Gay Brewer, the 1967 Masters champion who won 11 times on the PGA Tour, died Friday at his home after a fight with lung cancer. He was 75. Brewer, who retired from the Champions Tour in 2000, had been battling cancer since October, fiancee Alma Jo McGuire said. “It was incurable,” she said. “It was easier on him and the family that it didn’t go any longer than it did.” Brewer won the 1967 Masters for…
Thomas Levet birdied the last hole for a 5-under 68 to tie Simon Wakefield for the second-round lead in the Johnnie Walker Championship on Thursday. Wakefield battled through a blustery wind in the morning to shoot a 69. At 9-under 137, they were one stroke ahead of first-round leader Marc Warren, who shot an even-par 73 despite birdies on the first two holes at Gleneagles.
Steve Stricker provided the feel-good start to the PGA Tour Playoffs by winning a tournament for the first time in more than six years. Tiger Woods added some controversy by spending time on his boat instead of at The Barclays. One week into this new season-ending format, it’s too early to determine whether it’s been a success.
U.S. Solheim Cup player Sherri Steinhauer shot a 5-under 67 in windy conditions Thursday to take a one-stroke lead in the LPGA State Farm Classic, while Annika Sorenstam was four shots back in defense of her last tour title. Steinhauer, the last of the 10 automatic qualifiers for the U.S. team for the Sept.
The crowd following Tiger Woods around the TPC Boston grew steadily throughout the morning sunshine until it lined the length of the 18th fairway as he finished his pro-am Thursday at the Deutsche Bank Championship. It was about the same size of the gallery following the leaders in the final round last week at The Barclays.
The PGA Tour is nearing completion on a comprehensive drug policy, and commissioner Tim Finchem said Thursday that testing could start as early as next year. Finchem spoke to the 16-man Player Advisory Council on Monday and updated them on the tour’s progress. “We believe now that we’ll complete work on a policy this year, and the elements of the policy could very well be executed during ‘08,”…
HSBC added an LPGA Tour-sanctioned stroke-play event to its golf lineup Thursday, launching the HSBC Women’s Champions. The tournament will be played Feb. 28-March 2 at Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore. With a $2 million purse and $300,000 top prize, the tournament will be the richest women’s golf event in Asia.
Marc Warren made eight birdies for an 8-under 65 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead in the first round of the Johnnie Walker Championship. The 2006 European Tour rookie of the year leads Nicolas Colsaerts (66) on the Centenary Course at Gleneagles. Jeev Milka Singh (67) birdied the last three holes to share third place with Miles Tunnicliff.
Golf’s new FedEx Cup might not seem like a true playoff to Tiger Woods. Rich Beem and Brett Quigley know exactly what’s at stake, though. Play well, or go home. Beem and Quigley need to finish no worse than second in this weekend’s Deutsche Bank Championship at the TPC of Boston or they are out of the PGA Tour’s new playoff.
Paul Casey will defend his title at the Johnnie Walker Championship starting Thursday — even though he would rather be at the FedEx Cup. The Englishman beat out crowd favorite Colin Montgomerie and others last year to win on the Centenary Course, created by Jack Nicklaus. Casey, ranked 20th, is missing the lucrative FedEx Cup after a membership misunderstanding.