A strong close rivals Els's start

Page 2 of 4 -- "I fell apart and didn't get the job done and that's it," said Park, shaking her head, after which she was asked what she could take from her Samsung performance.

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"That I'm the biggest loser," she said.

Ouch.

She's not, of course, but unlike the men's game, in which Vijay Singh and Els roared past Tiger Woods in the world rankings, Sorenstam continued to dominate her opposition. Park and Se Ri Pak, considered by many to be capable of supplanting Sorenstam, have won once each in 2004 and rank fourth and ninth, respectively, on the money list.

Numbers game

As for what else has been going on, a sampling:

MAKING THE ROUNDS: Singh will walk away with all the top honors in 2004, but it appears unlikely he'll catch a few colleagues when it comes to the number of rounds played. Currently, Ted Purdy (108), Pat Sheehan (105), Tim Petrovic (103), Tom Carter (102), and Chris Smith (101) are comfortably ahead of Singh (98) and each is playing at the Funai Classic at Walt Disney World, an event that begins today.

THE HONEYMOONERS: Woods won't be fined $32,500 for having his 155-foot yacht enter Puerto Rico's San Juan Bay without prior notification. Since it was his first infraction, he was issued a warning by the US Coast Guard as the world's third-ranked player continued to enjoy his honeymoon with Elin Nordegren. The Coast Guard has a different rulebook than the USGA, but we can interpret the decision thusly: Since Woods and his crew were out of bounds, it was a stroke-and-distance penalty. They had to go back to the buoy and restart their engines.

HONEST TOM: As he stood over a putt on the second green in Sunday's final round of the Chrysler Classic in Greensboro, N.C., Tom Lehman couldn't be sure if his ball moved. He wrestled with his emotions for two holes, talked to a rules official, then chose to penalize himself one shot. Pretty serious, because he started the day tied for the lead. He hasn't triumphed since 2000 and he wouldn't this day, his closing 70--274 leaving him tied for fourth.

RED, WHITE, AND BLUE: Of the 45 PGA Tour events played this season, only 21 have been won by American-born players. Of the top 10 players on the money list, only five are Americans. Of the top 20 on the money list, only 10 are Americans. IT'S GREAT FOR THE PACE OF PLAY, ANYWAY: There are just 30 eligible players for this week's Schwab Cup, the season-ending event on the Champions Tour. Indeed, the field includes Dana Quigley, who, for the seventh straight season, will have played the entire Champions Tour schedule.

Sisk's jump-start   Continued...