Top Sporting News

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – If the banker at a Utah department accumulation constituted Mike Weir, imagine the assail of seeing the past poet endorse and eight-time PGA Tour succeeder purchase a activity of impressible sport balls.

"No, I don't conceive I've ever bought those before," Weir said.

It spoke to the rigor of discompose in his correct elbow, where he part moulding tendons a assemblage ago at Hilton Head. Weir proven to endeavor ended it the rest of the 2010 flavour but uncomprehensible the revilement in heptad of 10 tournaments and never unsmooth the crowning 30 in the another three.

"It was quaternary or fivesome months of poor sport and I shouldn't impact been discover there," Weir said. "It was kind of a assemblage that was wasted. There's definitely a stubborn lateral to me, a hockey mentality that I crapper thickened this out. I intellection it was intense tendinitis. I was activity every period and it kept getting worse. To endeavor when you're afraid to impact the ball is not good."

That's where the impressible sport balls come in.

Weir didn't pick up a edifice for threesome months to rest his elbow, and he was hot to intend backwards to work. In the level of his Utah home, he grabbed a 6-iron to make an easy swing.

"Just the impact of the ball on the tee hurt," Weir said. "I called the doctors and said, 'That hurts.' And they said, 'That's good.' It's symptom paper and I had to fortuity ended that."

So he went to the accumulation to acquire impressible balls to soften the blow.

"That's how I started my rehab — lowercase dink shots with impressible balls," he said. "After a period of that, I was touch wedges soured the ground."

Weir said he is at 90 proportionality strength. He crapper display any swing, even digging a ball discover of the wrinkled without flinching. The Canadian is on a earth scrutiny exemption, but has exclusive digit tournaments remaining to earn $217,097 for full status the rest of the year.

He is not worried most that. Nor is he worried most a concern senior that has plummeted to No. 214, after success 2009 at No. 36. This is a Presidents Cup year, and Weir risks existence mitt soured the International lateral for the prototypal instance since 1998.

He is not bitter most his lost year. All things considered, Weir feels fortunate.

"I meet want to intend back," he said. "Honestly, I wager serendipitous to be playing. When I came backwards after threesome months soured and was chipping those balls, I thought, 'Wow, this is poorest than I thought.' So I wager glad to be discover here. Whether it takes a few months or sextet months, I wager same I'm on the correct track."

___

MASTERS FIELD: Through sextet PGA Tour events this year, quaternary players impact earned a blot in the Masters. There are sextet weeks mitt before metropolis National again uses the crowning 50 in the concern senior to issue invitations. Seven PGA Tour events rest where the succeeder crapper qualify for the Masters.

Ninety-five suitable players due to contend at the Masters.

The beatific programme for metropolis National is that everyone currently in the crowning 50 already is eligible. Depending on how the incoming heptad weeks invoke out, the poet earth has a quantity to crowning 100 players for the prototypal instance since 1966.

___

NEW NO. 1: The LPGA Tour eventually gets under way this hebdomad in Thailand, and the contestant to beat is no mystery.

Yani Tseng, the 22-year-old from Taiwan, already has won threesome conference and was the LPGA Tour contestant of the assemblage in 2010. She won digit tournaments in state to uprise to No. 1 in the world.

Tseng's goal was to intend to No. 1. She meet didn't conceive she would intend there before the LPGA flavour began.

"I ease impact another 10 months to go," Tseng said. "I meet requirement to be rattling patient and keep employed hard. I ease impact a aggregation of things to learn, too."

___

O'HAIR'S CUT: Sean O'Hair prefabricated his prototypal revilement of the assemblage at Pebble Beach, but it's not as if he's soured to a andante start.

O'Hair didn't move his flavour until Phoenix, staying bag in metropolis as his spouse neared her due date. Trevor Ryan was dropped Jan. 20, gift the O'Hair family — Sean is exclusive 28 — quaternary children.

Plus, the winter was particularly cold. O'Hair hasn't played much sport lately.

"I meet desired to be around the kids, and be around Jackie before the baby was born," O'Hair said.

He eventually went down to Florida to intend whatever training before heading to Phoenix. O'Hair institute himself struggling soured the tee with the mismatched snap hook, and institute that the parts of his mettlesome that should be solid (driving and long irons) impact been bad, while his brief mettlesome has carried him so far.

___

COMEDY & MEMORY: Perhaps it was exclusive run that Jesper Parnevik's relation at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was comic blackamoor Dreesen, a affirmation Parnevik knows well.

His father, Bo, was digit of the most famous comedians in Sweden.

"I asked him if his ascendant was funny at bag and he said he really wasn't, which didn't assail me," Dreesen said. "Most comedians, by nature, are insecure."

Parnevik's selection memories of his ascendant were on the road in the summer, for that's when they played golf.

"I toured with him in the summer," Parnevik said. "He's the digit who got me into golf. He got the sport bug big-time. When he went on season tours, he exclusive hired musicians and technicians who played golf. And they exclusive did shows by beatific sport courses. They performed at night, and we played all day."

There was digit occasion, however, when teen Jesper was likewise bushed to go on.

"He brought me to a show and I got tired," Parnevik said. "I went up on initiate and said, 'Daddy, it's instance to go bag now. I'm tired!' And the gathering went berserk."

___

DIVOTS: The PGA Grand Slam of Golf has denaturized its criteria for alternates. Instead of taking the past earth endorse with the prizewinning record in the 2011 majors, the prototypal alternate will be the defending champion. That would be Ernie Els for this assemblage in Bermuda, provided the Big Easy doesn't qualify by winning a major. ... U.S. Women's Amateur endorse Danielle Kang conventional digit of fivesome amateur exemptions to the Kraft Nabisco Championship. The others went to Cydney Clanton, Lisa McCloskey, Kristen Park and Meghan Stasi. The LPGA Tour's prototypal earth is March 31 to April 3. ... Lee Trevino, 71, said he will endeavor in the Toshiba Classic on March 11-13 at Newport (Calif.) Country Club. It will be the exclusive official, full-field event he plays this assemblage on the Champions Tour.

___

STAT OF THE WEEK: The metropolis Desert Classic, where Tiger Woods equal for 20th, was exclusive the ordinal instance in 30 non-PGA Tour events overseas that he ended discover of the crowning 10.

___

FINAL WORD: "I really do conceive that your mettlesome is supported a aggregation on the fleshly locate you were brought up activity golf. ... You'll rarely wager somebody with a beatific sport stroke coming from a windy sport course." — Padraig Harrington.

Source