Daly for Masters

DIVOTS

John Daly has qualified for next week's Masters. Needing to remain in the top 10 on the PGA Tour Money List after the Players Championship, he barely did so, finishing 79th at the Players Championships. That earned him just enough money to keep him in 10th place.

He had a shocking finish of eight-over 80, but was lucky that many others, who could have passed him, did not do too well either. Before this week he was ranked 53rd in the world and the only way he could qualify was by remaining in the top 10 on the money list or jumping into the top 50 in the world rankings.

DIP FOR A PAL

The flashy Ian Poulter was involved in one of the oddest incidents in the history of the Players Championships.

On the fourth green, where he was faced with a difficult putt, the red-haired Poulter, in the course of lifting his ball after marking it, ended inadvertently hitting it and the ball rolled onto the water hazard adjacent to the green.

Faced with the possibility of a two-stroke penalty for losing the ball, Poulter signalled to his personal trainer, Kam Bhabra, who was watching from the gallery. Bhabra shed his shorts and waded into the water in his skivvies, bending down to find the ball and tossing it back to Poulter. Poulter saved par on the hole, en route to a 74, which saw him total par 288 and tie for 33rd place.

PAT FROM IDOL

The 23-year-old Adam Scott, grew up idolising fellow Australian Greg Norman. He also admitted he once stayed home from class in second grade to watch Norman, hopefully, win the 1987 Masters. But Scott sat stunned as Larry Mize chipped in to beat Norman in a famous finish at Augusta.

After Scott won, Norman, who gave him some tips on chipping, said, "I'm proud of him. I'm proud of him as an Australian and I'm proud of him as a golfer. He's the next superstar."

On Saturday, Norman left a handwritten note in Scott's locker wishing him good luck. Now Scott will have his own personalised locker at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass, in the Champions Room, with an engraved plaque on it, just like Norman's.

Bogeyman