Woods' TOUR card not affected by fewer events

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SAN DIEGO (AP) -- If he skips his next two tournaments because of a sore left knee, Tiger Woods almost certainly will not play in the minimum 15 events. That would not affect his PGA TOUR membership, only his voting membership.

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Tiger Woods at the 2006 Ryder Cup. Will he play in this year's event?

Most players who fall short of the 15 events can apply for a medical extension, but Woods doesn't need one. He now is exempt on TOUR through 2013, and once he puts in two more years, will be exempt for life with 65 victories.

But there might even be a loophole for his voting membership.

"What the regulation doesn't address -- but the spirit of the regulation addresses -- is here's a guy who doesn't need a medical extension," said Andy Pazder, the TOUR's vice president of competitions. "You would say the spirit is to extend a person's voting membership due to a period he missed because of injury."

As for the Ryder Cup?

According to the PGA of America, the ninth player in the U.S. standings through the U.S. PGA Championship on Aug. 10 would qualify for the American team if Woods decides he cannot play. By winning the U.S. Open, Woods mathematically clinched a spot on the team.

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SHARP EYE: Taiwan's Yani Tseng earned $300,000 for her victory two weeks ago in the McDonald's LPGA Championship, making her the first rookie in 10 years to win an LPGA major. She is fourth on the money list with $835,241.

What to do with her earnings? For starters, she wants to buy a billiards table.

Tseng is quite accomplished with the cue stick, and some say she can wipe the table with just about anyone.

"I'm pretty good," she said during the first round of the U.S. Open, when she followed the Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson-Adam Scott group. "Helps me with my putting. You have to be able to read the angles on the shots."

Whatever she's doing, it appears to be working.

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DIVOTS: Justin Leonard didn't make a birdie the first two rounds of the U.S. Open and still made the cut. He tied for 36th, ... Davis Love III did not make a birdie on the weekend and slipped from a tie for fifth to a tie for 53rd.

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STAT: Tiger Woods, Brandt Snedeker, Robert Karlsson and Miguel Angel Jimenez are the only players to have finished in the top 10 in both majors this year.

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FINAL WORD: "If anybody in this world goes up against Tiger when he's at his best, they're going to lose. It's just that simple." -- Rocco Mediate, after losing in 19 holes of a playoff at the U.S. Open.