34
SUN•STAR CEBU
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2004
Woods takes on Rollins in round 1 CARLSBAD, California – Tiger Woods opens his title defense at the World Golf Championships Match Play Championship tomorrow against fellow American John Rollins according to pairings released yesterday. Woods is the top seed
in the Bobby Jones Bracket, from which he won this event last year, defeating compatriot David Toms 2and-1 in the final. Woods could face Japan’s Shigeki Maruyama in the second round, Thomas Bjorn of Denmark in the third round
Daly goes from singin’ to swingin’ LOS ANGELES – John Daly likes to work on writing new songs as he travels between PGA gigs in his $1.3 million motor home. He is the only golfer on the Tour with his own country music CD, called “My Life.” Golf fans can either listen to “All My Ex’s Wear Rolexes”, “Longball Rebel (With a Cause)” or “I’m Drunk (And Broke).” Maybe you could say some of those things about Daly in the past, but the 37-year-old American is singing a new tune on the golf course these days. Daly shot a four-under 67 in the final round of the $4.8 million Nissan Open at the Riviera Country Club to finish at 13-underpar 271 after earlier rounds of 68-64-72. The $230,000 he picked up in fourth-place prize money propelled him over the $1 million mark ($1.13 million) in single-season earnings for the first time POSITIVE TUNES. John in his 15-year career. His best previous year Daly of the US smokes a cigarette during the final round of on the money list was 2001 the Nissan Open. The country when he won $830,000 in singer is playing good tune on 16 tournaments. the golf course these days. The 37-year- old (AFP FOTO) American captured his first American title in a decade last week in San Diego, making a dramatic birdie on the first playoff hole to win the Buick Invitational. “John is a great guy,” said Nissan Open winner Mike Weir. “He has a big heart. Maybe he made some mistakes, some unfortunate choices in life but that doesn’t make him a bad person.” Means a lot Fellow golfer Scott McCarron cancelled a ski trip to the mountains so he could watch Daly win the Buick tournament. “Wasn’t that amazing,” said McCarron. “John Daly means a lot to golf.” Daly, who claims to have lost close to 50 pounds since Christmas, has more ex-wives (three) than he has major championships (two). His fourth wife is facing drug and money-laundering charges. During a rocky 2003, Daly either withdrew or was disqualified from four of seven PGA appearances in one twomonth stretch. During the PGA’s Madison, Mississippi stop in September, Daly needed six putts on one hole. He heads to Tucson for this week’s PGA Chrysler Classic in a much better frame of mind. Daly has a new three-year endorsement deal with Dunlop and his stellar play hasn’t gone unnoticed by United States Ryder Cup captain Hal Sutton. “How could you not want a guy who hits it 325 yards and has his touch around the greens,” said Sutton. “I wouldn’t be surprised by anything. People learn things in life ... I don’t have any doubt he’d be an asset to the US team.” (AFP)
and Toms in the quarterfinals. The $7 million event, which pays $1.2 million to the winner, also features Fiji’s Vijay Singh atop the Gary Player bracket, Canada’s Mike Weir atop the Ben Hogan bracket and Davis Love
American Love to move into a top spot. Singh will open against Japan’s Shingo Katayama while Weir meets former PGA Championship winner Rich Beem, and Love takes on fellow American Briny Baird in the first round.
atop the Sam Snead bracket. Seedings were based on players standing in the World Golf Rankings. South Africa’s Ernie Els is ranked third behind Woods and Singh but decided to skip the event, allowing fifth-ranked
Other notable firstround match-ups in the Snead bracket include second-seed Phil Mickelson against 15th seeded Lee Westwood of England and British Open champion Ben Curtis, a 10th seed, against fellow American Charles Howell. (AFP)
WORLDMATCHPLAYCHAMPIONSHIP First-round
pairings BOBBY
WOODS JONES
BRACKET
Tiger Woods (1) vs. John Rollins (16) Trevor Immelman (RSA) (8) vs. Shigeki Maruyama (JPN) (9) Thomas Bjorn (DEN) (4) vs. Scott Hoch (13) Fredrik Jacobson (SWE) (5) vs. Phillip Price (GBR) (12) David Toms (2) vs. Niclas Fasth (SWE) (15) Paul Casey (GBR) (7) vs. Shaun Micheel (10) Padraig Harrington (IRE) (3) vs. Toshi Izawa (JPN) (14) Scott Verplank (6) vs. Bob Estes (11)
BEN
BRACKET
HOGAN
Mike Weir (CAN) (1) vs. Rich Beem (16) Stephen Leaney (AUS) (8) vs. Fred Funk (9) Nick Price (ZIM) (4) vs. Colin Montgomerie (GBR) (13) K.J. Choi (KOR) (5) vs. Stewart Cink (12) Retief Goosen (RSA) (2) vs. John Huston (15) Peter Lonard (AUS) (7) vs. Rocco Mediate (10) Jonathan Kaye (3) vs. Duffy Waldorf (14) Chris Riley (6) vs. Ian Poulter (GBR) (11)
SINGH
WEIR
GARY
BRACKET
PLAYER
Vijay Singh (FIJ) (1) vs. Shingo Katayama (JPN) (16) Jerry Kelly (8) vs. Sergio Garcia (SPA (9) Chad Campbell (4) vs. Tim Herron (13) Jay Haas (5) vs. Loren Roberts (12) Kenny Perry (2) vs. Jeff Sluman (15) Brad Faxon (7) vs. Steve Flesch (10) Darren Clarke (NIR) (3) vs. Eduardo Romero (ARG) (14) Justin Leonard (6) vs. Alex Cejka (GER) (11)
LOVE
SAM
SNEAD
BRACKET
Davis Love (1) vs. Briny Baird (16) Bob Tway (8) vs. Fred Couples (9) Robert Allenby (AUS) (4) vs. Brian Davis (GBR) (13) Adam Scott (AUS) (5) vs. Miguel Angel Jimenez (SPA) (12) Phil Mickelson (2) vs. Lee Westwood (GBR) (15) Charles Howell (7) vs. Ben Curtis (10) Stuart Appleby (AUS) (3) vs. Justin Rose (GBR) (14) Chris DiMarco (6) vs. Chad Campbell (11)
Outdoor jocks join Subic congress A CITY of tents was formed as hundreds of the country’s rugged outdoorsmen converged Monday when the 25th Mountaineering Federation of the Philippines Congress hit Subic Bay in Olongapo City. The six-day gathering, which lasts until Feb. 29 and backed by the country’s top mountaineering body, is guaranteed to keep the adventurer’s fire burning with outdoor activities
in one of the country’s pristine natural havens. Cebu’s representatives include Habagat Outdoor Shop’s Wendell Getubig and Yahkee Gutip. With the theme “Beyond Climbing. Responsible Mountaineering,” the activities include conventions on the local and global situation of mountaineering, jungle survival training under the UNNavy trained Aeta forest rangers and basic moun-
taineering course, which focuses on low impact climbing and an outdoor photography class. An adventure race will also pit the participants around the scenic bay. The milestone annual mountaineering event etched in every hardcore climber’s calendar, will also take the participants to an orgy of natural wonders including several peaks in the mountain ranges of Zambales, habi-
tat of the bamboo bat, the country’s smallest species and its large cousins, the flying foxes. The tour will also take them to the lowlands to study the mangrove ecosystem and to Subic Bay, the first and one of the most astounding natural sanctuaries in the country, which boasts a population of dolphins, pilot whales and sea lions in their inherent habitat. PCC