Around the Greens - All the Latest News from the World of Golf

- Adam Hunt -
Sports Columnist
hunty_5@hotmail.com

• Tiger Woods sank a sensational last-hole birdie putt to win his first tournament since his return to the PGA Tour. Woods holed a 15-footer to edge rival Sean O’Hair by a single shot in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida. He said afterwards: “It feels good, really good. It was great to feel the rush coming down the straight. It’s been a while.” His final round 67 put him five under on 275. It was only his third tournament since returning from an eight-month lay-off forced by knee surgery.

• Tiger Woods’ dramatic comeback in winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational on NBC produced the highest overnight TV rating for golf since his epic victory at last year’s US Open. It was also the highest rating for any regular PGA Tour event since January 2007

• By scrambling for a bogey on the final hole of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, American Pat Perez knocked fellow countryman Davis Love III out of the top 50 in the world rankings and cost him an exemption for The Masters. Love was 47^th going into the event but missed the cut and fell to 51^st. Perez, who won the Bob Hope Classic in January, shot a final round 69 and tied for fourth to move up to 48th. Matthew Goggin and Louis Oosthuizen are 49^th and 50^th respectively. The top 50 gain direct entry into The Masters which begins April 9^th.

• Spanish golf legend Seve Ballesteros has revealed the true extent of his grueling rehabilitation routine following four brain tumor operations. The five-time Major winner, who retired from the game in 2007, said last week: “I walk 20 minutes around the swimming pool, I exercise another 20 minutes on a gym bike and do six minutes rowing. Then I walk barefoot for 15 minutes. I follow specific exercises to do with the mobility and sensitivity on the left part of my body. I end up contrasting cold and warm — sauna and swimming pool. Some days the physiotherapist comes along and other days I have cognitive therapy instead.”

• Tiger Woods has agreed to appear at the Australian Masters PGA Tour event in Melbourne in November. John Brumby, governor of the state of Victoria, confirmed that the American star would play the tournament at the Kingston Heath Country Club. “We are delighted Tiger Woods has chosen to come to Melbourne, further cementing our place as the major events capital of the world,” Brumby said at a press conference last week.

• The LPGA Tour has cut another tournament from its 2009 schedule, trimming the total this year to 29 events, four less than in 2008. However, the Bell Micro LPGA Classic in Mobile, Alabama is set to return in 2010.

Don’t forget to pick up the next issue of The Cluster for comprehensive reports from the 2009 Masters at Augusta National.

Photo Courtesy of the Charlotte Observer