Golf

I would argue that Tiger Woods is the most recognizable athlete on the planet. Sure, more people might know the name "Michael Jordan" or "Brett Favre" but I firmly believe that 90 percent of the world's population who get a chance to see Tiger immediately recognize him. (Does that make sense? No? Moving on...)

Anyway, he was introduced at halftime of the Stanford-Cal game Saturday (he's a Stanford alum), when Cal fans decided to boo him. Tiger appeared rattled at first (ostensibly looking around for Mr. Weekley) before recovering and claiming that the Cardinal would take care of business in the second half.

Here's the difference between European Tour players and America's programmed PGA Tour robots.

Englishman Lee Westwood shot a final-round, course-record, 8-under 64 Sunday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to not only claim a six-shot tournament victory in the Dubai World Championship but also overtake Rory McIlroy on the season-long money list.

The veteran won $1.25 for the tournament title and another $1.5 for the year-long bonus.

Even more satisfying for Westwood, he did it by pulling his game out of a recent slump.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Lee Westwood of England became Europe's No. 1 golfer on Sunday after winning the Dubai World Championship by six strokes.

Westwood shot a course-record 8-under 64 in the final round at the Earth Course to finish at 23-under 265.

He earned $1.25 million with the 31st victory of his career to overtake Rory McIlroy on the season-long money list and win the European Tour's first Race to Dubai since it changed from the European Order of Merit.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Lee Westwood maintained his two-shot lead at the Dubai World Championships after shooting a 6-under 66 Saturday in the third round.

The Englishman made six birdies to take his total to 15-under 201. England's Ross McGowan was second after a 66.
Westwood opened up a five-shot advantage over Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, his only remaining rival for the Race to Dubai.

Should he win both titles, Westwood will receive $2.75 million and become Europe's No. 1 player for the first time since 2000.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Lee Westwood shot a 3-under 69 Friday to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Dubai World Championship, strengthening his chance of winning the European money title.

The English golfer could pick up two big prizes on Sunday. If he wins the last tournament of the European Tour season, he will receive $1.25 million in prize money -- plus a $1.5 million bonus for winning the Race to Dubai money prize.

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, the leader of the money race going into the tournament, also shot a 69. He was one of six players tied for second place at 7 under, two shots behind Westwood.

The others are Ireland's Padraig Harrington, England's Ross McGowan, Australia's Robert Allenby, South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen and Colombia's Camilo Villegas.
Westwood is confident of winning both prizes.

RICHMOND, Texas (AP) -- Sophie Gustafson moved within two shots of leader Lorena Ochoa at the LPGA Tour Championship on Friday before second-round play was suspended because of bad weather.

Rain swamped the Houstonian Golf and Country Club before dawn and the start of the second round was pushed back six hours. The tournament resumed at 1 p.m., but light rain started falling about two hours later and play was halted for the day at 5:05 p.m. with darkness approaching.

Ochoa didn't play on Friday after shooting a 6-under 66 early Thursday. She will start her second round at daybreak Saturday.

RICHMOND, Texas (AP) -- Michelle Wie is gone, putting all the attention on Lorena Ochoa's player of the year fight with Jiyai Shin at the LPGA Tour Championship.

Wie withdrew from the season-ending event Thursday because of a sprained left ankle, hours after Ochoa shot a 6-under 66 to take a one-shot lead over Reilley Rankin.

The 20-year-old Wie, fresh off her first LPGA Tour victory last week at Ochoa's tournament in Mexico, shot a 72 in the afternoon. She limped through her round on the gimpy ankle that she sprained during the Solheim Cup in August, went for treatment afterward and withdrew about an hour later.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Robert Allenby shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday for a one-shot lead after the first round of the Dubai World Championship, while Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy kept up their battle for the European Tour money title.

Allenby, a 38-year-old Australian who plays mainly on the PGA tour, had eight birdies and only one bogey on the Earth Course, which is hosting the $7.5-million final event of the European Tour season.

Allenby was one shot ahead of England's Westwood, Chris Woods and Colombian Camilo Villegas, who all shot 6-under 66s.

The LPGA just outsourced its season.

Twenty-four events are on next year's incredibly shrinking LPGA schedule and 11 of them will be played on foreign soil, including the season opener in Thailand.

There also are tournaments in Singapore, France, Japan, England, Canada and Mexico.

One bonus: The U.S. Women's Open stays here.

Founded in 1950, the LPGA is the longest continuous-running professional women's sports organization in American history, but its future -- obituary? -- will be written in foreign dialect. Why? Because if selling women's golf in the land of the free and home of the NFL seemed difficult before, the LPGA hasn't seen nothing yet.

Rickie Fowler's dramatic play over the final month of the PGA Tour season makes him the player most likely to be watched through the offseason's qualifying progresses.

Fowler, 20, did not turn professional until late summer, but the former top-ranked amateur out of Oklahoma State, took advantage of three sponsor's exemptions to earn $571,090 in those three tries, a number that would have placed him No. 136 on the year's money list.

After finishing seventh and runner-up in his first two events, a strong performance at the Children's Miracle Network Classic could have put Fowler into an exclusive group of past players -- Tiger Woods is one of them -- to avoid qualifying school by finishing among the top 125 money winners as a non-member.