Tiger Woods wasn’t exactly the greatest host at the AT&T National, rallying to overtake Hunter Mahan to win his own tournament by one stroke.  The day started out with Woods and Anthony Kim tied after 54 holes, but the 24 year old Kim faltered early, dropping four shots in four holes on the front nine, and finished the day with a 71.  His 9-under left him four strokes back of Woods, alone in third place.

Tiger Woods wins the AT&T National. (Image: Zuma Press)

Woods’ main challenge on this day came from Hunter Mahan, who finished the day tied for the lead after a birdie on the 18th.  Mahan’s round of 62 tied the course record set Thursday by Kim, and he had to wait over an hour to see if Woods would overtake him.  It took a while, but finally on the 16th, Woods nailed a 20 foot birdie putt to take sole possession of the lead, and two routine pars later, Tiger was champ.

With Woods acting as host, the AT&T National used the 4th of July backdrop to honor and celebrate the courageous men and women serving in the Armed Forces.  The memory of Earl Woods, Tiger’s father, weighed heavily on his mind throughout the weekend, as Earl was a distinguished member of the Armed Forces for 20 years, including two full tours of duty in Vietnam.

The stage is set for a great Sunday finish at the AT&T National, as Tiger Woods and Anthony Kim sit atop a very crowded leaderboard at 10-under after third round action.  The pair are going to be challenged on the final day though, as Cameron Beckman and Michael Allen stand one stroke back at 9-under, and Jim Furyk and Rod Pampling are two strokes behind Woods and Kim at 8-under.  U.S. Open champ Lucas Glover shot a 2-under 68 for the round and finds himself three strokes behind the leaders, still within striking distance.

Image: Zuma Press

Woods began the day one stroke ahead of Pampling, a lead he promptly gave up on the first hole after a horrific drive into the gallery left him in deep rough.  A bogey on the first hole was a precursor to an up and down day for the tournament host, but Woods managed to get back to even par for the day, and a share of the lead.

Kim, the player many thought would be challenging Woods at most tournaments, overcame a brutal three-putt on the 9th hole to shoot 2-under for the day.  This will be the first time Kim has been paired with Woods in any round of any tournament.

With four players within two shots of the leaders, Woods should have a difficult time holding off challengers, as well as co-leader and last year’s winner Kim, if he is to continue his impressive five year streak of victories when having at least a share of the lead after 36 holes.

It looks like Tiger Woods meant it when he said that he wanted to be a “greedy host” at the AT&T National.  Woods followed up his opening round 64 with an impressive 4-under 66 to leave him at 10-under for the tournament.  His 36 hole score sets a new Congressional scoring record, besting the previous record of 9-under held by Tom Pernice Jr. and Jeff Overton.

Tiger Woods leads the field at the AT&T National. (Image: Zuma Press)

First round leader Anthony Kim couldn’t capitalize on his terrific opening round 62, falling behind Woods by two strokes after shooting a round of even par for the day.  Former U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk is lurking in the weeds after scores of 66 and 67 for the first two days.  He finds himself at 7-under for the tourney, three strokes back of Tiger.  Unfortunately for Kim, Furyk, and Rod Pampling, who sits in second at 9-under, they face a daunting task if they plan on overtaking Woods and claim victory on Sunday.  Tiger’s record when leading, or sharing the lead after 36 holes in a tournament is a staggering 31-6, and he has won the last eleven times from said position, dating back to the 2004 Byron Nelson Championship.

After winning last year’s AT&T National, the expectations for young and talented Anthony Kim were through the roof.  But instead of tour victories and prize money, Kim has had to endure poor play, nagging injuries, and self doubt.  It seems though that the cure for Kim’s ills is to play at the Congressional, after setting a course record 8-under 62 today to sit atop the leaderboard at this year’s AT&T National.  Ignoring doctor’s advice not to play for the next 4-6 weeks because of a left thumb injury, Kim came out firing on all cylinders, knocking down 8 birdies in the final 13 holes to grab a two stroke lead over a group of three players that includes tournament host Tiger Woods.

Anthony Kim holds a two shot lead at the AT&T National. (Image: Zuma Press)

Before Woods had even teed off, he saw that Kim was in the clubhouse with his 62.  Knowing he had to play well to stay close, Tiger did just that, only missing two fairways and three greens on his way to a 6-under 64, equalled by D.A. Points and Bryce Molder.  Former PGA champion Steve Elkington sits three strokes back at 5-under.

Coming into the tournament, Kim had rededicated himself to diet and fitness in order to regain his health and strength, and the once self-described “lazy” player has spent extra time on the driving range at the Congressional working on his mechanics.  Judging by his lights-out first round, all the extra work seems to be paying off.

You can never say Tony Romo suffers from lack of confidence.  The Dallas Cowboys quarterback did something most amateur golfers would never dare do–play Tiger Woods for money.  Then again, most amateurs aren’t one-handicappers, and if they are, most assuredly they don’t have the lovely Jessica Simpson cheering them on.  Playing in the pro-am the day before the AT&T National begins, the tournament Woods is hosting, Romo held his own against Tiger (although Tiger did spot Romo two strokes), but in the end Tiger prevailed, leaving Romo’s wallet a bit lighter.  Many other pro athletes attended the event, including Washington Redskins players Jason Campbell Antwaan Randle El, and Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau, who paired up with PGA pro Mike Weir.

Tiger Woods (Image: Zuma Press)

But like most other tournament he enters, the media focus is squarely on Woods.  Always the cordial host, Tiger hopes that the 120 man field has a great week, but he wants to be the last one standing come Sunday.  Always on his mind though is Jack Nicklaus, and his record 18 majors.  Woods finished sixth at both the Masters and U.S. Open, but is looking for better results at Turnberry in two weeks time.

Other notables playing this weekend at the Congressional Country Club include U.S. Open champ Lucas Glover, Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh.

For all those of us not named Tiger Woods, the chances of having one-to-one teaching lessons from 1993 PGA Teacher of the Year Hank Haney are pretty well nil.  But now you can experience the next best thing to the real thing.  PGA.com, the Official Site of the PGA of America, has announced that Wood’s swing coach Hank Haney will produce a series of exclusive online instructional videos, set to begin production over the next few months.

Golf Coach Hank Haney (right), shown here with Tigers Woods and caddie Steve Williams, is set to produce a series of instructional vids for PGA.com (Image: Zuma Press)

The video series will feature Haney giving instructions and tips on all aspects of the game of golf, both mental and physical.  Haney has been a member of the PGA for 25 years now, and has been teaching golf to professionals since 1976.  Along with his teaching duties, Haney also hosts “The Haney Project” which airs on The Golf Channel.  The show is in its inaugural season, and focuses on his attempt to improve NBA legend Charles Barkley’s horrific golf swing.  If you’ve ever seen Barkley swing a golf club, you’ll understand what a daunting task this is for Haney.

Check back here, or PGA.com, for more information as it becomes available.

Shocking that Tiger Woods would lose any golf match to funny guy Jimmy Fallon, but he did. He was promoting his Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 Wii video game and he and Fallon did a three hole showdown. The whole thing was shown on the large screens in Times Square. Can you imagine being in Times Square to see that?

Fallon, being a humble winner, told Tiger, “You really stink” after the loss! They look like they had a great time. Here’s Fallon talking about the experience:

Tiger doesn’t get much video game playing in these days, in part because he’s a busy dad, but also because his wife doesn’t dig the video game thing. Tiger says that in Sweden (where his wife Elin is from) “it just wasn’t a big thing to do.”

Image: Zuma Press

In a weekend that can only be described as strange and unpredictable, it seems fitting that a relative unknown 29 year old from South Carolina, who chews tobacco and listens to Sinatra no less, should find his name engraved on the U.S. Open trophy, right above one Tiger Woods.  It was a final round of major collapses, rousing comebacks and whispers from past greats that highlighted Lucas Glover’s improbable U.S. Open win.

Lucas Glover wins the 109th U.S. Open Championship. (Image: Zuma Press)

Glover never relinquished the lead after the 12th hole, and finished up the round with a 3-over 73 and a two stroke victory.  His birdie on the 16th broke a three-way tie for the lead, and his 73 was the highest final round score in the Open since Ernie Els’ 73 at Oakmont in 1994.  But the only number that really mattered to Glover was his 4-under for the tourney, good enough for the championship.

Phil Mickelson made an early charge to gain a share of the lead, but an all too familiar collapse in the closing holes was “Lefty’s” undoing.  He missed two par putts over the last four holes to fall behind Glover, and ended up tied for second at 2-under for the tournament.  This was Mickelson’s record setting 5th runner up finish in U.S. Open history.

The enigmatic David Duval was also a co-leader at one point, flashing signs reminiscent of his time as the world’s number one golfer.  Now ranked No.882, Duval reeled off three straight birdies to gain a share of the lead, before a par putt on the 17th rimmed out, effectively ending his chances for the win.  Still, it was a nice showing for Duval, who hasn’t won on tour since 2001.

Ricky Barnes, the co-leader with Glover after 54 holes, had a monumental collapse in the final round, shooting 40 for the front nine, and finishing with a 76 for the day.  His 2-under for the weekend left him in a tie for second with Mickelson and Duval.

With the win, Glover’s world ranking has skyrocketed from No.71 to No.17, and maybe even better, he pockets a $1.35 million purse.

With the third round in the books, and the fourth round barely underway before darkness set in, two golfers sit atop the leaderboard, setting up what looks to be a compelling final round on Monday.  Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover both sit at 7-under for the tournament, the pair of them taking vastly different paths to get there. 

Lucas Glover (left) and Ricky Barnes share the Open lead at 7-under. (Image: Zuma Press)

By the midway point of the third round, Barnes had reached 11-under and looked as if he may run away with the tournament.  His back nine however was a struggle, and Barnes ended up shooting an even par 70 for the round.  The one and only hole he managed to play in the fourth round was a bogey that dropped him to 7-under.

Glover on the other hand played near perfect golf, including three birdies on the back nine to make 70 as well, keeping him one shot back until Barnes’ unfortunate bogey on his final hole of the day.

Barnes and Glover are 5 strokes ahead of a pack of four golfers sitting at 2-under, including David Duval and fan favorite Phil Mickelson.  Tiger Woods shot a 2-under 68 for his third round and now sits at even par for the Open.  The largest final round comeback in Open history is 7 shots by the legendary Arnold Palmer, way back in 1960.  But with the weather being as unpredictable as it has been, and the two leaders never having faced the pressure of closing out a major tournament, don’t count out the possibility of Mickelson, or Woods for that matter, making a final round charge up the leaderboard.

This may go down as one of the longest, strangest U.S. Open tournaments in history.  In a weekend that has seen two of three rounds halted by torrential downpours, there have been two players who have shot a course record 64 on the notoriously difficult Bethpage Black, and another player setting the U.S. Open 36 hole scoring record.  Strangest of all is that none of these three players are named Woods or Mickelson.

Ricky Barnes leads the U.S. Open. (Image: Zuma Press)

Instead of Phil and Tiger, you have Mike Weir and Lucas Glover sharing the course record, and perhaps even more surprising, former U.S. Amateur winner Ricky Barnes setting the 36 hole scoring record, and leading the Open by one stroke heading into the third round.  Glover sits one stroke back at 7-under, while Weir is two back at 6-under.  The heavy rains returned on Saturday before Barnes and Glover could begin their third round play.  The 60 players who made the cut will tee off Sunday at 7:30 a.m.

Woods second round was drastically improved from his terrible opening round 74.  He carded a 1-under 69, leaving him at 3+over for the weekend, 11 strokes back of Barnes.  Mickelson fared a little better, shooting even par for his second round, and sits at 1-under for the tourney.  Neither seemed to be able to maintain any momentum to gain ground on the leaders.  But at least the two of them made the cut, which is more than can be said for such notables as Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els and Paul Casey.