THE US OPEN was almost reduced to farce yesterday as the infamous par-three seventh became all but unplayable.

"I SPENT much of the day trying to break 80", commented Padraig Harrington who avoided that ignominy by producing a sparkling finish to his final round of the US Open at Shinnecock Hills yesterday.

SOONER or later, Tiger will just have to own up — things ain’t what they used to be.

LIMA was left stunned last night after being propelled into the European elite.

JAY HAAS did not quite get the Father Day’s present yesterday he had been hoping for on Friday evening but it came pretty close.

YOU only had to watch and listen to appreciate just how much the New York public adored Phil Mickelson.

TAKE a bow, Tim Herron. You are the man. You took on the feared seventh hole at Shinnecock Hills and lived. Timbo, you rock.

CARL MASON, the defending champion, showed he is not going to give up the title without a fight when The Mobile Cup got underway in breezy conditions at The Oxfordshire Golf Club.

Darren Clarke cut a despondent figure as he slipped out of Shinnecock Hills yesterday after shooting a second round of 74 for a seven over par total in the second round of the 104th US Open.

YOU all know the one about patience seldom in a woman, never in a man. Well, females aren't allowed to play in the US Open so the males had the field to themselves yesterday to disprove that old adage.

DAVID DUVAL was unequivocal. As he stood behind the 18th green following an agonising round of 13-over-par 83 at the US Open, the American declared: "I stand here a blessed man.

FUNKY bounces might conjure up an image of some Latino Manhattan nightclubs, but it was, in fact, the language employed by Tiger Woods to describe his opening day 72 at the 104th US Open Championship on Long Island.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON will start today's third round at the Buick Classic in New York, well in contention but deeply concerned about how to deal with a "broken down" swing so close to next week's US Open.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON put in a strong finish to his opening round at the Buick Classic to leave him in touch with the leaders going into today's second round at the Westchester Country Club in New York.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE, who next week misses his first major in 13 years, is still rated favourite for the £1.4m Diageo Championship at Gleneagles starting today.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON and Darren Clarke will tee off in the Buick Classic here today attempting to walk a delicate line just seven days before the US Open.

IT'S little wonder golfers can't wait to reach their 50th birthday these days. Carl Mason won just twice on the regular European Tour, but when he turned 50 at the end of June last year he quickly fattened up his pension fund.

STACKSTOWN'S Mark Campbell produced his best ever round at Baltray to grab the halfway lead in the East of Ireland Amateur championship in Co Louth.

SIMON KHAN, ranked 255th in the world, last night pulled off the second shock victory in seven days after Paul Casey blew a four-shot lead in the Celtic Manor Wales Open.

ERNIE ELS made himself firmly at home when he shot a stunning eight-under 64 to take the first round lead of the PGA Championship.

NICK FALDO saw golf in a new light yesterday but it did not make him play any better. Wearing glasses in a tournament for the first time in his life, he managed only a three over par 75 at the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open in Heidelberg.

Australian Terry Gale birdied the final two holes to win the inaugural Bosch Italian Seniors Open yesterday at Circolo Golf Venezia by a stroke from England's David J Russell.

MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ enjoyed a "surprise" triumph in the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai after making light work of Simon Dyson's six-shot overnight lead.

YORKSHIRE'S Simon Dyson continue to set the pace in the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai.

CRAIG SMITH, a 6 foot 7 inch tall, 23 year-old from Cardiff, became the third overseas winner of the AIB Irish Amateur Open Championship since the event was revived in 1995 by mounting a highly impressive rearguard action over the Montgomerie course at Carton House, Co Kildare.

TORRENTIAL rain meant no play was possible on the second day of the Italian Open in Milan yesterday.

IRELAND'S newest Curtis Cup player, Claire Coughlan, finished second in the Helen Holm Scottish Women's Open Amateur Championship at Royal Troon yesterday.

FRANCE'S Christian Cevaer twice holed out for eagle to claim his first European Tour victory in an amazing finish to the Spanish Open in Fuerteventura.

ON the same course where he hopes to represent Argentina in the World Cup in November, Ricardo Gonzalez won the Seville Open yesterday thanks to a 40-foot birdie putt on the final green.

AMERICAN Craig Bowden, early halfway leader in the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta, has slammed as "ridiculous" the fact that if he wins tomorrow he will not be playing in next week's Masters.

FIVE days after one of the best performances of his career, Pádraig Harrington found himself struggling to find the same adrenalin yesterday.

IRELAND'S Peter Lawrie, last year's European Tour rookie of the year, leads the Algarve Open de Portugal in Penina after an opening round 66.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON has confirmed he will tee-up in the €127,000 PGA Irish Region Championship at St Margaret's, Dublin, on April 15 to 18.

FOUR DAYS after his worst finish in five years Tiger Woods yesterday matched his worst-ever round in the Players Championship in Florida.

ENGLAND'S David Dixon gladly swapped the stifling heat of Singapore for the wind and rain of the Madeira Island Open yesterday.

PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman had to overcome years of pessimism and resistance before people began to appreciate the magic of Sawgrass. John Garrity explains.

BERNHARD LANGER has named Swedes Anders Forsbrand and Joakim Haeggman as his two assistants for September's Ryder Cup in Detroit.

THE richest event in golf the Players Championship starting at Sawgrass in Florida today has just become even richer.

Fresh from victory in the Australian Open on Monday, Britain's Laura Davies is high on confidence going into the opening event of the LPGA season in America, the Welch's/Fry's Championship in Tucson, Arizona.

England's Laura Davies grabbed a share of the lead after an impressive five birdie 68 in yesterday's first round of the AAMI Women's Australian Open at the Concord club in Sydney.