The Week

The Week Feb. 22-28

--He's an Animal
Stunning, yes. Fluky, no. Let this legend grow: Darren Clarke
took Tiger down.

--First W Club
In L.A. it was Kirk Triplett and now, in Tucson, Jim Carter.
Who's next, Bobby Wadkins?

--Streaking
Eight more and Australian Masters champ Karrie Webb will tie
Byron Nelson's record.

--Real Life
We expect Kite, Wadkins or Watson. We get Tom Wargo beating Gary
McCord and J.C. Snead.

PGA Shigeki Maruyama may have been smoked by Tiger Woods in
the third round of the World Match Play, but he nonetheless rose
from 53rd to 49th in the World Ranking. The top 50 after this
week's Doral-Ryder Open qualify for the Masters.... Looks as if
the only way Michael Campbell, who has won four times since
November, will make the field at Augusta is by a special
invitation.... Forget Orlando. Scottsdale boasts four champions
this year, including Carter, who broke a 13-year, 291-start
losing streak at Tucson. The others are Tom Lehman (Phoenix),
Phil Mickelson (San Diego) and Triplett (Los Angeles).... Jacob
Rogers, a 16-year-old high school junior from Tucson, became the
second-youngest player to qualify for a Tour event (Bob May,
1985 L.A. Open, was three months younger) when he shot a 67 on
Feb. 21. Rogers had rounds of 77 and 79--"I played like a
one-legged hamster," he said--and missed the cut.

LPGA Webb's victory was her third straight in the Australian
Masters.... More bad news for the du Maurier Classic: Imperial
Tobacco, the parent of the title sponsor, says it is pulling out
after this year, virtually assuring that the tour's fourth major
is a goner.

SENIOR Mike Schmidt walked off the course during the final round
of the LiquidGolf.Com Invitational after hitting his tee shot
into the water on the par-3 4th hole. Schmidt, who had taken an
11 on the preceding hole and had opened with rounds of 75 and
76, said he was bothered by tendinitis in his wrist.

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY DARREN ENGLAND/ALLSPORT Dollars to doughnuts Betting on Webb wasn't much of a gamble in Gold Coast, Australia, or on the LPGA tour (page G15).

UP and Down

Darren Clarke Walter Hagen
First-round matches Final-round match
Karrie Webb Tiger Woods
Shigeki Maruyama Michael Campbell
Sergio Garcia Seve Ballesteros