Rivals Go Overseas

By Thomas Bonk

July 13, 2006 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

They are going to be apart for only a few days. After Tiger Woods closed with a 68 and tied for second at the Western Open, he took off for his Florida home to pack his bags for his trip today for next week’s British Open. After Phil Mickelson finished with a 71 and tied for 65th at the Western, he packed his bags and left Tuesday for the British Open.

It would surprise no one if Woods and Mickelson have a major impact at the year’s third major, at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. One such observer is Trevor Immelman, who edged Woods by two strokes at Cog Hill.

“I mean, I have the utmost respect for Tiger,” Immelman said. “He’s an incredible human being and what he’s done for the game is just fantastic. None of us expect anything less from him, really, when he’s got a sniff of it ... “

Woods says his game isn’t where he wants it to be going into the Open.

“It’s never where you want it to be,” he said.

Woods, who led the Western field in driving with an average of 322.7 yards, has finished in second place 20 times as a pro.

As for Mickelson, who finished tied for 60th last year at the British Open, he decided against playing the European Tour’s Scottish Open at Loch Lomond outside of Glasgow this week so he can spend more time at Hoylake.

“It’s unusual for me not to play the week before a major,” he said. “I just felt I wasn’t getting any results out of playing the Scottish Open the week before that I wanted to at the British. So I’m going to spend a few extra days at [Hoylake].”

Woods, on playing his second tournament since his father’s death and whether it was getting any easier to handle:

“You know, it’s one of those things where you have to turn the page. I’m sure that it’ll happen. One day, unfortunately, I’ll lose my other parent and I’ll turn the page there, as well. That’s just one of the things you have to deal with. But I look back on my life previous to that [with] nothing but smiles.”

Call it unfortunate timing, for both Golf Magazine and Golf Digest. The August issue of Golf Digest teases a story on its cover: “How Phil nails his tee shots.” What? Off the tent? And Golf Magazine’s August issue offers a preview of the PGA Championship, even though it’s still more than a month off and the British Open starts next Thursday.

It’s not going to be played until May, but the 2007 Players Championship picked up two players. The PGA Tour’s policy board approved a plan to invite the winners of the Ford Senior Players Championship this week and the Nationwide Tour’s leading money winner from 2006.

Can this be the news that Tom Lehman needs? In the current Ryder Cup points standings, the U.S. side has five of its top 10 players with no Ryder Cup experience, and a sixth, David Toms, just pulled out of the British Open because a recurring back injury.

The potential rookies on the Lehman’s team are J.J. Henry, Zach Johnson, Brett Wetterich, Vaughn Taylor and Lucas Glover.

Lehman said he is worried about Toms, who is 2-0-1 in the alternate-shot format and teamed with Mickelson to produce one of the two match victories over Europe (Chris DiMarco and Jay Haas had the other) in the eight alternate-shot matches in 2004.

After the PGA Tour decided to rename the Western Open the BMW Championship and take it out of Chicago to either Indianapolis or St. Louis every other year, Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune had enough.

Wrote Morrissey: “I wonder if PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem had time to watch the Western Open on Sunday or if he was too busy thinking of ways to bring the Sears Tower to Indianapolis.”

Michelle Wie update: She’s at the men’s John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., this week, to try for the fifth time to make the cut at a PGA Tour event. Wie is 0 for 4, but she did tie for 35th at the Asian Tour’s SK Telecom Open in May.

Wie, who turns 17 in October, has more than made the philanthropic cut. She has donated $500,000 to Hurricane Katrina relief and $300,000 to children’s health care in Korea.

Name game: Back on the LPGA Tour, the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Gold Classic is being played this week at Sylvania, Ohio, and Heather Young is the defending champion. Last year, she was known as Heather Bowie, before marrying her caddie, Jeremy Young. The runner-up was Gloria Park, who also changed her name, to Gloria Hee Jung Park. Jamie Farr has not changed his name recently, but he was born Jameel Joseph Farah.

Scott McGihon won his third Southern California Golf Assn. Amateur title at Bakersfield Country Club. McGihon, 38, from Bermuda Dunes, is only the seventh to win three or more SCGA amateurs and the sixth to win back-to-back.

The 28th Bobby Jones Open, featuring only players named Bob Jones, will be played Monday through Wednesday at Talega Golf Club in San Clemente. The event benefits research to combat Syringomyelia, the illness that led to Jones’ death in 1971. Details: bobbyjonesopen.com.

This week

All times Pacific:

*--* PGA TOUR: John Deere Classic

*--*

* When: Today-Sunday.

* Where: TPC Deere Run (7,193 yards, par 71), Silvis, Ill.

* Purse: $4 million. Winner’s share: $720,000.

* TV: USA (today-Friday, 4-6 p.m., delayed) and Ch. 7 (Sat.-Sun., 11 a.m.-1 p.m.).

* 2005 winner: Sean O’Hair.

*--* LPGA TOUR: Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic

*--*

* When: Today-Sunday.