Golf news and notes

Woods among bubble-sitters

The BMW Championship, which begins today, is the third tournament of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs and the last before the Tour Championship in Atlanta. The playoff field is reduced to the top 30 in the points standings after this tournament. The biggest name on the bubble is Tiger Woods, who is 51st with 1,032 points. Woods likely needs a top-five finish this week to advance. Players ranked 13th or better are mathematically locked in and cannot fall out of the top 30, regardless of their result. Matt Kuchar leads the rankings with 4,235 points. Charley Hoffman is second, Steve Stricker third.

PGA Tour playoffs injury watch

Scott Verplank, who last week withdrew from the second round of the Deutsche Bank Championship because of an injured wrist, on Wednesday was on his way to Lemont, Ill., a Chicago suburb, for the BMW at Cog Hill at No. 70 in the points standings. He took a cortisone shot in his left wrist about an hour after the Deutsche Bank ended, then had the MRI exam Tuesday. "No bad structural damage," Verplank said to the Associated Press in a text message. "Not in any immediate danger. This week is totally up to me and how much I can put up with it."

PGA holds own with sponsorships

With the PGA Tour getting closer to a sponsor for the World Golf Championship event at Doral, that leaves three tournaments — Memphis, Hilton Head and the Bob Hope Classic — without title sponsors after this year. Commissioner Tim Finchem said signing sponsors takes longer than it once did because of the weakened economy and companies are much more careful about spending discretionary dollars. "But the scrutiny helps us, because compared with other sports, we pencil out pretty good," he said. The next big piece of the puzzle is a new television contract. A six-year deal with the networks expires after 2012.

Bradenton amateur No. 1

Oklahoma State junior Peter Uihlein won the Mark H. McCormack Medal for being the No. 1 player in the world amateur ranking, which is decided after the European Amateur and U.S. Amateur. It caps off a strong 12 months for Uihlein, who went 4-0 at the Walker Cup at Merion a year ago and won the U.S. Amateur last month at Chambers Bay. Uihlein is from Bradenton and was the 2009 champion of the New Year's Invitational, an annual event held at St. Petersburg Country Club.

Tampa Bay area tournaments

•The Mid Florida Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society hosts a four-person scramble tournament on Sept. 27 at Feather Sound Country Club in Clearwater. The tournament is a 9 a.m. shotgun start and is $250 per player or $1,000 per foursome. Information at nationalmssociety.org/flc.

•The Sean O'Sullivan Legacy Tournament is Oct. 22 at Belleview Biltmore Golf Club in Belleair. It is a noon shotgun start with a scramble format. Cost is $95 per player or $360 for foursomes. Proceeds benefit renovations of St. Jerome Catholic Church in Largo. For information, call (727) 515-0994.

Times staff, wires