KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) ― Four shots behind with four holes to play, Patrick Reed made two birdies and holed out from 80 yards for an eagle Monday, and then closed out his unlikely rally by making an 18-foot birdie putt to beat Jimmy Walker in a playoff at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.The PGA Tour started a new year without a host of big names, but got a compelling finish at Kapalua.Reed charged back into the picture with his eagle on the 16th hole, a shot that spun back toward the hole and

Korean PGA Tour golfer Bae Sang-moon will take legal action after the government here denied him an extension of his overseas travel and forced him to face conscription, his family said Thursday.Si Ok-hee, mother of the two-time PGA Tour winner, said Bae has hired an attorney to take the necessary legal steps after the Military Manpower Administration refused to extend his overseas travel permit last month.Bae’s permit expired at the end of last year and he must return home within 30 days of the

Here’s a new tradition unlike any other ― the race to see if the Masters can keep its field under 100 players by April.For the fourth time in the last five years, at least 90 players already have qualified for the Masters at the end of the year with three months of opportunities remaining before the field is set. Each time, Augusta National managed to achieve its objective of keeping the number of competitors in double digits.By far the smallest field of the four majors, the Masters has not had

VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) ― Rory McIlroy has been chosen as the European Tour player of the year, capping a season in which he won two majors, the Ryder Cup and topped the money lists in Europe and the United States.McIlroy, the world No. 1, won his maiden British Open title by two strokes over Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia at Royal Liverpool in July, and less than a month later earned a second U.S. PGA Championship at Valhalla, finishing a shot clear of Phil Mickelson.Between McIlroy’s thi

As she prepares to wrap up a trailblazing career on the LPGA Tour that inspired a new generation of golfers, South Korean veteran Pak Se-ri said Monday she’d like to coach her native country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where golf will make its long-awaited return to the competition.Attending the signing ceremony for her new sponsorship deal with Hana Financial Group, Pak, who made her LPGA debut in 1998, reaffirmed her earlier plan to retire after the 2016 season, and her wish

NAPLES, Florida (AP) ― Jason Day and Cameron Tringale shot a 17-under 55 on Thursday in the first-round scramble to take a two-stroke lead in the Franklin Templeton Shootout. “The abridged version is, I hit first and then let Jason loose,” Tringale said. Day and Tringale tied the tournament scramble record set by tournament host Greg Norman and Nick Price in 1993 and matched by Peter Jacobsen and John Cook in 1998 and Norman and Steve Elkington in 2005. “Scramble is one of those formats where yo

DUBAI (AFP) ― China’s Feng Shanshan, the highest ranked player in the field at world No. 5, overcame a mystery illness to master the tough afternoon conditions and join Sweden’s Carin Koch on top of the leaderboard at the end of the opening day’s play Wednesday of the 500,000 euros Dubai Ladies Masters.In the season-ending championship of the Ladies European Tour, Feng closed with a 12-footer birdie on the final hole of the Majlis course for a six-under par round of 66, a mark that had been set

Four South Korean golfers have earned full-time status on the LPGA Tour for next season.At the LPGA Qualifying Tournament held at the LPGA International course in Daytona Beach, Florida, Korean LPGA members Kim Sei-young and Jang Ha-na led the South Korean contingent in a three-way tie for sixth place.The top 20 players out of 70 in the fifth and final round on Sunday earned full-time playing privileges on the LPGA Tour for 2015. Kim and Jang both finished at seven-under 353.Jang had the lead go

WINDERMERE, Florida (AP) ― Tiger Woods is making his latest comeback in golf with an eye to the past.Equipped with a new teacher and a stronger body, Woods said Tuesday he is working on a swing that incorporates previous moves that date as far back as his amateur days. He referred to it as “new, but old,” and the 14-time major champion will start testing it this week against an 18-man field of elite players at the Hero World Challenge.How old were some of those videotapes he watched of his previ

South Korea's teenage golf sensation Kim Hyo-joo has signed a lucrative extension with her main corporate sponsor, Lotte Group, the conglomerate announced Tuesday.Lotte Group said it has re-signed the 19-year-old for five more years in a deal worth 1.3 billion won (US$1.2 million), along with performance-based incentives. With each victory, Kim will receive extra prize money worth 70 percent of the purse from Lotte. For a top-five finish, Lotte will give her a bonus worth 30 percent of the winni