Pádraig Harrington this week samples the incredible atmosphere surrounding the par-three 16th hole at the TPC Stadium course in Scottsdale, Arizona as he makes his debut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Ryder Cup hero Martin Kaymer’s name has been added to the list of Europeans joining the US Tour next season.

World number one Rory McIlroy was resigned to missing his first cut since the US Open in June after a shocking finish to his second round at the Hong Kong Open today.

Rory McIlroy has his sights set on finishing the season as European number one for the first time to cap a brilliant year.

Brandt Snedeker, from Nashville, Tennessee, held his head when far bigger names around him were losing theirs as he swooped to claim the $US10 million (€7.65m) FedEx Cup bonus and the first prize of another $1.44m (€1.1m) by winning the Tour Championship at East Lake, Atlanta, yesterday.

Golfing superstar Rory McIlroy is set to move back in with his parents after deciding to put his luxury Co Down home on the market.

Rory McIlroy took a stranglehold on the $10m FedEx Cup and made another mark in the history books when he outplayed old enemy Lee Westwood in a thrilling back-nine battle to capture the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick for his second PGA Tour win in a row and his third in four starts.

One of Twitter’s many unquantifiable powers is how fast it can move from innocuous to electrifying in minutes.

Tiger Woods got the better of playing partner Rory McIlroy in the first round of The Barclays tournament in Farmingdale today, but it was Ireland’s Padraig Harrington who stole the early headlines.

The focus of the vast majority of the golfing world may be on the Open Championship instead of the True South Classic, but this week’s PGA Tour event can at least boast four major champions in the field.

The USPGA Tour like to call it the ‘Fifth Major’ and with a prize fund of $9.5m (€7.3m) and the presence of nine of the top 10 in the world rankings, the 39th Tournament Players Championship at Sawgrass looks like living up to expectations.

Rory McIlroy reclaimed his status as the No 1 golfer in the world at the Wells Fargo Championship on the US PGA Tour at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina last night.

Tiger Woods does not deny that appearance money is one of the factors in determining where he plays.

Lee Westwood ended 2011 on a high with victory in the Thailand Golf Championship in Bangkok today.

Some spectacular putting today swept Swede Fredrik Jacobson into a two-shot lead with a round to go at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

RORY McILROY could be without his close friend Graeme McDowell on the PGA Tour next season with the Portrush man confessing last night that he is not ruling out a return to Europe in 2012 to concentrate on making the Ryder Cup team.

“THE RETURN” was the talk of Akron last night as scribes dashed to their laptops to bear the good tidings to the world.

Dimitar Berbatov has been ruled out of the second match of Manchester United’s US Tour.

JUMPING in a lake to celebrate his French Open win has put Thomas Levet out of this week’s Scottish Open — and quite possibly the British Open as well.

THE companies that declined title sponsorship of the Irish Open must be kicking themselves given the hype and build up to next month’s tournament in Killarney.

GRAEME McDOWELL and Rory McIlroy, Ireland’s two representatives in an impressive 24-man field, have been handed difficult draws in the pool stages of the €3.4m Volvo World Match Play which starts at Finca Cortesin, Spain, on Thursday.

PRIVATE jets carrying Pádraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy passed over the skies of the Middle East yesterday.

THE role of caddie JP Fitzgerald during Rory McIlroy’s final round Masters meltdown is set to form an integral part of the inquest into the collapse of the 21-year-old on Sunday night.

Padraig Harrington was expected back for the second round of The Masters today despite neck trouble and a 77 start that matched his worst-ever round at Augusta.

TIGER WOODS and Pádraig Harrington have the opportunity to atone for recent dismal performances at the WGC Cadillac World Championship over the Blue Monster course in Doral, Florida, which starts on Thursday.

THE Irish trio at this week’s Accenture World Match Play in Tucson enter the event with contrasting form.

THE European Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic beginning over the Emirates Course on Thursday, offers $2.5m (€1.8m) in prize money while, across the Atlantic, The AT&T Pro-Am on the US PGA Tour carries a purse of $6.3m (€4.6m).

FOUR years after his last appearance and five since depression led to him attempting suicide, Australian golfer Steve Bowditch returns to the US Tour at the Sony Open in Hawaii today.

GRAEME McDOWELL, now up to fifth in the world rankings, is confident that a change from Callawayto Srixon clubs will not harm hisprospects of making a strong start tothe new season in Hawaii this week.

THERE is some confusion resulting from Rory McIlroy’s decision to quit the US Tour.

GRAEME MCDOWELL understands why Rory McIlroy quit the US Tour while Pádraig Harrington is anxious to discuss the decision with the Ulster star.

RORY McILROY has quit the US Tour in a move that can only further enhance the current glowing stature of the European Tour.

St Andrews, the Home of Golf, could tomorrow see Lee Westwood crowned as the new world number one - and little-known John Parry as the shock winner of one of Europe's richest events.

Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood have joined the call for a new date to be found for the Ryder Cup.

RYDER CUP hero Graeme McDowell admitted yesterday that he nearly spoke up when he heard he was down for the anchor role at Celtic Manor on Monday.

Ryder Cup hero Graeme McDowell has confirmed that he will be taking up US Tour membership next season.

Having dropped from 135th to 425th in the world during his term as Ryder Cup captain, it should come as no surprise that Colin Montgomerie does not want to do the job again.

Lee Westwood starts his bid for the world number one spot in Scotland tomorrow after making one of the biggest decisions of his career – he will not be joining the US Tour next year.

The Ryder Cup has had a lot of changes of format since it was first played in 1927 – and this weekend sees another.

NO tricks, no tweets and no teasing.

Colin Montgomerie today claimed he had “not played around” with the Celtic Manor course to give his European team an advantage in this weekend’s Ryder Cup.

ONLY a handful of peoplewere watching but LeeWestwood wasn’t complaining.