PGA's Finchem takes blame for poor communication

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem took the blame Sunday for not alerting his players about why Tiger Woods chose to speak in Florida while the Match Play Championship was going on in Marana, Ariz.

Players had to field several questions about Woods upon finishing their matches in the opening round Wednesday, when it was announced that Woods was to speak publicly Friday for the first time since the Nov. 27 car accident that led to revelations about numerous extramarital affairs.

Most troubling to some players - Ernie Els in particular - was the perception that Woods was getting back at Accenture, the title sponsor at Match Play and the first company to drop Woods over the sex scandal.

Finchem, who let Woods use the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse at PGA Tour headquarters for the nationally televised event, knew Woods was on a break from therapy and was to return Saturday.

"In hindsight, we should have pushed the thing along in a way to get the players briefed before they went into their Wednesday matches, some so they're not coming out of a match and getting hit with all these Tiger questions," Finchem said. "That's just a screw-up on my part.

"You can never communicate too much in this business, and when you don't, you usually pay a price. And that was a good example."

Match Play final to Poulter

Dressed in pink on a chilly day in the desert, Ian Poulter earned the biggest victory of his career by leading the final 28 holes and beating Paul Casey, 4 and 2, in the all-England final at the Match Play Championship.

Along with earning $1.4 million, Poulter, 34, won for the first time on American soil. Casey became the first player to lose consecutive years in the championship match.

Allianz playoff to Langer

Bernhard Langer knocked in a bunker shot for eagle on the first playoff hole to beat John Cook for the Allianz Championship title in Boca Raton, Fla. Langer earned $255,500 for his ninth Champions Tour title . . . Japan's Ai Miyazato rallied to win the season-opening Honda PTT LPGA Thailand, holing a 30-foot birdie chip on the final hole for a 9-under-par 63 and a one-stroke win over Norway's Suzann Pettersen.-