World Golf Championship

On a day of endless drama at Doral, Justin Rose won his first World Golf Championship standing on the practice range. Rose had to make up a three-shot deficit against Bubba Watson, and then a two-shot deficit against Keegan Bradley. Rose was steady down the stretch, even with a bogey from the bunker on the 18th hole, and closed with a 2-under 70 to win the Cadillac Championship. Watson, as always, made it interesting. He hit a bullet of a 4-iron out of the palm trees to just inside 10 feet for a chance to force a playoff.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Two players from different ends of the spectrum each made Augusta National look vulnerable Saturday. Now, Peter Hanson and Phil Mickelson will be paired together for the final round at the Masters. Hanson, making only his second appearance at the year's first major, shot 7-under 65 to take a one-shot lead over Mickelson, who put on a short-game clinic Saturday to land in good position for a fourth green jacket. After his day of precise shot-making ended with an approach to near tap-in range on No. 18 for a birdie, Hanson finished at 9-under 207. Mickelson, meanwhile,...

SHANGHAI - Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson sat across from each other in a mock game of Chinese checkers against the spectacular backdrop of Shanghai’s trendy Bund district. Later, they posed with the HSBC Champions trophy. The world’s best two players have been taking part in plenty of photo opportunities together lately. Only six weeks ago in Atlanta, they shared the spotlight at the Tour Championship when Mickelson won the tournament by three shots over Woods, and Woods hoisted the FedEx Cup trophy.

On a day of endless drama at Doral, Justin Rose won his first World Golf Championship standing on the practice range. Rose had to make up a three-shot deficit against Bubba Watson, and then a two-shot deficit against Keegan Bradley. Rose was steady down the stretch, even with a bogey from the bunker on the 18th hole, and closed with a 2-under 70 to win the Cadillac Championship. Watson, as always, made it interesting. He hit a bullet of a 4-iron out of the palm trees to just inside 10 feet for a chance to force a playoff.

Rory McIlroy was six holes away from winning the Honda Classic and going to No. 1 in the world, an outcome that looked inevitable as he stood on the 13th green Sunday at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. That's when he heard the roar. Even from the farthest corner of the course, McIlroy knew it was for Tiger Woods. And McIlroy could tell by the sheer volume that it was an eagle. "I could hear the huge roar," McIlroy said. "And it definitely wasn't a birdie roar.

Rickie Fowler’s ordinary season came to life Saturday in the AT&T National. On a day in which record scores at Aronimink didn’t last very long, Fowler made six birdies in his opening 10 holes for a 6-under 64 to share the lead with World Golf Championship winner Nick Watney. Watney shot 27 on the back nine and wound up with the course record of 62. That broke the record held for 20 minutes by Steve Marino, who shot a 63. The tournament, however, remains wide open going into the final round Sunday.

Defending champion Luke Donald faces Ernie Els in the first round of the Match Play Championship. Tiger Woods is to play Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano. The seeding for the first World Golf Championship of the year is based on the world ranking released Sunday night. Donald, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westood and Martin Kaymer are the top four seeds. Woods, a three-time winner of the Match Play is the No. 19 seed, the first time he has played this event without being among the top three seeds.

Phil Mickelson is closing in on No. 1. The first step is to make up a one-shot deficit against Retief Goosen, the 36-hole leader yesterday at the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio. Looking more inevitable is Mickelson finally supplanting Tiger Woods atop the world ranking. Goosen shot a 4-under-par 66 that gave him a one-shot lead over Mickelson and Justin Leonard (66) going into the weekend at Firestone. Woods continued to look as ordinary as ever. The seven-time champion at Firestone hit only three fairways and stumbled to a 2-over 72 — the first time he has had consecutive...

AKRON, Ohio -- In the final event before the final major of the year, Tiger Woods buried Rory Sabbatini and the rest of the field yesterday at the Bridgestone Invitational for an eight-shot victory, sending his confidence soaring as he left for Southern Hills and the PGA Championship. "This might just give me a little more confidence," Woods said. He was determined to play the final round without a bogey, just like the US Open at Pebble Beach, and Woods showed more emotion over saving par with a 12-foot putt on the final hole than any of his birdies in his 5-under-par 65. He finished at...

SHANGHAI - Tiger Woods looked out of a conference room above the Shanghai River that was filled with so many photographers and other media that it felt like he was at a major championship. The HSBC Champions is not quite the same as when he first showed up in 2005. In its fifth year, it has gone from a tournament sanctioned by four tours to a World Golf Championship that has attracted its strongest field ever, starting with the best two players in the world. Woods and Phil Mickelson are competing for the first time together in Asia, part of a...

Bubba Watson hit one shot over the green and off the tower. Another shot hit a fan in the gallery. As wild as it looked at time, he never lost control of his game and he never lost the lead Saturday in the Cadillac Championship. Watson raced off to an eagle-birdie start, then survived a few errant shots coming home on the Blue Monster for a 5-under 67, giving him a three-shot lead and putting him on the verge of his first World Golf Championship. "All in all, it was a great day," he said.

Donald Trump has monster plans for his purchase of the Doral Golf Resort. Trump bought the famous golf resort outside Miami for $150 million and said Thursday he plans to invest more than $200 million to revamp the Blue Monster championship course and stop at nothing to make Doral the ultimate golf destination. "It's a tremendous location, 800 acres right smack in the middle of Miami, and we look to make this one of the great places anywhere in the world for golf," Trump said Thursday.

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods are at Doral to build momentum in different ways. McIlroy is the new No. 1 in golf after winning the Honda Classic. He is not concerned with how long he can stay there as much as he is winning the Cadillac Championship in his last tournament before Augusta National. "This is a World Golf Championship, and it's my last event before the Masters," McIlroy said. "I'd love to give myself a chance to win here again this week, and go into that three-week break with a lot of confidence.

Tiger Woods already has left his own mark in world golf. History will decide what it means. The number that defines greatness in golf is 18. It has been that way since 1986, when Jack Nicklaus won his 18th professional major at the Masters. And it will stay that way unless — or until — Woods wins the five more majors he needs to pass him. "While he has been gone for 2 ½ years, these guys who have all learned how to play, or all learned how to win, are probably no longer afraid of Tiger," Nicklaus said.

Rory McIlroy made quite a first impression in America, even when he lost. He made his pro debut on American soil in the Arizona desert at the 2009 Match Play Championship. As a 19-year-old, McIlroy advanced to the quarterfinals and threw everything he had at Geoff Ogilvy until losing on the 17th hole. Ogilvy, who went on to win his third World Golf Championship that week, recalls riding back to the clubhouse with his caddie, Allistair "Squirrel" Matheson, both of them realizing that the landscape was about to change.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Rory McIlroy was six holes away from winning the Honda Classic and going to No. 1 in the world, an outcome that looked inevitable as he stood on the 13th green Sunday at PGA National. That's when he heard the roar. Even from the farthest corner of the course, McIlroy knew it was for Tiger Woods. And McIlroy could tell by the sheer volume that it was an eagle. ‘‘I could hear the huge roar," McIlroy said. ‘‘And it definitely wasn't a birdie roar.

Tiger Woods was alone on the far end of the practice green at The Grove in Chandler's Cross, England, a small village north of London, as daylight faded yesterday, his competition already gone in more ways than one. He rapped three putts at a time, exasperated as each one slid by the cup, listening to coach Hank Haney offer instruction as some 500 fans stood six-deep behind the railing to watch Woods try to fix a balky putting stroke. And this was after he made eagle on the final hole to stretch his lead to six shots in the American Express Championship.

AKRON, Ohio -- The World Golf Championships often include players from faraway outposts who are only recognized by the name on their bag. Marc Cayeux doesn't even have that going for him. "I've never heard of him," Tiger Woods said. "No offense or disrespect at all. I just didn't know who he was. " Woods only noticed his name because they are playing together during the first two rounds of the NEC Invitational, which starts today on the South course at Firestone. To Woods, it will be just another face at another tournament.

Rory McIlroy was six holes away from winning the Honda Classic and going to No. 1 in the world, an outcome that looked inevitable as he stood on the 13th green Sunday at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. That's when he heard the roar. Even from the farthest corner of the course, McIlroy knew it was for Tiger Woods. And McIlroy could tell by the sheer volume that it was an eagle. "I could hear the huge roar," McIlroy said. "And it definitely wasn't a birdie roar.

Miguel Angel Carballo was the second alternate on the eve of the Honda Classic when the Argentine rookie sent out a message to his fans, "I need a miracle. " He wound up getting Tiger Woods. Carballo, a 32-year-old who finally made it onto the PGA Tour this year, was thrust into the spotlight at PGA National on Thursday when Ian Poulter withdrew with an illness and he took his spot in the marquee group of Woods and Lee Westwood, two players formerly No. 1 in the world. It was a day Carballo won't forget, even if he could do without the score.