Hoey hoping for better fortune

US TOUR: Michael Hoey returns to the European Tour this week when he tees it up at the Victor Chandler British Masters at Woburn. He will be hoping for slightly better fortune than he endured at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio when he agonisingly missed out on the cut by a single shot.

A first round 76 made qualification extremely tough but the former British Amateur champion responded valiantly with a 71 on the Friday. Hoey will undoubtedly profit from his exposure to tour life in America.

Tiger Woods, attempting to become the first player in 75 years to win the same tournament for the fourth year in succession, could only manage 22nd place behind Jim Furyk despite a closing round of 66.

Still, it was the 60th consecutive stroke-play event on the PGA Tour in which Woods has finished in the top 30, dating back to a tie for 56th place in the 1999 Bay Hill Invitational. He has declined an invite to compete in the Kemper Open this week, preferring a week's rest. It brings to an end a run of three tournaments in consecutive weeks.

"I don't feel that I can play Kemper and get ready for the (US) Open at the same time. I don't have enough energy for that."

Woods took three weeks off after winning his second straight Masters. He finished third in the Byron Nelson Classic, then flew to Germany and won the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open in a three-hole play-off over Colin Montgomerie before playing in the Memorial.

Being drained didn't stop him appearing in an exhibition in Toronto yesterday at which he unveiled his own American Express golf credit card. He is unlikely to play in the Buick Classic the week before the US Open.

The Memorial marked a welcome return to form for David Duval, who recorded his first top-10 finish of the year. Duval was one of seven players who had at least a share of the lead at one point but could not bridge the gap to the eventual winner, Furyk, who ended Woods' three-year reign benefiting from a chip-in birdie and holing a bunker shot for eagle on his way to a 65. It was the lowest final round by a winner in the 27-year history of the Memorial and Furyk's seventh career title.

He finished two shots clear of John Cook - he used to live at Muirfield Village in his Ohio State University days - and David Peoples. Jack Nicklaus struggled to a 79 but still managed to eclipse Sergio Garcia who slumped to an 81.

The prize for the most eventful round has to go to Matt Kuchar. The young American who broke through for his first win earlier this year at the Honda Classic, had only three pars all day. His tally included a triple bogey, five bogeys and nine birdies in his one under par 71.