Tiger Woods' Greatest Accomplishment

SAN DIEGO -- For Tiger Woods, Tuesday at Torrey Pines was a morning full of reminders of decisions that he has made over his 17-year pro career: the decision to play the 2008 U.S. Open on two stress fractures in his left leg; the decision to lift the embedded ball last week in Abu Dhabi; the decision to move to Florida in 1996 for tax purposes. Add to that list his commitment to a standard putter even as his foes find easier ways to make putts and his focus on the full golf swing at the expense of his short game.

Every year that Woods comes back to the picturesque course overlooking the Pacific Ocean, it provokes memories of the excruciating pain that he endured here to win his national championship.

FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN

• Venue: Torrey Pines Golf Course -- South, par-72, 7,698 yards; Torrey Pines Golf Course -- North, par-72, 7,052 yards
• Location: La Jolla, Calif.
• TV coverage: Thu./Fri, 3-7 p.m. ET on GolfChannel; Sat. 1-2:30 p.m. ET on GolfChannel, 3-6 p.m. ET on CBS; Sun. 1-2:30 p.m. ET on GolfChannel, 3-6:30 p.m. ET on CBS
• Dates: Thursday-Sunday
• Defending champion: Brandt Snedeker
• Payout: 156-man field with winner earning $1,098,000 of $6.1 million purse
• Format: 72-hole stroke play with a 36-hole cut to low 70 and ties
• Quick links: Money leaders |Schedule | World rankings

"No. 1 that comes to my mind every time I look at it or see highlights of it is just pure pain that I was in," said Woods, who will make his 2013 PGA Tour debut this week at the Farmers Insurance Open. "I don't ever want to experience that again. That was a very, very difficult week."

Tiger can't walk around Torrey Pines' South Course, a par-72, 7,621-yard Rees Jones redesign, without wondering if it's the site of his last major championship. The lavish compliments bestowed upon him about his eight victories here burnish his legend, but they do nothing to spare the ache of the longest majorless drought of his career.

In 2012, Tiger had three wins but he played inconsistently in the majors. For almost anyone else that would have been a career year. But not for Tiger.

"I would have to say the majority of the year I hit it pretty good, but my putting and short game weren't quite there," Tiger said. "I spent so much time on ballstriking that that finally came around.

"So toward the end of the season, I was able to spend more time with my chipping and putting and that's come around. So now I've got to marry up both of those two combos and hopefully I can do it this year and do it on a consistent basis."

Since Tiger's 2008 U.S. Open win, players using the midlength belly putters with the anchoring stroke have emerged to win major championships. On Tuesday, Tiger was asked if he had felt deprived of some wins because he stayed with a conventional method.

Get all of ESPN.com's latest news, highlights and commentary about the world's most talked-about golfer. Tiger Tracker

"No," he said. "I'm not going to look at it like that. Generally, in the past if guys switch methods, it's usually because they're uneasy, they're a little twitch or just don't feel comfortable, so they'll switch methods."

All this tinkering and practicing with his golf swing and short game has amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars for his bank account. On Tuesday, he was reminded of how rich he was when he was asked his thoughts about recent comments made byPhil Mickelson, who at the Humana Challenge complained that new tax hikes had made him consider "drastic" changes.

"Well, I moved out of [California] back in '96 for that reason," Tiger said. "I enjoy Florida, but also I understand what he was, I think, trying to say."

At the Farmers Insurance Open, Tiger has paid the taxes on the winner's check six times. He last won the event in 2008 when he also took the U.S. Open. He's not the same player or man since those victories.

But the memories never fade.

Farmers Insurance Open experts' picks

January, 22, 2013

JAN 22

4:26

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By ESPN.com

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Farmers Insurance Open holes to watch

ESPN.com's Michael Collins explains why a pair of par-3s will be crucial in determining the 2013 winner at Torrey Pines.Tags: Golf, Michael Collins, Farmers Insurance Open, Torrey Pines, holes to watch, hole 3, hole 11

Each week of the season, our experts will share their insights into which players fit the criteria for our four categories: Horse for the Course (a golfer who knows the track inside and out), Birdie Buster (a guy who could take it low this week),Super Sleeper (a player who could unexpectedly contend) and Winner.

This week's tournament: Farmers Insurance Open.

Horse for the Course

FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN

Michael Collins, ESPN.com senior golf analyst: Tiger Woods
In 2011, the last time he teed it up here, his T-44 was his worst finish ever at the event. Before that, 11 starts, six wins and five top-10s. If that's not a horse for the course, I quit!

Farrell Evans, ESPN.com senior golf writer: Tiger Woods
It's not a fair fight. Woods has eight wins at Torrey Pines -- a Junior World, the 2008 U.S. Open and six Farmers Insurance Opens.

Bob Harig, ESPN.com senior golf writer:Tiger Woods
Although he had a poor performance at Torrey Pines in 2011, it was the only time he's finished outside the top 10. He has six wins in the PGA Tour event and a seventh at the U.S. Open.

Kevin Maguire, ESPN.com senior golf editor: Bubba Watson
Sure, Tiger Woods is the easy pick here, but in an effort to go in another direction, the reigning Masters champ does own three top-10s in seven appearances, including a win back in 2011 at Torrey Pines.

Birdie Buster

Michael Collins: Rickie Fowler
In the three starts he's had as a PGA Tour member at Torrey Pines, he hasn't finished worse than 20th. He's coming off a sixth-place finish at the Hyundai, so expect no worse than a top-15 from the lil' orange crush.

Farrell Evans: Charles Howell III
The once can't-miss-kid out of Oklahoma State with the Iron Byron machine swing and Augusta roots is now a 33-year-old veteran with just two career wins. But after a tie for third at the Sony Open and a playoff loss at the Humana Challenge, Howell is having one of the best starts to a season in his 13 years on tour.

Bob Harig: Charles Howell III
Although he is coming off a playoff loss, Howell is off to a nice start this year, having gone T-3 and T-2 in his two starts. He missed out on a Masters invite but keeps climbing toward the top 50.

Kevin Maguire: Stewart Cink
Given his form of the past several years, Cink normally wouldn't qualify for this category. But after a strong showing at the Humana Challenge last week, the 2009 Open Championship winner appears to be on the upswing. It doesn't hurt that he has five top-25 finishes at Torrey Pines, not including a T-14 in the 2008 U.S. Open.

Super Sleeper

Michael Collins: Jason Kokrak
He barely kept his card last year by finishing 119th on the money list, but he's started his sophomore season better, already making his first two cuts in a row, including a tie for eighth last week. Power and now comfort are two dangerous things when it comes to whipping guys on the course. Kokrak has both of them now.

Farrell Evans: Brian Stuard
In Stuard's first turn at the PGA Tour in 2010, he missed 15 of 28 cuts and went back down to the Web.com Tour, where he finished 16th on the 2012 money list to regain his regular tour card. The 30-year-old Stuard has gotten off to a very hot start this year with top-10s in his first two starts.

Bob Harig: Ryo Ishikawa
The Japanese star who has been under some heat thanks to his recent Masters special invitation makes his PGA Tour debut this week as he plays as a full member this year. He tied for 13th at Torrey Pines a year ago.

Kevin Maguire: Seung-yul Noh
The 21-year-old is in his second season on the PGA Tour and finished T-27 at the Farmers Insurance Open in his rookie campaign.

Winner

Michael Collins: Scott Piercy
After a nice week off following two top-15 finishes in Hawaii, it's time for the Las Vegas native to make the next step up in tournament wins. He won in Reno, then in Canada, and now it's time to verify that top-50 OWGR with a win at Torrey Pines.

Farrell Evans: Phil Mickelson
After publicly bashing the tax code and then apologizing, the 40-time PGA Tour winner will add to his considerable tax burdens with his fourth win in his hometown event.

Bob Harig: Rickie Fowler
He struggled toward the end of last season with a back issue but appears to be good to go, with a tie for sixth at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions and three top-20 finishes so far in his career at Torrey Pines. A good place for victory No. 2 on the PGA Tour.

Kevin Maguire: Kyle Stanley
It would sweet revenge after Stanley collapsed so spectacularly last year at Torrey Pines, even though he went on to win the following week in Phoenix. What shouldn't be lost, though, is that he played this event almost flawlessly for 71 holes.

Monday, January 21, 2013

ohn Cook wins on Champions

Updated: January 21, 2013, 12:31 AM ET

Associated Press

KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii -- John Cook caught David Frost on the final hole of regulation, then beat him with birdie on the second playoff hole to win the Mitsubishi Electric Championship on Sunday.

Cook closed with a 5-under-67 at Hualalai Golf Club to catch Frost at 17-under 199. Cook made a 16-foot birdie putt on the 18th green.

Frost shot a 69, missing a 15-foot birdie putt at the 18th that would have given him a win in the Champions Tour season-opener. He had held the lead alone since the 12th hole of the second round.

Mitsubishi Electric Leaderboard

1. Cook (-17)*
2. Frost (-17)
3. Langer (-16)
4. Couples (-14)
T-5. Perry (-13)
T-5. Triplett (-13)
* Won in playoff
• Complete scores

"He is just really good and he's played really well, especially the last few months of last year," Cook said of Frost. "He's won a lot of tournaments all over the world. He hit some beautiful golf shots today and didn't get much out of what he was doing and I hadn't either. It was kind of a survival day until it got down to the nitty gritty and you knew what you had to do."

Both birdied the first playoff hole (No. 18) from inside 10 feet and went to the 17th tee. Cook hit his tee shot about 15 feet left of the hole and drained it after Frost had come up short with his 20-foot birdie try.

Cook won $309,000 for his ninth victory on the senior tour, to go along with 11 on the regular PGA Tour. He birdied all four par-5 holes on Sunday, while Frost birdied just one.

"Overall I was in there all day," Frost said. "I hit a lot of great shots, but didn't capitalize on some of the great shots I hit. He (Cook) played really well, didn't miss any make-able putts."

Cook's victory gets him invited back to this tournament of champions next year. He did not have bogey all week while Frost went bogey-free over his last 48 holes.

Bernhard Langer chipped in for a birdie on the last hole to finish third alone at 200. He started six back and bogeyed two of the first three before getting birdies on nine of the next 11 holes and finishing with a 64.

Fred Couples was five back going into the final round and also had two early bogeys. He rallied with an eagle and six birdies. That run died with a three-putt bogey at the 17th and he was fourth after a shooting a 67 and finishing at 202.

Kenny Perry was the first to make a move Sunday. He started the day in 14th place but surged into fifth with six birdies and an eagle. His 64 matched Langer's score as low round of the week. Perry finished four back with Kirk Triplett.