46 PGA Tour golfers were scheduled to play

The sun was shining as Tiger teed off - perhaps a good omen for him - alongside four amateur partners. The pro-am is a major money-maker for the tournament's charity, the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation. It's also a priceless opportunity for the tournament sponsor and partners to bring in their top customers and employees for a chance to play with the pros.

Following the pro-am, there is usually evening events where all the players mingle and socialize. It's good fun, good for business and good for the tournament's charity.

Today, 46 PGA Tour golfers were scheduled to play - each with four amateurs. At $28,000 for each amateur foursome this year's event raised Ping K15 fairway wood over $1 million for the Nicklaus' Foundation. That's a great way to kick off a tournament.

So if you have some loose change around and want to play in a PGA Tour pro-am, how do you do it? It's simple. Most tournaments have a specific person in charge of the events and there is often a dedicated page on the tournament's website explaining how to enter. For example, take a look at the www.hondaclassic.com website, click "Sponsorships" and click through to the "Pro-Am" tab.

One requirement for any pro-am is that the amateur players must have an official USGA handicap. Many spots are spoken for by the sponsors so there is no guarantee golfers not affiliated with the sponsors or the host course will be able to get a spot.

But if you do, you'd better have your "A-game." Pro-am players usually have low handicaps and are seasoned competitors. Kenny G, for instance, is a not only a fine Ping G15 Fairway Wood sax player but a "scratch" golfer. Not every amateur will be that good but, in general, the level of play at a pro-am is well above average.

Most of players scheduled to play in today's event are men. After a quick review it looked like there were about six females in the amateur field of 88.

The group led by PGA Tour player Camillo Villegas teed off at 7:45 a.m. It included Lynn Parker, a golf professional and instructor from Texas. Parker, who was playing from a forward tee, was the only player in that group to par the 15th - the short par-3 that begins the famous three-hole "Bear Trap" on the Champion Course. Although Parker is a former discount golf clubs member of the LPGA Tour she no longer plays professionally. That foursome was lucky to have her as part of their team.

Another female player drew a lot of attention Wednesday. Lexi Thompson, the youngest member on the LPGA Tour, was scheduled to tee off with World Golf Hall of Fame member Greg Norman along with three amateurs - New England Patriots' coach Bill Belichick, former NFL player Joe Thiesmann and Kenny G - at 12:45 p.m. That was the Pro-Am group to watch.

Mahan failed to post and win and took two steps back Mahan failed to post and win and took two steps back

You know the team I'm talking about. The squad has a ton of talent, but for one reason or another, no one trusts them to go deep in the tournament.

If Hunter Mahan were a tournament team, he'd almost certainly be the suspect squad. A guy with a ton of talent and one of the best swings in golf, Mahan made discount golf clubs waves in 2010, winning twice on the PGA Tour for the first time in his career and setting the stage for a breakout 2011.

But a funny thing happened last year. Like most suspect teams, Mahan never lived up to the hype. He failed to post and win and took two steps back, leaving many to wonder if the 29-year-old was a legit contender or a pretender.

While this appears to only be a brief Callaway Diablo Edge Driver snapshot, Mahan seems to be coming into his own this week at the Accenture Match Play. Playing some of the best golf of his career in Marana, Ariz., he's now only one win away from heading to Sunday's final, after he steamrolled fellow American Matt Kuchar in Saturday's quarterfinal match, 6 and 5.

Just a day after Mahan produced 9 birdies in a win over Steve Stricker, he went conservative, parring Kuchar to death to setup a callaway x22 irons semifinal matchup with Mark Wilson. While Mahan's round wasn't spectacular, it was more than enough to defeat Kuchar, who completely lost his swing just a day after it looked like everything was starting to click.

With the unpredictability of match play, it's impossible to say one way or the other if Mahan will come out firing in the semifinals or turn into Saturday's version of Matt Kuchar.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 will feature many of the best championship courses

Golf fans will once again be able to step foot onto the hallowed grounds of Augusta National Golf Club as the Masters Tournament will be included in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13.  There will also be a special Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13: The Masters Collector’s Edition, equipped with its own unique box art and will include all the features of the standard edition as well as five additional golf courses, Augusta National’s world-class Tournament Practice Facility, and much more.

With the most comprehensive swing mechanic revamp in over a decade, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 will provide fans unprecedented control over their swing tempo, ball position and stance, allowing players to replicate countless swing combinations used by Ping G15 Hybrids real-world PGA TOUR players. Coupled with complete integration with Kinect for Xbox 360, including voice-enabled controls, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 lessens the gap between the real world and virtual golf course experience.

 The coins-based economy will enable players to earn coins through regular gameplay. With coins, players will be able to purchase Pin Packs as well as individual rounds on PDLC courses.  The player’s ultimate goal will be to unlock unlimited discount golf clubs play on PDLC courses via either collecting all the pins for that course (players collect pins by purchasing “Pin Packs” with their earned coins), or by completing course mastery on that course by purchasing individual rounds with coins.

Country clubs will enable players to create or join an exclusive country club with friends and will also accelerate a players’ coins earnings. Friends will gather together in clubs, create tournaments and compete against club members for the coveted Club Ping K15 Hybrids Championship.  As players’ country clubs grow and level up, they’ll be awarded with increased coins payouts.

The virtual economy and country clubs simplified: Connect, Compete and Collect.  The more you play, the more coins you earn, the more coins you earn the more pins you can collect, the more pins you have, the faster you’ll earn additional coins, which leads to unlocking unlimited play on PDLC courses.

Mickelson missed three straight putts from just inside 10 feet

All it took was a pair of mistakes by Mickelson to turn the back nine into a shootout, with a half-dozen players in the mix.

He missed the dual fairway on the eighth and couldn't reach the green, chipped 6 feet by the hole and missed the par putt. Then, he failed to clear the fairway bunker on No. 9 and had no chance of getting home. His wedge was 20 feet short, leading to another bogey.

 Haas started the back nine with a birdie to take the lead, only to give it back with consecutive bogeys when he came up short on the 12th and missed the fairway discount golf clubs left on the 13th. Bradley and Mickelson each made birdie on the 11th to reclaim a share of the lead, then took turns falling out of the lead - Bradley missed the green to the left on No. 13 for bogey, Mickelson with a three-putt from 50 feet on No. 14.

Mickelson three-putted again from 70 feet on the 15th, but Bradley also missed a 7-foot par putt on the same hole.

Four players had at least a share of the lead throughout the final round. Dustin Johnson was not among them, though he stayed in the hunt until Callaway Big Bertha Diablo Driver the end. Needing a birdie to match Haas, he leaked his approach to the 18th and then bladed his chip across the green. He had to scramble for bogey and a 71, putting him in a tie for fourth.

Garcia never had a chance to win, though the Spaniard sure made it interesting.

He hit 3-wood to 10 feet for eagle on No. 11, holed a 4-iron from 207 for eagle on No. 15 and birdied the 18th for a 30 on his opening nine. When he holed a birdie putt across Titleist AP2 710 Forged Irons the third green, he was 8 under for the day through 11 holes, and only three shots behind.

His momentum ended with a bogey on the par-3 fourth, and he had to settle for a 64, the best round of the tournament.

Donald finally is getting the respect for his feats

Also playing is Sergio Garcia, a regular partner of Donald in the Ryder Cup. Garcia once discussed winning money titles for both sides in the Atlantic, and that he was impressed - as was most everyone - that Donald started using it done.

``Very remarkable,'' Garcia said. ``It's never really been done by a man that is the person in both tours, so that it helps guide you difficult it can be to make Callaway Diablo Edge Driver happen. To get a guy like Luke so that you can do it, as well as No. 1, it was great to see.''

Donald finally is getting the respect for his feats, especially his world ranking.

Westwood got the identical questions, mostly from a us audience - how do a man be No. 1 without ever winning a significant? Those questions mainly were born out of comparisons to Tiger Woods, who was simply No. 1 for A decade of his career, and who won Callaway Razr X Tour irons majors with regularity. The planet ranking is about accumulating points, with no one was more consistent than Donald.

Towards the end of the season, there are no questions about who had been No. One out of the globe.

``I think the best way I won in Disney helped, and winning both money titles,'' Donald said. ``People, especially my peers, realized discount golf clubs what an accomplishment that was, playing a limited schedule and pulling off both money titles. I do think I increased in the estimation of my peers.''

The Masters is two months away, and Donald is building toward that. He'll take part in the next two weeks, including his first title defense on the Match Play Championship, then play consecutive weeks in Florida at Doral and Tampa.Callaway Diablo Edge Driver 

Donald finally is getting the respect for his feats

Also playing is Sergio Garcia, a regular partner of Donald in the Ryder Cup. Garcia once discussed winning money titles for both sides in the Atlantic, and that he was impressed - as was most everyone - that Donald started using it done.

``Very remarkable,'' Garcia said. ``It's never really been done by a man that is the person in both tours, so that it helps guide you difficult it can be to make Callaway Diablo Edge Driver happen. To get a guy like Luke so that you can do it, as well as No. 1, it was great to see.''

Donald finally is getting the respect for his feats, especially his world ranking.

Westwood got the identical questions, mostly from a us audience - how do a man be No. 1 without ever winning a significant? Those questions mainly were born out of comparisons to Tiger Woods, who was simply No. 1 for A decade of his career, and who won Callaway Razr X Tour irons majors with regularity. The planet ranking is about accumulating points, with no one was more consistent than Donald.

Towards the end of the season, there are no questions about who had been No. One out of the globe.

``I think the best way I won in Disney helped, and winning both money titles,'' Donald said. ``People, especially my peers, realized discount golf clubs what an accomplishment that was, playing a limited schedule and pulling off both money titles. I do think I increased in the estimation of my peers.''

The Masters is two months away, and Donald is building toward that. He'll take part in the next two weeks, including his first title defense on the Match Play Championship, then play consecutive weeks in Florida at Doral and Tampa.Callaway Diablo Edge Driver 

Korda become the fourth youngest winner of an LPGA event in history

``I was really calm,'' Korda said. ``I knew what the putt did because I'd had it before and it did not move. I was a little higher up and more to the right. I knew the line and I knew the speed. All I had to do was just hit it. It started breaking. I thought, `Oh, my goodness no, don't lip out, don't

break too early.' I don't even know what side of the hole it hit. I was overwhelmed by everything.''

Making her 16th start as an LPGA Tour member, Korda began the round with a one-stroke lead and was two ahead Ping G20 irons at 7 under after birdieing three of the first eight holes.

She had a double bogey on No. 9, bogeyed 10, birdied 11, and bogeyed Nos. 14-16 to drop to 2 under, then rallied with a birdie on the par-5 17th and parred the 18th to get the final spot in the playoff.

``I thought, `You've got to be kidding me,''' Korda said about the bogey run. ``I was lipping out and not reading my putts correctly. But I thought, `Come on, you can still get it back.' ... I was walking down the fairway like an absolute goof. After I made the birdie, I was OK, like, `I can do this.'''

Projected to jump from 285th to 30th in discount golf clubs the world ranking, she became the sixth youngest winner in LPGA Tour history and the fourth youngest to win a 72-hole event.

``All the times, I was down last year, it is all worth it,'' she said. ``It made me grow up. It made me realize that you've got to change your life to live out here and this is proof. I know that all the hard hours I put in and will keep putting in are really worth it. Every moment.''

Top-ranked Yani Tseng, the winner the last two years at Commonwealth Golf Club, was 1 under after a 74. The Taiwanese star had a three-hole stretch Friday in her second-round 76 when she dropped six strokes with a quadruple-bogey 8 and two bogeys. On Sunday, she had a triple bogey on the par-4 fourth, and bogeyed 15 and 16.

``If I didn't have the two bogeys late, I probably still would have had a chance,'To get at the winner's circle, Korda had to remove five other players who also finished regulation at Ping G20 driver 3-under 289. She achieved it with a birdie around the second extra hole.

I was thinking really clearly, Korda said of the second playoff hole. ?¡ãI had one concept in my head...I had been really calm. I knew what the putt did because I'd been there before and yes it failed to move.

The implications in the victory are huge for Korda. During her rookie season recently, she barely made any noise -- her best finish was a T-16 at the Avnet LPGA Classic. The Australian Open win, however, bumps her to the top of the two Player of the Year race along with the LPGA Official Money list. She becomes the season's first Rolex first-time winner and qualifies to the season-ending Titleholders Championship.

  

Golfers are happy to be back AT&T Pebble Beach

Well, to become back at Pebble is just always a goody. It's always great being here. It really is a great feeling to get the defending champ. But whether I won last year you aren't, I'll enjoy finding its way back here every chance I've.

I delivered in November to the Callaway Invitational. It's a tournament my wife and I want to come and have away for prior to Thanksgiving. I type of did that premeditated, because Some want this to be my very first time that back since I won this past year.

I do believe I managed to get many of the, oh, my goodness, kind of wow sort of stuff out of my way then when I played at Pebble. I stood high on discount golf clubs the 14th green and thought, how did this thing go in the hole? Then just looking at the 18th green and standing near the green and remembering shopping around and trying to take all of it in, which has been extremely hard to do.

In order that it was sort of nice to have gotten a few of that off the beaten track. This week I can hopefully try to feel the maximum amount of like a normal TOUR event as you possibly can.

I think because I wanted it so bad, I had been pushing so faithfully that we never let myself enjoy it or play perfectly. The sole week I personally played halfway decent was with the PGA, and i also had a Best there, that's always nice. But I still wanted an extremely bigger thing for me after my win.

This season, inside the off-season, I worked hard with my sports psychologist and my swing coach and my short game coach to evaluate which I can do in Titleist 712 AP1 Irons order to try to not accomplish that same sort of thing again, to appear, go through my routine, and take the steps that we have to do to have myself as prepared as is possible, and then go play.

No matter what happens, happens. Create force it excessive. So far it's worked pretty much to possess a couple top 10s. I'd never played in Titleist 712 AP2 Irons Maui before, and i also played pretty solid there. So I feel like things are on the right course to start in 2010.

I think, like I said recently, my approach kind of changed. Like I was thinking okay, I've won now. I understand I will undertake it. I want to put myself available each week to achieve that. I did not necessarily consider how you can do this. I recently knew it is exactly what I needed to accomplish and thought, okay, if I think prefer that, it is going to happen. Knowning that, obviously, isn't the case.