Today's other stories in brief

Tiger comforts Clarke

One of those to provide encouragement for Darren Clarke over the past few days has been Tiger Woods.

Aware that the anniversary of Clarke's wife, Heather, takes place today, the world's number one made a point of approaching the Ulsterman on the range here.

"He came over for a chat which went on for a good 15 minutes. He didn't have to do it, but it says a great deal about the man that he came over to check how I was doing and ask about the boys, Tyrone and Conor," said Clarke.

"He was aware that the first anniversary was just round the corner. It was very kind of him to say what he did and I greatly appreciated him taking time out to offer his support and best wishes."

Clarke has a pink ribbon to support breast cancer research permanently stitched into the collar of his shirts and also prominently placed on his golf bag to increase awareness of the disease.

"The first anniversary is a milestone. I'll have done every birthday and anniversary, visited all the places where Heather would have accompanied me, done all the functions and occasions where we would have been side by side. I was told when Heather died that although my life would never be the same again, it would probably be a year before things would turn round. Hopefully things will soon get a little easier for the boys and me and the way forward becomes ever clearer."

More woe for Garcia

Sergio Garcia was a long way away from Tulsa for yesterday's final round. Although he made the 36-hole cut, the Spaniard - defeated by Padraig Harrington in a play-off for the British Open championship at Carnoustie last month - left another major with a sour taste when he was disqualified on Saturday for signing for an incorrect score.

His playing partner, Boo Weekley, put Garcia down for a par four on the 17th hole when, in fact, he had taken five. Garcia failed to notice the mistake when signing his card and, by the time the error was noticed by Weekley, he had already left the recorder's hut.

"I called him back, tried to get him before he went all the way up the stairs," said Weekley.

When Garcia returned to the hut, it was too late. "That just puts the icing on the cake," said Garcia when informed of what had happened. He will have a long wait until his next major outing, which will be the Masters at Augusta next April.

Dub's good news At one point during Saturday's third round, Padraig Harrington spied a spectator outside the ropes wearing a Dublin football jersey . . . and, at the appropriate time, dispatched his caddie, Ronan Flood, over to find out if he had any news of the Dubs' All-Ireland quarter-final with Derry. Paul Gilmartin, originally from Raheny but now resident in Tulsa, was able to inform Flood of Dublin's three-point win.

Shortly afterwards, Harrington, happy with the news, presented Gilmartin with a Titleist 2 ProV1x.

Tulsa's $80m boost

Wonder why courses are so keen to play host to a major championship? While a Deloitte and Touche report after the Ryder Cup estimated that it had a direct, a143 million impact on the Irish economy, projections from the US PGA estimate that this latest staging of the season's final major was worth some $80 million to the Tulsa area.

The only downside, it seems, from those marketing Tulsa as a major golf destination has been the excessive heat, with temperatures rising to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the tournament. Up to Saturday, paramedics had treated 107 spectators for heat-related cases out of a total of 166 spectators who required medical attention.