Martin Kaymer

Martin Kaymer is the new No. 1 in golf. Kaymer calmly rolled in an eight-foot par putt on the 18th hole Saturday for a 1-up victory over Bubba Watson to advance to the final of the Match Play Championship at Marana, Ariz. That was all he needed to move to No. 1 in the next world ranking. The 26-year-old German becomes the second-youngest player to be No. 1 since the ranking began in 1986. Tiger Woods was 21 when he reached No. 1 in June 1997. It ends the 17-week reign of Lee Westwood , who had only three wins on his world ranking ledger when he became No. 1. With his 1-up victory, Kaymer advanced to the championship match Sunday against Luke Donald of England, who needed to play only 27 holes in his quarterfinal win over Ryan Moore and his semifinal demolition of Matt Kuchar . Earlier Saturday in his quarterfinal match, Watson played J.B. Holmes and was five down with eight to play when he staged an amazing comeback.

Tiger Woods has missed the cut in the Abu Dhabi Championship after he was penalized two strokes for moving his ball from vines. He'll join top-ranked Rory McIlroy on the sidelines this weekend -- the first time that both have missed a cut in the 41 tournaments they've played together -- because of the blunder. It happened at the fifth hole Friday when his drive sailed to the right of the fairway and landed in a thicket of vines. Woods called playing partner Martin Kaymer over to see if he could get relief, and Kaymer agreed the ball had become embedded in the vines.

Luke Donald spoiled Martin Kaymer's rise to No. 1 in the world by winning the Match Play Championship at Marana, Ariz., on Sunday with a performance so dominant he didn't play the 18th hole all week. Not even the snow and sleet could stop Donald. On a bizarre final day in the high desert, which began with snow covering the fairways, Donald pulled ahead for good with a birdie on the par-five 11th and a par on the next hole, eventually closing out Kaymer on No. 16 for a 3-and-2 victory.

Six NHL owners and six players will meet Tuesday in New York for direct labor talks, a new approach to resolving a dispute that has jeopardized the season. The NHL Players' Assn. on Sunday accepted the league's invitation to convene without the presence of Commissioner Gary Bettman or NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr. Each side will be permitted to bring staff members and counsel to the session. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Sunday the league will be represented by California billionaire Ron Burkle of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Mark Chipman of the Winnipeg Jets, Murray Edwards of the Calgary Flames, Jeremy Jacobs of the Boston Bruins, Larry Tanenbaum of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jeff Vinik of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

MEDINAH, Ill. -- Luke Donald put the hammer down on Bubba Watson. Rory McIlroy rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stifled Keegan Bradley. Paul Lawrie - 13 years after his only other Ryder Cup appearance - took down the FedEx Cup champion. In time, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose ripped points from U.S. hands. The European train was gathering steam. And the Americans didn't have enough to stop the momentum. It ended with Martin Kaymer jumping into the arms of his teammates, the singsong "Ole, ole, ole, ole" echoing across Medinah Country Club, and the Ryder Cup headed back across the Atlantic.

You wake one day on a golfing planet gone merciless and Sergio Garcia seems middle-aged, Adam Scott winds up dumped to No. 43 and the rankings teem with those who arrived young but utterly ready to rumble. Nine of the top 26 players have not reached age 30, the same goes for 16 of the top 50, and one underlying theme of this 138th British Open entails whether golf's largest wave of precocity to date might deposit one of its 20-somethings somewhere well up the Sunday leaderboard.

Reporting from Bethesda, Md. — Luke Donald's life has not changed since he landed atop golf's world rankings. And that's fine with him. "I don't really like the word 'change,' " he said, befitting a man whose swing instructor, Pat Goss , coached him at Northwestern from 1997 to 2001. Other than receiving a call from Ralph Lauren — the man who designs his golf apparel — and a text message from Greg Norman , Donald's last two weeks have been status quo. That makes sense, as Donald already is the third man to be ranked No. 1 this year after Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood . "Being No. 1 is a great achievement," Donald said, "but if you ask me, if I would swap that for Phil [ Mickelson's ]

FACT BOX What: World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. Where: Marana, Ariz. When: Today through Sunday. TV: Today, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. PST, Golf Channel; Thursday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Golf Channel; Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Golf Channel; Saturday, 9-11 a.m., Golf Channel; 11 a.m.-3 p.m., NBC; Sunday, 6-11 a.m., Golf Channel; 11 a.m.-3 p.m., NBC. Who to watch: The world's four top-ranked golfers — Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer — lead the field of 64. Steve Stricker (No. 5)

Tiger Woods has missed the cut in the Abu Dhabi Championship after he was penalized two strokes for moving his ball from vines. He'll join top-ranked Rory McIlroy on the sidelines this weekend -- the first time that both have missed a cut in the 41 tournaments they've played together -- because of the blunder. It happened at the fifth hole Friday when his drive sailed to the right of the fairway and landed in a thicket of vines. Woods called playing partner Martin Kaymer over to see if he could get relief, and Kaymer agreed the ball had become embedded in the vines.

No one was more surprised to find Eunjung Yi leading the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic through three rounds than, well, Eunjung Yi. "I'm the leader?" she repeated, incredulous, when asked how it felt to be leading the pack at Sylvania, Ohio. "Really? I didn't know that. By four strokes?" Yi recorded eight birdies and an eagle in a 10-under-par 61 to build a four-shot lead Saturday over Song-Hee Kim (64) and Morgan Pressel (67).

MEDINAH, Ill. -- Luke Donald put the hammer down on Bubba Watson. Rory McIlroy rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stifled Keegan Bradley. Paul Lawrie - 13 years after his only other Ryder Cup appearance - took down the FedEx Cup champion. In time, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose ripped points from U.S. hands. The European train was gathering steam. And the Americans didn't have enough to stop the momentum. It ended with Martin Kaymer jumping into the arms of his teammates, the singsong "Ole, ole, ole, ole" echoing across Medinah Country Club, and the Ryder Cup headed back across the Atlantic.

FACT BOX What: World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. Where: Marana, Ariz. When: Today through Sunday. TV: Today, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. PST, Golf Channel; Thursday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Golf Channel; Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Golf Channel; Saturday, 9-11 a.m., Golf Channel; 11 a.m.-3 p.m., NBC; Sunday, 6-11 a.m., Golf Channel; 11 a.m.-3 p.m., NBC. Who to watch: The world's four top-ranked golfers — Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer — lead the field of 64. Steve Stricker (No. 5)

Geoffrey Mutai shattered the course record in the New York City Marathon, no surprise after he ran the fastest marathon ever earlier this year. Firehiwot Dado wasn't a favorite coming into the women's race and victory seemed impossible with even a few miles left. But the Ethiopian made a stunning comeback for her first major marathon title Mutai finished in 2 hours 5 minutes 6 seconds, crushing the previous mark of 2:07:43 set by Tesfaye Jifar of Ethiopia a decade earlier.

Reporting from Bethesda, Md. — Luke Donald's life has not changed since he landed atop golf's world rankings. And that's fine with him. "I don't really like the word 'change,' " he said, befitting a man whose swing instructor, Pat Goss , coached him at Northwestern from 1997 to 2001. Other than receiving a call from Ralph Lauren — the man who designs his golf apparel — and a text message from Greg Norman , Donald's last two weeks have been status quo. That makes sense, as Donald already is the third man to be ranked No. 1 this year after Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood . "Being No. 1 is a great achievement," Donald said, "but if you ask me, if I would swap that for Phil [ Mickelson's ]

Luke Donald spoiled Martin Kaymer's rise to No. 1 in the world by winning the Match Play Championship at Marana, Ariz., on Sunday with a performance so dominant he didn't play the 18th hole all week. Not even the snow and sleet could stop Donald. On a bizarre final day in the high desert, which began with snow covering the fairways, Donald pulled ahead for good with a birdie on the par-five 11th and a par on the next hole, eventually closing out Kaymer on No. 16 for a 3-and-2 victory.

Martin Kaymer is the new No. 1 in golf. Kaymer calmly rolled in an eight-foot par putt on the 18th hole Saturday for a 1-up victory over Bubba Watson to advance to the final of the Match Play Championship at Marana, Ariz. That was all he needed to move to No. 1 in the next world ranking. The 26-year-old German becomes the second-youngest player to be No. 1 since the ranking began in 1986. Tiger Woods was 21 when he reached No. 1 in June 1997. It ends the 17-week reign of Lee Westwood , who had only three wins on his world ranking ledger when he became No. 1. With his 1-up victory, Kaymer advanced to the championship match Sunday against Luke Donald of England, who needed to play only 27 holes in his quarterfinal win over Ryan Moore and his semifinal demolition of Matt Kuchar . Earlier Saturday in his quarterfinal match, Watson played J.B. Holmes and was five down with eight to play when he staged an amazing comeback.

Geoffrey Mutai shattered the course record in the New York City Marathon, no surprise after he ran the fastest marathon ever earlier this year. Firehiwot Dado wasn't a favorite coming into the women's race and victory seemed impossible with even a few miles left. But the Ethiopian made a stunning comeback for her first major marathon title Mutai finished in 2 hours 5 minutes 6 seconds, crushing the previous mark of 2:07:43 set by Tesfaye Jifar of Ethiopia a decade earlier.

Six NHL owners and six players will meet Tuesday in New York for direct labor talks, a new approach to resolving a dispute that has jeopardized the season. The NHL Players' Assn. on Sunday accepted the league's invitation to convene without the presence of Commissioner Gary Bettman or NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr. Each side will be permitted to bring staff members and counsel to the session. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Sunday the league will be represented by California billionaire Ron Burkle of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Mark Chipman of the Winnipeg Jets, Murray Edwards of the Calgary Flames, Jeremy Jacobs of the Boston Bruins, Larry Tanenbaum of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jeff Vinik of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

You wake one day on a golfing planet gone merciless and Sergio Garcia seems middle-aged, Adam Scott winds up dumped to No. 43 and the rankings teem with those who arrived young but utterly ready to rumble. Nine of the top 26 players have not reached age 30, the same goes for 16 of the top 50, and one underlying theme of this 138th British Open entails whether golf's largest wave of precocity to date might deposit one of its 20-somethings somewhere well up the Sunday leaderboard.

The British Open gets underway Thursday. Here's some inside information heading into the tournament: The course Turnberry's Ailsa Course along the Firth of Clyde on Scotland's west coast may not be especially long or notoriously vicious. Its ultimate fame may come from a sunny day (the Tom Watson-Jack Nicklaus final round in 1977). It may have held only three previous Opens, but its titlists have been Watson in 1977, Greg Norman in 1986 and Nick Price in 1994.