Poll: Tiger Woods

Will Tiger Woods win a major in 2013? That's one burning question heading into the new season that starts Friday with the PGA Tour's Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

Of course, it's been a question every season since Woods last claimed a major title, the 2008 United States Open on a bum knee.

The subsequent scandal of his infidelities broke globally and Woods hasn't been the same since.

But in 2012, he won three times. It's a sign that his game is recovering. Yours truly tabbed Woods to win either three or four times without a major leading into the 2012 season.

I've made some more predictions for 2013.

What are they?

Find out by picking up Saturday's edition of the Bradenton Herald.

Until then, make your voice heard by voting yes or no to the poll asking if Tiger Woods will win a major in 2013.

United States Open: Second round coverage

Palmetto resident Sam Osborne just birdied the par-4 fifth hole to move to 8-over par in the 112th United States Open.

Osborne is starting off the front nine, which ended in a disastrous 6-over par total after beginning even-par through the first 10 holes in the first round.

Osborne's second round on Friday has witnessed one hiccup, a triple bogey on the par-4 second hole.

Since then, Osborne has played The Olympic Club's Lake Course in San Francisco in 1-under par over the past three holes.

He's tied for 103rd and in need of more birdies to make the cut.

Meanwhile, former IMG Academies standout Casey Wittenberg has backed up on Friday after a solid opening round.

Wittenberg posted a 1-over par 71 on Thursday, just five shots behind leader Michael Thompson.

He got off to another solid start, posting an even-par total through the first eight holes on Friday.

However, Wittenberg has bogeyed four of his last six holes and is tied for 57th place with a 4-over par cumulative total.

United States Open: Sam Osborne makes ESPN TV coverage

Palmetto resident Sam Osborne has already been featured on ESPN's coverage of the 112th United States Open at the famed Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Osborne hit his approach on the 18th hole to within a foot that got him to even-par.

The birdie brought the 30-year-old Englishman into a tie for seventh place.

However, Osborne has since backed up. He double-bogeyed the par-4 first hole and sits at 2-over par for the tournament.

Michael Thompson fired a 4-under par 66, and is the current first-round leader by three shots over several players including Tiger Woods.

United States Open: Andy Zhang not with IMG

This year's 112th United States Open will witness the youngest competitor in the major championship's history when Andy Zhang tees it up on Thursday.

The 14-year-old is in the field as an alternate after Paul Casey was forced to withdrew.

There are various reports circulating that Zhang trains at IMG Academies here in Manatee County.

IMG has stated that is incorrect, and  that Zhang only participated in a couple IMG Leadbetter Junior Golf Tour events.

United States Open: Pairings released

The pairings for the 112th United States Open, scheduled to start next Thursday at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, were released today.

Palmetto resident Sam Osborne begins his first major championship appearance off the tenth tee alongside amateur Brooks Koepka at 2:42 p.m. (local time) and a player to be determined later.

Osborne and Koepka were paired together in the lone Florida sectional qualifier held at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto this past Monday.

Osborne, an English native, and Koepka play Friday's second round at 9:27 a.m. (local time) off the first tee.

For more on Osborne's upcoming U.S. Open appearance, check out Sunday's edition of the Bradenton Herald.

For full pairings, click here.

United States Open sectional: Sam Osborne qualifies

Sam Osborne at a West Florida Golf Tour event. Photo provided by the WFGT.

Sam Osborne was the only player from Manatee County to progress from the Florida sectional site at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto on Monday.

The Palmetto resident and Englishman shot a 3-under par 141 total to take one of three qualifying berths awarded into this month's United States Open.

The 112th edition of the men's golf major is scheduled for June 14-17 at the famed Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Osborne finished in second place in the 36-hole sectional to advance to his first Open and major of any kind.

However, yours truly has an interesting view on Osborne's game.

Why?

Because I caddied for Osborne at a West Florida Golf Tour event at the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club last September for a story I wrote in the Bradenton Herald on the experience of what a caddy goes through at the professional level.

I also wrote about the differences in caddying at the club level like the Ritz, which uses a forecaddying system.

Osborne's game that day was everything I had heard about from some of his peers.

He hit the ball far, and struck iron shots crisp.

The putter, though, wasn't quite on all the time. He three-putted the final hole for a 3-under par 69 to tie for second in the event.

Perhaps I should have realized that potential would pay off several months later?

Despite the lack of Nostradamus skills, yours truly witnessed a player that mid-September day with all the tools necessary to make it on the big stage.

Now that big stage is arriving, and Osborne has a chance to test his talents against the top players in the world.

United States Open: Florida sectional pairings

The lone sectional qualifier for the 112th United States Open in Florida is scheduled for Monday at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto.

Here's a look at when the three qualifiers from the local stage at Waterlefe as well as a couple more area players begin their 36-hole rounds:

IMG Academies Daniel Jaramillo starts at 7:25 a.m. off the first hole.

Bradenton Prep and University of Florida alum Arnond "Bank" Vongvanij starts at 7:49 a.m. off the 10th hole.

Palmetto resident Sam Osborne starts at 7:59 a.m. off the 10th hole.

IMG's Rigel Fernandes starts at 8:05 a.m. off the first hole.

IMG and UF alum Andres Echavarria starts at 8:29 a.m. off the 10th hole.

Tampa's Jeff Leonard, who was the medalist at Waterlefe, starts at 8:35 a.m. off the first hole.

United States Open: Sam Osborne medals in Tarpon Springs qualifier

Sam Osborne hits a tee shot during a West Florida Golf Tour victory at the Legacy Golf Club. Photo provided.

Palmetto resident and West Florida Golf Tour participant Sam Osborne fired a 68 to take medalist honors in the United States Open local qualifier held at Cypress Run Golf Club in Tarpon Springs on Monday.

The Englishman's round was especially strong as he was the lone player in the tournament's field to crack 70 on the day.

IMG Academies golfer Daniel Jaramillo, who hails from Colombia, won a battle for one of the two final qualifying slots.

Jaramillo shot 71 and joined St. Petersburg's Jack Maguire and Valrico's Matthew Galloway in a playoff for two spots.

Galloway, who plays on the WFGT, was given the first alternate slot after Jaramillo and Maguire earned the third and fourth qualifying berths from the Tarpon Springs site.

Cardinal Mooney alum Chris Kennedy and Sarasota's Joey Lamielle posted 72s, but lost out on the second and final alternate spot to Tampa's Doug Lacrosse.

Players progressing from local qualifying move to the section phase in early June. Those sectional qualifiers earn direct entry into the 2012 U.S. Open, golf's second major of the year, held at the famed Olympic Club in San Francisco June 14-17.

A Roaring Future

Rory McIlroy hoists the U.S. Open trophy after Sunday's triumph. Photo courtesy of McClatchy-Tribune News Service.

It's less than an hour after Rory McIlroy wrapped up the 111th United States Open, and all the talk this week over his dismantling of Congressional Country Club has been about the parallels between his performance and Tiger Woods dominance at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2000.

Well, it's a fair comparison for the simple reasoning that golf fans haven't witnessed a feat like McIlroy's since Woods did it in 2000.

Now McIlroy is in a class by himself, at least for just one week.

Before everyone gets carried away thinking McIlroy is the next coming of Tiger, the Northern Irishman still has to prove it with multiple major titles.

And that only comes with time.

However, it was nice to see McIlroy get over his Masters meltdown, where he ballooned to a final round 80 as he handed the green jacket to Charl Schwartzel.

But, alas, McIlroy fought those demons back with all his golf weaponry, including a self-described cocky and arrogant on-course attitude.

Simply put, he kept pushing himself to increase the lead. Never playing it cautiously, protecting a lead and trying to limp to the finish line in a Masters-like emulation.

Unlike what Padraig Harrington was reported as saying, let's not jump the gun and expect a record-setting performance every time McIlroy tees it up.

The British Open is the third major of the year, and McIlroy has a great shot of playing well there for no other reason than he grew up with links golf.

To think, if he hadn't choked at Augusta National, he'd be halfway to the Grand Slam.

Then again, if he didn't blow the lead, would he have rewritten the history books with his new found vigor and determination after learning from the Masters debacle?

Will McIlroy emerge as the top gun over the long haul, and become the long-awaited rival to Woods (pre-scandal version, if he can retain that form) akin to what Nicklaus endured over his lengthy career?

Without trying to answer those impossible questions, we're left knowing one thing - golf's future is a roaring one.

Area hopefuls begin U.S. Open quest

The 111th United States Open is off and running in Bethesda, Md.

For the locals, here how they stand after one round:

• Peter Uihlein, the reigning U.S. Amateur champ, is tied for 34th after a 1-over par 72. Playing alongside Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen in ESPN's featured group on Thursday, Uihlein made the only eagle at Congressional Country Club after holing out for an eagle-two on the par-4 5th. The Orlando resident and IMG Academies alum leads all area amateurs in the field.
• Michael Barbosa, the St. Petersburg amateur and Saint Stephen's grad, got off to a horrendous start following a 12-over par 83. He's in 155th place after hitting a measly six greens in regulation and five fairways. Barbosa also trained at IMG Academies during his prep days, and only fellow IMG'er Ty Tryon sits behind him on the leaderboard.
• Speaking of Tryon, the former phenom is in dead-last after a 13-over par 84. Like Barbosa, nothing seemed to go right. The back nine proved as his main undoing. On that side, Tryon collected seven bogeys, a double bogey and one par.
• Cheng-Tsung Pan, an IMG Academies alum and current University of Washington rising sophomore, is tied for 62nd following his opening-round 74. Pan hit 10 greens in regulation, but only converted one birdie to offset four bogeys.
• Joey Lamielle, the West Florida Golf Tour regular, shot 76 and is tied for 111th. Lamielle, who grew up in Sarasota and played at Booker High before Florida Gulf Coast University, is near the tops in driving accuracy - missing just three fairways. However, the 28-year-old didn't record a single birdie in his round.
• Christo Greyling, a South African native living in Orlando, is tied with Uihlein after a 1-over par 72. Greyling competes on the WFGT like Lamielle and graduated from IMG like Uihlein, Barbosa, Pan and Tryon. Greyling's first round was marked by a steady short game. He only hit seven greens and six fairways, but was 4-for-5 on sand save chances.

The tournament continues Friday, where a 36-hole cut will trim the field down for weekend play. Several area hopefuls need to make a move Friday if they'd like to stick around for the last two rounds.

Bradenton resident Paul Azinger is on the telecast this week, working for ESPN during the sports media giant's early round coverage.

111th U.S. Open pairings set

The pairings for the 111th United States Open were released late last week.

Former IMG Academies alum, Peter Uihlein, will play the first two rounds with Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen.

That pairing keeps with tradition of having the reigning U.S. Amateur champ (Uihlein) play with the current U.S. Open champ (McDowell) and the current British Open champ (Oosthuizen).

The group begins play Thursday at 7:55 a.m.

Joey Lamielle, who is making his second U.S. Open appearance in four years, tees off with another participant of the West Florida Golf Tour.

The area's lone mini-tour has attracted solid players, including former PGA Tour winners in events stretching from Naples to Orlando and everywhere in between.

So, Christo Greyling, an IMG Academies alum based in Orlando joins Lamielle in Thursday's first round.

Their group starts at 9:01 a.m. off No. 1.

Playing at the same time as Lamielle and Greyling, but with a different group is Michael Barbosa.

Like Uihlein, Barbosa is a decorated amateur.

The former Saint Stephen's standout attended IMG Academies for fine-tuning while based in Bradenton.

He made it through the local qualifier as medalist, and advanced past the lone Florida sectional on June 6.

Barbosa's first-round begins off No. 10 at 9:01 a.m.

Another former IMG Academies student, Cheng-Tsung Pan, is also in the field.

The University of Washington rising sophomore made it through a sectional in New Jersey. He gets to sleep in a bit for his first round, unlike the other area players in the field.

Pan's opening round tee time is off No. 1 at 12:51 p.m.

The 111th edition of the U.S. Open kicks off Thursday.

Check back here for updates on how the area players fare in the first two rounds.

For full pairings, click here.

The Monday Recap: Better late than never

Harrison Frazar waited a long time to finally grab a PGA Tour win.

The veteran pro made his 355th start on the premier golf circuit count, as he defeated Swede Robert Karlsson in a playoff to secure his first PGA Tour title.

The FedEx St. Jude Classic gave viewers a dramatic finish as Frazar lost his one-shot lead on the 18th hole.

Frazar and Karlsson needed two sudden death playoff holes to settle the tournament, where Frazar won with a par.

Karlsson had chipped past the hole, only to misfire on his par bid, thus allowing Frazar to hoist his first trophy on the PGA Tour.

And with Frazar's playoff victory comes this neat, little tidbit from PGA Tour events:

The past nine tournaments, dating back to the Masters, have either been decided by one shot or a playoff.

Yup, that's nine straight PGA Tour events going right down to the wire.

If it becomes 10 consecutive this week, then golf fans should plan on possibly turning on their televisions for an 18-hole playoff on Monday.

Why?

The United States Open, which begins Thursday, conducts 18-hole playoffs to decide its champs, unlike most events that use a sudden-death format.

U.S. Open Florida sectional results

Former IMG Academies, Saint Stephen's and Georgia Tech alum Michael Barbosa grabbed one of three qualifying berths to the 111th United States Open in Monday's lone Florida sectional qualifier.

Barbosa, an amateur from St. Petersburg, joined Sarasota's Joey Lamielle, a regular on the West Florida Golf Tour, and Arnold Palmer's grandson, Sam Saunders, in progressing from Quail Valley Golf Club in Vero Beach.

Lamielle shot 68-72--142 for medalist honors, while Barbosa and Saunders fired 141 totals in the 36-hole event. The duo secured their berths to next week's U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. in a three-for-two playoff. Barbosa and Saunders edged out Colombia's Andres Echavarria, a redshirt senior at the University of Florida.

Here's how the other three qualifiers from May's Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club's local qualifiers finished:

Sarasota's Brian Ward, a Riverview High and University of Tampa grad who plays the WFGT regularly, was in the hunt after an opening round 71.

Ward, however, ballooned to an uncharacteristically 79 in the afternoon round of the 36-hole sectional.

Travis Perkins improved to a 73 to finish at 148. Perkins, whose brother Troy is a goalkeeper in Major League Soccer, lives in Lakeland and also plays the WFGT like Ward and Lamielle.

Reigning City of Sarasota Men's Amateur champ Chris Kennedy finished a shot behind Perkins. Kennedy, a Cardinal Mooney alum, did his local qualifier in Tampa.

The other player who qualified from the Ritz venue was IMG Academies alum Luis Thiele from Brazil. Thiele shot 85 in the second round after an opening 87.

The full results can be found here.

U.S. Open sectional qualifying underway across nation

The last stage of qualifying for the 111th United States Open is conducted at various sectional venues around the country today.

Stay tuned throughout the day for updates on how area players are faring in their bid for a berth into next week's U.S. Open.

For now, a quick peak at the lone Florida sectional tournament through the morning 18 holes:

Five players advanced from the local qualifier held at the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club in May.

Here's how they stand as the players are beginning the afternoon 18 hole round:

Former IMG Academies and Saint Stephen's standout Michael Barbosa, of Saint Petersburg, shares the first-round lead with several other players including Sarasota's Joey Lamielle.

Both carded 68s at Quail Valley Golf Club in Vero Beach to join a five-way logjam atop the leaderboard. Only the top three players progress to Congressional Country Club for the Open.

Brian Ward, the West Florida Golf Tour regular who needed extra holes to secure a spot into sectionals, sits three shots adrift at 71.

Luis Thiele, who progressed from the playoff with Ward at the local stage, is well back after an opening round 87. The amateur and IMG Academies alum is in dead-last.

Travis Perkins, another WFGT participant from Lakeland by way of Lewis Center, Ohio, shot 75 in the morning.

Cardinal Mooney alum and reigning City of Sarasota Men's Amateur champ Chris Kennedy also carded a first-round 75. He advanced to the Florida sectional from a different local qualifying site.

Other notable results include Arnold Palmer's grandson, Sam Saunders, who shot 69 in the morning.

And Valrico's Steve Runge, who plays on the WFGT, is a former Nationwide Tour winner and currently teaches at IMG Academies, is also in the field. He opened with a 71.

Peter Uihlein in Masters Par-3 Contest

Peter Uihlein at last year's U.S. Amateur/courtesy of McClatchy-Tribune News Service.

Former Bradenton resident and reigning U.S. Amateur champ Peter Uihlein will tee it up Thursday at Augusta National alongside Phil Mickelson.

The Masters has a tradition of pairing the defending champion with the current national amateur champ, and that continues this year.

Uihlein's first Masters appearance is slated to begin at 1:48 p.m. Geoff Oglivy, a former U.S. Open champion, rounds out the threesome.

Uihlein made the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational when he was on spring break from Oklahoma State. Uihlein received an invite for the PGA Tour stop at Bay Hill in Orlando, where he has a residence, and used it as a tune-up for the Masters.

On Wednesday, Uihlein took part in the annual Par-3 Contest and fared well - shooting 3-under 24 on the nine-hole layout.

Good news, though, as Uihlein didn't post the lowest score. The winner of the event has never backed it up to don the green jacket for a Masters triumph.

To read more about the favorites heading into the first major of the year, check out the Bradenton Herald's Thursday edition.

Future U.S. Open to Manatee County?

The Concession Golf Club was recently named as a potential U.S. Open venue in LINKS Magazine's "List Issue."

The magazine tabbed the East Manatee course in its top ten sites to host a future U.S. Open.

Tony Jacklin and Jack Nicklaus co-designed the course, which gets its name from the Ryder Cup moment where Nicklaus conceded a short putt to Jacklin on the last hole of their singles match.

The concession meant it was the first tie in Ryder Cup history, which retained the cup for the United States.

Read colleague and sports editor Tim Wolfrum's story here.

The Monday Recap: Who is it?

Take a look at the following player profiles (names removed) and see if you can guess who it is:

Player A - Has failed to break par on the weekend in two consecutive tournaments. In the process of playing poorly in the last 36 holes, Player A has only finished as high as a tie for 20th in those tourneys.

Player B - Won consecutive weeks with the worst score posted was a 71. So dominant that Player B made over $2.3 million for the victories that featured six rounds in the 60s, including a blistering 63.

So who is Player A and who is Player B?

OK, times up...

...it's a trick question, because both answers are the same person - Tiger Woods.

My how the mighty have fallen. Player A is Woods from the past two weeks, while Player B is Woods from August 2009, where he won the Buick Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in back-to-back weeks.

Aside from a missed cut at the 2009 British Open, El Tigre never finished worse than a tie for 17th that season.

In fact, that tie for 17th came in his season debut after recovering from the knee injury that last saw him winning the 2008 U.S. Open on one leg.

Fast-forward to 2011 and Tiger's game has given glimpses into what he used to have.

He's played well in the opening two rounds in the last two tournaments, but failed to peak on the weekend as someone other than himself walked away with a trophy in tow.

Tiger's aura of invincibility is gone, unlike his pre-scandal form.

But the main thing that is probably lacking is his mental game, which is what separated him from the rest of the PGA Tour.

As a result, Woods has dipped to No. 3 in the world rankings.

Jaclyn Sweeney during a practice session at IMG Academies. Photo by Paul Videla/Bradenton Herald.

Bradenton's Jaclyn Sweeney's second Ladies European Tour start didn't generate another paycheck.

Sweeney struggled in Australia for the ANZ RACV Ladies Masters last week.

She shot 73-74 in the first two rounds to miss the cut. Yani Tseng eventually won the event to elevate herself to No. 1 in the world.

Sweeney scored better in the opening round, despite hitting fewer greens in regulation than she did in the second round.

The former Arizona State standout hit just seven GIRs on Day One, while missing only four greens on Friday.

However, those four missed greens added up to four bogeys in the round.

She'll look to right the ship with her third straight tournament in Oceania, as the LET heads to New Zealand for the Pegasus New Zealand Women's Open this week.

Another Woods Accusation

Tiger Woods is in the hunt following his third-round 66 at the 110th United States Open.

Woods' scorching round on the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links comes on the heels of yet another woman alleging a private encounter with the golfer.

But this time it's not that he had an extramarital affair, but the claims that Woods fathered a son.

And it came to Manatee County where a paternity test was filed in court.

In case you missed it, check out the full story here

An and Hampshire miss cut at Open

Ben An and Travis Hampshire both missed the cut at the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links following second-round play in the 110th United States Open.

An, a Bradenton resident, carded a 4-over par, 75 on Day Two.

Hampshire, who is No. 2 on the local West Florida Golf Tour's Order of Merit, shot 77 Friday.

Both players missed their chance to continue on the weekend, which players 7-over par or better qualified for.

For An, the reigning U.S. Amateur champ, the result is his second missed cut in major championships this year.

The perks of winning the national amateur title meant An earned an invite to The Masters and automatic exemptions into both U.S. and British opens.

For Hampshire, a mini-tour professional, he earned qualification through the grueling local and sectional stages before exiting without a payday in his trip to California's crown jewel of golf courses.

An and Hampshire soar in Open first round

Bradenton's Ben An didn't jump to the top of the United States Open leaderboard after the first round.

Neither did Tampa's Travis Hampshire, who plies his trade on the local West Florida Golf Tour.

An, the reigning U.S. Amateur champ, carded an 8-over par, 79.

Hampshire soared higher, posting a 10-over par, 81.

Both players hit the same exact number of greens - 7 of 18.

And both were fairly accurate off the tee, which is a major bonus in the "toughest test in golf" where the rough seems to grow longer than a jungle.

An hit 8 of 14 fairways. Hampshire found the short grass 10 of 14 times.

They combined for 59 putts (An had 30).

Yet both struggled in getting acclimated to Pebble Beach.

The 110th U.S. Open continues today, and both players will need stellar second rounds to make the weekend.

And in Hampshire's case, a payday as the WFGT player is a professional.