The biggest understatement of the day may be that Tiger Woods is playing well. However, his play yesterday alone was delightful to watch, for the kind of play he has been through in recent months. He is back in action, on day two and according to analyst, his swing looks like the good ol’ Tiger swing of ‘yore. For now, at the top alone, the Barclay’s Golf Tournament Leaderboard 2010 now has Tiger.

Tiger is now playing the best rounds of golf of the season, while his divorce was finalized, Furyk was disqualified and Phil Mickelson may not even make the cut. Due to missing the Pro-Am, when Furyk was declared ineligible, one thing was sure, we won’t see the number three player in the FedEx standings on the Barclays Golf Tournament Leaderboard 2010.

At the Bridgestone Invitational, Woods’ performance was in stark contrast to his recent showing, where the world number one scored 18-over par for four rounds. At the first, third, fifth and seventh, his birdie helped him card a first-round 65 to take a share of the lead.

Vaughan Taylor 40/1 with Victor Chandler to win The Barclays and Taylor has a share of the lead, while Rory McIlroy is 12/1 with William Hill after carding a three-under 68 and Camilo Villegas looks like a great bet at 25/1 with Ladbrokes after shooting four-under.

Last weekend, when Dustin Johnson was assessed a two stroke penalty for breaking a rule, Last weekend. Apparently, Johnson didn’t realize he was in a bunker and breaking a rule. However, Furyk over slept, although he knew the rule concerning missing his Pro-Am tee time. For now, players are still talking about the disqualification of Furyk, while the world is cheering Tiger to the top of the Barclays Golf Tournament Leaderboard 2010.

Mickelson is dealing with arthritis and his outlook for the first round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs is not very good. Mickelson has struggled since the US Open in June and he has suffered through the last few tournaments. Although Mickelson is fourth in the FedEx standings, Mickelson will be hard pressed to finish well in the final standings.

Ernie Els enters the playoffs as the top man in the FedEx standings while Tiger Woods is wallowing in 112th position. The hot golfer heading into the event could be Dustin Johnson. Johnson has given away two majors this season and with the pressure off in this event, maybe Johnson can put together four solid days of golf to win the first leg of the playoffs.

Another golfer under the radar is Justin Rose. Fifth in the FedEx standings, Rose has quietly put together a solid season and he could be the surprise winner coming out of Paramus this weekend. One more golfer to keep an eye on this weekend is Rory McIlroy. McIlroy thrives in pressure filled situations and could sneak out a win.

The 2009 purse is $5.1 million, with the winner receiving $918,000. The Wyndham Championship is the final regular season tournament for the PGA Tour. The event qualifying round takes place at Forest Oaks Country Club, also in Greensboro, NC on Monday August 16.

This event is only for members of the PGA tour. If a player is not a member, they must pre-qualify for the qualifying round on Thursday August 12. Players need to confirm their spot by Friday, August 13 at 5pm. Players may also withdraw anytime before they play their first round, if they chose not to compete.

The current champion is Ryan Moore, who won in 2009, with a score of 19 under par. For the 2010 tournament, the golfing community looking forward to the number 14 ranked golfer in the world, Anthony Kim play. He has the highest rank of any player to enter the tournament, so far. Also, there is speculation that Tiger Woods may participate, although he is not confirmed yet.

There are many events taking place at Sedgefield Country Club in the days before the final tournament begins. There is a youth golf clinic on August 17 and a Pro-Am tournament on August 18. Also on August 17, there is a Kool & the Gang concert to kick off the festivities.

At Killarney Golf and Fishing Club, the Englishman totaled 18-under 266 he had been briefly joined at the top of the leaderboard by Harrington (64) on three occasions. In the qualifying standings, Fisher’s fourth career victory lifted him to sixth place. On the European team for the Ryder Cup later this year, the qualifying standings will determine nine automatic members.

Fisher said, “The Ryder Cup has been my goal this year and there’s still going to be some changes and shifting around in the qualifying table. But, this is just the first tournament in a very important three weeks. And I am now going to go into the Bridgestone Invitational and the U.S. PGA looking forward to playing well again. They are two very big tournaments and I want to go out there and prove that this win was not a fluke.”

Under considerable pressure from Harrington, the victory was achieved, who enjoyed overwhelming local support. From the crowd of 21,000, Harrington enjoyed overwhelming local support. For the third time, he drew level, when he holed a 10-foot eagle putt at the par-5 15th, although he began three shots behind Fisher.

Playing two groups behind Harrington, Fisher responded with birdies at the 15th and 16th to regain the lead. With two comfortable pars, he closed out his victory.

Fisher said, “I have come close to winning in Ireland a couple of times in the past. And to get the victory done in front of record crowds and to beat Paddy, who was obviously fighting all the way, is something I will definitely treasure for a long time.”

After several disappointing months, on the European Tour betting, Harrington’s 26th runner-up finish lifted him to 10th in the Ryder Cup.

Harrington said, “Ross played very well going out leading and shooting 65. That’s very impressive, so fair play to him. I don’t feel like I lost the tournament, so I am not going to walk away disappointed. Ross went out there and won it.”

At the Country Club of Mobile, the 18-year-old teen from the University of Alabama had 12 birdies, an eagle and 5 pars Wednesday on the par-71, 6,628-yard course. On the 18th green, his birdie putt hung on the lip and he had to settle for par.

Wyatt shot a 9-under 26 on the front nine and needed 23 putts total.

In 2004 on a par-70 layout that measured just over 5,000 yards, 61 was the previous low round in the State Junior by Glenn Northcutt.

Wyatt has won the state’s junior championship the past three years.

In the final round of The Crowns tournament on the Japan Golf Tour on May, Ryo Ishikawa’s 58 is the lowest score on a major tour.

Set in a tournament in Louisiana, Wyatt’s score was five strokes better than his previous career low.

He said, “It was unbelievable. I got off to a fast start with birdies on my first two holes, then was 3-under after four and it kept going from there.”

Among the swelling crowd, watching Wyatt’s round was Alabama coach Jay Seawell. Through the first nine holes, he recorded a 9-under 26.

Wyatt said, “People were congratulating me as I made the turn, but I knew there was a lot of golf to be played, I had to take a few extra practice swings on the 10th tee to get my focus back.”

On the final hole, he birdied Nos. 16 and 17 and just missed another.

Wyatt was playing with Trey Mullinax and Michael Johnson. Mullinax will be his roommate at Alabama.

Wyatt said, “They are two good friends of mine and they talked to me as we went around which helped relax me but didn’t say anything about the round I was having.”

Tiger Woods is the defending champion of the World Golf Championships Bridgestone International, winning by four strokes over Padraig Harrington and Robert Allenby. This year’s WGC Bridgestone International will include among others, British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen. Oosthuizen was not slated to play but qualified with his win in the British.

Also coming from across the pond will be Lee Westwood, who has been living at the top of the leader board of late. Westwood continues to run hot, especially in Majors and he will be a great addition to the WGC Bridgestone International.

Other notables coming over from Europe will be: Rory McIlroy, Ernie Els, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia. Of the four, Ian Poulter has the best chance to be around on the last day. Rory McIlroy should be over his disappointing finish to the British Open and could also be a challenger.

Defending champ Tiger Woods may have fallen on hard times at the last three majors but Woods has a chance to make his mark in the WLC Bridgestone International. The event sets up well for Woods and he should be in contention on Sunday.

Another player to watch in this event will be KJ Choi. He’s not intimidated playing with Tiger Woods, he actually enjoys playing with Tiger.

Pavin and Langer (71) are one shot ahead of a quartet that includes Jay Haas (69) and Ian Woosnam (67). Both Pavin and Langer have four-under totals of 138.

Pavin looked set to take a commanding lead and he was among the early starters. After hitting his second shot out of bounds, he finished with a double bogey 6 at the 18th.

Later in the day, Langer had to deal with a biting cold wind. Before bogeys on two of the par-3 holes, he also got to 6 under. His tee shot landed in a deep pot bunker, at the short 13th, and then at the 16th he then missed the green, with a 5-iron and was unable to get up and down.

Langer is still looking for his first victory in a senior major, although on the Champions Tour, he has 10 wins in three years.

Langer said, “I could have putted a bit better, the ball did not drop for me like it did in the first round.”

Also tied for second were Americans Larry Mize (70) and Dan Forsman (71).

At St. Andrews last week, Tom Watson missed the cut in his last British Open appearance. For the weekend this time, he had no problem making sure he will be around. To remain 3 over, he a 15-foot birdie putt on the last green for a par 71.

However, in 1963, Bob Charles of New Zealand was the first left-hander to win the British Open. After he shot a 78 to miss the cut, he bid farewell from the tournament. He announced that it was his last round of competitive golf, at the age of 74 and after a career that brought him 64 tournament victories. Unfortunately, for him, at the 18th, he signed off with a double bogey.

On the first day of the British Open, big names, Tiger Woods and John Daly grabbed the headlines, with them, Louis Oosthuizen was right there. On the first day of The Open though, no one paid much attention to Louis Oosthuizen and his -7 score.

At Saint Andrews, day two, no one in the ESPN booth would know how to pronounce Louis Oosthuizen, although everyone knew who he was. Oosthuizen grabbed the lead of The Open and shot a five under with a two-day score of -12.

King Louie or Shrek is what Louis Oosthuizen’s friends refer to him. In a performance that can only be described as “Tiger Like”, he demolished the PGA’s finest on a Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, he increased his lead to -15 and on Sunday he moved to -16, taming Saint Andrews and winning his first British Open.

Paul Casey never had much of an opportunity to catch Oosthuizen, who made no mistakes, although Casey was Oosthuizen’s closest competitor. To catch Oosthuizen, Casey’s bid was all but over when he shot a seven on the 12th hole. While fellow countryman Lee Westwood finished second, Casey ended up falling to back to third eight shots out.

At a press conference, Begay said, “It’s going to take some time for the emotions to settle and for him to sort of get 100 percent focused on golf. Woods now has played seven tournaments without winning. It’s the longest he has ever gone at the start of a season since turning pro, and he hasn’t been a threat on the back nine of any tournament. Not even at the Masters or U.S. Open, where he tied for fourth.”
At St. Andrews, in the British Open, he finished tied for 23rd.

Begay said, “He’s hitting it as solid as I’ve ever seen and just not able to put things together, that’s just how difficult this game is, even for a guy of his talent level. When it can slip through his fingers like it has in the past few events, it’s a pretty tough game.”

After stunning reports that Woods cheated on his wife with numerous women, he has been trying to rebuild his reputation. Before returning at the Masters, he entered rehab and took a five-month break from the PGA Tour.

Begay added, “He’s like anybody else. When somebody goes through a divorce, much less such a public one, it’s going to be difficult for anybody to process what’s going to happen, how they’re going to cope and deal with things.”

With marital woes affecting Woods’ personal life, his rank as the favorite American sports star has dropped. Kobe Bryant has become the new star. The Los Angeles Lakers guard moved up from fourth last year to grab a share of the top spot, although Woods had held the position alone since 2006.

Tolliver said, “I told my caddie last night that I’m not straying from the game plan. I’m hitting the shots I always hit, the same club, the same everything. In this format, especially with a par-5, par-3 and par-5 finish, somebody could get 28 points if they are incredibly lucky, so I had to go make a score.”

At Edgewood Tahoe, the former NFL quarterback eagled the last hole and it had two birdies in his final round. Against the Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo, former Atlanta Braves’ pitcher John Smoltz, actor Jack Wagner and Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, he finished ahead with 19 points. Tolliver won $125,000 for adding to his 1996 and 2005 titles.

The previous record of 78 was broken by Tolliver’s 84 total points. In 2007, the previous record was set by a former Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback, Chris Chandler.

Elway made double bogey on the last hole, although he had a chance to finish alone in second place. He missed his eagle putt, even though he reached the 546-yard, par-5 16th in two.

Elway said, “I played the best golf I could. I knew he was going to be tough to catch because he wasn’t going to back up as well as he’s been playing. One thing I’ve learned over time is that you can’t make too many things happen. I was just trying to make every second shot I could.”

Rick Rhoden, two-time defending champion scored 23 points to place eighth with a 58 total and rallied to finish among the top 10. In 20 appearances, it is the first time Rhoden has finished outside the top four. Scoring 23 points and finishing in a tie for 22nd, Michael Jordan scored his best round of the tournament. Charles Barkley, the left-handed golfer was not able to avoid finishing last in the 82-player field for the fifth straight year. With -93 points, Barkley concluded play, six fewer than American bobsled gold medalist Steven Holcomb.

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