EURO
Scott Strange made five straight birdies and shot an 8-under 63 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over Edoardo Molinari in the first round of the Wales Open. The 31-year-old Australian began his round at the 11th and his birdie run from the 14th gave him a nine-hole score of 7-under 28. Two of his birdies came on putts of 15 and 25 feet.
PGA
Mathew Goggin, playing his first competitive round at the dry and fast course, birdied four of his final six holes to put the finishing touches on a 7-under 65 for a one-stroke lead over Kenny Perry and Jerry Kelly. On Thursday, Goggin put up eight birdies against one bogey, grabbing a first-round lead for the third time this year on tour (Bob Hope, Byron Nelson). He holed out from off the green twice in his final nine holes, dropping a sand shot and a chip. Asked the key to having so few putts coming home, he said, “miss the green.”
LPGA
Michelle Wie shot a 4-under 68 in the first round of the Ladies German Open to share seventh place four strokes behind leader Nina Reis of Sweden. Reis had eight birdies, including at the last two holes, for a bogey-free round of 64. Lora Fairclough of England, who won here in 1998, and France’s Jade Schaeffer were tied for second, two shots behind Reis. Three players had 67s to sit a stroke further back.
NATIONWIDE
David Mathis won the BMW Charity Pro-Am on Sunday for his first Nationwide Tour title, closing with a 3-under 68 for a three-stroke victory over Roger Tambellini, while Wayne Gretzky teamed with Chris Nallen to win the Pro-Am title. He finished at 20-under 266 and earned $121,500 and a BMW X5. He jumped from 44th to fourth on the money list with $166,479, with the top 25 at the end of the year earning 2009 PGA Tour cards.Mathis opened with a 65 at The Carolina Country Club, shot another 65 on Friday at Bright’s Creek Golf Club, then closed with consecutive 68s at the Thornblade Club.Tambellini finished with a 65.Gretzky and Nallen shot 59-59-60-62 to finish the better-ball competition at 46 under, two shots ahead of musician Javier Colon and Colt Knost. Gretzky earned a BMW Z4 and will have $10,000 donated to the charity of his choice. He remains one win behind his wife, Janet Jones-Gretzky, who has twice been the low celebrity over the past four years.
CHAMP
It’s all set up for Jay Haas. Fresh off a win at the Senior PGA Championship, Haas returns to the Glen Oaks Country Club for this weekend’s Principal Charity Classic with a chance to take over first place in the points standings and the money list.Hoch seems to have finally overcome the hand and wrist injuries that kept him out of the game for most of 2005 and 2006. This year, he’s already taken home more money in 12 events than he did in 22 tournaments in 2007. Jeff Sluman, playing his first full season on the 50-and-over circuit, will be seeking his first Champions Tour win. So will Nick Price, who withdrew after the first round last week at Oak Hill. Roberts hasn’t been himself this season, but he’s still been pretty good. Roberts is fifth on the money list despite a tie for 49th at last week’s Senior PGA, by far his worst showing of the year.

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Tags: GENERAL GOLF TOPICS by Jenn
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Tiger Woods entered the room with a slight limp and unwavering determination to play the U.S.Open.  Woods spoke Tuesday at Congressional Country Club. The second annual edition of Woods’ own PGA Tour event, the AT&T National, returns to Congressional in July.
The U.S. Open will be at Torrey Pines in San Diego on June 12-15, a major that could prove a bit dicey for the world’s No. 1 player following a two-month layoff. Woods had hoped to fine-tune his game this week at the Memorial, but he withdrew and has no plans to play in next week’s Stanford St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn.He had surgery on the same knee in 2002 and returned to win his next event, the Buick Invitational, which happens to be at Torrey Pines. “I know what it takes to win a tournament coming back off after having a procedure done, and it is just a matter of being prepared, getting all my practice time in, making sure my shots are how I want them, trying to understand what my misses might be,” Woods said.The current problems with the knee result from “more stiffness than anything. He said he made the decision to have the surgery two to three weeks before playing the Masters in April.

As for his own tournament, Woods hopes to build off last year’s successful inaugural event by again paying tribute to the military. Tickets will remain a bargain ($25), and he hopes to announce a Washington-area location for a Tiger Woods Learning Center by early next year. Woods, however, left the future of the tournament in some doubt. Congressional has agreed to host the event in 2009, but the following two years have been ruled out because of an overhaul to the Blue Course in preparation for the 2011 U.S. Open.

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PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem can’t think of a better scenario when the International Olympic Committee meets a year from October. Golf is added to the summer program. Chicago is announced as host city for 2016. And Tiger Woods is going strong and eager to add a gold medal to his trophy collection.
That’s still a long way off, but Finchem said Tuesday that golf made a strong first impression in an informal meeting last week with IOC president Jacques Rogge.
Finchem was joined by European Tour Chief Executive George O’Grady, LPGA Tour Commissioner Carolyn Bivens, USGA Executive Director David Fay and Royal & Ancient Chief Executive Peter Dawson. They were told the steps leading to the IOC decision next October and what golf executives have to do to make their case.

The biggest obstacle will be scheduling Olympic golf among the last two majors and the Tour’s FedExCup finale. Finchem suggested one possibility of the men and women competing over separate weeks. The four playoff events for the FedExCup already are being rearranged this year for the Ryder Cup, and Finchem says they will work even into the early part of football season. What do you think, should golf become an Olympic sport?

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