College player from Connecticut poised on eve of first major

SAN FRANCISCO — Cameron Wilson doesn’t appear to be in a rush.

He’s all of 19 years old, just finished his sophomore year at Stanford and is playing in his first major championship. Yet Wilson carried himself yesterday on the Olympic Club putting green — littered with some of the world’s best golfers — with the nonchalance of a PGA Tour veteran ho-humming his way through just another U.S. Open.

Though he’s an amateur, there doesn’t appear to be anything amateurish about Wilson, who’s from the Rowayton section of Norwalk, Conn., and qualified for the Open as the medalist in the Canoe Brook Country Club sectional last week in New Jersey.

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PROUD TEACHER: Norwalk’s Cameron Wilson, who will tee off today in the U.S. Open, has worked with Debbie Doninger, the director of instruction at GlenArbor in Bedford, since he was 9 years old.

Wilson, who beginning today will play the first two rounds with former Stanford player Casey Martin and fellow qualifier Dennis Miller, is so close-to-the-vest cautious about his life plan — he wouldn’t say whether he wants to turn pro eventually — he’s reluctant to talk about it.

U.S. OPEN: HOLE BY HOLE

He, in fact, declined to reveal details of the pointers Tiger Woods doled out to him when they played a practice round together on Tuesday. “He told me some things, but nothing I want to reveal to The New York Post,’’ Wilson said.

“He’s very methodical,’’ Debbie Doniger, his coach since he was 9 years old, said yesterday. “He doesn’t like to rush things. He doesn’t jump the gun. That suits his personality.’’

It might also suit his game at the U.S. Open, which requires that sort of mentality.

Doniger, a former college and pro player who’s worked with renowned instructor Jim McLean in Florida and is the director of instruction at GlenArbor in Bedford, called Wilson’s time with Woods “invaluable.’’

“He was able to ask Tiger questions about how he plays majors and the kind of shots he hits,’’ she said. “It’s always nice to pick a brain like that.’’

Wilson called playing the practice round with his Stanford brethren “awesome.’’

“I had met Tiger once before with the [Stanford] team,’’ he said. “That was really cool, but playing with him was way better. I’ve been to a bunch of U.S. Opens in the [metropolitan area], but it’s awesome to be inside the ropes this time. I’m trying not to make a big a deal out of it, treat it like every other tournament I’ve played in and prepare the same way.’’

If Wilson has the kind of success this week he had while tearing up Canoe Brook with his second-round 65 earlier this month, he might think about accelerating his plans to turn pro.

“Obviously, I’d love to play pro golf, but that’s so far away right now it’s not something I think about,’’ he said.

“He’s focused and he has a plan,’’ Cameron’s father, Dave, said yesterday. “I don’t know how it will play out, but he’ll probably try to play professionally. But his plan is to go through Stanford and not leave early.

“I would say this [U.S. Open qualification] came a little early. It’s a nice reward. He’s worked hard for it, but I’m not sure he anticipated getting in this year. He’s on a good track.’’

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Giants' Coughlin peeved about Reese’s fleecing on Ballard

Tom Coughlin did not go ahead and blast his own front office, but it was clear yesterday that he was more than irritated about losing injured tight end Jake Ballard to the Patriots and less than pleased this situation could have been avoided if only the Giants had protected Ballard’s rights.

“Very disappointing,’’ said Coughlin, who added to characterize him as discouraged was “a minor description’’ of his emotional state. “I don’t have a lot to say about that one. Just the fact we’re disappointed, very disappointed.’’

Oh, but Coughlin did have more to say.

Jake Ballard get scooped up by the Patriots, but it was pretty clear the Giants coach was upset the tight end got away." title="BLAME GAME : Tom Coughlin wouldn’t go as far as openly blaming GM Jerry Reese for letting Jake Ballard get scooped up by the Patriots, but it was pretty clear the Giants coach was upset the tight end got away." width="300" height="300" src="/rw/nypost/2012/06/14/sports/web_photos/14.1s068.giants.C.TA--300x300.jpg" />

Charles Wenzelberg

BLAME GAME : Tom Coughlin wouldn’t go as far as openly blaming GM Jerry Reese for letting Jake Ballard get scooped up by the Patriots, but it was pretty clear the Giants coach was upset the tight end got away.

Charles Wenzelberg

Jerry Reese

The Giants were stunned Tuesday when the Patriots claimed Ballard off waivers. Ballard can’t play this season while he recovers from a devastating knee injury suffered in the third quarter of Super Bowl XLVI — playing for the Giants and against the Patriots. On Monday, Ballard as expected failed his physical and the Giants waived him, believing this was simply a procedural move and that once he cleared waivers he’d revert back to their Physically Unable to Perform/reserve list to spend the 2012 season rehabbing his knee, hoping to make a return in 2013.

To ensure that Ballard’s rights were protected, the Giants could have kept him on their 90-man training camp roster until moving him to PUP after camp. But the Giants front office did not take that safer option, feeling fairly certain no team would put in a waiver claim on a tight end who can’t play at all this season.

“I could explain it but I don’t want to explain it because it’s really irrelevant at this point,’’ general manager Jerry Reese said on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

Asked why the Giants didn’t simply keep Ballard protected on the roster, Coughlin snapped.

“Don’t ask me those questions,” he said. “I’m not the ... I don’t have the answers for you. We’re all disappointed, that’s all.’’

Reese admitted, “Yes we thought that he would clear’’ and said, “It’s rare but it’s not the first time something like that has happened. It’s disappointing for us that we didn’t get him back. He did a tremendous job for us and we hope he gets well soon and that he can finish his career, whether it’s with New England or whatever team he ends up with. It was disappointing, but that does happen, every blue moon.’’

Coughlin said it was his belief Ballard could return in 2013 and be a productive player.

“I certainly thought so, for sure,’’ he said. “So did everybody, the whole building felt that way.’’

Putting Ballard on waivers, in Coughlin’s view, was “a calculated risk that didn’t work.’’

The Patriots are well-stocked at tight end with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, but Bill Belichick has made these types of unconventional moves before. Belichick scoffed at the notion he broke some unwritten rule about claiming an injured player.

“First of all, there aren’t any unwrittens,’’ Belichick said in New England. “Any time you put a player on waivers, you know there are 31 teams out there that can take him if they want him. We all know that.”

Coughlin seemed to agree, saying “All is fair.’’

Reese said there is no bad blood with the Patriots.

“There is no reason for us to have hard feelings about it,’’ he said. “They think that they can salvage the situation, so we will see what happens.’’

Ballard, 24, caught 38 passes last season, was a revelation for the Giants and wanted to stay. He arrived at the Giants facility on Tuesday figuring he’d cleared waivers but was informed that the Patriots claimed him at 3:50 p.m., 10 minutes before the waiver deadline.

“Obviously he built a reputation here, he’s very close with the guys here, the staff, the team,’’ tight end Travis Beckum said, “and I think if he could have picked he would have picked to stay here, but that is not how the NFL works.’’

paul.schwartz@nypost.com

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Business briefs

Hope floats

Stocks had a rebound rally as investors cheered the potential for more stimulus from the Fed.

Ponzi sweep

The SEC charged 14 sales agents associated with swindler Nicholas Cosmo with misleading more than 5,000 investors in Long Island and elsewhere into buying securities to fuel his $415 million Ponzi scheme.

Facebook

In a study partially commissioned by Facebook, research firm comScore found that being a fan of a brand on Facebook causes people to purchase that brand more frequently.

Walmart

Walmart lawyers flagged Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Mexico, as countries that represent the highest corruption risk in a global review, according to a letter from lawmakers investigating the company.

Women MDs

A new study says women physician-scientists are paid on average about $12,000 less per year than male counterparts. The study’s authors surveyed 800 doctors/researchers who had received prestigious federal grants. Results are published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Belgium Reaps Benefits of Stability

BRUSSELS—Belgium has seen its borrowing costs fall as a combination of a growing economy, an end to a political impasse and the resilient performance of its neighbor Germany have restored market confidence in the country's ability to survive the euro-zone debt crisis, economists said Wednesday.

The lower funding costs should equate to savings of about €100 million ($125 million) this year, ING economist Philippe Ledent said in an interview, adding that "investors are classing us as one of the good students again."

The 10-year Belgian bond yield was at 3.29% Wednesday, unchanged from Tuesday, having been as high as 5.85% in November. Spreads with current safe-haven Germany for 10-year debt have narrowed to 1.82 percentage points, after having widened to 3.62 percentage points in November.

"Consumer confidence, deficit reduction and the budget measures all show we've made a vast amount of progress since last year," a spokesman for Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo said. "We've gone from comparisons with Iraq, because of the lack of government, to spreads that show we're back in the euro-zone core."

Belgium lost favor with investors late last year when its rating was downgraded after political infighting left it in the hands of a caretaker government for 18 months. Mr. Di Rupo eventually put together a six-party coalition, which has since trimmed over €11 billion off the country's budget to comply with European Union rules on deficits this year.

"Markets have understood that Belgium should not be compared with Italy, Spain or any other Mediterranean countries," National Bank of Belgium Governor Luc Coene said Monday. "The government has worked hard to find the right balance, though it's clear we need some more efforts."

Mr. Coene said the government's reforms would enable the country to meet its deficit target of 2.8% of gross domestic product this year. On the same day, the Belgian Debt Agency updated its funding plan for 2012, cutting gross financing requirements to €37.93 billion from €38.57 billion.

Still, it isn't all clear sailing for the country of 11 million. Its national bank warned that additional measures will be necessary to meet deficit targets in 2013, and local elections are due this October, risking a resurgence of the political tensions between the Dutch-speaking north and the Francophone south that led to the previous political crisis.

"I'm a bit worried this growth is artificial, that it's just riding on Germany's coat-tails," said Mr. Ledent. "Jobs have been created, but in the nontradable sector, and this just isn't translating into consumption."

Mr. Di Rupo's government will next month unveil a plan to spur the economy by restoring the country's competitiveness and boost competition in network industries, according to documents seen by Dow Jones Newswires.

The draft plan also calls for measures to tackle inflation, a perennial problem for the country, which still indexes wages to consumer-price increases, rather than productivity. Inflation reached 4% in July 2011 and is seen at 2.6% this year, and is linked to energy prices in particular. The country's inflation should be in line with the European Central Bank target of below, but close to, 2%.

However, with 63.8% of its funding needs met this year and the savings on lower interest rates set to feed into the budget-deficit reduction plans, Belgium is a more attractive option for investors.

"The perception around Belgium has changed markedly since November last year when it fell victim to peripheral contagion," Belfius Bank analyst Willem Glorie said in a note to clients. "The country has in the meantime regained its place among the (semi-)core."

Write to Frances Robinson at frances.robinson@dowjones.com

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From newbie to scholarship player, Curtis' O'Gara becomes dominant force

Four years ago, Taylor O’Gara would never have imagined all she would accomplished. The Curtis star only picked up a lacrosse stick as a freshman and turned into one of the city's best players.

“I never thought it would get this big,” the senior said. “I’m so grateful and happy to be here.”

Here was the Brooklyn Marriott Monday night, where O’Gara was honored with the PSAL girls lacrosse Wingate Award, given to the top senior in each spot. She described it an amazing honor to be in the same room with so many of the athletes she had only seen or read about over the years.

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Taylor O'Gara of Curtis was the girls lacrosse PSAL Wingate Award winner.

Not bad for a kid who never heard of the sport until she entered Curtis, trying out at the behest of friend Erin Jacobson, the Warriors eventual goalie.

“I really loved it ever since then,” O’Gara said. “I’m happy to have made such a great choice.”

She ended up having of the best careers ever by a PSAL player. O’Gara scored 189 league goals in her career. That included a remarkable 98 this year, a PSAL single-season record, to go along with 17 assists. The Warriors went 41-18 in league play during her four years on the team and made three trips to the PSAL Class A final.

“By sophomore year, the end of it, she started putting in goals and we knew we had a really good player on our hands,” Curtis coach Matt Gonzalez said.

O’Gara tried her hardest to bring home a title to the St. George school this spring. She scored six goals in a semifinal win over Midwood and six more, including the tying score with 42 seconds left in the first overtime, in a championship game loss to Tottenville. It earned her MVP honors, despite the loss. Before the final contest, all of her teammates dyed their hair her signature red.

“[They] said it was for me,” O’Gara said. “It was just really nice for them to do it.”

She will continue her career at Robert Morris University in Illinois, an NAIA school where she received a full scholarship. O’Gara visited in November, felt comfortable playing with the girls on the team and fell in love with the area. She loved their cohesiveness and picked them over Detroit Mercy.

“It’s something I never thought I’d be able to do,” O’Gara said of playing in college.

Gonzalez believes because of her limited time playing the sport, she still has plenty of growing to do and her best is still to be seen.

“I could be more proud of her,” Gonzalez said. “She started as a freshman and improved every year and this year to have the season she had. ... I think she is going to improve and be a big asset to that program.”

jstaszewski@nypost.com

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Warner Fusselle dead

Warner Fusselle, a great, odd character of sports broadcasting — after Mel Allen’s passing he was the voice of “This Week In Baseball,” yet he was a professional communicator who never owned a telephone — died Sunday night of a heart attack at the offices of Phoenix Communications, his longtime employer. He was 68.

Most recently the Voice of the Brooklyn Cyclones, Fusselle devoted his career to smaller-stage radio sportscasting, including Seton Hall basketball and several minor league baseball teams. And he gladly mentored young sportscasters as the go-to savant at Phoenix and MLB Productions.

Fusselle was a man of few needs and a peculiar, almost spooky, lifestyle. He often slept overnight in his offices — and looked it. He had no home telephone — never — and a cell phone was out of the question. One could reach him only at work, and that often meant at ballparks. But he always was worth the effort.

Born in Georgia, a graduate of Wake Forest and an Army vet, he’s survived by his sister, two nephews and scores who fondly recall his eccentricities, his guidance and his wisdom.

“In 1977 [the year TWIB first appeared], Warner showed up and found two historical errors in a script,” said Phoenix VP Geoff Belinfante. “He said, ‘I think I can help. I think you need me.’ He never left.”

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Mayweather seeks early release from 'inhumane' prison

LAS VEGAS — Boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. is seeking an emergency release from jail just 12 days into his three-month sentence on a domestic battery count, citing “inhumane conditions” that could end his boxing career.

Mayweather’s attorney Richard Wright filed a motion seeking his client’s release late Monday, asking that the 35-year-old be allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The motion claims Mayweather’s personal physician Dr. Robert Voy “expressed deep concern for Mr. Mayweather’s health and explained that any lengthy period of time with an inappropriate diet, coupled with lack of regular exercise, will most likely lead to irreversible damage to Mr. Mayweather’s physique.

“Such damage could and, most likely, would lead to Mr. Mayweather being unable to continue his boxing career,” the motion said, according to the Review-Journal.

The motion complained that Mayweather has been confined to his cell 23 hours per day and that he is alone and unable to use the detention center’s training facilities during his one hour of recreation time.

The undefeated five-division champion is being held away from the general population due to his celebrity status.

Mayweather was due to serve time in January for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, but Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa pushed back the sentence to allow him to fight Miguel Cotto, whom he defeated May 5 in a unanimous decision.

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