Sunday Driver Is Questioned Again

If it wasn’t enough that Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson questioned whether Phil Mickelson should have used a driver Sunday on the 18th hole of the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, it was Annika Sorenstam’s turn.

“Maybe he was caught up in the moment, I am not really sure,” Sorenstam said during a conference call for the upcoming HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship. “I mean, here is a guy who has every shot in the bag and he did not seem like he pulled out the right one when he needed to.”

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Sorenstam, who has won once in eight tournaments this year, said she isn’t in a slump.

“Obviously I don’t use that word myself,” she said. “Yes, it might not sound like the greatest season so far, but I have not played half of the ... tournaments yet, and let us just see how the season turns out.”

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After ninth-ranked and defending champion Sergio Garcia pulled of the Booz Allen Classic because of a back injury, none of the top 20 players in the world are in the field for the $5-million tournament that starts today. Padraig Harrington is the highest-ranking player left at 23rd.

And in other rankings news, Geoff Ogilvy is eighth after his victory at the Open. He started the year ranked 50th.

Ogilvy and his wife, Juli, recently spent $2,485,000 for a lot in an exclusive community in Scottsdale, according to the Arizona Republic.

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At the same time that Tiger Woods and Mickelson are expected to play at the PGA Tour’s Western Open, July 6-9, the European Tour will stage the Smurfit Kappa European Open at the K Club, at Straffan, Ireland.

It won’t be played on the Palmer Course, where the Ryder Cup will be held in September, but at the Smurfit Course. Michael Campbell, Retief Goosen, Colin Montgomerie and U.S. Open surprise Kenneth Ferrie are entered.

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Ratings game: Overnight ratings for NBC’s weekend coverage of the Open was a 3.2 on Saturday (down 20% from 2005) and a 4.7 on Sunday (down 16.1% from 2005).

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The PGA Tour decided Wednesday to wash out the Bank of America Championship, which had been postponed June 9-11 because of heavy rain at Nashawtuc Country Club in Concord, Mass.

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Grace Park, who has seven top 10s in her last 13 majors and won the 2004 Kraft Nabisco, pulled out of the U.S. Women’s Open because of a sore neck. The Open is June 29-July 2 at Newport Country Club at Newport, R.I. Park said her doctors have suggested she doesn’t touch a club for up to a month.

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Planning ahead: Ticket applications for the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club at Tulsa, Okla., and the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa., are available. The PGA Championship tickets run from $30 to $415 and the Open tickets run from $70 to $550.

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This week

All times Pacific

*--* PGA TOUR Booz Allen Classic

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* When: Today-Sunday.

* Where: TPC at Avenel (7,005 yards, par 71), Potomac, Md.

* Purse: $5 million. Winner’s share: $900,000.

* Television: USA (Today-Friday, 4-6 p.m., delayed) and Ch. 7 (Saturday-Sunday, noon-3 p.m.).

* 2005 winner: Sergio Garcia.

*--* LPGA TOUR Wegmans LPGA

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* When: Today-Sunday.

* Where: Locust Hill Country Club (6,221 yards, par 72), Pittsford, N.Y.

* Purse: $1.8 million. Winner’s share: $270,000.

* Television: The Golf Channel (Today-Sunday, 3:30-6 p.m., delayed).

* 2005 winner: Lorena Ochoa.

*--* CHAMPIONS TOUR Commerce Bank Championship

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* When: Friday-Sunday.

* Where: Eisenhower Park, Red Course (6,989 yards, par 70), East Meadow, N.Y.

* Purse: $1.5 million. Winner’s share: $225,000.

* Television: The Golf Channel (Friday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m.).

* 2005 winner: Ron Streck.

Associated Press