Phil Mickelson Texted PGA Tour Commissioner During Opening Round At Memorial

Tiger Woods Ties Jack Nicklaus, Captures 5th Memorial With 'Old Patterns'

Brandon Weeden Wears Rickie Fowler Uniform At Memorial

2012 Memorial Tournament Results: Tiger Woods Ties Jack Nicklaus With 73rd Career Victory

With a vintage final day performance, former No. 1 golfer Tiger Woods turned back the clock on Sunday with a two-stroke victory over Andres Romero and Rory Sabbatini to record his 73rd career PGA win.

Woods' victory, which officially tied him with legend Jack Nicklaus for second all-time in PGA wins behind Sam Snead's 82, came after he made a miracle round-saving birdie chip (video below) on the par-3 16th hole to take a one-stroke lead. In a surreal moment after his round ended, an impressed Nicklaus would mention to Woods that his unbelievable shot was the best he'd ever seen.

Woods carded a 5-under 67 on Sunday to pick up the win, edging a red-hot Romero, who also shot a 67 on Sunday, by two strokes. Out of his recent cold streak in big tournaments, Woods will take home $1.116 million of the $6.20 million purse for his efforts during the week. While it might be premature to call the game's most feared player officially 'back', his Sunday performance and clutch shot on No. 16 will make it extremely hard to count him out in the upcoming U.S. Open.

You can view the full Memorial leaderboard at Golf.com.

For more 2012 Memorial Tournament coverage, stay with SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream.

VIDEO: Tiger Woods Sinks Incredible Flop Shot To Take Lead At 2012 Memorial

Tiger Woods Moves Into Share Of Lead With Miraculous Flop Shot On No. 16 At Memorial

Tiger Woods now sits atop of the leaderboard of the 2012 Memorial after sinking an incredible flop shot on the difficult 16th hole at Muirfield Village. In what tournament host Jack Nicklaus called "One of the most incredible golf shots I think you'll ever see played," Woods was in almost an impossible situation where a flop shot anywhere in the range of six feet would have been considered a success. The birdie at No. 16 backed up a birdie at the earlier par-5 No. 15, which he had to get in order to give himself a chance. Tiger has a history of making impossible flop shots at Muirfield over the years, but this was perhaps the best he's ever pulled off at Jack's place. Nicklaus said, "That was the most unbelievable, gutsy shot that I've ever seen."

The back-to-back birdies pulled him even with Rory Sabbatini at 8-under for the lead. The temperamental South African has caught several bad breaks during his final Sunday round, but he pulled off a miraculous shot at the extremely difficult par-3 12th hole to put it within ten feet. He converted his birdie for a two shot swing with former leader Spencer Levin, who had been barely hanging on.

But Sabbatini will now have to deal with the roars ahead of him as Tiger finishes up his round looking to tie Nicklaus with his 73rd career victory on Tour.

You can view the full Memorial leaderboard at Golf.com.

For updates on the 2012 Memorial Tournament, continue to stay with SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream. For all news and information regarding the 2012 Memorial Tournament and all things PGA Tour, please visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub.

2012 Memorial Tournament Update: Tiger Woods Reels Off 3 Straight Birdies

The 2012 Memorial Tournament is truly starting to get interesting heading into the back nine on Sunday, as a red-clad Tiger Woods appears to be giving a vintage performance with three consecutive birdies.

Woods' run, which came on holes five through seven, moved him to 8-under par and one stroke behind leader Spencer Levin. A bogey at the eighth hole dropped Woods back to 7-under and two strokes away immediately thereafter, but his front nine 33 certainly set the table for a fantastic finish down the stretch if the onetime superstar can keep up the momentum.

Levin opened the day at 8-under par in the final group, and has held his ground nicely with a 1-under day through seven holes thus far. He will need to hold off a red-hot Woods and playing-partner Rory Sabbatini, who is also 7-under, in his bid to snag the $1.16 million winner's purse.

You can view the full Memorial leaderboard at Golf.com.

For updates on the 2012 Memorial Tournament, continue to stay with SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream. For all news and information regarding the 2012 Memorial Tournament and all things PGA Tour, please visit SB Nation's dedicated golf hub.

US Open 2012 Sectional Qualifier: Tee Times, Pairings And More

The eyes of the golfing world are on Columbus this weekend with the Memorial Tournament being played in Dublin, Ohio, but that focus will remain on Monday when two courses in the Columbus area host a U.S. Open sectional qualifying tournament.

With the PGA Tour in town filling up the qualifying tournament, the USGA added an alternate qualifying tournament in Springfield, Ohio. The sectional qualifying tournaments offer golfers from all over the world a chance to make the field of the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. Players must endure 36-holes in one day with only a few spots available at each sectional qualifying tournament.

The Columbus area qualifying tournament will be held on two courses and is one of two "tour" sites (along with Memphis, TN) for PGA Tour players. Scioto Country Club and The Ohio State University Scarlet Course will be used for the large field of players. Here is a complete list of tee times for the Columbus sectional qualifying tournament.

The Springfield qualifying tournament will be held at the Springfield Country Club. Here are the tee times for the Springfield sectional qualifying tournament.

2012 Memorial Tournament: TV Schedule, Tee Times, Pairings For Sunday

California native Spencer Levin will take a one-shot lead into the final day at the 2012 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, as two of the most popular golfers in the world, Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler, remain hot on his trail.

Levin shot a 3-under 69 in Saturday's third round to edge Rory Sabbatini for the 54-hole lead. The often inconsistent Sabbatini, who will be paired with Levin in Sunday's final group that is set to tee off at 1:30 pm ET, posted a 1-under 71 in round three after turning in a 69 in each of the previous two days.

Even though the leaders might hail from the final group in the end, the majority of viewers will find plenty of intrigue with the second-to-last pairing that features former No. 1 Tiger Woods with rising star Rickie Fowler. Fowler and Woods will enter the final round trailing by three and four strokes respectively, and might only be a few holes away from a one or two stroke deficit if nerves get the better of the duo in the final group.

Sunday's coverage can be seen on Golf Channel from noon to 2:00 pm ET and then CBS from 2:30 pm until the tournament concludes later in the evening. Here are the final tee times and pairings:

A complete, live leaderboard is available here.

For more on the 2012 Memorial throughout the week, visit SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream. For more on the PGA Tour, visit SB Nation's golf hub and Waggle Room, SB Nation's golf blog.

2012 Memorial Tournament: Spencer Levin, Rory Sabbatini Finish Neck-And-Neck Saturday

Tiger Woods entered the day with a ton of momentum, and it looked like he might take the lead at the 2012 Memorial Tournament, but Saturday wrapped up with him falling into fourth place. He finished plus-one on the day and is four under for the tournament. He made four bogeys on the day, all on the back nine, and two on his final two holes.

On Sunday, he'll be paired with Rickie Fowler, who took third with 5-under and a 3-under 69. Fowler had a somewhat weak back nine and most of the buzz is around the top two looking forward to Sunday. Spencer Levin holds the lead at 8-under for the tournament after a 3-under 69 in his third round.

Levin dropped two shots in his last seven holes, cooling off his 10-under mark earlier in the round and now hs Rory Sabbatini hot on his heels. He played solidly all throughout the day and made two birdies over his last 12 holes, and didn't drop any shots over said 12 holes. He finished his third round with a 2-under 70 and moves to 7-under for the tournament, barely trailing Levin.

For more on the 2012 Memorial throughout the week, visit SB Nation Cleveland'sStoryStream. For more on the PGA Tour, visit SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 Memorial: Tiger Woods Moves Into Share Of First In Third Round

Tiger Woods entered Saturday's third round action one shot off the lead of the 2012 Memorial. It didn't take long for Woods to get to the top, either, as he started his third by birdieing the first hole par four, just as he did on the hole in his second round on Friday. Woods now sits at six-under overall and tied with fellow American Spencer Levin, who passed pairing Rory Sabbatini on the third hole of their third round, which teed off shortly after Woods.

Sabbatini was the sole leader after the second round heading into moving day, but he has bogeyed two of the first three holes in his third round to fall a shot behind Woods and Levin. After knocking a shot in the bunker and bogeying on the first hole, Sabbatini responded with a birdie on the second to match Levin's, creating a three-way tie atop the leaderboard, but bogeyed the next to fall a shot back.

Another American, Matt Every, is making a very strong push during the third round. He is currently 6-under for the round, moving him up 22 spots on the leaderboard and into a four-way tie for fifth.

A complete, live leaderboard is available here.

For more on the 2012 Memorial throughout the week, visit SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream. For more on the PGA Tour, visit SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 Memorial Tournament: TV Schedule, Tee Times, Pairings For Saturday

After Friday's cut, the third day of the 2012 Memorial Golf Tournament should provide a great deal of excitement with the man they call Tiger Woods in the field after producing a 5-under 67 on day two.

Rory Sabbatini is your 36-hole leader at 6-under par, but holds a narrow one-shot lead on a trio of players that includes the aforementioned Woods. Sabbatini will tee it up with Spencer Levin in the day's final tee time at 1:30 pm EST, while Woods and Scott Stallings will play in the group ahead. It's well known that both Woods and Sabbatini have a frosty relationship, and Levin will have to jump on that grenade on Saturday and play with the temperamental South African.

Saturday's coverage will be televised Golf Channel from 12:30 p.m. to 2: 30 pm ET and then CBS from 3 to 6 p.m. ET. Here are the scheduled tee times and pairings:

A complete, live leaderboard is available here.

For more on the 2012 Memorial throughout the week, visit SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream. For more on the PGA Tour, visit SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 Memorial: Tiger Woods 1 Shot Back Of Leader Rory Sabbatini

The second round of the 2012 Memorial is in the books, and despite a two-hour rain delay, everyone was able to complete 36 holes before nightfall. The Memorial is historically plagued by inclement weather, but Jack's tournament committee and the Tour did an excellent job pushing play forward and the weather cooperated over the afternoon.

After two rounds, the precocious South African Rory Sabbatini leads by one shot at 6-under. The hot-tempered Sabbatini, who's neither a player nor fan favorite on Tour, shot matching rounds of 69 over the first two days. A trio of players is just one shot behind Sabbatini at 5-under, headlined by Tiger Woods. Woods came out of the gate hot on Friday, draining three birdies in the first six holes to move into a tie for the lead at 5-under. He nearly gave it all back at No. 12, where he double bogeyed to fall back to 3-under. But he fought back and birdied No. 15 and 16 to get back into a tie for second with Scott Stallings and Spencer Levin.

Sabbatini and Woods are on pretty icy terms, to say the least, so there will be plenty of drama heading into the weekend in Dublin.

Muirfield was the real winner on Friday, yielding nothing all day. Some big names went home early, including Bubba Watson and Rory McIlroy, who missed his third straight cut. He'll play next week in Memphis, as he announced the late decision to try and get his game back in shape to defend his U.S. Open title in two weeks.

A complete, live leaderboard is available here.

For more on the 2012 Memorial throughout the week, visit SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream. For more on the PGA Tour, visit SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 Memorial: Tiger Woods Takes A Share Of Lead With 3 Birdies In 6 Holes

After a two-hour rain delay this morning, the afternoon set of tee times are out on the course and making their way around their first nine. Scoring conditions were tough on Thursday but expected to lighten up on Friday with the dampened greens. But few players in the morning wave posted low numbers, with Henrik Stenson and Lucas Glover firing low rounds of the day so far with 68. First round leaders Spencer Levin and Scott Stallings leveled out, with Levin staying at 5-under and Stallings dropping a shot to finish tied at 5-under.

This has all opened the door for Tiger Woods to charge up the leaderboard and he's taken advantage, pulling even with Levin and Stallings just seven holes through his second round. Woods saved at least five pars on Thursday to string together a solid round in tough scoring conditions. Now, he's making a move and draining birdies. He posted three birdies through the first six holes on Friday, including a lengthy putt that curled in on No. 6 to pull him even for the lead.

Like Firestone in Akron, Muirfield Village has typically been a course that suits his eye, with four career victories. But much of his success at Jack's place came over a decade ago. A win this week will have everyone putting him back in contention for the U.S. Open at Olympic in two weeks. There's still two and half rounds to play, but he's been the Woods of old so far this week in Columbus.

A complete, live leaderboard is available here.

For more on the 2012 Memorial throughout the week, visit SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream. For more on the PGA Tour, visit SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 Memorial Tournament: Bubba Watson Fails To Make Cut, Erik Compton Over Par In Round 2

The second day of the 2012 Memorial Tournament was unkind to Bubba Watson. Only two months removed from his win at the Masters, Watson failed to make the cut after shooting a 5-over par over the first two rounds of the tournament. Erik Compton, who has one of the most interesting stories in all of sports, started the day at 5-under prior to having a bit of a drop-off in the second round. At the time of this post, Compton was sitting at three-over on the day through 15 holes played.

Spencer Levin finished Day 2 at even-par and still sits atop the leaderboard at 5-under, which has him tied with Scott Stallings who finished the day with a 1-over round of 73. Tiger Woods entered the day at 2-under and after a late start due to rain is currently two holes into his second round and already sits at one-under on the day.

A complete, live leaderboard is available here.

For more on the 2012 Memorial throughout the week, visit SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream. For more on the PGA Tour, visit SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 Memorial: Updated Friday Afternoon Tee Times, Pushed Back 2 Hours Due To Weather Delay

After weather delayed play one hour and 50 minutes at Muirfield Village on Friday morning, the first wave of tee times at the Memorial finally resumed play around Noon. As a result, all afternoon tee times have been pushed back two hours to 2 p.m. ET. Golf Channel is still scheduled to come on the air 3 p.m. ET and will broadcast the afternoon rounds, which include Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy -- who are both now set to go off just before 3 p.m. in back-to-back groups. A complete schedule of the updated afternoon tee times below:

Afternoon wave off No. 1 tee:

Afternoon wave off No. 10 tee:

A complete, live leaderboard is available here.

For more on the 2012 Memorial throughout the week, visit SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream. For more on the PGA Tour, visit SB Nation's golf hub.

Erik Compton, 1 Shot Back At Memorial, Playing With Heart Transplant Donated By Local Columbus Man

2012 Memorial Tournament: TV Schedule, Tee Times, Pairings For Friday

The second round of the 2012 Memorial gets underway early Friday morning at Muirfield Village in Columbus and there are plenty of juicy storylines at the top of the leaderboard, Erik Compton is just one shot off the lead held by Scott Stallings at 6-under. Compton is best known for his incredible backstory, which involves two heart transplants and a long journey to make it to the PGA Tour, where he's playing as a rookie in 2012. He fired a first-round 67 and will look to follow that up on Friday when he tees off at 8:59 a.m. ET in the last group of the morning wave.

Television coverage will not begin until after the conclusion of Compton's round, with Golf Channel broadcasting from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. They will almost certainly focus their cameras on two groups playing back-to-back. Tiger Woods, who had perhaps his most solid round since his win at Bay Hill, is 2-under and tied for 11th. He goes off No. 1 at 1:05 p.m. ET playing alongside Fred Couples and Bill Haas. One group ahead of him will be Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, and Keegan Bradley.

In what always seems to be the case at The Memorial, there's an 80 percent chance of rain in the Dublin area on Friday, which could result in a significant delay. A complete schedule of tee times below:

First wave off No. 1 tee:

First wave off No. 10 tee:

Second wave off No. 1 tee:

Second wave off No. 10 tee:

A complete, live leaderboard is available here.

For more on the 2012 Memorial throughout the week, visit SB Nation Cleveland'sStoryStream. For more on the PGA Tour, visit SB Nation's golf hub.

Phil Mickelson Withdraws From 2012 Memorial, Sets Sights On U.S. Open

It was an eventful first day at Muirfield Village, which was capped off by an incredible charge up the leaderboard by Erik Compton and a dramatic tumble by Phil Mickelson. Lefty blew up on the back nine with an inward 42 that included a stretch where he played the final three holes at 4-over. He posted a score of 79, 7-over and 13 shots back of leader Scott Stallings. It didn't take long for Mickelson to end his week right there, as word quickly came down that he was withdrawing, citing "mental fatigue."

Mickelson typically plays a fuller schedule when compared to the rest of the top names in golf, and he shows up more than he has to as one of the top earners in all of sports. He played a pretty full schedule in May, attending three straight events at Quail Hollow, The Players, and the Byron Nelson. But he then took off for Europe with his wife last week during the Colonial, returning to Ohio for a final tune-up before the U.S. Open, the "white whale" of his career which starts in two weeks at Olympic.

Mickelson is taking a fair amount of incoming fire for his decision to withdraw with a non-physical injury. It's not uncommon to see players with high numbers early in the tournament pull out for "personal reasons" or "fatigue." It's rare to see Mickelson do this, and he admitted it was a violation of a personal policy he typically adheres to:

"I feel like it's the responsibility of a player to see through your commitment and finish the tournament and so forth," Mickelson said. "And I'm kind of overruling that just a touch, because I'm trying to think big picture on what's the best way for me to get ready for the Open."

One can't help but imagine that tournament host Jack Nicklaus is not thrilled with Mickelson's decision.

A complete, live leaderboard is available here.

For more on the 2012 Memorial throughout the week, visit SB Nation Cleveland'sStoryStream. For more on the PGA Tour, visit SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 Memorial Tournament: Scott Stallings Holds 1-Shot Lead Over Spencer Levin, Erik Compton After Day 1

After Day 1 of the 2012 Memorial Tournament, Scott Stallings stands alone atop the leaderboard after shooting a 6-under 66 on Thursday to lead just ahead of Spencer Levin and Erik Compton, who are tied at 5-under. Stallings' day included an eagle on the par 5 seventh hole. He shot 33 on the both the front and back nines of the course.

Stallings' day featured a nice three-birdie run over the final four holes at Muirfield to secure the lead. He also got some help from Levin, who started on the back nine and bogeyed on his final hole of the day to move down one shot off the lead. A double bogey on 16 also cost Levin dearly, although, like Stallings, he also hit eagle on seven. Compton shot a 32 over his final nine holes to make an impressive surge up the leaderboard.

Tiger Woods played arguably his best golf since winning at Bay Hill in March. Starting on the back nine, he countered a double bogey on No. 18 with birdies on six and seven to finished at 2-under in a tie with Ernie Els and seven others in 11th place. Just back of the top three golfers, seven players are tied at 3-under, including Aaron Baddelay, Rory Sabbatini and Brandt Snedeker.

A complete, live leaderboard is available here.

For more on the 2012 Memorial throughout the week, visit SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream. For more on the PGA Tour, visit SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 Memorial Tournament: Tiger Woods 1 Shot Back, Rory McIlroy Charges Back On 2nd 9

The morning wave has finished the first round at the 2012 Memorial on Thursday, and two of the biggest names in the game had roller coaster rounds. Tiger Woods put in some solid work at Muirfield Village, shooting perhaps his best round since his win at Bay Hill. Woods saved five pars by hitting putts between six and 10 feet, opportunities he's failed to convert during his struggles over the past two years. He drained two birdies on each side and had just one hiccup -- a double from the bunker at No. 18 that pushed him back to even as he made the turn. He finished with a round of 70 and at 2-under, is just one shot back of a quartet of leaders.

The other headliner out on the course early Thursday was Rory McIlroy, who truly had one of the more up-and-down rounds you will see. The Northern Irishman is coming off two missed cuts and looking to get his game in shape in advance of his defense at the U.S. Open. It was an ugly start, as Rory rinsed twice on his first nine holes, resulting in a quadruple bogey seven at No. 12 and a bogey at No. 17. With an outward nine of 39, it looked like Rory was headed for another early exit this week but battled back on his second 9 to come in with a 32. An eagle at the par-5 fifth hole pulled him back to even for the Tournament and he finished his round with a birdie to move to 1-under and two shots off the lead.

The No. 1 player in the world, Luke Donald, played with Rory and matched him with a 1-under round of 71. Donald is looking for back-to-back wins after winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth for the second year in a row last week in England.

A complete, live leaderboard is available here.

For more on the 2012 Memorial throughout the week, visit SB Nation Cleveland'sStoryStream. For more on the PGA Tour, visit SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 Memorial Tournament: Bud Cauley Atop Early Leaderboard

American Bud Cauley and South African Trevor Immelman spent the morning jockeying for the top spot in early first-round action at the Memorial Tournament.

Cauley is, at the moment, sitting atop the leaderboard with a 4-under through 14 holes. Fellow American Robert Garrigus is in second at 3-under through nine holes.

Immelman is in a five-way tie for third at 2-under.

Tiger Woods, who owns the Memorial record with four wins, was tied for second through eight holes. Alas, a double-bogey put him at par and in a tie for No. 15.

The world's current No. 1 golfer, Luke Donald, is 1-over through 10.

Rory McIlroy, the world's current No. 2, stubbed his toe early with a quadruple bogey on the par-3 12th, which was his third hole of the morning. He rebounded with birdies on two of the next four holes, but followed that up by hitting into the water on the 17th, which went for another bogey. He was 3-over through 10 holes.

The Memorial purse is $6.2 million, and the winner is slated to take home north of $1.1 million.

A complete, live leaderboard is available here.

For more on the 2012 Memorial throughout the week, visit SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream. For more on the PGA Tour, visit SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 Memorial Tournament: TV Schedule, Tee Times, Pairings For Thursday

The 2012 Memorial Tournament gets underway on Thursday morning at Muirfield Village with a loaded field. The top players in the world are all in attendance in Dublin, competing at Jack Nicklaus's venerable tournament. It's often viewed as the final tune-up before the U.S. Open and all of the big names will be on hand.

Golf channel will carry the broadcast from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m ET during Thursday's first round. Coverage will most certainly focus on the power grouping of Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, and Bubba Watson, who are set to tee off at 1:05 p.m. ET. Hunter Mahan, Justin Rose, and Steve Stricker will be one group ahead of them off No. 1, while Dustin Johnson will make his return at the same time off No. 10. A complete scheduled of tee times below:

First wave off No. 1 tee:

First wave off No. 10 tee:

Second wave off No. 1 tee:

Second wave off No. 10 tee:

For more on the 2012 Memorial throughout the week, visit SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream. For more on the PGA Tour, visit SB Nation's golf hub.

2012 Memorial Tournament Preview: Tom Watson To Be Honored, Tiger Woods Looks For Fifth Title

The 2012 Memorial Tournament will begin play on Thursday at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dayton, Ohio.

In A Week Dedicated To The Greatest Ever, Superstars Enter Memorial With Plenty Of Questions

In a week that prompts golf fans to look back on the greatest who ever lived, the 2012 Memorial will be yet another gauge for a crop of golfers considered the heir apparent or next in line.