Four-time Augusta National champion Arnold Palmer confidently expects to be welcoming Rory McIlroy to next year’s Masters Champions dinner.

Hopefully Harrington can relax enough to enjoy his return to the Masters at Augusta next month and get back to his best.

INTERNATIONAL: The possible change to the format of the Presidents Cup was to the key topic on Sunday after the United States beat the Internationals for an eighth time in 10 editions.

Tiger Woods won the deciding match for a third straight time and the United States lifted the Presidents Cup for a fifth straight time as they beat the International team 18.5 to 15.5 in Dublin, Ohio.

Rory McIlroy will not rediscover his fluent swing until he finds a way to free his “scrambled” mind, according to renowned golfing guru David Leadbetter.

Product placement has come to Coronation Street after ITV signed a deal with Britain's Nationwide Building Society that will see one of its branded cash machines set up in the corner shop.

FRESH from his remarkable 11 strokes victory in front of his home fans in Castellon on Sunday, Sergio Garcia has moved down the coast in western Spain to Valderrama where the €3m Andalucia Masters gets underway tomorrow.

THE final Major of the year begins at the Atlanta Athletic Club on Thursday with Luke Donald and Lee Westwood still clinging to the top two places in the world rankings and Rory McIlroy the bookmaker’s favourite at 10/1.

JOHN BOYETTE’S soft, southern accent seems like the natural by-product of a life spent on either side of the Savannah River.

THERE was a time when it seemed Tiger Woods would never be deposed as the world’s number one golfer.

ANY attempts to put Tiger Woods off at The Open in July will result in people being ejected.

THINK of Tiger Woods what you will, but even before he ends his self-imposed exile and tries to win over disappointed and disgusted fans again comes another reminder of the thing that made him famous in the first place.

Once this is served up, don’t expect your guests to eat anything else!

SIMPLICITY, even in winter, is everything and nothing hits the spot quite like a hearty bowl of thick, chunky vegetable soup. You can even throw in a few fat lardons of bacon or generous cubes of chorizo to add extra oomph. How delicious does that sound?

Seve Ballesteros, who is still recovering from a brain tumour, is among the golfing stars who have been invited to compete in the Champions Challenge on the eve of next July’s Open at St Andrews.

TIGER WOODS has again backed Pádraig Harrington for seeking changes in his swing that will make the Irishman an even better player.

Nick Faldo has officially entered what will be his 33rd Open and 96th major championship at Turnberry in July.

Padraig Harrington will try for a third successive Open Championship this July on a Turnberry course which has been lengthened by nearly 250 yards since it last staged the event 15 years ago.

A SHELL-SHOCKED Rory McIlroy refused to speak to waiting reporters after suffering golfing disaster of the most shattering kind at Augusta National last night.

Chad Campbell was the man to catch as The Masters went into the second round at Augusta National today.

With Lee Westwood pulling out because of tonsilitis and Darren Clarke among a number of players taking a rest after the effort they put into their Ryder Cup bids, the field at this week’s Omega European Masters in Switzerland has been seriously weakened.

Turnberry in Scotland, the venue for next year’s Open Championship, is being bought for £55m by the Dubai-based Leisurecorp.

Woody Austin and Mark Calcavecchia captured the Merrill Lynch Shootout with a one-shot victory over Greg Norman and Bubba Watson last night.

Padraig Harrington is keen to add the US PGA to his Open success when the event starts at Southern Hills tomorrow.

IT ISN’T often the temperature becomes the main topic of conversation in the lead-up to a major golf championship but that has been very much the case here over the past few days.

IT was a Tour career that began at the 1974 Spanish Open with him scoring 83 and ended 23 years later with him 16 over par and joint last with a 67-year-old Lee Trevino.

Kenneth Ferrie led the British challenge in the US Open – but Luke Donald’s bid for victory already looked doomed to failure.

Zimbabwe’s Nick Price, winner of the British Open at Turnberry in 1994, has not entered next month’s championship at Hoylake and is set therefore to miss the event for the first time in 20 years.

European Tour number one David Howell has already made his presence felt on his return to the American circuit.

Tim Herron and Tom Pernice Jr both fired two-under-par 68s to share the lead after three rounds of the FedEx St Jude Classic in Memphis.

Chris Smith fired a bogey-free six-under-par 64 to take a two-shot lead after the first round of the St Jude Classic in Memphis.

Aaron Baddeley held off the challenge of Ryder Cup veteran Jim Furyk tonight to win the Verizon Heritage, his maiden PGA Tour win.

Darren Clarke, who threw away a chance to win the event on the 72nd hole last year, had a terrible opening day of the Verizon Heritage at Hilton Head Island yesterday, closing at five over par.

Tiger Woods beat Jose Maria Olazabal at the second hole of a play-off to grab a record fourth Buick Invitational victory today.

GOLF superstar Tiger Woods has treated himself to €33 million estate for his 30th birthday, but he still won’t be able to use the local course.

TIGER WOODS is close to sealing a deal on a very large birthday present on Jupiter Island in Florida.

The R&A have announced that Turnberry will host the 2009 Open Championship from July 16-19.

World Cup winners Bradley Dredge and Stephen Dodd celebrated in very different ways today – one by putting his feet up, the other by flying to China.

Padraig Harrington admits he and World Cup partner Paul McGinley are so set in their ways now that they have stopped trying to change each other.

Paul McGinley has expressed his disappointment at the number of big names missing from this week’s World Cup in Portugal – even though it improves the chances of he and Padraig Harrington regaining the title and walking away with almost £400,000 each.

BRAD FAXON won the biggest award of his career yesterday without being able to hit a golf shot.

EDDIE POLLAND recorded his best result for almost 17 months when he finished joint second with Spaniard José Rivero and Sam Torrance of Scotland in the Algarve Seniors Open of Portugal at a rain-soaked Quinta de Cima Golfe on Sunday.

Nine of the world’s top 10 golfers and 18 of the leading 40 have now turned down the chance to win nearly £400,000 (€580,000) at the World Cup in Portugal on November 17-20.