MELBOURNE Australia (AP) Defending champion Stuart Appleby is in doubt for this week’s Australian Masters due to a nagging back injury.

Appleby said Tuesday that his back had become so painful it had ruined his swing and made practice difficult. He said he hoped rest and treatment over the next two days would enable him to tee off Thursday at the Victoria Golf Club but may need to withdraw.

Appleby said he doesn’t know his body well enough to know whether he can make do with an ad…
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COOLUM Australia (AP) Bubba Watson’s opening shot of the day was an indication of what was to come and it wasn’t pretty.

Watson who trailed K.T. Kim by one stroke going into the final round at the Australian PGA hit his tee shot into a lake on the first hole and ended up with a double-bogey 7 on the way to a 5-over 77. He tied for 12th at 7 under – five strokes out of a playoff.

Another left-hander Australian Greg Chalmers made sure his last tee shot Sunday – on the first hole of…
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MELBOURNE Australia (AP) Looking happier than he has all year Tiger Woods slipped into the gallery for high fives and back slaps while wearing a green cap that he borrowed from the “Fanatics” the famous cheer squad that shows up at Australia’s biggest sporting events.

Jim Furyk soon joined him a green-and-yellow Aussie jersey slipped over his red golf shirt.

The Americans sure seem to have a lot of fun at the Presidents Cup perhaps because they always win.

They were at their…
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MELBOURNE Australia (AP) John Daly says while he regrets walking off the course during the first round of the Australian Open last week he had little choice after running out of balls.

The two-time major winner hit seven balls into the water on the 11th hole Thursday before quitting at The Lakes in Sydney.

Speaking at a Pro-Am in Melbourne on Monday Daly said: “Of course I regret it. But at the time there wasn’t much I could do.”

An Australasian tour panel is expected to hold…
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Jay Don Blake quietly celebrated his first victory in 20 years with his wife and a close friend in South Korea.

His second win in less than two months drew a much larger crowd of supporters.

With nearly two dozen family and friends in attendance including several grandchildren Blake put an emphatic stamp on his year shooting an even-par 71 to win the Charles Schwab Championship on Sunday.

“That means a lot to have my whole family here” Blake said. “Sometimes…
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SUZHOU China (AP) Top-ranked Yani Tseng won the Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open on Sunday for her 11th worldwide victory of year closing with a 6-under 6 to beat Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg by seven strokes.

The 22-year-old Taiwanese star coming off a victory last week in the LPGA Tour’s Taiwan Championship finished at 16 under at Suzhou International in the Ladies European Tour event.

“It’s very exciting” Tseng said. “I played so consistently. I was really patient. … I just play one…
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PONTE VEDRA BEACH Fla. (AP) Australia’s Gavin Coles won the Nationwide Tour’s Jacksonville Open on Sunday to wrap up a 2012 PGA Tour card shooting a 1-over 71 in windy conditions for a one-stroke victory over Sweden’s Jason Blixt.

Coles had a 6-under 274 total on the Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass and earned $108000 to jump from 45th to 15th on the money list with $226404. The top 25 next week after the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship will earn 2012 PGA Tour cards.

“The…
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MIAMI (AP) Jason Kokrak won the Miccosukee Championship on Sunday for his second Nationwide Tour victory in five weeks closing with a 5-under 66 in rainy conditions to beat Mark Anderson by seven strokes.

Kokrak the Boise Open winner Sept. 18 had a tournament-record 20-under 264 total on the Miccosukee Golf and Country Club course and earned $1080000 to jump from 15th to fourth on the money list with $301592. The top 25 after the final two events of the season will earn 2012 PGA Tour cards.

“This…
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SAN MARTIN Calif. (AP) Bryce Molder knows better than most that there’s no sure thing in golf.

That wasn’t the case when he left Georgia Tech nearly a decade ago after being an All-American all four years. And it certainly wasn’t the case Sunday at the Frys.com Open in the longest playoff of the year on the PGA Tour.

Molder captured his first tour victory by making a 6-foot birdie putt on the sixth playoff hole to outlast Briny Baird.

“It’s a little surreal right now” Molder…
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LAS VEGAS (AP) Kevin Na won the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title birdieing Nos. 15-17 to pull away for a two-stroke victory over Nick Watney.

The 28-year-old Na closed with a 6-under 65 for a tournament-record 23-under 261 total at TPC Summlerin in the Fall Series opener. Watney a two-time winner this year shot a 67.

Tied for the lead with Watney entering the round Na sealed the breakthrough victory with a 42-foot birdie…
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