South Korean golfer Park In-bee captured the Honda LPGA Thailand with a near-flawless final round of play on Sunday, erasing a four-shot deficit for her first win of the season.Park shot a five-under 67 on Sunday at Siam Country Club's Pattaya Old Course for a four-round total of 12-under 276, beating Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand by one shot. Park mixed in six birdies with a bogey.Jutanugarn, 17, stood on the 18th tee with a two-stroke advantage over Park, 24, but committed a disastrous triple b

Feb. 24, 2013

MARANA, Arizona (AP) ― Before the first shot of the Match Play Championship, and before the first snowfall, Hunter Mahan was asked for three players with the best reputation in match play.Ian Poulter was on his list.Now he gets to find out for himself.Poulter again proved to be one tough customer Saturday when he beat Steve Stricker with one big putt after another, advancing to the semifinals and improving his record in match play around the world to 19-3-2 over the last four years.Next up is Ma

Feb. 24, 2013

MARANA, Arizona (AP) ― Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods knocked out in the first round of the Match Play Championship? Not many would have given that a snowball’s chance in the desert.Almost as surprising as the freakish snowstorm on Dove Mountain was the sight of golf’s two biggest stars heading to the airport, only the second time in the 15-year history of this wild tournament that No. 1 and No. 2 didn’t last more than a day.Shane Lowry of Ireland chipped in twice and drilled a fairway metal to 3

Feb. 22, 2013

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― John Merrick was a young face in the crowd at Riviera for so many years, dreaming of one day playing the fabled course on the PGA Tour.On Sunday, he did better than that. He won on it.Merrick hit two clutch shots that led to two pars in a sudden-death playoff and won the Northern Trust Open on Sunday when Charlie Beljan missed a 5-foot par putt on the second extra hole.Merrick, who closed with a 2-under 69, became only the ninth player make to this tournament his first PGA Tou

Feb. 18, 2013

CANBERRA (AP) ― Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe shot a six-under 67 on Friday to overtake South Korea’s Shin Ji-yai and overnight leader Lydia Ko, taking the second-round lead at the LPGA Tour-opening Women’s Australian Open. Uribe opened with a birdie after teeing off on the par-4 10th and made four more at Royal Canberra, including at the sixth and seventh as she moved to 15-under 131 and a one-stroke lead. Two-time major-winner Shin fired eight birdies against two bogies for 67, sharing second with

Feb. 15, 2013

CANBERRA (AP) ― Teen star Lydia Ko shot a 10-under 63 on Thursday to take the early lead in the first round of the LPGA Tour’s season-opening Women’s Australian Open.The 15-year-old amateur won the New Zealand Women’s Open on Sunday for her third victory in a professional tournament. Last year, Ko won the New South Wales Open to become the youngest player to win a pro tour event and the Canadian Open to become the youngest LPGA Tour winner. She also won the U.S. Women’s Amateur.Ko opened with a

Feb. 14, 2013

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Brandt Snedeker withdrew from the Match Play Championship on Tuesday because of sore ribs that have been causing him discomfort despite his torrid stretch of golf.Snedeker said he began feeling soreness in his left rib cage a month ago at the Humana Challenge. He then finished runner-up in consecutive weeks to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, and won the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for his second win in his last seven starts.Already this year, Snedeker has earned nearly $3 mil

Feb. 13, 2013

Top-ranked amateur Lydia Ko captured her third win in a professional tournament on Sunday when she took out her home championships, the 54-hole New Zealand Women's Golf Open by one stroke.In an outstanding 13-month spell, the world's No.1 amateur has now won the New South Wales Open to become the youngest player, male or female, to win a professional event,  the Canadian Open to become the youngest-ever winner on the LPGA Tour, and now a professional victory at home.The 15-year-old Korean-born N

Feb. 10, 2013

Phil Mickelson completed a wire-to-wire victory in the Phoenix Open, again flirting with history in a dominating four-day run at TPC Scottsdale.Mickelson shot a 4-under 67 on Sunday to finish at 28-under 256, two strokes off the PGA Tour record of 254 set by Tommy Armour III in the 2003 Texas Open.Mickelson missed a chance for a 59 in the first round when his 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole caught the right edge of the cup, curled 180 degrees and stayed out. He settled for a 60 and followe

Feb. 4, 2013

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) ― Richard Sterne nearly broke the course record at the Dubai Desert Classic on Thursday, shooting 10-under 62 in the first round to finish one shot clear of Stephen Gallacher.The 165th-ranked South African, who has struggled in recent years with back problems, started with three birdies on his first four holes in unusually calm conditions. Sterne was on pace to break the course record of 61 set by Ernie Els in 1994, but couldn’t convert late birdie chances.“It’s

Feb. 1, 2013