Golf

John Daly conducted a recent interview on location at the site of Murder Rock Golf Club. He entertained a Springfield, Mo., TV sportscaster and camera crew at his course, which he designed, near Branson, Mo. And he did it in the best way he knows how, as a very laid back and partially dressed pro golfer. It’s like a car wreck - you can’t help but look. Who says golfers aren't athletes?

Just a few weeks ago, who would have guessed that South Africa’s Trevor Immelman would headline the field at a PGA Tour event. Well, winning the Masters will do that, and Immelman now is one of the big names playing this week at the Byron Nelson Championship in Texas. And don’t rule out Immelman winning this week - he finished runner-up at the Nelson in 2006. He is the second betting favorite to win at +750 on WagerWeb.com. Scott Verplank (+1700) is the defending champion of this event, and he has five top-10s at this tournament. In 2007, Verplank edged Luke Donald, who hasn’t finished worse than tied for 19th the last four years at the ...

The big news in golf this week is that Tiger Woods, two days after finishing second in the Masters, had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee for the second time in five years and will miss at least four weeks while he recovers. Woods most likely will miss The Players Championship, one of three non-majors he has never missed since turning pro. He hopes to return at the Memorial on May 29, with the U.S. Open teeing off two short weeks later. “Tiger has been experiencing pain in his knee since the middle of last year, and when he had it looked at by his doctors, arthroscopic surgery was recommended,'' said Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent at IMG. ``Tiger ...

Trevor Immelman became the surprise winner of the 2008 Masters, with some guy named Tiger Woods finishing second in a major for this fifth time in his career. Immelman joins Gary Players as the only Masters champs from South Africa. Here is the full list of winners at Augusta: Year      Winner      Score 1934     Horton Smith     284 1935     *-Gene Sarazen 282 1936     Horton Smith     285 1937     Byron Nelson     283 1938     Henry Picard     285 1939     Ralph Guldahl     279 1940     Jimmy Demaret     280 1941     Craig Wood     280 1942     *-Byron Nelson     280 1943–45  No Tournaments 1946     Herman Keiser     282 1947 ...

Ian Poulter became the 11th player in Masters history to ace the par-3 16th hole during Thursday’s opening round. Poulter, a 32-year-old Englishman, had one birdie and 14 pars before holing out at the 170-yard hole. It was the first hole-in-one at the Masters since Trevor Immelman’s on No. 16 in 2005. "The wind was a little down from the right side," Poulter said. "It was perfect for an 8-iron. I flushed it. Soon as it left the club I knew it was going to be pretty good. You just want to see it go in. An unbelievable buzz." It nearly was ace No. 2 on the day for Poulter. On the 240-yard fourth hole, he ...

Let’s not even pretend this year’s Masters is about anyone other than Tiger Woods, who has four green jackets already and nine wins in his last 11 worldwide starts. No to mention eight top-10 Masters finishes in 13 events and a lifetime score at Augusta of 71.0 to rank first all-time. He has possibly the shortest odds in history to win a major and the Grand Slam, something he says is attainable. “You have to understand why I said that, because I've done it before - I've won all four in a row," said Woods, who is the -130 betting favorite on WagerWeb.com this week. Still, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t make ...

The last PGA Tour stop before the Masters will have an Augusta-like feel to it this week at the Shell Houston Open. First off is the quality of the field: Houston boasts four of the top 10 players in the world rankings, and six of the top 12: Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Adam Scott, K.J. Choi, Geoff Ogilvy and Padraig Harrington.   World No. 1 Tiger Woods is not playing this week, as he rarely does in the few weeks before a major, and No. 3 Ernie Els pulled out due to a virus. In addition, the folks at Redstone Golf Club are tailoring their course as best they can to look and feel like Augusta next ...

The PGA Tour begins its stretch drive into the Masters with a stop in New Orleans this week for the Zurich Classic. And the first thing all golf fans (and bettors) want to know is: whether Tiger Woods is in the field. Tiger won’t play this week nor next week in Houston as he prepares on his own for Augusta. However, New Orleans does have one of its better fields in memory (five of the world’s Top 20) even without the world No. 1 (Woods) or No. 2 (Phil Mickelson) or No. 3 (Ernie Els). World No. 4 Steve Stricker (+750 at WagerWeb.com) is coming off a  closing 9-under-par 63 at Doral to finish tied for ...

Tiger Woods and a few other PGA players will be quite busy on Monday. Tiger, of course, must finish up at the WGC-CA Championship at Doral, then get on a helicopter to play in the Tavistock Cup in Orlando. Tavistock, a two-day casual tournament that pits Isleworth Country Club against Lake Nona, will have a 2-1/2-hour delay to accommodate players who were held up by weather delays at the CA Championship in Doral. Thirteen players from Tavistock's 21-player field, including Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Justin Rose, are playing in the Miami event that is extended into 8:30 this morning. The only chance Tavistock pulls out of Monday's plans is if play at Doral doesn't ...

Tiger Woods is in the field for this week’s World Golf Championships-CA Championship at Doral in Miami, so is there really any question who the overwhelming betting favorite is on WagerWeb.com (Tiger is -225)? Woods has won five consecutive PGA tournaments (six short of Byron Nelson’s record) and nine of his last 10 worldwide events overall. And that non-loss? A second place at September's Deutsche Bank Championship. He’s good. And he has the last three events on the Blue Monster course at Doral, not to mention the past three WGC-CA events, including 2006 at The Grove in England and 2005 at Harding Park in San Francisco. Last year he beat Brett Wetterich by two strokes. Tiger ...