Golf Report

LEADER BOARD

2009 MAJORS — down

Three straight marvelous storylines fizzle at the finish

DEBUTS — up

USC’s Jamie Lovemark turns pro and makes first start at Canadian Open

HANK HANEY — down

Remember the film starring Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon?

NIKE GOLF — up

On a nice roll with Lucas Glover and Stewart Cink

ENCORES — up

Thanks, Tom, for providing a ride for the ages

QUOTABLE

“I didn’t get that much sleep that night.”

— British Open runner-up Tom Watson after his 72nd-hole bogey and subsequent playoff loss to Stewart Cink

“As long as the result is that I get the girl, I’m OK with that.”

— British Open winner Stewart Cink when asked whether he was concerned that he always would be portrayed as the villain of the 2009 Open

BY THE NUMBERS

22 Consecutive cuts made by Kenny Perry, the longest active streak in the game after Tiger Woods, Charley Hoffman and Hunter Mahan all failed to survive the 36-hole ax at Turnberry.

1 Full season in Tiger Woods’ professional career (2004) in which he hasn’t recorded a top-five finish in any of the majors. With only the PGA Championship remaining on the major slate (Aug. 13-16), Woods is in the midst of his second-worst season in terms of Grand Slams.

7 Years by which Tom Watson became the oldest runner-up in major history. At Turnberry, the 59-year-old blasted the previous mark of 52, set by Alex “Sandy” Herd at the 1920 British Open.

WOE IS THEE

At Turnberry, the list of the 15 best players never to win a major among active golfers was shuffled a bit. Stewart Cink jumped off the list and Lee Westwood jumped aging Colin Montgomerie with yet another near miss, but nobody can touch Sergio Garcia’s resume among Slam bridesmaids:

Player (age)Major top-10sCareer wins*World rank

Sergio Garcia (29) 15 15 5

Lee Westwood (36) 7 19 14

Colin Montgomerie (46) 10 31 205

Kenny Perry (48) 6 14 4

Miguel A. Jimenez (45) 7 15 39

Steve Stricker (42) 9 6 6

Paul Casey (32) 4 10 3

Adam Scott (29) 4 12 44

Darren Clarke (40) 6 14 109

Robert Allenby (38) 5 8 40

K.J. Choi (39) 4 8 53

Henrik Stenson (33) 3 8 7

Robert Karlsson (39) 4 9 18

Stuart Appleby (38) 4 8 86

Justin Rose (28) 5 4 50

• PGA and European tours

MAJOR DISCONNECT

While Tiger Woods has seen his numbers dip in every department at this season’s first three majors, the greatest disparity in his play has been his putting. His struggles on the greens go a long way toward explaining his 0-for-3 start in the Slams:

Tiger’s statsFairwaysGIRPuttsScore avgWinsTop-10s

Majors61.965.829.9070.5002 (66.7)

Other starts63.466.227.9669.0436 (100.0)