I am an unabashed fan of the Associated Press.

Ever since following NCAA tournament games minute-by-minute on a delightfully antiquated A.P. news machine during my college years (this was before such things as the internet – or, I believe, even cable TV – had reached Middlebury, Vermont), I have appreciated their ability to put together quick, concise and highly reliable copy from all over the universe. Indeed, I generally try to use A.P. stories for Monday’s Week In Review links because they are clearly an agency that deals in quality – and, as a bonus, their primary PGA Tour correspondent, Doug Ferguson, is one of the best in the business.

I say all of this to underline how astonished I was to read Sunday’s A.P. wrap-up from Doral (not under Ferguson’s byline, I must note) and find one of the silliest sentences I’ve ever seen in a golf article, which began:

“No longer the best player without a World Golf Championship, Mickelson now can set his sights...”

The palpably silly “Best Player Without A Major” label that some in the media forever toss about is painful enough, but now we’re elevating the WGC’s to what can only be called mock-epic status?

Sheesh...

But this is but a minor digression from what was, we can assume, a most satisfying triumph for Phil Mickelson – not because he broke some mythical drought in the Tim Finchem Invitational series, but simply because after beginning his year MC, T42 and T55 at Phoenix, San Diego and Pebble Beach respectively, he has now won his last two medal play starts (Riviera and Doral), the latter with Tiger Woods in the field. And he did so in an event in which Woods pipped him in 2005 (prior to the tournament's 2007 knighting to WGC status – meaning that Mickelson is also the “Best Player Never To Win At Doral”), and while battling a debilitating stomach virus that saw him carted off to urgent care late Saturday night.

And then there’s the Official World Ranking thing....which is really nothing at all, because even if Mickelson (or Garcia, or Oglivy...) does overtake Woods for the number one spot any time soon, it is infinitely more a function of Tiger’s prolonged absence than any of the contenders establishing themselves as a better (or even equal) player. Of course, forgetting for a moment the widely held belief that the World Ranking was originally created as a marketing tool by IMG to promote Greg Norman, its main purpose (like all such endeavors) is to generate fan interest in the game – and at present, who can suggest it isn’t succeeding handsomely?

As for Tiger, he’s 0-for-2 since coming back but as long as we’re asking questions, is there anyone out there who sees his dual WGC failings as anything more than plain, old-fashioned rust? The swing looks pretty sound, the putts will eventually start to fall, and unless Steve Williams once again forces him at gunpoint to try driving the third hole, he surely figures to contend deep into Sunday at Augusta. Of course, part of such an expectation is that at this stage of the game, one senses that the only events Woods genuinely gives a damn about – and with some good reason – are the four Major championships.

Being the “Best Player Never To Win At Riviera” does not, I suspect, keep him lying awake at night...

PGA Tour: Transitions Championship

Site: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead) - Palm Harbor, FL
Yards: 7,340   Par: 71
Defending: Sean O’Hair 280   (beat six players by 2)
Field: World Top 20: Vijay Singh (6), Kenny Perry (9), Steve Stricker20(14), Jim Furyk (17) & Adam Scott (19)   Other Notables: Paul Azinger, David Duval, Steve Elkington, Lee Jazen, Tom Lehman & Corey Pavin.

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European PGA Tour: Madeira Islands Open BPI

Site: Porto Santo Golf – Madeira Island, Portugal
Meters: 6,434   Par: 72
Defending: Alastair Forsyth 273   (beat H. Otto in a playoff)
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: Niclas Fasth, Constantino Rocca & Jean Van de Velde.

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Asian Tour: SAIL Open

Site: Classic Golf Resort – New Delhi, India
Yards: 7,114   Par: 72
Defending: Mark Brown 274   (beat three players by 4)
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: S.S.P. Chowrasia & Jyoti Randhawa.

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LPGA Tour: MasterCard Classic

Site: Bosque Real Country Club - Huixquilucan, Mexico
Yards: 6,892   Par: 72
Defending: Louise Friberg 210   (beat Y. Tseng by 1)
Field: World Top 20: The entire Rolex top 20 except Angela Stanford (6), Karrie Webb (9), Yuri Fudoh (11), Jeong Jang (13), Maria Hjorth (14), Angela Park (17) & Momoko Ueda (19)   Other Notables: Laura Davies, Pat Hurst, Liselotte Neumann, Se Ri Pak & Grace Park.

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Elsewhere...
JLPGA – PRGR Ladies Cup – Koichi, Japan
Futures – Florida Natural Growers Charity Classic – Winter Haven, FL
Euro Challenge/Las Americas – Club Columbia Masters – Bogota, Colombia
Euro Seniors – DGM Barbados Open – St James, Barbados

WGC-CA Championship

Winner: Phil Mickelson   65-66-69-69 269   (beat N.Watney by 1)
Site: Doral Golf Resort & Spa (Blue) - Miami, FL

STORY         RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


PGA Tour: Puerto Rico Open

Winner: Michael Bradley   67-69-68-70 274   (beat J.Day & B. Quigley by 1)
Site: Trump International Golf Club - Rio Grande, Puerto Rico

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Australasian & Nationwide Tours: Michael Hill New Zealand Open

Winner: Alex Prugh   65-71-69-64 269   (beat M. Piller by 3)
Site: The Hills Golf Club - Queenstown, New Zealand

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Champions Tour: AT&T Champions Classic

Winner: Dan Forsman   72-67-66 205   (beat D. Pooley in a playoff)
Site: Valencia Country Club – Valencia, CA

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS

...Coming pretty quickly.

As an illustrative point, let me cite two quotations mentioned roughly 90 days apart on this website:

“[Jiyai Shin] will be the best player in the world by this time next year – which means she only has to get past one player” – Mike Clayton, November, 2008.

“While the second half of Ochoa’s 2008 was hardly a disaster, it fell far shy of her stunning first half, at least opening up the possibility that her anticipated long run at number one might be shortened by the imminent maturation of players like Yani Tseng, Paula Creamer and, especially, Jiyai Shin. One week in Thailand does not by itself eradicate such possibilities, but it certainly sets a tone as we move forward...” – Me, last week.

Chalk one up for Mr. Clayton, who’s looking more and more prescient by the week, while my sense that Lorena had made a significant stand took less than seven full days to begin showing cracks. Of course, if last week’s victory in Thailand didn’t completely guarantee Ochoa’s long-term presence at the summit, Shin’s subsequent triumph in Singapore hardly leapfrogs her all the way there either, but...

It wasn’t so much that the 20-year-old Korean defeated an elite field at the HSBC Women’s Champions, but rather how she did it. After standing tied for 32nd (seven shots in arrears) at the halfway mark – and still some six behind after a third-round 66 – Shin charged out of the box like a world number one on Sunday, birdieing the first four holes to launch herself immediately back into the fray, then coolly adding birdies at the 11th and the par-5 15th to edge third-round leader Katherine Hull (who came home in a disappointing 40) by two.

True, the win will likely only lift Shin into fourth place in the Rolex Ranking, and she’ll need to log several more significant victories before the idea of actually overtaking Ochoa numerically becomes a realistic possibility. But the diminutive and amiable Shin has, within the last 10 months, beaten powerhouse international fields at the Women’s British Open, the JLPGA co-sponsored Mizuno Classic, the season-ending ADT Championship in Florida, and now at the HSBC Women’s Champions.

So if she is number one by November of 2009, remember who said it first (hint: it wasn’t me).

Elsewhere, aside from India’s Jyoti Randhawa carding a smoking third-round 62 en route to winning the Asian Tour’s Thailand Open, we must take note of the impressive victory achieved at the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic by Shin’s countryman Yong-Eun Yang. Yang entered play standing a stellar 460th in the Official World Ranking, but this number has clearly been skewed by his decision to spend the last few seasons swimming upstream in America instead of racking up rankings points back in Asia, where he is a four-time winner in Japan, as well as the 2006 Korean Open champion. Most impressively, however, Yang won the 2007 HSBC Champions, edging a certain Tiger Woods by two strokes in Shanghai. That victory earned Yang full status on the European Tour (who co-sponsored the event), which in turn got his Western career off and running – another example of how much easier it is today for young foreign players to find their way to America.

And win.

And finally, true, the WGC events still fail to generate much worldwide, Major-like excitement, and this week’s WGC-CA Championship can well be viewed as little more than the old Doral Open on steroids, but... It’s not very often that the entire worldwide top 50 are present in a single field, meaning that someone is in for a World Ranking points bonanza next Sunday night. Should that person happen to be named Garcia, Mickelson or Ogilvy, and should Tiger Woods happen to struggle in his first post-surgery stroke play event, then the bunching atop the World Ranking may really start to become newsworthy...

WGC-CA Championship

Site: Doral Golf Resort & Spa (Blue) - Miami, FL
Yards: 7,288   Par: 72
Defending: Geoff Ogilvy 271   (beat three players by 1)
Field: World Top 20: All   Other Notables: The entire world top 50, plus...

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PGA Tour: Puerto Rico Open

Site: Trump International Golf Club - Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
Yards: 7,569   Par: 72
Defending: Greg Kraft 274   (beat J. Kelly & B. Van Pelt by 1)
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: Mark Brooks, Lee Janzen, Rocco Mediate, Corey Pavin & Bob Tway.

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Australasian & Nationwide Tours: Michael Hill New Zealand Open

Site: The Hills Golf Club - Queenstown, New Zealand
Yards: 7,243   Par: 72
Defending: Richard Finch (unofficial event in 2008).
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: Not many.

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Champions Tour: AT&T Champions Classic

Site: Valencia Country Club – Valencia, CA
Yards: 6,973   Par:72
Defending: Denis Watson 209   (beat Br. Bryant & L. Roberts in a playoff)
Field: Ranked: The entire Charles Schwab Cup top 20 except Fulton Allem (6), Mark James (T7), Russ Cochran (T18) & David Edwards (T18)   Other Notables: Hubert Green, Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Sandy Lyle, Larry Nelson, Mark O’Meara, Jerry Pate, Gary Player, Nick Price & Fuzzy Zoeller.

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PGA Tour: Honda Classic

Winner: Yong-Eun Yang   68-65-70-68 271   (beat J.Rollins by 1)
Site: PGA National Resort & Spa (Champion) - Palm Beach Gardens, FL

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Asian Tour: Singha Thailand Open

Winner: Jyoti Randhawa   68-68-62-65 262   (beat R. Davies by 2)
Site: Laguna Phuket Golf Club – Phuket, Thailand

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Australasian Tour: HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship

Winner: Steve Alker   69-70-67-67 273   (beat J. Geary & D. Smail by 2)
Site: Clearwater Country Club - Christchurch, New Zealand

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


LPGA Tour: HSBC Women s Champions

Winner: Jiyai Shin   72-73-66-66 277   (beat K. Hull by 2)
Site: Tanah Merah Country Club (Garden) - Singapore

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Champions Tour: Toshiba Classic

Winner: Eduardo Romero   66-68-68 202   (beat M. O’Meara & J.Sindelar by 1)
Site: Newport Beach Country Club – Newport Beach, CA

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Elsewhere...
JLPGA – Daikin Orchid Ladies – Yuko Mitsuka 208 (Story)

Such was how Ernie Els described Northern Ireland’s 19-year-old prodigy Rory McIlroy last week at the WGC Accenture Match Play event, and with McIlroy’s earlier win in Dubai, plus a solid run to the round of eight at the Match Play, such prognostications seem not altogether off the wall.

Of course, Big Ernie was obviously not suggesting an imminent ascension by McIlroy, but rather a long-term climb into position so that when Tiger Woods’s time inevitably comes, McIlroy will be poised to step forward. It seems as viable a scenario as any for the eventual post-Tiger era, except for one small question:

Might Geoff Ogilvy get there first?

Ogilvy, the 31-year-old 2006 U.S. Open champion, won the Match Play going away, taking out McIlroy and fellow up-and-comer Camilo Villegas (among others) before laying waste to England’s Paul Casey in the 36-hole final, the eventual 4 & 3 victory margin somewhat belying the one-sided nature of the match. The win was Ogilvy’s second of the young American season (he previously captured the Mercedes Championship in January) and his third in as many months – though his victory at December’s Australian PGA flew somewhat beneath the radar here in the U.S. The Match Play triumph also moved him up to number four in the Official World Ranking, with an average points total of 6.40. This leaves him reasonably within sight of numbers two and three – Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson – and not so wildly far behind perennial number one Woods, whose long absence has seen his once astronomical points average drop to 9.44.

Can Ogilvy actually catch Tiger?

As with Els’s musings regarding McIlroy, any such talk is predicated on Woods not returning to a level of play that sees him pocketing at least one Major championship annually, and dominating week in and week out. Therefore, a better question might be whether Ogilvy can elevate his game that little remaining distance to take a firm hold on the number two spot...and then see what happens.

I should mention that I am biased here; Ogilvy and I have several mutual friends, and I find his traditionalist views on the game and keen understanding of course design enormously refreshing in this era of largely disinterested touring professionals. But that said, he has long struck me as an eventual number two, largely because of his tremendous all-around game but also due his relative unflappability. For in an era when many of golf’s best have frequently collapsed in Woods’ presence, Ogilvy’s coolness under fire is a terribly valuable commodity. All that’s been missing has been a slightly greater element of consistency – that ability to bring it every week (or at least all of the weeks that really count) – but with two wins in his first five 2009 American starts, perhaps that’s coming. With such important landmarks as marriage and child birth now in his rearview, and as he hits his peak physical years, now would certainly seem like the time...

Meanwhile, halfway around the globe, another important victory was claimed, this time by world number one Lorena Ochoa, whose closing 66 allowed her to comfortably make up a three-shot deficit to third-round leader Paula Creamer and win the Honda LPGA Thailand going away. Why so important? Because while the second half of Ochoa’s 2008 was hardly a disaster, it fell far shy of her stunning first half, at least opening up the possibility that her anticipated long run at number one might be shortened by the imminent maturation of players like Yani Tseng, Paula Creamer and, especially, Ji-Yai Shin. One week in Thailand does not by itself eradicate such possibilities, but it certainly sets a tone as we move forward...into this week’s HSBC Women’s Championship in Singapore, where these four, plus 13 more of the world top 20 will do battle.

Even in a floundering economy, and despite a clueless Commissioner, the LPGA can still put on a damned good show.

PGA Tour: Honda Classic

Site: PGA National Resort & Spa (Champion) - Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Yards: 7,158   Par: 70
Defending: Ernie Els   271   (beat L. Donald by 1)
Field: World Top 20: Sergio Garcia (2), Camilo Villegas (10), Ernie Els (14), Rory McIlroy (17), Justin Rose (19), Stewart Cink (23) & Miguel Angel Jimenez (24)   Other Notables: Darren Clarke, David Duval, Steve Elkington Davis Love III.

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Asian Tour: Singha Thailand Open

Site: Laguna Phuket Golf Club – Phuket, Thailand
Yards: 6,654   Par: 71
Defending: Not Played
Field: World Top 20: None   Other Notables: Daniel Chopra, Thongchai Jaidee, Frankie Minoza, Jyoti Randhawa & Jean Van de Velde.

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Australasian & Nationwide Tours: HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship

Site: Clearwater Country Club - Christchurch, New Zealand
Yards: 7,137   Par: 72
Defending: Darron Stiles   132   (beat D.Smail by 1)
Field: World Top 20: The entire Rolex top 20   Other Notables: Not many.

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LPGA Tour: HSBC Women’s Championship

Site: Tanah Merah Country Club (Garden) - Singapore
Yards: 6,547   Par: 72
Defending: Lorena Ochoa   268   (beat A. Sorenstam by 11)
Field: World Top 20: The entire Rolex top 20 except Yuri Fudoh (11), Jeong Jang (12) & Maria Hjorth (13)   Other Notables: Laura Davies, Rachel Hetherington, Pat Hurst & Juli Inkster.

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Champions Tour: Toshiba Classic

Site: Newport Beach Country Club – Newport Beach, CA
Yards: 6,584   Par: 71
Defending: Bernhard Langer   199   (beat J. Haas in a playoff)
Field: Ranked: The entire Charles Schwab Cup top 20 except Fulton Allem (6), Mark James (7), Russ Cochran (T18) & Dan Forsman (T18)   Other Notables: Bruce Fleisher, Hubert Green, Ha le Irwin, Tom Kite, Sandy Lyle, Larry Nelson, Mark O’Meara, Gary Player, Lee Trevino & Tom Watson.

                    ENTRANTS          WEBSITE          GOLF COURSE          AERIAL


Elsewhere...
JLPGA – Daikin Orchid Ladies – Okinawa, Japan

WGC Accenture Match Play Championship

Winner: Geoff Ogilvy   (beat P. Casey 4 & 3)
Site: Ritz-Carlton Golf Club - Marana, AZ

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


PGA Tour : Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya

Winner: Mark Wilson 66-64-69-68   267   (beat J.J. Henry by 2)
Site: El Camaleon - Riviera Maya, Mexico

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


European & Asian PGA Tours: Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open

Winner: Thongchai Jaidee 71-69-67-69   276   (beat three players by 2)
Site: New Kuta Golf Resort - Bali, Indonesia

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Australasian & Nationwide Tours: Moonah Classic

Winner: Alistair Presnell 72-67-72-68   271   (beat P. O’Malley by 1)
Site: Moonah Links - Rye, Australia

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


LPGA Tour: Honda LPGA Classic

Winner: Lorena Ochoa 71-69-68-66   274   (beat H.Y. Park by 3)
Site: Siam Country Club - Chonburi, Thailand

STORY          RESULT          MONEY LIST          STATS          INTERVIEWS


Elsewhere...
Euro Seniors – Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters – Mike Cunning 206 (Story)

Or rather “Yo,” as we were instructed last week, regarding proper pronunciation.

Really, there wasn’t too much wrong with 17-year-old Ryo Ishikawa’s American debut at the Northern Trust Open. True, rounds of 73-71 left him three strokes shy of making the cut, but his performance was really rather a solid one – particularly if measured against Tiger Woods’ 1992 arrival in this same event, wherein he shot 72-75 and missed the cut by six. No, Ishikawa’s problem lay not in his own play but rather in the stunning exhibition of golf put on by another of the game’s prominent teenagers, 18-year-old New Zealander Danny Lee, who dazzled a half-decent European Tour field en route to capturing the venerable Johnnie Walker Classic on the other side of the world, in Perth.

Lee, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, birdied the final two holes (and four of his last six) at The Vines Resort & Country Club to claim the title by a single stroke, in the process becoming the youngest winner in E Tour history (muscling aside 1971 Spanish Open champion Dale Hayes) and only the second amateur (behind Portugal’s Pablo Martin) to claim an official victory on the closest thing we have to a world tour. Lee now intends to remain an amateur at least through The Masters – at the cost of roughly $300,000 U.S. dollars this week alone –before beginning his self-proclaimed quest to “win more PGA Tour titles” than Tiger Woods.

And perhaps we should all cut him some slack on the apparent conceit in such comments; a native of Korea who moved to New Zealand at age eight, Lee willingly admits to being more nervous communicating with his second language before the media than on the golf course – a recipe which, combined with his youth, is bound to cause the occasional jackpot quote.

And besides, so landmark a win allows you to talk – at least a little.

Meanwhile, while one grows quickly tired of the endless “Young Guns” stories that appear whenever two first-time winners pop up on the PGA Tour’s West Coast swing, maybe – just maybe – we are actually beginning to see the first generation of players whose horizons have been shaped by the unmatched record (and self expectations) of Tiger Woods. Lee’s accomplishments (and obvious potential) are manifest, and it’s difficult to believe that Ishikawa, with two Japan Tour victories already under his belt, won’t see his stock continue to rise. But also highly relevant in this mix is Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (already an E Tour winner – and regular contender – at age 19) and the often overlooked Seung-yul Noh, the 17-year-old Korean star who claimed his first Asian Tour victory at the ripe old age of 16. I am as skeptical of highly touted teenagers as anyone, but this group appears to be unlike any agglomeration of under-20 talent ever assembled.

They are, it seems, very much for real.

And then, at the other end of the spectrum, we have Fred Couples.

Now, Riviera, somewhat like Augusta National, is a layout whose emphasis on strategic course management tends to favor the more experienced man – but at age 49, Couple’s presence among the late contenders was still something of a surprise. Sadly, Boom Boom was only one shot – a shanked 7 iron at the 72nd – shy of a chance at a playoff, but the game he displayed in Los Angeles both electrified the partisan crowd and suggested a major presence on the Champions Tour once he turns 50 in October.

And then we have Phil Mickelson, a man raked over the coals for his lackluster 2009 start, and whose swing remains inconsistent enough that he did something decidedly rare last Saturday: he beat balls on the range after shooting a 62! But his palpable inconsistency aside, when you post rounds of 63 and 62 in the same event at Riviera, you must really go high in one of your other rounds not to win. And while Mickelson at least investigated such options with a pair of lackluster 72s on Friday and Sunday, in the end, he simply proved too talented to catch.