Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 14

E6 Wednesday, toy 6, 2::3 SFCRTS www.j3-tc.ccTi FCATCl'R liger is bach, but loss poner than before Kelly defends decision to skip British PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Jerry Kelly considers the British Open his favorite major championship of the year. And he has no plans to play this year. Kelly has been urging sponsors and fans to do everything they can to save the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, his hometown tournament.

U.S. Bank has said it would not renew as title sponsor this year at Milwaukee, which is held the same week as the British Open. Then Kelly realized he wouldn't be doing his part without playing. "I had my British Open entry," Kelly said, "and I got a sick feeling in my stomach and I'd miss Milwaukee and it would be the last one. And it better not to be the last one.

How can I call out all these people without backing it up myself?" Kelly has not played in Milwaukee the last two years because he was eligible for the British Open. In the meantime, he criticized Fred Funk and Kenny Perry in recent years for not playing the British when they were eligible. European Tour member Alastair Forsyth criticized Kelly last week for skipping golfs oldest championship. Kelly wasn't sure who Forsyth was, nor did he care what anyone thought. "It's all about Milwaukee, It's all about securing a title sponsor for Milwaukee," he said.

"It's what got me into golf." THE PERFECT SPONSOR: Tim Herron did well to secure a corporate endorsement deal in these economic times. It runs through the 2010 season, and it's significant enough that he wears the corporate logo on his Besides, few corporate deals are such a good fit. Herron, affectionately known on tour as "Lumpy," is wearing on his chest. One can argue that given the right color shirt, Herron might actually look like an (peanut variety). "I think they knew I was their type," he said with a laugh.

But he said this deal also comes with a charity component. He is working on an arrangement in which parent company Mars would match Herron's contribution for every birdie he makes to "Target House" in Memphis, which provides lodging for parents of Sick children. The Associated Press Stanton Barrett adjusts his fire-retardant suit Tuesday before practice during rookie orientation for the Indianapolis 500. Stuntman seeks Indy 500 spot "I just didn't have the pop in my body, nor should he said. "It takes time for anyone who has a reconstruction (of the ACL) to come back and get the speed back and the agility and all those different things.

Most athletes take over a year to get back. With my sport, I've been able to get back sooner than that, just because of the nature of my sport." Distance is not an issue at The Players Championship, where the TPC Sawgrass is only" 7,215 yards. Like most property in Florida, it's all about location. Even so, Woods bristled at the suggestion from NBC Sports analyst Johnny Miller that he would be better off using a 3-wood to navigate the Stadium Course. Remember, he used only one driver in winning the British Open at Royal Liverpool in 2006.

Then again, the links course was dry and brown, and the only water on the course was in bottles for drinking. "We've got par 5s out here. You've got to be able to use it," Woods said. "If Johnny says you can't hit drivers on 9 and 11, you're giving up two opportunities to get close to the green." The last guy to leave a driver out of his bag was Mickelson last summer at the U.S. Open, when he played the first two days with Woods.

Before that, the last time they were paired together was at the Deutsche Bank Mickelson beat him in the final round. Asked about Augusta last month, Mickelson didn't notice anything out of the ordinary except that Woods was first to hit. "It seemed like he was playing like he normally did," Lefty said. "It seems like he has as much speed as he wants to have. With that being said, I've been able to increase my speed a little bit this year, as well.

And even though I've weakened my irons a degree or two, I'm still hitting them 5, 6 yards longer than I did last year. So I've almost gained 10, 12 yards with my irons without trying." Is Tiger shorter? Qr4s Phil longer? Mickelson has always been more infatuated -than Woods, although Woods' aura has been built around power. Woods is having to make do with less at the moment, which is OK with him. He has been experimenting with different shafts and lengths of his driver, although he keeps going back to what he had. The Players Championship will be the fourth straight tournament that Mickelson PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.

(AP) So much about Tiger Woods after major knee surgery looks the sama He won at Bay Hill with a birdie putt on the last hole that everyone knew he was going to make. Even when his swing was out of sorts last week at Quail Hollow, he somehow was in the thick of contention until the final two holes. But this is not the same Tiger Woods. He is missing his power, whether it's off the tee with a driver or from the fairway with irons that are sometimes two more clubs than what he used before surgery last June to rebuild his left knee. The power shortage was never more evident than the final round of the Masters, playing with Phil Mickelson, when Woods usually was the first to hit from the fairway.

Even his rival couldn't help but notice. "I kept having to wait for him to hit," Mickelson jokingly said Tuesday. That wasn't the case the last time they played together at Augusta National, the final round in 2001, when on some holes Woods hit it farther with a 3-wood than Mickelson did with a driver. More evidence came last week at Quail Hollow. By measuring drives on the 56 holes that were not par 3s, Mickelson's average tee shot was nearly 14 yards longer than Woods'.

Statistics can be misleading, especially over the first two rounds because they played on opposite ends of the draw. But in the third round, when they were separated by one group, Mickelson was longer off the tee on 11 of the. 14. driving holes. Lefty's average drive was 317.6 yards, Woods was at 300.5 yards.

Woods has an answer for his sudden loss of length. "I've been away from the game for a long time," he said Tuesday, referring to his eight-month layoff after the U.S. Open. "And it's going to take a little bit of time before my body gets back to where I can hit the ball the same distances. I don't hit the ball the same distance with my irons or my driver." have a answer for is when he will get it back! soon," he said.

Woods said at Quail Hollow that he was just starting to get some "pop" back in the swing, which had been missing earlier in the year. He spoke about the rotation required to generate speed in his swing, and the importance of not stretching the ligament. He noticed the difference his first tournament back in Arizona. first goal for the FedEx Cup LUMPING SINGH: The champion is to qualify for "Volcano." Crashes and flips in that part of his career are part of the daily routine, just the sort of stuff he must avoid at Indy. "It just wears and tears on your body more than anything," he said of the pounding he's taken over the past 20 years.

"The broken bones and things like that heal, but it's the torn ligaments and muscles and tendons and the constant wear and tear on your body and your back, things INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -There are no retakes here. Stanton Barrett has to get it right the first time, and every time. The Hollywood stuntman with more than 200 movies and TV series to his credit, and probably just as many broken bones, torn muscles and assorted injuries, is trying to prove himself on auto racing's biggest stage as a rookie at the Indianapolis 500. "I've never experienced something like this," Barrett said Tuesday at the start of the two-day Indy rookie tests. "I've "It's driving when work.

Vijay Singh is off to his worst start ever and is No. 132 in the FedEx Cup standings entering The Players Championship. When he missed the cut last week at the Quail Hollow Championship, it marked the 11th consecutive tournament that he failed to finish in the top 10, his longest drought since joining the PGA Tour in 1993. In fact, the 46-year-old Fijian has finished in the top half of any field only once this year, when he made it to the second round of the Accenture Match Play Championship. He has missed four cuts in nine tournaments, and his best results in stroke play were a tie for 27th at Kapalua (against a field of 33 winners) and a tie for.

30th at the Masters (where 50 players made the cut). Singh injured his knee and had surgery to repair the meniscus after the season-opener in Hawaii, arid there is some speculation that he tried to return too soon. Whatever the case, the numbers are startling. In 24 rounds, he has shot in the 60s only twice, and he has made only one putt longer than 20 feet all year. only scary a race car they don't TAT OF THE WEEK: The Players Championship, which begins Thursday, has five players who are No.

300' or lower in the world ranking Bra'd Adamonis (300), Martin Laird (3W), Eric Axley (384), Fred Funk (658) and D.A. Weibring (no ranking); who qualified by winning the Senior Players Championship. the playoffs. been this talk about, and 'He's not where he he goes and wins eight of the next 12 tournaments," Ogilvy said. "So I don't think anyone out here is concerned that Tiger is not going to be Tiger anymore." -1 I.

Injury threatens I Want Revenge's racing career been here in a stock car and I've had the opportunity to run the three IndyCar races and I have a lot better grasp what to expect about the cars, but you have to approach it like any other race: You make laps and get your seat time and you have your process of learning and building up to the point that you need to be." The 36-year-old daredevil grew up in a world of speed, thrills and danger. His father, Stan Barrett, was a longtime Hollywood stuntman and NASCAR driver and 30 years ago piloted a rocket car at almost 740 mph, becoming the first person to break the sound barrier on land. His brother, David Barrett, also is a stuntman and a movie and TV director and producer. Stanton Barrett also competes in extreme skiing, motorcycling, paragliding and surfing. He began racing in the NASCAR Nationwide series in 1992 and has driven in almost 200 races in that series and in NASCAR's elite Sprint Cup series.

He joined the CURBAgajanianTeam 3G in the IRL's IndyCar series this season, with a best finish so far of 12th in the season opener at St. Petersburg, Fla. "It's only scary driving a race car when they don't work and you have your hands full and you're on the edge all the time," he said. "I'd have to say the stunt stuff is by far more scary when it comes to most of the things we do. But you have to respect both of them.

They're both very, very worthy of respect and will definitely bite you if you don't." Barrett's film credits include "The Dukes of Haz-zard," "Spider-Man," "Jurassic Park," "Blade," "Batman" and has a chance to replace Woods at No. 1 in the world ranking. Lefty would have to win and have Woods finish worse than fourth place alone for that to happen. Is change imminent? Geoff Ogilvy isn't so sure. "Every time that there's that takes a long time to heal.

I have other injuries that have come from motocross racing and skiing and snowmobile racing and things like that. Not all of it's from stunts." There's probably his body that hasn't been ir-- injured at some time, he said. He wouldn't pick out his scariest moment, but he said one of his favorite stunts was a car flip he did in one episode of the 2002 TV series "Fastlane," which was directed by his-brother. "That was really cool, and I did some really great motorcycle stuff in 'Cradle 2 the Grave' and I won stunt awards for a scene we. did in 'Jurassic I've had a great, great career in Hollywood.

It's been a lot better than his career in auto racing, so far He won 21 of 28 go-kart races as a youngster, but in -174 Nationwide races since 1992, he's finished only six times among the top 10 and never in the top five. In 22 Sprint Cup races from 1999 to 2006 he never finished in the top 10. This year, he's co-owner of a new team with veteran car owner Greg Beck and longtime motorsports marketer Steve Sudler. Full practice for the May 24 race begins Wednesday. Barrett says finding sponsorship has been a struggle.

"Right now we're kind of under the gun," he said. "A lot of our stuff hasn't come together this week like it was supposed to, and we're still waiting on getting some money so we can get on the track. We've got to get through rookie orientation or we can't run the rest of May. So that's our No. 1 goal.

No. 2 is to qualify for the Indy 500." eration fight Thursday night at the Hilton Anatole hotel. Lenhardt said the Houston fighter was helped to his stool before lying down. Lenhardt said doctors rushed to his side and Flores appeared unconscious when removed on a stretcher. The fight was for the vacant NABF super bantamweight title.

Flores was 19-3 and weighed 122 pounds. Northrop says the decision may have saved the colt's life. "It was a gigantic move," Northrop said. "Derby hysteria really clouds people's judgment, so I was really proud of the trainer and owners." Calls Tuesday to co-owner Michael Iavarone and trainer Jeff Mullins were not immediately returned. Mullins began serving a seven-day suspension on Sunday for administering an over-the-counter medication to another of his horses, Gato Go Win, in a detention barn just before a race in New York several weeks ago.

Iavarone, president of IAEH Stables, said just before the Derby that he didn't believe the injury was severe and that the horse wasn't lame. Northrop said the early prognosis was minor, but the MRI and other tests showed a more serious soft-tissue injury than originally suspected. The ligament in question is critical for racehorses, he said, because it helps support the fetlock joint during high-speed exercise. "The problem with that ligament is when you ultrasound it, it's not a real accurate ultrasound because of location, shape and the way runs through the ankle," Northrop said. "When you see a partial tear, it can be a major tear you're not seeing totally." LEXINGTON, Ky.UAP) -The injury that kepUI Want Revenge out of the Kentucky Derby will keep ninrfrom racing for months and threaten his career if he doesn't respond well to therapy, the horse's veterinarian said Tuesday.

Foster Northrop said swelling in I Want Revenge's right front ankle once considered only mild progressed over the weekend, and an ultrasound and MRI showed additional ligament damage. The morning-line Derby favorite was undergoing a bone scan and other tests Tuesday at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington. "Part of the prognosis is determined by the horse's response to therapy, but this is a serious injury, and depending on his progress, could be career-threatening," Northrop said. Northrop commended the horse's owners and trainer for making an agonizing decision on Saturday morn- ing, just hours before the Derby, to pull the 3-year-old colt out of the race. Although he showed no problems while jogging for doctors, inflanv mation was detected in the ankle, making it difficult for him to flex.

It was the first scratch of a Derby favorite the day of the race in the 60 years since Churchill Downs has kept track of the morning line. Boxer dies 5 days after fight The Associated Press Olympic swimming gold medalist Michael Phelps works out Tuesday In Baltimore. Phelps returns from suspension BALTIMORE (AP) Michael Phelps' three-month suspension from competition is now over and he marked the occasion like any other day: He woke up late and headed to the pool. Speaking exclusively with The Associated Press, Phelps said he didn't even realize his suspension ended Tuesday. Coach Bob Bowman couldn't resist making a joke, saying he planned to enter his star swimmer in ajneet later that night.

"I had no idea," Phelps said of his ban, which was doled out by USA Swimming after a picture surfaced in a London tabloid showing him inhaling from a marijuana pipe. Actually, he'll return to competition next week at a meet in Charlotte, N.C. It will be his first time swimming competitively since winning eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. "I'm happy to be back in the water and be back in semi-shape," said Phelps, who's lost almost 20 pounds in last two months. DALLAS (AP) Boxer Benjamin Flores has died five days after he was hospitalized following a title bout with Al Seeger in a Dallas hotel.

Bout supervisor Bob Lenhardt says the 25-year-old Flores died Tuesday at Parkland Hospital. Referee Laurence Cole awarded the victory to Seeger in the eighth round of the North American Boxing Fed.