Martin Kaymer was named the European Tour's rookie of the year on Tuesday, the first German to win the award. The 22-year-old from Duesseldorf finished 41st on the money list after earning ?754,691 (US$1.1 million). Kaymer graduated to the European Tour from the Challenge Tour at the end of 2006 after twice failing to come through qualifying school.

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John Elway knows a thing or two about closing out a win, and it showed on the golf course Monday. The Pro Football Hall of Famer finished strong by winning the short-iron event, and he and Natalie Gulbis won the Golf Skills Challenge at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort and Club. Elway and Gulbis split the $310,000 grand prize. Dan Marino and Bubba Watson finished second to win $210,000.

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Momoko Ueda decided to focus on her game instead of waiting for other players to stumble. It paid off Sunday when she became the first Japanese player to win the Mizuno Classic with a 5-under 66 that included a double-eagle. She held off American Reilley Rankin and Sweden's Maria Hjorth to win by two strokes. "I used to wish for (the) other player to make a mistake.

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Stephen Ames wanted to escape the chill of Calgary for the final PGA Tour event, a decision that paid off Sunday when he closed with a 4-under 68 for a one-shot victory in the Children's Miracle Network Classic. Ames emerged from a typically crowded leaderboard at Disney with three straight birdies on the back nine of the Magnolia Course, then saved par from 65 feet out of the bunker to avoid a playoff with Tim Clark.

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Justin Rose won the European Order of Merit title on Sunday after victory at the season-ending Volvo Masters in a playoff. Rose rolled in a 12-foot putt for a birdie at the par-4 10th - the second sudden death playoff hole - to beat Simon Dyson (70) of England and Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen (67). "I knew it was going to come down to No. 10 and, luckily, it was me," Rose said. "I dug deep. There's gotta be an easier way." The three players finished tied with an overall score of 1-under 283.

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Arron Oberholser pulled out of the World Cup on Monday with a recurring hand injury that will require surgery, and PGA Tour officials were searching for a replacement for the U.S. team. "I'm disappointed not to have the chance to represent my country, but I hope I'll have more chances in the future," he said. Oberholser was the highest-ranked American to accept a spot in the Omega Mission Hills World Cup, to be played Nov. 22-25 in China, and he selected Sean O'Hair as his partner.

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