Jane Park grabs Kia Classic lead

CARLSBAD, California (AP) ― Stacy Lewis got to enjoy the perks of being atop the world rankings, including being announced as No. 1 on the first tee and seeing her caddie wearing the special bib.She birdied her first three holes in the Kia Classic and then, well, didn’t quite play up to her top billing.Lewis, who took over the No. 1 ranking from Yani Tseng after winning the LPGA Founders Cup in Phoenix on Sunday, shot a 2-under 70 and was four shots behind leader Jane Park at Aviara.Park, who li

March 22, 2013

Rose takes early lead at Bay Hill

ORLANDO, Florida (AP) ― Justin Rose started out as another guy in Tiger Woods’ group Thursday at Bay Hill. He wound up in the lead.Rose put on a clinic with the putter and ran off four straight birdies late in his round for a 7-under 65, giving him a two-shot lead after the opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.Woods had two sloppy bogeys from greenside bunkers and didn’t hit it as well as he did when he won Doral two weeks ago. But he made enough key par saves and manhandled the par 5

March 22, 2013

Tseng dropped after missing pro-am tee time

CARLSBAD, California (AP) ― Defending champion and formerly top-ranked Yani Tseng was dropped from the Kia Classic field after missing her 9:10 a.m. pro-am tee time Wednesday.“I’m embarrassed to admit that I wasn’t feeling well last night and accidentally overslept and missed my tee time for the pro-am this morning,” Tseng said in a statement released by the tour. “I was extremely excited to compete this week to defend my title at the Kia Classic and to try to regain the No. 1 spot. This was an

March 21, 2013

Snedeker hopes to regain form

ORLANDO, Florida (AP) ― When last seen on a golf course, Brandt Snedeker was capping off an amazing run by winning the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. He mentioned his ribs being sore, but never let on that the pain began to increase over the last four or five holes that Sunday.That was five tournaments ago.Snedeker, who also missed the U.S. Open last summer because of a rib injury, returns to competition this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He said his rib muscle was strained on the left

March 20, 2013

Leonard in 3-way tie ...for the lead

PALM HARBOR, Florida (AP) ― Justin Leonard walked toward the 12th green Saturday at Innisbrook and saw a scoreboard that showed he was tied for the lead in the Tampa Bay Championship. He knocked in his 8-foot birdie putt, assumed he was ahead, and then never looked at another board the rest of the day. He might do the same Sunday.There’s no point in staring at scores, not with so many names separated by so few shots. Besides, the Copperhead course at Innisbrook is playing so difficult even in pl

March 17, 2013

Lee Jee-young leads LPGA Founders Cup

Lee Jee-young birdied three of her last four holes to take a one-stroke lead over Ai Miyazato on another hot day at the LPGA Founders Cup.Lee, the 27-year-old South Korean player who won the LPGA Tour's 2005 South Korean event before becoming a tour member, had a bogey-free 8-under 64 on Friday to reach 15-under 129. She broke the tournament 36-hole record of 12 under set by Angela Stanford in 2011.``I've waited so long, like seven, eight years,'' Lee said. ``I really want to win this week. But

March 16, 2013

Stefani flawless to take lead in Tampa Bay

PALM HARBOR, Florida (AP) ― Shawn Stefani is the latest PGA Tour rookie to look comfortable on a big stage. It just took him a little longer to get there. In breezy conditions on a tough golf course, Stefani never came close to making a bogey until his final hole Thursday in the Tampa Bay Championship. He rolled in a par putt from just inside 5 feet to complete a 6-under 65 and take a two-shot lead over Brian Harman. “Kind of fought through a couple of bad shots coming in ― or not so great shots

March 15, 2013

Woods stretches lead on Blue Monster

DORAL, Florida (AP) ― Tiger Woods hit a tee shot that got stuck in a palm tree. That’s about the only thing that didn’t fall his way Saturday in the Cadillac Championship.Woods made seven more birdies on the Blue Monster at Doral, the last one from 15 feet on the 18th hole that gave him a 5-under 67 and a four-shot lead over Graeme McDowell heading into the final round.Woods has made 24 birdies and taken only 74 putts through three rounds, both personal bests in his PGA Tour career.It put him in

March 10, 2013

Korea earns another win in bobsled

South Korean bobsledders Won Yun-jong and Jun Jung-lin claimed their second international victory in two days on Friday.At the Lake Placid America’s Cup event in New York, Won and Jun finished first in the two-race final at the two-man bobsled race with a time of 1:53.65. They beat out the U.S. duo of Codie Bascue and Michael McCarty, who came in second with 1:54.36.A day earlier, Won and Jun ranked first with 1:53.91. They were the fastest tandem in all four races held in the past two days.Befo

March 8, 2013

Euro Tour event in Korea to bring together ex-major champs

The Ballantine’s Championship, the only European Tour golf tournament held in South Korea each year, will bring three major champions to the field this spring, organizers said Thursday.Organizers said world No. 6 Louis Oosthuizen will tee off at Blackstone Golf Club in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, from April 25-28. Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open Championship winner from South Africa, is currently the highest-ranked player to have committed to the tournament. Zach Johnson of the U.S., who won the 2007 M

March 7, 2013