Inconsistency on the green leaves McIlroy feeling blue

SYDNEY - Rory McIlroy is driving as well as ever but his putting let him down on Thursday when he ended the first round of the Australian Open seven shots behind leader Adam Scott after shooting a three-under-par 69.

The world number six's problems since changing his equipment this year have been well documented and he arrived at the Royal Sydney Golf Club this week still searching for his first title of 2013.

After Scott's brilliant round, McIlroy's chances of success in Australia already appear remote and the Northern Irishman was left ruing four missed short putts that could have made a huge difference to his score.

"Missed three or four short ones out there," he told reporters after signing for his card.

"Wasteful, yeah. I felt it could have been a lot lower. Off the tee, I'm driving the ball the best I ever have, it's just a matter of being more efficient and scoring better.

"That's really it. I only played the par-fives at one-under and the way I'm driving it, I should be playing those at four-under."

A missed birdie putt at the seventh and three-putt from the edge of the green at the 16th were the most obvious wasted opportunities, while a pair of bogeys shortly after the turn halted his momentum after a solid front nine.

INCREDIBLE YEAR

"I got the most out of it, especially after bogeys on 10 and 11, so to get in the 60s was decent," he added.

"It was nice to finish with a birdie at the last, makes up a little bit for not making birdie at 16."

McIlroy felt conditions may have been a little trickier for the late starters after U.S. Masters champion Scott had posted his record-breaking 10-under-par 62 in the morning.

"The wind might have got up for us a little bit this afternoon but still 62 on that course is great going," McIlroy added.

"When I was sitting over breakfast, I saw he'd birdied the first six holes and thought, 'oh nice'."

Scott has had an incredible year, following up his Augusta triumph with a win at the Barclays and claiming the Australian PGA and Masters title before helping Jason Day win the World Cup of Golf for his country last weekend.

For McIlroy, it was a reminder of his 2012 season when he became world number one and won the U.S. PGA and a string of other tournaments.

"He's doing what I did last year and (world number three Henrik) Stenson's doing the same thing," the 24-year-old said.

"I've been in that position before, I know what it's like. That's what I'm trying to get back to."

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Madsen on a roll as he takes Dunhill first round lead

Dane Morten Orum Madsen continued his hot streak after Sunday's victory in the South African Open by taking the first-round lead at the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Malelane, east of Johannesburg, on Thursday.

His seven-under 65 put him one shot ahead of South African Allan Versfeld and Portuguese Ricardo Santos, who eagled the last for a share of second place.

The 25-year-old Madsen was a surprise winner of last week's opening 2014 European Tour event and his form held with eight birdies and one bogey on the picturesque Leopards Creek course on the border of South Africa's Kruger Park.

Last year's Alfred Dunhill Championship winner, South African Charl Schwartzel, who romped home by 12 strokes for the third-largest winning margin in European Tour history, is tied in third after a four-under-par 68.

He shares the position with Frenchman Victor Riu, Englishman Richard Finch and Scot David Drysdale.

Twice major winner John Daly hit a par-72 on his return to South Africa, where he had played the Sunshine Tour from 1987 to 1990 before his U.S. PGA Championship success in 1991.

It is the 47-year-old American's first tournament since elbow surgery earlier in the year.

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Hot Scott seeks to finish tour Down Under in style

SYDNEY - World number two Adam Scott's victory lap of his home nation draws to a close this weekend, with the U.S. Masters champion bidding to win the Australian Open for a clean sweep of the country's three marquee tournaments.

Amid the grind of training, playing, media appearances and sponsor events, Scott has enjoyed showing off his green jacket to fans and given a huge boost to the embattled local tour which has been devoured by the U.S. Tour's new wraparound schedule.Australia's first winner at Augusta, Scott has battled exhaustion in a frenetic four-week swing Down Under, where he has won the national PGA and Masters titles in successive weeks before a third place finish at the World Cup on Sunday.

Barring a terrible quintuple-bogey in his opening round at Royal Melbourne last week, which all but dashed his hopes of winning the World Cup, Scott has played impeccable golf on home soil but will be asked for one more special effort at Royal Sydney to clinch the 'triple crown' Down Under.

Compatriot Robert Allenby is the only player to win the Masters, PGA and Open treble in one season, but Scott joked that the 42-year-old had not passed on any tips from his 2005 triumphs.

"I caught up with Rob last night at the function and asked for some advice on how to go about it, but he didn't offer any up," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"I'm left to my own devices this week.

"At the end of last week I was tired and I was tired the last couple of days but I rested," added Scott, who won the 2009 Australian Open.

"That's how you have to balance a schedule when you're playing a little more than usual and I kind of had that in mind, knowing that I was playing four weeks. I've taken the days off where I can in the schedule.

"So today I feel good, kind of energized to get in. It's the Australian Open; it's the last week of the year for me, I want to finish big."

Scott, who edged world number seven Matt Kuchar to win the Australian Masters, will vie with former world number one Rory McIlroy, who has had a barren year blighted by legal troubles and problems with his swing.

The two-time major champion, whose game has suffered since switching sponsorship and equipment to Nike, finished joint fifth at Dubai's DP World Tour Championship and said his game was in the best shape it had been all year.

"I've said for the last couple of months I just wanted to try and finish this season strongly and get some momentum to go in 2014," the Northern Irishman said.

"This would be the perfect place to get that first win of the year and give me a sort of springboard into the next season."

Both Scott and McIlroy will face stiff competition at Royal Sydney from Jason Day, who won the World Cup's individual trophy by two strokes on Sunday and drove Australia to victory in the tournament's team component with Scott.

Day's emotional win at Royal Melbourne was his first in Australia and came after he considered pulling out of the tournament when he learned that eight of his relatives were killed by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

World number 11 Day will be grouped with Scott and world number 43 American Kevin Streelman for the opening two rounds.

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European Tour Race to Dubai money list

Leading money winners on the 2014 European Tour Race to Dubai on Tuesday:

1	Morten Orum Madsen (Denmark)	174,350 euros
2	Jbe Kruger (South Africa)	101,310
2	Hennie Otto (South Africa)	101,310
4	Charl Schwartzel (South Africa)	49,720
4	Marco Crespi (Italy)	49,720
6	Alejandro Canizares (Spain)	38,940
7	Trevor Fisher Jnr (South Africa)	29,755
7	Johan Carlsson (Sweden)	29,755
9	Garth Mulroy (South Africa)	20,625
10	Jaco Van Zyl (South Africa)	16,500
10	Andy Sullivan (England)	16,500
12	Daan Huizing (Netherlands)	13,486
12	Peter Whiteford (Scotland)	13,486
12	Thomas Aiken (South Africa)	13,486
12	Thomas Levet (France)	13,486
12	Merrick Bremner (South Africa)	13,486
17	Jorge Campillo (Spain)	11,220
17	Ross Fisher (England)	11,220
17	James Morrison (England)	11,220
17	Tom Lewis (England)	11,220

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Scott wows the Sydney crowds with sizzling 62

SYDNEY - Adam Scott revived memories of Greg Norman's glory days when he wowed the Sydney crowds with a brilliant 10-under-par 62 to take a three-stroke lead after the opening round of the Australian Open on Thursday.

The world number two, who managed what even Norman failed to do in his celebrated career by winning the U.S. Masters earlier this year, smashed the course record by three shots as he continued his celebratory tour of his homeland.

The Australian public were queuing up to get into the Royal Sydney Golf course soon after dawn on a beautiful sunny morning and Scott, who started his round at 7.10am local time, did not let them down.

A packed gallery watched as Scott picked up shots at each of his first six holes then added four more birdies on his last four holes for a blemish-free round that he said ranked with the best of his career.

"It was a really good start and a nice little course record to have at Royal Sydney," Scott told reporters.

"I've felt there was a good round in me for four weeks and finally I threw it out there today."

Scott's previous rounds on his month-long trip back home have not been bad either, winning him the Australian PGA, Australian Masters and third place in Melbourne last weekend to help his country claim the World Cup of Golf.

Compatriot Jason Day finished first at the World Cup but could only watch on Thursday as his playing partner gave a masterclass of golf.

The world number two needed to sink only one putt longer than five feet - a 12 footer at the 15th - and his class was most notable when he was battling to save pars when his swing deserted him in the middle of the round.

"That's how the best players in the world play and I got to witness it today and it was special," said Day, who shot a two-under 70.

Australia's Adam Scott responds to the crowd after sinking a birdie putt on the 9th hole, his final …

"That's something that I'm going to remember for a long time. I look forward to playing with him tomorrow and hopefully catching him."

IN NEUTRAL

Canadian Ryan Yip shot a 65 for second place with similarly unheralded American John Young Kim, one of the last players to tee off, joining him on seven-under with five birdies in his last seven holes.

Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, whose season has been almost as disappointing as Scott's has been successful, hit five birdies but a couple of bogeys around the turn left him with a 69 and a share of 16th.

"I left three or four short ones out there, yeah, just wasteful," said the world number six.

"When you see someone at 10-under-par, especially when you see it's Adam Scott at the top, I felt like I was in neutral at three-under and not making birdies.

"It's hard to give Adam Scott seven shots with three rounds to go."

Scott is unlikely to enjoy such balmy conditions for the second round with the forecast predicting a quickening wind and rain for Friday.

Australian PGA chief executive Stephen Pitt is still expecting bumper crowds to pack the course, though, after 12,000 turned up on Thursday.

"Without getting too premature, I think we're harking back to the great days of the 1990s and 2000s when we had such a charismatic figure as Greg Norman leading the charge," he said.

"I think Adam's sort of assuming that sort of popularity with Australian crowds and the Australian sporting audiences."

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John Daly gets scared by cobra in South Africa

John Daly is in South Africa for the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club and he has a problem.

Don't worry, John, it's my biggest phobia as well. According to Wikipedia this type of snake is "nervous and high strung" so that sounds fun.

Also, it is considered one of the most dangerous snakes in Africa and it can spit venom. Welcome to Leopard Creek!

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Biggest turkeys of 2013

Thanksgiving is finally upon us and sure I could post on 394 things I'm grateful for (Jordan Spieth, Nike Covert driver, British Open finish, etc.) but why don't we have a little fun with it and post on the biggest turkeys of 2013 instead?

The list is not short -- these are folks who, if given an opportunity, would likely take a mulligan in things they did and/or said in the past golf season.

On to the awards!

Sergio Garcia -- Garcia gets the six-legged turkey award of the year for his comments on Tiger Woods: "We will have him round every night. We will serve fried chicken." No bueno, Sergio.

Dave Eger -- Forever "the guy who called on Tiger at the Masters." I do wonder of Eger would take his mulligan, though. I think he thinks he did the right thing (and maybe he did) but he was, pardon the pun, roasted for it in households everywhere.

Lindsey Vonn -- Tiger probably thinks she's a turkey for tossing this squirrel on his neck (when did this become a National Geographic blog? Tigers! Turkeys! Squirrels!)

Rory McIlroy -- For pulling out of the Honda Classic because of a "toothache." He at least owned up to it the week after. Maybe McIlroy should just get one turkey leg instead of an entire turkey.

Rickie Fowler & Jonas Blixt -- The dreamsicle is enough on one guy, I don't need to see double.

Phil Mickelson -- He's not so much a turkey for complaining about California tax laws but more so for taking it back. If you're going to roll, Lefty, roll. Here was the quote:

"I'm not sure what exactly, you know, I'm going to do yet. I'll probably talk about it more in depth next week. I'm not going to jump the gun, but there are going to be some. There are going to be some drastic changes for me because I happen to be in that zone that has been targeted both federally and by the state and, you know, it doesn't work for me right now. So I'm going to have to make some changes."

Bubba Watson -- This blowup at the Travelers Championship went away rather quickly but it wasn't pretty while it lasted.

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Masters: Augusta National spends $8.3 million on potential parking lot

First of all, I just want to tell you guys how good it felt to type "Masters" in the headline there. We are just over four months away from the azaleas and white caddie jumpsuits and It can't get here soon enough.

On to the real news. According to Bloomberg, in 2012 Augusta National purchased The Greens on Washington Road which is an apartment complex built back in 1972.

9.8 acres for $8.3 million.

Now they're tearing it down.

Why? That's still up in the air. Maybe for more parking, maybe for more housing, maybe for corporate events.

Augusta spokesman Steve Ethun said it is for "parking and undisclosed support services" and that "any other commentary would be misleading and potentially create public speculation that is unnecessary."

$8.3 million is expensive, for sure. It's about $19 per square foot. But when you compare it to real estate in Manhattan, it's actually pretty cheap. According to this report land in Manhattan sold for $2,3000 a square foot as recently as 2000.

That's insane.

Augusta is no Manhattan but the Masters is the supreme sporting event in the world. So whether Augusta National uses the 9.8 acres for parking or otherwise, you have to think they got a pretty great deal.

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Justin Timberlake takes golf swing at AMA Awards show

Justin Timberlake was presented with the "Favorite male artist (soul/R&B)" award on Sunday at the AMA Awards by Dustin Johnson's fiance, Paulina Gretzky (topical!)

He proceeded to give a speech and take a fake golf swing on stage.

Timberlake used to sponsor the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open until this season and still maintains a sub-10 handicap because, you know, Justin Timberlake needs more things to be good at.

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Tiger Woods' niece moonwalks

Cheyenne Woods is known mostly as "Tiger Woods' niece" but her golf game isn't a joke. And apparently neither is her dance game (see video above).

Woods has over 30 amateur wins and got her first professional win on the SunCoast Ladies Series last fall, and now we know she has a sweet moonwalk.

Woods will be competing in the final stage of LPGA Q-school Dec. 4-8.

Also, this isn't even the best thing she's done on Instagram in the last month.

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Steve Stricker practices in the snow

Steve Stricker tweeted on Tuesday morning that he was going back to work on the range. One problem, the weather in Wisconsin isn't exactly conducive to such a thing as you can see by the photo above.

Here's a look at the average low temperature in Wisconsin by month. November-March aren't exactly balmy.

Stricker must love it, though. Hunting in the morning, golf in the late morning, hanging with the family in the afternoon.

The Steve Stricker life.

He once told he's never really thought about leaving Wisconsin, where he's lived his entire life.

"It's just a real down-home kind of place where you can bring up your kids and enjoy a lot of great outdoor activities."

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Bubba Watson shoots 81 with one club

Bubba Watson shot 81 at Pelican Hill Golf Club in October. Not very good for a Masters champ. Except that he did it with one 20-degree hybrid club and three golf balls.

Tim Mitchell of GolfWRX was on hand for the occasion and said Watson told him he somtimes gets bored with regular golf.

"Are you wondering if Bubba's other 13 clubs were hijacked on the way to the course? I know I did. But Bubba told one of our staff members that he sometimes gets bored using 14 clubs, and occasionally wants to challenge his shot making skills by playing a round with only one club."

I appreciate that Bubba has some fun with the game, though I think he sort of thinks he's better at it than he actually is. He finished behind John Merrick, Chris Kirk, Ken Duke, and Michael Thompson in the final regular season FedEx Cup standings.

That's not good for somebody who's supposed to be a superstar.

Hey, maybe this shot-making session will help his real game, though.

Plus, I'm not sure I could shoot 81 on three holes with one club. Heck, I can't shoot 81 with every club in the world on 18 holes.

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