Associated Press
The golf notebook …
FARMINGDALE, N.Y ó Michael Jordan is human. He’s normal. He’s just like anybody else.
When it comes to golf, Jordan insists all that is true. He played in the U.S. Open Challenge with Ben Roethlisberger and Justin Timberlake on Friday at Bethpage Black, and through two holes, he was trailing the contest winner who finished out their foursome, a Phoenix police lieutenant.
Jordan hooked his first tee shot way left and had to take a drop because of an unplayable lie. He triple-bogeyed No. 1 and double-bogeyed the second hole.
“Man, I was so tight it was amazing,” Jordan said. “I could not get loose to save my life.”
But as he noted when it was over, he’s always been a second-half finisher. Jordan was 4 over for the back nine to finish 16-over 86.
Roethlisberger fared the best of the group, shooting an 81. Timberlake had an 88. Their playing partner, Larry Giebelhausen, just missed his goal of breaking 100 with a 101.
LPGA CHAMPIONSHIPHAVRE DE GRACE, Md. ó Anna Nordqvist made a 36-foot birdie putt on the final hole to break a tie with Nicole Castrale and take the lead in the LPGA Championship.
Nordqvist, a rookie from Sweden who played at Arizona State, began the day in second place ó one stroke behind Castrale in the major championship.
Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa was five strokes behind Nordqvist following a 69 that included four birdies and several near misses. Michelle Wie was even after a 74.
FALDO KNIGHTED
LONDON ó Nick Faldo can add another title to his six majors ó “Sir.”
Faldo will be given a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II on Saturday for his services to golf, the only athlete to be given one of Britain’s highest honors on the monarch’s birthday list this year.
“I was delighted to hear the news that I will be receiving a knighthood and am more than a little bit humbled to have been afforded this great honor,” Faldo said. “It has come as a real surprise, and the reaction from my children, family and friends has made this a very special moment for me.”
Faldo won his first professional title in 1977 and added 46 more wins worldwide ó including three Masters and three British Opens.