Zach Johnson's own stake into local golf lore

The pair's fantastic, blow-by-blow finale at Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial might have lacked TV star power but it had plenty of ready-made TV intrigue between two dominant Mizuno MP-59 Irons golfers -- even if their play turned ragged at times in the oven-like conditions -- who had buried the field through three hot, humid and wind-swept rounds.

The lead either way only extended beyond two strokes when Johnson seized it at 15 and then rode Dufner's late misfortune to a four-stroke lead after 16. Johnson hung on for the eventual one-stroke victory, his first -- despite a strange, two-stroke penalty on 18 -- since his tournament course-record win here in 2010.

Rather than riding the momentum of a momentous Texas two-step into a two-week break, it is the 36-year-old Johnson who celebrates a landmark victory of sorts at Colonial and takes home the $1.15 million payout for navigating Hogan's Alley better than anyone once again.

Johnson rallied from a two-stroke deficit after a bogey on No. 8 to finish the day at an even-70, and minus-14 for the tournament. The two-stroke penalty was assessed on 18 for not replacing his marker, a mistake Johnson later called "stupid," dropped his final score to 12-under for the tournament and plus-2 for the day. Dufner finished at Titleist 910 D3 Driver plus-4 on the day and minus-11 overall.

A year from now, how can Johnson not be considered the favorite to become the first since the great Hogan in 1952 and '53 (and 1946, '47) to win this tournament in consecutive years?

"There was a lot of different peaks and [valleys] today with the round," Dufner said. "It seemed like every time somebody got control they'd make a huge mistake and you'd be back into the lead or tied with the lead or behind. All those things kind of wear on you a little bit and it's definitely tough to compete at that high level mentally and physically. I definitely have a new appreciation for it."

Separated by a stroke entering the final round, the two sluggers swapped the lead on three holes, emerged tied after five other holes and delivered three stunning, multi-stroke momentum swings in the final 10 holes.

Coming off last week's grueling HP Byron Nelson Championship that required a 25-foot putt on the final hole, Dufner topped out at minus-16 on Saturday and got there again after a birdie Sunday at No. 6. But over the last 10 holes, perhaps mental and physical fatigue of his amazing month began to set in. Dufner twice found water for a double-bogey on No. 9 when his ball hit the green and spun back into the drink, and then a triple on 15 when he overshot the hole and raced it into the pond.

The win secured Johnson his second Colonial plaid winner's jacket in three years, matching the feat accomplished by Kenny Perry (2005 and 2003) and Lee Trevino (1978 and 1976).

With both golfers in range of Johnson's 21-under course record to start the final round on this venerable old course, the day ended exactly the way a loitering caddy had predicted before this two-horse race teed off -- with the winner forging through the fatiguing conditions just enough to shoot even.

"It's an honor to put this jacket on once," Johnson said. "It's just completely; I'm in shock to put it on twice, so very lucky."

The blunders sent him reeling, turning a two-stroke lead after No. 8 into a four-stroke deficit with three holes to play discount golf clubs. The miscues opened the door for Johnson and ended Dufner's quest to join Hogan, his hero, as the only golfer in the past 66 years to win the PGA Tour events in Dallas and Fort Worth in the same season. Still no one has won both when played on consecutive weeks.

Alabama lead over Virginia by a two-stroke

"As a coach, it just scares me to death whenever they walk out of that tent. So you know in a regular season tournament you can kind of handle it here. Out here, it's just so important and they just have to be careful. We talk to them about it all the time, and hopefully everybody else learns from that mistake and just a little bit more attentive to what they're doing when they walk out of there."

Rosen started on the par-4 No. 1 and holed out a 5-iron from 171 yards for an eagle, putting Virginia on the Mizuno MP-59 Irons top of the leaderboard as the first golfer off the No. 1 tee. That had her father, Houston attorney Rocket Rosen, jumping and yelling that the ball found the cup.

Thanks to Rosen, it looked as if Virginia might stay atop the leaderboard until Alabama closed strong, taking advantage of the easier front nine. The Crimson Tide started on No. 10, and Potter said he knew they would have birdie chances on the final holes if they stayed patient. It helps that Pancake, a native of Chattanooga, Tenn., learned to play golf across the pond at Tennessee's youth golf training course and knows the Legends course very well.

The 288 still is a school best for Virginia in the Cavaliers' sixth NCAA championship in the program's nine years. Brightwell was alerted to the possible miscue as the team was preparing to leave the course and found it when re-checking her score.

Rosen set the North Course record by making the turn with a 7-under 29, had two bogeys on the back nine before finishing with a birdie on the par-5 No. 18. The sophomore from Sugar Land, Texas, hit her irons well, but the switch in putters proved to be key. Her coach suggested trying an Odyssey belly putter the golfer looked at a month ago.

Duke was third after a 1-over 289 followed by North Carolina (290). Defending champ UCLA shot a 4-under 292, and host Vanderbilt struggled on its own course with a 306 that tied the Commodores for 22nd.

The Crimson Tide, ranked second nationally by GolfStat, finished with a 2-under 286 led by a 4 under by senior Brooke Pancake. But Alabama only finished with the lead after Elizabeth Brightwell of Titleist 910 D3 Driver Virginia was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard about three hours after finishing her round. She signed for a 71 instead of a 72, putting down a 4 on the par-4 4th instead of a 5.

Rosen's career-low round gave her the lead by a stroke over Laura Gonzalez of Purdue (67). Catherine O'Donnell of North Carolina and Pancake tied for third after shooting 68s. Lindy Duncan of Duke, the nation's top-ranked golfer, was tied for ninth with a 70.

"I did have a rough regional, but we worked really hard last week and I changed putters, which really helped," Rosen said. "I just thought, 'Just have some fun Portland. It's your discount golf clubs last tournament of the year. You only do this once in your life. You're only in college once in your life.'"

With the putter nicknamed "Batman" because of the head's similarity to the comic book hero symbol, Rosen had no trouble with her hands being too fast in rolling putt after putt Tuesday.

How Golfers' wrist injuries occur

Wrist injuries also can come from some type of trauma. A golfer may be playing in the rough, for example, swing hard and catch the club in the long grass. That can twist the wrists and, depending on Mizuno MP-69 Irons the power of the swing, cause serious wrist tendon damage or even break a bone. Similar injuries may happen if a golfer takes a large divot out of the turf or hits a rock or other solid object with a club.

If the condition is tendinitis, it may get better with just rest and physical therapy. You might need to wear a wrist brace, as well. If that's not enough, an injection of a corticosteroid can help reduce inflammation in the injured area to allow for healing. Rarely, if nothing else has helped, surgery may be an option for chronic tendinitis.

Your doctor will likely ask about your symptoms, when and how they started, and examine your wrist. This can help shed light on how the injury occurred and determine if tests such as X-rays, computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are needed to diagnose the problem.

Poor mechanics may also be to blame. For example, if a golfer is swinging the club inappropriately or "casting" the club, it could lead to pain at the back of the wrist due to injury to a tendon called the extensor carpi ulnaris. In time, that can result in chronic wrist pain.

For a broken wrist bone, a cast may be needed to allow the injury to heal, and physical therapy eventually may be necessary. In most cases of a broken wrist bone, no additional treatment beyond Taylormade Burner 2.0 irons those two measures is required. Depending on the type of broken bone, however, in rare circumstances surgery may be needed.

Many golfing-related wrist injuries are a result of overuse, particularly in recreational golfers who take a break during the winter, and then play a lot during warmer months. For example, some golfers may go to the driving range for the first time in the spring and hit 200 balls in one session, or they may start playing four rounds of golf a week after taking several months off. Both situations could lead to wrist injuries.

When wrist pain and swelling first appear, the best steps are to rest it and put ice on it to bring down the swelling. Using heat on the injured area can relieve soreness and stiffness. A compression discount golf clubs wrap or a wrist brace also may be helpful. If symptoms continue for more than a week and the pain gets worse, medical attention is in order.

Mickelson was inducted with two-time major champion

Mickelson was inducted with two-time major champion Sandy Lyle of Scotland, writer Dan Jenkins, British player-turned-broadcaster Peter Alliss, and four-time LPGA major champion Hollis Stacy. That brought membership in the Hall of Fame to 141, nearly half of them since it moved to the World Golf Village in 1998.

"Arnold was a guy I really looked up to and tried to emulate and admired the way he played the game, the way he handled himself, the way he treated other professionals and everybody," Mickelson said before the ceremony. "From the first time I played the U.S. Open in 1994 at Oakmont, which was his final one, watching him treat the volunteers to an hour-and-a-half discussion and autograph session, picture session, when he didn't have to do it, he just thanked them for all of their contributions."

Jenkins, who has covered 210 majors dating to the 1951 U.S. Open, is the third writer in the Hall of Fame, but the first Mizuno Mp-63 irons who was alive to give an acceptance speech — or as Jenkins said, "I'm particularly pleased to be taken in as a vertical human."

Mickelson will be among the favorites at The Players Championship this week, and while Mickelson believes the minimum age should go from 40 to 50, he allowed himself to soak up a Hall of Fame career — still in progress — when he drove to the World Golf Hall of Fame with his wife.

He figured his best big moment would be his funeral, and he already knew what to put on his tombstone: "I knew this would happen."

He ended a wonderful tale of golf and his career with a short about the headmistress at his school, Violet Weymouth, who wrote in her final report of his studied that "Peter does have a brain, but he's rather loathe to use it. I fear for his future."

"There have been a lot of times where I've struggled, and it's been their energy that's helped pull me through," Mickelson said. "I've tried to reciprocate by launching drive after drive in their general direction."

"And if there is such a thing as heaven and if people do look down … Well, mom and dad, here we are. Look at Mizuno MP 53 Irons lot. Look where I've been. Look what I've done. Never worked very hard at it, but it's all fallen into place.

Mickelson was the last to be inducted, the biggest name of this class with his 42 wins around the world. He was elected on the PGA Tour ballot, a career that includes the Masters three times, one PGA Championship, two World Golf Championships, eight Ryder Cup teams and every Presidents Cup team since it began in 1994.

And he paid tribute to the thousands of fans he made along the way in a career that has made Mickelson a modern-day discount golf clubs Arnold Palmer for his go-for-broke style on the golf course and the way he makes every fan feel special by looking them in the eye or signing countless autographs.

In a rare moment, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem did not give a brief "State of Golf" as he has done over the years at the induction ceremony. Instead, he saluted Mickelson for projecting golf's image as well as anyone.

"I think only Arnold Palmer maybe could be classified as better at enthusing our fans and having the fans fall in love with him. The way he interacts with the fans, the way he signs for the fans, the way he catches the fans' attention, the way he gives them eye contact, the way he shakes their hands when he has the opportunity."

Dunfner strives for his first PGA Tour title

"I had a couple of easy birdies," Dufner said. "I don't think I missed a fairway or a green. Just had some tough reads. The greens are kind of tough to read. Sometimes you get competing grains, competing slopes, so you get a putt that might break to the right, but the grain is going left. That can be kind of difficult to judge. Then 18, I had just a really good number for my 5-wood to get somewhere on that green and had a putt that was down grain and breaking to the left with the grain, so that was a nice way to finish the day."

Greg Chalmers holed out for an eagle on the par-4 first and also finished with a 64 to join Steve Stricker and Ernie Els at 10 under. Stricker and Els shot 68.

Knox and Chalmers matched the course record.

Second-ranked Luke Donald rebounded Mizuno MP 53 Irons from an opening 73 with a 65 to reach 6 under. Donald, tied for 22nd, needs to finish sixth or better to regain the top spot in the world from Rory McIlroy.

Knox, a Nationwide Tour graduate playing in his ninth tournament, had seven birdies and an eagle — on No. 18 — along with one bogey.

"You never plan on shooting a 64, it kind of happens and I'm happy it did," Knox said. "I haven't played well this year so far, but it's been the best year of my life."

"I played really solid all the way through 11 and then missed that put and kind of lost my thought process there for a little bit," Stricker said. "Felt like I let a really good one slip away today."

Donald also holed out from the fairway on the first hole, marking the first two eagles on the hole since the tournament was first played at the course in 2005.

Stricker had four consecutive birdies beginning on the seventh to move into a tie with Dufner, then missed a 2-foot birdie putt on the 11th that would have given him sole possession of the lead. Stricker stumbled home with bogeys on the 12th and 15th.

Watson walked over toward Leonard, put on a new golf glove, signed it, then took it off and gave it to Leonard and shook his hand. Watson's caddie, Ted Scott, drew laughter when he instructively TaylorMade R11S Driver pointed farther down the fairway and said, "We're glad you're all right, but if you could just angle your head a little differently …"

Watson, away from his wife and recently adopted son after taking a two-week break following the Masters, eagled the seventh and birdied the eight, but bogeyed the 10th when he missed the green from 47 yards on his approach. He also three-putted the 12th for another bogey, moving him to 1 under, one above the cut line.

Watson's tee shot on the second hole at the TPC Louisiana drew blood from the back of Radd Leonard's head.

"I saw it coming and it looked like it was hooking right at me. I wanted to see that big hook, you know, and I got to see it. I turned and ducked and it still hit me," Leonard said. "It gave him a good discount golf clubs, anyway."

"Mentally, I've lost focus just about every shot, so I'm trying to figure it out," Watson said. "I want to be home with my son and wife. I know it sounds like a cop-out but I'm not playing very good because I'm just really not into it."

Dufner took the second-round lead in the Zurich Classic

“I think that can hold true,” said Dufner when asked if putting himself in position on such a regular basis of late was eventually going to make it easier to win.

“Hopefully, maybe, this will be the week. I’ve had a lot of really nice finishes here and feel pretty comfortable playing this golf course.”

"I had a couple of easy birdies," Dufner said. "I don't think I missed a fairway or a green. Just had some tough reads. The greens are kind of tough to read. Sometimes you get competing grains, competing slopes, so you get a putt that might break to the right, but the discount golf clubs grain is going left. That can be kind of difficult to judge. Then 18, I had just a really good number for my 5-wood to get somewhere on that green and had a putt that was down grain and breaking to the left with the grain, so that was a nice way to finish the day."

Dufner, a proven performer over this layout with three top tens in his last three starts at the TPC Louisiana, has been in solid form this season after missing the cut in his opening event in Hawaii.

Three players are tied just one shot further back namely Ernie Els, Steve Stricker and Australia’s Greg Taylormade Rocketballz Irons Chalmers who has played well in this event in each of the past two years and appears headed for another good finish over this layout.

Chalmers made a stunning start to his round today playing his first four holes in five under which included an eagle at the first after he holed a pitching wedge from the trees. He finished with a round of 64 to be two off the lead.

“It’s been a difficult weekend for me the last month and a half or so. I haven’t quite played as well as I would have liked but I know that my game is still pretty good.

“It’s such a long way to go,” said Chalmers after he finished his round." It’s my lowest round in awhile. I’m really excited about that. But we’re going to get out there tomorrow and do it all again and see if I can back it up with a low round tomorrow. There’s — I’m tied for the lead. I guarantee you I won’t be by the end of the day. There’s a lot of things going on this golf course."

“Obviously there’s a lot of different things that go into winning besides hitting the golf ball. So I’ve been trying to think about what I can do better mentally, what I can do better Mizuno Mp-63 irons emotionally out there and learn some — learn from some things that I maybe struggled with here the last five, six weekends playing out here.”

"It's been a difficult weekend for me the last month and a half or so," Dufner said. "I haven't quite played as well as I would have liked, but I know that my game is still pretty good.

"I've been trying to think about what I can do better mentally, what I can do better emotionally out there and learn from some things that I maybe struggled with. Obviously, there's a lot of different things that go into winning besides hitting the golf ball."

On Friday, he capped his bogey-free round with a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th to reach 12 under.

Tough time at Texas Open

With a 73.665 scoring average last year, the AT&T Oaks Course -- set in the rugged Texas hill country -- was the hardest of the 22 par-72s on the PGA Tour.

But then what was wrong with the old Texas Open that's survived 16 U.S. Presidents? Tournament venues should change to raise sponsor, player and fan interests, but it might not always be a good thing if those tweaks change the character of the tournament.

When it was held at the La Cantera Golf Club in 2003, Tommy Armour III set the PGA Tour 72-hole record relative to TaylorMade R11S Driver par with a 26 under total. Mike Souchak had set the record at the tournament in 1955 when he shot 27-under par at Brackenridge Park.

On Monday, Na returned to the scene of the crime wielding a chainsaw in a playful spoof of that fateful Thursday one year ago. Yet in many ways, his 16 on No. 9 was a true testament to the difficulty of the Greg Norman-designed course: an outlandish example of how a very hard course can make fools out of the best players in the world.

Over the years, many have called for the PGA Tour to force its players to enter all of its events at least once every four years, a rule that the LPGA already has in place. That way Tiger Woods would have to play less prestigious events like the Valero Texas Open and in places like Reno. But a provision like that would probably cause anarchy on the PGA Tour. Tiger might give up his PGA Tour card and just play a very select worldwide schedule if the tour tried to force him to play events he didn't like.

Prior to the tournament's move from La Cantera after 15 years to the TPC San Antonio in 2010, Cameron Beckman in an article for Sports Illustrated warned that the new venue in his hometown would send shock waves through players accustomed to shooting low scores at the tournament.

"I've probably played the new course about two dozen times, more than any other tour pro, I believe," Beckman wrote. "One day, three friends -- all low-handicap players -- and I decided to play it from the back tees, about 7,500 yards. I shot a 38 on the front nine and played Taylormade Rocketballz Irons pretty darn well. They shot 43, 45 and 46. We stopped right there.

On paper, Kuchar should be the favorite to win this week. Come Sunday afternoon, it would be a big surprise to not see him on the leaderboard. The Oaks Course is a big sprawling place that could favor a player who can hit it long and straight off the tee. But there are lots of long hitters in the field every week on the PGA Tour. So this could be one of the most wide-open tournaments of the season.

Adam Scott won with a 14-under par total in the first year on the Oaks course, but not before some players called it unfair. In 2010, the course had the highest first-round stroke average (73.705) on tour.

On Tuesday, Steele tried to defend the layout after he was asked if he believed the difficulty of the course had anything to do with the tournament's poor field.

"I don't think there's anything about the course that's unfair even when the wind blows that hard. It demands really good shots and if you don't hit them, you're going to pay the price. You know, there's nothing -- there's a difference between it being unfair and just being discount golf clubs hard and there's definitely nothing that's unfair about it."

You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. Nowadays only a handful of events outside of the majors and the WGCs are guaranteed good fields. Not even Arnold Palmer could persuade Rory McIlroy to come to Bay Hill this year. Since Nelson died in 2006, his eponymous tournament is no longer a must-play for the tour elite.