22 METROSPORT Tuesday, September 29, 2009 D Tiger Woods pocketed $10mil- lion (6.8m) on sunday and claimed it was a just reward for an unbeliev- able grind at the end of a six-win year. Woods was crowned 2009 Fedex Cup champion after finishing second behind Phil Mickelson at the Tour Championship in Atlanta, georgia, his consistency over the year being rewarded with the massive bonus. it was the world No.1s second vic- tory in the three- year history of the Fedex Cup, having missed last years play- off series at the end of the PgA Tour season because of reconstructive knee surgery. returning to the game in February after an eight-month lay-off, Woods won six times, with his most recent win by eight shots at Cog Hill in Chicago at the BMW Championship two weeks ago taking him to the top of the Fedex Cup standings. Having held on to that lead at east Lake golf Club at the weekend, Woods said: its been an unbelieva- ble grind. i was criticised at the be- ginning of the year for not playing Woods glad to end grind with huge cash bonus enough but i didnt want to hurt my- self at the beginning of the season. i was coming back from recon- structive knee surgery. The last thing i wanted to do was stretch out the ligament and have the surgery all for naught. i didnt do that. i got better and more healthy and more explosive as the year went on, and i was able to finish off these events because of how i man- aged my year. it was a long stretch to play this much golf. Mickelson rose back to No.2 in the world after his sparkling final-round 65 gave him a three-shot victory. ire- lands Padraig Harrington, who fin- ished seventh in the Fedex Cup stand- ings after finishing in a tie for fourth with American Kenny Perry at east Lake, is also up to seventh in the world rankings. World rankings: 1 Tiger Woods 16.54pts, 2 Phil Mickelson 8.33, 3 Steve Stricker 7.87, 4 Paul Casey 6.28, 5 Kenny Perry 5.91, 6 Henrik Stenson 5.85, 7 Padraig Harrington 5.73, 8 Sergio Garcia 5.63, 9 Jim Furyk 5.57, 10 Geoff Ogilvy 5.33 Others: 24 Rory McIlroy, 48 Graeme McDowell By peter regan another windfall: Woods with the Fedex Cup trophy RoRy McIlRoy is closing on a place at next months Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain. The 20-year-old Irishman, who played a starring role in Britain and Irelands Vivendi Trophy win last weekend, is almost certain to earn a spot in the 16-man field thanks to his lofty position in the European Money list, with Ross Fisher, Masters champion Angel Cabrera, Soren Kjeldsen and oliver Wilson also in position ahead of the cut- off point after this weeks Dunhill links Championship. Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer are already in the field thanks to their world ranking after many of the worlds top players, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington turned down invitations to the event. I got better and more healthy and explosive as the year went on McIlroy set for elite Match Play field Picture: EPA golf IRElAnD have turned down the chance to be part of Englands domestic one-day competition next season, with Holland taking their place. Ireland and Scotland were invited to be part of a new 40- over competition but Cricket Ireland has not accepted because of international commitments. our international fixture list has become very comprehensive, and, assuming we get what we think we will get fixture-wise and we continue to qualify for events and their latter stages like the last couple of years, we may have between 40-50 international fixtures in 2010, Ireland coach Phil Simmons said yesterday. iN-ForM batsman eoin Morgan was yesterday awarded an increment contract by the england and Wales Cricket Board. The dubliner will be financially rewarded for his appearances between october 1, 2008, and september 30, 2009. Morgan, who has struck two eye-catching half- centuries at the Champions Trophy and filled in as stand-in wicketkeeper, made his tenth limited- overs appearance for england against sri Lanka last Friday. Morgan may get another chance to show his skills behind the stumps today against New Zealand. Ireland reject county scene to go it alone Morgan rewarded with England deal Out in front: Button formula one Massa could race in 2009 FerrAri team boss stefano domenicali has suggested Brazilian Felipe Massa could make an unexpected return to the sport this season. Massa continues to make a steady recovery from the serious head injuries he sustained in qualifying for the Hungarian grand Prix and Ferrari had initially stated Massa would return in 2010. However, given the Brazilians progress, there may be a small chance of him being back behind the wheel before then. As part of his rehabilitation, Massa is due to compete in a karting event next week. Asked if Massa might compete in one of the three remaining races this year, domenicali replied: it is too early to say that. We need to see it step by step, and we dont have to anticipate anything. i dont want to exclude anything, but we need to be cautious. Brawn duo continue to play fair RoSS BRAWn insists the relationship between Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello has not been damaged by the fact the two team-mates are battling each other for the world championship title. After Buttons superb start to the season, in which he won six of the first seven races, the 29-year-old has struggled since, making just one appearance on the podium, in Italy earlier this month. Barrichello, meanwhile, had been the in-form Brawn driver in the build-up to Sundays Singapore Grand Prix, with two wins from the three previous races. After a poor qualifying effort, Button recovered to claim fifth in Singapore while Barrichello finished in sixth, allowing Button to increase his lead in the championship to 15 points with just three races remaining. There have been suggestions the fact the two are battling for the world title could lead to one withholding information from the other. But team principal Brawn stressed no such tactics are taking place. I can assure you the information is all there on the data screens and each engineer is free to look at the other drivers data, he said. This is as good as Ive ever seen it in terms of two drivers trying to beat each other in a championship. They are very open and very honest with each other. cricket Contract: Morgan tennis WoRlD no.1 Dinara Safina collapsed to a stunning 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 defeat by Taiwanese qualifier Chang Kai-chen at the Pan Pacific open yesterday. Second seed Venus Williams also lost her opening match, toppled 7-6, 7-5 by Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in front of an empty Tokyo centre court way past midnight local time. Safina, dumped out of the US open in the third round, struggled from the start against a player 131 places below her in the world rankings. Its not an easy moment, the Russian said after surrendering her Tokyo title. I had a lot of chances in the third set but I just let it go. I didnt play the way I should. I never took her out of her comfort zone, added Safina, who sat sobbing on the steps of the players lounge after her latest setback. I didnt do much to help myself. French open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova followed her compatriot out of the tournament. The fifth seed was upset 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 by Germanys Andrea Petkovic, also a qualifier. Former Tokyo winner Maria Sharapova restored pride for Russia and cheered the event sponsors with a battling 4-6 7-5 6-1 win over Italys Francesca Schiavone. Tearful Safinas woeful form continues Shocked: Safina index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html