Nicklaus the Host Has Much on His Mind

He’s 64, he hasn’t won a tournament in eight years, and he withdrew from the Senior PGA Championship when the fourth round was suspended because of weather Sunday, so Jack Nicklaus has a lot more to think about than the Memorial tournament he plays host to this week at Dublin, Ohio.

For the 29th time, Nicklaus will play the Memorial, but in what has become a routine event, he sounded as if his competitive days were coming to a close.

“I said I would play the game as long as I was competitive and as long as I could enjoy it, and the two of them fall hand in hand,” he said. “If you’re not competitive, it’s pretty hard to enjoy just going out and beating a ball around. That’s probably why I don’t want to play anymore, because winning is really an issue with me that is probably beyond my ability at this point in my life.”

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Jim Furyk, who hasn’t played since January because of a wrist injury that required surgery, is still in the U.S. Open field, but it’s doubtful he will play. If Furyk isn’t able to play at Shinnecock, he will be the first defending champion (other than Payne Stewart) to miss the U.S. Open since Ben Hogan in 1949.

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Michelle Wie update: Her coach, Gary Gilchrist of the Leadbetter Academy, will be one of 750 competing for the 80 remaining spots in the U.S. Open field when he tries to qualify Tuesday at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Fla.

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It’s understandable that anyone might be unfamiliar with Scott Drummond of Scotland, who beat Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Nick Faldo, Darren Clarke and the best players to win the European Tour’s flagship event, the Volvo PGA Championship.

Drummond, 30, was ranked 435th in the world and had missed the cut in six of his last seven tournaments. Now Drummond is ranked 95th, and he’s 12th on the Ryder Cup points list.

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Annika Sorenstam played Corning Country Club for the first time in nine years and still won by two shots.

Her third victory in six LPGA events this year was the 51st of her career, was worth $150,000 and moved her past Grace Park to first on the money list with $696,483.

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MacKinzie Kline, the 12-year-old from Encinitas who is the national spokesperson for the Children’s Heart Foundation, shot 82 and did not qualify for this week’s LPGA event in Aurora, Ill. Kline, who twice had open heart surgery before she was 2, will play with Rosie Jones in the Kellogg-Keebler Classic pro-am today.

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Rolf Benirschke, Jim Laslavic, Andre Reed, Cris Judd and Efren Herrera are among the celebrities expected to play today in the Miles Ahead Ministries tournament at Del Mar National Golf Club. Details: (760) 632-7770.

The third Bruce Jenner celebrity tournament will be played Friday at Alisal River Course near Santa Barbara. The event benefits the Dream Foundation, which grants wishes to terminally ill adults and their families. Details: (805) 564-2131.