Monday, August 26, 2013

Manning does another commercial, this one silent

DENVER (AP) -- Peyton Manning's latest commercial doesn't have a catchy tune like ''Football On Your Phone'' that he rapped with brother Eli.
In fact, he's downright silent in this one.
A straight-faced Manning teamed up with John Elway, John Lynch and Chauncey Billups in a humorous ad campaign that launches Monday promoting the 2014 BMW Championship golf tournament at Cherry Hills Country Club.
The campaign, which coincides with the launch of public ticket sales, features print and video ads showing the four Denver sports greats attending ''husher school'' at Cherry Hills so they can serve as marshals at next year's event.
They do some training to learn how to properly hold up the ''QUIET'' signs, with Lynch serving as a helpful tutor to Manning.
The print portion of the campaign features the foursome around a red golf cart holding their ''QUIET'' signs. They also 30-second recorded radio spots.
''I had this thought that with Denver being such a great sports town, if you were to get all the great sports stars in our town pitching theBMW, people are going to pay attention,'' said George Solich, general chairman of the 2014 BMW Championship.
The BMW Championship is part of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs. No announcements have been made for future venues, but Solich said he's confident Colorado can become a regular stop for the playoffs because of its great golf weather around Labor Day.
''Now, if we can just get the Thursday night opening NFL game again next year, we'd have the perfect storm,'' he said. ''There's one way to assure that: the Broncos win the Super Bowl.''
The Broncos are hosting the NFL kickoff opener Sept. 5 but only because the defending champion Ravens couldn't play the game in Baltimore because of a scheduling conflict with baseball's Orioles.
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Golf-U.S. PGA Tour Barclays Classic scores

Aug 25 (Infostrada Sports) - Scores from the U.S. PGA Tour Barclays Classic at the par-71 course on Sunday in Jersey City, New Jersey
273 Adam Scott (Australia) 69 66 72 66 
274 Graham DeLaet (Canada) 67 73 69 65
 Justin Rose (Britain) 68 68 70 68 
 Tiger Woods (U.S.) 67 69 69 69 
Gary Woodland (U.S.) 69 64 68 73
275 Phil Mickelson (U.S.) 71 69 70 65
D.A. Points (U.S.) 70 72 66 67
Jim Furyk (U.S.) 70 66 70 69
276 Jason Kokrak (U.S.) 70 69 70 67
Matt Every (U.S.) 67 72 69 68
 Nick Watney (U.S.) 68 70 69 69 
 Rickie Fowler (U.S.) 71 64 71 70 
277 Rory Sabbatini (South Africa) 71 67 71 68 
 Bubba Watson (U.S.) 68 70 68 71 
278 John Huh (U.S.) 73 64 71 70 
 Daniel Summerhays (U.S.) 70 69 69 70 
Webb Simpson (U.S.) 67 66 74 71
Kevin Chappell (U.S.) 68 72 62 76
279 Brendon De Jonge (Zimbabwe) 67 69 72 71 
Rory McIlroy (Britain) 71 65 71 72
 Jordan Spieth (U.S.) 70 68 68 73 
 David Lynn (Britain) 71 65 69 74 
 Kevin Streelman (U.S.) 70 68 68 73 
Matt Kuchar (U.S.) 66 65 70 78
280 Lee Westwood (Britain) 73 68 71 68
 Bryce Molder (U.S.) 69 69 72 70 
Bill Haas (U.S.) 73 66 71 70
 Jason Day (Australia) 66 73 71 70 
Hunter Mahan (U.S.) 69 68 72 71
 Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) 68 67 74 71 
 Roberto Castro (U.S.) 70 70 69 71 
Ryan Moore (U.S.) 67 72 69 72
281 Charles Howell III (U.S.) 72 66 73 70 
Matt Jones (Australia) 71 68 72 70
Keegan Bradley (U.S.) 72 63 74 72
 Chris Stroud (U.S.) 73 66 70 72 
282 Jason Dufner (U.S.) 71 70 71 70 
Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) 68 68 74 72
Greg Chalmers (Australia) 73 69 66 74
 Sergio Garcia (Spain) 70 66 71 75 
283 Stuart Appleby (Australia) 69 71 72 71 
Luke Donald (Britain) 67 72 72 72
284 Brian Gay (U.S.) 68 72 77 67
Erik Compton (U.S.) 72 70 72 70
George McNeill (U.S.) 71 68 76 69
Kevin Stadler (U.S.) 64 73 76 71
Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 65 73 75 71
 Scott Piercy (U.S.) 72 70 69 73 
Aaron Baddeley (Australia) 69 72 66 77
285 Nicholas Thompson (U.S.) 67 74 72 72
Kyle Stanley (U.S.) 70 67 76 72
Martin Kaymer (Germany) 68 70 75 72
John Merrick (U.S.) 69 73 70 73
286 Martin Flores (U.S.) 71 69 77 69
 Carl Pettersson (Sweden) 68 73 73 72 
Jimmy Walker (U.S.) 68 73 72 73
 Camilo Villegas (Colombia) 65 73 72 76 
287 Boo Weekley (U.S.) 69 72 75 71
Cameron Tringale (U.S.) 74 67 73 73
Bob Estes (U.S.) 72 68 74 73
 Jonas Blixt (Sweden) 69 67 70 81 
288 Scott Brown (U.S.) 70 70 78 70
Scott Langley (U.S.) 72 69 76 71
John Senden (Australia) 71 71 71 75
289 Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) 68 73 77 71 
290 Jeff Overton (U.S.) 68 74 74 74
Ryan Palmer (U.S.) 65 73 75 77
291 Stewart Cink (U.S.) 70 70 79 72 
K.J. Choi (South Korea) 71 71 73 76
292 Charley Hoffman (U.S.) 68 71 79 74
294 Marc Leishman (Australia) 72 70 75 77
295 Martin Laird (Britain) 74 68 77 76 
 David Hearn (Canada) 73 68 79 75 
Josh Teater (U.S.) 68 72 76 79
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Ko dominates for history-making victory in Canada

Australian teenager Lydia Ko became the first amateur to win twoLPGA Tour events by shooting a final-round 64 to defend her CN Canadian Open title with an astounding five-shot victory in Edmondton on Sunday. 
 Ko entered the final round training Sweden's Carolina Hedwall by one stroke, but Ko's 6-under round was three shots better than anyone else in the field as she finished the tournament at 15-under. France's Karine Icher shot a 3-under 67 to take second place, while Hedwall finished in a tie for third place at 9-under along withAmerican Brittany Lincicome. 
 Ko won the CN Canadian Open in 2012, becoming the youngest winner of an LPGA event at 15 years, 4 months, 2 days. A year later, she now holds the top two spots on that record chart. 
With the victory, Ko will move from No. 19 in the Rolex Women's World Rankings to No. 7. It is her fourth international victory world wide.
Ko is the first LPGA player to defend a title since Yani Tseng won the RICOH Women's British Open in 2010 and '11.
Ko has not missed a cut in 14 LPGA events over the past two seasons.
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Dufner ties major scoring record with 63 at PGA

Dufner ties major scoring record with 63 at PGA

CBSSports.com wire reports
Jason Dufner ties a major record with a 63 at the PGA Championship on Friday. (Getty Images)
Jason Dufner ties a major record with a 63 at the PGA Championship on Friday. (Getty Images)

PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Jason Dufner lost his chance to make history in the PGA Championship.
And then he lost his shirt.
He still walked away from Oak Hill late Friday evening with a round he won't forget -- a 63 -- and a place in the record book with some of golf's greatest players. The moment was big enough that Dufner even agreed to show a little emotion.
Prompted in a television interview, Dufner flashed a smile. But only for a second.
"To join history, to shoot 63 in a major, pretty unbelievable," he said. "And to be leading the tournament, even better. So hopefully, it will propel me to a great weekend."
There was nothing dull about his golf. If anything, it was historic.
Dufner holed out from the fairway for eagle, rolled in a putt across the green for par and kept making birdies until he stood 12 feet away from a shot at the lowest score in the 153 years of championship golf. One last birdie attempt didn't even get to the hole, and Dufner had to settle for a 7-under 63.
"You couldn't have a better putt for a 62," he said. "And I left it short in the jar."
He also left behind his shirt, his cap and the glove he was wearing, which he signed with the date, the course and the score. The PGA of America shipped the items to its museum in Florida to put on permanent display.
It was the third time in the last seven years at the PGA Championship that a player had a putt at becoming the first player to shoot 62 in a major. Tiger Woods circled the hole at Southern Hills in 2007. Steve Stricker narrowly missed at Atlanta Athletic Club two years ago.
Dufner didn't feel disappointed for long.
On a rain-softened Oak Hill, where pelt-sized divots were flying and birdies were falling, Dufner surged to a two-shot lead over Masters champion Adam Scott, Jim Furyk and Matt Kuchar. At 9-under 131, Dufner tied the 36-hole record at the PGA Championship he now shares with six other players.
Dufner was alone at the top, and in the company of some big names in history.
His 63 broke the course record at Oak Hill held by Ben Hogan, Curtis Strange and Webb Simpson, who shot 64 about five hours earlier. Dufner became the 24th player to shoot 63 in a major -- Greg Norman and Vijay Singh, both in the Hall of Fame, did it twice.
And through it all, he barely cracked a smile.
"He's very calm," said Stricker, who played alongside Dufner. "I'm sure he was churning on the inside. He just told me while we were signing our cards, he was like, 'This is a lot for a Friday.'"
The possibilities were endless on a day that began with three hours of a steady rain until the sun broke through and took all the bite out of Oak Hill.
Simpson also had a chance at 63 until he made a bogey on the 16th hole of his round. U.S. Open champion Justin Rose shot 29 on the front nine to get back into contention. When the second round finally ended, 27 players remained under par -- this on a course that is stubborn when it comes to par. In five previous majors at Oak Hill, only nine players have finished the tournament in red numbers. Jack Nicklaus did it twice.
The cut was at 143, the lowest at the PGA Championship since 2001 at Atlanta Athletic Club.
For all the low scores, Woods and Phil Mickelson were left behind.
Woods couldn't get anything going, exchanging birdies with bogeys during a poor putting round that led to an even-par 70. He was at 1-over 141 and 10 shots back going into the weekend. Woods went to the range with his swing coach, trying to find answers. He has only one score in the 60s in 14 rounds at the majors this year.
"Obviously, I'm going to have to put together a really good weekend," Woods said. "This golf course is pretty soft. It's definitely gettable. Got to hit the ball in play and keep the ball near the hole so I can be aggressive with my putts."
Mickelson's swing apparently went missing in the three weeks since he won the British Open. He was all over Oak Hill and still managed a 34 on the back nine until his wild shots caught up with him. Another 71 left him 11 shots out of the lead.
Dufner was in prime position to win the PGA Championship two years ago when he had a four-shot lead with four holes to play, only to be tracked down by Keegan Bradley and then beaten in a playoff. Dufner said that day he would only be disappointed "if I never get another chance."
And here he is, in record fashion.
Dufner's popularity has grown the last two years because of his zombie state. He was responsible for the craze known as "Dufnering" in April when someone took a photo of him slumped against a classroom wall, eyes in a daze, during a charity event at an elementary school as the teacher taught children how to relax and concentrate.
But there were nerves, no doubt, and Dufner showed them at the very end.
A 6-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole put him at 7 under for the round, and his 15-foot birdie putt on the next hole grazed the cup. He followed with two flawless swings on the tough 18th hole, which had yielded only four birdies at that point. That left him about 12 feet below the hole.
And he left it short by about 18 inches. There even was a nervous moment on the tap-in, when the ball came off the putter weakly and dove in the right corner of the cup.
"It's tough when you're chasing history," Dufner said. "You will be the first one to do something. I don't think I've been the first to do anything in my life. So it was a little nerve-racking for a Friday. It's usually the pressure you might feel toward the end of the tournament."
That part is still to come.
Low scores were available to anyone. Even after Dufner finished his round, K.J. Choi had an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole to reach 7 under. It narrowly missed, and Choi made bogey on the next hole to end that threat.
Scott is swinging the club beautifully, and his only flaw Friday was not holing enough birdie chances when the rain stopped. Even so, he was in the hunt on the weekend for the fourth time in the last six majors. He will be in the final group with Dufner on Saturday.
Henrik Stenson, a runner-up at Muirfield, had a 66 and joined Rose at 6-under 134, only three shots behind. Stricker and Robert Garrigus were another shot behind.
Dufner is a student of golf history and was thrilled to part of it. But while that 63 put him in the record book, it doesn't guarantee the trophy. Of the 25 previous times that someone shot 63 in a major, only five players went on to win -- Nicklaus and Johnny Miller in the U.S. Open, Norman in the British Open, and Woods and Raymond Floyd in the PGA Championship.
Now that's some elite company.
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Furyk shoots a 68, takes one-stroke lead at PGA Championship

Furyk shoots a 68, takes one-stroke lead at PGA Championship

CBSSports.com wire reports
PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- The final moments Saturday at Oak Hill brought out more emotion as big putts kept falling in the PGA Championship, with one big difference.
These putts were for par.
Jim Furyk, after a 3-wood struck so poorly off the 18th tee that he couldn't have reached the green even if he had been in the fairway, worked his way up the 472-yard hole until he had a 15-foot putt from the fringe to keep a one-shot lead. The ball curled into the left corner of the cup, and the 43-year-old emphatically shook his fist.
Adam Scott, whose sweet swing turned sour on the last few holes, was on the verge of letting the lead get another shot away from him when he knocked in a 15-foot putt for par on the 17th hole, bowed his head and pumped his fist.
And then there was Jason Dufner, whose disappointment turned to surprise on the 18th hole when he took a step toward the cup to tap in a missed putt and watched gravity pull it into the hole for a par that put him in the final group.
Perhaps those scenes were a prelude for Sunday, the final round of the final major of the year.
"It's only going to get harder," Furyk said.
Oak Hill finally had enough elements for a tough test, and Furyk showed enough of his western Pennsylvania grit for a 2-under 68 and a one-shot lead over Dufner.
Grinding to the end in a swirling wind that cast doubt on so many shots, Furyk closed with two clutch putts -- one for birdie to regain the lead, the par putt to keep it -- that put him 18 holes away from winning another major 10 years after his U.S. Open title.
There was nothing fancy about the way he worked his way to the top of the leaderboard at 9-under 201, but then, that's rarely the case with Furyk. He made three birdies and two tough pars on the back nine, and the one bogey was a bunker shot that hit the pin and rolled 7 feet away.
He was so wrapped up in his game that he didn't even know the score.
"Give me a leaderboard. Where are we at?" he asked before he was told he was one shot ahead of Dufner, and two clear of Henrik Stenson.
"I'm comfortable with where I'm at," Furyk said. "There's a crowded leaderboard at the top, and instead of really viewing it as who is leading and who is not, I'm really viewing it as I need to go out there tomorrow and put together a good, solid round of golf. Fire a good number and hope it stacks up well."
Dufner was eight shot worse than his record-tying 63, but at least he got into the final group at the PGA Championship for the second time in three years. At the Atlanta Athletic Club in 2011, he had a four-shot lead with four holes to go and lost to Keegan Bradley in a playoff.
"I was young, new to doing the majors," Dufner said. "I think that was the third or fourth major I played in. So hopefully, the experience I've had since then will pull me through and give me a chance to win tomorrow."
Stenson, a runner-up at the British Open three weeks ago, dropped only one shot over the last 16 holes and ran in a pair of 12-foot birdie putts for a 69 and was two shots behind. Sweden's odds of winning a major have never been this high. Stenson will play in the penultimate group with Jonas Blixt, who had a 66.
The surprise was Scott, who was poised to seize control at any moment.
Scott blasted a driver on the uphill, 318-yard 14th hole that was so pure he snatched his tee from the ground as the ball was still rising. It stopped 25 feet below the cup, and he had an eagle putt to tie for the lead. The Australian two-putted for birdie, and two holes later fell back with a double bogey on the 16th. Scott escaped further damage with a 15-foot par save on the 17th and managed a 72. He was four shots behind, along with Steve Stricker, who had a 70.
Those were the only five players within five shots of the lead.
Still with an outside chance was Rory McIlroy, who came to life with three birdies over his last six holes for a 67. McIlroy, trying to join Tiger Woods as the only repeat winners of the PGA in the stroke-play era, knocked in a 40-foot birdie putt on the 17th and then showed more emotion than he has all year when he chipped in for birdie on the 18th.
"It was good to feel the sort of rush again," McIlroy said.
He was at 3 under, still six shots behind.
Woods, meanwhile, will have to wait eight more months to end his drought in the majors. He opened with two bogeys in three holes and shot a 73 to fall 13 shots behind. It was a shocking performance from the world's No. 1 player, mainly because he was coming off a seven-shot win at Firestone that included a 61.
Woods has made only seven birdies in 54 holes -- four of them on par 3s.
British Open champion Phil Mickelson was even worse. He sprayed the ball all over Oak Hill on his way to a 78, matching his highest score ever in the PGA Championship.
No one looked terribly comfortable at the start, not with the swirling wind and water hazard that winds its way along the front nine.
U.S. Open champion Justin Rose fell apart early with back-to-back double bogeys that sent him to a 42. He wound up with a 77. Scott opened with a 20-foot birdie putt, only to follow with back-to-back bogeys. And when Dufner ended his string of pars by driving into the creek on No. 5 for double bogey, it appeared that this tournament was wide open. The leaders steadied themselves, leaving the title Sunday it still up for grabs but likely among fewer players.
Scott knows as well as anyone how unpredictable a final round can be.
He was four shots up with four holes to play at the British Open last year and watched Ernie Els win the claret jug. At Muirfield last month, Mickelson came from five shots behind on the final day and won by three.
"I would like to be leading," Scott said. "Four back is well within reach. Anything can happen in a major. We just saw the pin spots get tough today, and scoring in the final groups was very difficult. With so much danger around, it's hard to be completely free where major pressure is on the line. Tomorrow is going to be similar."
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Dufner holds off Furyk at PGA Championship, captures first major

Dufner holds off Furyk at PGA Championship, captures first major

CBSSports.com wire reports
PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Jason Dufner finally cracked a smile, raised both arms and gave a slight pump of the fist, saving all that emotion for a big occasion.
He won the PGA Championship.
Dufner played the kind of golf that wins majors Sunday with a steady diet of fairways and greens that made it too tough for Jim Furyk or anyone else to catch him. Even with bogeys on the last two holes at Oak Hill, Dufner closed with a 2-under 68 to capture his first major and atone for a meltdown two years ago in Atlanta.
"It's been a tough day. It was a long day. Tough golf course," Dufner said. "It probably hasn't hit me yet. I can't believe this is happening to me. ... I just decided that I was going to be confident and really put my best foot forward and play aggressive and try to win this thing. I wasn't going to just kind of play scared or soft.
"I'm happy to get the job done. It's a big step in my career."
Dufner wasn't sure he would get another chance after the 2011 PGA Championship, when he blew a four-shot lead with four holes to play and lost in a playoff to Keegan Bradley. He wasn't about to let this one get away. Dufner won by playing a brand of golf that matches the bland expression on his face.
It wasn't exciting. It didn't need to be.
The turning point at Oak Hill was the final two holes -- on the front nine. Dufner made a short birdie on the eighth hole to take a one-shot lead, and Furyk made bogey on the ninth hole to fall two shots behind. Furyk, a 54-hole leader for the second time in as many years in a major, couldn't make up any ground with a procession of pars along the back nine. He finally made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 16th, but only after Dufner spun back a wedge to 18 inches for a sure birdie.
Furyk also made bogey on the last two holes, taking two chips to reach the 17th green and coming up short into mangled rough short of the 18th green, where all he could do was hack it onto the green. Furyk closed with a 71 to finish three shots behind.
"I have a lot of respect for him and the way he played today," Furyk said. "I don't know if it makes anything easy, or less easy. But I don't look at it as I lost the golf tournament. I look at it as I got beat by somebody that played better today."
Dufner finished at 10-under 270, four shots better than the lowest score in the five previous majors at Oak Hill. Jack Nicklaus won the 1980 PGA Championship at 274.
Henrik Stenson, trying to become the first Swede to win a men's major title, pulled within two shots on the 13th hole and was poised to make a run until his tee shot settled on a divot hole in the 14th fairway. He chunked that flip wedge into a bunker and made bogey and closed with a 70 to finish alone in third. In his last three tournaments -- two majors and a World Golf Championship -- Stenson has two runner-ups and a third.
Jonas Blixt, another Swede, also had a 70 and finished fourth. Masters champion Adam Scott never made a serious of move and shot 70 to tie for fifth. Defending champion Rory McIlroy made triple bogey on the fifth hole to lose hope, those he still closed with a 70 and tied for eighth, his first top 10 in a major this year.
Dufner two-putted for bogey on the 18th from about 10 feet and shook hands with Furyk as if he had just completed a business deal. He hugged his wife, Amanda, and gave her a love tap on the tush with the cameras rolling.
Asked if he had ever been nervous, she replied, "If he has been, he's never told me."
That's what gives Dufner is own personality on the PGA Tour. His pulse didn't appear to be any different on the opening tee shot than when he stood on the 18th hole.
"I would say I was pretty flat-lined for most of the day," he said.
Among the first to greet Dufner was Bradley, who beat him in the PGA playoff at Atlanta and was behind the "Dufnering" craze from earlier this year.
Dufner went to an elementary school in Dallas as part of a charity day as defending champion in the Byron Nelson Classic. A photo showed him slumped against the wall in the classroom next to the children, his eyes glazed over, as the teacher taught them about relaxation and concentration techniques. The pose was mimicked all over the country, giving Dufner some celebrity for his zombie appearance.
Now he's known for something far more important.
Dufner became the sixth player to win a major with a round of 63, joining Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Raymond Floyd, Nicklaus and Johnny Miller.
He is the third first-time major champion of the year, and the 15th champion in the last 19 majors who had never won the big one. Woods is responsible for the latest trend, mainly because he's not winning them at the rate he once was.
Woods extended his drought to 18 majors without winning, and this time he wasn't even in the hunt. For the second straight round, Woods finished before the leaders even teed off. He closed with a 70 to tie for 40th, 14 shots out of the lead.
"I didn't give myself many looks and certainly didn't hit the ball good enough to be in it," Woods said.
Furyk wasn't about to beat himself up for another major opportunity that got away. He had a share of the lead at the U.S. Open last year until taking bogey on the par-5 16th hole with a poor tee shot. His only regret was not making par on the last two holes -- the toughest on the back nine at Oak Hill -- to put pressure on Dufner.
Not that anyone would have noticed.
An Auburn graduate and all-around sports nuts, Dufner can't think of any other athlete who plays with so little emotion.
"But those sports are a little more exciting -- big plays in basketball, home runs in baseball, big plays in football. That will get you pumped up," he said. "For me, golf is a little bit more boring. I hit it in the fairway or I didn't. Usually I'm struggling with the putter, so there's not too much to get excited about with that."
His name on the Wanamaker Trophy?
That was good for a smile.
"Nobody can take that away from me," he said. "It's a great accomplishment for me, and I'm really excited about it."
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