Oak Hill Golf;Perseid Meteor Shower

His nondescript appearance and deadpan manner make him a target for the Hollywood types on television,but Jason Dufner proved his high degree of competence in golf on Friday when he seized the top of the leader board at the PGA Championship in Pittsford,New York,near Rochester.The beautifully forested Oak Hill Country Club saw Dufner tie the record for lowest score in a major championship with his brilliant nine under par 63.Dufner,who is well-regarded by his peers,stood out even in the strongest field in golf,with 99 of the top 100 players in the world vying for the tournament's Wanamaker trophy,seven of them Scotsmen.*The history of the game is dear to my heart,Dufner said,and it's really neat to be part of it.You'd never think a guy from Northeast Ohio would accomplish these things.*1.Jason Dufner,USA,-9 2.Matt Kuchar,USA,-7;Adam Scott,AUS,-7;Jim Furyk,USA,-7 5.Henrik Stenson,SWE,-6;Justin Rose,ENG,-6 7.Robert Garrigus,USA,-5;Steve Stricker,USA,-5 9.Charley Hoffman,USA,-4;Marcus Fraser,AUS,-4.*The Perseid meteor shower will illuminate the night sky from August 11-13,NASA said.The best meteor display of the year may be best seen between 1am and dawn,with meteors streaking across the heavens at the rate of about 70 an hour at the peak of 11-12 August.They are bright because of their relatively large size of around a centimeter across and speed of almost 134,000 kilometers an hour.The debris of Comet Swift-Tuttle,the annual event is about as bright as the Ursa Major constellation's stars,and is better seen outside of urban areas.*Update:Veteran golfer Jim Furyk,who won the US Open in 2003,took over top spot on the leader board of the PGA Championship with his -9 in Saturday's third round at Oak Hill Country Club.Jason Dufner slipped to a close second at -8.The greens were starting to dry out and there was a breeze,making the course more difficult to manage-a trend that may only be accentuated by another dry,sunny day on Sunday.There were a lot more bogies amid the huge white oaks of the densely wooded course,as the cheers of thousands of fans livened things up for Furyk and Dufner.TV ratings must have been hurt,though,by the fact that both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson,the world numbers one and two,dropped out of contention with their multiple bogies.*It's totally unrealistic for the media to expect Mickelson to win a second major after his back to back wins in Scotland.Psychologically,that is extremely unlikely.There's a natural comedown after all that glory.As for Woods,he has apparently still not fully recovered mentally from his personal problems,not having won a major for five years now.