Mickelson, who became eligible for the honor after turning 40 last year, received 72 percent of votes cast, the Hall of Fame said.

“Being called a hall of fame golfer, it does make me sound a little bit old,” Mickelson said in Singapore, where he is competing in the Singapore Open. “But I dont feel old. I feel like Ive got a lot of great golf ahead of me.”

Mickelson has won 39 tournaments since turning professional in 1992, including three Masters titles and a PGA Championship. He has been ranked No. 2 in the world several times, though he has slipped to No. 11 after winning only one tournament so far this year.

Mickelson said his biggest goals for the rest of his career are to win at least 11 more tournaments, which would give him 50 victories, and win a U.S. Open and British Open.

Born in San Diego, Mickelson was a four-time All-American golfer at Arizona State.

“He is clearly one of the most exciting players ever to play the game,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said. “Hes exactly what you like to see in a player. If everybody conducted themselves like Phil week in and week out, wed be stronger yet.”

To be elected to the Hall of Fame, golfers must receive at least 65 percent of votes cast by journalists, historians and golf dignitaries. After Mickelson, Fred Couples received the second most votes with 38 percent while Davis Love III and Mark OMeara each received 29 percent.

Mickelson will be inducted on May 7 at the World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum in St. Augustine, Fla.

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The Hall of Fame says Mickelson, who became eligible after turning 40 last year, received 72 percent of votes cast.

Mickelson says it was a “special, cool honor.” The three-time Masters champion, who is playing at the Singapore Open, says he hopes to win at least 11 more tournaments to give him 50 victories in his career.

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem says Mickelson is “exactly what you like to see in a player.”

Mickelson will be inducted on May 7 at the World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum in St. Augustine, Florida.

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If golf really and truly had “no place for any form of racism,” which is what the heads of the PGA and European tours said, then Steve Williams wouldnt be working this week. Instead he would be suspended or lying low somewhere.

If golf really had no place for racism, then the sport would have required that the caddie sacked by Woods in July do more, far more, than simply apologize, which he has done both to Woods in person and to the wider world in a begrudging, three-line statement. Why not, for starters, insist that he attend courses on race relations and respect before next stepping onto a fairway?

If golf had zero place for racism, there would be fewer apologists for Williams quickly turning the page. There would be more golfers like Fred Couples who were not prepared to dismiss Williams comment at a caddies awards party as an ugly attempt at humor that failed. The U.S. captain for the Presidents Cup was reported as saying that if Williams was his caddy, hed have fired him.

Woods said he and Williams “met face to face and talked about it, talked it through” Tuesday. Greg Norman, captain of the Presidents Cup International side, employed Williams in the 1980s. Both golfers said the New Zealand caddie is not a racist. “No doubt about that,” Woods said. “No, not at all,” Norman said.

Which is somewhat reassuring but also irrelevant here. That Williams, as far as ex-colleagues can actually know these things, does not hate people because of their skin color or ethnic background does not erase what he said. Suggesting it was out of character, that Williams doesnt habitually say such things, that the comment was reported out of context or that those who werent there arent qualified to have an opinion, does not make such slurs right or less painful to people who have long been on the receiving end of them. Woods called the remark “hurtful” and “a wrong thing to say.”

“There are people out there who have heard these single statements over a number of years,” said Kevin Hylton, author of “Race and Sport: Critical Race Theory.”

“These – if you want to call them micro-aggressions – build up, they aggregate, they accumulate to the (point) that they are affecting the psyche of many, many, many individuals,” Hylton, a professor at Leeds Metropolitan University in northern England, said in a phone interview. “For each statement that somebody tries to laugh off, thats another straw on the camels back.”

What happens at the caddies dinners isnt meant to leave the room. Those who attend the annual parties do so on the understanding that what is said remains off the record. But, in this case, the rules made the whole affair look worse and raised disturbing questions. If not for British reporters who ignored the restrictions, would anyone have said anything? No matter the context, racial slurs should be taboo. So is this what top people in golf say to each other behind closed doors?

Surely not, one imagines. Even so, that Williams seemed to feel comfortable that he wouldnt be booed off stage or ostracized for his remark had the unfortunate effect of making his audience of fellow caddies and players look complicit, even if it wasnt. That impression was aided by Williams telling a New Zealand radio station that the evening was “a fun sort of thing, and everyone laughed their heads off. So, you know, what you read is absolutely ridiculous.” In that interview, Williams expressed no remorse at all.

“People can make all kinds of excuses and they can make all kinds of justifications about him and the audience, but what he said was totally unacceptable and he should pay a price for it,” Chuck Korr, co-author of “More Than Just a Game: Football v Apartheid,” said in a phone interview. “People have let him off the hook: Hes just a good old guy who had a few too many drinks.”

Some said Adam Scott, his employer, should have sacked Williams. But Scott was a victim here, too, unwittingly placed in the middle by something hateful someone else said.

This was a problem for the whole of golf, represented by top administrators, to take a stand on. The sport needed to make it loud and clear that racial slurs will have punitive consequences, to dissuade others from making them, too.

Golf has myriad rules to govern the minutiae of what to do, say, when the wind blows the ball or when it lands in water. But on this issue that mattered, it let itself down.

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and European Tour chief executive George OGrady condemned Williams slur as “entirely unacceptable in whatever context.”

But they took no action.

Golf has no place for racism, they said.

Williams put that to the test.

Golf failed.

—

John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester(at)ap.org or follow him at twitter.com/johnleicester.

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Kuchar is back for the Australian Open at The Lakes and next weeks Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, and hes got company – his wife, Sybi, their two sons, Kuchars parents and his in-laws. The family tour stopped in Bora Bora on the way over from the U.S. and spent a few days at the famed Cape Kidnappers course in New Zealand.

Kuchar said “its a great way to get back in the game, have a couple of weeks off, then a little bit of a warmup.”

Although Kuchar has earned $9 million over the past two years, hes winless this year. Hes among a strong American contingent this week: eight of the 12 U.S. team members for the Presidents Cup are in the Australian Open field.

Kuchar finished tied for second in the Memorial and was second in The Barclays.

“Its been a bit frustrating,” Kuchar said Wednesday. “I played a great final round at the Memorial, but Steve Stricker just played even better. I just had a few opportunities that didnt go my way.”

—

SCOTTS SCOUTING MISSION: Adam Scott had five weeks off after the U.S. PGA Tour season ended, including a week surfing in Mexico with some friends from Australia. Before he played at the HSBC Champions event last week in Shanghai, he left his familys home in Queensland state to make a reconnaissance mission to Royal Melbourne, site of next weeks Presidents Cup.

“I felt the changes that had been made to the grasses at Royal Melbourne – it had been six years since Id played there – that it would be a good idea to have a sneak peek,” Scott said. “It will be hard to take it all in next week with all the distractions.”

The Royal Melbourne composite course will feature new grass on the greens.

“Its a different grass to when I was last there – its still couch, but its a bit slower,” said Scott, who tried not to “step on too many members toes” as he negotiated around the composite course on a Sunday.

—

STAR ATTRACTIONS: The Australian Open, with next weeks Presidents Cup as the drawing card, has its best international field in decades, harkening back to the days when Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer traveled Down Under for the championship.

The featured groups over the first two days help highlight it – four consecutive morning threesomes have defending champion Geoff Ogilvy and Americans Bill Haas and Bubba Watson, followed by International captain Greg Norman, Dustin Johnson and two-time former champion Aaron Baddeley. U.S. captain Fred Couples is in the following group, followed by another which includes U.S. team member David Toms.

In the afternoon, Matt Kuchar and Adam Scott, who could play each other in next weeks Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, lead the featured groups off at midday, followed by the trio of Tiger Woods, Jason Day and Robert Allenby. Stuart Appleby and American Nick Watney are in the next group, followed by one which includes Hunter Mahan and John Daly.

It will be the 23-year-old Days first time playing in a group with the 35-year-old Woods, but theres plenty of history from Days side.

“I read a book about Tiger and that is why I woke up every morning at 5.30 and went out and practiced,” Day said. “I got up to 32 1/2 hours a week of practice because of that guy. He has influenced my life a lot, and I have always wanted to play against him.”

Day says hell try not to be intimidated.

“No, I dont think so,” he said “I cant control what he does. All I can do is control what I do. Looking back, 1997 to 2008 or 2009, he dominated for so long. When he came in he changed the way everyone looked at golf.”

Scott has some advice for his younger Presidents Cup teammate – dont look.

“I never watched him hit a shot,” Scott said Wednesday. “My old coach Butch Harmon told me early on when he was still working with him, if you played with him you should not watch him hit a shot because in the early 2000s he golf ball was launching far faster than anyone else. We all saw the magnificent highlight reels hes got. It was better not to watch and feel like you cant match it.”

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The Champions Tour team, made up of Perry, Jay Haas and Mark Calcavecchia, were a combined 15 under in the two-player, best-ball format that allowed each team to discard one score per hole.

The group shot 8 under over the final nine holes to overtake the PGA Tour team of Boo Weekley, Gary Woodland and Jonathan Byrd, which finished at 12 under at the par-72 Rio Secco Golf Club (par 72).

Overall, the Champions Tour trio had 17 birdies.

“My teammates made birdies,” Perry said. “(I had) four on the front and five on the back, so I was pretty steady all day.”

Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr and Natalie Gulbis of the LPGA Tour also topped the PGA Tour threesome by going 14 under.

The defending champion PGA held a 3-stroke edge over the Champions Tour, and a 5-stroke lead over the LPGA Tour after nine holes, largely due to eagles on the par-5, 516-yard eighth hole by Weekley and Woodland. Byrd also shot a 5-under 31 over the first nine holes.

Kerr keyed the LPGA attack by going 5 under over the final five holes. She eagled the 14th, birdied the 15th, parred the 16th and birdied the 17th and 18th holes. She had six birdies and eagled the par-5, 505-yard 14th.

“We were pretty far back,” Kerr said. “In this tournament youve got to stay a little bit close with the last couple holes. I knew I had to just really turn it on as much as I could and try and make up shots. I had a great finish, and we still came up short. But we ended up finishing second instead of third (their 2010 finish).

“I birdied that (14th) hole before, but I never made eagle on that hole. So that was a good improvement.”

Perry birdied four holes on the front nine and five on the back nine to go along with one bogey. He helped his team grab a 2-stroke lead over the PGA and LPGA after 16 holes by carding birdies on four consecutive holes – the 11th through the 14th.

“We were three behind after nine,” Perry said. “I didnt see us in the lead until about over here (18th hole). I was on the par 3 (16th), I thought we were tied or one up. It took us 14 or 15 holes to even catch back up.”

Perry was the individual winner with an 8-under 64 (32-32). Last year, he tied the PGAs Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson for low individual honors at 4-under 68.

The Champions team received $500,000, the second-place LPGA squad earned $270,000, and the third-place PGA team got $230,000. It was the seventh win for the Champions Tour in the 20 years the event has been held. The PGA Tour has eight titles, and the LPGA has five.

The Challenge raised over $4 million for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. It has accumulated just over $40 million in its 20 years.

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The Champions Tour team, made up of Perry, Jay Haas and Mark Calcavecchia, were a combined 15 under in the two-player, best-ball format that allowed each team to discard one score per hole.

The group shot 8 under over the final nine holes to overtake the PGA Tour team of Boo Weekley, Gary Woodland and Jonathan Byrd, which finished at 12 under at the par-72 Rio Secco Golf Club (par 72).

Overall, the Champions Tour trio had 17 birdies.

“My teammates made birdies,” Perry said. “(I had) four on the front and five on the back, so I was pretty steady all day.”

Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr and Natalie Gulbis of the LPGA Tour also topped the PGA Tour threesome by going 14 under.

The defending champion PGA held a 3-stroke edge over the Champions Tour, and a 5-stroke lead over the LPGA Tour after nine holes, largely due to eagles on the par-5, 516-yard eighth hole by Weekley and Woodland. Byrd also shot a 5-under 31 over the first nine holes.

Kerr keyed the LPGA attack by going 5 under over the final five holes. She eagled the 14th, birdied the 15th, parred the 16th and birdied the 17th and 18th holes. She had six birdies and eagled the par-5, 505-yard 14th.

“We were pretty far back,” Kerr said. “In this tournament youve got to stay a little bit close with the last couple holes. I knew I had to just really turn it on as much as I could and try and make up shots. I had a great finish, and we still came up short. But we ended up finishing second instead of third (their 2010 finish).

“I birdied that (14th) hole before, but I never made eagle on that hole. So that was a good improvement.”

Perry birdied four holes on the front nine and five on the back nine to go along with one bogey. He helped his team grab a 2-stroke lead over the PGA and LPGA after 16 holes by carding birdies on four consecutive holes – the 11th through the 14th.

“We were three behind after nine,” Perry said. “I didnt see us in the lead until about over here (18th hole). I was on the par 3 (16th), I thought we were tied or one up. It took us 14 or 15 holes to even catch back up.”

Perry was the individual winner with an 8-under 64 (32-32). Last year, he tied the PGAs Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson for low individual honors at 4-under 68.

The Champions team received $500,000, the second-place LPGA squad earned $270,000, and the third-place PGA team got $230,000. It was the seventh win for the Champions Tour in the 20 years the event has been held. The PGA Tour has eight titles, and the LPGA has five.

The Challenge raised over $4 million for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. It has accumulated just over $40 million in its 20 years.

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Feb. 24-27 – HSBC Womens Championship (Karrie Webb)

March 18-20 – RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup (Karrie Webb)

March 24-27 – Kia Classic (Sandra Gal)

March 31-April 3 – Kraft Nabisco Championship (Stacy Lewis)

April 28-May 1 – Avnet LPGA Classic (Maria Hjorth)

May 19-22 – Sybase Match Play Championship (Suzann Pettersen)

May 28-29 – HSBC Brazil Cup (Mariajo Uribe)

June 3-5 – ShopRite Classic (Brittany Lincicome)

June 9-12 – State Farm Classic (Yani Tseng)

June 23-26 – Wegmans LPGA Championship (Yani Tseng)

July 7-11 – U.S. Open (So Yeon Ryu)

July 21-24 – Evian Masters (Ai Miyazato)

July 28-31 – Womens British Open (Yani Tseng)

Aug. 19-21 – Safeway Classic (Suzann Pettersen)

Aug. 25-28 – CN Canadian Womens Open (Brittany Lincicome)

Sept. 9-11 – Walmart NW Arkansas Championship (Yani Tseng)

Sept. 15-18 – Navistar LPGA Classic (Lexi Thompson)

Sept. 23-25 – Solheim Cup (Europe)

Oct. 7-9 – Hana Bank Championship (Yani Tseng)

Oct. 14-16 – Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia (Na Yeon Choi)

Oct. 20-23 – Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship (Yani Tseng)

Nov. 4-6 – Mizuno Classic, Kintetsu Kashikojima CC (Momoko Ueda)

Nov. 10-13 – Lorena Ochoa Invitational, Guadalajara CC, Guadalajara, Mexico

Nov. 17-20 – CME Group Titleholders, Grand Cypress GC, Orlando, Florida

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“We talked this morning, we met face to face and talked about it, talked it through,” Woods said, ahead of the Australian Open at The Lakes Golf Club.

Williams disparaging comment came during a caddies awards party Friday in Shanghai.

“It was a wrong thing to say, something that we both acknowledge,” Woods said. “He did apologize. It was hurtful, certainly, but life goes forward.”

Woods said it was not up to him to call for sanctions against Williams. The PGA Tour and European Tour have said no action would be taken against Williams for the comment.

“Stevies certainly not a racist,” Woods said Tuesday. “Theres no doubt about that. It was a comment that shouldnt have been made and was certainly one that he wished he didnt make.”

He was asked how two people so close together for more than a decade – Williams was with Woods for 13 of his 14 majors over 13 years – could become so distant so quickly. Woods fired Williams in July.

“Thats a great question, I dont know that one,” Woods said. “For me personally it was a tough decision to make to go in a different direction in my personal life, but as far as personally, I dont know how it could have happened the way it did. But it just did and here we are.

“Its just one of those things where well see what time does and as we all know, time does heal wounds.”

Asked for the source of the animosity between them, Woods said: “Thats between Stevie and me. We talked it through, and well leave it at that.”

On Monday, Greg Norman called Williams comment stupid, but also said he felt the New Zealand caddie was not a racist.

“Weve all made stupid comments at stupid times, unfortunately his stupid comment became global news,” Norman said. “I know he probably regrets saying it, but I guarantee you in that room on that night there was probably some heavier things said.”

Adam Scott, who employs Williams full time, said in a statement that he believes “there is absolutely no room for racial discrimination in any walk of life, including the game of golf.”

“I have discussed this matter directly with Steve and he understands and supports my view on this subject. I also accept Steves apology, knowing that he meant no racial slur with his comments. I now consider the matter closed. I will not be making any further comment.”

Woods and Scott are playing in the Australian Open, which has attracted a strong field due to the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne next week.

Norman said any feud between Woods and Williams needs to be sorted out.

“Because of the temperature that was going on between the two of them, anything that is said or not said is going to exacerbate whatever that feeling is,” Norman said.

“I hope it gets resolved. Golf doesnt need it. Golf needs Tiger back playing great golf like he used to. Golf needs the cohesiveness thats always existed.”

On Tuesday, Woods said he is injury-free for the first time in months, allowing him to practice at an accelerated rate.

“My bad rounds need to be under par, not over par,” Woods said. “Thats something I havent done through this stretch.”

That stretch is a victory drought of nearly two years – his last win on any tour was at the Australian Masters in November 2009.

Weeks later, news of his infidelities surfaced, followed by a divorce, injuries and swing changes, leaving his win at Kingston Heath in Melbourne his last tour victory anywhere.

On Monday, Woods said “Ive had a ruptured ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), Ive had a broken leg, a torn Achilles, and strained ligaments over the last five years. Ive been rehabbing for so long I havent been able to train.”

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Jan. 28-30 – Wendys Champions Skins Game (Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson)

Feb. 11-13 – Allianz Championship (Tom Lehman)

Feb. 18-20 – The ACE Group Classic (Bernhard Langer)

March 11-13 – Toshiba Classic (Nick Price)

April 1-3 – Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic (Tom Lehman)

April 15-17 – Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am (John Cook)

April 22-24 – Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (David Eger and Mark McNulty)

May 5-8 – Regions Tradition (Tom Lehman)

May 26-29 – Senior PGA Championship (Tom Watson)

June 3-5 – Principal Charity Classic (Bob Gilder)

June 10-12 – Greater Hickory Classic (Mark Wiebe)

June 24-26 – Dicks Sporting Goods Open (John Huston)

July 1-3 – Montreal Championship (John Cook)

July 8-10 – First Tee Open (Jeff Sluman)

July 21-24 – Senior British Open (Russ Cochran)

July 28-31 – U.S. Senior Open (Olin Browne)

Aug. 5-7 – 3M Championship (Jay Haas)

Aug. 18-21 – Constellation Energy Senior Players Championships (Fred Couples)

Aug. 26-28 – Boeing Classic (Mark Calcavecchia)

Sept. 16-18 – Songdo IBD Championship (Jay Don Blake)

Sept. 30-Oct. 2 – SAS Championship (Kenny Perry)

Oct. 7-9 – Insperity Championship (Brad Faxon)

Oct. 14-16 – AT&T Championship (Fred Couples)

Nov. 3-6 – Charles Schwab Cup Championship (Jay Don Blake)

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Norman, speaking Monday at The Lakes, where hell begin play in the Australian Open on Thursday, also said Williams current employer Adam Scott should ignore calls to release him. Scott later issued a statement reiterating he will stand by Williams, and saying that he considers the issue closed.

“Weve all made stupid comments at stupid times, unfortunately his stupid comment became global news,” Norman said. “I know he probably regrets saying it but I guarantee you in that room on that night there was probably some heavier things said.”

Norman, who had Williams on his bag for several years in the 1980s, replied “no, not at all,” when asked Monday if Williams was racist.

Scott said in a statement later Monday that he believes “there is absolutely no room for racial discrimination in any walk of life, including the game of golf.”

“I have discussed this matter directly with Steve and he understands and supports my view on this subject. I also accept Steves apology, knowing that he meant no racial slur with his comments. I now consider the matter closed. I will not be making any further comment.”

Woods and Scott are also playing in the Australian Open, which has attracted a strong field due to the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne next week.

Norman disagreed with possible, but extremely unlikely, moves to pair Woods and Scott together this week in Sydney for the first two rounds of the Australian Open. It was also suggested to Norman, the captain of the International side for the Presidents Cup, that he might send Scott out against Woods in the team event in Melbourne.

“Everybody wants me to pair Adam and Tiger next week, right, and Im sure there was a question about pairing Adam and Tiger this week,” Norman said. “Of course, everybody wants to see it. I dont think its the right thing to do from a promotional aspect, No. 1, because it should just be an automatic draw.

“I dont think there is any issue between Tiger and Adam at all.”

Norman said any feud between Woods and Williams needs to be sorted out.

“Because of the temperature that was going on between the two of them, anything that is said or not said is going to exacerbate whatever that feeling is,” Norman said.

“I hope it gets resolved. Golf doesnt need it. Golf needs Tiger back playing great golf like he used to. Golf needs the cohesiveness thats always existed.

“Theres always been underlying currents, not everybody loves everybody and the people who dislike each other; we just have a tendency of parting our ways and not seeing each other. But to have it play out like its played out has been a bit sad for the game.”

Norman, asked if golf has a problem with racism, said: “No, not at all; never seen it; never seen it at all.”

Woods was in Melbourne on Monday at a corporate day. Its the city where he last won a tournament: the Australian Masters in November 2009.

Weeks later, news of his infidelities surfaced, followed by a divorce, injuries and swing changes.

On Monday, Woods told a Melbourne radio station that hes seeing a gradual improvement in his game. The radio interviewers were warned not to ask any questions about Williams.

“Ive had a ruptured ACL [anterior cruciate ligament], Ive had a broken leg, a torn Achilles, and strained ligaments over the last five years,” Woods said. “Ive been rehabbing for so long I havent been able to train. Im hitting faster, more explosive, my speeds come back. Im hitting the ball distances I know I can hit the golf ball again. Its getting fun.”

Woods played with cricket great Shane Warne, Warnes fiancee and English actress Liz Hurley and billionaire businessman James Packer at the private Capital Golf Club.

Woods flew back to Sydney later Monday. Hell conduct a media conference at The Lakes on Tuesday morning where hes expected to comment directly for the first time on Williamss remarks.

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