Tiger Woods has cast a shadow over the game for long enough.  His situation is tragic and regrettable, yet also one completely of his own doing.  Instead of playing for greatness this season and closing in on the all-time record for victories in Major Competition (Tiger has 14; Jack Nicklaus 18), he is at a treatment center reportedly receiving treatment for sex addiction.

Englishman Ian Poulter defeated Paul Casey to win the Walter Hagen Cup, the trophy which goes to the winner of the Accenture Match Play Championship.  The victory, ninth in his career, was his first in the United States (played at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, in Marana, Arizona).  With the win he also moved up to fifth in the world, the best ranking he has ever received.

On the other side of the country, in Boca Raton, Florida, fans at the Allianz Championship were treated to one heck of a finish.  The winner had to be settled in a playoff after regular play finished with Bernhard Langer and John Cook tied.

On the first hole, Langer appeared to be in danger after landing about 45 feet from the hole in a bunker. However, the hometown favorite would not be denied his first win in his adopted hometown (Langer originally hails from Anhausen, Germany). With a tremendous shot, Langer made the eagle; he got the victory when Cook was unable to sink a 30 foot putt for eagle in order to force another hole.

Like Poulter, it was his ninth victory of his career as well.

While it has not always looked like it, there have been many other golfers on the tour besides Tiger Woods in the last decade. With the troubled star taking care of his personal and family issues, some of them are getting an opportunity to shine.