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ANDON, Ore. — Qualifying medallist Cheyenne Woods, the niece of Tiger Woods, advanced to the second round of match play in the Women’s U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, beating Ashley Edwards 4 and 3 on Wednesday at Bandon Dunes’ Old Macdonald course.

Woods, the 20-year-old Phoenix player who won the Atlantic Coast Conference individual championship last month as a junior at Wake Forest, will face 14-year-old Bethany Wu of Diamond Bar, Calif., in the second round.

“I started out pretty good,” Woods said. “I had a birdie early on, and I think I was 2-up through two. So I started out good. I was just playing steady.”

Wu beat Ashlan Ramsey in 19 holes.

Fifteen-year-old Julie Yang of Mesa, Ariz., also advanced, routing Colombia’s Maria Ronderos 8 and 6.

Yang will face 13-year-old Mariel Galdiano of Pearl City, Hawaii. Galdiano, the youngest qualifier for the U.S. Women’s Open next week in Colorado Springs, Colo., beat Demi Frances Runas 2 and 1.

Defending champion Emily Tubert of Burbank, Calif., trailed early in her match with Mandi Morrow, then rallied for a 4-and-2 victory. Angel Yin of Arcadia, Calif., at 12 the youngest player in the field, overcame a four-hole deficit to beat Dree Fausnaugh 2 and 1.

The tournament is limited to players who don’t hold privileges at any course that doesn’t extend playing privileges to the general public.

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LEON, Mexico — Two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton won the Mexico Open for his first Nationwide Tour title, closing with a 7-under 65 on Sunday for a two-stroke victory over Richard H. Lee.

The 31-year-old Compton was diagnosed at age 9 with cardiomyopathy, an enlarging of the heart that hinders its ability to pump blood. Three years later in 1992, he received a new heart. That one failed in 2008, and the former University of Georgia star from Miami had another transplant.

“This tournament has kind of summed up my life,” said Compton, set to play the PGA Tour’s AT&T National this week in Pennsylvania on a sponsor exemption. “There was a lot of adversity to overcome in this tournament just like what I’ve dealt with personally.

“To win this is everything to me. I never thought I’d play golf again, at least not at this level, and I proved to myself I’m more than just a guy with two heart transplants.”

Compton finished at 17-under 271 on the El Bosque Country Club course. He earned $126,000 to jump from 15th to second on the money list with $215,709, nearly guaranteeing a 2012 PGA Tour card as a top-25 finisher on the developmental tour. He also has made $83,962 this year in four PGA Tour starts.

“I do get a lot of opportunities to play in PGA Tour events because of my story,” he said. “But now that I’ve won out here and I’ve pretty much secured my tour card and I’ll get into events on that alone. And I’ve been playing professionally since I was 20 years old and never won, so I feel like it’s a monkey off my back.”

Compton had eight birdies and a bogey in the final round. He birdied the par-4 16th to get to 17 under, then parred the final two holes for the breakthrough victory.

“The guys who see me inside the ropes see me as a regular golfer,” Compton said. “But at the end of the day when I put my head down I realize how lucky I am. To be able to say I’ll be playing on the PGA Tour only four years after my heart transplant is unbelievable. I don’t really know what my future is in life. Hopefully, I can get a win out on tour now.”

After opening with rounds of 68 and 70, Compton shot a 68 on Sunday morning in the completion of the rain-delayed third round to begin the final 18 holes two strokes behind leaders Lee, Matthew Giles and Peter Lonard.

Lee needed a birdie on the par-5 18th to force a playoff, but bogeyed the hole for a 69.

Will Wilcox (68) was third at 14 under, a stroke ahead of Giles (71), Roberto Castro (65), James Nitties (68), Chris Baker (68) and Kyle Thompson (70). Lonard finished with a 73 to tie for 11th at 11 under.

Compton was only conditionally exempt on the Nationwide Tour at the start of the season, but quickly earned special-temporary membership. He tied for fourth in the season-opening Panama Championship and had another fourth-place tie in April in the Fresh Express Classic.

“To start off the season like I did set up the ground work,” Compton said. “This win has put me over the top. This is exactly what I needed. To think of what I went through and to have all the support and love of everyone around me, it’s almost unreal.”

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LONDON — U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy is confident he can handle the pressure that comes with being considered the heir apparent to Tiger Woods.

Comparisons were made between McIlroy and Woods after the 22-year-old Northern Irishman swept to his first major victory in record-breaking style at Congressional on Sunday.

His status will undoubtedly soar as a result, but McIlroy said he’ll try to stay grounded.

“With success comes expectation, and I know the expectation on me is going to be pretty high,” McIlroy told Sky Sports TV on Wednesday. “I expect big things from myself, but as long as I can keep the commitment and dedication and put the hard work in, I don’t see why there’s any reason not to handle it OK.”

McIlroy won the U.S. Open by an eight-shot margin, reviving memories of Woods’ first major title — a 12-shot victory at the Masters in 1997 at age 21.

Considering McIlroy had previously won just two tournaments in his professional career, it was a surprise how easily he handled the course and field over four days.

“Last week was fantastic, incredible,” he said. “The golf I played, I’d never played before in my life. I just hope I can keep it going.”

McIlroy returned to Britain on Tuesday and was back 24 hours later at his hometown club in Holywood, near Belfast, the course where he was groomed to be a star.

These are good times to be a golf fan in Northern Ireland — 12 months ago, McIlroy’s compatriot Graeme McDowell came back from the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach armed with a first major title.

McIlroy said McDowell’s victory was inspirational.

“I remember going up to Portrush and seeing Graeme when he came back home, and it’s nearly exactly a year later that I’m doing the same thing,” McIlroy said. “What Graeme did last year at Pebble Beach definitely inspired me to go on and believe that I can win major championships, to follow in his footsteps and bring the trophy back to Northern Ireland.

“To think that no European had won it in 40 years before Graeme and then the two of us won it back to back. Growing up in tough (golf course) conditions, like the US Open usually is, probably helped us. But I don’t think you can explain having two back-to-back U.S. Open winners from a country of 1½ million.”

McIlroy is taking the next three weeks off. His first event back is the British Open at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, southeast England, starting July 14.

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By Bob Harig

Rory McIlroy is becoming a master at these major championships.

At least on Thursday.

Showing no lingering effects from a Sunday collapse at the Masters, the 22-year-old McIlroy made the toughest test in golf look like child’s play at Congressional with a 6-under 65 to build the biggest 18-hole lead at the U.S. Open in 35 years.

He missed only one green. He was the only player in the 156-man field without a single bogey. And just like that, McIlroy wound up atop the leaderboard after the opening round for the third time in the last four majors.

“It felt like quite a simple 65,” McIlroy said. “I didn’t do much wrong.”

The trouble has been finishing them off.

There were questions about how McIlroy would respond after the calamity of his most recent round in a major, when he squandered a four-shot lead at Augusta National with an 80 in the final round. He has been saying ever since that he got over that meltdown a week after the Masters. By the way he bounced back at the U.S. Open, maybe it’s time for everyone to believe him.

“I don’t know if it says that I’ve got a short memory,” McIlroy said. “I took the experience from Augusta, and I learned a lot from it. But, yeah, I mean you’re going into the U.S. Open. You can’t be thinking about what’s happened before. You’ve got to just be thinking about this week, and how you can best prepare, and how you can get yourself around the golf course.”

He took a route unlike any other player on an overcast day with a few light showers just as he finished up his round.

McIlroy was three shots clear of former PGA champion Y.E. Yang and Charl Schwartzel, the South African who captured the Masters two months ago at McIlroy’s expense.

“It’s a long way to go, but it’s nice to get yourself in contention,” Schwartzel said. “If you start falling too far behind on a tough golf course, things can get a little bit too far in front of you. You need to stay in there with a chance.”

British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen was at 69, joining a small group that included Sergio Garcia and Ryan Palmer, the lone American among the nine players who broke 70.

Defending champion Graeme McDowell had a 70.

Phil Mickelson played alongside McIlroy, and it must have looked familiar. The last time the U.S. Open came to Congressional in 1997, Mickelson played with Colin Montgomerie, who also shot 65.

“The game’s easy when you hit it straight and make every putt,” Mickelson said, referring to McIlroy. “It’s a wonderful game. No course is too tough when you hit like that. He played terrific. It was fun to watch — although I didn’t see much of it.”

McIlroy was walking down the center of most fairways, picking out the 100-yard and 150-yard yardage plates as his targets and hitting most of them. Mickelson was all over the map, hitting only five fairways. He hacked out of grass up his knees on one hole, and on another hit driver from under the trees to get back into play.

He wound up with a 74, a stunning score from where he was playing.

Mickelson wasn’t alone in his disappointment.

The top three players in the world – Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer — combined to go 10-over par. Donald struggled with his accuracy and couldn’t cope with the thick rough and shot 74 despite his birdie-birdie start. Kaymer also had a 74, while Westwood staggered to a 75, his worst opening round at the U.S. Open in 10 years.

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Associated Press

Even an affable, easygoing guy like Graeme McDowell can succumb to the burden that comes with being a first-time U.S. Open champion.

The pride of Portrush, Northern Ireland, basked in a special 2010 that included the Father’s Day win at Pebble Beach, three other tournament wins and the Ryder Cup. Quite the talker, he’s happily relived it all many times in his mind — and over and over and over with anyone who asked.

Now, after a shaky start to 2011, he’s ready to move on.

“You know, it’s bizarre,” McDowell said Tuesday as he prepares to defend his title at Congressional Country Club, “because if anything I feel like the glare is off me this week. I feel like I’ve done it. The last three or four months have been difficult.

“I’ve spent the last just under 12 months looking back at Pebble. I spent the last six months reflecting on 2010. And I mean, somehow having arrived here this week, I feel like I’ve done it now. My U.S. Open trophy is back here with the USGA. I’ve handed it back and I’m ready to sort of get on with the rest of my career.”

It’s not as if McDowell has been a walking disaster on the course. In fact, it would have been asking a lot to carry his momentum into the new calendar year without some sort of letup. But he’s missed the cut in four of his last eight tournaments, lost a one-shot lead at The Players Championship by closing with 79 and shot a third-round 81 at the Wales Open this month.

“My focus has been way too much on winning,” McDowell said. “My expectation level, I mean, I’m going out there with the only goal of winning the golf tournament. That’s probably a little bit unrealistic because you can’t really be setting your goals that high. So the last round of The Players when it started to get away from me, it wasn’t like I threw the towel in, but subconsciously I felt the win getting away from me and I really lost that drive. I’ve lost that drive to grind the top 10s and the top 5s out, the things that drive consistency.

“The reason why Luke Donald has not been a prolific winner but he’s just a phenomenal golfer and he’s one of the best players in the world is because of that, because he can grind out those top 5s, he can grind out the top 10s when he’s maybe not in a position to win the golf tournament. … I’ve really got to reset my goals and realize that consistent golf is what it’s all about, and you don’t have to win every week to be a top player.”

Asked if he would have done anything differently during a whirlwind 12 months as the first U.S. Open champion from Europe in 40 years, McDowell paused.

“Probably not. You live and learn,” he said. “I mean, I’ve tried to be a player who has no regrets about things, really. Perhaps I would have come into the 2011 season and tried to do a little less off the golf course and really tried to focus back in my golf game.

“But it’s such a busy end to 2010 that 2011 seemed to just be there all of a sudden on my doorstep, and I was in Hawaii and in the Middle East, and those four weeks that came right after the Middle East, there’s no doubt I wasn’t the same guy. I wasn’t swinging it the same way, I wasn’t feeling the same way. Sometimes a run of momentum and adrenaline sort of has to hit a brick wall, and I guess I hit my brick wall. I’ve been trying to get over that wall ever since.”

McDowell said he had an uneventful final week as the titleholder, hanging out in Portrush and having dinner with friends at his favorite restaurant. He then spent an intense weekend in Florida working with coach Pete Cowan.

“I really needed sort of that kind of week to relax and put the feet up for three or four days and then getting the game beat into shape for this coming week, so I’m feeling good,” he said. “I have to say I felt really good on the golf course yesterday and I feel mentally very fresh and ready to go this week.

“I think that weight I talked about will hopefully be lifted off my shoulders this week. I already feel like part of it’s been lifted off, so that’s great. Hopefully, I can continue to feel the way I’m feeling into the weekend.”

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Tiger Woods pulled out of the U.S. Open on Tuesday because of lingering issues with his left leg, leaving him uncertain how soon he can resume his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record for major titles.

It will be the first time Woods has missed the U.S. Open since 1994, when he had just graduated high school.

“I am extremely disappointed that I won’t be playing in the U.S. Open, but it’s time for me to listen to my doctors and focus on the future,” Woods said on his website. “I was hopeful that I could play, but if I did, I risk further damage to my left leg. My knee and Achilles tendon are not fully healed.”

Woods said he hoped to be ready for the AT&T National, which starts June 30 at Aronomink, and the next two majors. Then again, he said two weeks ago he would do everything possible to be ready for the U.S. Open, which is far more significant.

“We’re very disappointed that he won’t be playing in the National Open,” USGA executive director Mike Davis said, whom Woods called Tuesday morning. “He certainly brings excitement to the event. He’ll be missed, but the U.S. Open will go on. The event is bigger than one player, but he certainly will be missed.”

Woods’ pain is Michael Whitehead’s gain as the recent Rice graduate will replace the 14-time major winner at Congressional.

Whitehead barely made it through a playoff in the first stage of 18-hole local qualifying and had signed up for the 36-hole qualifier in Ohio, figuring there would be more spots available because of all the PGA Tour players at that site.

Instead, he was moved to Dallas Athletic Club. He wound up in a three-man playoff for the final two spots with tour players Harrison Frazar and Greg Chalmers, but on the first extra hole, Whitehead nearly hit his approach into a hazard and had to scramble for a bogey. He was eliminated and had to settle for being first alternate, with no idea how high up on the alternate list he would be.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Whitehead said “I just got a phone call from the USGA asking if I wanted to play in the U.S. Open because a spot had come open. I said, ‘Um, yes.’ She said Tiger had withdrawn from the Open — that was the implication, at least. So, ‘Thanks, Tiger.’ I guess I’m glad he was listening to his doctors.”

The U.S. Open starts June 16 at Congressional, where Woods won the AT&T National two years ago and tied for 19th when the U.S. Open was last played there in 1997.

He hasn’t won since the 2009 Australian Masters, a stretch of 22 tournaments. He not only lost his No. 1 ranking late last year, he has plunged to No. 15 in the world, his lowest spot in the ranking since the spring of 1997.

Woods announced his decision on Twitter: “Not playing in US Open. Very disappointed. Short-term frustration for long-term gain.”

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The PGA Tour has been spending a lot of time in South America, and not just because of the Olympics.

For the last 18 months, officials have been meeting with golf federations of several countries with hopes of starting a PGA Tour-branded circuit in South America, Latin America and the Caribbean. It would help develop local talent and provide another avenue for any player to find his way to the big leagues.

Think of it as a tour that would be one step below the Nationwide Tour.

And while there remain significant details to work out — not only finding an umbrella sponsor, but the number of tournaments and eligibility criteria — the plan is for this series to begin as early as 2012.

“If you look at the top 500 in the world ranking, only 14 players are from South America and eight of those come from Argentina,” said Ty Votaw, executive vice president of international affairs who is spearheading the Olympic effort for the PGA Tour. “It’s a part of the world where the development of elite players is something that we see as being an opportunity.”

With golf returning to the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, a series that would provide access to the Nationwide Tour and might offer even minimal world ranking points could increase the number of players in the world ranking from South America and help give golf some momentum on that continent.

Votaw said the plan is not entirely driven by the Olympics, although it has sped up the process.

The plan would be for open competition not restricted to local players. If the purses could be raised to $175,000, and if the top players on a money list (the number to be determined) were offered a spot on the Nationwide Tour, it could provide an attractive alternative to playing the mini-tours in which players have to put up their own money.

Keegan Bradley played mini-tours out of college, then made it far enough through Q-school to get onto the Nationwide Tour, a path that took him to victory two weeks ago on the PGA Tour. If a tour in South America were available then, Bradley said he would have gone.

“If there was access to the Nationwide? That would be a no-brainer,” Bradley said.

South America is seen by some as fertile ground for young players. It has produced two-time major champion Angel Cabrera, and PGA Tour winners from Argentina (Andres Romero), Colombia (Camilo Villegas), Venezuela (Jhonattan Vegas) and Paraguay (Carlos Franco).

Cabrera has started a foundation with hopes of funding some of the young players. He is aware of the tour’s plan and loves it.

“I hope it succeeds,” Cabrera said. “We have a lot of strong players on the PGA Tour already, and it would be very good for South America to have this. We could develop some players. It would be good for the young players to give them an opportunity.”

This would not replace the Tour de las Americas, but work alongside it. One of the difficulties is working with the various countries, which have their own agendas, and coming up with a right number of tournaments that gets the entire continent involved. Also to be considered is the climate in South America, with countries on both sides of the equator.

Votaw said the idea is for about 12 to 14 tournaments from eight countries.

The tour involvement would be important to give the series an identity, a path to bigger things and consistent standards in how the tournaments are run and promoted.

Votaw said a Nationwide Tour event in Colombia would continue, and serve as somewhat of a carrot.

“With the Nationwide Tour in Colombia, it gives an understanding of what the Nationwide Tour is, and provides an even more tacit example of the brass ring,” he said.

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STILLWATER, Okla. — LSU senior John Peterson won the individual title Thursday in the NCAA Golf Championships, and UCLA topped the eight qualifiers for the team match-play competition.

Peterson shot an even-par 72 — playing the back nine in 4 under — to finish at 5-under 211, a stroke ahead of UCLA’s Patrick Cantlay at difficult Karsten Creek.

Six hours after Peterson finished, Cantlay had a chance to force a playoff, but his 18-foot eagle try on the par-5 18th grazed the cup and stayed out. He birdied the final two holes for a 71.

Peterson opened with a 74 and had a competitive course-record 65 on Wednesday.

UCLA was 10 over in the third round to finish at 8-over 872. Georgia Tech was second at 11 over, and host Oklahoma State (15 over), Illinois (15 over), Georgia (20 over), Ohio State (23 over), Augusta State (24 over) and Duke (25 over) also advanced to match play. Texas A&M was ninth at 26 over.

Peterson completed an unprecedented sweep for LSU following freshman Austin Ernst’s victory May 21 in the women’s event.

“I thought it was over and I had won, then Cantlay makes birdie on 17, which is a very hard hole, then hits the green on 18,” Peterson said. “I rushed to the range and started hitting 3-woods and hit them horribly.”

Peterson said he wasn’t discouraged by his two bogeys and a double bogey on the first nine holes.

“I’m a pretty resilient, tough player,” he said. “I was raised to never give up. This is a tough course and it will punch you, but if you punch back, sometimes it will pay off in the end.”

Peterson also birdied the 17th, hitting a 4-iron from 181 yards into a 25 mph wind to about 7 feet.

UCLA coach Derek Freeman was pleased with the team victory, but cautioned against euphoria with match play ahead. His Bruins will face Duke in the first round Friday. Oklahoma State will open against Ohio State, Georgia Tech will face Augusta State, and Illinois will play Georgia.

“We came here wanting to win the stroke play and the match play,” Freeman said. “We’re halfway there. The guys played excellent golf on a very difficult course.”

In addition to Cantlay, UCLA’s Gregor Main tied for 20th at 4 over and Alex Kim tied for 32nd at 6 over.

Top-rannked Oklahoma State won the stroke play portion the preceding two years, but was knocked off in match play by eventual champions Texas A&M (2009) and Augusta State (2010).

Cowboys coach Mike McGraw is expecting the teams remaining to see a different course Friday.

“I was hoping for a little bit of wind so the golf course would have some teeth,” McGraw said. “The NCAA has taken into account getting 30 teams around the course with some of the pin and tee locations. I think you’ll see things get more interesting tomorrow.

“You want to win every tournament you play, but I’m just thrilled we get a chance to move on and have a fresh start tomorrow.”

First-round leader James White led Georgia Tech at even-par 216, tied for eighth. The Yellow Jackets are looking forward to a rematch with Augusta State, which eliminated them in the first round a year ago.

Oklahoma State’s Peter Uihlein was one of five player to tie for third at 1 under, surviving a shaky stretch on Nos. 10-12 when lost a tee shot in the woods on 10, ricocheted his tee shot off a cliff wall into a pond on the par-3 11th, then drove wild right into the woods on 12. He came back with an eagle on the par-5 14th, chipping in from off the green, and finished with a 73.

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mark Steinberg, the agent for Tiger Woods the last 12 years and head of the IMG golf division, did not renew his contract Tuesday and is no longer with the sports management company.

“He is no longer with IMG,” company spokesman Jim Gallagher said.

IMG announced a reorganization of its golf division Tuesday evening, with Steinberg no longer involved. The move could lead to Woods leaving Cleveland-based IMG, which has represented him his entire career.

Steinberg’s contract was to expire in June.

He was negotiating a new deal with IMG on Tuesday when talks broke down, according to two officials aware of the discussions. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information.

Steinberg did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

The officials said Woods and Annika Sorenstam would be free to leave IMG and stay with Steinberg if they wanted. Woods signed with IMG when he turned pro in August 1996, and Steinberg became his agent three years later.

At a press conference earlier Tuesday to promote the AT&T National outside Philadelphia, Woods was asked about his future with IMG and with Steinberg.

“I’m committed to both, with IMG, and Mark’s my agent,” Woods said. “It’s been a great relationship. I had a chance to go through a lot of … basically my entire professional career and learn a lot about the business.”

Woods spoke of going to several dinners with IMG founder Mark H. McCormack until he died in 2003.

“Then obviously, my relationship with Mark (Steinberg),” he said. “But I’m very happy with both.”

Woods has a close relationship with Steinberg, a reserve on the Illinois basketball team that went to the Final Four in 1989. If he were to leave IMG and stay with Steinberg, it likely would not make much of a difference in his golf schedule or even his endorsements, as Steinberg did most of that work.

Steinberg has been actively seeking an endorsement for Woods’ bag since late last fall.

In a two-sentence press release Tuesday evening, IMG said Guy Kinnings and Robbie Henchman would be co-heads of IMG Golf. Kinnings was senior vice president of European golf operations, while Henchman was senior vice president of golf in Asia Pacific.

Alastair Johnston, the vice chairman of IMG, will oversee the business of the golf division.

IMG’s billionaire owner, 71-year-old Ted Forstmann, is battling brain cancer. In an interview published Tuesday in The New York Times, Forstmann said he wants to build IMG “quicker than I was going to” so he can pour the money into a charitable trust and give it away.

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