Golf Tournaments

Palm trees swayed back and forth, with a strong desert wind causing them to sprinkle leaves, sticks and broken bark all over Mission Hills Country Club at Rancho Mirage. Fans in the gallery often held on to their hats. Golfers continued dropping grass to assess the wind's direction. Kristy McPherson heard the prognosis of dry wind gusts expecting to blow Friday between 20 and 30 mph as early as Tuesday during her practice round.

Brittany Lincicome's heart raced and her hands shook as she clutched her club on the 18th fairway. She repeatedly told best friend and playing partner, Kristy McPherson, throughout the fourth round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship at Rancho Mirage that she's "good to have a heart attack." It put the lessons she learned from the Vision 54 program to the ultimate test.

Tiger Woods, who won the Buick Invitational on Sunday by eight strokes, shot a seven-under-par 65 Thursday to take a two-shot lead after the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic in the United Arab Emirates. "I played well today, just a bunch of good golf shots," Woods said after his bogey-free round at the Emirates Golf Club. Eleven players, including Miguel Angel Jimenez and Abu Dhabi Golf Championship winner Martin Kaymer, were tied for second at 67.

Phil Mickelson and 16 other players ranked in the top 20 committed Friday to play in next week's $6.2-million Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club. Mickelson, ranked No. 2, was the runner-up in last year's tournament, losing to Charles Howell III in a three-hole playoff. The only players ranked in the top 20 who will be absent are No. 1 Tiger Woods, No. 4 Ernie Els and No. 13 Henrik Stenson.

It still measures 7,279 yards, giant eucalyptus trees line the fairways as usual, yawning barrancas lie in wait, there's not a drop of water trouble to be found, and Riviera Country Club is open for business. Although this is the 68th edition of the tournament, this is the first year it has been known as the Northern Trust Open, and the primary question right now is what's up with the rough?

There's a new putter in Fred Couples' bag for the Northern Trust Open; he just forgets what it's called . . . besides putter, of course. But forgetting stuff is probably what happens when you're 48, your aching back sometimes feels 88 and you can't remember what it feels like to be comfortable on the greens. Couples long ago switched to using a belly putter, which earned its name because you anchor the thing in the middle of your stomach. His new putter is 44 inches long.

MARANA, Ariz. -- He may lose to someone, sometime, somewhere, but no one's beaten Tiger Woods any time, anywhere for quite a spell. After he climbed out of bed Saturday at 3:45 a.m., Woods spent the next 12 hours playing 34 holes, making nine birdies and one eagle, winning two more matches and moving to within striking distance of his fifth consecutive PGA Tour victory.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- By the way Tiger Woods beamed at the discussion of Arnold Palmer, you'd think the two traded barbs, clubhouse fries and sand wedges every Sunday. After Woods tied Palmer's total of 62 wins at the Buick Invitational in late January -- a mark he surpassed four weeks later at the WGC-Accenture Match Play -- Woods talked about how Palmer "gives me the needle," and how he'll have the verbal edge once he reaches 63.

The 8:40 tee time in the pro-am arrived Wednesday morning and John Daly didn't. He stiffed three partners and Arnold Palmer, though that now qualifies as resume enhancement for Daly. The worse he behaves, the better his fans like it. The downside is their hero was disqualified from the Arnold Palmer Invitational because he failed to appear for the pro-am. I normally wouldn't joke that Daly picked a bad week to give up drinking. But a) he hasn't given it up, and b) he's proud of it.

Of course, Tiger Woods can't win every tournament he plays; it's just that he's making it look that way. It was probably about the time his ball scooted across the 18th green at Bay Hill on Sunday, felt the tug of gravity and dived into the hole, when everyone started figuring out what's next. As in, what's next after five consecutive PGA Tour victories? Well, how about six consecutive?