Posts from — March 2008

LPGA Tour veteran Dottie Pepper will be one of seven honorees in the Class of 2008 South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame. The ceremony is set for May 19 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

Maybe Peter Lonard is smarter than the rest of us and knew that his second-place finish at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans was enough to move him into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking. It seems more likely that he got up on Monday morning and checked the Internet and found out that in the newest rankings he had moved from 72nd to 46th.

Lorena Ochoa moved into position for her second straight Safeway International victory and second win in three starts this year, shooting a 4-under 68 on Saturday to take the third-round lead.

Peter Hedblom of Sweden and Matthew Millar of Australia shared the lead by one stroke after Friday’s second round of the Andalucia Open.

Colombia’s Camilo Villegas and Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie were added to the Telus World Skins Game field Thursday.

It’s that time of year to start handicapping the Masters. The Comebacker also revisits slow play.

Peter Jacobsen had surgery on his right knee two days ago in Naples, Fla., and expects to be back on the Champions Tour quickly.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — For the first three weeks of the 2008 season, Fred Funk led the Charles Schwab Cup race. For the next three weeks, the leader was Scott Hoch. Bernhard Langer is hoping to start a first-place run of his own now that he owns the top spot in the standings. By winning last week’s Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach, Langer took a 363-point lead over Hoch. Langer has earned Charles Schwab Cup points in five of his six events entered this season. Funk is in third, while Brad Bryant and Jay Haas are in the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.

It’s a good thing that everything’s bigger in Texas because no other state could handle the sports explosion that will take place there over the next week. As the PGA TOUR descends upon Houston — Texas’ biggest city — the NCAA Final Four will unfold in San Antonio and then the Houston Astros will burst into 2008 with their home opener at Minute Maid Park. If you’re on your way to the Lone Star State for the Shell Houston Open, then get ready for some Texas-sized fun.

Editor’s Note: Andres Romero captured his first PGA TOUR title at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Many fans sent in messages to congratulate the young Argentine and said they expect great things from him in the future. Congratulations, Andres, on your first win in the States. It was just a matter of time. I have been following your progress for a couple of years now and think you’re fantastic. Well done, and good luck for the future. Colin

Some golfers like to play their way into a major championship and others prefer to take off the week prior to a grand slam event so they can work in solitude to iron out flaws and develop a game plan.

Out of the 36 PGA TOUR and Champions Tour players who made Final Four selections for PGATOUR.com, every single golfer got at least two schools right.

Angela Stanford was clinging to the lead halfway through Safeway International, with friend Lorena Ochoa closing in.

Every teenage girl’s dream: a date with the ‘Big Man on Campus.’ Well, for Michele Wie it appears that she’s gotten one of the biggest men on campus in Robin Lopez.

Sixth-ranked Southern California shot 5-under-par as a team Wednesday to pull away from the field and capture the team title, while Oklahoma State’s Trent Leon shot a 2-under 70 to take the individual medal at third annual United States Collegiate Championship at The Golf Club of Georgia.

Chris Riley posted a 3-under 68 Friday and that helped him push his lead to three strokes after two rounds of the Louisiana Open at Le Triomphe Golf & Country Club.

Briny Baird really wanted to go fishing Monday. That’s his usual routine at the Zurich Classic, but bad weather kept him off the water.

Lonnie Nielsen, a career club professional who had a mediocre PGA Tour career, birdied six of his last 10 holes Friday for a 6-under-par 66 Friday

AVONDALE, La. (AP) — Argentina’s Andres Romero walked off the TPC Louisiana a happy man Sunday afternoon. Three hours later, he felt even better.

Andres Romero became the sixth player in the last seven years to earn his first PGA TOUR win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. From a statistical perspective, Romero’s strongest suits were greens in regulation and total birdies. However, most telling was his performance on the last three holes of TPC Louisiana. On holes 16, 17 and 18, Romero made a total of eight birdies in the four rounds of the event — a remarkable 67 percent of the time. This means he averaged 2-under par for the final three holes of the event, while the rest of the field averaged just above even. In the third round, Romero birdied all three of the final holes to finish with a 65 — the low round of the event — and jump from 32nd to a tie for 2nd place going into the final round.

DOUG MILNE: We’d like to welcome the 2008 Zurich Classic of New Orleans champion, Andres Romero. Congratulations. You pick up 4,500 FedExCup points and you become the fourth consecutive first-time PGA TOUR winner of this event. Just thoughts on the day. You had to wait a while, and just some general thoughts.

Q. Tim, tell me about it out there today. Great round of golf.

Q. Padraig, 69 for 10-under. As we got deeper into the week, your game really started to pick up.

Q. Woody, tough day out there today. It’s tough to say, but you admitted it, you said you choked it coming in the last nine holes.

Peter Lonard figured the closest he would get to the Masters this year was in front of his television. Thanks to a 5-foot par putt on the final hole, he was added to the field Monday by squeezing into the top 50 in the world ranking.