REMEMBERING MASON
Mason Rudolph
, a golfer who surged to
prominence as a youthful amateur, became
Rookie of the Year on the PGA Tour, then settled
into a rock-solid 23-year career, winning five
tournaments and almost never miss-
ing the cut or hitting a ball out of
bounds, died Monday in Tuscaloosa,
Ala. He was 76.
Officials at Vanderbilt University,
where he coached the golf team for
five seasons, announced his death.
He had two heart attacks last fall.
Rudolph made the cut in 409
of 430 career starts; was in the money in 52
straight events; and once went 105 consecutive
tournaments without hitting a ball out of bounds.
In addition to his five victories on the PGA
Tour, he finished second seven times and third
nine times.
to read the
New York Times
report.
January, the LPGA denied her petition for more.
to read the
Palm Beach Post
report.
He still curses. He still tosses clubs. His
interviews, still, are clipped and smug – the few
he gives, that is.
This new version of Tiger Woods was sup-
posed to be warmer, fuzzier, someone who
showed more respect for the game and all those
fans who’ve made him a very rich man. A year
later, it appears as if the only thing about Woods
that’s really changed is his ability to win.
No one expected Woods to become Phil Mick-
elson when he returned to the game following
the swiftest, sharpest downfall of a star athlete
in recent memory. Taming his temper and ego
was going to be as big a project as his swing
change, and he’s having about as much luck.
to read the AP report.
LEXI’S BACK
Lexi Thompson
’s wait soon will be over. Her
2011 LPGA debut at the Avnet LPGA Classic this
week in Mobile, Ala., will begin a busy spring and
summer schedule for the 16-year-
old from Coral Springs, Fla.
The highlights will include a rare
sponsor’s invite to the Wegman’s
LPGA Championship, her fifth ap-
pearance in the U.S. Women’s Open
(at The Broadmoor) and a trip to
France for the Evian Masters, where
she tied for second with
Morgan
Pressel
in 2010.
Thompson turned last June but is limited to
six sponsors exemptions because LPGA rules
require full members be at least 18 years old. In
Lexi Thompson
16
WAS ‘NA-THING’
American
Kevin Na
is a lot more famous now
than he was a couple weeks ago – but for anyone
who thinks taking 16 on one hole is as bad as it
can get in golf, read on.
Sixteen years ago,
Golf Digest
held a competi-
tion to find the United States’ worst avid player
and took the finalists to the TPC Sawgrass
course in Florida, best-known for staging The
Players Championship every season.
Not surprisingly, it was on the notorious
short 17th island hole that 31-year-old Pennsyl-
vania grocer
Angelo Spagnolo
made a real name
for himself – with a 66. Spagnolo hit 27 balls into
the lake either from the tee or the drop zone
before it was suggested to him that he might be
best off trying a different route.
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