FanHouse TigerWoods

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) -- Anthony Kim finally gets a crack at Tiger Woods, and when he says he has been practicing for a moment like this all his life, Kim isn't kidding.

As a 10-year-old growing up in Los Angeles, in those final hours of twilight as he waited for his father to pick up from the golf course, Kim imagined he was in the final pairing with Woods and had a 10-foot putt for the victory, with the world's No. 1 player watching.

"Man, they were going in a lot," Kim said, laughing.

He can only hope fantasy meets reality Sunday in the AT&T National.

Tiger Woods struggled with his putting at Bethpage Black two weeks ago, and he cited that as the primary reason he only managed a T6 at the U.S. Open. After two rounds at the AT&T National, the tournament Tiger is hosting at Congressional Country Club, he's 10-under par, one shot clear of Rod Pampling.

Following a Thursday 64 that included a four-birdie, no-bogey front nine, Woods fired 66 on Friday. No idea what 36 nearly flawless holes from the World No. 1 means for media-driven theory that Tiger isn't the player he once was, but he's in great position to win for the third time in nine starts this season. (And the six other events were all top-10 finishes. Yes, clearly Woods is done.)

Anthony Kim, the defending champion at the AT&T National, was off early this morning. And by the time tournament host Tiger Woods was starting his round, Kim had signed for an 8-under 62, a Congressional Country Club course record.

But Woods, who, according to the media, is either winning or in a slump, looked primed to do the former after a near-flawless round. Woods went out in 31, carding four birdies. He added three more on the back. And if not for a bogey on the par-4 11th, he would be alone in second place, one shot behind Kim.

Tiger Woods is 33, has been on tour since 1996, and has 14 major victories. Save those junior tournaments where he was the youngest player in the field, I don't think he's ever been called underrated.

That changed yesterday when PGA Tour player Paul Goydos told the Boston Globe exactly that:

He may not be willing to lace up his sneakers for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but Spanish point guard prodigy Ricky Rubio won't hesistate to become an American pitchman. Via Canis Hoopus, the young Mr. Rubio appears in what would appear to be his first stateside ad campaign, joining the likes of Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods and Roger Federer in a spot for Gillette.

Last week, Jim Brown, as he seems to do every year or so, called out a high-profile minority athlete for not speaking out on social issues.

Last week, after five rain-soaked golf-crazed days at Bethpage Black, Lucas Glover emerged as the 109th U.S. Open champion. This is noteworthy for a number of reasons: Glover had missed his three previous Open cuts, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson -- for different reasons, the two most popular guys on tour -- didn't add to their major totals, and, finally, the fans.

It wasn't your typical outside-the-ropes golf experience, even by U.S. Open standards. But that's what made it different, special (for the most part, anyway). And after the tournament, it prompted Mickelson to suggest that Bethpage would be a perfect venue for a future Ryder Cup.

"The people here are incredible ... the course is terrific, because 16, 17 and 18 are so close together. And the way the fans are, I think we would have a big advantage."

Kenny Perry is your 2009 Travelers Champion. I'll be honest, it's hard to get excited about any tournament that follows a major. Partly because I'm burned out on golf after five days of watching nothing else, but also because the field is usually watered down.

But it's late June, and other than Major League Baseball, every other sport is out of season. So other than USA-Brazil (which was fantastic for 60 minutes), there weren't many options. Plus, Perry did his best to make it entertaining. He opened with a first-round 61, briefly lost the lead on Saturday to Paul Goydos, and then fired a final-day 63 (22-under) to win by two shots over David Toms.

It was Perry's second win of the season (he also won the FBR Open), and it should move him into first in FedEx Cup points. Also, it's his seventh top-10 of 2009, which is tied for most on tour with Tiger Woods. There's more: Perry has the most wins on tour since June 1, 2008, two clear of Woods. Clearly, this is proof that Tiger has lost it.*

John Daly spent the first half of the year in Europe, playing tournaments on that tour while he waited out his PGA Tour-sanctioned six-month suspension. He returned to the States at the St. Jude Classic two weeks ago, and relatively speaking, played well.

Nothing spectacular, but he made the cut. Given how last season unfolded -- it started with Butch Harmon dumping him a few months after they started working together, and it ended with a bucket of hot wings and an orange jumpsuit -- it was a welcome change.

But Golf Digest's John Strege makes an interesting point about the new-and-improved John Daly: despite the physical and mental changes, the results aren't much different from '08, perhaps the most forgettable year in a career littered with them.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) -- Tiger Woods' niece has missed the cut in her professional golf debut, shooting a 2-over 74 in the second round of the storm-disrupted Wegmans LPGA.

Cheyenne Woods finished at 5-over 149-four strokes above the cutline. The 18-year-old was in the event on a sponsor exemption.

Woods and 70 other players completed their second rounds at the Locust Hill course in suburban Rochester on Saturday morning after play was interrupted by thunderstorms for nearly five hours Friday.