What’s your pleasure, birdie or par? They ended up counting the same for the semifinal winners Tuesday at the difficult Stone Canyon Golf Club.

“Here you don’t want to risk things,” said Rich Elias, who rallied to defeat former Arizona Wildcat Josh Wilks in the quarterfinals of the Southwest Section Southern Chapter annual pro match play by playing cautiously.

Elias won when Wilks conceded on the 18th green following two mistakes by Wilks. The two traded pars most of the way, with the only 2-up lead coming early in the match.

Elias, head pro at Torres Blancas of Green Valley, will face Stone Canyon’s Andrew Cochran, who beat defending champion Brandon Smith in 20 holes, in Wednesday’s semifinals.

Leading off the semifinal round will be two players who tore up the Stone Canyon course Tuesday – Chris Dompier of Skyline Country Club and Glen Griffith of Tucson Golf Schools.

Dompier posted 14 birdies and one eagle and beat Stone Canyon’s Dean Vomacka 4 and 3.

Griffith had an eagle and was 5-under par the first six holes of his quarterfinal match, 3 and 2 over top-seeded Mike Russell.

Wilks couldn’t escape a sand trap on first try on No. 17, then “killed my tee shot on No. 18.”

“I shot out of a bunker and all I had to do was roll it in,” said Elias, whose strategy was to be conservative and try to hit under gusting winds on high-level spots.

Stone Canyon is the state’s No. 2-rated course in difficulty.

“Josh started to think too much at the end and it hurt him,” theorized tournament director Nick Price.

Wilks, 25, was playing in his first tournament in two years after leaving UA and taking a “burnout sabbatical.” He taught school for a while and worked as an assistant at the Gallery Golf Club.

“I’m ready to get back,” Wilks said. “I’m going to play some tournaments, and if I”m doing well I’ll chase the Nationwide Tour. I found out what it means to have to earn a living and how I’m blessed to be playing this game.”

Tourney in China, restrictions raise some eyebrows

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – No longer can anyone say the World Golf Championships are only played in America.

In an announcement that raised several questions, not to mention a few eyebrows, the HSBC Champions in China was promoted Tuesday as the fourth WGC event on the schedule.

But this one is not like the other three, and not just because of its location.

The HSBC Champions in Shanghai will be played Nov. 5-8 – one week before the PGA Tour season ends at Disney – but it will not count as an official PGA Tour victory, nor will any earnings from the $7 million purse count toward the U.S. money list.

“So it’s a WGC with an asterisk,” Geoff Ogilvy suggested.

However, the winner will be eligible for the winners-only Mercedes-Benz Championship at Kapalua.

“A double asterisk,” Ogilvy quipped.

It will be the only WGC in which the world ranking is not part of the criteria. Instead, the 78-man field will be determined largely by tournament winners from around the world – the four majors, three other WGCs, 23 select events on the PGA Tour and European Tour, nine from the Asian Tour, and five each from Japan, South Africa and Australia.

Tiger Woods already has said he will be there, giving the tournament instant credibility. He was runner-up the two previous times he played in Shanghai, but now that it’s a WGC, it will be the only world championship he hasn’t won.

Sergio Garcia is the defending champion. And that it falls two weeks before the inaugural Dubai World Championship means the tournament likely will have a strong presence from the European troops – Padraig Harrington, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson and Rory McIlroy.

But it raises a question that has been brought up before.

If you take a World Golf Championship out of America, will the Americans go?

“We expect our players to support the event if they’re eligible. We’re anticipating they will,” PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said.

———

THIS WEEK IN GOLF

PGA TOUR

Quail Hollow Championship

Site: Charlotte, N.C.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday

Course: Quail Hollow Club (7,442 yards, par 72)

Purse: $6.5 million. Winner’s share: $1.17 million

Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, noon-3 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 10-11:30 a.m.) and CBS (Saturday-Sunday, noon-3 p.m.)

Last year: Anthony Kim won his first PGA Tour title, finishing with a tournament-record 16-under-par 272 total for a five-stroke victory over Ben Curtis.

Last week: Jerry Kelly won the Zurich Classic in Avondale, La., for his third PGA Tour victory and first since 2002.

Notes: Tiger Woods is making his fourth appearance in the event. He won in 2007, then sat out the 2008 event because of a knee injury. . . Masters champion Angel Cabrera is making his first tour start since winning at Augusta National. . . Phil Mickelson also is in the field along with No. 3 Sergio Garcia, No. 4 Geoff Ogilvy, No. 7 Padraig Harrington, No. 8 Vijay Singh and No. 10 Camilo Villegas. Singh won the 2005 event.

PGA EUROPEAN TOUR

Spanish Open

Site: Girona, Spain.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday

Course: PGA Golf de Catalunya, Stadium Course (6,809 yards, par 72).

Purse: $2.6 million. Winner’s share: $433,460.

Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Sunday, 6:30-8:30 a.m.)

Last year: Ireland’s Peter Lawrie won his first European Tour title, edging Ignacio Garrido.

Last week: Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee won the Ballantine’s Championship in South Korea.

Notes: John Daly of the United States and Colin Montgomerie of Scotland are in the field.

UP NEXT

PGA TOUR: Players Championship, May 7-10, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

LPGA TOUR: Michelob Ultra Open, May 7-10, Williamsburg, Va.

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Regions Charity Classic, May 15-17, Hoover, Ala.

NATIONWIDE TOUR: BMW Charity Pro-Am, May 14-17, Greer, S.C.

MORELIA, Mexico – Defending champion Lorena Ochoa shot her second straight bogey-free 8-under-par 65 on Friday to take a three-stroke lead over Suzann Pettersen in the LPGA Tour’s Corona Championship.

Ochoa, a former Arizona Wildcat who also won the 2006 tournament at Tres Marias, eagled the par-5 eighth hole and had six birdies. The fifth-ranked Pettersen shot a 64.

“I’m very satisfied with my putting,” Ochoa said. “I was able to get the birdies and that makes me very happy. Hopefully, I can keep making them for me and the public.

“I do not feel the pressure. I don’t have to. I’m going to play with joy. Suzann is a very good player, very aggressive. She had a great round.”

Second-ranked Yani Tseng (66) and Na Yeon Choi (69) were five strokes back at 11-under, Kristy McPherson (68) was 10-under, and Michelle Wie (71) was 9-under along with Sarah Lee (70), Karrie Webb (67), Irene Cho (67) and Brittany Lang (68).

“It was kind of frustrating today,” said Wie, a stroke behind Ochoa on Thursday after a 66. “I did not make a single putt out there today.

“Hopefully tomorrow I will make some birdies. It’s going to be a great weekend. I am really looking forward to it. It’s just a privilege to be able to play with the best players in the world.”

Brittany Lincicome, coming off a major victory in the Kraft Nabisco on April 5, followed her opening 75 with a 73 to miss the cut.

Zurich Classic

AVONDALE, La. – Jerry Kelly moved into position for his first PGA Tour victory since his breakthrough 2002 season, shooting a 6-under 66 for a one-stroke lead over Troy Matteson and Charley Hoffman in the Zurich Classic.

Kelly had a 10-under 134 total on the TPC Louisiana course. His lone tour victories came in 2002 – in the Sony Open and Western Open.

Champions Tour

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Tom Lehman got off to a fast start in his Champions Tour debut, teaming with Bernhard Langer to take a share of the first-round lead in the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf at 11-under 61

Fuzzy Zoeller and John Jacobs also shot a 61 in the better-ball event.

Lorena Ochoa, a former UA golfer, watches her tee shot on the 9th hole during Thursday's first round of the LPGA Corona Morelia Championship in Morelia, Mexico.

MORELIA, Mexico – Defending champion Lorena Ochoa shot a bogey-free 8-under-par 65 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over Michelle Wie and Na Yeon Choi after the first round of the LPGA Tour’s Corona Championship.

“It was a good day,” said Ochoa, a former Arizona Wildcat. “There is really not much more to add if you look at the score. I’m very happy because I’m in control.

“It’s very exciting to be in a position that I like. Hopefully, we can stay there the next three days, because my goal is to win it.”

Wie, who started on No. 10, eagled the par-5 fifth and birdied three of her final four holes. After opening the season with a second-place finish at Turtle Bay, she tied for 57th in Phoenix and tied for 67th in the Kraft Nabisco – shooting 71-81-81-71.

Eunjung Yi, Anna Nordqvist, Sandra Gal and Sarah Lee shot 67s, and Silvia Cavalleri, Kristy McPherson, Katherine Hull, Jill McGill and Mollie Fankhauser had 68s.

Second-ranked Yani Tseng and No. 5-ranked Suzann Pettersen were four strokes back at 69, No. 6 Cristie Kerr had a 70, and No. 4 Paul Creamer shot a 72.

Brittany Lincicome, coming off a win in the Kraft Nabisco, an LPGA major, on April 5, was 10 strokes behind Ochoa after a 75.

Zurich Classic

AVONDALE, La. – South Korea’s Charlie Wi took advantage of soft early morning conditions to shoot a bogey-free 6-under 66 for a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Zurich Classic.

Jay Williamson, Nathan Green, Parker McLachlin, Charles Warren, John Merrick and Eric Axley opened with 67s. Former tournament winner David Toms topped a group at 68, and Masters runner-up Kenny Perry had a 69.

Danny Lee had a triple bogey on No. 4 and shot a 76 in his pro debut. The 18-year-old South Korean-born New Zealander missed the cut in the Masters as an amateur. He broke Tiger Woods’ mark as the youngest U.S. Amateur champion last year and became the European tour’s youngest winner in February at the Johnnie Walker Classic.

Ballantine’s Championship

JEJU ISLAND, South Korea – Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, coming off consecutive second-place finishes, and New Zealand’s Mark Brown shot 7-under 65s to share the first-round lead in the Ballantine’s Championship.

Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee, England’s Robert Dinwiddie and South Korea’s Kang Kyung-nam opened with 66s on the Pinx course. South African star Ernie Els had a 68, and Fred Couples shot a 69 in the event sanctioned by the European and Asian tours.

Golfer Arnold Palmer appears as a guest speaker for a charity golf tournament on Tuesday at the Alotian Club near Little Rock, Ark.

ROLAND, Ark. – Arnold Palmer can appreciate a good rivalry, even if he’s not part of it.

Palmer, whose duels with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were memorable, shared some thoughts Tuesday on this month’s Masters.

Angel Cabrera won the tournament, but not before Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson thrilled the crowd by playing their way back into contention while paired together in the final round at Augusta National.

“It wasn’t planned. It happened. I think the fact that they were playing in Augusta and doing the things that they were doing . . . I think that’s what Augusta’s all about,” Palmer said of the Woods-Mickelson show. “I thought it was perfect. If you had set it up, you couldn’t have set it up any better.”

Palmer and Mickelson were both on hand Tuesday at The Alotian Club outside Little Rock, appearing in conjunction with the Jackson T. Stephens Charitable Golf Tournament. Palmer spoke in the morning, and Mickelson put on a brief clinic in the afternoon for some youngsters.

The charity tournament is named after Jack Stephens, the late billionaire, philanthropist and former chief executive officer of Stephens Inc. He also was at one point the chairman of Augusta National.

Mickelson tied a Masters record with a 30 on the front nine of the final round, but he lost his momentum on the back nine and finished three shots behind. Woods was another shot back.

Cabrera ended up winning in a playoff over Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell.

“It was a fun day. I enjoyed the front nine a lot. The back nine I wish I had played better,” Mickelson said Tuesday. “I thought it was an amazing finish. A lot of things happened.”

Before this year’s Masters, there were concerns that Augusta National had become too tough. That wasn’t an issue this year. Campbell set a Masters record by opening the tournament with five straight birdies, and the crowd was roaring throughout the final round.

Tuesday, Mickelson was asked to re-enact his approach on the seventh hole, when he powered a shot around trees to about a foot from the hole to set up a birdie. He hit a high hook for the Alotian audience.

“This year, Augusta played easier than it’s ever played,” Mickelson said. “The greens were soft. I haven’t seen that, ever. That shot that I hit on seven that stopped by the hole – that ball normally wouldn’t stop.”

Hours earlier, Palmer had expressed a similar sentiment.

“It isn’t as much fun when they’re not making birdies and eagles at Augusta,” Palmer said.

Brian Gay putts for eagle on the second hole during the final round of the Verizon Heritage golf tournament on Sunday at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Gay went on to win the tournament by a record 10 strokes to earn his second PGA Tour title. Gay finished at 20-under-par 264.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Brian Gay put on a record-setting show at the Verizon Heritage. And this time, he didn’t have to share the spotlight with anyone.

Gay shot a 7-under-par 64 Sunday to win at Harbour Town Golf Links by 10 shots. He broke the 13-year-old scoring record, finishing at 20-under 264 on the way to his second PGA Tour victory.

“Just another unbelievable day,” Gay said.

There have been many more of them the last two years for the former Florida Gator, who remains the only player to win two Southeastern Conference championships.

But finding golf success has been a struggle for the 37-year-old, who did not break through for his first win until his 293rd start in February 2008 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico.

Bad luck for Gay, that triumph came the same weekend Tiger Woods’ finished off the field at the World Golf Championships’ Match Play event.

“Yeah, it’s a bit of validation,” Gay said.

And perhaps one of the PGA Tour’s more dominating performances.

He had the tour’s largest margin of victory since Phil Mickelson won the 2006 BellSouth Classic by 13 strokes.

Gay bested Loren Roberts’ mark of 19 under in winning the 1996 Verizon Heritage. Gay’s 10-shot edge over Luke Donald (66) and Briny Baird (68) shattered the seven strokes five-time champ Davis Love won by in 1998.

Besides a $1.026 million first prize, Gay earned a spot in next year’s Masters, something he also didn’t get with the Mayakoba victory. It will be his first time at Augusta National.

“I’ve had a lot of heartache not getting in that tournament, winning (and) not getting in, and missing by one spot on the money list two times,” he said. “I just figured, who cares? What’s going to happen is going to happen. Just go play golf.”

Gay moved into the lead Friday and carried a three-stroke margin over Tim Wilkinson into the final round. Gay’s game plan? Don’t do what he did at Mayakoba, holding on despite some passive, wait-for-pars play.

“I told myself to keep my head down and keep plugging along,” Gay said. “I didn’t watch any (leader) boards. I didn’t watch anything.”

Soon enough, Gay was out of sight of the field.

He essentially wrapped things up two holes into the round – and never gave the chasers a chance to climb back in.

Gay struck his approach to 10 feet on No. 1 for a birdie to increase the lead to four. A hole later, he rolled in a curling, uphill 57-footer for an eagle-3, raising his putter as the ball disappeared into the cup.

Playing partner Wilkinson, facing a 10-footer for birdie, never had a chance with the cheers for Gay still in his ears and the margin increased to six shots.

A birdie on the par-5 fifth gave Gay a seven-shot edge that no one could dent.

Champions Tour

LUTZ, Fla. – Nick Price won the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am for his first Champions Tour victory, overcoming three double bogeys in a final-round 71.

After a par putt on the 18th hole, Price finished with a two-shot victory over Larry Nelson to end an 0-for-38 streak on the Champions Tour and win his first title since the 2002 MasterCard Colonial, a span of 111 tour events.

Nationwide Tour

ATHENS, Ga. – PGA Tour player Patrick Sheehan holed a 22-foot birdie putt from the fringe to beat Australia’s Michael Sim on the first hole of a playoff in the Nationwide Tour’s Athens Regional Foundation Classic.

The 39-year-old Sheehan, a former University of Hartford player from Rhode Island, closed with a 4-under 68 to match Sim (63) at 14-under 274 on the Jennings Mill Country Club course. Sheehan earned $99,000 for his second career Nationwide Tour win.

Volvo China Open

BEIJING – Australia’s Scott Strange won the Volvo China Open, closing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke victory over Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Brian Gay’s run of five straight birdies lifted him past a revived Todd Hamilton after two rounds of the Verizon Heritage on Friday.

Gay made six birdies on the front nine, including five in a row from the fourth through ninth holes to help him to a 66 and, at 9-under par, a one-stroke lead over former British Open champion Hamilton.

First-round leader Alex Cejka followed his 64 with an even-par 71 and was tied at 7-under with two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen.

Janzen’s round of 70 featured an ace on the 17th hole.

Gay has steadily improved over his 11 full PGA Tour seasons. His best came last year with his first career victory at the Mayakoba Classic and a personal high of more than $2.2 million in earnings.

“That front nine was awesome,” Gay said.

Gay’s streak began when he rolled in an 18-footer for birdie on the par-3 4th hole, then picked up steam with a 25-foot putt a hole later. His approach from a fairway bunker landed inside 5 feet for a third straight birdie.

After a birdie putt inside 10 feet on the seventh, Gay closed the stretch with another sizeable putt of 20 feet to reach 10 under.

Gay had a chance from 15 feet away on the ninth hole to keep things going, but settled for par.

He was well shy of the PGA Tour mark of eight straight birdies, accomplished many times. Last year, champion Boo Weekley and Jay Williamson each had streaks of five consecutive birdies at Harbour Town.

Gay made his only bogey on the 10th hole, then parred in to hold on to the lead.

He’s had his struggles here, missing the cut six times in his nine previous trips. And Gay felt as challenged Friday with the swirling winds, despite his charge.

“Heck, I was as surprised as anybody” about his birdie run, he said.

Gay led a strong, if not stellar field, as many of the world’s best players took the week off to recuperate after the Masters.

Green jacket winner Angel Cabrera took a break as did Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. In all, just six of the top 20 ranked golfers teed it up here.

Champions Tour

LUTZ, Fla. – Larry Nelson shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-shot lead over Nick Price after the first round of the Outback Pro-Am on Friday.

Nelson got going with a chip-in for par at No. 13 at the Champions Tour event at TPC Tampa Bay. He then had birdies at Nos. 16, 1, 3 and 8.

The last time the 61-year-old Nelson held first place outright was at the SAS Championship in September 2001. The last time the three-time major winner had a 65 was more than two years ago.

Price, who also has won three majors, started off with a bogey at 12, but then birdied No. 13.

China Open

BEIJING – South Korea’s Choi Ho-sung shot a 4-under 68 to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the China Open.

Choi was at 6-under 138, ahead of overnight leader Markus Brier of Austria, who followed a first-round 67 with a 73. Brier is tied for second with Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat (71).

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Alex Cejka wants to stay healthy this season. Playing his best golf wouldn’t hurt, either.

Cejka, who missed more than three months last year because of neck surgery, shot his best round in nearly two years, a 7-under 64, to take a one-stroke lead at the Verizon Heritage on Thursday.

His bogey-free performance was capped by a 47-foot putt for birdie on the difficult, wind-swept 17th hole. That left Cejka with his first first-round lead since 2006, a shot ahead of two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen and two in front of last year’s Masters winner, Trevor Immelman.

“Just hopefully, everything stays well and I get healthy and practice hard,” he said.

Cejka felt pain at the British Open last summer.

Over the next month, he lost most of his strength on his left side. The diagnosis was a pinched nerve that required surgery last September to fuse vertebrae in his neck.

He played sparingly until this season and his early results were not great, missing the cut three times in his first seven events.

Things perked up in March with a pair of 13th-place finishes at The Honda Classic and the Puerto Rico Open. The recovery took its biggest step yet at Harbour Town Golf Links.

He says he’s about 85 percent healthy, but was pleased to manage Harbour Town’s tiny, quick greens and narrow, tree-lined fairways.

“You’ve got to be a little bit lucky on the small greens and stuff to hit them all,” Cejka said. “But I hit good shots today.”

Cejka’s round took off on the back nine with four birdies on his last seven holes. He made a 37-footer for birdie on No. 12, then punched from under a tree to 15 feet on the 13th hole for another birdie. Another 15-foot birdie putt came on the par-5 15th before Cejka’s shot two holes later.

He was thinking lag up for a par. “Then I hit a good putt a little bit firm and just hit the hole right in the middle,” Cejka said with a smile.

Janzen, who won the U.S. Open in 1993 and 1998, posted his lowest opening round of the season. He had a chip for birdie on his final hole, the ninth, that stopped a foot short of the cup.

“It looked like it was going in the hole, but never got there,” he said.

China Open

BEIJING – Austria’s Markus Brier shot a 5-under 67 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Volvo China Open.

Brier, the 2007 champion, made seven birdies against two bogeys at the par 72, 7,321-yard Beijing CBD International Golf Club, keeping him just ahead of Australian David McKenzie and Nick Dougherty of England.

Sponsor Ping will do replica of club used at Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tiger Woods has his Sunday red. Angel Cabrera prefers yellow.

Cabrera wore the same color shirt when he won the U.S. Open at Oakmont two years ago, and it was his color of choice when he won his two biggest tournaments on the European Tour – the Benson & Hedges in 2002 and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in 2005.

It blended nicely with Masters Green, the official color of the jacket at Augusta National.

But with green also comes gold.

Ping Golf, which has sponsored the Argentine for 15 years, has a tradition of giving a solid gold version of the putter used in major championship victories. This will be Cabrera’s second gold putter.

Ping founder Karsten Solheim long ago built a vault to store gold-plated replicas of every putter used in a tour victory, with the player also getting a gold-plated putter.

When his son, John Solheim, took over as president in 1995, he put his own touch on tradition by awarding every major champion (male and female) a solid gold putter.

Ping spokesman Pete Samuels said the cost depends on the type of putter and the cost of gold.

As for shipping costs?

“We usually hand deliver those,” he said with a laugh.

That Cabrera would get a solid gold putter only makes sense for his Masters victory.

Asked about the key shot that won him the U.S. Open, Cabrera was adamant that it was his driver, particularly the tee shot on the 18th hole at Oakmont that set up a safe par on a daunting hole. He won by one shot over Tiger Woods and ex-Arizona Wildcat Jim Furyk.

Augusta National has its own tradition of asking the Masters champion to donate one club he found the most significant in victory.

“It has to be the putter,” said his caddie, Ruben “Gordo” Yorio.

Cabrera got into the playoff with a nervy 4-footer on the 18th hole, then made an 8-footer to save par on the 18th again to stay alive in the playoff. Easily overlooked is the putt that made all this possible – an 18-footer for birdie on No. 16 after Kenny Perry nearly made a hole-in-one to seemingly take control of the Masters.

<h4>Taking it on the chin </h4>

The Milwaukee Brewers' Rickie Weeks gets hit in the face by a pitch from the Cincinnati Reds' Edinson Volquez during Monday's game in Milwaukee. He remained in the game.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Here’s the thing about losing in golf.

You can’t blame the referees. You can’t blame the replay official. You can’t blame the bullpen or the pass protection or the goalie or the offensive coordinator.

At least in tennis you can blame the opponent. Maybe he has a great serve and that’s what caused all the trouble, but who gets served a putt? The ball sits there, you hit it. If it doesn’t go to the right place, everyone looks at you-know-who.

It’s an organization of one. The caddie carries the bag, but you carry the burden.

This is why golfers often make the most intriguing losers. In a culture where personal accountability went out with phone booths – disappointment or failure is always somebody else’s fault – the buck still stops with them.

Which brings us to the runner-up in the 2009 Masters. Grace, thy name is Kenny Perry.

He might not have a green jacket hanging in a locker at Augusta National Golf Club, and next year on the night of the Masters champions’ dinner, he might be eating at McDonald’s. But he gets a star on the also-ran walk of fame.

There’s another other thing about golf. Sometimes the loser gets remembered more than the winner. Greg Norman’s Sunday Masters disaster in 1996 is legend. But, uh, who won?

(Time’s up. Nick Faldo).

We know what winners in our team sports are supposed to do. They pour champagne on one another. They ride in a parade. They go to Disney World. They say something like, “Nobody gave us any respect. Nobody expected us to be here except the people in that locker room.”

We have never really decided how we want the second-place finishers to act. Complain, and they’re sore losers. Cry, and there is a question about poise. Laugh, and maybe they just didn’t care enough. Shift the blame, and they’re making excuses.

In Kenny Perry’s doctrine on how to act when it feels like you’ve had your heart ripped out with a 7-iron, you shake the other man’s hand and tell the world you’re proud of him.

You count your blessings and remind everyone that a lot of people out there are struggling, and you just picked up a bundle for four days of golf, so save the sympathy for someone who needs it.

And then you go to call your mother – the one fighting cancer.

Most amazingly, you set an all-time course record for candor, discussing why maybe you didn’t win in the end: “Great players make it happen, and your average players don’t. And so that’s the way it is.”

Let’s see how that translates to other sports.

October. The Red Sox beat the Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series when Derek Jeter strikes out with bases loaded in the ninth.

Jeter afterward: “I am proud of Jonathan Papelbon.”

Huh?

June. The Lakers win the NBA title when Kobe Bryant scores 47 points. The poor slob assigned to guard him is asked his reaction.

“A great player scores, and an average player can’t stop him. And so that’s the way it is.”

Probably not.

In Perry’s case, this was maturity talking. The nation is divided into two camps – those who remember black-and-white television and those who don’t. Perry, pushing 49, is the former. It is so rare to see a man as close to winning a major golf championship as he is to qualifying for the seniors’ discount at Krispy Kreme.

So he gave a lesson last weekend. Maybe not on how to play No. 18 on Sunday at the Masters, but how a man carries himself.

The next time I see a college basketball coach spend half the game raging at the officials . . . or a sullen star explode over some imagined slight . . . or a millionaire athlete talk about how the new contract for a lousy $10 million is an insult . . . I am going to think of Kenny Perry.

Sometimes a great player makes it happen and an average player makes us think. That’s the way it is.

Snyder remembered

PHOENIX – Bruce Snyder made a positive impact on many players over his 20-year college coaching career.

The former Arizona State University football coach died at his Phoenix home at age 69 Monday.

Snyder coached the Sun Devils from 1992-2000. His 1996 team went 11-0 in the regular season before a last-minute 20-17 loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

Snyder also was the coach at Utah State from 1976-82 and California from 1987-91. His overall record was 126-105-5. At Arizona State, Snyder was 58-47, second only to Frank Kush for victories with the Sun Devils.

He was an assistant coach for the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams from 1983-86.

“He was a guy that helped a lot of us kids grow up, especially myself,” said Keith Poole, a wide receiver on that 1996 team. “It was my first time away from home and he basically took over as a father. He taught you how to be tough. He didn’t have any soft love. You learned to respect him for that.”

Snyder, who left coaching after he was fired by Arizona State in 2000, was diagnosed with cancer last June.

Snyder’s 1996 team, which upset two-time defending national champion and then-No. 1 Nebraska 19-0, had Jake Plummer at quarterback and Pat Tillman at linebacker.

Plummer went on to quarterback the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos. Tillman played safety for the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, then quit the sport to join the Army Rangers. He was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004.

Other players on that squad who went on to play in the NFL included Poole, Juan Roque, Lenzie Jackson, Grey Ruegamer, Steve Bush, Derrick Rodgers, Derek Smith and Jason Simmons.

“He taught us how to care for each other,” Poole said.

The Associated Press

Thomas could go to FIU

MIAMI – Isiah Thomas is on the verge of starting his coaching career over at Florida International.

The former New York Knicks coach is deliberating whether to take over FIU’s basketball program, a person with knowledge of the school’s search told The Associated Press on Monday.

Thomas became the Knicks’ president in 2003, their coach in 2006 and was fired in 2008.

The Associated Press

Johnson wins run event

Former Washington State University star Ian Johnson won his second consecutive Catalina State Park Trail Run event Saturday.

Johnson won in 1 hour, 7 minutes, 26 seconds in the 10.75-mile run. He was the winner in last fall’s Everyone Runs event in 1:09.91. Kari Distefano was the women’s division winner in 1:19:42. In the 5.5-mile run, winners were Sheldon Degenhardt (35:41) and Cristine Peerenboom (39:31).

Citizen Staff Report

NUMBER OF THE DAY: 2,682

Career hits by Ken Griffey Jr., the most of any active player. Other leaders:

Omar Vizquel 2,659

Gary Sheffield 2,615

Ivan Rodriguez 2,610

Derek Jeter 2,541

Alex Rodriguez 2,404

Manny Ramirez 2,398

Garrett Anderson 2,370

Chipper Jones 2,285

QUOTABLE

‘He was very genuine. It was not an act. He never changed. He liked to have a good time.’

ALAN TRAMMELL,

Former Tigers player, on Mark “>

———

ON THIS DATE

1948: The Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup in four games as they beat the Detroit Red Wings 7-2.

1962: Elgin Baylor of Los Angeles scores a record 61 points to lead the Lakers to a 126-121 triumph over the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals.

1968: Bob Goalby wins the Masters when Roberto de Vincenzo of Argentina is penalized for signing an incorrect scorecard.

1985: Bernhard Langer beats Curtis Strange, Ray Floyd and Seve Ballesteros by two strokes to win the Masters.

———

SPORTS SOUND-OFF

Recruit Hill will be better off at UA

• Tim Floyd was stupid to turn down the Arizona job. Was a blessing for UA, though. Miller is a better coach and recruiter. Floyd and his boys will always be second banana in the L.A. basin. BOB BEAR

• Come back to UA, Solomon. It’s a far superior basketball school and coach Miller will get you ready for the NBA. PAKRZ

• Wait till Solomon meets with Floyd. He then will see that Miller is just a better person in general as far as caring for the person in the long run. RANDALLPINK

AUGUSTA, Ga. – This is the way it is supposed to be . . .

We stand at No. 18 on Sunday at the Masters. You hear thunder on the horizon, but no clouds in the sky. The roars of Augusta. Something special is happening.

Somewhere out there, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have lit a bonfire at the Masters, playing together, clawing up the leader board together . . . Mickelson is blowing through the front side with six birdies and only 30 strokes, Woods with a 33. The gap they face is closing by the minute, from seven strokes to four to one.

You can feel their momentum, see it, hear it.

Then they blink.

The cheers for the giants suddenly turn to gasps, when Woods bogeys the last two holes, turning into the un-Tiger. And groans when Mickelson hits into the water on No. 12, then misses a short eagle putt on No. 15, a short birdie putt on No. 17. Suddenly, he can’t read a putt.

“We were both more concerned about trying to make birdies to catch the leaders than what each other was doing,” Mickelson says later.

“I fought my swing all day, and just kind of Band-Aided around, and almost won the tournament with a Band-Aid swing,” Woods says later.

In the end, the roars would be for someone else.

This is the way it is supposed to be . . .

Before someone wins a memorable Masters, usually someone else has to lose it.

CBS is so enraptured with the Mickelson-Woods drama, you sometimes wonder if leader Kenny Perry has been kidnapped. But no, there he is every so often. Same facial expression. Calm amidst a Sunday storm.

He loses the lead but takes it back with a birdie on No. 15, then hits a shot to within a foot and birdies No. 16. Two strokes ahead with three holes to go.

Get the green jacket ready. He has had two bogeys in 54 holes. At 48, he is about to become the oldest winner of a major ever.

Then he bogeys No. 17 . . . and No. 18, just short on a 15-foot putt to win . . . and the second hole of the playoff.

“I’m not going to feel sorry,” he says later. “If this is the worst thing that happens to me, I can live with it.”

He mentions a 3-putt on No. 13 that cost him a birdie. He mentions how when he gets nervous, his right hand “wants to shoot a little bit, and I can’t calm it down.”

He mentions the putt on No. 18 to win that was barely meek enough to cost him history.

“I’ve seen so many people make that putt,” he says, disappointed he did not at least get the ball to the cup. “How many chances do you get to win the Masters?”

Not many when you’re 48.

“Our game’s a tough mental game. It plays a lot with your head out there.”

This is the way it is supposed to be . . .

Every green jacket should have a saga.

On a day Angel Cabrera nearly shanks a shot on No. 8, he wins the Masters.

On a day he drives behind a tree on the first playoff hole, then has his next shot bounce off another tree and onto the fairway, Angel Cabrera wins the Masters.

Forty-one years after Argentina’s Roberto De Vicenzo suffered one of golf’s most infamous calamities when he signed an erroneous Masters scorecard to be disqualified from a playoff, his countryman finishes the job.

“It’s not going to change what happened to him,” Cabrera says through a translator. “But to take this major back to Argentina is going to mean a lot, I hope, to help our game.”

The last few holes have a frantic quality to them. Cabrera won the 2007 U.S. Open and understands the battle with one’s own pounding heart.

“At this stage of the tournament, any player who says he is not nervous is not human,” he says.

Somewhere, De Vicenzo has to be proud of him. Know who else is? Kenny Perry.

“He was fighting just as hard as I was,” sad Perry said.

The sun sets on a Sunday that brings drama from the young and the old, and leaves an enchanted winner, while others wonder how it slipped away.

“This is the Masters,” the new champion says. “A lot of magical things happen.”

The way it is supposed to be, on this Sunday, is the way it is.

Argentinian shrugs off poor playoff start to win

Former Masters champion Trevor Immelman (left) of South Africa shakes hands with 2009 Masters winner Angel Cabrera of Argentina before presenting him with his the green jacket at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., on Sunday.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The cheers came from every corner of Augusta National, the kind of mayhem that had been missing at the Masters.

The last one was for Angel Cabrera, a most unlikely champion.

He heard the roars for Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, a supercharged duel that was pure theater. Cabrera never lost hope when a roar rattled the pines after Kenny Perry got within inches of an ace on the 16th hole to build a two-shot lead with two holes to play.

“It’s a course that you can do a lot of birdies, a lot of bogeys,” Cabrera said through an interpreter. “A lot of magical things happen. It’s simply the Masters.”

Perry, a 48-year-old on the verge of becoming golf’s oldest champion, had gone 22 consecutive holes without a bogey until he dropped shots on each of the last two holes for a 71 to force a three-man playoff that included Chad Campbell.

Cabrera, who also shot 71, looked like the odd man out when his tee shot on the first playoff hole landed behind a Georgia pine, and his 4-iron struck another one. But he managed to scratch out a par with a sand wedge to 8 feet and a pressure-packed putt.

When luck turned against Perry on the second extra hole – a splotch of mud on his ball in the fairway that led to a bogey – Cabrera made a routine par to become the first Argentine in a green jacket.

At No. 69 in the world, he became the lowest-ranked player to win the Masters since the world ranking began in 1986.

“This is a great moment, the dream of any golfer to win the Masters,” Cabrera said during the green jacket ceremony. “I’m so emotional I can barely talk.”

Ditto for the 30,000 fans who witnessed this stunning show.

“I think I lost my hearing on a few holes, they were screaming so loud,” Perry said.

He also lost the tournament.

Perry bladed a chip across the 17th green for one bogey, then hit into a bunker on the 18th hole and narrowly missed a 15-foot par putt that would have brought him the major championship he covets.

But he was gracious as ever, clapping for Cabrera when he holed an 8-foot putt for his unlikely par to stay in the playoff. And even in defeat, it was hard not to appreciate the give-and-take nature that was restored at the Masters.

“I may never get this opportunity ever again, but I had a lot of fun being in there,” Perry said. “I had the tournament to win. I lost the tournament. But Angel hung in there. I was proud of him.”

Two years after winning the U.S. Open at Oakmont, Cabrera became the sixth player this decade to win multiple majors.

Campbell finished with a 69 to join the playoff at 12-under 276, but he was eliminated on the first extra hole when he found a bunker from the middle of the 18th fairway, then watched his 6-foot par putt lip out of the hole.

It was his second close call in a major. Six years ago at the PGA Championship, Campbell was one shot behind on the 18th hole at Oak Hill when Shaun Micheel hit a 7-iron to 2 inches.

“I just got beat by a better shot,” Campbell said. “And today, I kind of blew it myself. I hit bad shots.”

The final hour was almost enough to make a dizzy gallery forget about the Woods-Mickelson fireworks hours earlier.

For those who feared Augusta National had become too tough, too dull and far too quiet, the roars returned in a big way. Mickelson and Woods played together in a final round of a major for the first time in eight years, and they proved to be the best undercard in golf.

Mickelson tied a Masters record with a 30 on the front nine to get into contention. Woods chased him around Amen Corner, then caught him with three birdies in a four-hole stretch that captured the imagination of thousands of fans who stood a dozen deep in spots for a view.

But it ended with a thud.

Mickelson lost his momentum with a 9-iron into Rae’s Creek on the par-3 12th, and when he missed a 4-foot eagle putt and a 5-foot birdie putt down the stretch. He had to settle for a 67 that left him three shots behind.

Woods bogeyed the last two holes for a 68 to finish another shot back.

———

FINAL LEADER BOARD

x-Angel Cabrera 68-68-69-71—276

Chad Campbell 65-70-72-69—276

Kenny Perry 68-67-70-71—276

Shingo Katayama 67-73-70-68—278

Phil Mickelson 73-68-71-67—279

x – won in playoff

Shingo Katayama of Japan bows to the gallery as he walks up the 18th fairway during the final round of the Masters on Sunday.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Shingo Katayama made sure he will be back next year after earning a fourth-place finish Sunday, equaling the best showing ever by a Japanese player in the Masters.

Toshi Izawa tied for fourth in 2001.

“I’ve never had this experience of the decision being made at this early time,” said Katayama, 36. “Usually, it comes in December.”

Katayama, ranked No. 39, qualified by ending 2008 among the top 50 in the world rankings.

Katayama shot 68 to finish 10 under par, two strokes out of a playoff that saw Angel Cabrera beat Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in two extra holes.

Katayama has played in The Masters eight times, but he had never had a top-10 finish before this year. His previous best finish in a major was a tie for fourth in the 2001 PGA Championship.

He said he feels about the same in competition, whether playing on the PGA Tour or in Japan, where he has 26 career wins.

“I’m playing the same way,” he said, “just chasing the leaders.”

Ready to return

John Merrick said playing in his first Masters was a thrill, but next year might be better.

He shot 66 Sunday to share sixth place at 8 under, guaranteeing a return trip to Augusta National in 2010.

“I can’t wait to tee it up again,” he said.

Merrick, 27, who also tied for sixth at the 2008 U.S. Open, said experience might be overplayed at Augusta National.

“You pretty much know what you have to do,” he said. “You have to execute good shots. I did that this week.”

So long, Big Three

When the 2010 Masters is staged next April, one of the select group of Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus will not be in the field for the first time since 1954.

Player ended the era of what became known as The Big Three on Friday when he missed the cut after a record 52 years in the tournament.

His retirement from competition at Augusta National followed Palmer’s in 2004, after playing 50 consecutive years, and Nickalus’ in ’05 after 45 years.

“I’ll never forget this as long as I live,” Player said Friday after receiving a loud ovation as he played his last round.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Here’s the thing about losing in golf.

You can’t blame the referees. You can’t blame the replay official. You can’t blame the bullpen or the pass protection or the goalie or the offensive coordinator.

At least in tennis you can blame the opponent. Maybe he has a great serve and that’s what caused all the trouble, but who gets served a putt? The ball sits there, you hit it. If it doesn’t go to the right place, everyone looks at you-know-who.

It’s an organization of one. The caddie carries the bag, but you carry the burden.

This is why golfers often make the most intriguing losers. In a culture where personal accountability went out with phone booths – disappointment or failure is always somebody else’s fault – the buck still stops with them.

Which brings us to the runner-up in the 2009 Masters. Grace, thy name is Kenny Perry.

He might not have a green jacket hanging in a locker at Augusta National Golf Club, and next year on the night of the Masters champions’ dinner, he might be eating at McDonald’s. But he gets a star on the also-ran walk of fame.

There’s another other thing about golf. Sometimes the loser gets remembered more than the winner. Greg Norman’s Sunday Masters disaster in 1996 is legend. But, uh, who won?

(Time’s up. Nick Faldo).

We know what winners in our team sports are supposed to do. They pour champagne on one another. They ride in a parade. They go to Disney World. They say something like, “Nobody gave us any respect. Nobody expected us to be here except the people in that locker room.”

We have never really decided how we want the second-place finishers to act. Complain, and they’re sore losers. Cry, and there is a question about poise. Laugh, and maybe they just didn’t care enough. Shift the blame, and they’re making excuses.

In Kenny Perry’s doctrine on how to act when it feels like you’ve had your heart ripped out with a 7-iron, you shake the other man’s hand and tell the world you’re proud of him.

You count your blessings and remind everyone that a lot of people out there are struggling, and you just picked up a bundle for four days of golf, so save the sympathy for someone who needs it.

And then you go to call your mother – the one fighting cancer.

Most amazingly, you set an all-time course record for candor, discussing why maybe you didn’t win in the end: “Great players make it happen, and your average players don’t. And so that’s the way it is.”

Let’s see how that translates to other sports.

October. The Red Sox beat the Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series when Derek Jeter strikes out with bases loaded in the ninth.

Jeter afterward: “I am proud of Jonathan Papelbon.”

Huh?

June. The Lakers win the NBA title when Kobe Bryant scores 47 points. The poor slob assigned to guard him is asked his reaction.

“A great player scores, and an average player can’t stop him. And so that’s the way it is.”

Probably not.

In Perry’s case, this was maturity talking. The nation is divided into two camps – those who remember black-and-white television and those who don’t. Perry, pushing 49, is the former. It is so rare to see a man as close to winning a major golf championship as he is to qualifying for the seniors’ discount at Krispy Kreme.

So he gave a lesson last weekend. Maybe not on how to play No. 18 on Sunday at the Masters, but how a man carries himself.

The next time I see a college basketball coach spend half the game raging at the officials … or a sullen star explode over some imagined slight … or a millionaire athlete talk about how the new contract for a lousy $10 million is an insult … I am going to think of Kenny Perry.

Sometimes a great player makes it happen and an average player makes us think. That’s the way it is.

"I've had a great career, and I'd be very satisfied if it ended today," said Kenny Perry, who shares the lead with Chad Campbell after the second round at the Masters on Friday. ". . . But Dad has always said, 'You need to win that green jacket.' He always calls me and tells me."

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Kenny Perry thought nothing could top an emotional embrace with his 85-year-old father in their native Kentucky seven months ago as a Ryder Cup hero dressed in red, white and blue.

How about the oldest man to slip on a green jacket?

On a blustery Friday at the Masters that featured a record number of birdies and eagles, the 48-year-old Perry grabbed a share of the 36-hole lead with Chad Campbell by playing what he called one of the best rounds of his career.

No one as old as Perry has ever won a major championship.

Perry has never so much as finished in the top 10 at Augusta National.

“I’ve had a great career, and I’d be very satisfied if it ended today,” he said. “The Ryder Cup, I can’t express to y’all how much that meant to me. That was the ultimate of anything I have ever, ever been a part of or accomplished, be it any of my 13 wins.

“But Dad has always said, ‘You need to win that green jacket.’ He always calls me and tells me.”

Now, even Perry is starting to believe.

He is equipped with a new driver that makes him feel he can hit any fairway. He has a 64-degree sand wedge that has taken the edge off the scary chips around the green. He is confident bending over every putt.

“Obviously last year, he showed what he can do when he gets on a roll,” Campbell said. “He’s definitely going to be tough to beat.”

Augusta National was tougher than the opening round, but even with tougher pins and gusts that swirled through Amen Corner and lasted deep into the afternoon, the fireworks were just as endless.

Campbell got off to another solid start and finished with a 25-foot birdie for a 70, sharing the lead with Perry at 9-under 135. They had a one-shot lead over former U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera, who had a 68.

Anthony Kim set a tournament record with 11 birdies on his way to a 65 – 10 shots better than his first round – to get into contention in his Masters debut. Phil Mickelson was on the verge of missing the cut until he played his last seven holes in 5 under for a 68. Sergio Garcia shot a 67, the first time he has broken par at the Masters in five years.

There were a record 17 eagles in the second round, breaking by two the mark set in 1997.

Tiger Woods couldn’t join this parade of birdies and eagles for the second straight day. All three of his birdies were followed by bogeys, and his 72 left him seven shots behind. Woods has never won a major when trailing by more than six shots after 36 holes.

“It was just tough all round,” said Woods, who headed straight for the practice range.

Maybe for him, but not for the 25 players who managed to break par.

It was tough on Gary Player, Fuzzy Zoeller and Greg Norman for other reasons.

Player completed his remarkable career at the Masters by competing for the 52nd and final time. The 73-year-old South African, who won three green jackets, knelt before reaching the 18th green and clasped his hands to thank the gallery.

Zoeller also is calling it quits after an Augusta National career remembered for winning the first sudden-death playoff at the Masters in 1979, and for his racially insensitive comments after Woods won in 1997.

The return of the Shark lasted only two days. Norman shot 40 on the back nine for a 77 to miss the cut by two shots in what likely will be his last time playing the Masters, 22 years without ever getting upstairs to the champions’ locker room.

Is there room up there for a 48-year-old from Kentucky?

“Everything is a bonus now, it really is,” Perry said. “I’m just going through each and every day enjoying life a little bit. I think I can win. I’m not going out there very casually. I’m burning inside, wanting to kick everybody’s butt.”

Tiger Woods slumps after missing a birdie putt on the 17th hole during the second round of the Masters on Friday. Woods shot a 72 to trail the leaders by seven.

Fuzzy Zoeller hugs his caddie and daughter Gretchen at the end of his second round of the Masters.

———

MASTERS LEADERBOARD

Chad Campbell 65-70—135 (-7)

Kenny Perry 68-67—135 (-7)

Angel Cabrera 68-68—136 (-6)

Todd Hamilton 68-70—138 (-4)

Tim Clark 68-71—139 (-5)