Woods 'done' talking about Garcia

Woods 'done' talking about Garcia










The Sports Xchange May 29, 2013 4:20 PMThe SportsXchange



Tiger Woods would like to see talk of his feud with Sergio Garcia go away, once and for all.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday before the start of the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, Woods tried to deflect questions about Garcia.

"That's already done with," Woods said. "It's done; time to move on."

Asked about an inflammatory racial stereotype that Garcia used last week when speaking about Woods in England and other issues such as the R&A's recent ban on anchored putters and rules violations, Woods wasn't biting.

"I have four wins (this year)," Woods said with a straight face.

Tournament host Jack Nicklaus, whose 18 major championships are four more than Woods has won, addressed the situation between two of the world's top players rather succinctly.

"It's stupid," he said. "Do guys have an issue with one with another? They usually resolve it themselves. You guys want to resolve it in the newspapers today. I mean nobody needs that. And I think they both finally said it's enough. ... Today, you're in a fish bowl. And there are a lot of mountains made out of molehills."

Woods did address a question about racism.

"I live it," he said. "It's happened to me my entire life, and it's happened to me my entire career. So that doesn't surprise me. It exists all around the world, not just in the sport of golf. It exists everywhere."

Woods comes to Muirfield as the defending champion and five-time winner of the Memorial, which starts Thursday. It's his first event since winning The Players Championship earlier this month and a tuneup for the U.S. Open in two weeks ag Merion Golf Club, which he played on Tuesday.

"It's about this week and it's about winning this event," he said.

95th PGA Championship History Exhibit open through Labor Day

95th PGA Championship History Exhibit open through Labor Day











PGA.COM May 30, 2013 8:56 AM


PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- The 95th PGA Championship History Exhibit - Celebrating the Champions of the Season's Final Major -- will commemorate the Championship's return to New York by opening May 24, at the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC).

From Friday, May 24 through Labor Day Monday, Sept. 2, golf enthusiasts and history lovers may enjoy a tour of some of the rarest artifacts and memorabilia which uncover the tradition of the PGA Championship and its past 94 Champions, including a display of defending PGA Champion Rory McIlroy, which will be unveiled on June 3.

The PGA Championship History Exhibit will be open daily in the Rochester Museum & Science Center's Patricia F. Hale Gallery: Mondays-Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sundays from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

The 95th PGA Championship will be conducted Aug. 5-11, at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. The Rochester Museum & Science Center also hosted the PGA Championship Exhibit in 2003, when the PGA Championship was last conducted at Oak Hill and won by Shaun Micheel.

The PGA Championship History Exhibit debuted in Louisville, Ky., in 2000, and travels to host PGA Championship cities. The exhibit features memorabilia spanning from Jim Barnes' driver used to capture the inaugural Championship in 1916; a walking stick once used by the legendary Walter Hagen; Gene Sarazen's niblick (today's 9-iron); Jack Nicklaus' wedge, which he used as he captured the 1980 PGA Championship at Oak Hill; the wedge that Phil Mickelson's used to clinch his 2005 victory; Y.E. Yang's 3-hybrid that sealed his historic 2009 triumph; and memorabilia from McIlroy's historic win at Kiawah Island's famed Ocean Course.


"The PGA Championship History Exhibit is a special journey behind the great Champions who have been both premier performers and among the leaders of the advancement of golf worldwide," said PGA President Ted Bishop. "The PGA of America is pleased that the Rochester Museum & Science Center, a popular destination for both those in New York and tourists from around the globe for 100 years, will serve as host to this remarkable collection from Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day. New York is one of the great sports participation states in the country, and we anticipate we will have outstanding support once again leading up to the 95th PGA Championship this summer."

The RMSC opened its doors to the public on Sept. 13, 1912. The RMSC continues to celebrate its centennial year with the community it serves through various activities, events and opportunities, as it honors its past and looks forward to the next 100 years of discovery, exploration and inspiration. Offering fun and educational programs and experiences, the RMSC builds futures in the important areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The RMSC also serves as a community-gathering place where visitors participate in shared, hands-on learning. In addition, the RMSC seeks to boost the local economy through workforce preparation and tourism.

"We are eager to draw visitors to Rochester, as well as delight the many golf and history fans in our community with the PGA Championship History Exhibit," said Kate Bennett, president, Rochester Museum & Science Center. "It is a privilege to host an exhibit that honors a beloved tradition that families have enjoyed for years. Now, they can experience the PGA Championship together in a new way—its past and present all at once. This is an honor."

The Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) is located at 657 East Avenue in Rochester, N.Y., 75 miles east of Buffalo; 80 miles west of Syracuse, N.Y.; 5 hours west of New York City; and 2.5 hours from Toronto. Admission to the Museum during the Exhibit is: $13 for adults; $12 for seniors and college students; $11 for children ages 3-11; and free for PGA members, RMSC members and children under age 3. Family and Guests of PGA members will pay a special $5 rate. For more information, visit www.rmsc.org. For questions on the golf exhibit, please call (585) 271-4320. About the 2013 PGA Championship

The PGA Championship perennially features the strongest field in golf and is considered one of the largest sporting events in the world. Since 1916, golf's best professionals have been competing for the PGA Championship's coveted Wanamaker Trophy; a list of champions that includes: Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Davis Love III, Jack Nicklaus, Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan and Walter Hagen. Tickets will be available for purchase through the 2013 PGA Championship website, www.pga.com/pgachampionship, or by phone at (800) PGA-GOLF.

About The PGA of America

Since its founding in 1916, The PGA of America has maintained a twofold mission: to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. By establishing and elevating the standards of the golf profession through world-class education, career services, marketing and research programs, The PGA enables its professionals to maximize their performance in their respective career paths and showcases them as experts in the game and in the multi-billion dollar golf industry. By creating and delivering world-class championships and innovative programs, The PGA of America elevates the public's interest in the game, the desire to play more golf, and ensures accessibility to the game for everyone, everywhere. As The PGA nears its centennial, the PGA brand represents the very best in golf.

About the Rochester Science & Museum Center

Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) includes the Science Museum, Strasenburgh Planetarium and Cumming Nature Center. Offering experiences at the Museum with more than 200 interactive exhibits, Planetarium with a 65-foot dome and Nature Center on 900 acres, the RMSC stimulates community interest in exploration. In addition, the more than 1.2 million RMSC collection items tell the story of Rochester's past including its rich history of innovation and invention. RMSC receives major funding from Monroe County, where it is of the top two most visited attractions serving children and families. For more information about RMSC, visit www.rmsc.org.

Is Caroline Wozniacki Killing Rory McIlroy's Career?

Is Caroline Wozniacki Killing Rory McIlroy's Career?











Ryan Ballengee May 30, 2013 5:48 PM


COMMENTARY | Women make a lot men do a lot of crazy things. They make their hearts flutter, the ice in their veins melt and cause them to max out their credit cards on a nice diamond ring.



But do they ruin sports careers?



Ever since world No. 2 Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki got together in the summer
of 2011 after McIlroy broke through for his first major at the U.S. Open, the cynical thought has been that they'll ruin the other professionally speaking with all this love business.





With the Danish former No. 1 getting bounced in the second round of the French Open, and McIlroy opening the Memorial Tournament on Thursday with an embarrassing 6-over 78, the question is bound to arise again. After all, McIlroy is on the way to another missed cut, while Wozniacki hasn't advanced into the quarterfinals of any tournament she has entered since early April.



If it is being argued that Wozniacki is killing McIlroy's career, then certainly the opposite argument could be made.



Turns out, however, neither seems to have much of an effect on the other.



It should be first said that while a good golf result isn't exactly the same as a good tennis result, but it's not too hard to compare golf leaderboards and tennis brackets. It's 1.68-inch white balls and 2.63-inch fuzzy, neon balls, not apples and oranges. So a top-10 finish in golf is probably as good as making it to the quarterfinals or semifinals of a tennis tournament, depending on the size and strength of field.



Dating back to the start of the 2012 season -- accounting for the end of the relationship "honeymoon" period -- McIlroy and Wozniacki have competed in their respective sports at approximately the same time on 19 different occasions, including this week in Dublin, Ohio, and Roland Garros near Paris, respectively.



Of the 19 tournaments McIlroy and Wozniacki have played at about the same time, they have had similar-type finishes in 10 of those, or just a little more than half of the time. The trend lately has been for the lovebirds to fare about the same more often than not in 2013.



At the outset of the year, that wasn't true, however, as McIlroy traveled to Abu Dhabi to be unveiled as the next Nike Golf megastar staffer with a reported nine-figure endorsement deal...only to miss the cut. Meanwhile in Australia, Wozniacki advanced to the fourth round of the Aussie Open, the first major on the tennis calendar.



After that, though the next two concurrent-ish events had a lot in common. McIlroy was unceremoniously bounced in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play in Arizona while Wozniacki was a Round 1 victim in Malaysia. Then a few weeks later, Caro got to the finals at Indian Wells, while McIlroy finished T-8 behind Tiger Woods while in the running on Sunday at Doral.



McIlroy enjoyed a decent first part of April, finishing runner-up in an emergency start against a lesser field at the Valero Texas Open before a top-25 effort at the Masters. It was right around then that Wozniacki dropped into a deep slump, where she has beaten no more than one opponent in her last five tournaments.



The Ulsterman, however, has also dropped into a May slump for the second consecutive year. He missed the cut last week at the BMW PGA Championship and his 78 to start at Muirfield Village has him poised to be a trunk-slammer on Friday. He missed three consecutive cuts in May last year before getting it together in Memphis, only to then miss the cut again at the U.S. Open.



Here's the thing, however: McIlroy is still No. 2 in the world and has a pair of majors. Wozniacki is dropping down the women's tennis rankings and has never hoisted a Grand Slam singles title. (McIlroy one-ups his girlfriend again, having been on two consecutive winning Ryder Cup teams. Wozniacki has never put much stock in the doubles game.)



But there's a lot more going on in the lives of both players than an undying love. It's a particularly turbulent time for McIlroy. He is reportedly cutting ties with his representation at Horizon Sports Management after just 18 months to step out on his own with his father, Gerry, leading Team McIlroy.



His ballstriking is outstanding, but McIlroy's putting is atrocious of late. He ranks 100th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting. He was 82nd last year, but was monumentally productive with the other 13 clubs in his bag.



Then there's the pressure of trying to stick close to Tiger Woods when he is clearly resurgent, having won four times on the PGA Tour this season, owning the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking by just-post-hydrant margins and the betting favorite to win a 15th major at next month's U.S. Open. And, oh yeah, they're on the same Nike Golf staff where it was expected at the outset of 2013 that they would be 1 and 1a for the Swoosh.



So if anyone if McIlro-rried about Rory and his prospects to win a third major in as many seasons, there are way more important things to fret about than Caroline Wozniacki.



Rory's got plenty of problems. Caroline isn't one.



Ryan Ballengee is a Washington, D.C.-based golf writer. His work has appeared on multiple digital outlets, including NBC Sports and Golf Channel. Follow him on Twitter @RyanBallengee.