Blasting into the week ahead, from Tiger Woods' return to theregular stage to Lorena Ochoa's goodbye as a tour regular €¦
PGA TOUR
Quail Hollow Championship
How about if we pick up where we left off at the Masters?
With Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Anthony Kim and Lee Westwood inthe field, the cast that created so much weekend drama at Augusta National isback together at Quail Hollow.
The focus on Woods promises to be about more than golf yet again.This marks the first time he'll tee it up in a regular PGA Tour event sincenews of his marital infidelities rocked the golf world. He'll meet the mediaagain Wednesday a little after noon Eastern time. The traditional golf mediaoutlets will be joined this week by news crews from CNN, CBS, NBC and ABC. Theentertainment news media, however, won't be there. Inside Edition and Extrawere among gossip-style programs that were denied credentials after missingApril 2 deadlines for applying to cover the event.
Bunker shot: Nobody's watching Woods more closely thanhis fellow Tour pros. At Doral, Graeme McDowell said what most players arethinking. He said players would be looking for signs of vulnerability whenWoods returned. They would be looking to see if Woods appeared to have lost anyof the intangible gifts that have made him so dominant his entire career. Hesaid if Woods doesn't win quickly, players would begin to believe his "forcefield" has weakened. McDowell, though, also said he expects Woods will quicklyassert himself. What ought to worry Woods' peers is how terribly rusty Woodslooked in his return at the Masters, specifically at the start of the finalround, and yet still managed to threaten with a Sunday push. He looked just acouple dabs of polish from regaining his winning form.
Mell's picks: Winner - Tiger Woods. Contender - PhilMickelson. Darkhorse - Jason Dufner.
Course: Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte. N.C. Par 72, 7,447 yards.(Designed by George Cobb in 1961, modified by Arnold Palmer in 1986 andredesigned by Tom Fazio in 1997 and '03).
Purse: $6.5 million (winner's share, $1,170,000).
TV times: Thursday-Friday, Golf Channel, 3-6 p.m. (ET);Saturday-Sunday, CBS, 3-6 p.m. (ET)
Last year: Sean O'Hair (11-under, 277) came from three shots backstarting the final round to win, finishing a shot ahead of Lucas Glover andBubba Watson.Ochoa, who announced her retirement Friday, won't return to theLPGA again until she plays in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in November. Thelove that Mexico will pour out on its favorite daughter will be palpable. Theperfect ending would be an Ochoa victory, and it wouldn't constitute afairy-tale finish, but definitely a feel-good finish. Ochoa is still theNo. 1 ranked player in women's golf and a favorite this week. She's thedefending champ.
Bunker shot: The week's subplot is nearly as compellingas the main storyline. Who wants to step up as Ochoa's successor? It's thequestion even LPGA pros are asking. The favorites to assume the No. 1 rankingare all foreign born. South Korea's Jiyai Shin, Taiwan's Yani Tseng andNorway's Suzann Pettersen were challenging even before Ochoa announced herretirement. Japan's Ai Miyazato has shown strong signs she's game and willing.Among Americans, the curiosity centers on Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie. Kerr,32, is the most decorated American with a chance, and she fiercely desires thecrown, but Wie, 20, is the great American hope with all that potential workingfor her. Paula Creamer, out mending a thumb injury, will be looking to workherself into the conversation with her return expected in June and AngelaStanford has the tools. There's a statement waiting to be made this week.
PGA TOUR
Quail Hollow Championship
How about if we pick up where we left off at the Masters?
With Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Anthony Kim and Lee Westwood inthe field, the cast that created so much weekend drama at Augusta National isback together at Quail Hollow.
The focus on Woods promises to be about more than golf yet again.This marks the first time he'll tee it up in a regular PGA Tour event sincenews of his marital infidelities rocked the golf world. He'll meet the mediaagain Wednesday a little after noon Eastern time. The traditional golf mediaoutlets will be joined this week by news crews from CNN, CBS, NBC and ABC. Theentertainment news media, however, won't be there. Inside Edition and Extrawere among gossip-style programs that were denied credentials after missingApril 2 deadlines for applying to cover the event.
Bunker shot: Nobody's watching Woods more closely thanhis fellow Tour pros. At Doral, Graeme McDowell said what most players arethinking. He said players would be looking for signs of vulnerability whenWoods returned. They would be looking to see if Woods appeared to have lost anyof the intangible gifts that have made him so dominant his entire career. Hesaid if Woods doesn't win quickly, players would begin to believe his "forcefield" has weakened. McDowell, though, also said he expects Woods will quicklyassert himself. What ought to worry Woods' peers is how terribly rusty Woodslooked in his return at the Masters, specifically at the start of the finalround, and yet still managed to threaten with a Sunday push. He looked just acouple dabs of polish from regaining his winning form.
Mell's picks: Winner - Tiger Woods. Contender - PhilMickelson. Darkhorse - Jason Dufner.
Course: Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte. N.C. Par 72, 7,447 yards.(Designed by George Cobb in 1961, modified by Arnold Palmer in 1986 andredesigned by Tom Fazio in 1997 and '03).
Purse: $6.5 million (winner's share, $1,170,000).
TV times: Thursday-Friday, Golf Channel, 3-6 p.m. (ET);Saturday-Sunday, CBS, 3-6 p.m. (ET)
Last year: Sean O'Hair (11-under, 277) came from three shots backstarting the final round to win, finishing a shot ahead of Lucas Glover andBubba Watson.Ochoa, who announced her retirement Friday, won't return to theLPGA again until she plays in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in November. Thelove that Mexico will pour out on its favorite daughter will be palpable. Theperfect ending would be an Ochoa victory, and it wouldn't constitute afairy-tale finish, but definitely a feel-good finish. Ochoa is still theNo. 1 ranked player in women's golf and a favorite this week. She's thedefending champ.
Bunker shot: The week's subplot is nearly as compellingas the main storyline. Who wants to step up as Ochoa's successor? It's thequestion even LPGA pros are asking. The favorites to assume the No. 1 rankingare all foreign born. South Korea's Jiyai Shin, Taiwan's Yani Tseng andNorway's Suzann Pettersen were challenging even before Ochoa announced herretirement. Japan's Ai Miyazato has shown strong signs she's game and willing.Among Americans, the curiosity centers on Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie. Kerr,32, is the most decorated American with a chance, and she fiercely desires thecrown, but Wie, 20, is the great American hope with all that potential workingfor her. Paula Creamer, out mending a thumb injury, will be looking to workherself into the conversation with her return expected in June and AngelaStanford has the tools. There's a statement waiting to be made this week.