From USA TodayBy Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAYSOUTHPORT, England — Before the week started, Greg Norman was a part-time golfer, full-time conglomerate. At the end of the week, even after coming so close to rewriting golf''s history books with a win for the ages, the former best player in the world still was a part-time golfer, full-time conglomerate.The 53-year-old Australian, who was trying to become golf''s oldest major champion, arrived for the 137th edition of the

From The ScotsmanBy MIKE AITKENAT ROYAL BIRKDALETHERE was something confusing about the Open champion contemplating the wrist injury which threatened his participation at Royal Birkdale as a blessing rather than a curse.While most athletes regard pain as the enemy, Padraig Harrington''s brush with frailty had profound psychological consequences which were to play a prominent part in helping him cling on to the Claret Jug.The pressures of shielding a title, particularly a major championship, can be

From GOLF.com(AP) — Fresh off a disqualification on the LPGA Tour, Michelle Wie has decided to tee it up against the men, again.Wie will play next week in the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, the first time she''ll play on the PGA Tour this year, tournament organizers said.It will be her eighth time playing on the PGA Tour, and she has yet to make a cut. The only time Wie has made money playing against the men

From ESPN.comBy Bob HarigSOUTHPORT, England -- The first beverage poured into the Claret Jug was John Smith''s Smooth Bitter, and by the end of a late-night, early-morning celebration, the famous trophy had been emptied of all its liquid contents.Padraig Harrington appeared a bit weary on Monday morning when he returned to Royal Birkdale, but it was a good kind of hangover from his Open Championship victory.And it certainly couldn''t have been too bad, as Harrington

From The Golf ChannelBy Brian HewittThe Champion Golfer of the Year, for the second consecutive Open Championship, is the son of an Irish cop and the pride of Dublin. His name is Padraig Harrington and his smile lit up all of Eire Sunday when he outclassed the field of 156 at Royal Birkdale and outfought the English weather that was dire all week.Another major. Another terrific story.“I got my mind in the right place,” Harrington

From ESPN.comSOUTHPORT, England -- Greg Norman poked a key into locker No. 103, swung open the wooden door, and began clearing out his belongings. Golf shoes. Golf balls. Golf gloves. Norman stuffed them into a half dozen different zippered carry bags.Just then a friend stopped by the Royal Birkdale locker room to say hello. "Hey, buddy, how are you?" said the friend. "Um, I''m like a whipped dog, man," said Norman. He said it with

From USA TodaySOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Turns out Padraig Harrington''s wrist was strong enough to hit all the right shots in the British Open. Better yet, it was strong enough to lift the silver claret jug.Harrington became the first European in more than a century to win golf''s oldest championship two years is a row, smashing a pair of fairway metals into the par 5s Sunday that allowed him to pull away from misktake-prone Greg

From Opengolf.com2.06pm - Sergio Garcia misses his chance on 5thIt looks like Sergio Garcia''s putting frailty might be showing itself again: he misses a very decent birdie chance on the fifth hole to stay one over par for the day and ten over for the tournament. The fifth is one of the few definite birdie chances on the course, and Garcia seems unable to believe that he left his putt on the front edge.On the

From ESPN.comBy Bob HarigSOUTHPORT, England -- Through scarves, mittens and throats made raw from the biting breeze, they stood and cheered the most unlikely of leaders as he made his way to the home hole Saturday at Royal Birkdale.Greg Norman then calmly and coolly pitched the prettiest little shot you ever saw to within inches of the cup to assure his place atop the 137th Open Championship leaderboard through three rounds, eliciting more roars from

From Opengolf.comThere''s some mouth-watering action in prospect in the fourth and final round of the 137th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, with virtually anyone in the top 20 having the chance to charge for the title.The final group is due out at 2.20pm, and although there are two players sharing second place, it is reigning champion Padraig Harrington who will partner the surprise leader, 53-year-old Greg Norman.Greg, the Aussie "Shark" has emerged from the deep

From USA TodaySOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Greg Norman turned back the clock. So did David Duval. And K.J. Choi found himself in a familiar position — playing in the final group of the British Open heading to the weekend.Three weeks after marrying tennis great Chris Evert, Norman kept up the honeymoon at Royal Birkdale with his second straight par 70 on Friday, leaving him one stroke off Choi''s lead.Norman won the Open twice in his

From GOLF.comSOUTHPORT, England — The old golfer and the old caddie appeared behind the white clubhouse, their silver hair blowing despite baseball caps pulled low. Greg Norman and Linn Strickler have more than a half-century of links golf knowledge between them, even if their muscles and bones don''t work as well as they used to.Strickler once caddied for Ben Crenshaw, a two-time Masters champion who spent a career battling Norman in golf''s biggest events. Now,

WATCH BRITISH OPEN LIVE -- CLICK THIS LINKFrom TV WeekBeginning this week, Turner Sports and PGA.com will present 28 hours of television coverage of the British Open championship on TNT. They also will offer live online video with the Open Championship Live player broadcasting directly from the tournament during the first two days of play.“Turner Sports has integrated its television coverage with an online complement to provide fans a multiplatform experience, allowing them to see

From PGATour.comBy Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM CorrespondentSOUTHPORT, England - His mind still wants to play. His body just doesn''t want to practice.He says it''s had enough. Enough surgeries. Enough six-hour practice sessions. Enough grinding. Enough.Yet when you put Greg Norman on an Open Championship course like Royal Birkdale, when nature cranks up the wind and sprinkles in some rain, when you give him time to settle in and find a comfort zone - well, magical things

From YahooGraeme McDowell shot a first-round 69 to share the overnight lead with Rocco Mediate and Robert Allenby at the 137th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.The Northern Irishman birdied his last two holes to cap a poised performance on a day of torrid weather in Southport, where players struggled to find fairways and pars were at a premium.American Mediate, who lost a playoff to Tiger Woods at the US Open in June, dropped three shots

From GOLF.comSOUTHPORT, England — Sleep didn''t come easy on those first few nights, when Sergio Garcia''s emotions were still raw, when he would replay the last minutes of the 136th British Open at Carnoustie for hours on end. He remembers walking down the 17th fairway, where he spotted Padraig Harrington walking the wrong way toward him from the 18th hole, and he remembers smiling and saying hello."What was I thinking?" Garcia says today. "I was

From SupergolfSergio Garcia, the title favourite in the absence of injured world number one Tiger Woods, said on Tuesday he had never felt better prepared for a British Open."I feel like my game is probably as good as it''s ever been," the world number seven told reporters. "I obviously feel good with my game and feel good with myself."I feel like I''m getting better as a player every tournament. I''m learning more things about myself."Garcia,

From The Star TribuneSOUTHPORT, England — Phil Mickelson wouldn''t bite, no matter how many ways he was asked about Tiger Woods.So, Lefty, are the majors diminished because a certain No. 1 player — perhaps the greatest ever to swing a golf club — isn''t at the British Open?"I am working hard to get my game ready for this week, and I''ve practiced hard. I''ve developed a good game plan for this event, and I am

From Golf WorldDo good things happen in threes? As in uno, dos, tres? Sergio Garcia certainly hopes so. His country, Spain, is on a sports roll, and the British Open will unfold this week at Royal Birkdale. Considering Sergio''s near miss last year at Carnoustie, you might say he''s due for a claret jug and his first major. After all, the absence of Tiger Woods because of a knee injury is supposed to open the

From ESPN.comWhen the Open Championship was held at Royal Birkdale in 1991, Mark O''Meara played in the final pairing, losing to winner Ian Baker-Finch by 3 strokes. Seven years later, O''Meara drew on that experience, returning to the venue to claim his first and only Claret Jug.This week, the Open is back in Birkdale for the first time since, and no one will have fonder memories than the 1998 champ. We recently put O''Meara on

From ESPN.comKenny Perry, arguably the best player on the PGA Tour right now, could be doing what I''m doing today: schlepping to the airport, shuffling through the Space Mountain-long security lines, getting wedged into a plane, flying 7 hours and 35 minutes to Manchester, England, renting a car the size of a watermelon slice, driving 48½ terrifying miles to Royal Birkdale on the left side of the road and doing it from our passenger''s side,

From The TelegraphWith his Tintin quiff and assembly-line forearms, Arnold Palmer was the most exciting golfer in the world in the early Sixties.The 1961 Championship at Birkdale was the first of Palmer''s back-to-back Open wins and included one of the most memorable shots in Open history. After a wayward drive on the 16th, Henry Longhurst described Palmer''s ball as lying at "the bottom of a small, sandy bank, buried deep in some blackberry bushes". Any

From Golf WorldBy John HawkinsJuly 11, 2008 The best player in the world won''t be there. Neither will the hottest player in the world, although Kenny Perry''s reason for not playing in next week''s British Open may have less to do with piling up Ryder Cup points and more with avoiding frequent-flyer miles. Regardless, those who identify the year''s third major simply as the "Open Championship" should be delighted. This year, it really is an

From ESPN.comSOUTHPORT, England -- It will undoubtedly be a splendid week, with plenty of warm beer flowing while the fish and chips are frying. A gale might come in off the Irish Sea, or perhaps a heat wave will send the locals scurrying for bits of ice, longing for an invention called "air conditioning."All of it is part of the charm that is the British Open, or, when it''s called by its official name, the

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