Golf

Italian teenager Matteo Manassero shoots a seven-under-par 64 to take a first-round lead in the European Masters.

There were so many tournaments within a tournament at last week's Barclays it was, at times, tough to keep track of who was playing for what. Like all the other bubble boys, Tiger Woods arrived with only one short-term goal: survive and advance. A field of 120 teed it up at Ridgewood Country Club, in Paramus, N.J., but only 100 would move on to the second round of the FedEx Cup playoffs, this week's Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston.

The first round of the Omega European Masters is currently in progress at Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland.

Graeme McDowell has revealed he will contest just one more tournament before the Ryder Cup begins at the start of next month.

NORTON, Mass. (AP) -- Matt Kuchar rose to No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings after the first playoff event, and no one was quibbling about that. After a solid year, he beat one of the strongest fields of the year at The Barclays.

DENVER (AP) -- John Elway pulled an Elway on the Elway hole.

JUPITER ISLAND, Fla. (AP) -- Fresh off his divorce, Tiger Woods has taken out a $54.5 million mortgage on his Florida waterfront estate.

NORTON, Mass. (AP) -- Kenny Perry has withdrawn from the Deutsche Bank Championship, ending his run in the FedEx Cup.

NORTON, Mass. (AP) -- Deutsche Bank has picked up the option on the final two years of its title sponsorship, and it will have some financial help from a familiar partner in EMC Corp., which will be a presenting sponsor.

NORTON, Mass. -- The Deutsche Bank Championship is unlike every other Tour event in that it begins on Friday and ends on Monday, Labor Day. Because of the funky schedule, there is no urgency to get to TPC Boston any earlier than Wednesday.

CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, Switzerland (AP) -- Italian teenager Matteo Manassero shot a 7-under 64 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the European Masters.

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Zach Nash was shocked when he discovered he had one too many golf clubs in his bag a couple hours after winning a junior Wisconsin PGA tournament.

NORTON, Mass. (AP) -- A chart of FedEx Cup standings at the Deutsche Bank Championship showed Tiger Woods at the top, not unusual considering he was won the cup and its $10 million prize every year he has played.

When I wrote my check for $550 to play in the Golf.Com World Amateur Handicap Championship, I knew I'd be playing four days of golf in the golf capital of the world, Myrtle Beach, S.C. I had the hope that I would win my 46-man flight and advance to the final. That didn't happen, but something nearly as exciting did: I got to play my fourth round with Roger Clemens, the future Hall of Famer.

The BBC's plans for covering the political party conference season were thrown into chaos yesterday when staff voted emphatically to strike over proposed changes to their pensions. The planned industrial action is also set to disrupt coverage of next month's Ryder Cup golf tournament.

Edoardo Molinari, having sealed his Ryder Cup place, has gone back to his
roots for European Masters.

I've always hated Bandon Dunes. Ever since the first course opened in 1999, it has been a staple of grillroom debates, but I couldn't be part of the conversation because I had never made the trip. In 2001 the Bandon resort debuted the acclaimed Pacific Dunes, and four years later Bandon Trails was built, yet for various reasons I never made the pilgrimage to this holy land on the Oregon coast. This became a personal embarrassment and a professional liability; as a Golf Magazine Top 100 rater I have to play the world's best courses.

CRANS MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) -- Edoardo Molinari is returning to the European Masters this week and unlike last year, no one is questioning why he's here.