Book Tee Time Online | Golf Tee Times 2011

Nicklaus says Tiger's slump will end

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Jack Nicklaus doubts his lead in career Grand Slam titles will last - he figures it's just a matter of time before Tiger Woods' slump ends.

Woods hasn't won a tournament since he became immersed in a sex scandal in November 2009, and he's stalled at 14 major titles, four shy of Nicklaus' record.

"I still think he'll break my record," Nicklaus said Wednesday before playing a round in the Honda Classic pro-am. "I'm surprised that he has not bounced back by now. He's got such a great work ethic. He's so determined to what he wants to do."

Nicklaus said he hasn't talked to Woods since last June, and that conversation was brief.

"He got maybe off the track, but I think he's really a principled kid," Nicklaus said. "Did he have some wayward ... ? Yes. But are we all perfect? No."

Woods isn't playing Honda, a tournament he has skipped every year since 1993. Last week, he was eliminated in the first round of the Match Play Championship, and he has failed to crack the top 20 in his three tournaments this year.

SI GOLF+ PGA Tour Confidential: The state of the Tour; Tiger; favorite Tour stops and more

SI GOLF+ convened a fivesome of veteran PGA Tour players — Ben Crane, Steve Flesch, J.J. Henry, Davis Love III and Ted Purdy — plus SI senior writer Gary Van Sickle to answer those and other questions

State of The Tour

Van Sickle: The PGA Tour has turned up some new sponsors in a tough economy. Should we be optimistic or pessimistic about the Tour's future?

Flesch: It's more than just the PGA Tour. In the grand scheme of things commissioner Tim Finchem has done well to maintain 95 sponsors—45 on the PGA Tour and 25 or so each on the Champions and Nationwide tours. That's pretty darn good.

Crane: Considering the economy, I couldn't be happier.

Love: If you looked at the PGA Tour without looking at the economy, you'd say we're struggling a bit. Based on the economy, you'd say we're kicking butt. When you consider all the car companies and financial institutions that had bankruptcies and were tournament sponsors, to fill in all those blanks and not go backward is a miracle.

Henry: It says a lot about our product and the character of our players that we're fully sponsored in a down period and have kept purses up. I'm very optimistic. Especially seeing the stock market back around 12,000.

Purdy: Before the FedEx Cup it took about $600,000 [in earnings] to keep your Tour card. The first year of the FedEx Cup it took $875,000. Even though I finished 127th and missed my card by a few thousand dollars, I thought Finchem was brilliant. Then we had this down economy, and the 125th spot went back to $600,000. So I'm still optimistic, but we are losing playing opportunities for the Tour's lower third of the players—and that's my category now.

CME Group to sponsor LPGA season-ender

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The LPGA Tour has signed a three-year deal with CME Group to be the title sponsor of its season-ending Titleholders tournament in Florida.

CME Group has been involved with the LPGA Tour by hosting pro-am events and sponsoring the Solheim Cup. The title sponsorship gives the LPGA a big boost in a sagging economy, particularly with such a marquee event.

The Titleholders is the new name for its Tour Championship, to be played Nov. 17-20 at Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando. It features a unique criteria for its 75-player field, with the top three finishers from all 25 LPGA events qualifying for the season finale.

Pappas wins Bogota Open

BOGOTA (AP) — Brenden Pappas won the Bogota Open on Sunday when lightning wiped out the third round, reducing the Nationwide Tour event to 36 holes.

The 40-year-old South African had rounds of 67 and 66 to finish at 9 under at Bogota Country Club. He earned $108,000 in official money, but is credited with an unofficial victory because the players failed to complete 54 holes in the scheduled 72-hole tournament.

"This was a hollow victory because it's unofficial," Pappas said. "We didn't get to play 72 holes, but it's a victory nonetheless."

Sabbatini wins Honda by 1 shot

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Rory Sabbatini's shot barely beat the buzzer.

Holding a two-stroke lead at the Honda Classic, the South African stepped to the tee at the treacherous par-three 17th hole and lofted his drive to the middle of the green, avoiding the lake that had been collecting balls all week.

Moments later a horn sounded, signaling a suspension of play because of lightning. As rain began falling harder, Sabbatini walked briskly to his ball and happily marked it before finding refuge in a van.

"I was pretty content to have it on the green at that time," he said.

The tee shot left Sabbatini significantly closer to victory, and after a 28-minute delay he completed his march to the title, shooting an even-par 70 Sunday for a one-stroke win.

Y.E. Yang made it close, cutting a five-shot deficit to one in the span of seven holes. But Sabbatini birdied No. 16, then came through with a clutch par on 17.

While spectators wondered if Sabbatini would fold, Yang said he was actually the shakier player down the stretch.

"Usually if you're in front, if you're running away from somebody, you tend to be a bit nervous," Yang said through an interpreter. "But in Rory's case, apart from No. 14, he seemed really calm. I commend him for being I guess so emotionally stable. I wasn't."

Sabbatini sealed the title with a 2-foot par putt on No. 18 for a 72-hole total of 9-under 271. The resident of Fort Worth, Texas, earned his sixth PGA Tour victory and his first since the 2009 Byron Nelson Championship.