Nike's New Ad Stirs Up Some Controversy (Tiger)

Good read here.  I don't see what all the fuss is about.

http://msn.foxsports.com/golf/story/nike-tiger-woods-ad-draws-critics-032613

Tiger/Rory in Uncomfortable Picture

Who looks more uncomfortbale, and who is the better actor as Tiger and Rory interlock arms and drink coffee together to celebrate Rory signing with Nike.

Despite Collapse, Tiger Woods Favored at British Open

Tiger Woods remains the oddsmakers’ favorite to capture next month’s British Open even though he isn’t among the 15 different players who have won golf’s past 15 major championships.

Woods’s drought in the four majors has reached four years after tying for 21st place at the U.S. Open in San Francisco, his worst four-round finish at the tournament. His next chance to get within three of Jack Nicklaus’s record 18 Grand Slam titles will be at the July 19-22 British Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in northwest England.

Woods, 36, is listed as the 10-1 favorite for the season’s third major, according to the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino’s sports book. While Woods hasn’t won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open, he remains popular with bettors. Woods last week had “by far the most money on him,” according to Jeff Sherman, LVH’s assistant sports book manager.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and England’s Lee Westwood are tied as the second choice at 12-1. Englishman Luke Donald, who’s No. 1 in golf’s Official World Ranking, has 20-1 odds to win his first major championship.

Phil Mickelson has 30-1 odds to win the British Open, tied with Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Rickie Fowler, Jason Dufner, Graeme McDowell and Padraig Harrington.

Furyk, McDowell Share Lead After Strange Third Round

It was a day where Tiger took a tumble, a 17-year old got a lot of TV time and two former champs were able to figure out the greens.

With a final-hole birdie from 6 feet on Saturday, Graeme McDowell took the outright lead for the first time in the 112th US Open at the Olympic Club. Jim Furyk, who owned the lead for much of the day, grabbed a share of it minutes later by making his own birdie on No. 17.

Now McDowell and Furyk, who played together the first two rounds, will shake hands once again on the first tee of the final round, perhaps 18 holes away from winning the US Open for a second time.

At 1-under-par 209, McDowell (68) and Furyk (70) are the only players under par on a Lake Course that has played fast, firm, and frustrating for the majority of the field, exactly how the US Golf Association likes it. Fredrik Jacobson (68) is the closest pursuer, two shots back at 1 over.

Woods shot 75, the highest third-round score among the top 26 names on the leaderboard, save for the 76 shot by David Toms.

“It was just a tough day on the greens,’’ Woods said. “Tough day all day. Tomorrow I’m just going to have to shoot a good round, post early, and see what happens.’’

A 17-year-old amateur is refusing to go away, showing the kind of resolve it takes to hang around the lead at a US Open for most of the week. Hossler shot 70, finishing where he started, at 3 over. He made four bogeys, and every time made birdie on the very next hole.

“That really helped me to keep my round going,’’ Hossler said of his bounce-back ability. “I still have the goal to be low amateur, but my goal now is to win the tournament.’’

Wow!

Woods, Furyk and Toms Share Lead at U.S. Open

Three-time champ Tiger Woods recovered from three straight bogeys to grab a share of the clubhouse lead in the second round of the U.S. Open Friday.

Woods played the back nine in two under to finish with an even par 70 and a 36-hole total of one-under-par.

That left him in a share for the lead with the 2003 U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk, who carded a 69, and the 2001 PGA Championship winner David Toms, who shot a 70.

Four players, including Thompson and the 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, were a further stroke back at one over.

Round three on Saturday.