Golf Central

On this day in 1909, Henry Longhurst was born in Bromham, England. And why is he famous you might ask? Never fear, for if you weren't born of a certain age you might not know. But Longhurst was the first great golf journalist - the Bobby Jones of golf writers - and for that we salute the late Henry.

Longhurst's descriptive, flowing prose - appearing in the Sunday Times and Golf Illustrated - brought alive his accounts of golf's great matches and personalities from the '30s to the '60s and helped turn golfers into stars. Longhurst also served as the BBC's senior television commentator from the late '50s. Hours before his death in 1978, Longhurst joked to colleagues that he was off to scout "the great hospitality tents in the sky" ... Bless 'im ...

The big surprise on the LPGA this week wasn't about who won: sweet-swinging tour rookie Louise Friberg of Sweden is tipped for great things after moving up from the LET. The big surprise was that Lorena Ochoa, the world No. 1 showcasing the LPGA in her native Mexico, didn't win.

Friberg, 27, closed with a 7-under 65 despite a bout with food poisoning to edge Yani Tseng of Taiwan in the MasterCard Classic at Bosque Real Country Club in Huixquilucan, Mexico.

Said the willowy Swede: "I'm just happy to get through because I've been really sick the past two days." We're happy for Louise, too: A few more wins for the photogenic blonde and perhaps we will see more than just "Melissa Reid" and "Anna Rawson" in our page-view reports.

And Friberg did it in style. Starting the round 10 shots behind Korea's Ji-Young Oh, Friberg came out firing with an eagle and six birides to set a course record

As for Ochoa, the Mexican miss had up to 12,000 fans following her every move, and they loved her despite her Friday 76 which left her stranded 11 shots off Friberg's pace at the end: "Of course I would've loved to leave with the trophy, but I'm leaving content," said Ochoa. But Friberg went away with the serenade from the mariachis.

Champions Tour
AT&T Champions Classic: Denis "Don't call me Tom or Bubba" Watson came out on top in a playoff at Valencia Country Club in Santa Clarita, California, after tying with Brad Bryant and Loren Roberts at 7-under. It was the third title in two senior seasons for Zimbabwe's Watson as the old-timers continued to be unable to wrap things up in regulation; it was the third straight playoff on the Champions Tour.

Futures Tour
Bright House Networks Open: Former University of Nevada Las Vegas starlet Sunny Oh of Korea won a three-way playoff in the Futures Tour opener at Cleveland Heights Golf Course in Lakeland, Florida. Oh's victory in the playoff came after she, Chella Choi and Big Break: Kaanapali contestant Kim Welch all came in on 5-under 211.

On this day in 1902, Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones Jr was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to become to greatest amateur golf star in history, a winner of 13 major championships, and the founder of the Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament.

Jones never had a proper lesson, but was blessed with one of the smoothest swings of the day - a swing that influenced generations of golfers through his Golf My Way films and books. He retired from competitive golf at age 28 having won the 1930 "Grand Slam": Taking the British Amateur, British Open, US Open and US Amateur all in the same year. Confined to a wheelchair in later life due to a spinal ailment, Jones died in 1971, his place in golf history assured ...