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International Business Machines Corp., a sponsor of this week’s U.S. Open golf tournament, is counting on Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and the rest of the world’s top golfers to showcase its Web technology.

The company developed a smartphone app that lets users track the tournament and players’ statistics. It even shows a so-called heat map of the course in Pebble Beach, California, revealing the most challenging holes. IBM also helps manage security, video and other features for the U.S. Open’s website.

IBM’s strategy isn’t about reaching more golf-loving consumers. Instead, it wants to show business customers how its technology can handle a huge surge in traffic without breaking the bank. While the number of people using the U.S. Open site jumped from a year earlier, IBM was able to cut the cost per user by 25 percent, said John Kent, program manager for the company’s sponsorship marketing.

“When we talk to our customers about that, they have the very same issues,” Kent said.

IBM declined to say how much it spends on the U.S. Open or what kind of return it gets from the event. The Armonk, New York-based company also sponsors the Masters Golf Tournament, as well as the U.S. Open tennis match and Wimbledon.

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IBM fell 83 cents to $130.15 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange trading. The shares are little changed this year.

IPad Version

This is the second year in a row that IBM has offered an iPhone app for the U.S. Open. About 286,000 people downloaded the software last year. This time around, it also runs on Apple Inc.’s iPad and other smartphones such as the Droid. IBM already had 150,000 downloads by the first day of play.

The software gives up-to-the-minute scores and data for each competitor, and the map indicates whether players are shooting above or below par on each hole. The website also has high-definition coverage of the tournament.

IBM invites corporate customers to see its Web operations up close by visiting a trailer near the course. A staff of more than a dozen, supplied with Twizzlers and a mini-fridge filled with energy drinks, monitors global Internet security threats and viewership numbers.

“Our clients love golf,” said Rick Singer, IBM’s vice president for client executive marketing. “These relationships are all about business, and how we can further the perception of IBM, and really sell stuff.”

On the first day of the tournament, the heat map showed the difficulty of the Pebble Beach course, which is located about two hours from San Francisco. Woods and Mickelson, the world’s two best golfers, failed to make a single birdie — a score that’s one stroke under par — during the opening round.

Inside IBM’s trailer, the heat map was displayed on a 52- inch flat screen. Kent pointed to a red blob where players were performing better than expected.

“It looks like six is the only ‘easy’ hole out there,” he said.

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Nathan J. Smith managed only an even-par 70 on Friday, but it was enough for him to keep his lead after two rounds of the Fort Smith Classic at Hardscrabble Country Club.

Smith completed 36 holes at nine-under-par 131, which is three strokes off the tourney’s 36-hole record.

Zack Miller bogeyed his final hole to finish one back at minus-eight. He carded his second straight four-under 66.

David McKenzie (64) and Matt Davidson (69) are tied for third at seven-under- par 133.

Two-time major champion John Daly (68) is one of eight players tied for fifth at minus-six.

Smith played the back nine first on Friday and posted his first birdie on the par-four 13th. That went with eight pars on his opening nine as he turned in 10-under.

On the front nine, Smith stumbled to a bogey on the first. He atoned for that mistake with a birdie on the second, but stumbled to another bogey on the fifth. He parred out to end at minus-nine.

“I think the hardest thing in golf is to back up a really low round,” said Smith of his nine-under 61 on Thursday. “I didn’t hit the ball nearly as well today, but I fought to stay around par.”

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Miller faltered to a double-bogey on the par-five 11th, but he came back with birdies on 12 and 14.

“That hole I’ve picked out to attack and I just haven’t taken advantage of it,” Miller said of the 11th. “I put my tee shot so far right I was in the adjacent fairway. I was in the trees and tried to get too aggressive. Three shots and three trees later I finally got it by the green. I flubbed my chip shot and made double. I hit seven mediocre to terrible shots so I totally deserved it.”

After back-to-back birdies from the 16th, Miller headed to the front nine at six-under.

The 26-year-old birdied the par-five fifth. He moved into a share of the lead with birdies on the sixth and seventh. However, Miller tripped to a bogey on the par-four ninth, his last, to end one back.

Daly was joined in fifth place at six-under-par 134 by 2001 champion Jay Delsing (68), Dave Schultz (65), Camilo Benedetti (65), Josh Broadaway (65), Fabian Gomez (66), Chris Kirk (69) and Matthew Borchert (67).

NOTES: Jason Enloe, the defending champion, posted a three-under 67 and is tied for 19th at minus-four…The cut line fell at one-under-par 139 with 67 players making the cut…Among those who missed the cut were Martin Piller and Justin Hicks, who are both in the top 10 on the money list.

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It’s somewhat appropriate that Sherri Steinhauer has the first-round lead in the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

They’re both veterans on the comeback trail.

The $1.5 million tournament in the shadow of Atlantic City is returning to the LPGA circuit after a three-year hiatus, while the 47-year-old Steinhauer is battling for her career after missing the 2009 season following surgery on both hips.

Steinhauer rediscovered her game on Friday, shooting a near-flawless 7-under 64 to take a one stroke lead over Natalie Gulbis and rookie Tania Elosegui of Spain.

“Yeah, it feels really good,” Steinhauer said. “After being off last year with hip surgery, two hip surgeries, to be back and to be in the media tent feels good. To have a 64 under my belt after not playing golf — I didn’t touch a club for 14 months, so it feels real good to get a round like this.”

Ai Miyazato, the Japanese star who has dominated the women’s tour with three victories this year, was in a group two shots back after Friday’s round at the Bay Course at Seaview.

Brittany Lincicome, Suzann Pettersen and Paula Creamer, who is playing in her first event since surgery on her left wrist on March 31, were in another large group three shots back.

Steinhauer had six birdies, a 30-foot eagle on No. 9 and only one blip, a bogey on No. 8 after a bad drive. Not bad for someone who had played in only five events this year and missed the cut in the past two, including last week’s State Farm Classic.

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The road back has been a long one for Steinhauer. The eight-time winner on the LPGA Tour thought her career might be over in August 2008 when she missed the cut in the Canadian Open after two painful rounds.

“I didn’t know if I would ever play golf again,” Steinhauer said. “It was on Friday. I was missing the cut, and I was walking up the fairway with tears in my eyes thinking: ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever play professional golf again.’”

Steinhauer had surgery on her left hip in February 2009. Three months later her right hip was fixed and the rehabilitation process started. She didn’t pick up a club until October, when she started hitting wedges. By the end of the month, she was taking full swings.

All the work paid off on Friday.

“I just love playing golf,” said Steinhauer, who will be an assistant captain on the 2011 U.S. Solheim Cup team, “I love competing. You know, hey, if my career ends because I can’t play anymore, that’s OK. I’ll move on. But I’m not satisfied just giving up, so I wanted to work hard because I love it.”

Creamer, who is still bothered by wrist pain, might have been just as surprising a story as Steinhauer. She played her first full round earlier this week and had six birdies and two bogeys on Friday.

“I was nervous, I didn’t know what to expect,” Creamer said. “Like I said I am glad to be out here and have the opportunity to play.”

Gulbis had six birdies and no bogeys in launching her bid for a second career win. Elosegui, who has won on the women’s European tour, putted extremely well, making seven birdies in shooting a 65.

Cristie Kerr, who became the first American to win on the LPGA tour when she won the State Farm Classic in Illinois on Monday, was at 3 under. Michelle Wie had a disappointing 3-over 74. Fifteen-year-old Alexis Thompson shot a par 71 in her professional debut.

The 54-hole tournament, which folded in the fall of 2006 in a dispute over dates with LPGA leadership, is scheduled to end Sunday.

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Sherri Steinhauer leads the ShopRite LPGA Classic after a seven-under-par opening round of 64.

The American, returning to the tour this season after a 16-month absence with a hip injury, eagled the par-five ninth hole and also carded six birdies to more than offset her solitary bogey, at the eighth.

An emotional Steinhauer, recalling her final round before surgery at the 2008 CN Canadian Women’s Open, said: “I couldn’t walk anymore. I just said, ‘This is it.’ I didn’t know if I would ever play golf again.

“It was on Friday. I was missing the cut, and I was walking up the fairway with tears in my eyes thinking, ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever play professional golf again’.

“To be back and to be in the media tent feels good. To have a 64 under my belt after not playing golf, it feels real good.”

She is pursued by compatriot Natalie Gulbis and Spain’s Tania Elosegui, the latter making three successive birdies on the back nine while Gulbis picked up four shots in succession around the turn.

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A group of five players – Scotland’s Catriona Matthew, Korean duo Jeong Jang and Inbee Park, Japan’s Ai Miyazato and American Kris Tamulis – are a further shot back in a tightly-packed leaderboard.

Paula Creamer shot four under, with six birdies, on her return from four months out due to a thumb injury, while 15-year-old Alexis Thompson marked her professional debut with a level-par 71.

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Ryo Ishikawa showed up to Pebble Beach on Thursday dressed as pink as a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. On Friday, he must have had candy canes on his mind.

Funny thing is, the only one with a stomach ache should be the group of players on either side of Ishikawa on the Day 2 leaderboard at the U.S. Open.

The 18-year-old explosion of color shot 71 Friday, and at 1-under 141, is just two shots off the lead heading into the weekend of his first U.S. Open. He’s playing with little fear around Pebble Beach’s pint-sized greens and fescue-laced bunkers.

“My feeling is ‘go for it,’ ” Ishikawa said, referring to his strategy on the golf course, not necessarily his wardrobe choices. “I hope I can play more aggressive tomorrow and the next two days.”

I don’t think that will be a problem. On Thursday, Ishikawa ended his round on the 505-yard, par-4 ninth hole. Here’s how he played it: Driver, 361 yards. Wedge to 18 feet. Birdie putt in the center of the cup.

On Friday, he closed his round with a driver off the 18th tee, then waited for the green to clear before clocking a fairway-wood shot that ended up just short. A chip and two putts later and he was in the house with 71. A hole earlier, he hoisted a cloud-scraping 4-iron into the bath mat-sized 17th green — a surface that no one has seemed to be able to hold — and rolled in the 8-footer for birdie.

“I like 17,” Ishikawa said. “I couldn’t see where the ball landed after the first bounce, it was just a lucky bounce.”

According to Tom Watson, Ishikawa’s playing partner through Rounds 1 and 2, luck has nothing to do with it.

“He has great touch,” Watson said. “He hits the ball very high. He hits the ball long enough. That combination – high, great putting and great touch – you’re going to win, not a question.”

Ishikawa is no stranger to victory lane. He’s collected seven Japan Tour titles since turning professional in 2007, including his victory in May at The Crowns, where he closed with a 58 to win by five shots. It was the lowest score ever recorded on a major tour.

However, until this week, he’s yet to find his footing in U.S. major championships. He’s missed the cut in three of his four prior major appearances – twice at Augusta, once at the British Open. He tied for 56th at the PGA Championship last August.

So, what’s changed this week?

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“This course makes me try a lot of different shots that I’m not used to on the Japanese Tour,” Ishikawa said. “It makes me try a high ball, low ball, chip shot. And it’s also windy and there’s a lot of bunkers and the greens are very hard. So it’s very different than the Japanese Tour. So I’m learning. I’m learning every day. And I’m going to try to focus on my golf.”

A swarm of Japanese media engulfed Ishikawa after his round – as has been the norm wherever he plays – while Watson held court nearby with another group of media. The 1982 U.S. Open champ, now 60, said there’s no doubt Ishikawa can win come Sunday. In fact, 28 years ago, Watson was in a similar position, even par through two rounds. Two days later he won the United States Open.

Watson and Ishikawa shook hands near the scoring trailer, then headed in opposite directions. The exchange was brief, but left Ishikawa with a smile.

“Tom said to me that I will have a good future,” Ishikawa said.

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Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa has been nicknamed the “Bashful Prince”, but the 18-year-old continued a bold attack on the Pebble Beach Golf Links on Friday in his maiden U.S. Open.

“I don’t know if it’s the right word, but my feeling is go for it,” Ishikawa told reporters after shooting level-par 71 for a one-under 141 total that left him tied for second and two shots behind leader Graeme McDowell.

While Ishikawa has seven wins on the Japan Tour, including a victory last month after a final-round 58, he has had limited experience playing in the United States.

“Challenging is something to me, especially in the outside Japan tournaments. It doesn’t mean anything if I don’t challenge things,” said Ishikawa.

A trip to Pebble Beach for the regular PGA Tour stop in February sent him back to the practice greens and has paid off for him this week.

“When I played at the AT&T Pebble Beach I struggled with putting,” he said. “But I practiced a lot in Japan and this week I’m doing great on putting.”

Playing partner Tom Watson, who won the 1982 Open at Pebble nine years before Ishikawa was born, praised the Japanese golfer’s confident stroke on the frighteningly fast greens.

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“He just drove it right in there. He reminded me of me when I was 18,” said Watson, 60. “Made everything. Drove it in the back of the hole and rattled it in. His putting is excellent.”

Twice U.S. Open winner Ernie Els is also impressed by Ishikawa.

“He’s extraordinary,” said the big South African, who was tied with the teenager on 141. “He played in The Presidents Cup last year, and I really got to know him well there. He’s a great kid. It’s amazing that he’s only 18.”

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If Ryo Ishikawa needed any reassurance about his emerging golf game, he got it from none other than eight-time major winner Tom Watson.

Paired with Watson in the second round Friday, the two stood in the scorer’s trailer after coming off the 18th green at Pebble Beach and shared some friendly words. Watson reached out for a handshake and wished the 18-year-old Japanese star well.

“Tom said to me that I will have a good future,” Ishikawa said.

The stylish Ishikawa, with bright-colored clothes, a consistent putter and youthful acne on his cheery face, is right in the hunt in his U.S. Open debut. Ishikawa followed his 1-under opening-round Thursday by shooting an even-par 71 Friday for an impressive two-day score of 141. He’s in a four-way tie for second heading into Saturday.

Now, Ishikawa wants to ride that momentum right into a strong weekend. He has adjusted his shots for a tough course along the Pacific Coast he insists is nothing like the oceanside links he plays back home.

Ishikawa sported all pink Thursday — a pink zip-up sweater, pink slacks and pink shoes. On Friday, he toned it down a tad with a cherry-red zip-up sweater and off-white pants.

He is making the right kind of splash at Pebble, where even some of the best golfers in this bunch are splashing balls into the ocean or hitting off cliffs into the rocks or beach below. Davis Love III did it on the 18th tee Friday, playing in the group in front of Ishikawa.

Ishikawa birdied the par-3, 208-yard 17th that has been creating all kinds of problems for others in the field so far.

“I like it. I like 17,” Ishikawa said with a smile speaking perfect English, though he did receive help from interpreter Jumpei Kaneko for other responses. “I hit a 4-iron today and I couldn’t see where the ball landed after the first bounce. It was just a lucky bounce. The putting was very straight. Straight, right in, so yesterday and today I was very lucky.”

There’s a little more to his game than just luck.

Ishikawa turned pro in 2007 and has won seven titles on the Japan Tour. At The Crowns event last month in Togo, Japan, he shot a 12-under 58 for the lowest score ever on a major tour.

He made 12 birdies in a bogey-free round on the 6,545-yard Nagoya Golf Club course. Ishikawa surprised even himself with that one.

Now, everybody else is catching on to this kid’s potential. A newcomer no more.

“Ryo played fantastically,” said Rory McIlroy, also in Ishikawa’s Friday threesome. “He made a lot of putts. If he can keep his short game the way it is, I can definitely see him competing this weekend.”

With a media contingent at the Open not unlike the large groups covering big-name major leaguers such as Daisuke Matsuzaka or Hideki Matsui, Ishikawa exhibits the poise of someone well beyond his years.

Does he feel pressure on his sport’s big stage?

His motto is more about pushing himself to be the best he can be, rather than creating huge expectations this early in his career — or letting outside distractions derail his goals.

“I don’t know if it’s the right word, but my feeling is go for it,” Ishikawa said. “So, challenging is something to me, and especially in the tournaments outside Japan, it doesn’t mean anything if I don’t challenge things.”

After struggling with his short game during the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am here in February, Ishikawa went back to Japan and vowed to be better on Pebble’s unforgiving greens when he returned.

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“And this week I’m doing great on putting,” he said.

Before he departed Friday, Ishikawa quickly signed a ball and handed it to Watson’s son and caddie, Michael.

“I really appreciate it,” Michael Watson said, reaching out his hand. “Keep up the good play.”

It’s hard not to like Ishikawa. He’s fresh, real.

Morito Matsuda and his wife, Hisae, are visiting Northern California from Tokyo. Their son lives in San Francisco, so they paired a visit to the Bay Area with watching a day of golf.

The couple were thrilled to get to see Ishikawa’s success on 17.

“He’s a good boy, only 18,” Morito Matsuda said. “We’re very excited. We got up at 3:30 a.m. to get here from San Francisco so we could see him practice — and he was on the driving range right next to Tiger Woods.”

Ishikawa said he hears and appreciates all the Japanese fans in the gallery and their cheers of “gambatte!” — which translates to “Go for it!” or “Try your best!”

“He’s extraordinary,” Ernie Els said. “He played in the Presidents Cup last year, and I really got to know him well there. He’s a great kid. It’s amazing that he’s only 18. He already shot 58 this year. Just think about it, shooting 58 in the Tour over there in Japan at 18, it’s phenomenal. He’s a really good player, great kid. There’s a lot of youngsters coming through. I think what Tiger has done, a lot of these kids want to do what he’s done, so they come out early and they’re aggressive and they’re confident.”

Ishikawa’s plan: keep it up for another two days.

“I hope I can play more aggressive tomorrow and the next two days,” he said. “I hope I can focus on my golf, just on my golf.”

It’s worked so far.

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Inside the U.S. Open’s players locker room exists a “Wall of Champions.” Picture 18 wooden cubbies stacked in two rows, with brass nameplates including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods and the late Payne Stewart.

Michael Campbell has one, too. Five years removed from his Open victory at Pinehurst (N.C.), Campbell made an ugly exit here Friday. He floundered to a second-round 83, giving him a 19-over 161 total and placing him 152nd in the 156-player field.

Adding to the ugliness: Campbell ditched golf protocol en route to a par on the 18th hole. He played up the fairway while Paul Goydos retreated to hit a second tee shot, and Campbell proceeded to putt out (first from the front fringe, then from within a foot of the hole) before his playing partners reached the green.

This, from an Open champion? Campbell declined interview requests outside the scorer’s trailer and fled to the back seat of a getaway shuttle.

One scorer following Campbell’s group aptly explained the carnage: “Bogey train, and it was brutal.” Campbell made bogey on nine of the first 13 holes. His only double bogey came on No. 16, followed by a bogey on No. 17.

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On the bright side, the 41-year-old New Zealand native shot better than he did at the Masters, carding rounds of 83 and 81 for a 20-over effort. He’s missed the cut in four of the past five Opens (and 11 of 16 majors).

His Open exemption lasts another five years.

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Phil Mickelson had a beaming smile back on his face after a minor putting adjustment overnight helped him surge into contention at the U.S. Open on Friday.

A day after ruing his “horrific” display on the tricky greens at Pebble Beach, the American left-hander fired a sparkling four-under-par 66 in the second round to finish two shots behind pacesetting Briton Graeme McDowell.

Short game magician Mickelson needed only 25 putts for the lowest score of the week, recording six birdies and a lone bogey at the treacherous par-four ninth in his bid to win an elusive maiden U.S. Open title.

“I knew I had been putting well,” the U.S. Masters champion told reporters after thrilling the huge galleries watching his every move with five birdies in his first eight holes.

“It was just a minor tweak here or there that was going to make the difference, and it was just a slight adjustment in the setup. All of a sudden the ball starts rolling on line now.”

Six off the pace overnight, Mickelson set the tone for the day at the par-four second where he knocked in an uphill putt from three feet, the first of three consecutive birdies.

Although Pebble’s notoriously small, fast-paced greens have posed problems for all the players, Mickelson continually left himself birdie opportunities from below the hole.

“I just got hot with the putter,” said the American world number two who covered the front nine in four-under 31. “I was able to make some birdies on the birdie holes early on and then get through the tough holes with some pars.

“I’m a lot cheerier and I feel much better about my position in the tournament heading into the weekend than I did after yesterday’s round.”

A victory by Mickelson on Sunday would be an extremely popular one for a player who has come so close to winning his national open without clearing the final hurdle.

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The four-times major winner has recorded five runner-up finishes in his last 11 Open starts, the most agonising coming in 2006 at Winged Foot when he squandered a two-shot lead with three holes left in the final round.

However, past U.S. Open performances had no bearing on Mickelson’s approach to this week’s championship.

“That’s not even in the mindset,” the 40-year-old said after posting a one-under total of 141. “I can’t wait for tomorrow’s round. I love just being on the golf course playing and I don’t want the tournament to end.

“I’m in a good spot. I don’t look at the leaderboard, I don’t look at other players. If you can just stay around par, you’re going to be in the tournament on Sunday, and that’s kind of the goal.”

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Nathan J. Smith fired a nine-under 61 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Forth Smith Classic at Hardscrabble Country Club.

John Daly, a two-time major winner and former member of the Nationwide Tour, returned to his roots this week. The local native shot a four-under 66 and is tied for sixth place.

“I feel comfortable,” said Daly, who mixed five birdies and a bogey in his round Thursday. “I have a lot of friends and family here. I feel real relaxed with them. I’m not putting any pressure on myself,”

Matt Davidson is alone in second place at six-under 64, followed by Chris Kirk, Brendan Pappas and Chris Parra, who are knotted in third at five-under 65.

Smith started well with a birdie at No. 1, then three holes later got to two- under after a birdie at the par-three fourth. He birdied the par-five sixth hole, but it was a run around the turn that propelled him to the top of the leaderboard.

Smith, 26, birdied four in a row from the eighth hole to reach seven-under par through 11. With Hardscrabble playing to a par of 70, Smith needed to go four- under over his last seven hole for golf’s magic number of 59.

“I just started making a couple of putts,” said Smith. “I didn’t hit the ball all that spectacularly, but I hit my driver when I needed to. I put myself in good positions and made a few putts from over 20 and 30 feet.”

Smith cooled off after the great stretch around the turn. He parred 12 and 13, then birdied No. 14 to keep his faint 59 hopes alive. Smith needed to go three-under over his last four holes for a piece of history.

He couldn’t muster birdies at 15, 16 or 17. Smith now needed an eagle at the par-four closing hole just to match the course record, but he didn’t have it in him. Smith birdied 18 for his 61 and first place.

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“I wouldn’t expect that I’d come out and shoot 61 today, there’s no doubt about that,” said Smith. “I was just trying to stay patient this year. I haven’t really played poorly but I haven’t played very well at all.”

Doug LaBelle II, Zack Miller, Brian Bateman, Kyle Thompson, Michael Putnam, Jay Delsing, Trevor Murphy and William McGirt joined Daly in a tie for sixth place at four-under 66.

NOTES: Defending champion Jason Enloe shot a one-under 69 and is tied for 41st place…Eighty-six players shot par or better on Thursday…Kevin Chappell, the tour’s leading money winner, is not in the field this week, but Tommy Gainey, who won two weeks ago and is second on the Nationwide Tour money list, posted a three-under 67 and is tied for 15th…Brian Smock withdrew after 11 holes with a back injury…Jim Carter withdrew after the round.

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Pebble Beach, like many objects of natural beauty, has a devilish knack of tormenting even its most devoted admirers.

It may be one of the most spectacular courses in championship golf and a favorite among the top professionals, but it can also be one of the cruellest, as the world’s best players discovered during the first round of the U.S. Open Thursday.

Tiger Woods, who won the last U.S. Open held at Pebble Beach a decade ago by a record 15 shots, could not manage a single birdie in his opening round of 74, the first time in seven years he had not made a birdie in a round of any major.

“I three-putted twice and laid up on a bunker, Woods told reporters “Those are mistakes you just can’t afford to make.”

Phil Mickelson, the U.S. Masters champion closing in on replacing Woods as the new world number one, fared even worse, shooting a 75 that included bogies at the 16th, 17th and 18th.

He found the water at 17 and again at 18 when his approach to the green smashed into rocks and richocheted out into the ocean. Like Woods, he said he only had himself to blame.

“I thought that the golf course was set up perfectly,” Mickelson said. “There were some scoring out there if you played well.”

The course had been set up harder than usual to test the players, partly because of the way Woods ripped up the layout in 2000.

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“This is a completely different design, a complete redo from when we played (in 2000). The holes are much different and the bunkering is much different,” Woods said.

GENTLE BREEZE

The course is not especially difficult. With the sun shining and a gentle breeze coming off the ocean, Pebble Beach did not so much bear its teeth as smile beguilingly.

“This was a day for scoring,” Ireland’s Padraig Harrington said. “The weather was benign. The greens were soft and I was going in the wrong direction.”

The frustration for most players was in failing to capitalise on the conditions as not one managed to get through their opening round without at least one bogey.

Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy, U.S. Open champion in 2006, shot a 79 that included a run of seven bogeys in eight holes.

New Zealand’s Michael Campbell, winner in 2005, carded a 78 and South Africa’s Retief Goosen, a recent two-time winner, made 75.

Tom Watson, winner of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 1982 and given an exemption to play this year, shot a round of 82 but also refused to lay the blame elsewhere.

“People can make putts on those greens,” he said. “I had a lot of unforced errors today, five or six shots that kind of went off the wrong day and I shot 78.”

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The next 10 weeks will be one of the best stretches of golf that a fan could ask for. In that span, there are nine significant championships at stake, and several other huge tournaments.

On the major stage, that stretch includes the U.S. Open this weekend, as well as British Open (July 15-18) and PGA Championship (Aug. 12-15). Two weeks away is the AT&T National, which is an invitational (only 120 players) with one of the top-15 purses of the season. Also, the third World Golf Championship event takes place the week before the PGA Championship.

One could argue this is the most important part of the PGA Tour schedule, with five important events in the next 10 weeks.

If the LPGA is more your speed, the tour treks through three majors in its next six events. The tour is in a stretch where it is playing five consecutive weeks, which is the second-longest continuous run of the season.

Also in this stretch is the Evian Masters for the LPGA. That event, along with the U.S. Women’s Open, share the largest purse of the tour’s schedule.

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If you follow the Champions Tour, you are in for three majors in a six-event span. The seniors go back-to-back with majors starting with the Senior British Open and following with the U.S. Senior Open.

Not only are we starting a run of stellar events, but the venues are among the best of the best as well.

This week’s U.S. Open is at Pebble Beach, one of the most scenic venues in all of golf, and of course the place where Tiger Woods rolled to an historic 15- stroke win back in 2000.

The PGA Tour stops at Aronimink Golf Club in suburban Philadelphia for the first time since the 1962 PGA Championship, then heads to the “home of golf” — St. Andrews — two weeks later.

The British Open Championship, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, will be contested on the Old Course at St. Andrews. Woods will go for his third straight title at St. Andrews. He won by five strokes in 2005, the year Jack Nicklaus said goodbye to the Open, and cruised to an eight-stroke win there in 2000.

Three weeks after St. Andrews will be the third WGC event of the season at Firestone, which serves as the final tune-up for the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

For the LPGA, the tour returns to Locust Hill for the LPGA Championship next weekend. Locust Hill had been one of the longest-running venues on tour with the Wegmans LPGA, but that event ended last year.

The ladies will play the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club (July 8-11) for the first time since 1992. The men played the U.S. Open there in 2007 and Angel Cabrera won with a score of five-over par, so this will be a very tough test for the women.

After traveling to France to play at scenic Evian Masters Golf Club for the Evian Masters (July 22-25), the LPGA shifts to Royal Birkdale for the Women’s British Open Championship (July 29 – Aug. 1st).

Birkdale has hosted the Women’s British four times previously, with the last two being major championships. That event only became a major for the women in 2001.

The Champions Tour’s first major in this stretch is the Senior British at Carnoustie (July 22-25), which has hosted seven British Opens, but is hosting the Senior British for the first time.

It will be a tough go for those playing the Senior British and the U.S. Senior Open in consecutive.

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The rich man’s sport, golf, will get a taste of socialism in Kerala. The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Achuthanandan government to wrest control of the Trivandum Golf Club (TGC) by upholding the argument of the state government that the takeover would help do away with the barrier that has rendered the sport an exclusive pastime of the haves.

The state had justified its bid to acquire the control of the golf course by saying that private management had made it a ‘‘rich-only’’ affair, and the lawns were being used for marriages and film shootings.

By taking over the golf course, the Left Front government said, it would throw open the gates to enthusiasts from all walks of life by demolishing the class bias and give them an opportunity to try their hand at the game. The apex court agreed. The state told a vacation bench comprising Justices Deepak Verma and K S Radhakrishnan that during the pendency of the civil suit challenging the government’s decision to take over the club, the club would be managed professionally through the Kerala Sports Council.

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To the TGC counsel’s argument that that the Sports Council was an unwieldly body which had no golf expert to help in the management, the Achuthanandan government replied by saying that if it could run a state, running a golf course would be much easier.

The committee would be headed by the state chief secretary and comprise president of the Kerala Sports Council, the Trivandrum district collector, the director of toursim and the chief engineer of the Public Works Department. It will also include the president and secretary of the TGC.

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Tiger Woods may have been hoping that he had put scandal behind him.But now a porn actress has come forward to claim that he is the father of her nine-year-old son.

Devon James, who was the last of 14 alleged mistresses to be linked to the golfer, said she had Tiger’s love child when she was 19.

The 29-year-old prostitute turned adult film star, who has earned thousands of pounds selling her story about alleged sex with Woods, named the boy Austin T and insists the initial is a tribute to his father.

She said she told Woods about the boy six years later when he hired her for a $2,000 night of sex but said he did not want to meet his son.

Miss James has never had a DNA test to prove her claim.Reports that one of Woods’ mistresses had a love child with the 34-year-old golfer, who this week has been preparing for the U.S. Open in Pebble Beach, California, have surfaced before.

In a Channel 4 documentary on Woods, one interviewee claims that he is aware of a story being suppressed that Woods allegedly fathered a child outside his marriage.

Neal Boulton, the former editor of U.S. magazine Men’s Fitness, claims in the documentary that he is aware of a story alleging that Woods fathered a child, that the mother has been spoken to, and that there may be DNA evidence involved.

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He does not mention the name of the alleged mother, nor any details on any payment she may have received in return for her story.He also does not mention when Woods allegedly fathered the child, and would not reveal which U.S. publication he believes has the story.Miss James, from Sarasota, Florida, said she had a relationship with Woods, who was unmarried and single at the time, when she was attending a Christian school.

Friends told the U.S. media that after the encounter in 2006, she told Woods about Austin T.

“She showed him pictures of Austin, and told him he was his son,” one told the New York Daily News.

“He didn’t want to meet the boy, but he did send gifts for the child.”

Woods’ lawyer refused to comment on the latest allegations.But Miss James’ mother, who has custody of her son, poured scorn on the claims.

Melinda Brinling-Caso said Miss James owes tens of thousands of pounds in child support, adding: ‘There is absolutely no way that it is Tiger Woods son.’

Strangely, the £300-an-hour prostitute-has never mentioned the son before, despite repeatedly selling her story about her alleged fling.

Miss James, the last of the 14 women linked to the golfer to come forward, said he paid her and another woman $2,000 for sex after being introduced at a party.

Woods has kept a low profile since his return to golf. This followed treatment for sex addiction after his affairs with porn stars and nightclub hostesses were exposed.

His five-year marriage to former nanny Elin Nordegren is said to be over but they have yet to begin divorce proceedings.

Miss Nordegren, who has been in China with their two young children visiting her brother, is reported to want more than half of his £500million fortune.

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“Tiger Woods 11″ doesn’t stray far from its basic principles, which have been successful for the better part of a decade. Simple game play, sound fundamental golf principles that translate to the video game realm and gorgeous graphics have all been staples of the Woods series since 1998 and continue in this year’s incarnation of the game.

I took a hiatus between “Tiger Woods 2003″ for PS2 and Woods 10 for Xbox 360, and the adjustment wasn’t difficult. Again, the game play has stayed very basic and user-friendly. Putting, however, still sometimes seems to be more difficult than necessary, but given most real-life golfers feel that way, that’s probably a common gripe.

The game tries to add new wrinkles with some of its features, one of which is Ryder Cup play. You can build your team to compete in one of golf’s storied events.

It comes into play when using Xbox Live, which allows you to play with up to 24 people (two teams of 12). This feature is one of the best of the Tiger tweaks, and stands out above the rest. Still, there are certain drawbacks to playing online as you lose certain features that are available on the individual level (being able to control ball rotation, to name the most prominent one).

There is another notable feature that tries to give this Tiger new stripes. The “focus” feature gives players the ability to control and prioritize their shots. Before each shot, a player can distinguish how much he wants to narrow the radius of the landing area of a shot. It’s a nifty tool for tough shots, but pace yourselves, otherwise you can run out and be at a vast disadvantage when putting, which can be affected by the focus feature.

Another addition, called “true aim” allows players to turn off the typical distance measurement, and allows players to use yard markers and guesstimate distances – much the way you would if you were out playing on a real course.

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One game-play change to note is what the makers of the game call “Backswing Power Degradation.” In plain English, that means that in order to reduce the power of the swing, you can’t merely hold the golfer in his backswing to reduce the percentage of power. You need to actually simulate the proper strength of backswing. Still, not exactly a game-changer.

In all, “Tiger Woods 11″ is a solid sports video game, but if you bought a recent version of this game, wait one more year.

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