Rory McIlroy provided some clues as to what his 2013 schedule will look like recently. For one, he's looking forward to finally taming THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass -- an event where he's missed the cut in each of his three attempts. His post-Masters schedule at least will include THE PLAYERS Championship, which began his streak of missed cuts in 2012. He said this year the TPC Sawgrass was a course that he would have to figure out how to play, even if it took him 20 years. "I'm determined," McIlroy said. "I feel like I'm a good enough player to get around that course. But yeah, I at least want to see what the weekend is like there." McIlroy will cut back on the number of tournaments he plays, and while he didn't want to say which ones he will skip, he offered a few clues. Singapore and Hong Kong are not on the 2013 schedule, and he played both this year. McIlroy also said he likely would not play the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn., the week before the U.S. Open. He added it this year because he had missed three straight cuts. "I added that this year just to try to get a little bit more golf because I was only playing two-round tournaments," McIlroy said. He said his schedule leading up to the Masters would at least include Abu Dhabi, the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, The Honda Classic, the WGC-Cadillac Championship and the Shell Houston Open. That would mean McIlroy does not play the Dubai Desert Classic next year. -- The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods played together earlier this month in China.

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Like most things Rory McIlroy will experience in golf, Tiger Woods can certainly relate. That includes changing equipment at the height of his career.

Last month, McIlroy announced he and Titleist were parting ways at the end of this year. It’s long been speculated that McIlroy will sign with Nike alongside Woods. (A Nike spokesman said last month the company will not comment on rumors.)

Woods of course made the move successfully, moving from Titleist to Nike, beginning with the golf ball in 2000 and golf clubs two years later. As history has shown, however, not everyone has been as fortunate.

“Any time you make a change in equipment, it’s certainly a big deal,” Woods said Tuesday from the World Challenge presented by Northwestern Mutual. “Going through the testing process, trying to get the right shaft, and the club head, plus the ball, it’s a challenge.”

Unlike Woods, it appears McIlroy, who is not in the field here, will endure that challenge all at once.

How long did it take for Woods to adjust?

“Sometimes it’s taken almost a year, sometimes it’s taken just a few weeks,” Woods said. “Is this equipment in general, is this going to help me win golf tournaments? If the answer is yes, then it’s in the bag. If the answer is no, then it’s not.”

It’s of course a careful balance. For Woods, it helped not to make wholesale changes all at once.

“But when you get it right,” Woods said. “It’s pretty good.”

If not, it can be another story.

The late Payne Stewart suffered a season-long slump in 1994 after leaving Wilson for a lucrative deal with Spalding.

In Woods’ case, he didn’t skip a beat. When he switched golf balls in 2000 Woods went on to win nine times on the PGA TOUR, including the final three majors that season.

“It’s a huge process to get to that point,” Woods noted. “It was very time consuming. It’s tiring quite frankly because it can take a long time, but it’s worth it in the end if you get it right.”

Which players improved the most in scoring average in 2012? And which players took the biggest fall in that category? The PGA TOUR’s Alex Turnbull compared adjusted scoring averages with the TOUR ranking of 136 players who played the minimum number of rounds in both 2011 and 2012 (thus, qualifying statistically in the category). Here are the five players at the top of the list and the five at the bottom, based on their change in ranking from one season to the next. BIGGEST IMPROVEMENTS

Player	2011 rank (Adj. scoring average)	2012 rank (Adj. scoring average)	Increase in rank
Daniel Summerhays	182nd (72.487)	75th (70.722)	+107
Billy Horschel	152nd (71.512)	53rd (70.494)	+99
Ernie Els	121st (71.062)	25th (70.131)	+96
Kevin Stadler	139th (71.295)	54th (70.525)	+85
Robert Garrigus	105th (70.931)	23rd (70.066)	+82

BIGGEST DROPS

Player	2011 rank (Adj. scoring average)	2012 rank (Adj. scoring average)	Decrease in rank
Gary Woodland	15th (69.875)	158th (71.552)	-143
Robert Karlsson	26th (70.211)	148th (71.453)	-122
Robert Allenby	33rd (70.284)	139th (71.355)	-106
Andres Romero	54th (70.495)	157th (71.543)	-103
Aaron Baddeley	28th (70.230)	123rd (71.113)	-95

RORY AND TIGER Neither Rory McIlroy nor Tiger Woods played enough rounds on the PGA TOUR in 2011 to qualify for the comparison list. But here are their numbers had each player met the minimum number of rounds last year.

Player	2011 rank (Adj. scoring average)	2012 rank (Adj. scoring average)	Difference in rank
Rory McIlroy	3rd (69.48)	1st (68.873)	+2
Tiger Woods	51st (70.46)	2nd (68.904)	+49

Which players improved their greens in regulation percentage the most in 2012? And which players suffered the biggest decreases?

The PGA TOUR’s Alex Turnbull compared greens in regulation percentages along with the TOUR ranking of 136 players who played the minimum number of rounds in both 2011 and 2012 (thus, qualifying statistically in the category). Here are the five players at the top of the list and the five at the bottom, based on their change in ranking from one season to the next.

BIGGEST IMPROVEMENTS

Player	2011 rank (GIR pct.)	2012 rank (GIR pct.)	Increase in rank
Camilo Villegas	163rd (62.5 percent)	4th (69.55 percent)	+159
Sean O’Hair	152nd (63.17 percent)	21st (68.25 percent)	+131
Nathan Green	166th (62.34 percent)	43rd (66.92 percent)	+123
Daniel Summerhays	150th (63.24 percent)	28th (67.69 percent)	+122
Roland Thatcher	130th (64.26 percent)	25th (67.8 percent)	+105

BIGGEST DROPS

Player	2011 rank (GIR pct.)	2012 rank (GIR pct.)	Decrease in rank
Spencer Levin	35th (67.99 percent)	173rd (60.97 percent)	-138
Gary Woodland	12th (69.41 percent)	124th (64.01 percent)	-112
Tommy Gainey	48th (67 percent)	158th (62.3 percent)	-110
Trevor Immelman	31st (68.12 percent)	139th (63.45 percent)	-108
Billy Mayfair	23rd (68.77 percent)	123rd (64.02 percent)	-100

RORY AND TIGER

Neither Rory McIlroy nor Tiger Woods played enough rounds on the PGA TOUR in 2011 to qualify for the comparison list. But here are their numbers had each player met the minimum number of rounds last year.

Player	2011 rank (GIR pct.)	2012 rank (GIR pct.)	Difference in rank
Rory McIlroy	28th (68.30 percent)	60th (66.36 percent)	-32
Tiger Woods	37th (67.74 percent)	29th (67.58 percent)	+8

Which players improved their putting the most in 2012? And which players suffered the biggest decreases?

The PGA TOUR’s Alex Turnbull compared the TOUR’s primary putting statistic, strokes gained-putting, along with the TOUR ranking of 136 players who played the minimum number of rounds in both 2011 and 2012 (thus, qualifying statistically in the category). Here are the five players at the top of the list and the five at the bottom, based on their change in ranking from one season to the next.

BIGGEST IMPROVEMENTS

Player	2011 rank (SGP)	2012 rank (SGP)	Increase in rank
Derek Lamely	156th (-0.295)	7th (+0.63)	+149
Bo Van Pelt	144th (-0.192)	11th (+0.577)	+133
Jim Furyk	150th (-0.218)	19th (+0.451)	+131
Phil Mickelson	134th (-0.139)	10th (+0.591)	+124
Dustin Johnson	171st (-0.497)	50th (+0.216)	+121

BIGGEST DECREASES

Player	2011 rank (SGP)	2012 rank (SGP)	Decrease in rank
Angel Cabrera	15th (+0.535)	154th (-0.237)	-139
Roland Thatcher	52nd (+0.223)	186th (-0.588)	-134
Fredrik Jacobson	6th (+0.654)	133rd (-0.158)	-127
Andres Romero	24th (+0.462)	141st (-0.190)	-117
Rickie Fowler	31st (+0.377)	139th (-0.171)	-108

RORY AND TIGER

Neither Rory McIlroy nor Tiger Woods played enough rounds on the PGA TOUR in 2011 to qualify for the comparison list. But here are their numbers had each player met the minimum number of rounds last year.

Player	2011 rank (SGP)	2012 rank (SGP)	Difference in rank
Rory McIlroy	130th* (-0.129)	82nd (+0.087)	+48
Tiger Woods	45th* (+0.258)	35th (+0.332)	+10

* – If he had met minimum number of rounds

Graeme McDowell used the spectacular setting of the 656-foot high helipad of the Burg Al Arab Hotel in Dubai to propose to his long-time girlfriend Kristin Stape.

The Northern Irishman proposed to the U.S.-born Stape two weeks ago and plan to get married at the end of next year, he said.

"I did it properly, getting down on one knee," McDowell told the Irish Independent about the proposal. “She had no idea what was going on and was shocked and stunned. I even found myself getting a little bit emotional.

"It was a very special location, looking out over Dubai."

McDowell first met Stape when he contacted her Orlando interior design business to decorate his home and popped the question when in Dubai for a practice session before heading to the Australian Masters in Melbourne.

So now she'll be moving into the house she's designed," McDowell told the newspaper.

"Hopefully she's built a house she likes because it'll cost me a lot of money if we have to change it," he added with a laugh. "But I don't see that happening. Kristin's a great girl and both my family and hers are delighted with the news."

The Associated Press contributed to this report

By PGATOUR.COM staff

Five top international players will be joining the PGA TOUR for the 2013 season after playing as non-members in prior seasons.

Japan's Ryo Ishikawa, Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts, Sweden's Peter Hanson and England's David Lynn have committed to the TOUR next year after qualifying through the top 125 non-member money list.

In addition, Germany’s Martin Kaymer is joining the TOUR through his five-year exemption as the 2010 PGA Championship winner.

Colsaerts, Hanson, Kaymer and Lynn will be considered PGA TOUR rookies in 2013. Ishikawa’s 2012 season is considered his rookie season as he played in more than 10 events after joining the TOUR as a Special Temporary Member on March 19.

Here’s a quick look at each player:

	NICOLAS COLSAERTS Belgium	Has made 11 starts on the PGA TOUR, nine in 2012. Has two top-10 finishes. Leads European Tour in driving distance
	PETER HANSON Sweden	Has made 45 starts on the PGA TOUR, 11 in 2012. Has seven top-10 finishes. Tied for third at this year’s Masters
	RYO ISHIKAWA Japan	Has made 44 starts on the PGA TOUR, 18 in 2012. Best finish on TOUR was second this year at Puerto Rico Open
	MARTIN KAYMER Germany	Has made 47 starts on the PGA TOUR, eight in 2012. Has two wins – 2010 PGA, 2011 WGC-HSBC Champions
	DAVID LYNN England	Has made two starts on the PGA TOUR. Finished second at the PGA Championship