The Korea Herald

Stanley moves on after collapse

Feb 1, 2012

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (AP) ― Robert Garrigus didn’t see any reason to stick around for the finish.He had watched enough of the final round at Torrey Pines to see that Kyle Stanley, whom he described as “exploding with talent,” had a three-shot lead and headed for a sure win. Garrigus left for the spa to get a massage.It didn’t take long for him to figure out what had happened.“I got back to my car, saw my phone and it was blowing up,” Garrigus said. “I had six or seven text messages. I had four
Ko eyes U.S. major debut

Jan 31, 2012

WELLINGTON (AFP) ― New Zealand teenager Lydia Ko, who during the weekend became the youngest player to win a pro golf tournament, hopes to compete at a U.S. major this year, her coach said.The South Korean-born amateur created history when she won the New South Wales Open in Australia on Sunday at the age of 14 years and nine months, eclipsing Ryo Ishikawa of Japan’s mark of 15 years, 8 months, set in 2007.Ko’s coach Guy Wilson said the prodigy, already ranked the world’s top female amateur, pla
Snedeker bags Farmers after Stanley struggles down stretch

Jan 30, 2012

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Brandt Snedeker won the Farmers Insurance Open in a playoff not even he thought was possible.Kyle Stanley led by seven shots early in the final round Sunday, and he still had a four-shot lead as he stood on the 18th tee at Torrey Pines. Just like that, he went from being anointed a
14-year-old becomes youngest golf tour winner

Jan 29, 2012

AUCKLAND (Yonhap News) -- Lydia Ko, the South Korean-born New Zealand amateur, has become the world's youngest winner of a professional golf tournament at the age of 14, winning the women's New South Wales Open Sunday. (Yonhap News)Ko shot a three-under-par final round of 69 to finish 14-under
Torrey Pines loses some luster

Jan 25, 2012

SAN DIEGO (AP) ― Tiger Woods and Torrey Pines used to be a winning combination.Except for his first full season on the PGA Tour, Woods never missed what used to be called the Buick Invitational, the same brand that happened to be on his golf bag. He not only won six times, his worst finish was a tie for 10th, when he finished two shots out of a playoff.Woods winning at Torrey was so predictable that in 2008, when the public course along the Pacific Ocean was to host the U.S. Open that summer, he
Rookie on the go

Jan 19, 2012

Bae Sang-moon aims high for first PGA Tour seasonIt has been less than a week since he debuted, but Bae Sang-moon is feeling confident on the biggest stage in professional golf.“I still feel thrilled to be here, but I feel more comfortable with my play,” Bae told The Korea Herald via e-mail.Bae, one of Korea’s young golf prospects, became a full-fledged member of PGA Tour after passing at PGA Qualifying School at the end of last year.He kicked off his campaign last week at the Sony Open in Hawai
Wagner takes Sony Open

Jan 16, 2012

HONOLULU (AP) ― Johnson Wagner worked so hard in the offseason that he told friends he was going to win early in the year, and he hardly wasted any time.Wagner played bogey-free over the last 12 holes, a winning recipe on a tough day at Waialae, and closed with a 3-under 67 to pull away from a half-dozen contenders and win the Sony Open on Sunday.As for that mustache getting so much attention? It’s going to stay for at least another week, and maybe until he gets to Augusta National in April. The
Korea’s Noh targets PGA rookie award

Jan 10, 2012

South Korean rising star Noh Seung-yul has set his sights on winning a tournament in his first season on the U.S. PGA Tour and capturing Rookie of the Year honors.The 20-year-old, one of golf’s brightest young prospects, makes his bow in Hawaii this week and hopes to make an instant impact on the tour.“I’m starting my dream,” Noh, coached by swing guru Butch Harmon, told the Asian Tour. “I will build on a new chapter in my career.“I’ll try for a win, also the Rookie of the Year award. I would al
Stricker keeps lead at Kapalua

Jan 9, 2012

Na tied for fifth, eight shots backKAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) ― Steve Stricker never looked comfortable at Kapalua until he walked off the Plantation Course with the same five-shot margin that he started with Sunday in the Tournament of Champions.Right when he felt as if he was letting everyone back into the hunt, Stricker birdied his last four holes for a 4-under 69 that restored his cushion going into the Monday finish in Maui.Webb Simpson had a 30-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole for a share of th
Hyundai Motor sponsors PGA season opener

Jan 5, 2012

The 2012 PGA Tour season kicks off this week, and the season-opening event will be sponsored by Hyundai Motor Co., the country’s largest automobile maker.The company announced Thursday that it was again named the official sponsor of the U.S. PGA Tour opener, which is scheduled to tee off on Friday in Hawaii. The traditional first event of the PGA Tour has been played at Kapalua Resort on the island of Maui since 1999. The tournament has had several title sponsors, and Hyundai Motor Co. took over
Stars missing at PGA opener

Jan 4, 2012

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) ― The list of who’s not at the season-opening Tournament of Champions reads more like a “Who’s Who.”Missing are three of the four major champions ― Charl Schwartzel, Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy, who at 22 already is on the very short list of golfers capable of moving the needle no matter where they play.If that’s not enough, three of the four World Golf Championship winners from last year are not at Kapalua, either.Luke Donald, the No. 1 player in the world, recently retu
Rory McIlroy arrives on world stage in 2011

Dec 29, 2011

LONDON (AP) ― A year that witnessed the passing of one European golfing legend may have heralded the arrival of another.The death of Spanish great Seve Ballesteros in May following a three-year battle with a brain tumor hit the golfing fraternity hard, although the outpouring of grief for the popular winner of five majors extended far beyond sport.It was fitting, then, that the player who did so much to revive a flagging European game in the 1980s thanks to his flamboyant style and good looks sh
Golfer Choi Kyoung-ju's wife sues foundation employee for embezzlement

Dec 28, 2011

The wife of PGA Tour golfer Choi Kyoung-ju has sued an employee of Choi's charity foundation and an insurance broker for embezzlement, prosecutors said Wednesday. Choi Kyoung-juThe Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said Choi's wife, surnamed Kim, has claimed that the KJ Choi Foundation empl
Masters field takes shape

Dec 20, 2011

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (AP) ― Ernie Els and Retief Goosen enter the 2012 season without any assurances of playing in the Masters.The field for the Masters took shape Monday after the final official week of golf tournaments around the world. Among the criteria for an invitation is to be among the top 50 in the world ranking at the end of the season.Els fell to No. 56 in the final ranking. Els has been eligible for the Masters every year since his debut in 1994. Goosen, a two-time U.S. Open champio
Wahlin leads Dubai Ladies Masters

Dec 15, 2011

DUBAI (AP) ― Lotta Wahlin made seven birdies for a 6-under 66 Wednesday to take a one-shot lead over Becky Brewerton after the first round of the Dubai Ladies Masters.The 28-year-old Wahlin, whose career was disrupted in 2009 when she was diagnosed with skin cancer, made a 26-foot birdie putt on the 18th for the lead to go along with six other birdies and one bogey.The Swede is two shots ahead of four other golfers and four shots ahead of Lexi Thompson (70), the 16-year-old American who is the y