Rory McIlroy grabs lead at U.S. Open

BETHESDA, Md. -- So much for those scars from Augusta National, where Rory McIlroy turned watershed victory into humiliating defeat with a final-round, dead-man-walking 80.

If blowing a four-shot lead at the Masters was supposed to deflate the 22-year-old wunderkind from Northern Ireland, he obviously didn't get the message.

Playing the kind of brilliant golf that had Ernie Els gushing earlier this week about the kid's potential to "change history," McIlroy shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 in the first round of the 111th U.S. Open on Thursday.

While playing partners Phil Mickelson (74) and Dustin Johnson (75) hit it all over the lot, McIlroy was a study in clinical precision, hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation at Congressional Country Club and making three birdies on each nine. It was like watching two Double-A pitchers trying to throw strikes and Sandy Koufax painting the black.

"All you're trying to concentrate on is your own game," McIlroy said. "It's a major championship, and the toughest major championship of them all is the U.S. Open. You can't let any other thoughts get in your head. You're just trying to concentrate entirely on your game and trying to get that ball around the course in as few strokes as possible."

McIlroy took a three-shot lead over Y.E. Yang of South Korea and Charl Schwartzel, the South African who took advantage of McIlroy's collapse to win the Masters in April.

The three-shot cushion is the largest first-round lead at the Open since 1976, when amateur Mike Reid led four players by three shots.

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Tiger Woods apologizes, fined for spitting incident

Woods fined after spitting on green: Tiger Woods apologized after he was fined an undisclosed sum by the European Tour on Monday for spitting on the green during the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic.

The tour said in a statement that tournament director Mike Stewart reviewed the matter and "feels there has been a breach of the tour code of conduct."

"The Euro Tour is right — it was inconsiderate to spit like that and I know better," Woods said on Twitter. "Just wasn't thinking and want to say I'm sorry."

The tour would not give the amount of the fine but it is probably between $400 and $16,000 for a minor breach.

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Tiger Woods: Best effort on course 'not what it used to be'

Tiger Woods offered the first meaningful glimpse into his lost season on the course, telling Golf Channel the strain from last winter's sex scandal and subsequent divorce talks zapped him of his renowned focus.

"Giving my all was not what it used to be," Woods said in an exclusive sitdown that aired Wednesday night. "I couldn't dial it into focus and … get my body to do what needed to be done at that particular time. That was frustrating."

But despite a winless run that's gone a full 12 months for the first time since turning pro, the former No. 1 golfer preferred to label his 2010 season "great" for his personal growth away from the fairways.

"To deal with all the things I had to deal with, it made me a better person," he said. "That's far more important than winning major championships."

Woods tees it up Thursday in the Chevron World Challenge, an 18-man event he hosts every year in Southern California. If he doesn't win, it'll mark his first calendar year without victory since his junior days.

On the other hand, he also has a chance to regain the No. 1 ranking this week. If he prevails at Sherwood Country Club and Lee Westwood finishes outside the top two at the 12-man Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, they will swap spots.

"It's a process of building," Woods said. "Through all of this, people forget I'm implementing a whole new golf swing."

Woods is less than four months under the tutelage of Sean Foley, brought on after longtime swing coach Hank Haney ended their association one day after The Players Championship.

"So it's not just dealing with all the things that happened off the golf course," Woods said, "but tearing down my swing. You add all that in there, and it's not been an easy year."

Asked what his low point might have been, Woods speculated most would guess it was when he finished next-to-last at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational that he previously won seven times.

"But I think it probably happened prior to that," he said. "It was tough to play pretty much the entire summer."

Woods' year began with six weeks of therapy for sex addiction, delaying the start of his season until the Masters. He also could not reconcile his marriage with Elin Nordegren, with a Panama City judge granting their divorce in August.

"It's been difficult," Woods said. "Golf has been secondary. Getting my family situated and moved in the right direction with the new living conditions has been of utmost importance."

Asked if thought he would marry again, Woods responded: "I don't know."

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Tiger Woods not surprised at losing golf's world No 1 spot to Lee Westwood

Tiger Woods says losing his place as golf's world No 1 to England's Lee Westwood had come as no great shock.

Not done enough: Tiger Woods admits a dip in form and lack of victories means his slip down the rankings is not surprise 

 

Westwood's confirmation as the world's best saw him become the first European holder of the No 1 spot since Nick Faldo in 1994 and in turn brought an end to Woods' 281 week reign.But the American, who has endured a turbulent year both on and off the course, said he was not surprised by the news.

 

"As far as the world ranking is concerned, yes, I'm not ranked No 1 in the world," Woods said. "In order to do that you have to win and I didn't win this year."Woods had been No 1 since the week before the 2005 US Open, where he was runner-up. He won the British Open a month later and his ranking was rarely threatened since.That changed this year when Woods struggled through what has without doubt been his worst season. He took a five-month break from golf to cope with confessions of extramarital affairs, which ultimately led to divorce.

Now fully focused on golf, Woods said he was doing his best to adjust to no longer being No 1.
"As far as the emotions go, it is what it is," Woods said. "To become No 1 you have to win and win a lot to maintain it. That's the way it goes."

Westwood is followed in the rankings by Woods, PGA champion Martin Kaymer, Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker but the Briton's place at the top could be short-lived.

The HSBC Championship, which gets under way this Thursday, has assembled such a strong field that Westwood, Woods, Kaymer or Mickelson could all be No 1 by the end of the week.
And with two further events on his schedule, Woods is hopeful he can claw his way back to the top.
"I've got three more events this year and, hopefully, I can end on a good note," he said. "I'm really looking forward to these events and hopefully they will spearhead into a better 2011."
 
Latest Top 20 leading positions:
1 Lee Westwood (Eng) 8.29pts
2 Tiger Woods (USA) 8.13
3 Martin Kaymer (Ger) 7.98
4 Phil Mickelson (USA) 7.83
5 Steve Stricker (USA) 7.20
6 Jim Furyk (USA) 7.09,
7 Paul Casey (Eng) 6.14
8 Luke Donald (Eng) 5.70
9 Rory McIlroy (NIrl) 5.44
10 Graeme McDowell (NIrl) 5.43
11 Matt Kuchar (USA) 5.33
12 Ernie Els (Rsa) 5.13
13 Dustin Johnson (USA) 4.99
14 Ian Poulter (Eng) 4.49
15 Hunter Mahan (USA) 4.48,
16 Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 4.48
17 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 4.25
18 Zach Johnson (USA) 4.06
19 Padraig Harrington (Irl) 4.00
20 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 3.91.