WHEN PGA PRO Phil Mickelson ponders the low points of his performance at the 2008 Masters he will be thinking about those pesky Par 3s. Similar par-3 challenges await amateurs on Southeastern Wisconsi ...
River ... Hills ... -- If you plan to attend the match-play portion of the 28th U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, it might be a good idea to plant yourself behind the eighth green at Milwaukee Country Club ... No. 8 yielded three holes-in-one during stroke play qualifying. John Halverson, 28, of Steamboat Springs, Colo., made an ace Sunday morning and two groups later James Kieserman, 38, of Dresher, Pa., holed out from the tee on the 166-yard hole. Both used 7-irons ... Chester Guzek of
Steve Stricker of Madison was named to the U.S. Ryder Cup team by captain Paul Azinger at a news conference in New York today ... Stricker, 41, was one of four captain's picks by Azinger and rounds out the 12-man team that will take on Europe's best in the biennial matches, Sept. 19-21 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. Stricker has never played on a Ryder Cup team ... Azinger also named Hunter Mahan, J.B. Holmes and Chad Campbell to the team. They joined eight others who made the team
With Tiger Woods missing from the field at the PGA Championship this week, Phil Mickelson is the favorite by default, at least according to one betting service ... Mickelson is given 9-1 odds by Bodog, with British Open champion Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia at 16-1. Vijay Singh is at 18-1 ... Steve Stricker is listed at 40-1 and fellow Madison resident Jerry Kelly is a 125-1 long shot, as is U.S. Bank Championship winner Richard S. Johnson ... The PGA gets under way Thursday at Oakland