Westwood: If only there were a major in Asia...

Lee Westwood put on a rather impressive clinic at the Thailand Golf Championship last week, snagging his third victory in Asia by a decisive seven shots over Masters champ Charl Schwartzel. Westwood fired 12-under 60 in the opening round and followed it with a 64 (in windy conditions — arguably a better round than the first, he tweeted) to match the Asian Tour’s lowest 36-hole total.

Reflecting on his play after rolling in the final putt, the Englishman reckoned it was the finest of his career: (continue reading…)

Tiger hoisting the '09 Australian Masters trophy in Melbourne, less than 2 weeks before the scandal broke

Tiger Woods will play in Sydney for the first time in 15 years at the Australian Open in November, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. (continue reading…)

The PGA of Australia announced on Sunday that the Australian Open, likely to be held at a Sydney-area course, will take place November 10-13, 2011, the week before the Presidents Cup, where the Americans will battle against the Internationals at Royal Melbourne.

The Australian PGA at Coolum will be played Nov. 24-27, a week after the team matches. Which means the Australian Masters, an event Tiger has received $3 million appearance fee to compete in, will probably conflict with Tiger’s own charity tournament in California.

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Tiger Woods at the Australian Masters: no bracelet!

The Buddhist bracelet that provided Tiger with “strength and protection” was missing from the golfer’s wrist at the Australian Masters, according to USA Today. He also wasn’t wearing it at China and Thailand, RadarOnline noted. In his first post-scandal interview with the Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman in March, he told her that he’d “absolutely” wear it for the rest of his life. Which begs the question months later — is Tiger no longer Buddhist? Or the better question: Who cares?

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Appleby rushing to the presentation ceremony after hearing his name called

Despite that it’s golf’s so-called silly season, there’s still millions of bucks being played for around the world in November. Here’s a recap on what you missed. Hint: Not a bad Sunday in November.

*Australian Masters

Stuart Appleby’s only slip-up on Sunday may have been almost missing the trophy presentation, according to the AP. Only when he heard his name announced did Appleby dart from the grandstands and onto the 18th green to accept the Australian Masters trophy and gold jacket. This was Appleby’s first win in his native soil since 2001, his 12th victory worldwide and his second of the season.

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Tiger Woods: FORE left!

It was too little, too late, but Tiger Woods polished off the final round of the Australian Masters in style, making two eagles in the last four holes and going six-under in the final six holes to shoot 65. While he’ll go winless (yes, I’m aware that he still has the Chevron Challenge, his exhibition charity event) for the year, he placed alone at fourth in Melbourne for his best finish of 2010. (He T4 at The Masters and the US Open.)

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Thanks, Robert! Fan, who is bleeding from the head, gets carted away.

Thanks to Paul from Ted Williams Head for sending this video of Robert Allenby nailing some poor, innocent bystander smack in the noggin on Friday at the Australian Masters. Here’s what happened: Allenby was paired with Tiger Woods, so naturally, there was a huge gallery following the group. On the 10th hole, Allenby pulled his drive and because of the blustery conditions, it went even further left, hitting the fan so hard that he was knocked to the ground and couldn’t get up. Medics arrived to the scene and carted him off. While being driven away and bleeding from the forehead, the man managed a smile and a thumbs-up to the crowd.

Here’s the video:

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This is a happy Sergio in the bunker (translation: no temper tantrums like at Whistling Straits)

Despite playing in extremely blustery and miserable conditions in the second round of the Australian Masters, Sergio Garcia was still smiling after 18 holes. He shot a season-low 65 to jump up the leaderboard to fourth place. Garcia showed off his fantastic ballstriking skills, battling the strong winds to hit almost every green in his bogey-free, flawless round. He also actually made some putts (shocking, I know!), including a 40-footer from off the green. And 65 wasn’t just his low score of 2010, it was the low round in the field on Friday (according to the AP, the average score was almost three-over).

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Tiger: Thank you, thank you. Please, stop. I'm blushing.

“That was probably the highest score I could have shot,” Woods said. “I gave myself a lot of looks early. I just didn’t kept leaving them short. The only bogey I had was a three-putt.”

Tiger three-putts his way to a 69. Haha! Get it?

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Shane to Tiger: Let's trade stories!

Interviewing fellow philanderers and avid texters Tiger Woods and Shane Warne at the Australian Masters dinner, host Mark Nichols quipped that the two shared the “same nocturnal habits.” Well, finally, someone had the guts to poke fun at Tiger’s sex scandal to his face in front of a live audience, and thankfully, video cameras. The most shocking bit? Tiger’s jovial reaction. And the least? His retort. See for yourself, the clip after the jump.

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