Tim Clark ends Tiger’s Comeback at WGC-Accenture

Tiger Woods proved he is human – or at the very least, merely a little rusty – after crashing out of the WGC-Accenture Match PlayChampionship in Arizona.

Woods, who had been using the tournament as his comeback event following an eight-month layoff after knee surgery was defeated 4&2 by South African Tim Clark, who brought an abrupt end to Woods’ first competitive event since June 2008 in the second round of the event.

Woods had taken an advantage in the match as early as the second hole, where he made a birdie, which he relinquished on the fifth to a birdie from Clark before the South African nosed in front on the par three sixth despite finding the rough after Woods, from the tee, plugged his ball in the bunker and eventually missing a putt for par.

Woods then squared the match on the seventh, and it remained all-square until Clark carded three straight birdies from the 11th to grab a 3-hole lead with five to play.

Woods holed from a greenside bunker on the 14th to pull one back, before driving out of bounds on the 15th and failing to make par which restored Clark’s 3 hole cushion. The match ended on the 16th green when the South African birdied the par three hole to give Woods no way back.

With Woods’ demise, it meant that none of the top-four seeds for the tournament made it past the second round after the elimination of Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington on Wednesday, and Vijay Singh on Thursday.

Woods however wasn’t too despondent about his shock exit. After the match, Woods said:

“I hit one bad eight iron and one bad drive so I’m happy with the way I was striking the ball,” he said.

“Tim is a wonderful player and he made birdies while I didn’t sink enough putts. I feel great, though, and I will go home to evaluate what to do next.”

South African Clark, who is ranked 17 in the world, will now play Irish sensation Rory McIlroy in the third round for a place in the quarter-final. McIlroy, who is playing in his first tournament on US soil as a professional, defeated US Ryder Cup star Hunter Mahan 1-up after being 2-down in his match.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Ballybunion chosen as host for 2009 Irish Seniors Open

Ireland’s Ballybunion Golf Club has been selected as this year’s venue for the Irish Senior’s Open to be played on the County Kerry links course between June 5-7.

Ballybunion is regularly featured among the top courses in the world in any such poll and is widely regarded as the premier links golf course. Measuring at 6,598 yards and playing to a par-71, Ballybunion’s layout features a hole named ‘Watson’ – the par-4, 453-yard 11th hole - so named after golf legend Tom Watson, thefive-time British Open champion and Ballybunion’s Millenium Captain.

Watson, who has an honorary life membership at the course will play in the tournament and expressed his delight at the opportunity to return to the course. The appointment was made in association with AIB and Failte Ireland, and is the 17th confirmed event on the 2009 Senior’s schedule. Both AIB and Failte Ireland have been associated with the twelve previous Irish Seniors Opens.

Ballybunion has long been part of European Tour golf, and has already hosted the 2000 Irish Open, which was won by Sweden’s Patrick Sjoland. The course will represent the second straight occasion on which the event has been played on a classic links course, following on from 2008’s venue, the Ballyliffin Golf Club, County Donegal which was won by Spain’s Juan Quiros.

The addition of Ballybunion onto the Senior Tour roster, along with the 2009 Irish Open at County Louth in Baltray gives the opportunity for Irish golf fans to watch two tournaments played on a pair of courses on opposite coasts of the Emerald Isle.

(Tom Watson photograph by Getty Images via Daylife)

Seve on the Road to Recovery

It’s good news for Seve fans as the golfing legend revealed yesterday via his website that his second round of chemotheraphy had gone “very well” and that he is due to begin a third session shortly. Ballesteros, 51, said in the post that his health continues to improve following brain surgery last year to remove a tumour.

Seve’s second session of chemotherapy and subsequent check-up took place at Madrid’s La Paz hospital – the same hospital who performed the original surgery – and announced the results of the medical examination provided encoruraging results for the Spaniard’s recovery.

The message, which Seve began ‘Dear friends’ said:

“The results of the checkup were really positive. Better even than the first ones … I will start my third chemotherapy round shortly and hope it will be in the same line as the previous ones.”

Also in the message, Seve described his spirits as being high and had a strong desire for things to return to normal. The five-time Major winner also announced his intention make an appearance, either in printed format or as an audio-visual broadcast.

Seve signed off the message with ‘please receive a warm embrace from your friend.’

Seve was originally diagnosed with a brain tumour after collapsing and losing consciousness at Madrid’s Barajas international airport on October 6th 2008. Since the original prognosis, Seve has endured four operations to remove the tumour and reduce swelling in his skull, and has described the battle against the tumour as ‘the hardest challenge of my life.’

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