In Our Towns | Man knocked unconscious, killed and robbed of cigarettes

Police say a man in Little River had his cigarettes stolen only after his throat was cut while he was already unconscious.

John Lee Monroe Scott, 35, of Loris, is charged with one count of murder and one count of armed robbery; and Jeffrey Michael Landacre, 20, of Little River, is charged with accessory to murder in the death of Johnny Ray Caulder, 51, who died Saturday night.

Horry County police officers were called at 9:30 p.m. Saturday to B and M Interiors on U.S. 17, Sgt. Robert Kegler said, and found Caulder dead in the parking lot.

During the investigation, Horry County police detectives learned that Caulder and Scott had argued earlier in the evening while walking home from a friend's house, Kegler said. The argument turned physical when Scott elbowed Caulder and left him unconscious in the parking lot of the business.

Police said Scott returned to the scene with a knife and cut Caulder's throat before taking his cigarettes, Kegler said.

Landacre knew about the incident after the initial assault, and he had knowledge of Scott's intent of the homicide but did not report it to police, Kegler said.

According to a background search in the State Law Enforcement Division's criminal database, the men have not be previously charged with any felonies.

Holiday traffic deaths down from 2009

Two people died on S.C. highways from 6 p.m. Wednesday to midnight Sunday, according to a preliminary report from the S.C. Department of Public Safety.

The two deaths - one in Sumter and the other near Loris - are a steep drop from the 2009 Thanksgiving weekend when nine people died in wrecks across the state.

On Sunday, Charmaine S. Cox, 47, was killed in a car crash on S.C. 66 near Loris.

The crash took place about 2 p.m. near the intersection of Secondary Highway 66 and Airport Road, said Lance Cpl. Sonny Collins with the S.C. Highway Patrol.

Horry County Coroner Robert Edge said the N.C. woman apparently lost control of her car, and it crossed the road and flipped several times. Collins said Cox was not wearing a seat belt.

As of Sunday, 706 people have died on S.C. highways in 2010, compared to 824 people during the same time period in 2009, officials said. Of the 524 motor-vehicle occupants who have died so far this year, 286 were not wearing seat belts.

Through midnight Sunday, 71 motorcyclists, 78 pedestrians and 11 bicyclists have died on state roads and highways. There have been 37 fatal crashes where the use of seat belts is unknown.

Police seek answers in woman's death

Horry County officials continue to investigate the death of a woman whose body was found earlier this month in a field near Myrtle Beach.

The woman's body was found Nov. 15 in a grassy field off Palmetto Pointe Boulevard by a 13-year-old boy and two of his friends, according to an Horry County police report.

Authorities sent the body to an anthropologist in Charleston to help determine her identity and cause of death, said Horry County Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard. No new information about the woman was available Monday, she said.

The woman is described as older with dark hair that had some gray in it, Willard said. The woman was approximately a size 8 or size 10.

The boy and his friends told police they were walking in a grassy field across from 3710 Palmetto Pointe Blvd., trying to find sticks to build a fort, when he saw the body, according to the police report. The teen said he told his friends and they all ran away from the location and met with his mother.

It is not known how long the woman's body was in the woods, but Willard said it was likely there for less than a year.

Police arrest four men after fight

Four men were arrested Sunday at Broadway at the Beach for a fight inside Crocodile Rocks, according to a police report.

Michael Edward Ingram, 53, Robert M. Ingram, 23, Vincent S. Mezzapella, 23, all of Myrtle Beach, and Peter Kutch, 36, of Clifton, N.J., were each charged with third-degree assault and battery, police said.

Police were called about 1:40 a.m. Sunday to Celebrity Circle for the incident in which a security guard told officers the men assaulted him and two others, police said. The guard told police he saw the men arguing with a bouncer from the business and a fight occurred between the men.

Woman charged with prostitution

A 45-year-old woman was arrested by Myrtle Beach police on a charge of prostitution, according to a police report.

Lisa Amanda McCowan, 45, of Myrtle Beach, was charged with second-offense prostitution at 12:30 a.m. Sunday in the 100 block of Seventh Avenue North and Ocean Boulevard, police said.

An undercover officer saw McCowan walking and asked if she wanted a ride, according to the report. McCowan got into the vehicle and agreed to perform a sex act for $25.

Another officer stopped the vehicle and arrested McCowan, according to the report.

She was convicted of prostitution in 2005, as well.

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Wilson keeps Barnes in the fold with new deal

Wilson Golf renewed its endorsement deal with PGA Tour player Ricky Barnes in a move the company hopes will help bridge a younger generation of golfers with its storied past.

The contract keeps Barnes, who finished his second full season on the PGA Tour ranked 75th in the world, in the Wilson stable for another three years.

He will continue to play Wilson Staff FG Tour irons and Wilson Staff FG Tour wedges, carry the red and white Wilson Staff bag and wear the Wilson “engineer” hat through the 2013 season.

According to Wilson, Barnes has been involved in the development of the FG Tour irons and wedges, and will continue to provide feedback – along with fellow endorser Padraig Harrington – regarding design and development of future products.

“(Barnes is) working hard, having fun and playing great,” said Tim Clarke, Wilson Golf’s general manager. “In fact, his play has truly connected with the younger, serious golfer and helped that player connect with our legacy of performance.”

In recent years, the company has emphasized its rich equipment history, especially the fact that Wilson Staff irons have won 61 major championships since 1914.

Barnes finished ranked 16th on the Tour in top 10 finishes with six, and was eighth in birdies (372). His best finishes include a T3 at The Memorial Tournament and two T5s at the Verizon Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links and the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. He finished in 64th place in the FedEx Cup standing.

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One giant ride, going up in Myrtle Beach

Before Myrtle Beach's massive, oceanfront Ferris wheel can go up, the pilings have to go down - way down.

Creating support strong enough for a nearly 200-foot-high wheel - a $12 million to $15 million project on track to open in May - is in its early stages on the oceanfront spot next to Plyler Park.

To support the SkyWheel, 106 pilings will be installed 30 feet in the ground, said Al Mers of St. Louis-based Pacific Development, which is building the attraction. Then put a 12-foot cap of solid concrete on top of that, which provides support not only for the wheel's height, but also for the beach winds that will batter the wheel daily.

Crews have started preparing the site on the property where the former Golden Villa hotel stood, with the pilings expected to go down in the next few weeks and the frame to hold the wheel going up in January, Mers said. The wheel itself will start to come together in March, he said.

The wheel and related building must be built on a deck that will sit 20-feet above sea level - 3 to 4 feet above the ground - because the property is in the hurricane surge zone.

Construction of a building that will house a restaurant, ticket booth and gift shop on the site also will start in mid-December, Mers said. Mers declined to name the restaurant, saying an announcement is coming in a few weeks.

"We are not allowed to talk about it," he said. "There's going to be a restaurant down there. People will be excited about it. It's different and new."

The wheel and restaurant will be the second major addition in downtown Myrtle Beach in two years. The project comes on the heels of the $6 million, 1.1-mile boardwalk that opened in the spring.

"It is going to be a great, new, family-friendly attraction," said Dave Sebok, executive director of the Myrtle Beach Downtown Redevelopment Corp. "The Ferris wheel is going to be unique. It's an attraction that everybody can enjoy. We think it is a great fit."

Some passers-by on the boardwalk have peered at the site, where construction gear sits and surveyors work, and wondered what was in the works.

Nancy Foster of Lexington, who has visited Myrtle Beach regularly for more than 50 years, was excited to hear a Ferris wheel would open in 2011, remembering when she rode one in Chicago and could see for miles from the ride's peak.

"Oh, that will be wonderful," she said. "This will be a really good addition."

Israel Daniels, a Denmark resident who has become a regular visitor to the Grand Strand in the last few years, already plans to take his nine grandchildren on the SkyWheel.

"They would love it," Daniels said. "I think it's great."

The wheel will have 42 glass-enclosed, temperature-controlled gondolas and plans to operate year-round. A ride on the Ferris wheel will cost about $10 for an adult, Mers said.

"We are trying to keep it within reason," he said. "We want to make sure it is something anybody can do."

The Ferris wheel will help fill the void left when The Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park closed in 2006, said Jim Korszeniewski of Murrells Inlet, who was biking along Ocean Boulevard recently and stopped to check out the rendering of the Ferris wheel that's plastered on the temporary wall surrounding the construction site.

"I think this is awesome," he said. "That's the start of something. It will be really nice."

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Storm season departs gently

The 2010 tropical hurricane season ends today, and despite dire early forecasts and fears that the area was due for a major storm, the Grand Strand emerged unscathed.

That's good news, of course, for emergency personnel, but it doesn't mean there wasn't plenty of activity despite no need for sandbags.

"Not having a system impact us in any way allowed us to continue to work on the rest of our plans," Horry County Emergency Management Director Randy Webster said Monday via telephone from Emmitsburg, Md., where members of Horry County's emergency management division are attending training.

Since the season's start on June 1, there were 19 tropical storms, 12 of which became hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean.

Before the start of the season, experts predicted that 2010 would be busy, with early predictions calling for as many as 23 tropical storms. They cited record warm waters in the tropics, light winds and the arrival of La Nina, the atmospheric force that promotes hurricane formation. Yet thanks largely to an expansive dome of high pressure settling over the eastern Atlantic, numerous storms were guided north into the Atlantic before they reached the East Coast.

Among them were hurricanes Danielle, Earl, Igor, Julia, Lisa, Otto and Shary. Earl came closest, passing about 80 miles east of North Carolina's Outer Banks in early September.

"It did meet expectations in the amount of storms because we had a lot of storms, but no real impact to land especially on the East Coast," Webster said. "It feels like we didn't have anything whatsoever, and that does concern me about complacency. If we don't have a direct threat the complacency continues to grow."

The same high-pressure area that redirected this year's storms, commonly called the Bermuda High, helped push several storms toward the U.S. coastline in 2005.

"In 2005, just about all the hurricane activity developed fairly far west, and close to the U.S. mainland," said Phil Klotzbach, a Colorado State University climatologist. "Fortunately, in 2010 almost all of the hurricane activity occurred much farther east and avoided the U.S."

Whether the high pressure will remain in the same place next season is unknown but unlikely, forecasters said. The position and strength of the Bermuda High can't be predicted much more than two weeks in advance.

Either way, Webster said he and his staff will train and review all their plans for the county to be prepared for the 2011 hurricane season.

"We'll take this time once again to go through to see if there are any changes we need to make," Webster said. "We talk about a lot of preparation, and if you are prepared for hurricane season you are prepared for any disaster year-round."

For American Red Cross volunteers, the lack of an active hurricane season gave them time to focus on other activities, including a large number of home fires in the area, said Angela Nicholas, chief executive officer of the Coastal South Carolina Chapter of the Red Cross.

"We look forward to Nov. 30 and having a quiet season. It's always a blessing because everybody stays safe," Nicholas said. "We continue to do our education and preparations all year long - just because hurricane season passed doesn't mean we don't have threats from hazards."

A group of volunteers were dispatched to North Carolina during Hurricane Earl, but otherwise the season was uneventful, Nicholas said.

"We really are encouraging people to be careful during the holidays," she said. "It's been quiet everywhere."

The Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Sun-Sentinel contributed to this report.

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Pelican Hill plays the value card

Courtesy Pelican Hill Resort

The 18th hole at Pelican Hill.

NEWPORT COAST, Calif. –?Less than 10 minutes into an hour-long conversation, Giuseppe Lama, managing director of The Resort at Pelican Hill, acknowledged a recurring theme.

“I must have used the word ‘value’ 20 times already,” Lama said.

Not quite, but close. Lama is cognizant of the fact that “value” isn’t a word commonly associated with a AAA/CAA Five Diamond property – a distinction his two-year-old resort achieved this year. Nor is “value” often used when referencing a hotel where rooms start at $395 per night and rates can eclipse $1,000.

But it has become the mantra at Pelican Hill, which opened in late 2008 to much fanfare, but in the face of a miserable business climate, particularly for luxury resorts that are heavily dependent on corporate and group sales. The “AIG effect,” a malady that could not have been anticipated, took root just as the resort was opening and, Lama said, helped drag down business in the first half of 2009.

The latter half of 2009, corporate business began to rebound at Pelican Hill and elsewhere.

“All of a sudden, corporate America said, ‘We have to reward our people,’ ” Lama said. “People realized (they hadn’t) done any trips in a year.”

Lama and company facilitated that revival by becoming more aggressive on their rates and leveraging their two golf courses to attract more group business. Lama, for instance, cut spa rates in half Monday through Thursday, in an effort to build a new clientele that would return and upgrade.

“We found that being arrogant doesn’t work,” Lama said.

Steve Friedlander, the resort’s general manager of golf operations, added an extra golf sales manager to ply away group business from competing properties.

“I’ve said it a million times: I refuse to participate in the recession,” Friedlander said. “If there are golf outings happening in Southern California, why aren’t they happening here? . . . We got more aggressive in our sales and marketing efforts. Instead of waiting for business and playing the woe-is-me game, we went out and said we want to get all the market share we can get.”

The resort also has been marketing extensively in cities such as Dallas, Chicago, Minnesota and New York that have direct flights to John Wayne Airport, which is just a 15-minute drive from the resort. Some 220,000 residents in affluent ZIP codes in those cities recently received a glossy, 26-page brochure touting the seaside resort.

Pelican Hill does not release exact numbers on the state of its business. Lama said that resort sales have risen 40 percent over 2009, and that golf rounds increased more than 25 percent. He added that there is a 62 percent return rate at the resort’s 128 villas. (Pelican Hill also has 204 bungalows.)

This is all happening despite a business climate that remains dismal, particularly in California. The state has an onerous tax and regulatory regime, and a perpetual budget crisis that has led many people to suggest bankruptcy might be the state government’s best option.

“The state of California is a horrible state in which to conduct business,” Friedlander said. “The challenges of doing anything in this state are extremely difficult.”

Nevertheless, Friedlander and Lama remain optimistic. Lama said bookings are strong through March. In 2011, he wants to bring increased attention to the resort’s Epicurean experience, the wellness program at its spa, and its golf academy, headed up by noted instructor Glenn Deck.

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Service held to remember Baby Boy Horry

An infant whose body was found two years ago in a bag along S.C. 544 will be remembered during a memorial service this week, and authorities hope it will spur someone who knows what happened to come forward.

"We kind of adopted that child. We'd like to try to keep the memory alive and hopefully that will also help if someone knows what happened or if the mother is in the area maybe she'll tell us about it," Horry County Coroner Robert Edge Jr., said.

"It was a very viable child, which means if it had the proper care, it would have lived. We're hoping the mom or dad is still in the area and this will get them thinking a little bit."

The baby, who is known as Baby Boy Horry, was found dead inside a blue and white Bath and Body Works bag in a ditch Dec. 4, 2008, said Horry County police Sgt. Robert Kegler. The bag is a limited-edition, white and blue canvas bag that was available during an August 2008 promotion, police said.

Utility workers in the area found the infant in the bag on Meadowbrook Drive off S.C. 544.

Authorities developed a DNA profile for the newborn they can use to match him to his parents, if they are ever found, Kegler said.

"We know that there's somebody out there who knows of a pregnant woman at that time frame," Kegler said. "We know that the mother is hurting. We're trying to get closure for this baby. The baby deserves closure."

Several residents and officials attended a memorial for the baby last year at Hillcrest Cemetery. This year's service is set for 3 p.m. Thursday.

"There's a lot who care about this child. We know the mom and dad care about this child as well, but we need to get closure for Baby Boy Horry," Kegler said.

Police are offering a reward for information leading to the parents of the baby and are taking anonymous tips through their tip line.

"There's been nothing that's come to us lately as far as leads go and it gets difficult to continue to follow avenues," Kegler said.

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Karlsson wins Dubai after bizarre Poulter gaffe

Photo by Associated Press

Ian Poulter after losing a playoff to Robert Karlsson in the Dubai World Championship.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – It’s hard to think of a worse finish to the best European season ever.

Ian Poulter is the latest in a long line of players to run afoul of the stringent Rules of Golf. After pushing himself to the limit for four days and two extra holes, Poulter’s hard work counted for nothing because of a mere slip of the hand.

Involved in a dramatic playoff with Sweden’s Robert Karlsson for the $7.5 million Dubai World Championship, Poulter accidentally dropped his ball on the 18th green and violated a rule many outside, and inside, the game will find simply outrageous.

With a putt to tie Karlsson on the second hole of sudden death after the pair finished at 14 under par, Poulter dropped his ball on his ball marker from a height of no more than a few inches. The marker flipped over and tossed Poulter out of the tournament.

The marker barely had moved from its original position, but the damage had been done.

Aware that he might have infringed a rule, he called to European Tour referee Andy McFee. McFee confirmed Poulter’s worst nightmare. Even though the Englishman was not seeking any advantage, the movement of the marker meant the Englishman incurred a one-stroke penalty under Rule 20-1/15.

One bizarre slip of the hand suddenly turned what had been a 30-foot birdie putt turned into a par putt. And it was the end of the tournament with Karlsson only 3 feet away.

The Swede calmly rolled in his birdie putt to claim the first-place prize of 910,348 euros. Poulter had to settle for second place and 606,896 euros.

“Literally the ball slipped from two or three inches above the coin,” Poulter said. “It’s pitched right on the front of the coin and the coin flipped over. One-shot penalty.

“It cost me a couple of World Ranking points, a couple of dollars. No, probably wasn’t the best of timing.”

Poulter called the referee over as soon as the incident happened, even though no one else had seen it. That’s little consolation to a man who thrives on winning golf tournaments, and who was chasing his second win in a row.

Karlsson is one of the classiest players on the European circuit, and that much was obvious from his reaction to the tournament’s bizarre end.

“It’s not the way you want to win a tournament,” Karlsson conceded. “The rules are there for a reason, but obviously some of them look very, very harsh at some stages.

“That’s the purity of the game, that we have very harsh rules and we actually follow them, compared to some other sports. That’s the beauty of the game in one way. But obviously it’s not great when these sort of things happen, especially not under these circumstances.”

Karlsson earned his second win of the season following a victory in Qatar earlier this season. However, his season was spoiled by a bout of glandular fever midway through the year, an ailment that probably cost him a Ryder Cup spot.

“I’m very happy with this week, and the year in whole actually, winning two times, and a second in Memphis in America; I lost to Lee (Westwood) in a playoff,” Karlsson said. “So it has not been bad, even though people maybe were expecting more. But if I win twice in a year, it’s a pretty good year.”

Of course, the Karlsson-Poulter battle was one of two subplots in the desert. The other concerned the crowning of the European No. 1.

Germany’s Martin Kaymer won that particular battle. The reigning PGA champion outlasted Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell over the four days to become the new king of Europe.

McDowell had to finish third or better to have a chance. He placed 13th, leaving the German with a fairly easy ride to the European title.

Kaymer becomes the first German since Bernhard Langer in 1984 to win the European money title. After a year in which he has realized all his goals – making the Ryder Cup team, winning a major and becoming European No. 1 – the only way is up for King Kaymer.

“I would like to prove that I’m Europe’s No. 1, take that challenge on again, to win The Race to Dubai,” Kaymer said. “It would be nice to win a major again, preferably the British Open, our only major that we have in Europe.”

So Europe crowns a new No. 1 in its best season ever, but once again the game is sullied by the silliness of the Rules of Golf.

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Nibils bids farewell to Surfside Beach, moving to Myrtle Beach

SURFSIDE BEACH -- A line of people waited for Nibils restaurant to open at 6:30 a.m. Sunday.

Some waited an hour for a seat in the eatery at the Surfside Beach pier where diners could gaze at the ocean while enjoying meals.

But it was the beginning of a bittersweet day for Surfside Beach residents who have flocked to the restaurant since Jack Cahill, his wife, Margaret, and six children opened the business 23 years ago.

Nibils is moving to 3301 N. Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach.

Cahill decided to relocate the business after more than a year of struggle over getting a lease on the building from the town of Surfside Beach.

After leasing what formerly was a Pizza Hut between a gas station and a beachwear store 10 miles away in Myrtle Beach, Nibils will open for business there on Valentine's Day weekend, Cahill said.

And, after enjoying the food for more than two decades and becoming friends with the Cahill family and staff that served it up, many customers agree they'll follow Nibils. "We've been coming here for 20 years," said Roy Houston. He and his wife, Alice, live in Rochester, Mich., but also own a home two miles down the beach from Nibils.

"The folks there have become like members of our family," Houston said. "We watched Jack Cahill's children grow up and we've just had a great relationship with the family and everybody who works at the place."

Glenn Curtis was annoyed that Cahill's effort to renew his lease on the Nibils building became embroiled in a prolonged controversy when town officials voted to take bids from Cahill and others who might be interested in operating there.

Dissatisfied with the first round of offers, officials asked for additional bids from Cahill and others interested in renting the property. To avoid further stress and ensure that he had a firm location, Cahill decided to seek a new home.

"I've been coming here since they opened," said Curtis, a former Staten Island resident. "You just don't know how the people of Surfside feel about Nibils having to move. They're really upset."

Eula Mae Winningham and her husband, the Rev. Fulton Winningham, were among the 300 customers who came to enjoy the final meals the Cahills would serve in the wood-paneled dining room.

Now retired, she had worked as a dishwasher, cook and finally a member of the wait staff after the Cahills opened the business.

"Oh Lord, I am really, really upset. I worked here, my children worked here and my grandchildren worked here. It's so sad to see it close," she said.

But she's happy the business is only moving north to Myrtle Beach.

"Wherever Mr. Nibils goes, we'll also go," she said.

Cahill moved to Surfside in 1984 from the Bronx.

All six of his children went to "Nibils University," he said, helping out with the business. Two still work there. His daughter, Maureen Cahill-Butwin is manager, and his son John Cahill Jr., a community education teacher with the Horry County Schools, works Fridays and Sundays in the kitchen.

"I was 12 years old when I started working here. I learned more here from my parents than any Ivy-League college could have taught me," Maureen Cahill-Butwin said. The staff and customers became like close kin, she said.

They were supportive when she gave birth to her daughter, Helena, seven months ago, helped out when Jack Cahill had surgery after suffering a double pulmonary embolism two years ago, and rallied together and ran the restaurant for the Cahills when Maureen's sister Meghan suffered life-threatening injuries in a car accident several years ago.

"It's been very unique and humbling during the last year to see the impact that we've had on people's lives," John Cahill said. "It's all because of the open communication that has existed between dad and our customers. They feel like we're not just here to get their $5 for breakfast but to be their friends."

Jack Cahill said he will miss the location where he's spent so much time during the last 23 years, especially what he calls "the big pond" that spreads to the horizon before the windows that face ocean. But he has contracted with a muralist to paint a similar view in the new quarters.

The advice from his first chef when he launched his New York restaurant should continue to serve him well when he, his wife and children and the full staff will make the move to the new business home.

He said all worked hard to create a caring, family climate because that first chef told him that good service makes good food taste better and that bad service can make even good food taste bad.

"He also said that if you think you're going to get rich, don't go into the restaurant business," Cahill said. "But I couldn't ask for more. We've made a good living here. I have six children with college degrees, and a personal bond with lots of customers."

And, he added, one thing about the move pleases his wife. With college expenses behind them and a lower rent payment at the new location, the family and staff will only serve breakfast and lunch. The only dinner will be the traditional St. Patrick's Day event that has become a tradition.

"She says now we won't have to work so hard," Jack Cahill said.

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Man found with throat cut in Horry County; one man charged with murder

The Horry County Police continue to investigate a homicide in Little River after a caller reported finding a body in front of a business in the 1400 block of U.S. 17 about 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

Horry County Coroner Robert Edge Jr. said Johnny Ray Caulder, 51, of Little River, died after someone cut his throat.

County police Lt. Kevin Duke said two people are in custody:

John Lee Monroe Scott, 35, of Loris, is charged with one count of murder and one count of armed robbery.

Jeffrey Michael Landacre, 20, of Little River, is charged with accessory to murder, Duke said.

He said investigators don't believe Caulder was killed where he was found, but detectives haven't yet been able to confirm that.

Duke said investigators worked through the night on the case, and he expects more information will be released today.

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Kaymer tops McDowell, wins Euro money title

Photo by Getty Images

Martin Kaymer after winning the 2010 Race to Dubai.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – PGA champion Martin Kaymer has won the European Tour money title, after his only challenger Graeme McDowell fell short at the season-ending Dubai World Championship.

Kaymer and McDowell both finished in a tie for 13th with 6-under totals of 282, but the Northern Irishman needed to place in the top three to have a chance to overtake the German. His 4-under 68 was not enough, and Kaymer, who finished with a 72, clinched the title while still on the course.

Kaymer follows in the footsteps of Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer by ending the season as the European Tour’s No. 1.

“It’s been a fantastic year,” Kaymer said. “All of the goals that I set for myself, for my career, everything happened this year. To win the Race to Dubai, No. 1, and to play the Ryder Cup and to win a major.”

McDowell said he was happy to have taken the 48-week race for the money title to the wire.

“Things didn’t really go my way this week,” he said. “It’s a golf course which frustrated me last year and continues to frustrate me.”

Kaymer’s next goal will be to dislodge Lee Westwood atop the world rankings.

“If it happens, it happens,” he said. “But if it doesn’t happen, I hope that I will have the chance in a few years again.”

The 31-year-old McDowell knew he needed an excellent performance to overtake U.S. PGA champion Kaymer. McDowell could have captured the title by winning the tournament or finishing second as long as Kaymer finished no higher than tied for third.

McDowell’s season included earning the winning point in the Ryder Cup and the title at the Andalucia Masters. He finished strong in last week’s Hong Kong Open, which allowed him to close the gap on Kaymer.

“It’s been a dream season,” McDowell said. “Just so happened that Martin Kaymer had an unbelievable season as well, and it’s just been a great year for European golf and I’m just very proud to be part of that.”

Ranked No. 9, McDowell said Westwood’s rise to the No. 1 has given him the confidence that he can do it, too.

“Of course, I’d be lying to you if I didn’t think I could be the world’s No. 1,” McDowell said. “I think a few years ago ... Tiger Woods looked pretty untouchable, pretty invincible and we were all playing for second really.

“I think nowadays it’s a little different. There’s a lot of room for improvement in my game and I know I can continue to get better and better.”

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Euro Tour adds three events to 2011 schedule

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – You wouldn’t know these were austere times from looking at the 2011 European Tour schedule.

You’d expect tournaments to be falling off the European Tour in this current financial crisis, not new ones being added. Yet Europe will announce a new schedule shortly that features new events and new venues.

“The success of our members globally, including three major championship wins in 2010 and the winning of the Ryder Cup, has clearly contributed to the continuing development of the European Tour International Schedule,” said Keith Waters, the European Tour’s chief operating officer and director of international policy. “The tour’s business is geographically and culturally very diverse.”

The 2011 Euro Tour schedule includes three new events in a 50-tournament season: The Volvo Golf Champions at the Royal Golf Club, Bahrain; the Sicilian Open; and the Iskandar Johor Open.

The 2011 schedule sees a monthlong desert swing in the Middle East, with the addition of the Bahrain tournament alongside long-term venues Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai.

For the first time in many seasons, the 2011 season will end with the European Tour’s equivalent of the PGA Tour Championship, the Dubai World Championship. For the past 10 years, the following European Tour season has started in the same calendar year as it ended. Moreover, the December date of next year’s Dubai World Championship means that the 2012 season will take place in the same calendar year, which hasn’t happened since 1999.

The 2011 schedule stretches from the Alfred Dunhill Championship, Dec. 9-12 this year, and ends with the Dubai World Championship, Dec. 8-11, next year.

Maybe the feel-good factor of having a European World No. 1, Lee Westwood, and Euro Tour members holding three of the four major championships (Graeme McDowell, U.S. Open; Louis Oosthuizen, British Open; and Martin Kaymer, PGA Championship) already is paying dividends.

? ???

The 2011 European Tour schedule:

Dec. 9-12 Alfred Dunhill Championship

Dec. 16-19 South Africa Open

Jan. 6-9 Africa Open

Jan. 13-16 Joburg Open

Jan. 20-23 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

Jan. 27-30 Volvo Golf Championship

Feb. 3-6 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy

Feb. 10-13 Omega Dubai Desert Classic

Feb 17-20 Avantha Masters

Feb. 23-27 WGC–Accenture Match Play Championship

Mar. 10-13 World Golf Championship

Mar. 17-20 Sicilian Open Golf

Mar. 24-27 Andalucia Open

Mar. 31-Apr. 3 Hassan II Trophy

Apr. 7-10 The Masters

Apr. 14-17 Maybank Malaysian Open

Apr. 21-24 Volvo China Open

Apr. 28-May 1 Ballantine’s Championship

May 5-8 Spanish Open

May 12-15 Iberdrola Open

May 19-22 Volvo World Match Play

May 19-22 Madeira Islands Open BPI – Portugal

May 26-29 BMW PGA Championship

Jun. 2-5 Celtic Manor Wales Open

Jun. 9-12 BMW Italian Open

Jun. 16-19 US Open

Jun. 16-19 Saint-Omer Open presented by Neuflize OBC

Jun. 23-26 BMW International Open

Jun. 30-Jul. 3 Alstom French Open

Jul. 7-10 Barclays Scottish Open

Jul. 14-17 Open Championship

Jul. 21-24 Nordea Scandinavian Masters

Jul. 28-31 Irish Open

Aug. 4-7 WGC–Bridgestone Invitational

Aug. 11-14 PGA Championship

Aug. 18-21 Czech Open

Aug. 25-28 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles

Sep. 1-4 Omega European Masters

Sep. 8-11 The Vivendi Trophy with Seve Ballesteros

Sep. 22-25 Austrian Golf Open

Sep. 29-Oct. 2 Alfred Dunhill Links

Oct. 6-9 Madrid Masters

Oct. 13-16 Portugal Masters

Oct. 20-23 Castello Masters Costa Azahar

Oct. 27-30 Andalucia Masters

Nov. 3-6 WGC–HSBC Championship

Nov. 10-13 Barclays Singapore Open

Nov. 17-20 Iskandar Johor Open

Nov. 24-27 Omega Mission Hills World Cup

Dec. 1-4 UBS Hong Kong Open

Dec. 8-11 Dubai World Championship presented by DP World

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Myrtle Beach's Head Start shelved

An Early Head Start program in the works in Myrtle Beach for more than a year isn't going to happen after all.

Timing of the two grants needed to launch the program in the city's Canal-Nance neighborhood didn't line up, so the city plans to build three affordable housing units there instead, disappointing some neighborhood residents who say the kids really need the Early Head Start program.

"We need a child development center," said Rose Deason, who has lived on Dennison Avenue her entire life. "There isn't any option for the younger kids. Kids need somewhere to go. A Head Start would have been a good thing for those kids."

The plan fell apart after the two partners in the project, the city and the Waccamaw Economic Opportunity Council, had grant money to spend - just not at the same time. The city received $200,000 from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program administered through the state, but couldn't get the paperwork approved in time to meet a deadline the Waccamaw EOC faced. The EOC had to move ahead and funded a Head Start program in another area, Assistant City Manager John Pedersen said. Officials at the Waccamaw EOC, which operates the Head Start centers in Horry, Georgetown and Williamsburg counties, could not be reached this week.

Now, the city, facing its own deadline, can't wait on another potential EOC grant to come through, Pedersen said.

The city was going to use its Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant to build the building for the Early Head Start program, Pedersen said, and the EOC was going to run it.

"We were all disappointed," he said. "We were at that point where we were in a use it or lose it situation. We really can't bank on a grant that might not even materialize."

So on to Plan B - the three affordable housing units. The city plans to use the $200,000, paired with about $50,000 in Community Development Block Grants, to build two 1,100-square-foot houses off Canal Street near Dennison Avenue and renovate an existing structure into a house, Pedersen said.

The city plans to rent the houses - criteria for who could rent them hasn't been set yet - with the revenue going into a new Community Land Trust, which would bank the money to buy more land in the neighborhood for more affordable housing, Pedersen said.

The S.C. State Housing Finance and Development Authority, which gave the Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant to the city, must sign off on the new housing plan before the city can move forward. The city plans to submit the revised paperwork by Wednesday and has already alerted the state agency of the proposed change, Pedersen. If approved, the city aims to start construction in January.

It's unusual for recipients to change how they plan to use grant money, S.C. Housing agency spokesman Clayton Ingram said, adding that he couldn't say this week whether the shift is likely to be approved.

"We really won't know until we get the final plan," he said. "This would be one of the first ones I know of that would be shifted in this way. Hopefully it is something we can accommodate."

Building affordable housing was one of the main goals in the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, Ingram said. Along the Grand Strand, average prices for houses and condominiums have plummeted in the past three years as the real estate market collapsed, but that hasn't erased the need for even more less-expensive houses, Ingram said.

The median price for a single-family home along the Grand Strand was $171,750 in October, according to the Multiple Listing Service. That's still too high for many workers in hospitality, transportation, the service industry and even nurses, Ingram said.

"Even though housing prices have fallen, they are still relatively high for a lot of people," he said. "There is always a need for this."

But some residents and members of the Canal-Nance Steering Committee aren't as excited about the housing as they were the Head Start center.

"Things don't always work out the way you want them to," said Frank Burgess, a committee member. "So you move on."

Though the Early Head Start program is off the table, Myrtle Beach officials still want to make it happen in Canal-Nance eventually. Myrtle Beach doesn't have an Early Head Start center, Pedersen said.

"We are still hopeful that it will still open down the road," he said. "The need is still there."

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Barefoot land faces foreclosure

A lis pendens, which is Latin for "suit pending," is a formal notice that a lawsuit is about to be filed.

Barefoot Retail Partners owns Barefoot Landing's entertainment district, where the Alabama Theatre, House of Blues and Alligator Adventure are located, according to Horry County property records.

The pending foreclosure would not include Barefoot Landing's retail and restaurant areas, which are owned by a separate corporation.

While a foreclosure would include the Barefoot Retail Partners property, it would not affect the operations of the entertainment venues there, which lease land from Filipowski's corporation.

"It would have no impact on us," said Bob Wood, general manager of the Alabama Theater. "The bank would have to honor our lease."

Filipowski did not return telephone messages last week.

Michael Hickerson, a Charleston lawyer who represents TD Bank, also did not respond to requests for comment.

Barefoot Retail Partners bought the property for $9.5 million in 2005, according to county property records. The corporation obtained a $10 million loan from what was then Carolina First to buy the property.

Barefoot Retail Partners obtained another $6 million loan tied to the property from Carolina First in 2007, according to court documents.

The $10 million loan was due in, August and the $6 million loan was due in September, property records show.

TD Bank has not said how much of the loan amounts are in default. That information likely would be included in the foreclosure lawsuit.

Businesses and lawsuits

Filipowski - a 60-year-old son of Polish immigrants who goes by the nickname "Flip" - made his fortune from a Chicago-based software company he formed called Platinum Technology Inc. in 1987.

That company, which produced database management software, grew through a series of acquisitions until it was bought out by Computer Associates in 1999 - the cusp of the dot-com stock run-up.

Computer Associates paid $3.5 billion for Platinum Technology - the most expensive software-industry transaction at the time - and Filipowski pocketed about $300 million from the sale.

Filipowski's success was a boon to Chicago's fledgling technology sector, which had hoped to compete with California's Silicon Valley. His next venture - an Internet incubator called Divine Inc. - proved to be a disaster.

Divine spent millions on overvalued tech start-ups, and its stock offering faltered amid the dot-com bubble's burst, eventually driving the company into bankruptcy.

"It was a life event - one with a lot of learning experiences, but not one with a lot of monetary success," Filipowski told a newspaper in the wake of Divine's eventual demise in 2003.

Filipowski next moved to Winston-Salem, N.C., where he formed his latest business, called Silkroad Technology Inc., which sells business management software.

Filipowski also formed Silkroad Equity, a private investment firm that counts Barefoot Landing's entertainment district as one of its subsidiaries.

Another Silkroad subsidiary - SilkHOB LLC - has been embroiled in a two-year legal battle with the House of Blues restaurant at Barefoot Landing.

House of Blues claims the subsidiary promised to provide the restaurant's promotional and marketing services for a three-year period starting on July 4, 2005.

House of Blues also claims SilkHOB promised to cover the venue's operating losses during that time, totaling $3 million.

SilkHOB claims in court documents that no final agreement ever was signed and that the subsidiary does not have $3 million to cover House of Blues' losses.

A hearing to determine whether House of Blues should be granted a summary judgment in the lawsuit is scheduled for Monday at the federal courthouse in Florence.

HOB Entertainment Inc., the California-based parent company of the local House of Blues, has joined the local restaurant in the lawsuit against SilkHOB.

Filipowski was a former member of HOB Entertainment's board of directors and was one of the people who ousted House of Blues founder Isaac Tigrett as chief executive in 1997 - the same year Tigrett visited North Myrtle Beach to herald the local venue's grand opening.

More lessons to learn

In addition to the Barefoot Landing property, Filipowski soon could lose a trio of oceanfront homes he and his Flips LLC business own along the Golden Mile section of Myrtle Beach, according to court documents.

JP Morgan Chase filed a lawsuit against Filipowski last year, claiming he had defaulted on an $8 million loan for which the homes had been used as collateral.

Filipowski filed a countersuit, claiming the bank tricked him into signing an interest rate swap agreement that he later learned would cost him $750,000 to terminate.

Both sides agreed to dismiss their claims earlier this year, but JP Morgan Chase still has a lis pendens on each home.

Filipowski is trying to sell the homes for a combined $8.8 million, according to real estate listings. That includes $4.6 million for his privately gated home at 3404 N. Ocean Blvd., complete with Japanese garden, ornate furnishings and infinity-edge pool.

In a separate court action, TD Bank is threatening to foreclose on five parcels Filipowski's Coastal Resort Holdings LLC owns in Barefoot Resort because of an unpaid $5 million mortgage. TD Bank filed a lis pendens against that property earlier this month.

Filipowski's legal problems have been complicated by his divorce from ex-wife Veronica, whom he met in the late 1980s during a golfing trip to Myrtle Beach.

Veronica Filipowski received an undisclosed sum from the divorce last year. The judge in that case closed the divorce hearings to the public and only allowed those who signed confidentiality agreements to attend.

Veronica Filipowski now is suing her ex-husband's mistress under North Carolina's "heart balm" torts law, which lets jilted spouses seek financial compensation for adultery. Veronica Filipowski is seeking at least $40,000 in damages from the mistress in a trial scheduled for next month.

The divorce also scuttled Andrew Filipowski's plans to help build a minor league baseball stadium for Winston-Salem's Class A team, the Dash. That team plays in the same league as the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

Filipowski had co-owned the baseball team - then known as the Warthogs - with Billy Prim, founder of the Blue Rhino propane cylinder exchange company and the brother of Veronica Filipowski.

The Filipowskis split in the midst of the stadium construction, leaving Prim and city officials to come up with his partner's share of the costs. The $48.7 million stadium ultimately was completed in time for the Dash's opening game this year.

Andrew Filipowski and Prim also had been partners in Blue Rhino, which got its name after Prim went on an African safari and remarked that a rhinoceros would be the perfect mascot for his company because it is "tough, sturdy and looks like a tank." Blue was added to the name because it is the color of a propane gas flame.

Blue Rhino also ran into trouble when its auditor questioned some of the company's financial transactions in 1999 and its stock plunged from about $25 per share to $2 per share. Blue Rhino continued to dominate market share, however, and Prim and Filipowski sold the company in 2004 for $343 million.

Most recently, Andrew Filipowski's Silkroad Technology announced this month that it has closed on $40 million in equity financing from a group of investors.

A news release announcing the investment said the money will be used for sales and marketing efforts, acquisitions and product development. It is not clear whether any of the money can be used to pay off debts related to the threatened foreclosures along the Grand Strand.

Tech-sector analysts have said it would be foolish to discount Andrew Filipowski's ability to bounce back from financial setbacks, citing the numerous times he has done it in the past.

"For better or worse, Andrew Filipowski ... is the closest thing the digital content industry has to a rock star," Michelle Manafy, editor of E-Content newsletter, wrote in a 2003 profile of the entrepreneur.

Even amid the breakup of his marriage and the public feud with former business partner Prim, Andrew Filipowski maintained an optimistic philosophy during a 2007 interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, telling the newspaper he has no regrets about his personal or business failures.

"I only think about it from a lesson learned," he said. "If you dwell on the past, you end up going crazy."

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Vegas aiming to boost golf in Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela – While some golfers in Venezuela see a dim future, Jhonattan Vegas sees an opportunity.

Vegas has become the first Venezuelan to earn a PGA Tour card at the same time that golf is under assault in his country with President Hugo Chavez calling it a pastime of the rich and threatening to seize elite clubs to make way for public housing. Chavez’s government already has shut down some courses, including the one where Vegas’ father was the groundskeeper and first introduced his son to the game.

The 26-year-old Vegas qualified for next year’s PGA Tour by finishing among the top 25 on the Nationwide Tour money list in his third season of professional golf. He wants to use his position on the PGA Tour to help keep golf alive in his homeland, particularly among those who can’t afford to join expensive private clubs.

“One of the things I hope to do for the country is take the sport to the people, and to have people get to know golf a lot better,” Vegas said in an interview with The Associated Press.

When he secured his card last month, Vegas achieved a dream that long eluded Venezuelan golfers.

“We come from a super humble family that always had to work to achieve things,” Vegas said. “But my father always gave everything he had to provide us with that opportunity.”

Especially out on the fairways.

Vegas grew up with his parents and three brothers in a remote oil drilling camp in Morichal, in the swath of oil fields along the Orinoco River. His father sold food to the oil workers and was the groundskeeper for the camp’s nine-hole golf course.

That now-abandoned course is one of six that have been closed by Venezuela’s government in the past seven years – all but one of them on land owned by the state oil company.

It’s a disappointing trend for Vegas.

“Unfortunately here in Venezuela, they’re closing the courses on us instead of opening new ones” as many countries are around the world, he said.

Chavez has warned that he could expropriate private courses in Caracas to make way for public housing complexes. In one televised appearance last year, Chavez called golf a “bourgeois sport” while discussing his plans for transforming Venezuela into a socialist state.

For his part, Vegas says Venezuelan golfers haven’t done enough to broaden the sport’s popularity.

“We’ve created that stigma because in reality we haven’t done anything to take golf to the people,” he said.

Of the 17 courses that remain in the country, only two are public, severely limiting the access to those who can’t afford to play at the private clubs.

“Maybe what I’m looking to do here is ignite something, to see if we can change the perception of golf in the country,” Vegas said.

Venezuela “hasn’t done anything at all to create a system in which any kid off the street can come and hit golf balls,” he said. “Maybe we’ll see if we change that paradigm from now on.”

Vegas was all smiles at a national tournament in Caracas this month as he shook hands with fans, signed autographs and posed for photos with children.

Among the hundreds who turned out to watch him play at the exclusive Valle Arriba Golf Club was his 55-year-old father, for whom the place held special memories.

Carlos Vegas grew up in a poor neighborhood next to the course and remembers earning money as a boy by picking up stray golf balls. He used an empty juice carton, fashioning it into “a sort of glove,” to collect them.

Carlos Vegas’ passion for the sport was infectious. He recalled that Jhonattan was about 2 years old when he started imitating his father’s golfing stance and took swings using a broomstick or club-like plastic rods.

“When he was about 2 1/2, we had to cut him some little golf clubs – like three irons – so that he could do what he liked best,” the father said.

Later, Carlos Vegas took his son to a golf school in the eastern town of Punta de Mata that was run by Franci Betancourt. He soon became Jhonattan’s mentor and today is his trainer.

After winning the national youth golf championship at 17, Vegas moved to the United States to enroll at the University of Texas, where he studied kinesiology and continued to refine his golf game. He helped the Longhorns finish 11th at the 2007 NCAA championship, placing 39th individually.

Vegas turned pro in 2008 and got his first win this August when he captured the Wichita Open. He finished 2010 with more than $330,000 in earnings, putting him seventh on the Nationwide money list and assuring his spot on the PGA Tour.

The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Vegas, who was third on the Nationwide circuit in driving distance at 312.9 yards, will make his PGA Tour debut at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January.

Betancourt is confident his pupil has the talent to eventually be among “the top 20 in the world.”

Colombian Camilo Villegas is glad Vegas will be joining the ranks of Latin Americans on the Tour.

“I played with him in a couple of South American tournaments, and the one I remember the most is the last one I played in Colombia,” Villegas said during last week’s Australian Masters. “He’s a strong kid who hits it far. It’s nice to see him play good this year and get his card.

“I’ve always said, ‘I don’t want to be the only Colombian on tour, and we need more South Americans on tour.’ Adding Jhonattan is nice. He’s a great kid to have on tour.”

In Venezuela, golf fans are hoping the sport will get a boost from Vegas’ emergence in a country where baseball has long been the No. 1 sport and Chavez’s threats have halted construction of new courses.

The course shutdowns by the government – most recently on Margarita Island after Chavez ordered a hotel expropriated – have hindered efforts to expand the sport in country, said Juan Nutt, president of the PGA of Venezuela.

He’s hoping Vegas can help turn that around.

“When Jhonattan is playing in next year’s Tour and he goes on television, there are going to be many more followers of golf in this country, even if they aren’t golfers,” Nutt said. “A lot more attention is going to be paid to a sport that traditionally hasn’t been followed much in this country.”

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Bottom 10: Tour’s worst statistical performers

The longest season in major professional sports has ended for 2010. The PGA Tour is on vacation.

The best players have their awards. The top 125 have their exemptions for 2011. And the worst players? Well, they have a flurry of slap-you-in-the-face statistics that might provide motivation for a bounceback.

Welcome to the Bottom 10 for 2010. Helpful hint: You don’t want to be here.

The Bottom 10 identifies the poorest performers in some of the PGA Tour’s most important statistical categories. The Bottom 10 reflects official numbers from the PGA Tour and may exclude some players without the required number of rounds.

The purpose of this analysis is not to embarrass anyone, but rather to point to the enormous skill necessary to play the world’s most competitive golf tour. For example, a scoring average of 72.00 would not have cracked the top 175?in 2010, while a stroke average of 71.00 would not have made the top 100.

BOTTOM 10 SCORING AVERAGE (worst listed first): Brad Faxon 73.12, Greg Kraft 73.07, Kevin Johnson 72.88, Justin Bolli 72.88, Chris Wilson 72.68, Jerod Turner 72.60, Jeff Gove 72.40, Vance Veazey 72.32, Craig Bowden 72.23, Andrew McLardy 72.22, Mark Calcavecchia 72.22.

The injury-plagued Faxon clearly is ready for the broadcasting booth, and Calcavecchia probably should concentrate on the Champions Tour.

Several of these statistical categories are related. Why is Gove, a very solid ballstriker, in the Bottom 10 in scoring average? Because he is arguably the world’s worst putter.

BOTTOM 10 PUTTS PER ROUND: Jeff Gove 31.00, Roger Tambellini 30.71, Kris Blanks, 30.60, Billy Mayfair 30.50, Cameron Tringale, 30.45, Troy Matteson 30.44, Mathew Goggin 30.33, Charles Warren 30.28, Rocco Mediate 30.28, Davis Love III 30.24.

At 46, Love remains a potent ballstriker but continues to falter on the greens.

For amateurs, counting putts is the simplest of the stat categories. Use the PGA Tour formula: If a ball lies anywhere on the fringe, no matter how close to the hole, the resulting stroke is not a putt, even if a putter is used.

Consequently, for those who keep complete stats, any shot from the fringe is eligible for an up-and-down.

BOTTOM 10 UP-AND-DOWN FROM LESS THAN 30 FEET: Brad Faxon 65.52, Jerod Turner 69.23, Nicholas Thompson 73.27, Steve Lowery 74.60, Vaughn Taylor 75.56, Chris Couch 76.25, Mark Calcavecchia 76.27, Chris Tidland 76.67, Cameron Tringale 77.14, Craig Bowden 77.42.

The best player in this category was Brett Quigley, at 97.33 percent. Quigley had 75 of these shots during the year and got up-and-down 73 times.

Phil Mickelson may be known as a short-game machine, but he, too, had 75 shots of less than 30 feet and got up-and-down just?62 times (for a percentage of 82.67 and a rank of 143rd).

BOTTOM 10 DRIVING DISTANCE: Brian Gay 266.4, Craig Bowden 270.0, Brad Faxon 271.4, Omar Uresti 272.0, Tim Clark 272.2, Greg Kraft 273.2, Jeff Quinney 273.3, Paul Goydos 273.6, Mike Weir 273.9, Ben Curtis 275.5, Greg Chalmers 275.5.

You gotta love Corey Pavin. He played in just eight PGA Tour events, yet still finished 116th on the money list. He didn’t have enough drives to be included in the driving distance category. That’s probably a good thing, because he would have been last by a mile. Pavin averaged 256.7 yards off the tee, almost 60 yards behind leader Robert Garrigus (315.5) and about 10 yards shorter than Gay, who is listed in last place.

For Pavin and Gay, of course, there is a noteworthy compensation in driving accuracy. Pavin hit 76.14 percent of the fairways, which would have been first. Gay finished at 74.00 percent, third in the official stats.

Garrigus, by the way, finished 175th in driving accuracy (55.73 percent, more than 20 percentage points behind Pavin).

BOTTOM 10 DRIVING ACCURACY: Martin Flores 50.15, Daniel Chopra 51.27, Jimmy Walker 51.29, John Daly 52.21, Phil Mickelson 52.66, Rich Barcelo 52.80, Tim Herron 53.49, Mike Weir 53.83, George McNeill 54.34, J.B. Holmes, 54.45.

Daly and Mickelson are notoriously wild off the tee, but the name that stands out on this list is Weir. The former Masters champion was the only player on Tour to finish among the Bottom 10 in both driving distance and driving accuracy.

What’s up with Weir? He was battling a partially torn ligament in his right elbow, and he played when he probably should have been resting. Weir, who finished 151st on the money list, will start the 2011 season with a major medical exemption.

BOTTOM 10 GREENS IN REGULATION: Mike Weir 57.89, Jerod Turner 58.94, Brad Faxon 59.05, Matt Bettencourt 60.17, Greg Kraft 60.63, Daniel Chopra 61.64, Rich Barcelo 61.72, Stuart Appleby 61.84, Padraig Harrington 61.90, Derek Lamely 61.93.

Appleby? Harrington? Yes, they have some serious work to do. Another marquee player who barely missed the Bottom 10 in GIR was Ian Poulter, who finished 181st in this category.

BOTTOM 10 SCRAMBLING: Brad Faxon, 47.49, Nicholas Thompson 49.38, Henrik Bjornstad 49.59, Jeff Gove 50.36, Steve Lowery 50.38, Vance Veazey 50.72, Jerod Turner 50.88, Mark Calcavecchia 50.96, Kevin Johnson 51.32, Steve Wheatcroft 51.84.

Scrambling percentage measures how often a player makes par or better after missing a green in regulation.

Perhaps the most mystifying stat of all is proximity to the hole, which measures the average distance a player’s ball comes to rest after an approach shot (not including shots from around the green). Jay Williamson finished second in proximity to the hole (30 feet, 9 inches), but was 167th on the money list. Joe Durant, third in proximity to the hole, finished 124th on the money list.

BOTTOM 10 PROXIMITY TO THE HOLE: Martin Flores 38-3, Jerod Turner 38-2, Daniel Chopra 38-2, Ted Purdy 38-1, J.B. Holmes, 38-1, Derek Lamely 38-0, James Driscoll 38-0, Angel Cabrera 37-10, Aaron Baddeley 37-9, Scott McCarron 37-8.

Bottom 10. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

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Poulter leads Dubai, eyes back-to-back wins

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Ian Poulter broke free from a crowded leaderboard Saturday to take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Dubai World Championship.

The Englishman was at 12-under after a third-round 69, two shots ahead of Ross Fisher of England, Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and Francesco Molinari of Italy, who all were at 10-under.

Poulter, who won last week’s Hong Kong Open, started Saturday in a tie for the lead with Fisher, and the two were even for much of the day. Poulter made his move on the back nine with two birdies while Fisher three-putted the 15th hole and went in the water on the 18th, which forced him to settle for a bogey.

“You know, I think it was important today to go out there and play solid, bank a few birdies,” Poulter said. “I felt I dropped two silly, silly bogeys on holes that I really feel I should have taken advantage of. That was the only frustration of the day.”

Fisher, who tied the course record with a 64 in the second round, was left to rue what could have been a solid round and a chance to at least tie for the lead several times on the back nine. His best chance came on the 15th, when he hit his drive to the green on the 371-yard, par 4 hole. His first putt for eagle rolled past the hole, and he missed what should been an easy putt for birdie.

“I made it harder, I didn’t play as well as yesterday,” Fisher said. “I missed a couple of putts at key times ... Hit a great drive on 15 onto the green and unfortunately didn’t capitalize there.”

Jaidee and Molinari charged up the leaderboard, with the Thai shooting a 3-under 69 while the Italian had a 4-under 68 to put themselves in contention. No. 1-ranked Lee Westwood also was in the mix, shooting a 1-under 71 to remain three shots off the pace.

Westwood won the tournament last year, shooting a course record 64 on the final Sunday on his way to an easy victory.

“Kept giving myself a lot of chances at birdies, and nothing would go in,” Westwood said. “I had to hit some good shots coming in just to make a couple of birdies in the last five holes, which has kept me in the tournament probably.”

Graeme McDowell’s hopes of winning the European money title took another hit after he finished four shots behind money-leader Martin Kaymer and far down the leaderboard in a tie for 30th.

Kaymer, the U.S. PGA champion, will claim the money title and a $1.5 million bonus by finishing higher than McDowell, who can only overtake the German in the Order of Merit by winning the tournament or ending up alone in second as long as Kaymer finishes no higher than a tie for third. If McDowell is tied for second, Kaymer could afford to finish as low as sixth.

“Barring the impossible, I think Europe’s No. 1 is probably not a reality for me any more,” McDowell said. “Unless I shoot 55 tomorrow, which unless one of you boys comes and putts for me tomorrow, I don’t think will happen.

“You know he (Kaymer) is going to win the Race to Dubai tomorrow and he’s the best. He’s been one of the best players in the world this year and certainly deserves everything he has achieved.”

After failing to break par in the first two days, McDowell made three birdies on the back nine to reach 2 under for the tournament.

Kaymer effectively ended the two-man battle for the Order of Merit on Thursday, surging to a five-shot lead over McDowell after shooting a 67. The lead ballooned to eight shots Friday, when Kaymer hit a 70 for a share of fourth place.

Kaymer occasionally struggled Saturday, shooting a 1-over 73. It was an up-and-down day that ended badly with a double-bogey on the 18th, when the No. 3-ranked Kaymer’s chip onto the green rolled back into the water.

“It was a very frustrating finish, very disappointing,” said Kaymer, whose chances of overtaking Westwood at the top of the rankings also appear unlikely. “I thought if I could finish with a birdie I might have a chance tomorrow ... Tomorrow I will play as aggressive as possible.”

McDowell, though, never could take full advantage of Kaymer’s errors because of his poor putting.

“The big issue this week is really that I can’t hole putts and, without the putter working, it’s very difficult to get on top of the golf course,” he said. “Like I said yesterday, I feel like every time I miss a green I feel like I’m making bogeys because I’m not holing the 6- and 8-footers.”

McDowell’s fellow Northern Irelander, Rory McIlroy, shot a 6-under 66 – the lowest round of the day – to climb back into contention at 7 under. He made seven birdies, including three in a row after the turn.

“My iron play improved, I gave myself a lot of chances,” McIlroy said. “I was hitting a lot of greens but just not getting it close enough, and today, I birdied a few of the par 3s and played really well. “

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Heartbreaking finish for Coastal Carolina football

CONWAY -- In time, the Coastal Carolina players and coaches will likely look back with pride on this late-season charge they made and remember 2010 as a step forward for the program - as the year the Chanticleers returned to national relevancy with their second-ever FCS playoff appearance.

But that kind of perspective was hard to summon Saturday afternoon after the way it all ended.

After falling behind by a touchdown with 1:50 left in the fourth quarter against No. 21 Western Illinois, the Chants and senior quarterback Zach MacDowall looked like they might just have one more push, one more surprise left in them as they moved 72 yards all the way to the Leathernecks' 4 with 21.7 seconds remaining.

Instead, the drive, the comeback and the season all came to an abrupt end that summed up the afternoon all too well for CCU.

On first-and-goal from the 4, MacDowall fired the football across the right side of the field and into the front of the end zone where WIU's Kieron James intercepted the pass to seal the Chants' fate in their first playoff game since 2006.

With the help of five Coastal Carolina turnovers, Western Illinois left Brooks Stadium with a 17-10 win before a crowd of 4,556 to advance to a second-round playoff matchup at Appalachian State.

CCU, meanwhile, was left to deal with the painful ending to what had been a memorable ride.

"It's just heartbreak down there," senior safety Dominique Davenport said of the postgame locker room. "You sit back and try to hold tears as you see your teammates bawling their eyes out because we gave it our all this season. A lot of people doubted us, but we stuck together as a team. To fall short like this, it hurts."

The Chants (6-6) had rallied back from a 2-5 start to the season to finish in a three-way tie for the Big South title and claim the conference's automatic playoff bid through a tiebreaker, completing a rather improbable turnaround that delivered the first home playoff game in program history.

A game they envisioned going much differently Saturday.

"It hurts to lose like that," CCU coach David Bennett said. "We were blessed to get into the postseason and blessed to have a home game and we didn't take advantage of it. We didn't do our part."

Missed opportunities were the unfortunate storyline all day for the Chants.

MacDowall, who had been playing the best football of his career the last three weeks and was a key reason the Chants had even advanced this far in the first place, threw a career-high four interceptions while completing 21 of 39 passes for 292 yards.

Bennett revealed after the game that the senior quarterback had been administered an IV earlier in the morning after battling illness the last few days.

And after not throwing any interceptions the last two games, MacDowall was picked off by Leathernecks cornerback Chris Boone on the Chants' first possession Saturday after leading the team to the WIU 26.

Then on its second possession, Coastal Carolina reached the WIU 20 before losing a fumble as senior Eric O'Neal never got control of the handoff.

The Chants would have yet another scoring opportunity thwarted in the final minute before halftime as WIU's Tyler West jumped in front of the waiting hands of junior tight end David Duran to intercept MacDowall in the end zone on a play that started at the Leathernecks' 14.

"The sad thing is at halftime we could have had 28 points," Bennett said. "We just didn't play as well as we've played the last few weeks. If we would have, we would have been victorious. We feel that in our hearts. We didn't do it, and it hurts."

Because meanwhile, Western Illinois (8-4) and its vaunted offensive attack weren't doing a whole lot against the CCU defense.

The Leathernecks, who entered the game ranked second among all FCS teams in total offense, took a 10-0 lead into halftime.

Their first score, a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Matt Barr early in the second quarter, was set up by an 83-yard completion from Barr to Terriun Crump after sophomore cornerback Tre Henderson tried to jump the route for an interception. Instead, Crump caught the pass with no other defenders behind him and raced all the way down the sideline to the CCU 8.

Western Illinois added a 38-yard Pat Smith field goal later in the second quarter, but the Chants were still very much in the game in the second half, thanks to a spark from Davenport.

After the Chants pinned WIU at its own 2 on a nice punt from senior Ben Erdman, the CCU defense did what its offense hadn't been able to - reach the end zone.

Davenport picked off a short pass from Barr and raced 17 yards into the end zone as Coastal Carolina cut its deficit to 10-7 with 4:36 left in the third quarter.

"I was just doing what I was coached to do," said Davenport, who tied a Big South single-season record with his second interception return for touchdown this year. "We were playing man, and the fullback that I had came into the flats, and I just kind of baited the quarterback a little bit."

The Chants would get their opportunity to tie the game early in the fourth quarter as MacDowall led the team down to the WIU 12. Senior kicker Justin Durham then lined up for a 29-yard field goal attempt. He missed it to the left, although the CCU sideline didn't seem to agree with the call.

But Durham would get another chance to even the score on the Chants' next possession, and this time he connected on a game-tying 34-yard field goal with 4:38 remaining.

"I was glad I got the opportunity to go back out there and hit the second one after I missed the first one," Durham said. "Kickers have to have a short [memory]. That's the mentality that we always have."

Unfortunately for the Chants, Western Illinois responded with an 81-yard touchdown drive to take the lead right back. Barr picked up a key first down with an 11-yard run on third-and-10 early in the drive and eventually capped it with a 5-yard touchdown run on third-and goal with 1:50 remaining.

That left Coastal Carolina with time for one more drive.

MacDowall passed for 40 yards and rushed for 27 on CCU's final possession and the Chants benefitted from a pass interference penalty and a Leathernecks' personal foul as they got down to the WIU 4. But their fifth and final turnover would prove decisive.

"Defensively, we held the No. 2 offense in the nation to 17 points. Offensively, we had [462] yards of offense," Bennett said. "But ... you can't turn the ball over five times in a national playoff game and win."

So this is where the journey ends for the Chants. They picked up a share of the Big South title for the fourth time in program history and reached the playoffs for the second time.

But they'll have to wait a little longer for that first playoff victory.

"I'll tell you what, our team and our guys realized that we belonged," Bennett said. "We belong in the playoffs."

It wasn't the ending the Chants had imagined after riding high into this game on a four-game winning streak. But then again, who would have even pictured them being here after that 2-5 start?

"I promise you this, a month ago if you had said we'd be sitting here, winning the conference, in the national playoffs with a home bid, I'd have told you you're crazy," Bennett said. "So I'm very proud of what these seniors have accomplished."

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Coastal Carolina football back on the map

A season that seemed lost a month ago following a 2-5 start unexpectedly has new life after the Chants finished a remarkable late season turnaround Saturday by earning a share of the Big South title as well as the conference's automatic playoff bid. And the coach who became a target for a frustrated fan base midway though the season has now delivered the program's second playoff berth and one of the highlights of his tenure.

"It's a funny world, ain't it?" Bennett said, as his team prepared for the first home playoff game in program history, Saturday against No. 21 Western Illinois. "You're one win away from being great, one win away from being bad in this profession that we do."

Bennett admits now that the season took a toll on him at times.

He felt the criticism, heard some of the things people were saying and even questioned himself to a degree.

"It was one of them deals where middle way through, you go, 'Man, do I even do a good job coaching anymore?' You ask yourself that question," Bennett said. "You go, what can I do better? What can we do better? The bottom line is you stay the course, you keep your faith."

Bennett has talked a lot about faith and blessings over the last week. He knows how improbable all this seemed just a couple weeks ago.

These same Chants went 1-4 in non-conference play, losing to a Towson team that didn't win another game all year. They were 2-5 after a disappointing loss to Stony Brook on Oct. 23 in which they fell behind 31-0 in the second quarter.

There were plenty of doubters at that time, Bennett acknowledged, and he knows because he heard the criticism - some from sources he didn't expect.

"Just because I coach football [doesn't] mean you're not human," Bennett said. "So when it gets back to you that people that you think are your friends and people that you think have your back [are] talking bad about you, you find out who your true friends are. In life, your circle of real close friends is smaller than you think. So you can't worry about what other people say or do."

He doesn't want to go into specifics, but he says there were a couple criticisms or comments that particularly stung along the way.

"When it comes back to you that somebody you think is your friend, one of your dear friends, [is] saying things, what do you do? You say a prayer for them and move on," Bennett said. "You forgive, but as human beings, it's hard to forget, isn't it? So you remember that. You just tuck it away."

But he's got more important things to worry about these days. Through all the setbacks and disappointment this season, Bennett has projected a steady message that this team still had something to play for, that this program still had big goals.

He had commented in his office back in early October that his grand vision for the program hadn't changed - despite the Chants' 1-4 record at the time and the three straight non-winning seasons before it. He reiterated that message again this week.

"We still have the vision of winning a national championship here. I think it would be so awesome for our university, our community, our state," Bennett said. "We're not there yet. We're striving for it. ...

"There's a lot of people that are just looking for a conference championship, and they're satisfied with it. We don't want just that. We want to help put this place on the map nationally."

---

After that Tuesday practice, with his team gathered in front of him on the field, Bennett read down the list of CCU players who had made the all-Big South team. He mentioned the five first-team selections, the seven second-teamers, junior Marcus Lott's all-academic honor and sophomore Andrae Jacobs' Big South defensive player of the year award.

He didn't mention his coach of the year recognition to the players, though.

But CCU athletic director Hunter Yurachek would a few minutes later while congratulating the team on its remarkable run over the last month and commending Bennett's role in that.

It was a month and a half ago when Yurachek sat in his office and said he thought the football team was "close" despite its 1-4 non-conference record, while also voicing his confidence in Bennett.

"I think when he was sitting at 1-4 and 2-5 - not myself, but I think from the outside [with] people saying 'Hey, we need to make a change' - I think he just kept pressing forward," Yurachek said this week. "I think he had a belief that he had a team that could get this done, and he kept telling those guys to believe in themselves. He kept picking himself off the mat and dusting himself off after that tough start to the season, so I think he showed great resiliency and great leadership in really not letting the ship sink."

Beyond Bennett, Yurachek talked about what this playoff opportunity means for the program overall.

"It kind of puts us back on the FCS football map," he said. "It gets our program back to where it was four or five years ago."

It's amazing what a four-game winning streak can achieve.

Instead of talking about a fourth straight non-winning season, the Chants are talking about claiming their fourth Big South title (or at least a share of it) in eight seasons while remaining the only team to advance from the conference into the NCAA-FCS playoffs. And what all that might mean for the program going forward, for recruiting, etc.

"The exposure," Yurachek said. "They have a selection show that was on ESPNU nationwide, and you see Coastal Carolina. We popped up there first. That's exciting, and that's great exposure not only for us as an athletic program but as a university as a whole. ... You can't put a price tag on that type of national exposure."

Yurachek hopes Coastal Carolina can draw a crowd of 6,000 to 7,000 fans for the first home playoff game in program history. The ticket office was closed Thursday for Thanksgiving, but the university had sold about 4,000 tickets through Wednesday, and Yurachek is hoping for a strong walk-up crowd Saturday.

Meanwhile, the athletic department planned to have a presence at Coastal Grand Mall today while also marketing the game in newspaper, television and radio advertisements.

Bennett has been vocal in his hopes that the community will come out in support of what the Chants, their coach and their athletic director hope will be a big moment for the program.

Said Yurachek, "This is just going to be a springboard, I think, to bigger things to come next year and the years after that."

---

It's still a bit incredible to think how this all came about.

Coastal Carolina (6-5, 5-1 Big South) had to win its final four games while knocking off a Liberty team that had lost only one other conference game over the last four seasons and then limiting a Charleston Southern team (one that had scored 42 points the week before) to as few points as possible Saturday to have a chance at claiming the playoff bid through the league's tiebreaker.

A tiebreaker that the Chants could only win if Liberty first knocked off a hot Stony Brook team and scored at least 42 points of its own in the process to swing the tiebreaker of fewest points allowed in conference play to the Chants.

Bennett tells the story of asking his wife Melanie last week whether she wanted to spend Thanksgiving at home or in Cheraw with family.

"She said, 'We're not going to either. Let's just go with God's plan.' So I went, 'OK,' " Bennett said. "She says, 'We're going to the playoffs.' And I went, 'OK. Honey, just let me tell you something ..."

He broke down the scenario for her and said "That would be almost a miracle."

Whatever it is and however it happened, the Chants are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2006 - and this time at home.

And as the initial shock wore off and the reality set in, the players have also started talking about what all this could mean for the program in the big picture.

"This is getting the name out there again," senior receiver Marquel Willis said. "It's been since '06 since we've been in the playoffs, and people kind of forgot about us. And people are still kind of looking at us, like, 'Oh, 6-5, they got in because they won their conference out of a tie.' So if we can win a couple games, you know, this will put us back on the map and have people realize what we can do."

Said senior fullback Racheed Gause: "It's a great opportunity for the whole Coastal community. It's so overwhelming and exciting for me. I didn't think I was going to be in this position, but to be here is unbelievable. And I think that the whole community is on our backs, and we're going to take them where we need to go."

In his office Tuesday night, Bennett was asked what he thinks this all means for the program after everything it - and he - have been through the last four seasons.

He said it's a step in the right direction. He talked about how he still thinks of Coastal Carolina as a young football program. A young program that has now earned four conference titles and two playoff berths in eight seasons. And he talked about that big-picture vision he continues to have for the Chants.

As for how close he thinks they are to making it a reality one day, well ...

"I don't know - we'll know after Saturday. And then the next Saturday. And the next Saturday," Bennett said. "If we're still playing football, it's closer than you think."

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