Poulter only needed 10 putts on the back nine.

Self-confidence’s Ian Poulter shot a seven-under-par 65 to grab a share of the overnight lead on Thursday at the 2012 Players Championship.

The strongest indication yet that his star is once again on the rise, the Ryder Cup veteran attributed his success to the completion of a protracted family relocation. (continue reading…)

Tiger's thinking face.

Embattled world No7 (eh?) Tiger Woods endured a frustrating opening round at the Players Championship Thursday, shooting 74 to end the day in a tie for 100th place.

He’ll begin Friday facing the very real possibility of missing the cut in consecutive events for the first time in over 15 years. (continue reading…)

Kickin' it: Harman and caddy linger with intent.

That strange, anonymous blob you saw lurking at the base of the Players Championship digital leaderboard this morning should have carried the name of Sea Island native Brian Harman.

The left-hander gained late, late entry to the field as first alternate, taking the place of last week’s forgotten man, D.A. Points, but his transition from practice ground mainstay to competitor would prove circuitous, to say the least. (continue reading…)

Luuuuuuuuuuuke!

Current world No2 Luke Donald visited the media centre at TPC Sawgrass this morning to discuss, among less interesting topics (“I was wondering if you could just talk about the par-3s on the back nine…”), his most recent world rankings demotion, course strategy and the sad neglect of Europe’s flagship event, the PGA Championship. (continue reading…)

Woods was in combative form during today's pre-tournament press conference.

Having endured a turbulent seven days – in which he provoked the ire of a usually timid press corps and, in missing his first cut of the year, prompted an outbreak of journalistic apostasy (examples here, here and here) – Tiger Woods returned to the media centre this evening to reinvigorate the faith of his once loyal disciples.

Rhetorical miracles weren’t performed, but the unshakable tenets of a philosophy were enumerated, cliché by laborious cliché. This was a press conference of positively catholic dimensions. (continue reading…)

McIlroy lost out to D'Artagnan Rickie Fowler at Quail Hollow.

Though reinstalled at the summit of the world rankings, Rory McIlroy arrives at Ponte Vedra Beach for this week’s Players Championship with his reputation arguably at its lowest ebb for several months. (continue reading…)

Choi shot 65 in the final round at Kapalua to surge up the leaderboard in the top-5

After finishing his practice session last week at Kapalua, K.J. Choi was kind (and patient) enough to take some time and chat with me for a solid half-hour (which to be fair, is more like 15 minutes because my questions and his answers are repeated via his interpreter/manager). Something people don’t know about K.J. (because he looks serious on the golf course) — he has a fantastic sense of humor, often cracking jokes (and yes, in English!). When the interview ended, he joked that we talked for so long he saw the moon rise and move across the tree line. I blamed his interpreter/manager, naturally. (continue reading…)

Phil on the weekend: Not his usual chatty self

“I enjoy coming here to Ponte Vedra,” said Phil Mickelson after sitting in the scoring room by himself for at least 30 minutes to decompress. “The people here come out and really support the tournament. It’s been a fun event. It hasn’t been the result I wanted, but I certainly had a good time here.” (continue reading…)

G-Mac celebrates: fingers crossed for a Ryder Cup repeat

After the weather-related shenanigans of the last twenty-four hours, we finally have a 54-hole leaderboard, and who should sit atop the pile, but gritty Northerner Graeme McDowell. His third round 68 leaves him on twelve-under par, enough for a one-shot advantage over K.J. Choi and David Toms, who are in turn two shots clear of a group of six players. (continue reading…)

17 green like you've never seen it before

By the time the players and caddies emerged from the “Caddie Room,” the Locker Room,” “Player & Family Dining,” and for those less social, the “Scoring Area,” the sun also surfaced in the early evening hours on Saturday at The Players. When the horn sounded, within minutes it began pouring really, really hard — you know, the kind of rain that if you run outside to your car and back, you’re guaranteed soaked from head-to-toe. Not long after: lightning and thunder followed. Four-hours twenty-seven minutes later, players started warming up and mentally turning their minds back to TPC Sawgrass. There were about 10 pairings yet to start their third rounds. (continue reading…)