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Wednesday, December 4, 2002 Updated: December 6, 10:43 AM ET Burk says Tour is being 'hypocritical' ESPN.com news services Martha Burk said Wednesday that while she does not advocate pressuring an individual player to boycott the Masters on his own, a larger boycott is needed if Augusta National does not change its policy toward women. "I'll tell you who should boycott the tournament," Burk, president of the National Council of Women's Organizations, said in an interview with ESPNEWS, "And that is the PGA Tour. "The PGA Tour recognizes the winnings, they grant the exemptions, they recognize the victory in the...

<p>Martha Burk, head of the National Council of Women's Organizations, said the group will focus on the companies that sponsor the PGA Tour on a national level, a group that includes such heavy hitters as Anheuser-Busch and Bank of America.</p>

A Historic Tee Time, if She Takes ItWoman Qualifies for PGA Tour Event, Weighs Decision to Play Suzy Whaley, a teaching golf professional in Connecticut, has become the first woman to qualify to play in a Professional Golfers' Association Tour event and now must decide whether she will follow the encouragement of the tour, her family and fellow competitors and play in next summer's Greater Hartford OpenWhaley won the PGA of America's Connecticut sectional championship tournament to earn the automatic qualification at a time when Augusta National Golf Club is manning the barricades to keep women from even joining the...

HARTFORD, Connecticut, Sep 18, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Suzy Whaley became the first woman to qualify for a PGA Tour event, earning an exemption to next year's Greater Hartford Open by winning a PGA Section Championship on Tuesday. Whaley, also the first woman to win a Section Championship, shot a 1-under-par 71 to finish at 5-under 211 after shooting 68-72-71 at the Ellington Ridge Country Club to win the Connecticut Section title. "I had a couple wins this summer already and had a whole lot of confidence," said Whaley, the pro at Blue Fox Run Golf Club in...

GULLANE, Scotland - It's not a British Open without some rain and wind to make things interesting. It's usually not a major championship unless Tiger Woods is in contention. The rain returned Friday to Muirfield, soaking the course and making things more difficult for the early players. David Toms found that out quickly, making a double bogey on the first hole to drop off a share of the lead on a links course made more colorful by the thousands of umbrellas fans carried along the fairways. So did Phil Mickelson, who took two shots to get out of the wet,...

In a defiant statement about the privacy of Augusta National, chairman Hootie Johnson lashed out at a national women's group Tuesday for urging the club to have female members before next year's Masters. "Our membership alone decides our membership -- not any outside group with its own agenda,'' Johnson said in a surprisingly long and angry statement. The National Council of Women's Organizations, which has about 6 million members from 160 groups, sent a letter to Johnson on June 12 after chairwoman Martha Burk read reports about Augusta National not having women among its 300 members. Lloyd Ward, the first...

Filed at 9:10 p.m. ET LEMONT, Ill. (AP) -- Davis Love III has had it with obnoxious fans. Heckled mercilessly by some in the gallery who seem to have forgotten that golf is a genteel sport, Love yelled back during Sunday's final round at the Western Open. After blasting out of a tricky spot in the rough on the par-4 17th, Love looked at a fan, glared and started toward him. After telling the fan to be quiet, he headed back to the fairway. ``They're just overstepping their bounds,'' said Love, who finished two strokes behind winner Jerry Kelly. ``They're...

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Two unproven players. One mammoth prize. Friends from their years in the minor leagues, Carl Paulson and Craig Perks found themselves in the spotlight at The Players Championship, which lived up to its reputation Saturday as one of golf's toughest and most exciting tests. Paulson played a steady hand on a day of scintillating shots and shocking collapses, posting his third straight 3-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead over Perks, who was tied for the lead until an errant drive on the final hole led to bogey. They met after the third round, shook...